The Final Word Again - by "Chris"

Last Birdsville travel day link - click on this if you missed the last day

and a quick map – Press here for map link

Now who to acknowledge and thank...without forgetting anyone I hope.
Thanks to God for this opportunity, for watching over us and keeping us, our friends and fellow travelers safe, and for blessing us with such amazing weather.
Thanks to Sandy, Kevin and Ruth (Mum and Dad) for running Trudy's Hire for Baby business so we could have this holiday adventure, and thanks to the Winter and Hanna families for meeting us in Queensland.
Thanks to all the other schoolmates, family and friends at home and around Oz, watching and commenting, sending emails, text messages and the help along the way from friends and strangers.

And my amazing family, so much to thank you for. So a couple highlights from me...

Amy - Thanks for your hand to hold on bush walks and your courage to snorkel out on the reef (to the turtles) all by yourself. What bravery and determination you have shown yet again!

Miky - My caring and joyful big girl, thank you for the beautiful happy singing, the crackup laugh you have and the very high standard you have for yourself with all things you write and draw - your journal is truly a work of art!

Ryan - My "mate"- you really stepped it up this trip. What a great help you have been, knowing I can trust you to both understand how we need things setup and then you get on and do it without being asked, is great. I also really need to acknowledge and thank you for your patience with me, hopefully next trip not as many tyre changes, hey?!

Trudy - Yet again you have held us all together on another crazy holiday adventure. Thank you for your endless support, your organisation, your planning, your helping calm me down when you need to, and your endless love.  I love you heaps and heaps ! 

Our last camp fire for this trip - Our family 

Bye for now - until our next adventure.

And for the last time this trip, take care and stay warm !

Please let us know what you like or even your favourite picture via a "comment".Just press the "comments" word after the pictures, write your comment , use the "Preview" to check and then "Publish" - Thx

Back to Birdsville

Day 31 - Saturday 6th October - Longreach to Birdsville - by "Trudy"

We packed up and left the Longreach caravan park in good time and drove south towards Birdsville. The single lane developmental road had us continually pulling over or stopping, not only to move aside for road trains and other oncoming traffic but also to cattle (which take along time to decide to get off the road) and even a family of emu's which were so cute slowly wandering single file across the road! We took a visit to the little town of Stonehenge and then to Jundah. We happened to arrive for the Jundah horse race day and their Outback Oktoberfest! It was tempting to stay there for the afternoon but we had a big day to get to Birdsville so we continued driving. The next stop was Windorah where we had a look at the Cooper Creek, saw the towns solar farm, and had lunch at the pub. The last 280km for the day was on the rough, rocky road to Birdsville where we got another 2 tyre punctures. Once was a slash and the other was a puncture which Chris was able to fix with his tyre repair kit. Even by late afternoon it was still a hot 37 degrees so it was nice to finally get into Birdsville where we took it easy and had a roast meal at the famous Birdsville pub.

We waited while a family of emu's crossed the road

Trudy and Chris at the Jundah outback Oktoberfest

The Windorah solar farm

Chris and Ryan changing our 4th flat tyre - still smiling

Amy and Mikayla looking at stones on the hot, rocky plains near Birdsville

Day 32 - Sunday 7th October - Big Red - by "Ryan"

I had a little sleep in while Dad and Amy went to get some tyres repaired. When they got back I had some breakfast and we began packing up the camper trailer. Once we had packed up we decided to go for a drive to Big Red which is a huge red sand hill out of Birdsville at the start of the Simpson Desert. When we got closer to it the main road to it was closed so we had to take a big detour around the area to get to the bottom of it. We were all amazed because at the base of Big Red it was a huge lake full of water! Last time when we came here there was no water anywhere. Dad let some air out of the tyres and we drove up to the top. At the top we had a look around and the kids rolled down some of the hill. I was very exited when dad asked to drive with him down the other side and then up the steep side of Big Red and of course I said yes. Driving down wasn't too hard but I was still a bit nervous. At the bottom we drove back a bit to have a big enough run up to climb the hill. It was tricky driving up the sandy hill because the car was losing speed and the sand was a bit boggy but we made it to the top! Afterwards Mum also wanted a turn so she drove this time and was excited to make it to the top too. Then we had to leave Big Red. Back at Birdsville we had a quick shower then began driving along the Birdsville track to get to the Innaminka turn off but when we got there the access road was closed! Because it was closed we had to drive all the way back to Birdsville so that we could drive the other way around to Innaminka. On the way we got another puncture that we had to get repaired in Birdsville. After that tyre puncture was fixed we headed off the different way towards Innaminka which was back the same way we had come yesterday. Late in the afternoon we got ANOTHER puncture but dad was able to plug the hole and we continued on. We drove till it was getting dark and we set up camp just off the road  at Farley Tank. Once we hopped out we realized that it was really prickly everywhere but we stayed there anyway.  We set up and the kids played cards while Mum and Dad made tea. After tea we read for a while then went to bed because we were all a bit tired. 

The famous Birdsville pub

A group of emu's on our way towards the Simpson Desert

Our kids rolling down the Big Red sandhill, flood plains in the background

The massive "Big Red" sand hill out from Birdsville at the start of the Simpson Desert

Chris on top of "Big Red", another 4WD starting the climb

A very happy Ryan after conquering "Big Red"

A frustrated Chris with the access road to Innaminka being closed

Day 33 Monday 8th of October by Mikayla

In the morning we packed up the camper trailer early in amongst all the prickles. Once we were ready for our big drive we left FarleyTank and was on the road again to Innaminka . After a while of driving we got another puncture in one of our tyres that dad was able to fix with a tyre plug. We then decided that going to Innaminka with only one good spare tyre might not be a great idea on these rough, outback roads and we would be very rushed to get home with the long distance. Once we had thought about it for a while we decided to turn around and go the 170km back to Birdsville because dad knew someone there who had two new tyres of the same sort as dads that we could buy. When we arrived back in Birdsville for the third time, we dropped off the spare tyre to be fixed then went to the pub for a drink and bowl of chips. We bought 2 new tyres and dad fitted them on our car then we headed towards Maree to drive home. Later when it was getting dark we found a campsite on the side of the road to stay for the night. After we had set up Amy and I made a fire then mum made tea. For tea we had salad, rissoles and potatoes cooked in the fire. Once we had finished tea we played a game of cards called "hearts" ( AND I WON !!!!! ) then went to bed.

Our campsite off the road 

Ryan and Amy got very good at helping Chris change tyres, the pit crew.

Waiting at the Birdsville pub, for more tyres to be repaired.

Sunset at our road side camp

Day 34 - Tuesday 9th October - The Final Leg Home - by "Chris"

A beautiful clear morning greated us at our last bush camp, just off the Birdsville track and roughly 1000km from home. So an early start it was, quick packup and on the road by 7:26 heading straight for home and hoping for no more flat tyres. We only had one, a quick on site plug repair with my handy offsider Ryan, and away we went. We travelled via Leigh Creek, Hawker, Quorn, visited my sister in Stirling North, a bite to eat in Pt Pirie and made it home tired but happy around 8pm. Kids were very excited to see the pets, mum and dad very excited to see the showers. We made it! A quick 1000km in the day and everyone still happy!

Derwent River at Mungerannie

One of the many lizards on the road

Leaving our dust behind

The Flinders Ranges - a lovely change of scenery

The kids travelled very well together over 13,000kms in 5 weeks

Take care and stay warm !

Please let us know what you like or even your favourite picture via a "comment".Just press the "comments" word after the pictures, write your comment , use the "Preview" to check and then "Publish" - Thx

Rough map of our trip so far ......

 

  

Central Queensland - Mount Isa to Longreach

Day 28 - Wednesday 3rd Oct - From Lawn Hill to Mount Isa - by "Trudy"

We did a quick pack up of our camper before the heat set in and we headed off from Lawn Hill. Our only creek crossing for the day was the picturesque Gregory river just before we stopped at Riversleigh to check out the fossils that are imbeded in rocks and hillside in that area. The kids learnt how the ancient animal fossils were formed and we did a walk around the area. The dirt road south was very rough, rocky and corrigated which caused havoc with our tyres and meant that we got a good view of the country from the roadside. The first puncture (slashed tyre) was on the Prado and the second puncture (again slashed tyre) was on the trailer. Both were big cuts that were slashed by sharp rocks and Chris spent ages trying to plug the holds so we could limp our way to Mount Isa as we had used our 2 spare tyres already (with another puncture last week). God certainly directed our path to make the next 200 kms to Mount Isa and we were blessed by a guy at Tuff Tyres who happened to have a second hand tyre of our uncommon type plus another sort the same size. Both of our original tyres were unrepairable and the kind man not only sold us 2 second hand tyres, disposed of ours as well as fitted one on the trailer and only wanted to charge us a pittance of $50! This was such a relief and we treated ourselves to KFC for a late lunch (4:30pm), had a look around Mount Isa and at the view from the lookout (including the stunning site of the sun streaming through the dark pollution clouds coming from the mine and smelter - was a good reminder that behind every cloud is a silver lining!). We decided to keep driving and set up for the night at a free camping spot by the Corella Dam about 65 kms out of Mount Isa. We all loved the serenity and beautiful sunset over the dam and enjoyed dinner under the stars and quality family time.

A beautiful water lily

Gregory River crossing near Riversleigh

Learning about fossil discoveries at Riversleigh

The first tyre puncture

The second tyre puncture on the trailer

Looking out over Mount Isa

Mikayla and Amy doing some school work on sunset at Corella Dam

Day 29 - Thursday 4th Oct - Corella Dam,  Winton, and Longreach - by "Amy"

We had a peaceful start to the day getting up and packing away the camper. When the inside of the camper was packed away Mum and Dad folded up the camper then we drove off. We drove through a little town called McKinlay and had a look in the Walkabout Creek Hotel that was in the Crocodile Dundee movie. We kept on driving and reached the town of Winton. At Winton we went to the information centre and found out about some interesting things to see and it has a display for the Waltzing Matilda song. We went to look at Arno's wall which had all sorts of things cemented in the walls like TV's, microwaves, tyres, golf balls, 3 motorbikes, a kitchen sink and many other objects. Next we drove to the musical fence that had all different instruments made out of old tin and recycled things. Some of the instruments that were there was a fence that sounded like a guitar, a drum kit, and lots of other percussion instruments. Ryan did a good job playing songs on the fence. After that we went to the bakery and got some lunch. I enjoyed my chicken and vegetable pie. About 12 km outside of Winton we went to the Age of the Dinosaur fossil centre where we did a tour. It was interesting to find out about some of the dinosaur bones, dinosaurs and how the people get the fossils out of the ground. In the laboratory we watched the people get the rock off of the fossilized bones using special tools that sounded like a dentist drill. We drove another 170 km to get to Longreach and found a caravan park to stay at. We had dinner and then all had a great shower before going to bed.

The pub from the movie "Crocodile Dundee"

A wagon in Winton

Part of Arno's wall in Winton,  filled with all sorts of objects

Amy playing the outback drum kit

The Musical fence of Winton and the other percussion instruments

Amy wresling "Banjo" at the Age of the Dinosaur fossil centre

Day 30 - Friday 5th Oct - Longreach and the Qantas museum - by "Mikayla"

In the morning we had a nice sleep-in because there was no rush to go anywhere. Once Amy and I got up from the speedy tent and started having breakfast a couple of brolga birds came to join us at our tent. We had a relaxing morning not doing much then later Ryan, Amy and I went for a swim. The pool was cold like at Josephine Falls but we got in for a bit. When we had finished swimming we had a nice shower then got an ice cream. Dad had gone shopping for hardware things and mum did all of the clothes washing. When dad got back we all went to the Qantas founders museum. At the museum we went on a tour to find out and have a look at the big 747 plane as well as the 707 plane. The 747 was a massive Qantas plane with 3 stories for freight, passengers and business class and we got to have a look all around it which was very cool. We found out alot about the plane and even got to sit in the cockpit. The 707 was the first Qantas jet plane and it is the first one out of just 13 of that short model of which only 3 are left in the world. Qantas needed this short type to fly into the short Fiji runway at the time because the longer types couldn't land there. The 707 plane was set up as a private jet plane which was very impressive and was used by Michael Jackson during his worldwide History tour. Michael even wanted to buy the plane. Ryan was very excited to get to sit where Michael Jackson had sat! After we had finished looking at the planes we looked around the Qantas museum and had a nice lunch at the cafe. Afterwards we went grocery shopping then went back to the Longreach caravan park for another swim. In the afternoon I cut out pictures from brochures for my journal and played games with Amy. For dinner dad made a scumidiliousis pasta then we all played a card game of "hearts" before bed.

A brolga visiting our camp

Mikayla and Trudy in the Qantas 747 engine

Chris and Trudy in the 747 cockpit

The Qantas 747 in Longreach

Ryan enjoyed being in the impressive 707 plane that Michael Jackson used

Ryan, Mikayla and Amy in the old DH50

The friendly brolga that Amy nicknamed "Feathers"

Take care and stay warm !

Please let us know what you like or even your favoritie picture via a "comment".Just press the "comments" word after the pictures, write your comment , use the "Preview" to check and then "Publish" - Thx

Rough map of our trip so far ......