We are back after a few let downs .... lost camera ... stuffed netbook!! :(

Hi we are on the road again after a few weeks resting up at the Gary's parents' dairy farm Katunga Victoria.

Just a quick flash back ..... after Cooper Bedy we zoomed to Flinders Ranges and stayed at the fabulous Wilpena Pound - we hiked and enjoyed the birdlife and close encounters with the fauna!! And this is where I lost my hardworking camera ...boo-hoo-hoo ...had taken lovely photos of rock carvings at Sacred Canyon and rock paintings at Akaroo Rock. Luckily Kara took a few g8 shots .... but am having trouble uploading her photos!!

Stayed 2 nites in Adelaide .... caught up very briefly with a good friend and met his lovely baby boy Carter!! Visited Hanhdorf - great touristy town - we ate the biggest German hotdog known to mankind!! YUMMY!!

16th April zoomed to Port Fairy from Adelaide a mere 640kms!! Then another day of difficult driving along the Great Ocean Drive ... the girls were very excited to see 1/2 of London Bridge and a couple of the 12 Apostles ...... finally we arrived at Torquay and stayed with our great friends Ian & Debbie who put up with us for 10 odd days - with us zooming off to Bendigo for Easter and Melbourne for footy.

Our fabulous friends the Johnstons, flew all the way from the West to catch with us for Kara's 11th birthday which we celebrated in Torquay. We then went to Bendigo to celebrate Easter with them ....we all had an amazing time catching up and having lots of quality time togather!(eating,eating and drinking coffees!!)

After Easter we zoomed to Katunga - Gary's hometown and old stomping ground!! The Johnstons' came for a day trip to Katunga to experience the workings of a dairy ... I do believe they had a great time having close encounters of the smelly kind!!

30th April-2nd May - I took the girls to Daylesford to spend time with Jane & Nataraj ...as per the last visit - we had a fabulous time eating lovely home cooked meals and playing Banagram by the fire. The girls enjoyed feeding the chooks and alpacas! We were spoilt by Jane who treated us to the Hepburn Spa & Bath House .... it was beautiful and very relaxing swimming in the heated mineralised pool!!

We finally left the farm on 17th May and headed to Wangaratta where the Tanami was housed at a good friend's place, while we zoomed to Bright for 3 great days staying with Herm & Shelly and their 2 lovely girls! Bright is beautiful with the Japanese Maples showing off their autumn winter colours!

Then back to Wangaratta to stay with Kevin & Mary-Ellen and their lovely children for 4 nites ... had lunch at Milawa and bought yummy cheeses frm the cheese factory and fabulous bread from the bakery!! We checked out Ned Kelly's last stand at Glen Rowan and saw an 'animated/robotic' play ............... very interesting!!

25th-27th May Canberra ............BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR BRRRRRRRRR
We had a busy busy 3 day stay - visited the Australian Institute of Sport, Questocon, Parliament House, War Memorial, National Portrait Gallery & National Gallery .... very very good but we couldn't wait to get away as it was much too cold for us ... -2 to 11C !!

28th off to Batemans Bay for 2 nites .... a pretty seaside town ..stayed at BIG4 at Batehaven ...fantastic caravan park ...has one of the BEST showers & toilet block!! Left for Huskissons ....2 nites here was more than enough as the weather was appalling - heavy heavy rain and squally wind!

At Nowra - I finally bought a replacement camera after much research & fussing around! I now am a proud owner of a Nikon Coolpix .... which I hope will have a long and 'photofull' life with the Lawlors ....

I June - Happy 1st day of Winter!! We are in Swansea a little coastal town 25kms south of Newcastle NSW .... we will be here for at least 3 nites ..catching up with Gary's youngest brother Darren .......... and I would like to take the girls to Sydney for a day trip - weather permitting!

To William Creek, Lake Eyre and beyond ............

 

On the way to William Creek ... we drove through a gap in the longest man-made structure in the world - yup The DOG Fence its still standing and its a mere 5,400 kms long!! The original lenght was about 8,600kms ... unreal eh? Now wouldn't you like to be the fencing contractor!!??

This the hardiest and smartest plant in a semi-desert regent - its the mulga - pls note that all its leaves and limbs all point up hence it can capture any moisture that is in the air! Its wood is very dense and hard and makes the best firewood ... trivia heard by Gary on his Mailrun tour .. which is another story in itself ...

This the girls in the oh-so famous William Creek Hotel/Pub ...the whole interior is covered with hundreds of business cards and personal 'trash'! It is quite a sight ....This 'funny' sign was up on the wall for a laugh?? The food was pretty yummy though ... I consumed a huge hamburger with the lot .... hopefully it was real beef and not .....the fauna of the national emblem!

   

This sign greets you as you approach the shore line of Lake Eyre at Halligan Bay. A warning not to be ignored!

Here they are the posers in Lake Eyre!! While they were strolling in the waters of Lake Eyre - I was 1,500kms above - getting the aerial view which was amazing ...but I wished I could have walked in the Lake too....

 Poppy making sure that its 'real' ... or was she trying to catch a little fish??!

 

 The 3 Lawlors .... Gary has mastered this 'self-portrait' trick when he was cycling by his lonesome up the alps in France!!

 Yes! They are definitely in the Lake! How awesome is that?!

This is the beyond that G woud love to zooooooom to...................

  

Onroute to Coober Pedy & a few shots of Coober

 This is the amazing shoreline of Lake Hart ... an enormous salt lake .. yup all that whiteness is SALT!! Its a stunning sight!

 We parked the car and started walking towards it .. had to walk through a tunnel as the Ghan railway line ran by its side!

 Close up of salt crystals .... hardened at the surface ... due to the heavy rainfall over the last few months ...you could see that the lake was getting 'soggy' - and that the moisture was rising to the surface slowly. I collected a small palmful of really dry salt crytals ... my very own authentic salt!!

 Gary is kneeling in the old frame of an old launching pad for some huge lah-lah missile when Australia & America & UKwere in cahoots with making rockets & missiles after WWII. I can't remember all the details but will upload some more details and photos when I blog about Woomera.

 This sight greets you as you take the turn into Coober Pedy! I believe thats a vacum/dust extractor thingamabob for getting opal crusted rock separated from pure rock .... I think!!

 That's the typical scenery of Coober Pedy ....  mini hillocks of opal-less dirt! There is obviously proper & correct terminology but .... don't ask me eventhough I was only there last week or was it two weeks ago ... this is what happens when you are on one long holiday ......... who knows what day or time it is!! Except MEAL time!!

 This is the famous Catacomb Church ... very lovely and serence ...the only thing that spoilt the effect was it had really daggy plastic chairs for the pews!! It would have been more effective if they had granite hewned pews!! One can hope & visualize!!

NEWS FLASH - Please note that the dates do not relate to the blog published

Hi everyone! Just to let you know that I have had real issues uploading photos onto the blog hence the time line is completely out! I will be leaving lots of days and a few places out unless its interesting ...don't want my 'followers' to fall asleep!!
We are now in Burra - 156kms north of Adelaide but I have to tell you about Coober Pedy, Lake Eyre & the Flinders Ranges!! I will try and fill you in sooooooooooooon!! I am tired now! Time for me beauty sleep!
Good nite and have a great day!!

Jen

Port Lincoln National Park - Free Camp!!

 We had a fantastic two days - it was quiet and the kangaroos and emus came every morning and evening to say hello to us!! Only sound you heard was birds squaking and a few kookaburras laughing ...

 The girls trying to show enthusiasm when we said we were going for a hike!!

 The lovely long-drops toilets!! Its amazing how they actually don't smell!! compared to the public toilets in town!! The trick is "DON'T LOOK" down the dark dark hole!!

 That's "home sweet home" ...its amazing how one can get use to a tiny space on wheels!! And actually be quite comfortable .... what will we do when we get back home to a 4 bedroom house??? We might not see each other for weeks!!!




 

How long more??? Followed "I hope we are not lost, Daddy??" Can we rest ....any more lollies ....and it goes on and on ... so folks .. a tip for you ...Keep your hikes nice and short if you wish to have a peaceful one!!                                                                  

Meet our Aboriginal art purchases - Kara's pet rock - Starfish, my little jewellery box and Poppy's ittle turtle pet rock!! Cute,eh? Unfortunately these were the only things we could afford from the Tuju Aboriginal Art Center at Port Lincoln.                                   

A bit more fun at the museum & local 'Deckchair' art - Port Lincoln

 



For anyone who comes from the Murray River region that's your flag! It's the Murray River flag! Gary was very pleased to see that!




Luckily the girls were behaving!! If not into the Blubber pot for melt down!!


















On my 2 hour off stroll - I stumbled into the local Art Gallery and saw this beautiful Deckchair art work! If one was feeling rich - one could have put in a secret bid ... in the thousands! Not me.... though I would have loved to have presented one as a gift ... just because I am ME!!

Axel Stenross Maritime Museum - Port Lincoln

Sorry for not updating for weeks .... the blogger has been playing up and not allowing me to upload photos .... a real pain!!

Anyway here we are at a maritime museum ... very interesting with lots of handmade boats & yatchs by this marvelous boat-maker!

  The girls had a bit of fun posing around ....