Tuesday, August 31, 2010

That's one big rock!

SOOC this is what we saw yesterday. This was taken at sunset from the roof rack of a landcruiser 4wd. It is worth coming to see Uluru, every Australian should see it. Foreigners are welcome too lol

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Day 1


Day 1
Tendrils of excitement started to wind around us this morning. There was still a bit to do before we could leave but the end was in sight. We ended up leaving at 10.30am a bit later than planned, we met up with the McDonalds near Sutton, then the adventure was begun.
Lunch was at a chilly Gundagai where the Dog on the Tuckerbox resides. The car temperature gauge showed 10 degrees while we ate sandwiches and chocolate cake (leftover from Hayley’s birthday on Saturday 21st)
Next stop was a balmy 15 degrees to eat some of our fruit before crossing into the fruit fly exclusion zone. These zones are set up to try and stop the spread of fruit fly through the agricultural areas in Australia. After eating the apples and mandarins we jumped back in the car only to have to stop a few kilometres down the road to get rid of the tomatoes and capsicums too.

By this stage the sun was well into the afternoon sky and Balranald was looking about an hour and a half too far away. So in the spirit of things not going to plan we decided that Hay looked like a good first nights stop instead. This meant that Day 2 will be 131 kilometres longer than planned, but as Day 1 at 640 kms was the longest in our itinerary it doesn’t put us too far out.
Crossing the Hay plain was a different experience than it has been in the past. Normally it is bros and dusty. This time there were areas of lush green growth and stretches of water pooled alongside the road. The skies were overcast all day, which means there is still the possibility of more rain in this area.
As we were only staying one night in Hay we unpacked the bare necessities and even left the campers hooked up. The Hay Services Club provided a courtesy bus that collected us from the Big 4 Caravan Park took us the club where we filled up on Chinese food, then dropped us back to the camping park again. Our bus driver on hearing that we had not been to Hay before took us for a quick tour on the way home.

Into bed before 9.30pm for a good sleep before another big drive to Broken Hill on Day 2

Monday, August 23, 2010

22/8/2010 Hay - Big 4 Caravan Park

Written by Kelly

We travelled in the car for five and a half hours. The original plan was to stop- in Balranald but had travelled too long in the dark so we stopped in Hay. Me, Hayley and Holly escaped to the park while the grown ups set up the trailer. I've cartwheeled and hand stand until the grass was flat then we caught the mini bus to the pub to have dinner.

While we waited for the mini bus there was another couple waiting with us. They were going to Alice Springs fro a truck show. They had a really big truck to show at the show. Another couple started walking to the pub but because is was 2 kms away we picked them up half way . Me Hayley and Holly sat at the back and made faces at people driving behind us. It took ages for the food to come out. I had chicken nuggets and chips.Then we went home and went to bed.

Saturday, August 21, 2010

One Sleep!!!!!

Wow we are really close now. The camper is mostly packed. All we need to do is put ice in the esky, pack the fridge and the clothes bags into the car, and we are ready to go.  People keep asking if we are excited yet, but to tell the truth we have been too busy to get too excited. I think at about 9.30am tomorrow the excitement will start!

Our current plan is to leave home tomorrow morning around 8.40am and head over to the McDonalds place, then get on the road on our way to Balranald. Here's hoping that everything goes according to plan.

Thanks to those of you who have left comments, its great to hear from our friends while we are on this big adventure.

More soon, from the road :)

Friday, August 20, 2010

Two Sleeps!!!

The excitement is really building now. All of the kids are now on holidays, Milo the dog has been delivered to his holiday home (my guess is he wont even want to come home after spending seven weeks with A&M they sure know how to spoil him), and the trailer is half packed.

Today has been super busy, and tomorrow will probably be worse, but it will all be worth it when we hit the road on Sunday morning.

Monday, August 16, 2010

Six sleeps

Six sleeps until we leave on our long awaited trip. The last few weeks have been hectic to say the least, there have been modifications to be made to the camper trailer, bookings to be made, equipment to be purchased, and lots of "thinking" about how good it is going to be.

Some of the places we are going may not have internet connections, so we will blog as we can. Please read along and feel free to leave comments, but remember, this is a family blog, and it will be accessed by children.