northern territory: tjuwaliyn hot springs

We'd planned to farewell my parents from Kakadu but it made sense to change (our ever changing) plans when they mentioned a possible return to Tjuwaliyn (also known as Douglas Daly). There are exceptions to the rule of never going backwards and this was one of them. The campground is by the banks of The springs and its a short walk down to the water which is a woman's sacred site. Visitors are asked to bathe only in the sections of the springs close to the campground which were mind blowing. Although the water temperate varied in pools some of the water was too hot to touch let alone swim in. 

A bunch of kids lined up to do bombies. The pool came with its own springboard.  

Little A had a ball sometimes crawling, sometimes swimming, sometimes walking through the water. The temperature was bearable for the little lad. 

And the rest of us! 

Ochre body paint. Thanks to Mum for this picture. 

It was a sad farewell with my parents who we had such a memorable holiday with. We're all going to miss each other!

northern territory: darwin

We initially thought we'd just duck in to Darwin, meet Ma and Grug and head back out of town but we needed to restock the fridge and get a few odd jobs done. Standing in the Optus shop for three hours isn't my idea of fun but it had to be done! 

Free Spirit Caravan Park had been recommended to us by travelling friends and with three pools, jumping pillow, a free kids club and usual amenities it was a comfortable place to stay. Whilst it was a bit of a drive in to town it was close to the free and awesome YMCA water park in Palmerston! I should have done my research because our dearest girl didn't meet the height minimum of 110cm for the big slide (but she may or may not have got two slides in before we realised). 

Rapid Creek Markets is a foodies heaven and you can buy anything from the freshest Asian fruit and veggies to soups, homemade rice noodle and egg noodles for your own cooking. There's herbs and Asian desserts. Our daughter asked that I bring back a pineapple and a mango. I also grabbed veggies, a bright sweet watermelon. And I had the tastiest laksa for brekky. 

On the way to Darwin we met a grey nomad couple who suggested we go to Mindil Markets. "Take your own chair. Take your own drinks and take your own food," they said, "then you don't have to buy anything." Instead we took our picnic rug, our drinks bottles and ate this feast of treats from across the globe. We had Thai, Vietnamese Japanese Sri Lankan Greek and Indonesian! We love that we can sit back in an Aussie city and experience our country's diversity.

J had himself volunteered at the foreshow. That's him holding the ladder just before the entertainer juggled flaming machetes. Truly. He thinks he's going to take up a new vocation. We're not convinced. 

western australia: windjana gorge national park, gibb river road

We "did the Gibb" about seven years ago when I was pregnant with our first born. I remember the corrugated road up to Mitchell Plateau and having difficulty having a conversation in the car. The road conditions vary depending on when the grader has gone through and how much traffic the road has endured. We decided that, despite the caravan being an off-roader, we'd leave it in Derby if we were to do the Gibb and that its just too special to miss Mitchell if we were to start the journey. It became evident, as we headed up the coast towards Derby, that we wouldn't do the trip this time and we'd wait until the kids are older. Two to three hours driving a day is best for our family with a break around the two hour mark. There are usually toilet stops in that first two hours too so it's slow going. 

We returned to Windjana Gorge though. The few kilometres from the turn off to Windjana was the toughest but it's so worth it. The tracks are well trodden by the thousands of visitors who, either privately or on tour, enter the National Park each year and whilst more people are visiting, the area has not lost its intrgue.The gorge is impressive and it's an equally beautiful place to go to sleep as it is to wake up in! 

The campground has had the addition of showers and toilets since we first visited and it cost us $24 per night.

Windjana Gorge is the setting of a three year campaign of Indigenous resistance to white settlement by the Banuba people, lead by Jandamarra. The establishment of this area for pastoral purposes came at a great cost to the local Aboriginal people whose sophisticated societal structure was decimated by those who were forging economic growth in Western Australia and the nation. Ironically that economic growth was dependent on free Aboriginal labour on those pastoral stations. 

Jandamarra's journey from being rejected by his family after an internal dispute to working for the constabulary and then fighting for his people is detailed in two books, Jandamarra and the Bunuba Resistance by Pedersen and Woorunmurra. A children's book, Jandamarra, has been written by Mark Greenwood. Our children engaged with this history and staying at Windjana Gorge took on a deeper meaning for them. Of course there were many questions asked and the discussions were sophisticated as they processed what had occurred here and across Australia. We could have told our kids stories like this one (and we will continue to) but it's experiences like this which will etch their understanding in to their beings. I am grateful to be able to both experience this (as a person, a mum as a teacher) and give my kids these experiences too. 

south australia: fowlers bay

We met this shingle back lizard on the road in to Fowlers Bay. He was not too pleased to see us! 

Remember Bob from Napperby? He suggested we stay in Fowlers Bay as he's visited many times over the years and  fishing for squid off the town jetty is popular. We didn't catch any squid but we did stay for two nights. 

View of Fowlers Bay from the sand dunes.

I've never seen sand dunes like the ones at Fowlers Bay and it seems they're slowly encroaching on to the town as the towns main road was where the dunes now stand.

It's an interesting town of only a few houses and feels so isolated given that the town's water supply is from an aquifer. What look like garden hoses run from the aquifer amongst the dunes to the homes of Fowlers Bay. The town uses solar energy and a generator kicks in when that runs out. 

If you're intending to stay at Fowlers be sure to fill your water tanks beforehand as you can't fill from the caravan park. There's also no dump point. 

We enjoyed sitting by the camp fire at night at the caravan park and the kids enjoyed meeting other kids who were staying too. 

western australia: perth

This was the dinner we all threw together one night. 

It was Cuban black beans with pulled beef, rice, fiesta salsa and nachos. What we didn't take photos of was the sangria which was delicious!

Remember to throw pomegranate seeds in to the salsa. 

http://m.gourmettraveller.com.au/recipes/recipe-search/feature-recipe/2014/6/cuban-black-beans-and-rice-with-pulled-beef/

http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/32001/fiesta+salsa

western australia: albany to walpole

I'm so pleased we saw the SW of WA but the brief visit has only whetted our appetites so it's going on the ever-growing list of places to get back to. There was so much we didn't have time to see! 

We drove from our free camp on the Pallinup River to just outside of Walpole.

Albany, the largest town we'd seen in a while turned out to be a good spot to refill the water tanks (thank you servo!) and we really enjoyed our visit to the National ANZAC Centre. 

The National ANZAC Centre has been built on a site with views to where the ships left in 1914 on their way to Egypt. The premise of the centre is to bring alive the personal stories of war. Our daughter followed the life of Olive, a nurse in the war, and she read about how Olive treated soldiers and moved around during the war. It's a fabulous place to visit if you can. 

From Albany we drove to a brewery where we met with friends from Tassie! We had brekky with this American family, Mum, Dad and twin boys, in the Bay of Fires and we've kept in contact. These guys are on the road semi-indefinitely. (Does that make sense?) 

We thought we might get further west than we did that day but we stopped for quite a while in Albany and it was good to slow down somewhat after the run across the Nullabor. 

Just east of Walpole you'll find Ayr Salean - a farm stay set on hectares. It's absolutely beautiful and well equipped with laundry, toilets, showers and camp kitchen. A few permanents live and work onsite and it was one of our most enjoyable stays down in the bush overlooking the dams surrounded by grass trees.

The Valley of the Giants is a must-see when down that way. It's a 15 minute drive from Ayr Salean and attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists a year.  

Do you remember seeing the image of the car driving through the huge Tingle tree years ago? 

Sadly that Tingle tree has died. The root system of these trees is close to the surface and the numbers of visitors killed the tree. 

An incredible air walk has been constructed 40m up in the canopy so now visitors to the area can see these majestic trees knowing they aren't causing damage to the roots. 

We happened to arrive when Hans, the guide, had set up to take a school group abseiling and he offered for our kids to have a turn. Without hesitation the kids threw on the harnesses and helmets and abseiled off the air walk. It was impressive. 

40m up. My legs were a little shaky!

Another giant Tingle tree. 

A few weeks ago this part of the country was alight so parks were conducting controlled burns across the south west. I love this awkward family photo with the fires in Nornalup. 

western australia: fraser range station

Our stay at Fraser Range Station was beaut. We had two nights in total and it was a good chance to unwind after the long driving days across the desert. 

We have been driving (somewhat) in convoy with a family we met at Pandurra Station way back near Ceduna and although we haven't stayed in all the same places it's been really great to meet up when we have. 

The two nights there also gave us the opportunity to 'eat out' at the station. For $30/adult it was a huge spread, delicious food and such a relief to not have to cook or wash up! 

We love staying on stations. Theres always plenty to see and the accomodation is usually pretty good. 

There's a great number of walks around Fraser Range and another round of Nullabor golf! 

adelaide for easter

We've just had the most relaxing few days with friends Christina and Will who we met Elizabeth Bay in Sydney when our oldest children were only a few months old. 

We used to swap babysitting and now we have 5 children between us. It was still enjoyable to just hang out and chat, play cricket, cook and read, while the kids played and played and played. 

We saw little of Adelaide really but sometimes you just have to stop racing around. Considering we've done a lot of sightseeing we appreciated the chance to relax. 

And what's an Easter weekend without a hunt? 

Christina raced down to her local fish monger in preparation for fishy Friday only to discover that people had put in orders and there was little to choose from. She settled on some pippies from Goolwa on the Fleurieu. We weren't sure what they'd be like but Will cooked them on the barbie before dousing them in a garlic, herb (all from the garden) butter and they were so, so tasty! 

This is a shocking photo. I dislike dinner pics as they're always dark and it doesn't do the meal justice.

south australia: limestone coast, coorong

We spent the night in a campsite on the beach at Wright's Beach just out of Robe. It cost $13 for the five of us for the night and has basic toilets. The beauty of this spot is that it is a stones throw from the beach which is reef for almost as far as the eye can see. 

It used to be a great spot for crays but the word from fishermen is that there aren't as many fish of crays due to the winds.

Another afternoon of driving and we made it to the Coorong - a wilderness area like nothing we've yet seen on this trip. The place is famous for the setting of Colin Thiele's Storm Boy in 1967.  

There are a few free camps in the area but we chose to camp at Parnca Point 2 which cost us $8 for the night. There are no facilities and I'd urge visitors to take their rubbish and grey water with them. Given that you're right on the water it would be shameful if grey water seeped in to the sanctuary. 

We spotted another four emus on the way in to Parnca - two on each side of the car which was great for the kids to see. 

We slept by the river with the sounds of the pounding ocean over the dunes a kilometre or so away. The night was clear and waters sparkly. 

Just a few J's down the Princes Highway  and there's a shed where you can buy the famous Coorong mullet ($25 for a big kilo & caught a day prior) or a rabbit ($10 skinned and frozen) if you fancy. 

You simply need to buzz the door bell and Shane, "a real bushy," flies down the paddock in his ute, dogs in tow. 

It was here, at the shed, that we met two more new friends, grey nomads, who were returning to their home on the outskirts of Adelaide. We ended up crossing the Murray, by ferry at Wellington and having lunch with them in Strathalbyn. 

Just as we were coming in to Langhorne Creek, through the wineries, we spotted a gorgeous little free camping spot, Franks Potts Reserve. It was only a 100m walk to a cellar door and 200m to a little brewery too.

Strathalbyn had a great store, the Old Market Shed which has been there for years but which sells a great range of local produce- cheeses, milks, preserves & pickles, olive oils, fruit & veg and other nuts, seeds and flours in bulk. You can grab coffee grounds and beans and fresh coffee too. I resisted stopping for lunch or some of the amazing-looking homemade carrot cake though. 

tasmania: hobart

Hobart showed us that any kind of weather in Tassie is possible. Within the space of thirty minutes. Everyone we queried about the conditions insisted it wasn't usually this cold but changeable, yes. So we just packed for every kind of weather when we went out - hot, cool, windy, rainy. 

The changeable weather is not surprising given the mountain behind this beautiful city. I fell in love with Hobart. Again. I was here a few years ago for a cooking day at the Agrarian Kitchen (the first time I'd visited the city) and I was blown away, then, by the way the city seems to worship the Derwent, simply by hugging its edges. 

This time we made the obligatory trip to the Salamanca markets which I wouldn't recommend if you're travelling in a caravan, conscious of weight restrictions. I do love the Salamca Square though with its coffee, book shop & small stores for food and handmade goodness. We came home with six fillets of salmon for $20 too which have been cryovacced & frozen - ready for dinners. 

Dear friends took us to dinner at Smolt (famous for being Katy Perry's choice for dinner during her tour) but a great place for food too! I enjoyed my prawns & the wine was good. They, like so many Tassie restaurants, source bags of local produce. 

My daughter and I really enjoyed our morning walk along the beach near Bellerive. The mountain was shrouded in cloud but soon cleared. 

Hobart's Farm Gate Market is held on a Sunday and you can buy anything from wallaby fillets to mushrooms, bagels to blackberries, pies to cheese. We took home a beautiful Turkish loaf with black sesame seeds, fruit & bagels for lunch. 

We may have picked a day from kunanyi (Mount Wellington's) windiest week to ascend the peak. It was blowing a gale of close to 90km/hr but the view was simply spectacular. 

It seems that many Hobartians have a shack by the beach. We were lucky enough to stay in a friends place at Dodges Ferry which has a beautiful beach. It was busy over the long weekend but I wouldn't call it crowded by Sydney standards!

One morning we tired the kids out at the Hobart Aquatic Centre ($25 for a family). I lost count of the times the kids went on the water slide. They had a ball. 

Another day J took the big kids to the Rock It Climbing Centre. After four hours of continuous climbing and tunnelling they were exhausted! Apparently, because of his height, J had to remove his shoes to get around some parts of the tunnel. (That's my idea of hell!) 

What's a trip to Hobart without a visit to MONA? I won't say much more about this place other than you'll either love it or hate it. Just don't try going on a Tuesday. We had babysitters and arrived to find it closed. We had to go out to lunch instead. How awful! ;)

tasmania: woodbridge

We're staying in a friends house (with walls and a door and real rooms!!!) for the next few days and as a thank you we're planning a dinner with local ingredients from the farms throughout the Huon Valley. These native pepper berries & bush tomato are from Chris at Diemen Pepper. The processing unit smelled incredible as they've just finished drying the berries! 

The food story behind Tasmanian Fruit Leathers is that Jen decided her kids needed a healthy alternative to the processed version you'd find in a supermarket. She sources all her fruit locally from the Huon Valley and they are available at the various farmers markets and online. Thanks for the visit Jen and the new favourite road trip snack!