Coming to terms with the changing of the times

As much as possible I like to look forward rather dwell on what happened in the past. After all the past is gone and done. It has happened and can’t be changed, so why waste time thinking about it for too long?

The past few days however it has been easier said than done. Yesterday being the hardest of all.

My mind is currently in overdrive trying to come to terms with the difference between now and twelve months ago. So much so that finding the right words to explain it all just makes me head hurt even more.

This time last year we were finally hitting the road and beginning #ouradventureofalifetime. We were filled with excitement of the unknown of the open road and whatever lay ahead. A new life was waiting to be discovered and we couldn’t wait to get discovering. 

Well a new life for the next twelve months lay ahead of us. 

The plan was to take twelve months to do our lap and then return to normal life.

We all know about plans and the best of intentions though.

Twelve months later and we have returned to normal life, just not as we once knew it. We went from being on #ouradventureofalifetime where it felt like we were living each day to the fullest to what feels like just scraping by under the pretence of #oursouthwestadventure.

Sure there is still a hashtag and our life in the South West is in some ways completely difference to that of our life back in the Top End, namely the temperature, but there are also too many similarities. Far too many similarities.

The rigmarole of school each and every day. The having Mr Awesome go to work each and every day. The cleaning, the washing. The mundaneness of daily life. The feeling of surviving rather than actually living.

I just don’t like it.

At all.

And that makes me sad.

Life is too precious to be living an unhappy life. Each day deserves to have the most made of it whether you are actively adventuring or not. At the end of the day life itself should be the adventure.

Yesterday, the last day of the school holidays after our first term back at school in nearly twelve months we went adventuring. Sure there was also some shower scrubbing and washing to be done before we left but once I was out in amongst the trees and driving alongside a river nothing else seemed to matter. Not even the fact that it was a particularly wet and miserable winter’s day.

Life it is for living. 

Eighty Mile Beach

Even though it wasn’t a long drive from Barn Hill we decided that we would spend a couple of days at 80 Mile Beach. Eighty Mile Beach was on of those places that quiet a few people had said we must do. So do it we did.

It had been described as a beach unlike any other so we approached it with great anticipation. The description was incredibly apt. It was most certainly unlike any other beach we had ever seen before. However it was not necessarily filled with the beauty we expected from a title of unlike any other beach. That is not to say it was ugly either, it just wasn’t what we were expecting in any way.

The most disappointing factor was that the beach appeared to have a lot of similarities to a mud flat. The water was miles away from the shore line. It was at least a fifteen to twenty minute walk from hitting the sand to getting our toes wet. Which would have been a lot more enjoyable if the last half hadn't have been through a muddy slop that at times saw you sink up to your knees if you landed your foot too hard in the wrong place.

Of course it is fair to say that this is only the low tide experience of 80 Mile Beach. Sadly for us we managed to miss going down on the beach at high tide.

The real highlight of 80 Mile Beach though are the shells. 

Oh me, oh my. 

Never before have I seen anything like and it is certainly why it had been described as a must see place. There were so many shells in some places that it was physically impossible to walk without standing on them. I was tiptoeing around trying to make my footprint as small as possible because the crushing of the shells under my foot made me want to cry.

It was hard not to walk down there with a bucket or ten and bring bucket loads of shells back. Mr A made it quite clear that this was not an option. His reasoning was that it was impossible for us to carry them all around the country side. Which was a very valid point however the fact that if everyone did that there wouldn’t be any left for the next person to look at sat a lot better in my brain. Much to the girls disappointment I might add.

After spending the morning exploring the mudflats, beach and shells we headed back to camp for lunch and some quiet time. The girls played and read while Mr A studied his eyelids and I caught up on some more blog posts.

The afternoon saw us spend some more time exploring the beach area and watching the wanna be fisherman. There are a large number of people trying to catch fish but from what we saw very few were successful.

The caravan park that we stayed at was nice enough, but after the cheap prices at Barn Hill felt very expensive. The sites were all very close together and even though it was off peak season the park was relatively full. I don’t think that I would like to be there in peak season. It did have a mini mart on site though which meant we were able to restock with fresh milk and ice, which was nice.

I am glad that we stopped in and had a look but I don't think Eighty Mile Beach will make to the list of places we will go out of our way to see again.

Joining Malinda for Wanderlust

Goodbye Barn Hill

Leaving Barn Hill this morning almost felt like leaving home again. After staying for nine nights it is the longest time we have spent in one place in our nine weeks on the road.

Before we departed though we managed to squeeze in a quick final walk along the beach. As I was heading down the stairs I was met by a young boy and his father. In his hand was a bowl filled with some squid like creatures. When I looked again I realised that the bowl just happened to be exactly like the ones I managed to wash away the other day!

I couldn’t help but ask as to whether they found the bowl or if it was theirs, explaining what had happened the other day. As it turned out they had found it right down the other end of the beach as to where I lost it. I couldn’t believe that it had come ashore, albeit looking a little worse for wear.

As I walked off giggling to myself about it all, wishing I had of done a message in a bottle thing the dad called out and asked if I wanted my bowl back. To which I happily declined.

It is hard to believe that it has really been nine weeks since we waved Darwin goodbye but apparently it has been. Which means we only have another nine weeks of pay left. An incredibly daunting thought indeed. I have thought on more than one occasion now how our savings is just not quite enough to cut it. Oh how I hope I am wrong. Though at the same time what will be will be and no matter what we will find a way to get by. 

Still the fact that the pay runs out at around the same time as Christmas approaches is not exactly the best way for things to pan out.

Today sees us heading a little further down the coast. About two hundred kilometres. Our destination is 80 Mile Beach. From what we have heard and researched the park is going to cost around fifty dollars a night so we will probably only stay two nights. Which is kind of a pain when the setting up and packing away are taken into account but it will have to be pretty special to make spending more money worth it.

As I type we are still about 100 kilometres away. I love that Mr Awesome drives as it is a great opportunity for me to catch up on the journal entries. Not surprisingly I am still days behind. Hopefully soon though I won’t be so many days.

Final day in Barn Hill paradise

Our last full day at Barn Hill. I have really enjoyed being here. It has been nice to be in the one spot for so long. Though I think the girls have found it a bit boring at times. Mind you this has encouraged them to read more and try a little more school work. There are still rather large battles when it comes to doing school stuff but I remain confident that this too shall eventually pass.

Making the most of our last day we headed down to the beach not too long after breakfast. The sun yesterday was particularly harsh so we wanted to make sure we were home before things heated up too much. As it turned out, it wasn’t as hot though by about eleven the winds were starting to pick so we headed home in time for lunch.

I had told Zany that lunch was going to be a salad with some of the new leaves that we acquired the day before from Pam and Bill only I realised if we had them for lunch there wouldn’t be anything for dinner. Much to Zany’s disappointment lunch became toasted jaffle wraps and the salad postponed till dinner.

The rest of the day was pretty much a nothing kind of day. Well a reading nothing kind of day. Which is always a bit nice. Since our trip into town on Thursday where we purchased a few new books the girls have happily been devouring all the words on the pages. Something that makes my heart swell no end.

Having read the final book in the Hunger Games series when we first arrived here I am now without anything to read myself. Well there are a few Les Norton books that Mr Awesome loves laying around but they just don’t really take my fancy yet. Plus I have plenty of crocheting to keep my occupied. 

Mind you I mentioned to one of our neighbours, Marj, that I was out of books to read and shortly after she brought me over two she thought I might be interested in. The friendliness of those on the road constantly amazes me. Everywhere we go we seem to just come across the most loveliest of people.

Back to Broome.

The day got off to a rather unusual start as when we awoke we were greeted with bit of foggy mist. Having had limited experience with such weather phenomena I am not sure whether to call it fog or mist. 

Either way it was kinda cool not being able to see more than ten feet in front of ourselves. 

Sadly though it didn’t hang around for too long. Which was probably actually a bit of a blessing because we had an early start on the road today.

Originally we had only planned to stay here at Barn Hill for a week. We had enough food to stay a week here, two nights at 80 Mile Beach and then two more at a free camp on the way to Port Hedland. Only we like it so much we just don’t want to leave.

As we watched some other residents head into Broome yesterday to restock their supplies we realised there was no reason why we couldn’t do the same which would then enable us to stay here a bit longer.

So today that is exactly what we did. Headed back to Broome for a bit of shopping and some lunch. 

A day or two before we left last time we came across a particularly awesome butcher. His meat was all organic grass fed and came cryovacced which meant it lasted for a month. It is also very reasonably priced. Unfortunately for us we discovered his awesomeness right after we had filled up the fridge so we were limited on how much we could get. 

Of course that fridge is now relatively empty and I am just a bit excited to be able to fill it up with just good meat. I am also a bit excited about having lunch at Matso Brewery. When we were staying in Broome I ran past it a few times and thought how nice it would be to actually go there but for whatever reason we never made it.

Matso’s did not disappoint and their food was as good as their beer and cider. I was particularly proud of myself because the caesar salad with prawns I ordered was brought out without any prawns and I spoke up about it. There was a time when I would have just let it slide because I don’t like to cause a fuss but I really wanted prawns. They were mighty tasty so I am super glad I spoke up.

Of course I did momentarily beat myself up about it all because the waitress told me what a bad day she was having. And while she might not have said I made it worse I naturally took it as being implied. In between beating myself up about adding to her woes I wondered what it was that actually lead me to such thought processes. Such complex beings we humans are.

Joining in with

Yet another day in paradise

Today was not unlike yesterday. Lots of relaxing and just being with each other. Mr Awesome decided he wanted to try his hand at fishing. Primarily because one of the old locals gave him some bait and told him how to find his ‘secret’ location.

Personally I am only a fan of fishing if there is a guarantee that fish will be caught. I couldn’t see that this was a guaranteed situation so Lovely and I decided to hang back at camp for awhile. Mr A and the two little ones headed off to the furthest end of the beach they could find.

I probably used my relatively unattended time wisely and did something like crochet or read. While Lovely did some reading of her own or perhaps colouring in. It is a little hard to recall the finer details of it all because I am actually typing this up some hundred and seventy days after it actually occurred. #keepingitreal

Before too long Lovely was complaining of starvation which led me to think the others would be doing the same. In a bid to enter the mother and wife of the year I decided to prepare some food and take it down to the hunters. Lovely decided that packet pasta was the preferred dining option for all so we set about whipping some up.

While some might have found it a little strange to head to the beach with a saucepan of pasta to me it seemed perfectly reasonable. In fact I thought the others would be all kinds of excited to have a pasta picnic on the sand. Well apart from Zany who is not really a fan but I had a few tins of tuna and corn to tide her over.

As suspected the hunger pains had begun to ravish the other two so we were more than welcomed with our meagre offerings of food. As was also suspected no fish had yet been caught. A fun time had been had by all though so little else really mattered.

Lovely in the open topped rock cave

Once every one had finished eating I had the brilliant idea to wash the bowls in the rather roughish surf. Unfortunately I didn’t have the brilliant idea to hold onto the bowls tightly while I washed them in the rather roughish surf and not one but two bowls were ripped out of my fingertips and washed out to sea.

With the dishes taken care of I set about exploring some of the rocks with the girls. There was one particular area where the rocks formed a little open top cave. Lovely thought this was a prime place to try her modelling. There is no denying that the girl is incredibly photogenic.

All the photo taking on a secluded beach made me think of my mate Coombsey and his Naked Tuesday Page. Even though it wasn’t technically a Tuesday I decided to get my gear of and snap a couple of shots to share. Combsey has been diagnosed with terminal cancer but rather than just roll over and give up the ghost he is determined to get out there and make the rest of his life, the best of his life. I motto which I find rather inspiring and try to abide by as much as possible as well.

A photo posted by @aparentinglife on Sep 22, 2014 at 4:37pm PDT

The waves and the wind turned out to be far to rough for fish catching so Mr A packed up and headed home with us all in tow. Weary from a day on the sand and in the sun but full of love and happiness.

It's Tuesday and while I haven't got my gear off I have managed to sort a blog post, which is my other favourite past time for Tuesdays as it means I get to join in with Essentially Jess for IBOT

Still hanging at Barn Hill. Day 59 (Sept 16)

Today I took the opportunity today to finish reading the Hunger Games series. Still amazed that I had written it off when the rest of the world was raving about it.

While I submersed myself in my book the girls happily entertained themselves. Though by the afternoon they started to require my attention.

I loved how Lovely was so insistent on being the one
to run beside her.

Since I had not really done a lot of moving over the last few days I decided it was the perfect time to work on teaching Teapot how to ride her bike without training wheels. There was plenty of flat open ground and not a lot of people around so it seemed like the perfect opportunity.

She has such a great sense of balance and can ride a scooter incredibly well I figured it would not take much to get her biking riding. It was more about building her confidence up to try than anything else.

After a bit of convincing to just have a go she was away and before long the big sisters were in on the act of helping her get started and she was cycling like a professional.

Once the novelty of cycling wore off, or rather we got sick of helping her get started we headed down to the beach to explore in the other direction. So far most of our waking had involved walking to our left. Today we headed to our right. 

It was much like the left only completely different as well.

The rocks didn’t seem to be as red and the distance the water came up seemed to differ as well. We did however find some lovely spots to take a few selfies!

As is so often the case, the walk home so every one else out in front while I toddled on behind, snapping away at all kinds of things that took my fancy.

Including this,

Father and daughter skipping along the water's edge together

which could very well be one of my most favourite photos ever. 

Though this one also rates rather high on the list.

The perfect end to another fabulous day in paradise.

There's something I need to say

I came across this little flower today
when I stopped to watch some waves for
a bit. I love how something that is
essentially a weed still has such a
beauty to it. 

For those avidly following on my adventure tales this one might seem a out of place. Given that when last I wrote it was only day 58 and all. I promise I will get to sharing it all, just for today I wanted to share the moment.

It is funny the things that one learns about oneself when travelling on the road. And not just oneself either. Much insight can be gained about those travelling with you as well. Though I guess those that are truly astute about their inner being and the people around them may become aware of such things without the need to spend two hundred and twenty eight days moving from one spot to another. 

Yes that’s right today marks the the two hundred and twenty eighth day since we packed up and hit the road. It makes my heart race at great pace to think we actually made it to leaving. In the lead up I did have my doubts. Mr Awesome and I are both well known for being gunnas. You know gunna do this and gunna do that but more often than not nothing actually eventuates. I feared that #ouradventureofalifetime was going to pan out that way. 

Beyond thankful doesn’t even begin to describe how I feel about the fact that those fears were unfounded. Waking up each day without a worry, care or concern in the world is an amazing feeling and for me it has taken this adventure to be able to do so. I had always thought of myself as a relatively stress free easy going type of soul. With the pressures and expectations of normal life removed I realise now I know what stress free living is all about. And let me tell you it is great, in fact it is better than great.

Mind you to say that I have loved and embraced every moment of the trip would not necessarily true. It has not always been rainbows and flowers. There have been days where the children have managed to reduce me to an endless flow of tears. As children a want to do I might add. However I don't think those times have been nearly as many as if we had of still been at home, doing the same thing that we have always done.

There have still been many a day where I have dreaded the onset of feeding hour. Which I do believe is worsened with all the fresh air and outside time our roadtripping lifestyle blesses us with. The continual rumbling tummies of children seem to have rumbled even more so. However a lack of choices combined with the increased rumbling has lead to emptier plates than ever before.

It saddens me to think that this lifestyle has to come to an end. Deep down I did always know that it would I just longed and hoped it would be so much later rather than sooner. As it turns out it is actually the other way.

According to our grand master plan we should still have another hundred and thirty seven days on the road. Sadly that will not be the case. 

It literally pains my heart to say that our journey will end in about twenty three days. Give or take a few. In so many ways it makes me feel like some type of failure. Which while deep down I know is ridiculous I still can’t help but feel it.

As always though, all is not lost.

For as much as #ouradventureofalifetime is temporarily being put on hold a new exciting chapter in our lives is getting ready to begin. You see when the end of the month arrives and our travelling days end we will not be pulling up stumps in sunny Darwin. Instead we are going to be in Bunbury, experiencing winter and all that comes with starting life a fresh in a new place. Which in so many ways is just a little exciting.

Coffee and creatures

Sadly we had to say goodbye to our wonderful company from yesterday. I think they may well have liked to have stuck around a bit longer but since they had to meet someone in Broome later this afternoon their hands were pretty much tied. Nonetheless the kids made the most of the time they did have and came over for one last play while mum and dad did the packing. 

We were then given cups of fresh hot pod coffee for our child entertainment efforts and I was even more distraught to see these lovely people bid us farewell. Decent coffee is really the only thing that I am longing for while on #ouadventureofalifetime.

As the day went on we took a walk along the beach and found a few little creatures along the way. Mainly of the insect variety. I do love how the girls are not adverse to playing with creepy crawlies. As much as they can be girly girls and get ridiculously excited about all things pink and Barbie, they are equally at home catching grasshoppers, ladybugs and whatever beetle happens to cross their path.

Thankfully one creature we didn’t encounter today was the little sandpiper that Zany was so certain she was rescuing from a life of solitude and despair.

Yesterday, while walking along the beach with another family, the eldest child of which she befriended the day before, she returned with a somewhat stunned sandpiper in hand. Adamant that the poor creature was in need of care and she was just the person to do so she began pleading for me to let her keep it as her new pet and create a home for it.

Instead I convinced her to put it under a tree with a bowl of water in case it was thirsty.

After an hour or so the bird began to look visibly stronger and began walking around a little more. Much to Zany’s disappointment I told her that it was now time to return the bird to the beach. Rather reluctantly she agreed and found a perfect little hideaway for it amongst some rocks. 

It was with great relief to discover it was no longer there today. The real highlight of the whole sandpiper incident though was learning that many sandpipers on the Western Australian coast migrate from places afar afield as Russia. I do love it when our learning is to visible and stimulated from things that interest the kids.

There had been some record high tides in the days leading up to our arrival which had meant that there were a few pools of water left higher up on the beach. Which naturally the girls delighted in laying in. Which would have not been a probably had they not been wearing lovely brand new white rash shirts. (Related who in their right mind would buy their children white rash shirts when you are living in the bush?)

While the children sat in the water I took the opportunity to try my photography skills out for a bit. I couldn’t help but be inspired by all the beauty around me. I also couldn’t help but continually be amazed at just how lucky we are to be out here doing things like this.

Birthday drinks and three course meals.

Not long after we arrived yesterday a little person seemed to appear out of no where. Which is not actually anything unusual. Children have a way of just appearing at our campsite.

As it turned out her name was Jemmina and she belonged to campsite about a forty meters or so away from ours. She was four and had been on the road for a couple of weeks longer than us and was super excited to seem some children near her age.

One of the things I have loved about the trip so far is the way that children just seem to be drawn to one another and friendships formed instantly. There is a real sense of making the most of the opportunity to play.

Before long Jemmina’s mum popped on over to say hi and check that all was ok. We instantly began chatting like old friends swapping tales of where were had been and where we were going. Naturally we were going in opposite directions. It feels like almost everyone we meet that I just seem to click with is going in the opposite direction to us.

Anyway it just so happened that today was Jemmina’s Dad’s birthday. He popped on over rather early this morning making a few jokes about drinking with Territorians as the ideal way to spend his special day. Since he was the birthday boy it seemed only right that we oblige.

All the campers gathering round to enjoy one of the best
roast I have ever had the pleasure of someone
serving me.

The first beer was cracked open shortly after ten, because that is when the pubs open so it is quite a justifiable time to start drinking. And while I realise it may sound terrible to say the last drink was had around ten hours later the drinks were consumed rather slowly and it was all about pace and endurance rather than how much could be drunk.

The best bit about the day, other than having made some rather cool new buddies, was that the campground hosted a roast dinner so there was no cooking to be done on my part. A grand total of $57 for the five of us to be fed a three course roast meal makes for one of the best take out options I have had for quite some time. Sadly we had to bring all our own plates and cutlery so there were still dishes that needed doing but I guess you can’t win them all.

Goodbye Broome. Hello Barn Hill

the road to Barn Hill Station Stay

Moving day. Blerh. I know I shouldn’t feel this way but it so much work packing it all up. Made even more frustrating by the girls refusal to just buckle down and do what needs to be done. Though in all fairness to Lovely she does a relatively good job at pulling her weight it is more so the little two that drive me to distraction.

It is hard balance deciding how much energy to exert getting them to do what you ask and just doing it yourself. Oh the joys of parenting hey?

Today we say goodbye for real to Broome and make our way to Barn Hill Station. Which is on the way to Eighty Mile Beach and is really only hour out of Broome but by all accounts a fantastic place to stay. I am a bit excited to be leaving civilisation if you will. As lovely as Broome is I am glad to not be anywhere near a town.

Barn Hill is a working cattle station. The outskirts of which adjoin a rather exquisite beach. As this part of the property is not the best for housing cattle the owners have made it available for camping. There are limited power sites and plenty of room on the edges of the stunning red cliffs. As there was minimal pricing difference between powered and non powered we decided to take the powered option. It also appeared as if the powered sites were slightly more shaded.

Camp Barn Hill

We were intending to stay for four nights so it made sense to unpack everything. That way we could live in comfort. Not too long after unpacking everything we knew that we would probably be staying for a little longer than four nights as we were so instantly in love with our surroundings. Oh and it was ridiculously cheap. Like $27 a night cheap, which after the $50 per night at most van parks felt like the bargain of all bargains.

Before long Zany and Teapot had befriended a few children that were already there and Mr Awesome and I were enjoying the tranquility and simplicity of life on the road. (Read as we were sitting in our chairs under the shade of a tree having a cold cider.)

This really is the life.

The access to and from the beach

Joining in with Malinda