Sunday, August 31

The Domes and Cathedral Gorge

Some of the dome rocks
After a wonderful day yesterday exploring Echidna Chasm today we planned to head to the other side of Purnululu National Park and check out Cathedral Gorge, Picanniny Creek and The Domes. 
I quite liked the idea of exploring Picanniny Gorge because the word picanniny reminds me of my dear old dad. After such a great day yesterday it seemed only natural that today would be as equally wonderful.

Of course what seems like being only natural and what actually occurs can often be to vastly different things. 

As was the case today.

Now before I goo too much further I must point out that as I type it is now the some twenty days after the event, so my recollection of events are a little faded. I do remember when we left camp in the morning I was what some might call a little grumpy. Others, might call it easily irritated or in a bad mood. 

More Domes
The morning had been one of constant bickering between everyone and I had just had enough. I was sick and tired of playing peace keeper for everyone and I was over listening to the ridiculous complaints that I was being bombarded with.

You know the ones, she looked at me the wrong way, the wind blew a leaf in my direction, I don’t want to drink my cereal milk, I don’t even want milk on my cereal. Blah, blah, blah.

Despite being determined not to let it get to me eventually it did.

Looking in to the back of the cathedral
The straw that broke the camel’s back, or rather snapped the mother’s mood, was when Lovely threw a little ball of sand in my direction. It crumbled near my shoulder and it subsequently led my own pathetic crumbling. 

I completely overreacted and blew my top. I then preceded to storm off towards the car, which naturally was quite a distance away. The tour group got an unexpected extra show that day.

After about fifteen minutes the two bigger girls had managed to catch up to me. It turns out that storming off over a rocky path through a gorge does not exactly make for a quick getaway.

Being the mature and sensible mother that I am, I continued to ignore their presence for a little longer. Though in my defence I was certain if I broke my silence I would have said words so unkind I would only have exasperated the situation only further.

At the back of the cathedral looking out
The silent treatment worked a treat though because the girls well and truly got the message that I had had more than enough. The rest of the day they managed to be as nice as pie to each other.

Interestingly enough it was about this time that I stopped regularly writing about our days. After some rather intense self loathing about it all though I have managed to come to terms with the fact that not every day will be a paradise. As much as we may be on holidays we are also still living our lives and kids will be kids.

Just like mum’s will be mum’s and occasionally lose the plot. Even when they are on an adventure of a lifetime.

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Snapshots of Us - Week 35

This week has seen us kicking back and enjoying the beauty and wonder that is Broome

 








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Saturday, August 30

Having a break from adventuring

As I type I am sitting all alone at a table in the Broome International Airport. I have approximately twenty eight minutes until I board a plane back to Darwin. While my mind is spinning out of control and my stomach doing somersaults my biggest dilema at this precise moment is whether or not I go to the bar and get another mango beer. 


Oh my mango beer is beyond awesome by the way. 


Mind you the question in not really as simple as whether I just get another beer or not. As I mentioned I am completely alone and unattended. Which means if I leave my table to go to the bar I have to either a) take all my stuff with me and by stuff I primarily mean laptop, b) leave it sitting on the table as the bar is within eyesight just about 10 meters away, or c) enlist the help of a stranger to watch my stuff and ensure no one runs off with it.

Though option C just became a bit trickier as most people in the air port just got up to board a flight.  

Oh the decisions in life.

In the end option A won. Since there was now a multitude of tables to choose from it also provided me with the opportunity to move away from a table that was right underneath the TV and front and centre of the room. I am tense enough as it is without feeling as if everyone is staring at me when they are actually just trying to catch a glimpse of the footy scores on the big screen.

Going home does not really excite me in any shape or form. I did contemplate not going at all but sensibilities kicked in. I need to find out what is happening with my silly clot and I would much rather do that with the doctors I already know rather than start the entire journey again.

On the upside it will be nice to not have to tend to anyone’s needs but my own. I did go to type not worry about anyone but myself but truth be told I will be doing nothing but worrying about Mr Awesome and the girls. 

He is going to take them to a little beachside camp spot about 50km north of Broome. Chances are there will be no coverage so I won’t be able to check in daily with them. You know to make sure that they arrived ok and then haven’t been attacked by wildlife or something crazy.

Poor little Zany is a bit beside herself about it all as well. Poor little mite doesn’t cope well with people she loves leaving. I had forgotten just how worked up she got until it got close to my departure time.

To make it all a bit easier for everyone I decided that it would be best to just dump me in the drop off zone. Not being completely at ease about it all myself the last thing I needed was to see the kids breaking down.

Sigh.


Have I mentioned how great mango beer is?
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Friday, August 29

Things I Know that are making me go FFS

Taking a break from my recounts of #ouradventureofalifetime to share a few things I know that are making me go FFS at the moment.

Like rubbish bin trucks that go through caravan parks before for the crack of dawn - FFS.

Given that caravan parks are generally a place people on holidays go and all shouldn't they be a bit later on in the day when it comes to noisy rubbish removal? Not all residents are oldies that wake up with the birds you know.

Our current home looks remote and isolated
but remember lookscan be deceiving.
I know that the noise level of my current neighbours are well and truly doing my head in. Damo across the road sat up boozing with his mate till nearly 11pm the other night FFS. And the two old guys either side of us have taken to returning home from fishing at around nine. Their great big 4WD vehicles do not exactly quietly purr you know. Don't this people know the rubbish truck will be round in the morning? FFS

Yes that's right I am complaining about noise keeping me awake at ridiculously early times because suddenly my night owl tendencies have disappeared and come eight o'clock it is starting to feel way past my bed time FFS.

Which of course leaves little to no time to write or blog or do anything without children hanging off me because eight o'clock is only just after their bed time FFS.

Though my caravan park woes will temporarily be put on hold tonight as I am flying home for my six month check up on my blood clot. This is a combined FFS but not FFS.

I can feel all kinds of ridiculous anxieties building up about the whole thing FFS

Mind you I don't have to cook dinner for the ever hungry children. No FFS. Mind you the fact that they ALWAYS seem to be telling me they are hungry, even five minutes after they have just stuffed their face, is a total FFS. Apparently all this fresh air and sunshine has given them hollow legs FFS.

I know that given all the awesome I have been experiencing of late I should let a few little things make me go FFS but I just can't help it. It probably has to do with the fact that stupid Aunty Flow stopped in for a visit the other day. The same day we headed to the beach actually. FFS. Probably far too much information but I am not a fan of tampons in any shape or form but especially not super sized ones on the first day of a ridiculously heavy flow (thank you very much blood thinners) Beyond FFS.

Oh and while I am bitching and carrying on crap internet connections drive me batty FFS. No internet connection in the middle of no where I can deal with. A crap connection in a largish town is not cool at all FFS.

I know that I have probably stamped my feet and carried on enough for one day now. I feel slightly better for it as well so thanks for listening. Mind you the fact that when I get off here I have to go and tackle the washing and sort out Edna ready for moving day tomorrow makes me what to get back into  screaming FFS.

Sigh.

Joining in with Ann for TIK and Sarah for FFS
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Thursday, August 28

Echidna Chasm - Purnululu National Park

Despite it not being a moving day today Mr Awesome was still awake bright and early and requesting us all to join him. I was again (as I am every morning) enticed out with the smell of coffee.

Actually that is not quite true it is the sound of Billy whistling that prompts me to clamber out. Though I guess having a whistle to signal being boiled means Billy is actually rather a kettle than a billy but whatever, Billy is what he is called.

The entrance to Echidna Chasm
The girls were drawn out by the excitement of heading to Echidna Chasm. Which is where we were planning to explore today. Essentially Echidna Chasm is walking between two big rock walls. Which at times can be a bit of a tight squeeze. Echidna Chasm began forming some 360 million years ago through erosion of a fault in the limestone rocks.

We have seen a few photos of the area and they were all nothing short of spectacular. Sadly I don’t have any spectacular photos of my own to share with you because I forgot to change the exposure settings on my camera. Live and learn though.

Mr Awesome managed to take a few ok shots from his iPhone which is better than nothing. It is also testament to the awesomeness of the iPhone. It was also a vast reminder of how there is so much about my flash fang dangled camera I still don’t know. Despite proudly owning it for some six years now.


Looking up through the chasm



Despite the lack of photographic evidence Echidna Chasm was a truly amazing place to see. The wonder in the girls faces as they took in the wonders of the rock walls was also pretty amazing and provided confirmation once more that this trip was a great idea.

While most people seemed to just walk through get to the end and turn around to head home we hung about inside for a lot longer. The girls delighted in echoing their voices while we chatted to a few oldies that passed through. 
Where we stopped to have a bite to eat.

At one point just before the end there is a rather large space with some bench seats. We decided to sit and have some lunch here and marvel at how little time so many others had to spend there.

When we returned to camp that afternoon we were all a little worn out from our morning’s adventure, which meant it was a bit of free time all round. I used my free time to catch up on some reading. Hunger Games Catching Fire can now be added to my have read list. 

Yes a bit late to the party I know but better than never right? I must say that I was more than a bit surprised at how much I enjoyed reading it after being less than impressed with the movie version. I have books two and three with us as well but since the rest of the world ceases to exist when I read I am not sure when I will actually get around to reading them.


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Wednesday, August 27

Day 20

This morning we woke up not too far from the edge of a creek. Spring Creek to be exact. Situated on the edge of Purnululu National Park.


The sound of birds singing as the sun began her daily rise was almost welcoming on yet another moving day. A moving day that saw us break our we will never stop for jut one night. The downside to the free camping sites is that they are generally only for twenty four hours.

Actually the other downside to this one was having to listen to a rather loud and annoying man boast about all his achievements to the campers who had gathered round his impressive fire. Though I guess the risk of such people runs everywhere.

We arrived here early yesterday afternoon, the idea being to give us a bright and early start on the long windy dirt road that leads to the Bungle Bungles. Technically we could have done it all in one day but I would much rather set up camp in the middle of the day than on dusk. After all it is not like we are on a tight schedule or rushing anywhere.

The other advantage to arriving early is that it increases the chances of being able to score a better site. From about two o’clock onwards places just seem to fill on up. By arriving with lots of time to kill we were also able to let the girls have a swim in the creek. Which worked out well because it doubled up as a bath.

We had been warned in Kununurra that the road into The Bungles was a bit on the rough side and not great for those prone to car sickness. Which made us a little weary because Zany does on occasion get a little green around the gills.

As it turned out the road was a little how you going but not nearly as bad as what we were expecting. Which was nice. Zany did feel a little unwell but nothing too severe so all was good.

Well apart from the fact when we got to the main entrance gate we discovered we were meant to book in online before arriving. Thankfully the first ten kilometres of the road in had phone coverage so we were able to sort it all out. Though the website in question was not exactly one of the most user friendly ones that I have encountered.

There were two campgrounds to choose from. One was only half the size of the first and had a generator area so that was where we decided to go. We have already learnt that generator friendly sites generally have fewer people.

As we drove around the campground we wondered if we had made the right choice. There didn’t seem to be a whole lot of shade available and all the good sites seemed to already be spoken for. Eventually however we made a decision and what looked like the best of a bad bunch actually turned out to be a fantastic spot.


The hardest factor in site choosing is working out how the shade will travel through out the day. This particular site was pretty much shaded all day long which is a kin to winning the lottery.
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Tuesday, August 26

Another moving day.

It is hard not to feel cranky on moving days. They are after all part and parcel of being on the road and living the gypsy life.

Moving days all start the same.

Mr Awesome wakes up bright and early and tries his best to encourage everyone else to leave the warmth and comfort of their bed. For me he does this by putting Billy on and making coffee. Which generally works a treat. For the girls it is a little trickier and involves repeatedly asking them to get up and get breakfast. Eventually as the tone in his voice gets less friendlier they relent and drag themselves out.

From there it is all go go.

Everyone has their own jobs and while they should just get on with them they often need a bit of pushing.I look forward to the point in time when they will just do it. I am sure eventually it will come.

As you can imagine leaving this won't be easy

Today we say not only good bye to Kununurra for the final time but also our lovely neighbours.

Bev and Brian arrived at the van park about fifteen minutes after us. Their mates Wyn and Kev about half hour later. They way we all set our areas up an outsider would have assumed that we all knew each other. Our living areas seemed to all face each other and connect up to one big space.

Honestly by the time we left it felt like we had known them forever or at least close to it. They both gave us their addresses so when we are in there neck of the woods we can catch up again. 

I wish that I had of asked to take their photo. I had the opportunity when they asked for ours but yet I just couldn’t find the words. I guess because if I had their photo I would want to share it on the blog and then I would have had to ask them if that was ok. Which in turn would have led to me giving them the address which given they were ex school teachers I just didn’t feel confident about.

My writing confidence has taken a terrible dive of late. I had expected this trip to present me with all kinds of inspirational things to share. Sadly that has not been the case. 


By the time dinner is done and children are in bed it is too cold and I am too tired to think of anything coherent to say. I guess there is still time and with that hope.
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Monday, August 25

Playing some catch up

Now I know this is my blog and therefore by rights I can write whatever I feel like without rhyme or reason. However every now and then I feel the need to offer a little explanation as to why I am sharing what I do.

As a regular reader you would be well aware of the whole #ouradventureofalifetime thing. As a newbie you may very be wondering why over the next few days I am sharing what seems like rather boring and mundane journal entries.


When I embarked on #ouradventureofalifetime I promised myself I would write about it each and every day. And by write about it I mean share here. The two are pretty much one and the same in my book at the moment.

As with most things that I think of doing rarely does it turn out that way. Which is why I am playing catch up with my journal. Some days I am so busy living in the moment I just can't find the energy to write about it. Being on holidays and having fun is hard work you know.

Anyways, the further behind I get with the journal the less inclined I am to keep it up. Which may not make me sad today, tomorrow or even next week, but I know it will in months to come. So over the next few days I am playing catch up.

The down side to playing catch up of course is that is a little harder to recall what was actually going on so it is not as detailed as if you were caught up. You can't win them all though so I am just going with the whole something is better than nothing at the moment.

So with out any further ado here is what was going on a few weeks ago.

Aug 5
Today was totally a day of unmemorable events. We did super fun things like did a massive shop of for supplies. Lovely and I checked out the local Target Country store. Found a bargain shop and grabbed a bargain or two.

Again for super exciting things like soap dishes and pegs. Plus a few other things that we had thought we didn't need but actually do.

We even have managed some various school things. Lovely decided she wanted to know more about cane toads and researched them for a bit. This desire to independently learn something thrilled me no end.

Aug 6
Why yes Lovely is a little wet here.
She decided to see what it was like in
the water rather than on top of it 
After much thought today will be our last day in Kununurra. While we are really enjoying it here it is not something that we can feasibly sustain over the long term.  A powered site at the van park is just under $50 a night which means it won’t really take long to gobble through our funds. Thankfully though Western Australia has lots of free camping sites scattered along the roads so we will be able to take advantage of them.

Just between you and me though I think the real reason we decided to stay for another night here was to have another chance at using the inflatable boats. We had so much fun the other day on them that while they were up and we were near water it seemed only right to take them out again.

Naturally though not as much fun was had the second time round. Which didn’t really surprise me, in fat I was almost expecting as much but I persevered in getting us out there anyway.

For whatever reason Mr Awesome elected to stay on shore. This meant that Lovely and Zany had the canoe and I took Teapot in the boat. The boat which I must admit I struggle to manoeuvre in anything other than circles. Which is perhaps why less than fun times were had.

It wasn’t long before the girls had had enough and joined Mr A on the banks kicking back watching the world pass them by. I on the other hand jumped in the canoe and paddled myself around for a bit longer. All the while imaging that I was powering through the water like some elite athlete.



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Sunday, August 24

Snapshots of Us - Weeks 32 to 34

It may only have been two weeks between Snapshot posts but being on the road has provided plenty of opportunity to snap away. Since there are so many photos today I will let the pictures do the talking and limit my words.

Hopefully I will have a few more tales written up and ready to share over the coming week.

Lovely at Osmond Lookout, Purnululu National Park
 Lovely at Cathedral Domes, Purnululu National Park

 Lovely at the top of Wolf Creek Crater

 Zany at the top of Wolf Creek Crater

 Teapot at the top of Wolf Creek Crater

Freezing at Mary Ponds

Lovely also found it a tad on the chilly side.

Sisters outside Tunnel Creek

Mr Awesome loving life to the max

Mr Awesome teaching Teapot about duck face selfies

Purnululu National Park

Behind bars in the Old Derby Gaol

A family duck face selfie

Picnic lunch at Windjana Gorge

Lovely seeing how close she can get to a croc.
Don't worry though it is only a freshie.

Teapot on the beach in Broome






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Tuesday, August 19

I know I shouldn't really complain...

But I really, really want to.

And what's worse I am not even sure I know exactly what it is I want to complain about. I just feel this ridiculous urge to complain. Talks about taking first world problems to the extreme.

When I started this post this morning, some twelve hours ago I might add, I think I was going to complain about my desire for a decent cup of coffee. It is the one thing about #ouradventureofalifetime that I am not loving. Crap coffee.


What my coffee once looked like
To start with it wasn't too bad or noticeable. Possibly because the excitement of the trip actually happening swept me away and I failed to notice I was suddenly sipping on an instant blend rather than my usual frothy capsule goodness. The fact that my coffee has been made by Mr Awesome and patiently waiting for me to arise each and every morning may also have had something to do with.

Seriously having your coffee presented to you as you step out of bed is all kinds of amazing awesome.

This morning however Mr A was not up to his normal quick kettle boiling. Behold the horror as for the first time in nearly a month I faced the prospect of preparing my own hot morning beverage!

Today had been deemed a slow day. One that was so slow there was no rush to get out of bed. Rather than join the birds in watching the sunrise we were allowed to linger under the covers till nearly quarter to eight. Yes that's right I currently live in a world where sleeping in means still being in bed at seven o'clock.

As lovely as it was not being coerced out of bed I was most certainly not a fan of having to put the kettle on myself. Apparently Mr Awesome felt a little under the weather. Now please excuse my lack of sympathy because his little under the weather feeling was completely self induced and involved three ciders and two glasses of red.

All of this tragedy was only amplified when it suddenly occurred to me the reason why my coffee tasted a little off yesterday was because it was Nescafe.

Oh the horror.

I had handled the whole instant coffee thing up until now because it was Robert Timms and he does not do a bad brew. Not a great brew mind you but not bad either.

Sadly we were running low and the middle of nowhere shop that we went to didn't have a lot on offer. In fact it was pretty much a case of Nescafe or International Roast. Yep. Fun times right there.

Picking the lesser of the two evils, or rather the one that did not remind me of my dead father, I went with Nescafe. Apparently it is a choice I may well live to regret for quite a few cups of coffee.

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