Lesson learnt - don't judge a book by it's cover. Visiting Wyndham

Since we never made it to Wyndham after returning from the Gibb River Road we decided to head out that way today. Given it is only a hundred or so kilometres out of Kununurra we thought it would make a nice little day trip.

Having only shopped for the bare essentials the day before and not really feeling in the mood for packing a picnic we decided that we would treat the girls to lunch while we were out. In theory this seemed like a totally winning plan.

Deep down though I can't help but suppress thoughts that think I knew it was destined to be a less than pleasurable experience. Which was a shame because there was such a big part of me that really really wanted to go there. Why I wanted to go there I just don't know I just know I did.

I think I can vaguely recall my dad worked there for a while. Many, many, many moons ago of course. Regardless of this though as the oldest town in the area Wyndham deserved to be on the visited list.

Mind you I wasn't aware of the oldest town fact until I started to prepare this post. Which is pretty much a running theme in regards to Wyndham. All the good bits were told to me after I had left. 

Things like the pub made an awesome meat pie for lunch. Or that the cafe wasn't as expensive as I thought it looked it was. And that the museum had some interesting things to look at. Though all deceived the pictures that were before my eyes.

As we reached Wyndham it was hard not to feel like we were approaching a ghost town. A point Zany kept making over and over again. As if she was expecting Scooby Doo and the gang to jump out at any given moment. I couldn't help but notice an alarming amount of cemeteries for a seemingly small town. 

Though I guess given it’s age it is only to be expected. Wyndham was founded in 1886

 Three of the cemeteries we drove past while checking out Wyndham

Apparently at one time Wyndham was known for it's crocodiles. Which coming from the Territory made me giggle. The NT is all about croc country.

How could we resist a croc shot? 

Being rather skeptical as to what there was on offer in the way of cafe’s we did a slow drive down the main street. The one place that took our fancy just happened to be closed on Mondays. Naturally.

Zany’s continual repetition of the ghost town statement started to wear thin and everyone’s patience vanished into thin air. Then Teapot decided it was time to go to sleep and even if we wanted to getting out the car was no longer an option. 

Forgetting I had not yet done a proper shop I just assumed there would be something in the car that would suffice for a make do lunch. Just for the record a couple of muesli bars does not cut it even as a make do lunch.

As the bad moods started to rise we promptly hot tailed it out of there and began to head home. Stopping only to check out the Boab Prision Tree. Sadly for us though getting to the tree involved a thirty kilometre drive down a dirt road which at time was rather bouncy. 

Until we were well on our way didn't realise just how far thirty kilometres on a bouncy dirt road actually was. Having said that though, driving alongside the King River was rather pretty at times and we got to see a few cool birds flying around.

The Wyndham Boab Prison tree in all her glory

And to give a bit of perspective on the size..

Thankfully though the tree didn’t disappoint. Used as a holding cell for prisoners (mainly Aboriginals) that were awaiting transportation it is a truly amazing tree. Police officers in the 1890’s noticed the hollow branches and realised that meant the huge trunk would also be hollow. They cut a hole in it and transformed it into a holding cell.

A closer view of the door the prisoners went
through to be put inside the tree

A little way down the road from the Prison Tree was a small rock with some rock art on it. Despite our growling stomaches we stopped in to check it out. Because looking at rock at is all educational and beneficial for the girls and stuff.

While these are some of the best rock art photos I have in terms of quality of the image they are not necessarily some of the best rock art I have seen. These paintings just didn't feel as old or as magical as some of the others I have been fortunate enough to see over the years.

The caves in the rock wall were incredibly interesting and I couldn’t help but imagine what it would have been like to live among them. 

By this stage it was early afternoon and we were all beside ourselves with hunger. I took my mind off it by applying a healthy dose of mother guilt for not being more organised and having more food with us.

When we eventually returned to Kununurra it was just after two o’clock. We found a rather dodgy looking takeaway shop and went in to see what was available. 

Lovely decided that a BLT would fill her fancy and I decided that would hit the stop for us all. The little old lady behind the counter though had other ideas and informed me that she had just turned off the grill. So instead it was ham and salad sandwiches all round.

As I begrudgingly munched away I couldn't but notice how I was still eating in a very similar place to the one I had turned my nose up to hours ago.

On being disconnected

One of the things that I have liked most about #ouradventureofalifetime so far is the way it has made us so disconnected from the world at large. Though I must admit that this comes as no surprise to me. As even before we left it was something that I looked forward to.

For a while I worried about what this meant. Why did I desire so badly to be disconnected?

As a blogger, sharer and communicator a desire to be disconnected is probably not what you would expect from me. You know since I regularly try and get people to connect with my words and all...

I started to think that perhaps there was something wrong with me. Humans are not meant to want to be isolated and alone. We are community driven beings rather than islands. Apparently.

Today was a stark reminder as to why being disconnected was so appealing.

When you are disconnected you don't know about war torn countries or people displaced, pressured and murdered because of their religion or planes that crash or people that desperately wanted to be parents only to then abandoned the child they had paid for.

Or famous people that filled the world with laughter and then took their own life.

Being in a time zone that is hours behind most other places the news of this tragic event had filled my Facebook news feed before I had finished my morning coffee. It didn't seem real, though of course I knew it was. There were too many posts for it to be misinformation.

Our day had already been planned so before long we were on the the road and quickly out of mobile and internet range. With the excitement of a new road to drive on and places to discover this heartbreaking news soon left my mind.

No more thought paid to it until we returned. The beauty of being disconnected.

By the time my fellow bloggers had all found their voice and my newsfeed now filled with tales of depression and the need to break the taboo that surrounds this ghastly disease. A disease that no one, rich, famous, happy, poor or anything else in between is immune from.

It makes me sad to think there are so many unhappy and troubled people in the world. So many beings unable to live to their potential and crippled by a disease that so largely goes unseen. Somewhere along the line today I read that some three thousand people will take their life today.

As crowded as the world may be it does not need to lose that many people in that manner. In fact no one anywhere should lose someone in that manner.

When we were in Kununurra the other week the Black Dog Riders dropped in to stay the night. These guys do an amazing job at trying to create awareness of depression and suicide. I love that this is a project by men and primarily for men. You see I worry more about men's depression than women's.

Just about everyone everywhere talks about women and depression. And rightly so because it is a burning issue. But that does not mean men do not suffer either.

Back to Kununurra we go

Today we farewell the magnificent Cockburn Ranges. Watching them change colour throughout the day was more entertaining than words can describe. I guess it is one of those in the moments things. 

I will be sad to be leaving such a beautiful place but the comfort of knowing there is more beauty awaiting to be discovered spurs me on. Well that and the fact we have all but run out of food. 

Ok that is a slight exaggeration. 

We have run out of fresh fruit and aside from a few potatoes and far too many carrots we have no fresh veggies either. Neither of which makes the children overly sad of course. Until they realise the only options left are rice and tinned tuna.

At one point we had planned to head to Wyndham today but after chatting to a few other travellers we doubt there will be a shop big enough for us to get supplies. The new plan is to go back to Kununurra and restock from there.

This time we are going to live on the dangerous side of life and try a new caravan park. Before we left Mr Awesome signed us up with a range of membership clubs for caravan parks so we decided to give one of them a try. Why we never thought of this a week ago is beyond me.

There was only one van park in town that we could find that was affiliated with any of our membership things so there was no need for us to make a decision.

This view was about all of ten meters away
from Edna's kitchen window

Our new home was situated on the banks of Lake Kununurra and I once again found myself totally in love. While even after discounts it may have worked out to have cost us a couple of extra dollars than Kimberlyland it was all kinds of awesome and well worth the extra pennies. There was a concrete slab for our chairs and awning which pretty much equated to luxury.

Initially I was fearing the return to civilisation and all that I thought it would bring. The difference to Lovely without mobile and internet coverage is just beyond amazing. She is like a whole new person. Actually she is like the girl I lost a year or so ago when she began to be connected.

Surprisingly, so far and touch wood, she has not returned to her old I-must-stare-at-my-screen-at-all-time ways once the internet came back. Sure there have been a few moments when she was staring at her screen rather than doing as she had been asked but all things considered there was not much I could really complain about.

Being able to paddle out amongst this was kinda cool

I am still totally loving where we are currently staying. It is quite and relaxing, yet full of everything that we could ask for. Well apart from channel 7 reception so Mr A could watch the footy. The Commonwealth games are on though so he could at least watch some kind of sport. Though the netball over the mens hockey grand final did not exactly please him.

This really is the life

This will be our last night at Home Valley Station. I can’t begin to explain how much I have loved being here. Even though the homestead is only 5 kilometres or so away it feels incredibly remote and isolated here. I guess the incredibly bumpy and dusty road between the campsite and homestead has something to do with it. Especially since on that road there is a lot cattle to be passed.

Sadly this fella refused to turn around for his photo.

Today was pretty much a nothing day. Which only adds to the awesomeness of it all.

Mr Awesome went down to the riverbank to try his luck with the rod and reel. Apparently he has used his luck up in that department and there was no fish for dinner. He did however snap some shots of a few birds.

These tough guys just sat there all morning watching the world go by

These little finches came right up to our feet almost

My day was slightly more productive in that I hung out the washing from the day before and tried my hand at making some bread in the camp oven. 

While it may look edible,
remember that looks can be deceiving

Though really if the truth were told the bread making was just as unsuccessful as Mr Awesome’s fishing. I like to think I was at least a little successful in capturing some of the beauty in the scenery as the sun went down.

The girls spent the day creating Minecraft worlds and just being gorgeous. I know that we are meant to be disconnecting from our screens but there was something really lovely about them interacting in the way they were. I guess anything that involves not arguing is lovely though.

Having said that I must admit that there has been not nearly as much arguing as what there was at home. Of course that is not to say there have been no arguments but they have certainly been on the lower end of the scale.

They also managed to squeeze in some bike riding and card playing. Possibly even some colouring in as well. I know that textas were strewn all over the floor for a while so I assumed that some colouring in or drawing had taken place at some time.

Happy ten year Anniversary to Mr Awesome and I!

And just between you and me I couldn’t think of a more lovelier place to celebrate it than alongside the the Pentecost River with the Cockburn Ranges as the back drop. Sure there will be no recommitment ceremony or party as I originally thought we would for this momentous occasion but it turns out I am more than ok with that.

This is day two at Home Valley Station and I am just loving it. This is exactly what I signed up for.

 In a bid to escape the crowds we elected to stay at the riverside campsite and in the generators allowed section. We are already working out that old Jenny is not necessarily appreciated by many so we figured that fewer people will be found where they are permitted. 

This meant we pretty much had the entire section to ourselves while up to ten other groups crammed in together on the other side. Totally winning.

As much as we had decided to be as far away as possible from the main homestead today being such a special day and all we figured it would be a good excuse to hang by the pool and go to dinner at the restaurant. It also provided me with the opportunity to catch up with some much over due washing.

Being the tropical kind of people that we are though and the weather being a good five degrees or more cooler than what we are acclimatised to the swimming part didn’t last too long. There was however a lovely playground that the children were happy to make good use of.

Dinner turned out to be a surprisingly expensive experience but this surprise may also have been on account of us not actually dining out all that often. Initially I was disappointed by the fact that kangaroo was not available that day. There was a rather deliciously sounding roo salad I was keen to try. My second choice was to have the barramundi, which normally I don’t do when eating out. Having had many a fresh caught one cooked at home rarely is it done better. This however was one of the rare occasions and oh my goodness it was just about the best tasting fish I have ever had the pleasure to put between my lips.

The real highlight of the night was the drive home. Not only did we get to see some wild dingoes on the road but the two little ones fell asleep on the way meaning there was no bed time fights! Which meant Mr Awesome and I had plenty of time to stare at the Milky Way and look for shooting stars.

Happy Anniversary indeed.

Hanging out at El Questro Station

Today saw us arrive at Home Valley Station. Situated approximately 120km south west of Kununarra along the Gibb River Road. It is full of wonder and beauty. We are in the riverside campground which means we over look the Pentecost River and Cockburn Ranges. Though before I tell you much about here it seems only right to fill you in on a where we were yesterday.

Yesterday (and a few days before hand) we were at the beautiful El Questro Station. Which is roughly about 30 kilometres from where we are now. I say roughly because essentially we are in the middle of no where and without any kind of internet or mobile coverage so I am just relying on my memory for most facts.

Being disconnected from the world at large is all kinds of awesome. Sure I miss having instant access to the wonders of Google but that is about it. The difference that it has made to Livvie is well worth it. I nearly fell off my chair the other day when she remarked how great it was to not have mobile coverage. Her reason being that without it there is so much less to worry about because you don’t need to keep checking your phone all the time to see what is happening.

Mind you when I asked her if that meant she no longer needed/wanted a phone her reply was a resounding no.

El Questro Station is a massive area of land that was once a pastoral lease. While there are still some 4000 head of cattle roaming the grounds it is primarily a tourist destination these days. At the information night on Monday I discovered that the company which owns the property is American. Had I have known this prior to arrival we quite possibly would not have arrived. Nothing irks me more than iconic Australian things being owned by the yanks.

Having said that though I am glad that we spent some time here. The country side is truly amazing. Even though we stayed for four nights there was a great deal that we didn’t get to see. Mind you the places we did go to were nothing short of breath taking.

The first afternoon saw us off on a sunset 4WD adventure to Saddleback Ridge. Teapot gave an insight to her adventurous side with her disappointment in not being able to go faster down the rather steep and rocky inclines.

The next morning we were up bright and early to venture off to Zebedee Springs. A thermal watering hole that was only open from 7am-12pm. In a bid to protect the delicate environment the powers that be have decide to restrict it’s opening hours to the public. As much as I am anti early morning this was well and truly worth the effort.

On the way home from the springs we discovered another 4WD track. This one lead to a place called Pigeon Hole Lookout. The view was beyond amazing. I am sure that the photos do not even come close to doing the reality justice.

This would have to have been some of the most intense 4WDriving that I have done. Thankfullly Patty handled it like a dream. Once we had gotten over some of the more hairy aspects of the road Mr Awesome asked if I was interested in having a drive, which delighted the girls no end. Just between you and me it made me pretty excited as well.

The next day was our gorge adventuring day where we decided to tackle El Questro Gorge. The signs had said that the first half was relatively easy and only about ab hour long. The second half was much more strenuous and at least another hour. 

We only ever intended to do the first bit but you know what happens o the best of intentions don’t you?

After about fifteen minutes of walking we passed a more mature couple on their way back to the car park. They informed us of how lovely it was but there was no way Teapot would have been able to make it past the first part.

Despite not having a single mouthful of food on us Mr Awesome heard that as a challenge to see just how far she could go.Which turned out to be about twenty minutes of before the end.

Oh me oh my were there some big old rocks for us to get through though.

Thankfully we had our camel packs with us and had plenty of water to keep us keeping on.

At the time I was a little disappointed with the end waterfall. The two big girls and I left Mr A and Teapot at a rather beautiful little place while we attempted to make it to the end of the walk. The last 30 metres were incredibly challenging. Especially since I missed the route markers showing the easy way. With hindsight and without exhaustion though I am able to say that I am glad we made it to the end. 

Days five to eleven

Day five.

So my writing every day has not exactly gone to plan. Which I am sure does not actually come as a surprise to anyone who knows me even a little.

It is currently day six and I have just written up day four. Clearly not all that much of a tragedy but I had expected to fall behind a bit later than this.

Crazily though as much as it has only been a day or two without writing I can barely recall exactly what we have done. Obviously my mind has had no troubles settling into holiday mode. In fact I have struggled to even recall what day it is.

View of Kununurra from a lookout just outside of town

Day Eleven.

So it’s been a while between drinks (posts). The whole writing every day thing has turned out to be a bit beyond my capabilities. When last we met it was day six and I was catching up on days four and five. Though I only got as far as a few paragraphs into day five before I was forced to make small talk with the mothers of some kids that Zany had befriended. Yes I know forced sounds a bit harsh but sometimes I feel that the whole human interaction thing to be a bit exhausting. 

On this particular occasion Zany had decided that she wanted to go back to the swimming pool with a boy that she had met there earlier in the day when Mr A had given me a bit of shush time and taken the girls for a swim. Despite just having settled down for some writing time I reluctantly agreed to escort her. I figured that could take the lappy down there and kill two birds with the one stone.

As it turned out that when we got there my mind went blanker than blank and I was unable to recall any events from the previous days. Though there were a small series of events that unnerved me  as I was setting myself up that may have had something to do with it. 

Things like when I dragged the plastic table over to the shade it lost two of it’s legs which meant it then became unbalanced. Which would not have been such an issue if I wasn’t juggling the lappy and a plastic cup of cider all while wearing a big floppy hat that greatly reduced my eyesight. Needless to say I managed to lose half my drink and a small amount of pride as I was certain that all in the area were watching and highly amused.

It just so happened the women that I was *forced* talk to (because despite trying to write I was the only that had been able to regularly keep track of where the children where hiding) were actually quite lovely and at various stages of adventures similar to ours. We ended hanging out at one of their vans later that afternoon to exchange tales and I was pleasantly reminded that despite being exhausting the whole human interaction thing was more often than not quite worth the effort.

Zany clearly does not share my feelings on making new friends and meeting people as she is constantly putting herself out there and chatting to anyone that will listen or pay her the slightest bit of attention. Teapot is much the same though a little slower of the mark and has told me a few times that she is actually a little shy. This is also short lived and before long you would thing she has known her new friends forever. When we left our campsite this morning she actually got a tad upset about the prospect of not seeing her friends, the kids from the next site over again.

Lovely on the other hand would not talk to a stranger if her life depended on it. The other night her and I went to an information night that was held at the station where we were staying. Halfway through this lovely young man child came and asked if the empty seat next to her was taken. Based on the look on her face I thought she was going to hyperventilate. Smiling at him I shook my head and told him he was welcome to sit with us.

Before long he started trying to make some small talk about how long we had been there for and what we had done that day. Turns out he had seen us during our gorge walk earlier that day. In order to break the uncomfortable silence that followed each question I felt obliged to answer. Lovely told me afterwards she didn’t feel the need to answer because I got in first but I really doubt that was the case. I joked me needing to leave the moment he sat down and the look in her eyes was one of pure fear.

Though truth be told gorgeous young boys from Switzerland are not really the friends I want to encourage her to be making. But that is probably just the over protective mother in me wanting to preserve my child's innocence forever coming out. While I didn’t find our his age he did seem a few years older than her and obviously a lot more confident and probably experienced if you know what I mean.

For now though I must leave it here. The sun has begun it’s descent and dinner needs to be cooked. 

Day Four

We tried to be up at the crack of dawn this morning in the hope of an early get away. Mr Awesome had hoped that we were on the road by 8 which I took as meaning 8.30. In reality it was a bit before 10 before we were on our way. 

Originally after Flora we were going to stay at Gregory National Park for a few days only our fresh food supply didn’t appear as if it was going to last long enough. Also another camper (one of the few that we saw I might add) mentioned that there had been a death in the area recently. So we powered on to Kununarra. Which also meant time to cross the border into Western Australia. This thought excited the girls no end.

I however was not as excited about the prospect. The distance was a fair bit greater than what I wanted to travel in one day. Mr Awesome tried to compensate by going faster only that made me rather uneasy as well. Turns out that day I had my fun spoiler pants on.

Thanks to the time difference between the states we turned our watches back by an hour and a half when we crossed over. This meant that despite our late departure we still arrived in the early afternoon.

Being the creature of habit that I am we decided to stay Kimberleyland Caravan park. A place that is familiar to us from the last time we were in the neighbourhood (about three years ago). The views across the Lake are kinda amazing and it is super kid friendly.

Once we were set up it was time to make a mad dash down to the local supermarket to gather some supplies for dinner. Cooking was the last thing on my mind but apparently even when on holidays the kids still expect to be fed.

Tonight’s cooking was particularly tricky because it was a one pot wonder. Mr Awesome had made the executive decision that we were not unpacking our entire kit and caboodle so all I had was a single gas burner and one pot to sort dinner. Thankfully Zany is a super thinker and suggested gold old spag bol.

Even though I had been here before I had totally forgotten that the sun sets ridiculously early. And by that I mean around six o’clock. The girls must all be running on a body clock that aligns with the sun because shortly after it went down every one was ready for bed. Early nights for the win though.

Snapshots of Us - Weeks 25 to 31

Gosh! Talk about along time between drinks. You will of course be forgiven for thinking that this little feature had gone behind the wayside. As you may well be aware there has been more than a lot going on the land of Rhianna.

For those who haven't been playing along since last I shared some Snapshots of Us I have had my kitchen removed. And a new one put in. Not to mention painted a whole heap of walls as well.

I also packed up the shoebox. Which involved a skip, a lawn sale and lots of donations to charity stores with the abundance of crap I seemed to somehow of gathered over the years.

In between all of that we moved Edna the caravan to my mother's driveway and took up residence there. But all of that makes for rather boring photos.

What doesn't make for rather boring photos though is what happened next.

Finally, only a week or so later than hoped for, we began #ouradventureofalifetime.

We have now been on the road for two weeks I still can't get over just how amazingly blessed I currently am.

I mean getting to spend 24/7 with Mr Awesome and the girls is blessing enough.

But in places like this...

Our first campsite at Flora National Park

Flora River

 ... makes it even harder to believe

Exploring Flora, looking for the boat ramp

Driving through a creek bed

Zany enjoying the view

Watching the sun set over El Questro

A beauty surrounded by beauty

Boab tree

Living the dream

El Questro

The view from Kimberleyland, our first stop over in Kunurra.