July is upon us already...wow, four months on the road.. the girls have grown more than an inch since we have been away. It might just be with the dirt though ! They eat heaps now, bacon, eggs, baked beans, cold meats, chicken nuggets, pickled onions, salami and fish, just to name a few.
The new park we are at is nice and quiet and we have people here that we met en route...the gang from Muswellbrook. Great people ! I went on a fishing charter with the two blokes, Dave and Rowley, and we had a great day out with Absolute Ocean Charters for a full day fishing. A fantastic operation with great deckies and skipper. Huge boat and they even had a boat that had three wheels that took you out to the main boat...see July Photos.... I caught a nice GT, School Mackerel, Black Snapper and a lovely Rankin Cod which was yummo !!. Haven't eaten the Mackerel or Snapper yet and the GT was used for bait...also caught a regular Trevally and a few other things I threw back. We had to keep moving as once we had a few fish in the boat, the Sharks appeared and bit us off all the time...I lost a great fish to the bastards !! There was also a young boy on the boat and he couldn't wind the reel fast enough and lost every fish to the Sharks. Saw a few sea snakes, turtles, whales and sharks. Great day and well worth the money if ever you are up here...but only with the mob we went with
Had a game of golf...nine hole comp...played OK, but just cannot score ...frustrating. Might've been due to playing with a couple of ladies who loved giving orders...don't stand there, mark your ball...hurry up....I had a little dig at them...bloody hell, get enough of that at home :) Nice golf course though and a great view from the bar looking over Roebuck bay and the beautiful blue water.
Leaving here tomorrow to start making our way to Kununurra where I have booked Steph into a Triple J boat tour of the Ord River...she should love it.
After Broome we travelled to a rest stop called Ellendale Pond (not in Camps7, but on WikiCamps) and it was very peaceful by a large pond with cows walking around us. The girls are getting a bit cocky with these big beasts and start to walk toward them. Lucky the cows walk away. Next day we moved on to Mary Pool (Mary River) the other side of Fitzroy Crossing. Mary Pool is a large free camp and by the end of the day there must've been 70 vans there. Tourist buses pull in there for morning tea and such. Before getting there, we stopped at another camp site at Ngumban Cliffs as there were reports of an abandoned dog and I was going to try and get him to bring home, but it appears someone beat me to it...I hope.
Back to Mary Pool...we stayed there two nights and set the Satellite TV up to watch the State of Origin and another caravanner sat outside with me and watched it. TV under the stars...great !! Another couple pulled up that day and the woman was nothing short of a nosey busy body....she didn't like me in the end as I said a few things to her....even had a go at a little kid swinging on a tree branch as it might hurt the tree....shiiiiiittt !! Give me a break...then had a go at another bloke who was holding a chain saw and asked him if he was going to cut a green tree....she then walked around the camp telling everyone about this and that and how good she was....was funny in the end though..
Travelled further the next day and found a great camp at Dunham River...lovely. I would've stayed there another night but had to be in Kununurra the next day as the van park was booked as Steph is heading on a tour. Ag Show is on here this weekend and it was worth a visit...love country shows. Another one on in Katherine when we get there next week.
Steph loved her trip up to Lake Argyle and back down the Ord River. Must've been the only day ever in this season that it was overcast...unbloodybelievable !! She said the guide was excellent (owner) and his knowledge of the area and surrounds was second to none.
Got smashed with midgies and they itch like nothing else, but found a new trick..run hot water from the tap on a spoon and put the back of the spoon on the bite...kills the itch...works a treat !! Van park was shady enough but so bloody dusty...had a few swims and the girls got dunked and weren't real happy, but enjoyed it anyway.
Left Kununurra with it's population of drunken cousins and headed back across the top. Camped four nights to Katherine and enroute met up with people from earlier camps once again. All nice people...Ross and Merlene, John and Sue and Ray and Shirley. We hope to meet up again with at least some of them as they are great company and love the kids....and and the girls are famous across the Kimberley as we keep getting asked if they are the twins that someone saw at another location...superstars. Also met a nice young couple, Matt and Nikki (I hope spelling is correct) and they took a year off and are heading around AUS without ANY ASSISTANCE from the Government. I take my hat off to them !! They also love the kids and I hope they have an absolute ball and find whatever they wish to find in life in their van, nicknamed 'SuperVan' ...keep in touch guys on your travels !!
Got into Katherine early and found that there is a McDonalds here now...had to happen....Town is just about the same and there is a LOT of extra Cousins in town due to the Katherine Show and after talking to the local cops, they have their hands full !! There was even a rape in the main street the other night...one drunk cousin raped another girl cousin...bloody hell man !!! What is wrong with these people ? Met and saw some lovely cousins at the show and it is amazing what can be done if you put your mind to something
As I write this in Katherine NT, the fireworks are blasting away from the show across the road and it is still 23 degrees at 8pm. A little more than I just heard from Dave & Les and Chris and Pat back in Port Mac...fires are on and they are sitting with jumpers on...hahahahahaha...de bloody ha...ooops. Sorry gang :) ....about 3800km to go till we get home after leaving here next Wednesday, or Thursday...looking forward to a few drinks with you !
Took the girls to the Hot springs in Katherine and finally they enjoyed the warmer water...lovely.
Keira and Zoe had there immunisations on Tuesday and they didn't make a peep getting the needle, except Zoe got a little frightened when I held her a little tight. No problems at all...well done !!
Left Katherine and stopped at a few places down the track and Keira started to get a fever and snotty nose....bugger. Stayed overnight in a nice free camp and cooked on the fire, but we all had a restless night with Keira. She wasn't much better the next morning so we drove about 400km to Camooweal where there was a Health Centre, but when we arrived there were no Doctors as he was up with the RFDS (Royal Flying Doctor), so I drove another 200km to Mt Isa and saw a Doctor who said she had a Viral condition so no medication other than Panadol. She had a spew in the van and stunk the place out, then spewed on Steph in the Dr's surgery after he put that thing on her tongue to check her throat. She then spewed on me when I was eating dinner, just after a shower. Gross
As we drove across the Barkly Tablelands, Steph saw an old table in a table drain :) We also stopped at the Barkly Homestead for a bit of cooked brekkie...BIG breakfast was fabulous...bacon, eggs, mushies, hash brown, sausages, baked beans and thick toast.....mmmmm...bacon....
I woke up with a sniffle and sneezing and this afternoon, Zoe has a Temperature...Keira seems a little better. I was going to head out through Outback QLD, Boulia, but with the way the girls are , we will now start heading home as we don't want them too far from Civilisation in case things get worse. So we leave Mount Isa tomorrow (27/7/14) and head through Cloncurry, to Longreach and then in a SE direction
Stopped overnight at McKinlay at the Pub made famous in Crocodile Dundee 1. Had a few beers in the pub and turns out that a cop I used to work with in the TRG in Sydney, now is the local cop there....although he was on Holidays...what a pity as it would've been a good chat. Then made our way to a rest area just east of Winton and from there another rest area called REDBANK at a town called Jericho. A great rest area maintained by the town and they ask for donations for your stay. Well worth it as it had flush toilets and was by the river....with a short walk to the very small town, including the pub. Stayed there 3 nights and donated some dollars and ended up meeting up with Pete & Di from Wauchope. Friends we know and we had been in contact with them to meet up. Had a nice fire and cooked some food on it and had a few cold drinks...excellent !!
Moved on and stayed the night in Duaringa QLD (between Dingo and Banana)...true story...nice little camp and the ladies from the Lioness' were cooking brekkie in the park on the Saturday morning which came in handy. Left there and travelled into the wind...AGAIN !!!!....and made it in Rockhampton and booked into Riverview Tourist Park on the Fitzroy river for a couple of nights. We have all had colds etc and hopefully when we leave here tomorrow, we will be free from bloody germs !! Also had to buy a new gas bottle in Emerald as the old one was smelling a bit of gas and I couldn't find the problem, so it was thrown...much safer.
Not much to tell after Rockhampton as it was all just a quick trip down the Coast via Urunga to see Jeanene, our sister-in-law, and back home....weird feeling being home ???? But I get this thing that once my nose is pointed toward home, I want to get there, so next time I will wait longer to point there :)
18,500 km's travelled
$22,000....includes everything with 2 adults and two 18 month olds
Averaged $25 a night, which is great considering caravan parks were all over $35...most ion the $40 range.Oh well...go to clean up the car/van now and start saving for the next one I suppose. Until then, thanks heaps for reading and keep an eye on this site for more in the future
ps....we are all still a little crook, but nearly better
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