Well we’ve spent a couple of day in Port Augusta getting ourselves ready for the next leg of our trip. The schoolwork has been sent, a new spare tyre purchased, as have some caravan bits & pieces, and the fridge and pantry are full again. Ready to head on up to Coober Pedy via Woomera.

We found out today why my phone reception has not been so good. Apparently I had a NextG SIM card but not a NextG phone which explains why I could not get any reception out at Leigh Creek or Arkaroola even though the Telstra network was meant to have coverage out there. So today we’ve ordered a new phone with the added bonus of having the “rural range” blue tick on it which is meant to give even more extended coverage. Picking it up tomorrow morning. This should help us stay out of the news from now on.

Will get my butt into gear and try to upload some photos now…

Well what a weird kind of few days we’ve had! But let’s go back a bit to last Wednesday, the day after my last entry…

We had decided we needed to do one more thing before we felt ready to leave Arkaroola, and that was to climb Griselda Hill. It was only a short 1 km return walk from the base of the hill which was about 1 km from the caravan. But the climb was almost a vertical one. Steep and rocky, with a scramble over larger boulders at the top. So it looked like a fun challenge for us with the boys. And that it was! I felt like I was on the verge of throwing up for most of it – freaked out by the vertigo feeling I had, combined with my chronic fear of heights and stressed out of my brain over the kids taking a wrong step… everyone else was fine of course but my palms were sweating! I think was made it worse was the shaley rocks that just disintegrated under our feet which made us slip back down as we walked, together with the ferocious wind that day. Arkaroola could be a windy place! Anyway, we finally made it to the top or, at least to as high as I was willing to take the boys, where we sat in a protected spot under the big boulders and refuelled on a muesli bar, some tiny teddies and water while we took in the amazing bird’s eye view of the world. The boys and I sat and waited while Sean scrambled over the last few boulders to get to the actual top of the hill and take some photos and videos for us. The whole time we sat still, too afraid to move in case we slipped back down the hill. And, of course, I was worried sick about Sean slipping off one of the boulders… Thankfully he returned to us soon enough and we headed back down, walking sideways all the way. Despite my constant state of anxiety during the climb, I really did enjoy it and more importantly, so did the boys. They were very proud of themselves for having climbed it too.

On the way back to the caravan, we stopped at the visitor centre to check out the 2 snakes they had spotted there the day before and check if they were in more of a mood for moving today. Apparently, one of the snakes hissed and poked it’s head towards Alex’s face which excited the boys no end. Thankfully, there was a panel of glass between them as the snakes were in a large fish tank. Sean and I missed all the action because we were reading about some of the Arkaroola history and other info available in the next room.

We had decided to just hang out at the camping ground for the afternoon and chill out before heading off the next morning. Just as well we did…

Alex and Oscar were outside playing with their new little friend Jessica (7) from Sydney and we were tidying up after our lunch when a couple of the staff members came to tell us that we have been reported as missing and that the police were looking for us. They had been looking for a family of four with a Nissan Patrol with our number plates, we were told. Well that was us, but we were not missing, we were just hanging out in the outback. We stood there looking at each other in disbelief! They asked us to go back to reception with them to call the police. I went with them while Sean stayed behind to look after the boys. At reception, I got put through to Jason, a detective at the Port Augusta police station and he told me that we had been reported missing as our last contact with our family had been 20 days ago. He also told me that we had been on the news. My jaw dropped. He then told me he was sitting at his desk looking at a photo of me on his whiteboard. On a train somewhere. Off my Facebook site. What? My head was spinning. Was this real or was I having some kind of spun out dream? I told him we were all ok and just have been out of mobile phone range so we hadn’t been able to call anyone.

My first thought was that I guess 20 days was a long time, it’s just that it didn’t feel that long to us. The days just melt into one another out here and before you realise a week is gone, and then another and another. Our thoughts had also been focused on our daily activities and taking in our immediate surroundings so it didn’t really occur to us that anyone would be worried about not hearing from us. I guess we were wrong…

I went straight into the public phone booth and called mum, Vicky and Tan. After getting a major revving from each, I promised to stay in touch more frequently and bought a phone card to do just that when we were out of mobile range. But that was not the most bizarre thing…

The most bizarre thing was that when I got back to our caravan less than an hour later, Sean and I heard a newsreader on Radio National say “the Lynch family who were missing in the Flinders Rangers for 20 days have just been found safe and well at Arkaroola”. Well, news travels fast! Our jaws dropped in major disbelief. This was so surreal. It was actually litttle Jessica’s dad’s car radio that had the news blaring (anyone who knows us, knows that we do not listen to the radio) and he came over to us and said “I guess you guys must be the missing family found in Arkaroola since you are the only ones here with 2 kids.” We all had a little chuckle and they joked about how they would track our trip around Australia by the missing person’s reports on the news. “The Lynch family is missing in the Kimberleys… the Dampier Coast… Perth…”.

They were a lovely family and their daughter was a pure delight! The boys grew very fond of her. She had spent a few hours patiently playing games or watching dvds with the boys in our caravan or them in hers. They would all cuddle up close, like they had known each other for years. Lovely to watch! Her parents had done a lot of travelling and had dreamed of doing the big trip around Australia as we were, so we swapped many stories about our various trips. One of the great pleasures that we are getting from this trip is meeting so many like minded people out here… maybe we are not so weird after all!

Well the whole police fiasco was a bit of a downer for us for a couple of days but our stop at Warren Gorge soon fixed that. We left Arkaroola the next morning and made the long haul to Warren Gorge that day. About 300kms of dusty, corrugated, rocky, dirt tracks back down through the Flinders NP, which looked as lush and green as the English countryside compared with the arid, barren landscape of the Gammon Ranges and Arkaroola.

One slight hiccup – a flat tyre out in the middle of nowhere, which wouldn’t normally be a worry, except that we had just had another flat a couple of days earlier at Blinman, so we were out of spares! Doh! Luckily Sean (the chronic hoarder) had a puncture plugging kit packed. About 100 years old, mind you, but it worked a treat! So about an hour later we were on the road again, tyre plugged, finally arriving at Warren Gorge after dark. We then spent about an hour looking for a good place to set up the van in the rabbit warren that is Warren Gorge. In total darkness, so not much fun. Too much choice, that was the problem. Lucky Sean is a patient man! Thankfully the boys also were that day and they watched a dvd on Oscar’s laptop while we set up and I cooked them some dinner.

The next morning we woke up to some of the most breathtaking scenery. It looked like we had teleported to Alaska! Lots of pine trees and incredible rocky cliff faces. It was a great surprise. We instantly fell in love with Warren Gorge and decided to stay until Monday. We had 2 magical “down” days where we didn’t stray very far from the van and just focused on school work with the boys, with the occasional break for a speed downhill bike ride by Sean and the boys. We were parked right on a steep 4WD track that went up to the top of a hill behind us. I enjoyed a few cups of tea, we spent hours collecting firewood thanks to a guy in a big crane removing dead branches off some huge red gums, made a damper and built the biggest campfires. Can it get any better than this? Best of all this campsite was free! It had been recommended to us by Angela & Col, our neighbours at Koolaman in the Flinders.

More of the same the next day. Then we did the 5.2km walk on Sunday even though rain was threatening but so well worth it. The short sunshower or 2 along the way just complemented the scenery beautifully. We couldn’t believe how completely different the scenery here was from the Flinders, just up the road. Lush, green, mossy, pine forests next to blackboy forests, topped with creamy rocky outcrops, then on the other side it looked like a scene out of the sound of music in Switzerland. Just breathtaking! We were lucky enough to spot a group of 4 rare yellow-footed rock wallabies, which we have also been fortunate enough to see in a few different spots in the Flinders. Given that they are an endangered species, we feel quite privileged to have been able to see them.

Sean has taken the boys for a shower so I have a spare moment to write. We’ve had a couple of enjoyable days here at Arkaroola. You could easily spend a week or 2 here, there is so much to do.

Yesterday we drove out to Paralana Hot Springs which are the only uranium fed springs in the world apparently. It was a long 30km drive out on a 4WD track but through some spectacular country so well worth it. Out there we went for a short walk around and generally milled about looking at all the spectacular rocks. Lots of sparkling red stones and massive chunks of white quartz. Then we drove down the track a little and set out our blankets for a picnic lunch. Lovely mettwurst and Barrossa camembert…. Divine! Then we hit the road back the way we came and stopped for a short climb up to Lady Buxton Mine – an old copper mine site. Lots of green rocks around the place and more crystalised quartz. Then back on the track and took a detour to see the Arkaroola Spring, a nice 4WD track and lovely walk into the waterhole which was flanked by a red rocky gorge. Alex and I then went for a short climb up a nearby hit, which ended up being quite tricky to get down, while Oscar and Sean made some of their own rock art. Then back home along the track we came.

Today we decided to try the Mt Jacob Backtrack – a 13.5 km harder grade 4WD track. On the way, we stopped to check out the tiny gold mind “Lively’s Find” where we spotted a guy with a metal detector obviously trying to steal some of Arkaroola’s gold. Tut! Tut! The boys had a great time crawling though the tunnels and looking down deep “sinkholes”. Further on a little we stopped at Welcome Mine, an old copper mine with lots of green coloured rocks and crystals still around. A little further along the track we stopped and ventured out on a 3km return walk into Barraranna Gorge which comprised of lots of rock scrambling along dry creek beds. Again, very spectacular landscape similar to the Bunyip Chasm – Oscar had fun spotting all the “bunyip” caves in the cliffs. Thankfully they were high enough that he felt safe enough from the bunyips, with which is now majorly fascinated. Oops…

The boys are really loving the rock scrambling and take every opportunity they can to climb up any big rocks they find to scare mummy. They yell out “Look at me mummy! Are you scared?” and of course I freak out and they love it.

We found a nice spot at the end of the walk to have a picnic lunch and tthen continued our journey. The road was a little rough but not too bad and we really enjoyed driving it. Our next stop was Tillte Gorge, which was a short 1km walk from the car following a fairly faintly marked rocky trail. We got down to the creek bed but found it dry so we continued to walk a while and came to a fork and followed the one that seemed most gorge-like. There wasn’t a trail to speak of but we were in search of water, after all, it was supposed to be a waterhole. After more rock scrambling we decided to turn around as it became evident that all the water had dried up. Still, it was a pretty secluded spot and nice to see. The photo we saw of it in the visitor centre showed a whole heap of water in the gorge so it’s obviously very dry up here at the moment.

Back in the car for some great driving up some steep ascents and descents… and believe me, they were heart pumping steep… so steep, in fact, that when you reached the crest of the hill you couldn’t see the track in front of the car because it fell away before the end of the car bonnet, so you just had to push down on the accelerator and just hope the track went down in the same direction you had just climbed up! Let’s just say that I was really holding my breath. The scenery was so spectacular that it also took my breath away. We felt like we were the only people on the planet. The sun was settling which also added to the majesty of the place. Sunset definitely brings out the best of this landscape, turning the mountains a brilliant orange and then gradually fading to a soft purple, just like in an Albert Namidjura painting. Back to the caravan for dinner & bed.

Back into civilisation of sorts with a powered site and hot showers. The first thing the kids did was turn on their computer to get into the games they’ve been missing while we havent had power to run them. Sad, hey? Not that this is really what you usually call civilisation – out in the middle of nowhere – but it seems to be a little spot that travellers stop at to have a shower and do their laundry. It’s very close to the Birdsville, Strezleki & Oodnadatta tracks, so we’ve met people here who have, or are about to travel that way.

Yesterday we explored the western side of the wilderness sanctuary. First walking the Spriggina trail (about 3.5kms) then checking out the bush camping area which looked much nicer than the powered sites area where we were. We met an interesting guy called Robert – a 70 year old from Adelaide who is retracing a trip he did back in the early 90s when he “went feral” for 5 months. He’s on his way to meditate in the desert, he said. Well that piqued my interest so we kept chatting for a while. We had a wonderful chat about life in the cities versus life out here and how more and more people are going through a similar shift as us….leaving the commercialism behind to live a more caring (Robert’s term) and spiritually fulfilling life. He was an inspirational man to talk to. I hope we can be as free a spirit as he is when we’re 70.

We ventured on in the car to check out The Pinnacles, which are sort of like a couple of the 12 Apostles sticking up out of this barren, rocky landscape instead of in the sea. Then we stopped for a picnic lunch at Bolla Bollana Spring, which was a gorgeous waterhole and on to check out the Bolla Bollana smelter – ruins of an old copper smelter. Not much there but rubble and a weird brick domed building which you could walk into. Nice spot though. We were alone at all of these spots which made it all the better.

Last night Sean and I worked ou that we have been in the Flinders for 18 nights, much to our astonishment! And we feel we have only just skimmed the surface of what there is to see and do here. We could easily stay here for months… so much for a quick detour up from Port Augusta for a couple of days…

We are settling in to a kind of routine now. The boys and I are usually up at around 7 and we have breaky while Sean sleeps in until 8:30 (because that‘s what Sean does and there is no waking him no matter how much you try!). After breaky is done with I will run through about an hour of English with Alex. I have found that if we do a bit every day he doesn’t resist it and just gets on with it. Much easier than putting up with about half an hour of whinging if we leave it go too long between lessons. Then the boys go out to play while we get ourselves ready for the day, usually heading out around 10:30 ish. Nice and cruisy. Everyone else in the campsite is usually packed up and gone by 9 but I guess our time limit is different to most and we don’t have to jam as much into each day. We’ll go out exploring until about 4ish and I’ll cook dinner while Sean tinkers with this or that, or collects firewood with the kids and makes a fire. The boys will be out either playing with their campground friends or talking to anyone they can find. They’re not as shy as they used to be. Then we’ll have dinner at around 6, read the boys a couple of bedtime stories, Alex reads us a couple of reader and then the boys climb up to their bed and fall asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillows. Usually around 7:30 – 8. Then Sean and I enjoy a couple of hours of peace while we read, talk, look at maps, plan our activities for the next day and sip either a cup of hot chocolate or a Baileys on the rocks, if we have the rocks.

We’ve never had so much time to just sit and read. Have been chewing through the books…particularly enjoyed Bill Bryson’s “Down Under”, which taught us a lot about Australian history – we learned more about Reg Sprigg and his famous fossil finds than we have actually here at Arkaroola, which he bought and developed into what it is today. Anyway, that book is fantastic and a must read for every Australian! Especially for those who live in cities and think that that is all there is to this country.

One of the things we are finding is that there is just so much to discover out here. You just could never do it all. And it is all so fabulous. Even if we could perpetually travel, we would never run out of things to see, do and learn about in this country. Us Aussies have a lot to be grateful of in our wonderful country… we are so lucky!

Sean and I worked out that we’ve been spending around $400 per week since Port Augusta. That includes $500 for food, $100 eating out, $300 petrol, $200 camping fees, $100 for other stuff (including laundry, firewood, gas, etc). $1200 for 3 weeks. About $20K per annum at that rate, which is vastly different to staying at caravan parks and travelling through cities and towns, which ends up around $700 to $1000 per week. So we’ll try to stay in as many free camping spots as possible from now on. Much more fun anyway.

Have had a couple of nights at Grindell’s Hut which have been really lovely. Found another family with 2 kids – Ellie (8) and another Alex James (6). The kids were ecstatic to find them out here in the middle of nowhere. Got to chat to their mum about their travels and good things to do in the Gammon Ranges and at Arkaroola. Drove the 4WD loop track around the national park yesterday. The highlight was Gill’s Lookout which involved a very steep climb up to it. The view at the top was spectacular overseeing most of the national park, with a few high peaks in the distance. The rest of the drive was a surprisingly easy even though it was a one way track, with just a few steeper climbs and descents. At thee end of the loop track we got to Lochness Well and found Alex & Ellie’s car parked there so we figured that this must’ve been the start of the walk into Bunyip Chasm, which they were doing that day. So, of course, the boys were all excited to track them down so we started off down the track to find them. We finally found them about a km and a half down the track – or should I say dry creek bed. They urged us to continue on as they said the walk was very rewarding and so we did, borrowing their topographical map and some water. After an hour or so walking on rocks and scrambling up boulders we got to the gorgeous chasm which resembles some of the gorge’s in the McDonnell Ranges near Alice. Steep vibrant red rocky walls, with lush vegetation and a rocky dry creek bed with the occasional pool of water we had to navigate around. The most beautiful part of the Gammon Ranges we had seen so far. Sean had my Garmin GPS watch on and our quick little walk ended up being a 6.5km hike, most of which involved walking over a rocky creek bed. Hard yakka on the ankles for sure! We got back to the car all famished and scoffed down some biscuits and chocolate to refuel. Yum!

That night we made a campfire and BBQed chicken skewers on the hotplate which we ate while sitting around the fire. We were almost out of gas so this was our way of conserving what we had to keep our fridge running. We’ve been making a few campfires but tend to only do this when we’re bush camping to add to the whole experience. The boys just love collecting the wood, starting the fire (using dried gum leaves) and keeping it going by piling on wood when necessary. Sean tells them great fairy tales while we’re all huddled around the fire on the chilly dark nights. Then I try to sing a few nursery rhymes but they soon try to shut me up. The boys just love it.

Well the showers were a true outback experience! Old shearer’s showers, lukewarm water trickling out of a rusted out shower head, spraying out everywhere except directly under the shower rose! Freezing cold air blowing in under the corrugated iron sides and door. In Oscar’s own words: “I’m cold!”. I would’ve possibly added a few more expletives… Not a pleasant experience at all.

Sean took the boys on a hike up to the top of the ridge behind our campsite. They were gone a whole hour and had to scramble up the rocky face and scramble and slide back down. According to Sean, quite hair-raising at times. I stayed behind to indulge in a bit of reading and a cup of tea in the sunshine and peace. Just as well, I reckon.

Finally dug this out to write another entry. Must keep it in a more accessible spot. What a week! We feel as though our journey around this magnificent country has only now really begun. We set up camp at a spot called Koolaman campground in the Aroona Valley in the Flinders Ranges national park. After having checked out most of the other camp areas in the Flinders during the following week, we concluded that our spot was probably one of the best ones in the national park. The Aroona Valley was truly spectacular, particularly when the sun first rose, turning the Heysen Range bright orange. We were set up right next to a dry creek bed which became the boys’ playground for the week. We fell in love with the spot so much that we found it hard to leave and ended up staying for 7 nights. The first day we all rode our bikes up to Aroona camp site, a few kms down the road and rode back along the walking trail, which had quite a few little creek crossings (dry, of course) which meant we had to get off our bikes and walk then down into the gully and back up again. Of course Oscar tried to ride down one, copying Alex “the BMX bandit” and came agutsa! His front tyre hit a rick which stopped the bike and propelled Oscar over the handlebars and through the air like Superman! But he got up, dusted himself off and kept going, really loving the adventure of it all. Bless his soul!

The next day, or maybe the next, we decided to do the 8km walk through Aroona creek, around a mountain or 2 back to the Aroona ruin and then back to our campsite along the path we had previously rode. We thought it would be a good experiment to see if the boys could make it that far. And amazingly they did! Oscar is a real bushwalking champion who just keeps on walking, much to our surprise, as he generally is the less physical one in the family. After much whinging from Alex, I had the best brainwave ever and pulled out my ipod shuffle and plugged him in and off he trundled, leading all the way, with the occasional swinging of the hips and singing out loud to the latest Triple J Hottest 100 songs. We were very chuffed to have found a solution to his surprising dislike of hiking.

We got to meet both our “neighbours” who were both a far way off. The first couple by asking to borrow their axe, as ours has gone walkies – probably left back in Bundy. The second couple we met due to the guy having fallen over a massive rock and pulling his elbow out of it’s socket. It initially looked like he had badly broken his arm but when they got to the hospital (in Port Augusta, 3 hours drive away) they got him into surgery and put his arm bones back where they belonged. Luckily for him he hadn’t broken any bones, but then again snapped tendons and ligaments are probably worse. Anyway, they were both lovely couples, the first just up from Adelaide for a couple of weeks away, but wanting to take the plunge and travel around Australia, the second (Angela & Col) having sold everything up and living in the only thing they owned (a very nice Coromal off road van and new Nissan Patrol) perpetually travelling around this fabulous country. They had been on the road, from the sunshine coast, for 8 months and shared many tips and great spots with us. I think she really inspired us to do more free camping and get out of those dreaded caravan parks and so we have forgone the endless power and water (which unfortunately also means the heater!!!) and are living frugally, using the sun as our source of energy thanks to our solar panel, and the occasional rain tank as our source of water. Life cannot get any better! Our sense of freedom is incredible. I think I could do this forever.

We had a couple of rest days to really unwind and relax and then went off for a drive around the national park, through Braccina gorge, with it’s spectacular red rocky hills, famous of the Flinders. We even spotted about 5 of the endangered Yellow Footed rock wallabies, of which we had learnt so much abuot at the Monarto Zoo. We had lunch at Parrachilna, at it’s famous “feral” pub. I had a yummy roo buger and Sean munched on an emu burger. It’s a funny little yuppie style pub in the middle of literally nowhere – a real surreal experience. We even got to see the world’s longest train go passed – 2.6 kms long to be exact – carrying coal of course. Then drove through Parachilna gorge to a tiny cute littlee town called Blinman where we got our first flat for the trip. Sean changed the tyre, then the boys and he scoffed down some ice-creams and we headed back into the national park, checking out some other spots and tracks, finally coming back into our perfect spot at Koolaman.

We are getting pretty smelly now. Our last shower was our first ever go of using the external caravan shower and little pop up shower tent we bought just before we left Bundy. It worked a treat! The water was warm and the tent big enough and protective enough to keep you warm. But that was a few days ago now. About 4 or 5, I think. So we’re probably getting kinda smelly. The reason we haven’t been using it more regularly is that it uses a fair bit of power and water, both of which we are trying to conserve at the moment. This afternoon we are going off to the national park headquarters where there are showers available to use. That should do us for a couple more days till we get to Arkaroola where we’ll be back in the land of power, water and showers! We have also had the opportunity to finally pull the porta potti out of its box and use it. So genuine self sufficiency is what we’re talking about!

Leaving this powered campground and moving to bush site somewhere out in the national park today. It’ll be our first taste of camping without a heater… and it’s bloody cold! Curious to see how long we can last. Travelling during school holidays sure is a different experience. The campgounds are full of kids instead of just grey nomads, the showers are packed out at 7am and everyone is on the move and in a hurry. It has made me realise that we are already beating to a different drum, different timescale. We can take our time with everything. No more rushing about. And believe me, that is pure heaven for me! We sit in our jammies till 10, then slowly meander to the shower block, have a leisurely shower along then decide what we’ll do that day and head out, if that’s the plan. Some days we even manage to fit in an hour or so of schoolwork.

The Flinders really do look a lot different from what I remember. It’s very green and bushy this time. Last time I remember it being more red and rocky, which makes it far more striking to see. Still nice, but just not as dramatic. Apparently they’ve had a fair bit of rain which has greened it up. In fact it’s raining today, which makes it even more fun for packing up!

We’ve done a couple of nice walks here so far. Into Wilpena Pound and up to 2 lookouts. The boys loved walking up the rocky steep track and running back down. The track to the lookout was 4kms which they managed without a problem. Then on the return journey, we walked for about 2 kms and managed to catch the shuttle bus back for the last 2 kms. Our timing was perfect, given it only runs every 2 hours! The day before we packed up our site at Rawnsley Station and stopped to walk up to Twidale Top, a short 2 km return walk to the top of a little hill with great views of Rawnsley Bluff (one of the peaks of the Pound) and the station itself. The boys loved it, again because of the rock scrambling and climbing they got to do near the top.

Yesterday we walked into Sacred Canyon, which was also great fun. Only a relatively short walk of about 2 kms through a rocky canyon along a dry river bed. Lots of opportunity for the boys to do more rock climbing and jumping over puddles. We were walking up a river bed with a strong energy flow and my fingertips were tingling for most of the walk, particularly the part after the canyon itself, where most people turn around and go back. We continued to walk down for a while when Sean felt the energy, or what Vicki Wilson called a “lie line“. It was at the point of 2 intersecting creeks and so strong that it made Sean turn around to face the creek running off the river we were walking along. He heard a ringing in his ears and felt like a weight on his shoulders. I also definitely felt a strong energy current as I walked into the same area, which made my hands heat up and tingle as they do when I do my Reiki. Sacred Canyon alright!

It’s nearly 10 so better go and have a shower now. Lucky checkout from here is at midday!

In Port Augusta. Arrived yesterday. Did the great Outback Centre at the visitor information place then walked into town to find the post office to post some postcards and pickup our mail. Found their great library in which we have spent a few hours. The boys love it as it has 2 special kids computers with great kids games. At least it gives us a few hours of peace to surf the net. We’ll be back, for sure.

Have been up for ages. Feels like hours. Bloody wind howling like nothing else. Our caravan isn’t the best place to sleep when there are severe wind warnings around!

We’re in Port Germaine, a weird little town 80k’s south of Port Augusta. Smack bang in the middle of not much! It’s a surprisingly quaint little town of only 200 odd residents, famous for having the longest wooden jetty in Australia. It’s almost 1.5kms long! It also has the best kids playground including a bike track around it with some tricky bits. The boys are loving it here! Once again, stopping here was a total fluke. Our plan was to stop at Port Pirie, about 30kms before this place, but once we got there we just felt like going on for a little longer and we stumbled upon this little picturesque beachside town with a surprisingly busy little dusty caravan park right on the ocean. Funny calling it an ocean because it seems totally surrounded by land and like more of a river, but ocean it is! As usual, our 1 night turned into 2, but we will be moving on today.

Yesterday was the most amazing day! We decided to spend a day exploring Mt Remarkable NP which is the southern most tip of the Flinders Ranges. We drove into Alligator Gorge, which was a surprisingly long drive, not realising that we had to drive all the way around the top of the park, which is north of Port Germaine. Took about 50 minutes but boy was it worth it. We went on the most awesome bushwalk we have ever been on with the boys, through the 2km Alligator Gorge walking track. The first bit was just walking down hundreds of stone steps into the gorge itself, then we turned right and walked along the creek up to “the terraces” which was a gorgeous red rocky waterway where the rock had been formed to look like terraces, and the water just glided down and made little waterfalls. The rock was really red and striking, and reminded me of some of the dramatic gorgeous in the Kimberley. The boys loved it there, running and jumping up and down the riverbed, placing sticks into the running water and watching them glide downstream. They also spotted tadpoles, which they poked and prodded. Then off we went following the river back the way we came into the part of the gorge call “the narrows”. Well this was a real treat, we walked for around 2kms most of which was in the river itself, jumping from rock to rock. The boys absolutely loved it and had an absolute ball. Lots of smiles, laughter and sense of adventure all round as we made our way down the magnificent red rocky gorge. Sean and I were so amazed at how well the boys were traversing the river, capable of picking the right path of rocks to pass across to the other side, and how excited they were by the whole adventure of it all. The walk took us a couple of hours and Oscar and Sean went off to do a short lookout walk after it, while Alex and I sat in the car, me reading and Alex playing his PSP. When we first arrived we all went on a short walk to another lookout but as Alex was grumbling all the way saying he was hungry, we stopped and had lunch at the Blue Gum Flat picnic ground before embarking on the long gorge walk.

We left Adelaide on Sunday. Saturday, our last day in Adelaide, Sean drove us into Her Majesty’s Theatre and I took the boys to see a show called “Splish, splosh, splat!” which was a kids rock band with a “rock-chick” and “science geek” who explained the properties of fluids through music. It involved jars of spit, wee and vomit (pea and ham soup), lots of bubbles, liquid nitrogen, and of course, slime! It was a clever little show. The boys were so overwhelmed with being in a theatre watching a show that they sat there like stunned mullets for the first half an hour until they relaxed into the whole thing. Country boys through and through!

After that we did our favourite Adelaide thing and went to the city library to get yet more CD’s and DVD’s. I quickly updated our face book page while the boys took Sean to the SA museum next door where he found the rocks that Bill Bryson mentions in his “Down Under” book found by Sprigg in the Flinders Ranges. It also had a spectacular wall sized backlit lit photo of Wilpena Pound which got us all excited about hitting the road again. After that we walked through Rundell mall, got us each a Boost Juice, found the famous Mary Martin bookshop, which had lovely shop fit out but was not really kid friendly so we walked on to the adventure shops and found a great pair of trekking boots for Sean. Just in time too!

Finished yet another book last night – Eleven Minutes by Paulo Coelho, which was great. I am really loving the couple of hours of reading time at night after the kids are in bed. Pure heaven! Getting through so many fabulous books. So far since leaving Melbourne I have finished the wonderful Eat Pray Love and read the disturbing but compelling Kite Runner. And now Eleven Minutes, a wonderful tale that examines the mystery of sex and love. What is next, I wonder…