The Outback - A Dream Comes True Part 4

THE STORY OF OUR OUTBACK ADVENTURE CONTINUES
Friday  7^th June: 

Once again up early showered packed up camp and now by this time our expertise at breaking down camp was much quicker than the first time. Guess what? We went for breakfast at Maco’s, gosh it was good! Filled petrol tanks and hit the road stopping off at Emily Gap with some Rock paintings which was called 3 Caterpillars also stopped at Trephina Gorge

Stopped to take a photograph of a rock with a motor bike attached to it a memorial of a man who died on his Harley at the age of 44. Tea time it was stopping at Ross River bed and of cause once again sandy roads. Leaving this place and once again the 4x4 was in use with its sandy rocky roads taking the Arltunga Rd to the Historical sites of the gold mining world.


Most interesting place to walk through, with machinery dating back to the first miners use, then we had the opportunity to pan for gold.Leaving there at about 12h45, passing the old homestead of Ambalindum station towards the plenty Highway. Stopped in the middle of nowhere for lunch.

This track was quite something almost a grade 5 in places much to the men’s delight with loads of laughter watching my face in certain places.  It took us nearly all day to drive about 50k’s that is how bad the road was but the men enjoyed it but then arriving on the

highway again and to find a place to bed was another story passing the Harts Range Police station next to Atitjere which is a Aborigines station and driving about 20k’s down knowing something was wrong reading the map again and tracking back to the police station and seeing a lady walking in the paddocks with her dog stopping and asking her for the camp site which she directed us to arriving their in the dark and a not so nice feeling being the only ones there and suddenly we saw a

 light in the distance and another camper arrived and about a hour later another which put our stress at ease. Sleeping was still a bit stressful listening to the dingo’s howling at times but in the end it was good getting up the next morning and the coals of the fire still alight which Nathan managed to start up again with some small twigs and once again warmth was there and a good feeling while eating our breakfast of bacon and eggs it was rather windy too

Saturday 8^th June: 

Sunrise

Leaving for the border between NT and Queensland to the cattle station Tobermorey. We drove to Jervoiswhere we put in petrol drove on stopping for lunch on the side of the road. We arrived at Tobermorey station and what friendly people this ranch is 25million hector with 25,000 head of cattle on it and were in the process of herding cattle in with a helicopter. It’s a beautiful farm with an electricity generator which switches off at 10pm and restarts at 5h30am. We awoke to the farm busy with life helicopter starting up generator starting and dogs running to greet us and the beauty of sunrise and once again the fire was rekindled sitting on our chairs watching the business of farm life come alive. We took some beautiful shots of sunset too there.

Sunday 9^th June: Up early once again and on the road at about 7h40 AM ,photo below is Nathan helping us take down our tent removing the wrong pegs and hence the tent collapsing, what a laugh!!!!!!!!

Driving on the Donohue highway to Boulia, a town with a population of about 600. The camp grounds were quite full, also very friendly we set up camp then went for a bite to eat at the local museum with interesting history to the town of a man who saw a bright light (Min Min light) and tried to follow it into the country and to this day this story has been passed down and apparently it does happen so who knows. The camp washing machine was put to use and managed to get most of it dry.

Monday 10^th June: An early start on the road to Birdsville, stopping at different places for photo’s and at 9h46 at a road sign and were stopped by the police from Bedourie,

Police officer Mark Michigan asking if we were travelling into the desert and taking our drivers licence no etc and also breathalyser for records just in case we get lost in the desert and at least there is a record of us driving through and can send a rescue search out for us in case someone says we are missing.

We stopped at Bedourie for the bathrooms and bought an ice-cream which was just so yummy and of cause good for the figure, did you know it helps loose weight? Anyway I’m sticking to that story!

We arrived at Birdsville at about 11h45 set up camp with gazebo once again the flies were just so rude sitting on us and trying to get to our tea while drinking it let alone sitting on our backs trying to sun tan without permission. The person who designed the hat net I will kiss him next time and say THANK YOU! We sorted of just did the touristy thing ending up at the internet café left there back to camp and got ready for our night out on the town. Birdsville Hotel which is a must for any tourist to go to the Hotel is a heritage listed building with such history and warmth were all the locals gather and visitors. This night was a BBQ $25 and eats as much as you like it was such a lovely atmosphere and a most enjoyable evening

A little information about bread in the outback it is shipped in all over and frozen then taken out each day for sale so now Birdsville is the only Bakery in the outback and makes fresh bread daily, what lovely bread.

The information centre is very informative and one signs in there stating when you leave there and where too so this is also a way of keeping track on people especially if lost they can at least track you down.

The museum which we did not walk through but from the outside is very interesting.

Now the fascinating part to this place is the water supply. It is pumped out from a bore many meters down and comes out at almost boiling point and this can be seen on entering Birdsville from Bedourie. It goes through quite a few cooling systems before entering into household use. One can hose down your car right next to this pump station where the steam enters the air and can be used to clean your cars after a hard day in the desert

The bird life is amazing and for those who find it hard to believe that budgies fly around free here in huge flocks let alone the parrots and many, many other species of birds which our hand book given to us by Chareen and Paul came in handy many times.

End of Part 4.....................Feel good about yourself

A summer holiday

We are going on a summer holiday to Warrnamboo with a little help from the Camps App we found the Warrnambool Holiday Park and got a booking leaving on the 26th for ten days, we will be putting the Memory Map system to work when do we some beach 4 x 4, we will have a bit of a trial run with FREE internet to post, should be interesting finding places other than the Big M. There will therefore be a delay until the next posting of our Outback Adventure

I modified the one draw, the small draw they had was a waste of space, I got the plate holders from Ikea and we will install them, works well.

The caravan is once again being packed, this time for ten days, so I guess we will be using the freezer which is normally used when we are on the tracks doing some 4 x 4

Thursday 26^th December

We met for lunch at around 12 PM at the Highway Lounge situated at the Werribee on ramp to the Princes Highway, after a good feed we were on the road just after 1 PM  to Warrnambool a distance of 242 Km which is South East of Melbourne on the Great Ocean Road, we used the inland road as we have traveled the sea route many times and it would have taken at least five hours travelling time.  We arrived at the Warrnambool Holiday Park around 4:30 PM checked in and had to have our electric cables ‘tested and tagged’ something new at caravan parks, at a cost of $5.00 but it is valid for a year. This is a Top Tourist Park and the staff was most helpful, two of them were at our site to assist with parking the van and to show us the facilities, we have an on suite site which is very nice indeed and well worth the extra $3.00 per day. After setting up camp we had dinned and were in bed by 9:15 PM and asleep within minuets.

Friday 27^th December

After a leisurely late breakfast we set out to explore Warrnambool, first stop was Logans Beach Whale viewing platform, no whale as they visit from June to September but still a great look out. From there we made our way to the information centre via a long detour, missed the turn off so visited the outer suburbs. An interesting info centre and shop, it overlooks Flagstaff Hill and the lighthouse, we did not think that the entrance fee warranted the visit so did not go in. From there we had a light lunch and then did some shopping for the necessary, then watched some cricket at camp. At 5 PM we visited the Night Market at Lake Pertobe which comes alive with a unique shopping and dining experience, there are many stalls with free live music, it is one of the largest we have visited and was most enjoyable and was a great evening out, it is well worth the visit should it be on when one visits the area.

Saturday 28 Dec. 2013

Today’s forecast is for 30+ deg but the wind is blowing so we are visiting Allansforf Cheese World which is about 10 Km out of town, across the road from the milk/cheese factory which

was established in 1888 and processes more than 1,000,000 litres of milk a day. Did some cheese tasting and purchased some very tasty cheeses to be enjoyed over the next few days. After a cup of tea we visited the museum, most interesting, they have the largest collection of model tractors I have ever seen from the very old to the latest, also saw some equipment that I remember using on dad’s farm when I was about 5 years old, I clearly remember turning the handle of the milk/cream separator!

It was now lunch time the wind had picked up and was gusting up to 65 K/h most unpleasant so we spent the afternoon browsing the shops, then back to camp for a beauts dinner of pork chops and salad then relaxed and watched a bit of TV before bed.

Sunday 29 Dec. 2013

Today our alarm clock was a flock of Cockatoo’s purchased on the tree next to our van screeching as if there were a thousand of them so there was nothing for it but to rise and shine.

After breaky we decided to visit the Hopkins Falls which is about 10Km from town, it is one of the wildest in Australia 90 metreswide and 11 metres high and if one is lucky Platypus can be seen at the bottom of the falls, we were not lucky. Hopkins Falls is called Thangang-poonart in the Kirre Whurung language which translates to ‘eels bite the stone’.

From there we returned via the scenic route, large herds of milk cows dotted the country side letting one know that you are in dairy land. It must have been a good year for the farmers judging by the number of hay bales in the fields. We stopped off to have a look at

‘granny’s grave’, it is situated high up a hill right on the beach with a excellent view of the bay, a beautiful final resting place. The writing on the head stone was very difficult to read but we made out: In loving memory of M. Ruddlestone buried in 1848 the first white woman buried in Warrnambool. Erected in1904 by the Town Council.

We spent the afternoon on the beach and played in the shallows with the young grand kids, found out that I did not use enough sun-screen when we returned to camp and had a shower! So ended another enjoyable relaxing day.

Monday 30 Dec 2013

Well I finally did it this morning, I locked the key in our on-suite and had to wait until the office opened at eight to get the spare so we could shower.

After a late breaky we decided to trundle down to Port Fairy about 30 Km down the coast, nothing much on there, it was a fishing village in days gone by, we trundled around the town then stopped at Clonmara Tearoom for a delicious lunch then back to our camp site to prepare for some 4x4ing tomorrow at Portland tomorrow, so it will be early to bed as we will be up at 5AM

Tuesday 31 Dec 2013

Up early, had a good breaky and on the road by 7:30 AM, first stop the Big M for Nathan and Maryleen to have brekkie then on the road to Portland which is about 110 Km, I had marked 

the route on Memory Map as per the Portland Dune Buggy Club’s instructions on their web page which in my opinion were rather inadequate. I entered the address on the Garmin but not having a number entered the first, no problem it showed the turnoff at the first garage – just what we needed to fill up @ $1.60 ! ouch! We then continued to Telegraph Road as per the Garmin, turns out we needed the end of the road so had a pleasant drive on the edge of the mount Richmond National Park (there looks to be a few tracks in there that could be fun) and finally found my marker at the turn off to Swan Lake where the Dune Buggy Club is located. About a kilometre from the Club we came across a Koala walking down the road, it continued on its merry way as we drove slowly past.

We arrived at the Club area at about 11 AM and the camp was just coming to life, to drive on

the Dunes you have to become a Club member at a cost of $50.00 for a four day membership! A bit over the top in my opinion if one only wants to spend a few hours there. Eventually we found the correct person, completed the forms and paid our $50.00, lowered out tyre pressure to 18 Lbs and hoisted our desert flags, then it was onto the Dunes and what a pleasure it was. We first went West and it was not long before Nathan crested a bit too far to the left and bogged in the soft stuff I had to find a way around so I could snatch him out – no problem the Terracan came to the rescue and we were soon on our way, we went as far as we could then turned East and headed back to the river mouth and onto the beach. Back onto the dunes and further East then a stop for lunch and continued for quite some distance then had to back to our start point as it was getting late and time to make our way back to our camp.

It was great fun the Dunes are very white with many soft patches, one enters a valley and all that can be seen in any direction is white dunes, quite spectacular. All to soon we were back at the parking area at the Club, packed the flags away and pumped the tyres back to their normal pressure then back on the road arriving back at our camp at about 6:30 PM after a great day out. I wish we had had more time to explore the tracks in the Richmond National Park but no such luck, I think it calls for a return visit – perhaps Australia day weekend?

We did not stay up to see the New Year in as we were bushed after a long day 4x4ing and were asleep by about 10:30 PM.

Wednesday 1 Jan 2014

Happy New Year!

We woke to the sound of rain, so decide it was a day to ‘vege’, just resting and did a bit of reading. Watched the T20 cricket, then to bed.

Thursday 2 Jan 2014

The weather was a bit better today so we decide to visit the state heritage listed precinct, Flagstaff Hill’s Maritime Village, entrance fee is $12.50 for seniors. It is set on 10 acres and shows how the pioneers of the 1870’s ports lived. 

On entering one walks through the Great Circle Gallery where one can read accounts of the many ships that went down on the Shipwreck Coast, in the centre the priceless Minton earthenware statue, the Loch Ard Peacock, Australias most valuable shipwreck relic. It was being transported on the Clipper Loch Ard in 1878 from England for display in Melbourne’s Great International Exhibition of 1880 when she ran aground, the life size Loch ArdPeacock was washed ashore in a packing crate just days later. We then walked around the village having a look at the Doctors house, Dressmaker shop, school, bank, sail makers and shipwright. We then climbed the Lady Bay Lighthouse which is still in operation, a great view of the bay and ocean.

View from the Lighthouse

After lunch at the Big M we decided to do the 200 Km Costal Village Tour taking in the Tower

Hill Reserve , a dormant volcano where a lake has formed, which supports many bird species and wild life, we saw a pair of Emus. Not far from Macarthur the road passes through the centre of the wind farm and one can get close to these monsters, most were still and there must be a few hundred, I counted fifty in one paddock.
We got back to camp had dinner then went to watch the sunset with Nadeen and family, a perfect end to a most enjoyable day.

Friday 3 Jan 2014

Overcast with a cold wind blowing so we decided to just walk around town for a while window shopping the veged for the rest of the day reading and watching TV

Saturday 4 Jan 2014

It rained last night and is cloudy and windy, our time here is coming to an end we leave for home tomorrow. Kathleen and Nadeen have decided to do some shopping so off they went. Once again it was raining (on and off) so watched the cricket. Packed most of the gear after dinner then to bed.

Sunday 5 Jay 2015
We packed up and left for home about 10:30 AM  stopping at Colac for lunch arriving home at about 2:30 PM. We did a total of 1,167 Km at an average of 15.4 L per 100 Km (best 11.6 worst 17.7) average cost $1.57 per L.
All in all a most enjoyable time away, rather sad that it had to end but looking forward to the next weekend away in March.



Until next time.....................relish small pleasures

Its Christmas .....

It’s Christmas, that time of the year when we celebrate the birth of our Saviour, Jesus Christ the Son of God who placed Him in a manger, the greatest Christmas gift of all to everyone.

We celebrate Christmas this year in this wonderful free land Australia which is now our home and are blessed to have all our children and their families to share it with us for the first time in more than twenty years; I look forward to that and thank God for making it possible. I have asked all of them to contribute to this by writing a paragraph which  will follow.

This is the time of the year when we bless others with gifts and it saddens me to see how Christmas has been commercialized and it seems that people think that they have to spend hundreds of dollars on presents, the prediction is that the average Aussie will spend $475.00 on gifts so nationally we will spend $7.8 Billion! And that it is acceptable to over indulge in food and drink and generally behave badly. Having said that I love Christmas, I remember back in the fifties and sixties when we had great fun making the decorations for the lounge and the tree and getting it all ready for Santa’s visit, singing carols and visiting family and friends. One of the highlights of the year was going to the Johannesburg Municipality Christmas Tree (South Africa) as for about 30 years my dad was

My sister with mum about 1953

Father Christmas and my brother and I had the privilege of helping him dress in his Santa suite, not that he needed much help but it was great fun. He would arrive in different modes of transport, for a time it was held at Baragwaneth Airport and he arrived in a Fire Engine then the next year he arrived in an aeroplane, what times they were.

When our children were growing up we spent most Christmases at home, they all helped decorating the tree, then on the 24^th put biscuits and a drink out for Santa and carrots for Rudolph and the reindeer, it was then a mission to get them to go to sleep which they eventually did. The rule was that they could not wake us before 6 AM Christmas morning but they were always up much earlier and we would be woken with their whispers as the crept down the passage to see if Santa had delivered the much anticipated gifts. At precisely 6 AM the door would fly open, coffee was ready and served, the stereo  turned on playing Carols and the waited for the “a for AWAY and go GO” which was the signal to start opening presents. The joy of watching their faces light up as their presents were unwrapped was something that I will cherish for all time.

Now our children have their own families, the grand children have a great time decorating our

tree. We have a quiet morning although we normally get an early phone call or two with wishes, depending on circumstances we may attend Church, where we get to sing traditional Christmas carols something that I look forward to and enjoy. The children take it in turns to host the lunch which we all contribute too and we have a wonderful time, with carols playing, grand children playing together, then before you know it it's time to gather around the table and after we have given thanks to our Lord we all enjoy the wonderful feast that has been lovingly prepared by the ladies. After we spend the rest of the day relaxing and enjoying each others company . Unfortunately all good things come to an end and it is soon time for all to depart for our homes.

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Kathleen..............The joys of Christmas, so what makes it so special in my life?

Christmas decorations have been in a box for a whole year and when you open to find the hidden treasures of many years of memories gone by one sits and remembers the children and their excitement of waiting for the 1 December to arrive to put the tree up and decorate it and the rest of the house. Christmas lights are a sign of happiness and it gives the world a spirit of love and wellbeing. The girls cuteness of having to wash all their dolls and their clothes, redress them and place them under the tree for Santa and his helpers to put new clothes on them. The wonderful sound of the patter of feet on Christmas eve to see if Santa had arrived and wee voices with excitement when they see all the presents around the tree and then the wait for 6 am and a coffee brought to our bedroom to say that Santa had arrived. One very special Christmas was when my mother spent with us and the children had gotten her up to sit with them until 6am. What happy memories. Now the children have left home and it’s their turn with their children but memories still linger there and on Christmas day I am blessed to be with my family celebrating a special birthday of a King, my Lord and Saviour. Remember that CHRISTMAS means Christ My Almighty Saviour.

A very special decoration I have cherished is my Angel. I have had her since I put up my first Christmas tree 43 years ago. It has travelled many miles and even across the sea.

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Our children have their say

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Chareen.............Special memories

Christmas is one of those times in the year that hold many special memories for me.  During my growing up years I can always remember the excitement and anticipation that we all had.  I have very fond memories of counting the days to the first of December so we could find all the special decorations and tree.  We would gather together in the lounge and decorate the tree together.  It was always a time of fun, love and laughter.  My mothers Christmas angel was always the highlight and it's still not Christmas until she is put lovingly on the top of the tree.  I had the privilege of growing up in a christian home and we all knew that Christmas is about Jesus.  He is the reason for the season.  Our hearts were always pointed towards Him and the Father's love for the world. I learned a valuable lesson from the consistency of this family tradition, it has given us a sense of belonging, of knowing who we are together, it is our identity. As grown ups with children of our own we all can't wait for the time of the year so we can put up our Christmas trees!  My sisters had theirs up in November this year ...

I agree with these words of Franklin Sanders {At Home in Dogwood Mudhole} “A tradition is something you do once and discover a joy so deep that you do it again, Christmas after Christmas, to keep on savoring it and make it last. ”   The happy memories and sense of wonder that filled my growing years are one of the many reasons I still love Christmas today.  I am filled with a sense of His almighty act of love coming to earth and bringing about the salvation of man.  The traditions of anticipation, the wonder, the pleasure of family were the best gifts that my parents bestowed upon me.

Once we were blessed with children the importance of Christmas and forming traditions for our children really impacted us. We want our children to know we love them, that God loves them and to have precious memories too. A tradition is something that can change over time or be created with a sense of purpose. Special moments need to be created they do not occur by accident or without planning. I have come to realize that the traditions I grew up with that created those special memories are the reason I want to continue each year. I want to keep 'savoring it and make it last' with my children and that is the legacy that I have from the many experiences growing up.

 We have three children.  Our oldest are 20 and 18 and will pop their head in and check whether or not I have purchased the Advent wafers.  I only buy these wafers during Advent and it's a tradition that has stuck. Advent is a new tradition we added to our family in 2000.  Last year we created this upcycled Nativity scene together.  Each year we choose an advent book to read.  This year we are reading Jotham's Journey. As our youngest grows we have added a

few more things we do each year that he enjoys.  We have started an annual trip to Melbourne to have a look at the Myer Christmas windows.  This started with my oldest two when we were living in New Zealand and it's continued here in Australia.  Some of the other traditions we practice are going to see the Christmas lights in our neighborhood, visiting Melbourne to see the laser light show, visiting the Town Hall to see the Gingerbread Village, read our ever growing pile of favourite Christmas books and I make a gingerbread house . I did not realize this had become a tradition until I was asked last year "Where is the Gingerbread house ?"  Some traditions just happen by accident. Even after Christmas we focus our hearts and minds on the Lord and look at the 12 Days of Christmas

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Nadeen.............Memories of Christmas

Hooray school is over for the year and now we get to play with our old school book. Who on earth wanted those Ewwwww!!! So what did we do? Make Christmas decorations with them of course! Then off to find candles to wax the hinges of the doors so when we want to sneak out of bed the doors won’t creak!

Christmas night, oh what a treat. We would make sure that the song ‘Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer’ that was on our famous Christmas tape was ready to play full tilt at 6 AM.

Lying in bed desperately trying to fall asleep so Father Christmas could come and deliver presents. . .  Midnight I would wake up Girl and we would try and sneak to the lounge to see if there were presents. Most of the time all we would get on our way to the lounge was “get back to bed”  Darn!!! Mom has got good hearing. Then try again and again until we finally made it to the lounge. And boy oh boy what a surprise! Stockings filled to the brim.  Now to wake our brother . . . then much much later our eldest sister.  Now for the agonizing wait till 6am to wake Dad and Mom with coffee. Hurray! finally 6AM. Running into Dad and Mom’s room shouting on the top of our lungs “Father Christmas was here!!!” Off to the lounge where their coffee was waiting. All four of us waiting in anticipation for the famous words from Dad. . . “A for away and G  O  for go! Opening presents was amazing and so exciting.

To this day I try and make it as exciting for my three boys as it was for me. Memories, priceless memories of family time and amazing gifts. But they don’t have their mothers’ genes and sadly I wake them up screaming “Father Christmas was here” but wait . . . I wonder if that will all change now that they are a year older.

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Derek (Buddy)............What do I love about Christmas... 

A number of things, the first being present’s… who doesn’t love presents? It’s not the gifts that matter so much the simple fact of being thought of is the best thing for me, and of course I love wrapping the presents up so much that it is impossible to save the paper.. I think that paper at Christmas should not be saved. The second thing I love about Christmas is the fact that family get together to celebrate and have a good meal and times together, it’s not often that family gets together to give each other gifts and have a good meal and laughs and then afterwards to sit on the couch feeling over full from eating too much.  Lastly the most important of all is celebrating the Birth of Jesus Christ, without that momentous moment we would have had no future and our world would have been worse off than it is now and we would of not had many things we currently enjoy today.

There are two Christmas that stick firmly in my mind. One being…  We were in Berg Aukas Namibia, I got tools from granny Williams, Pop pops Williams had passed away some time prior to this and these tools which I still have today were my share. I was playing with a rubber mallet and  was warned to be careful, I bounced it on the floor, I wanted to look at it from a different perspective -  looked at the top of the hammer… and the hammer hit the floor all right and I was too close and it bounced off my forehead … ouch!

And the second one was in Windhoek Namibia (South West Africa at the time), my  Dad came back from the war on leave and he set up the pool…  Nadeen waking us up at night to have a look at what father Christmas had brought us…..it just brings a smile to my face.  As a kid I found the best thing was my dad did the dishes that day.  Woot no hand washing dishes for us kids! 

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Maryleen (Girl)........Such an incredible tradition celebrated worldwide!

My greatest memories were when I was 7 or 8 with family. We were brought up knowing about Santa which was such a wonderful thing. The mystery and intrigue of Santa was incredible at that age – how does he get presents to ALL the boys and girls in one night!

I remember clearly one night. It must have been 2 AM and my sister (Nadeen) waking us all up to see if Santa had delivered our gifts. We silently crept (although I’m sure my parents never slept Christmas Eve due to us being up so early)…… YES! The tree lights were on and there under the tree were our gifts. My mother always taught us about Christmas and that it’s actually Jesus’ Birthday. There were beautiful Nativity scenes in our home amongst the decor. I could not wait to make tree decorations with salt dough. We would bake them and then paint them then with much glitter it would be ready to hang. We always had a huge water melon that stayed in the pool (to keep cool) for it was too big for the fridge. Then the desert – YUM – one lucky person would find a coin in theirs…. Mum use to play the piano and we would all sing carols together – so much fun with a big family.

It never really was the gifts for me. What I love about Christmas is having fun with siblings, decorating our home, the imagination and the magic of the season and family time.

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May you and your family have a Blessed Christmas 

Until next time.........Remember Jesus is the reason for the season

The Outback - A Dream Comes True Part 3

THE STORY OF OUR OUTBACK ADVENTURE CONTINUES
Monday 3^rd June: Packed up leaving at 6h15 and having decided breakfast on the road would be the answer of weetbix and cornflakes and other varieties.

But as I said in the beginning, how God looks after us when we pray for His protection. His angels were on assignment when on the road travelling towards Ayres Rock with many Wedgetailed Eagels that were on the side of roads some sitting on fences others 

eating prey. A red car overtook us and in front of Nathan decided to stop on the highway and have a look at these beautiful birds and hence Nathan stopping too. But Dennis travelling the speed limit of 110k’s took his eye off the road a split second to see a bird looking up to see the cars in front stationary in the middle of the road, swerving to the right going on 2 wheels then back down and shooting forward in front of Nathan and thank goodness the red car decided to pull off. Quite shaken in the car and adrenaline pumping litres out we were safe with quite a few white faces all around So the moral of the story is to keep eyes focused on the road and not to stand stationary on the highway so it was a lesson learnt by all. 

We traveled on to Mt Ebenezer having pie and chips for lunch and a most welcomed cup of tea. 

We left there driving onto Yulara where Ayers Rock is other name for it is Uluru, arriving at the camping ground at 3pm... Beautiful camping grounds set up camp and decided to go and watch the sun set on Ayers Rock.

What a breath taking sight to see. People stood amazed clicking camera’s were heard and yet the sound of silence too, just watching the colour change on the rock while the sun was setting. Dennis and I took the road around the rock looking at it from different angles it’s a spectacular sight and would advise for those out there to take the time to go and see this magnificent rock. 

Arriving back at camp site had chicken for dinner. Bed time was most welcome.

Tuesday 4^th June: Up at about 7h30 had mince and egg for breko’s did a load of washing costing $6 then to post Derek the photo’s for our web page which. We had a cappuccino  and tea then posted some cards and for the first time saw a Sturt's Desert Pea in bloom which is the national flower for South Australia.

Sturt's Desert Pea

What a beautiful flower and to think it grows wild here. From here we went to Kata Tjuta means many heads (The Olga) this rock is about 50k’s from Ayers Rock we walked the Walpa gorge, means windy, got the old bones into gear and what a walk but worth the agony of sore muscles and stopping for breath to take the beauty of God’s creation.

From here we had the highlight of the day I went for a camel ride, this has been my dream. Beautiful creatures with eyelashes a woman dreams of. Dennis also went for his ride. Onto the cultural centre and watched the Aborigines’ painting and working at their art. We got back to camp feeling just wonderful of a time spent together enjoying the outback here. We went to the reception centre to go on the PC to check our web page which Derek and Raylene put together for us came back to camp and Maryleen cooked chicken. We packed up camp as much as we could for an early start the next day.

Wednesday 5^th June  

Kathleen at Kathleen Springs

On our way to Kings Canyon driving on the Lasseter Highway leaving at 7h37. Once again stopping for breakfast on the road of cereal and coffee. Just before the Canyon we stopped and took a photo of Kathleen Springs we did not go into it far a walk.




 Arriving at Kings Canyon Another beautiful area of mountains which we walked up the centre of the gorge there was another walk up the side of the mountain and one needs to be very fit to do this which Nathan and Dennis walked up to the top and it was very, very windy and not pleasant they walked down the same way the object of this walk is to walk around and over the gorge and back down the other side.

We had lunch a Kings Canyon finding the price very expensive but when you need to eat you need to eat. The road to this canyon and beyond is shocking corrugated sand roads and very tiring and sore on the back and bones.

Here is another time God’s angels on assignment were at work. Nathan finding the road better on the right side of the sand road and thought that he would see the dust of another car coming and he would move over, but this was not so and suddenly there was a car in front of him swerving to the left also going on 2 wheels then back and forwards and finally coming to a standstill with a tyre coming off its rim so we spent the next hour changing tyres. But we made it to Glen Helen Camp site after a long travel and feeling very tired and having to put up tent in the dark is not a pleasant feeling when travelling all day. Saw Dingo’s on the camp site prowling around for food. It was extremely cold here and thank goodness for the camp lounge with a huge fire going in the fire place this is where we parked for the evening before retiring to bed.

Thursday 6^th June  My was it cold this morning having toast for breakfast and hot coffee to warm the hands and body and I must say it was a wonderful feeling getting into the car and turning the heater on to warm the tootsies and finger tips. The first thing was to put air in the tyres as we were going onto sealed roads and that we are looking forward to as the travel from Yulara  to here was shocking. With the sun rising and clouds in the sky’s gave the most amazing colours which Maryleen and me taking photos of the country side beautiful too as the mountain ridges sort of followed us around the road also stopping at Ellery Creek the Big Hole.

Our journey to AliceSprings most pleasant arriving at about 11h30am and it was a dive to Red Rooster and Maco's for lunch, the drivers content as their body fuel has been replenished now off to find the Caravan park we looked up on the net only to find it was not to our liking so eventually found a good one called "G'Day Mate" booked in there and set up camp

Then we went our different ways Den and I to see Todd Mall and walked through there ending up at Kmart to buy another light for our tent and got other things which we needed. Back to park had dinner then it was up to the Anzac heights to look over Alice Springs at night time, a spectacular sight and photos were taken and in the midst of this coldness ice cream was eaten

End of Part 3.............................. Say something good