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We are off to Barwon heads caravan park next weekend..  This is the ride I hope to do..

Hi

Apologies for taking sooooooooo long to get back to you all. I know it is part of your daily ritual to read the words of prescott.

We had a great Christmas followed by all of us getting REALLY sick with gastro or food poisoning, unsure what but

Hope everyone has a safe and happy new year..

Stay tuned for 2007.. Many lessons of life for you to follow..

 bye

 b.

Port Augusta was a stop over. The weather was warm and windy but not too uncomfortable during setup. Jem & Aid had their first swim for the trip and it was cold! Baggsed the BBQ and had an easy tea.

Next day was Adelaide for another stop over and jump on the jumping pillow. Mum and Dad had pulled out on the train for Broken Hill about 10.30, we arrived about 12.30. The rain caught up with us and it was cool again by the sea at West beach Shores c/p.

Headed towards the hills again before following the Princes Hwy south. We traveled through the Coorong NP which is a system of coastal lakes claiming to be the biggest nesting grounds for pelicans. Didn’t see any! Kinston SE is famous for the Big Lobster. We stopped for a photo and were impressed by the detail in construction but it was petty deserted - passed its prime? Or just out of season? We took a drive through the sweet little town of Robe before going back to our site to set up. Hoping to choose one with a bit of protection against the impending gales we dithered over a few but still took the blast most of the night. The next day was site-seeing. Walked around town reading various monuments to sailors and explorers then drove up to the remains of a convict prison and the obelisk (used to fire rockets from to warn of the treacherous coast). Back to town for some shopping and a swim in the heated indoor pool. Best and last swim in 6 weeks!

We went into town for dinner at the local pub, an old English style which brought back memories of a brief visit to the old country.

We packed up and headed towards Victoria coming up through the back of the Grampians. What an impressive site! The escarpment is stunning and creeps closer until we found ourselves winding our way through the distinctive valley towards Halls Gap. The fires of last year were still obviously leaving their scars but countless Grasstrees (Blackboys) had sprung up in a pandemic of profusion. We made our way though town to our Big 4 on the other side- because it has a jumping pillow, and although we had an en-suite site we had forgotten that we would be joining the thousands who had began their holidays just as we were finishing! We had been very spoilt having the whole of Australia to ourselves (with a couple of ‘Grey Wanderers’ sharing their tales) - or so it had felt, and this coming home was a bit of a rude shock. We contemplated the logistics involved with dropping the children off for school and continuing on east as the sun rises but having had the most terrific bonding with each other we just couldn’t bare the idea. The road was just going to have to hold off for a while and we would be getting back to the day to day.

We walked into town for some souvenirs – and didn’t see 1 Koala – “Oh, where have all the koalas gone…long time passing.” (sorry, a little reminisce there). As we staggered back with children dragging under our feet while the drizzle continued, we collapsed in the c/p social hall to see “March of the Penguins”- very cute and teary. It was the end of a long journey for everyone.

Our final day would see us pack up early, before the rest of Melbourne, and drag ourselves back along the familiar Western Hwy, through Ballarat (for Maccas) and over the last well traveled kms of the Greensborough bypass- we were home and all was as we had left it. Heres to the next adventure!!!

8^th September

We finally had a day at home, NO DRIVING YIPPEE. Hugh and Dad went looking for bait. It was a bit of adventure as we scoured Emu Point taking deviations thru fields and fishing depots finally finding bait at another Caravan Park. We then headed back home to grab the other kids. We finally made it back to the bait shop, I say finally because J&A rode their bikes which was a bit of a challenge on the bumpy path. We purchased some squid and headed off with dreams of bagging a big one.

We set up the lines and waited, and waited then waited some more. BANG, Hugh could feel something heavy pulling, he reeled in and found a crab hanging on for its life. As he got to the last metre it jumped for safety. This was repeated a number of times. Aidan, Jemma and later Mum all bummed out and caught nothing.

Spent the afternoon riding and looking at Whales. Nellma and Granddad (Gills parents) found there way to our park later that afternoon. They are joining us for 4 or 5 days. We ordered Eagle Boys Pizza (Paul, fond memories of Heinz in NZ) and crashed for the night.

9^th September

Another morning doing nothing!! Gills Parents went to Whale World while we went to the beach, More Whales watching!! Kid spent ages climbing up and down an 8 foot sand bank. We then headed for the Adelaide FORT. This was the first federally funded fort for Australia. They had VERY large cannons that you could move via the original mechanisms. There was BIG naval guns from ships, which the boy loved as you could move them up down left and right. Good display of Naval and Army stuff in the barracks. It only cost $5 and was worth the visit.

Dinner at Nellma and Granddads cabin. J&A slept over for the night.

Found out that Peter Brock died. He was one of my heros as a youngster. Some say he would have preferred to die this way. (driving flat out). I would suggest he would not have preferred to die at all. Another tragic loss.

10^th September

We packed up and drove to Esperance. We did get pulled over by Mr Plod who reminded us it was a 100km limit if you r toeing a van. He said there was a big sign at the boarder however we did not see it. We slowed down and put the cruise on for the rest of the journey. We passed a HUGE Nickel mine who had their own mobile network and lunched at Ravensthorpe. Soup for Dinner, pretty quiet night.

11^th September

We all headed off for a 40k tourist drive they call the Great Ocean Drive. This weaves its way around the coast passing the whitest beaches with the bluest water. Pretty good surf which looks great as it crashes against HUGE granite boulders that slip smooth into the seas. We passed the first wind farm built in Australia then headed back to town via the Pink Lake. The pink lake is pink due to Algae and salt. Its pretty big however was actually blue. No explanation why it was blue, it was supposed to be PINK. All the signs suggested it was pink but it was blue!! Biggest gimmick we have come across. Maybe the algae moves out for winter!!

We then grabbed a few sambos at a kids park with a lame maze (well Hugh thought it was lame). It was then time to hit the Aquarium. We parked out the front thinking wow that’s small, I bet there is a great underground interactive fish kaleidoscope with moving walkways and talking squid that explained the wonders of the deep. We were greeted at the door with Esperance Boutique Aquarium. MMM we did start to wonder. We were greeted with a Big smile and a Welcome, we were then privately escorted around by the girl who greeted us to a number of fish tanks starting from warm water to cold water species found in this area. The kids luved the sea horses and cheeky octopus. There was also a small touch pool where you could touch a stingray, small shark, crusty things etc. She even let us in to the areas where the BIG fish were fed. Kids enjoyed the snapper who stuck its head out looking for food.

There was no basement, no moving walkway infact it was very small. The lack of these things did not take anything away from the visit. It was great, the guide was very knowledgeable and we really enjoyed it. Again well worth a visit.

It poured rain and we headed back to Nellma and Granddads for Dinner. OH NO Spaghetti BOG for dinner!!

12^th September

Shiver me timbers its morning, Captain Barnacle Bill Sparrow woke with a whore in both arms, an empty bottle of rum and large boil on his butt. Scratching his unfortunate bump he declared “We will take the young pirates out on a journey to see the islands of the archipelago where wildlife was abundant and the treasures buried deep”

He swung by rope across the top of the poopdeck, his golden tooth shining in the morning sun, his chest glistening against the waters reflection with his trusty parrot (actually a one eyed budgie unfortunately named blossom) in tow.

Raise the yardarm, tug the halyard, hall the anchor, along with a long list of other instructions he did not really understand and the troop was off.

The pirates that formed Captain Bill’s gang were an ugly and gangly lot. There was his wife and partner in crime, Give a lot Gill, not really a pirate name but reflective of the effort she has made on this journey. There was Halibut Hugh, a swine who could not be trusted, Jittery Jemma who loved small animals especially blossom the budgie. Aidan the terrible was a gruesome character who picked his nose daily. The other two members were legendary in Pirate circles, Bootleg Bruce and Nutmeg Nellma. They hold the key to Davey Jones locker and spent their lives pillaging the rich and granting wishes to the poor.

We were not 5 minutes into the journey and MUTINY, yes  MUTINY! The black pearl had been overrun by 3 clean dressed muggles who renamed the vessel to SeaBreeze 2 giving running commentary on the islands and wildlife.

Captain Barnacle Bill did not lay down. He strategically placed himself in the road of danger attempting to woo back his pirate crew and reclaiming the Black Pearl for his own.

The journey passed the large wharfs where the iron ore and wheat were shipped to far away lands, obviously as bribes to world leaders for jewels once belonging to Captain Bill. Halibut Hugh spotted a bay seal and with an almighty splash Captain Bill plunged into the icy cold water, grabbing the beast by its mane and dragging it back for Jittery Jemma to play with. He had successfully gained one of his crew back. Only 5 to go.

The boat then headed to a number of blue beaches and with a crash and bang Captain Bill ripped the gang plank off, dived over a 15 foot curl and surfed his way across rips, rocks and coral. Aidan the terrible was amazed, he to grabbed the nearest piece of wood and followed Captain Bill into shore ripping the curl and hanging 5. The crew was now at 2.

We then passed a number of islands, wide life abundant, Australian Sea Lions, New Zealand Seals, Cape Barron Geese, Dolphins, Eagles and Goats With a ARGGHH and another ARGGHH Captain Bill summoned Blossom to fly him to the closest island, he gabbed blossoms tiny leg skipping the water as he finally landed on the closest island. Ever resourceful he used ropes and sticks to build a wide life sanctuary, dug channels for running water, tilled the soil for new feed and as expected dug deep to find buried treasure. Halibut Hugh wiped his eyes as he could not believe what was laid before him. Gold, Ruby’s and chocolate Fantails. He pleaded for Captain Bill to take him back.

The wind was picking up, a storm was brewing. The mutineers headed for the shelter of Woody Island. The ship was tied up and coffee and cake was served. Captain Bill saw thru this chi raid however knew the cup of tea and chocolate cake posed and enormous threat. He purchased a number of souvenirs to keep his crew with him. Bootleg  Bruce and Nutmeg Nelma headed off for a walk and he new it was the opportunity to lay on his charm and woo back Give a lot Gill.

For reasons of classification (this is rated PG), we cannot go into any details of what Captain Barnacle Bill did with Give a lot only to say the GIVE A LOT SHE DID.. Whew Captain Bill may need a new heart transplant!!

With the core crew back on Captains Bills side it was time to depart and this island and regain the trust of the final two.

The waves were HUGE, (actually no BS they were big, infact one lady was lifted into the air and crashed back to the ground, an ambulance was called for when we arrived).

Bootleg Bruce looked green and Nutmeg Nelma took shelter. It was apparent the muggles could not manage the ship in such treacherous waters. Captain Bill quickly gave Bootleg a dose of Dramamine, and wrestled the controls of the ship from the mutineer. The waves were now 60 feet, Captain Bill called Nutmeg Nelma to settle the crowd. The trust he gave her, the responsibility of all on board gave Nutmeg the will and endeavor to ensure all was safe, She and Bootleg were back on board, raised the skull and bones and rename the ship to the Black Pearl as Captain Barnacle Bill Sparrow brought the sea under his control safely docking back at port.

 

All were saved. The crew begged forgiveness. The Captain forgave. Another adventure over. Good night and good luck.

13^th September

Spent the day at Cape Le Grande National Park. Lots of white sand and blue waters. Lucky Bay has been voted the most pristine beach in Australia and it did not disappoint. Picnic on the beach followed by a walk.

We packed up the annex as it had dried up and we prepared for our trip to Fraser Sheep Station the next day.

4^th September

We followed up the big day yesterday with a more leisurely drive around Margaret River.  We did the tourist tasting thing for most of the day. Chesses, Yoghurt, Fudge, Chocolate were all yummy and kept the kids happy especially at the Chocolate Factory which provided Milk, Dark and White chocolate buds by the spoonful.

We then headed off to a Lavender Farm. We tasted Lavender Chocolate and Lavender Wine which was very yummy!

There are far to many wineries to choose from so we picked a winery that won a gold star for its whites last year (Willespie). Problem was they do not give tastings for this Gold star winner. They are however well known for their vintages and did fleece us of some money!.

We then headed off to the Busselton Wharf. It is a 2 kilometer wooden wharf, the largest in the southern hemisphere. At the end is an observatory. Well it was toooo windy and we decided to stay in the car for lunch and feed the seagulls. They were taking chips from our hands in flight.

We also heard the news about Steve Irwin. What can you say, you play with fire and eventually you will get burnt. He paid the ultimate penalty. Some say he was greatest conservationist / wildlife protector of our time. Others believe he made money from tormenting animals. We visited Australia Zoo a few years ago and were blown away by what he built. All this aside he is a father of 2 a husband and a son. So sad to die so young.

Soup for dinner.

5^th September

We packed up slowly, kids said goodbye to their new friends and we headed off to Albany. We drove through Pemberton and timber town, literally. Walpole, which was smaller than expected and Denmark, larger than we expected. Would have been nice to spend some time looking around however the roads were windy and we were sick of being in the car.

We stopped at the Tree Top Walk near Walpole on the way. They have built a huge walkway thru the top of the large Red and Yellow Tingle’s and Karri trees. It’s reasonably cheap, well planned for people towing vans and lots of fun for the kids. There is also the Emperor Walk where you walk the middle of the red tingles that have been hollowed out from fungus and fire. Lots of birds. Highly recommended.

We then made our way to Albany. Albany was one of the main reasons why I wanted to do this journey. It was the first town settled in WA, it was built on Whaling then later by farming. It sits by King Gorges Sound, has small islands littered around and the Whales now come to breed in the safety of the bay.

We looked at two parks, first at Middleton beach (Big4) then at Emu Point (Top Tourist). The emu point location looked much nicer and even though it was a little out of town the put put golf swayed the decision. (after booking in we found out you had to pay for put put!!).

6^th of September

We went for a walk along the bike track. There is a track that runs from Emu Point to Albany some 10 to 15km’s. It did not take long to see our first whale not far from shore.

On our way back, bang, crash, ouch. Jemma and Aidan in their haste to be the fasted bike rider crashed into each other. Jemma a few bumps and scratches however Aidan’s arm was a bit of a worry, first though it may have been fractured however after some rest it came good, still hurts but ok.

Hugh and I then went for a longer ride seeing 2 whales and finding a café for a snack. Then Gill did a ride by herself to the point.

We decided to check out town later in the day. We drove past the customs docks  where there are large wood chipping factories and silo’s., We then headed off to the Wind Farm. You can actually climb onto these. They are HUGE and worth a visit.

We then spotted some more whales!.

Dads special Hamburgers for tea. Finally found some more red wine as well.

7^th September.

Decided to go for a bigger ride. Rode up to the top of Mt Adelaide, mmm have not ridden enough lately, very painful as its quiet steep, then headed to town and took it easy on the way back looking for whales.

Next we were off to Whale World (yes more bloody whales!!). Whaling ceased in the late seventies. The whaling station was owned by the Green’s, a rich family who decided to hand it to the locals to build a tourist attraction and did they do a great job of it.

We heard that it smelled however that was far from the truth. You can climb the last whaling boat looking at each room, Aidan loved that. Each of the large silos that use to hold the whale oil have been converted into cinemas. One of the cinemas is 3D. This was the best 3D I have seen, we look stupid with the glasses and laughed at the kids as they held out their hands to try and touch the whales, seals and sharks as they stuck out of the screen. You can walk thru all the old boilers and machinery, view Skelton’s of large whales and see how the whalers lived. It was a hard and smelly life.

We left and found a small sheltered cove for lunch. It was blowing a gale all day. We then headed for National Park to see Salmons Holes, the Blow holes (a bit of a walk but worth it), then to the GAP and Natural Bridge. Very much like Great Ocean Road but smaller.

On our way back we stopped at the Amity Replica. The amity landed with the first settlers for WA. Although it’s a replica it is very realistic, you can climb thru each level and look at how they lived. Although it is no bigger than a modern 3 bedroom house it housed over 35 people, goats, sheep etc. What a hard life!

Back home for a BBQ and now writing this blog.

For you avid readers, we expect Spaghetti Bog soon and another update from Thor or was it King Bill or maybe a new and much more daring character, who knows!!

p.s. No photos. Have struggled to get an internet connection down here.

29^th August

We made our way to find Janine’s. Sat Nav had us weaving in and out of roads. We later found that Mandurah is like this, lots of lefts and rights but somehow you end up where you want to go.

DJ and Curtis took the day off school to catch up with us which was great. The kids got on like a house on fire. Jan’s house is great and they have plenty of good ideas to make it even better.

After the hellos we headed off to the waterfront for fish and chips. Gill and I left Janine in charge of the kids on our search for a fish shop. Well Jemma and Aidan aka “Seek and Destroy”. ran her off her feet while we were away. Buy the time we got back they were all contained playing tiggy.

Fish and Chips were great including muscles and real scallops.  Appears that the local government is spending lots on the waterfront with playgrounds paving etc. In fact this area of Perth is going absolutely crazy with pavers. Many of the intersections and crossings are being laid as pavers rather that concrete. Looks great.

We then headed off to the beach for a play. Kids spent an hour building sandcastles and goofing around.

We later headed back to Jan’s for a great BBQ cooked by Chris. Appears he had actually slaughtered a cow before we got there. Steaks were a good 1 ¼ inch thick. PERFECT. Thanks Chris.

We were able to catch up with Dale who has changed the most, he is a mechanic and looks like he really enjoys what he does. We also caught up with Hayley who is a typical teenager. We can still see a sparkle in her eyes even though she try’s and covers it up. WE LOVE YOU HAYLEY :-b

Jason also dropped in looking smart in his work gear. Looks like he is on track to getting a great career in the telecommunications industry. Stick to it Jay we are very impressed.

Thanks Jan and Chris, you made us feel very welcome and you new home is great. WA is addictive however I have traveled to most areas in Australia and the World and Melbourne is still the most livable and family friendly. (I wait your reply on the comments, ha ha!!)

We made our way home and crashed.

30^th August

We are not really sure what we did in the morning. I think we cleaned the bikes and the kids played at the park.

We decided to go to Perth for the afternoon. We headed off for a drive to the City. Yep just another City!!. We then made our way to Kings Park. This is definitely worth a visit. It’s a huge park on top of Mt Eliza. The gardens are perfect and there is a tree top walk. The views are magnificent, you look over the swan river and the city.

 

We got our fix of waterfalls, creeks and grass then headed off to find a Chicken Treat. Well this was a little painful. We had no idea what Chicken Treat was however we saw them everywhere. Well do you think we could find one when we wanted too? NUP. We punched in Chicken Treat into the Sat Nav. Well 10km the other way we found one. (After one false alarm). Well sorry to disappoint, Chicken Treat is just like Red Rooster. Pretty much same meals however it does taste great and worth a try.

Home to heavy rains and winds.

31^st August (Last day of Winter!)

We promised the kids if it rained we would take them to the movies. Well it was raining and Jemma did not let us forget our promise. We headed off to Freo for the day. Found a parking station and went for a walk. Freo is sort of on its way to being a decent town. It obviously sucked 20 years ago however once we won the Americas Cup lots of money was poured into restoring the old buildings and building cafes etc. One of our customers “Notre Dame University” lives in Fremantle and looks a pretty good place to go.

Lots of Aboriginal artifact shops, arts and crafts etc and definitely worth a walk around. There are some very modern shopping centers including the Woolshed and Myers.

We decided to eat at Hungry Jacks as we could feed all of us for the price of one at the coffee shops which were EXPENSIVE. Well bad move. Freo maybe coming on however there are lots of Dero’s / Homeless people. Gill did not notice to start with however we ended up with a seat next to one guy who had purchased a coke somehow and as most of you know at HJ’s you can keep going back to serve yourself. Well this guy made a few visit’s and boy did he stink. I do feel sorry for these guys however every mouthful of my magnificent Whopper was followed buy a smell that could only be described as something that Jabba the HUT coughed up after devouring a mucus covered sludge rodent from the planet PIG OFFEL” URGGHHH. Gill did finally got a whiff. It was actually his foot that appeared to have Gangrene (not sure of spelling). Lets just say it was the worst sight we have seen since EVER!!.

I encouraged the others to pack up was left was left into a Kids meal box and headed off to the park. Much nicer.

Gill and the Kids went off to watch Curious George at the movies. I went off to replace the windscreen. The crack was getting worse to the point of being dangerous. Also Gill could not see out the front.

I had arranged for the guy to come out to the park to replace however due to the rain I had to drive 20km out of town to the factory to do it under cover.

I must attract idiots and deros. Well I arrive at O Briens glass and the witch behind the counter asks if I was booking in the car to which I replied no I booked it in yesterday. She then asked which car I was picking up. I looked confused and told her I was checking the car in I booked yesterday. Well she went bananas, getting other staff involved basically calling me a fool as I was there to book the car in then even though I booked it in yesterday AGGHHH what a fx@#N idiot!! Not ready to back down from a fight I asked her to tell me when it was to be ready!! Well she said given I was just booking it in now she could not tell me AGGHHHHHH I told her I booked it in yesterday you fx@#N idiot!! In fact they had called me earlier apologizing for the rain and asking me to bring it in at any time and they would do it immediately!. I stood my ground, WHO IS THE CUSTOMER YOU IDOIT!! (of course not loosing my cool at any time). She ran off and came back saying it will be ready in 2 hours. MY RESPONSE!! Well ok and sat in the waiting room waiting quietly. TOLD HER THE STUPID BZ^&EY%.

An hour and half later it was actually ready and quickly made my way back to freo to pick up Gill and the kids. BBQ for dinner.

1^st of September (Spring is here!).

It was still a little overcast. We went for a walk along the beach to and ended up at Woodman’s point where they make concrete. Appears they dredge the sand in a HUGE ship, dump it all at the point and a huge vacuum, sucks up the sand, cleans it for cement. The walks took ages with very little complaints from the kids.

The afternoon was spent driving to Cottelsloe and Scarborough beaches for a quick look then tried to get to the local lighthouse. We failed as it was fenced off.

Spent the rest of the afternoon drinking more Penfolds and kids at park.  The Woodmans Point Caravan Park was tidy and well maintained. It was a little noisy near the road however felt pretty safe and had everything we needed.  DID I SAY SAFE!!!  Well here we go again. That night we could hear a car screeching around the roads, just kids fooling around we expect however then we heard a BOOM reasonable close, then followed by about 5 gunshots soon to be followed by police sirens OH NO. This felt like it was happening a few hundred meters away. I fell asleep wondering what went on. On our way out of the park the next day there was an old HR parked out the front, the boom was from the kids setting the car alight and the sirens was obviously from a Fire Engine who later put the fire out.

2^nd of September

We packed up and headed for Janine’s, we left some stuff there and wanted to say goodbye again.

We then headed for Bussleton some 200km south of Perth. Petrol prices vary almost 30cents around here.. As cheap as 1.24 with discounts and some in the 1.50’s + . The trip was pretty much non eventful. We stopped at Bunbury on the way and decided to run the car and van thru a drive thru hand car wash. Well $9 later, soaking wet and missing lots leaving dirty patches we tried to pull out of the driveway. Mmm.. long car and van, short curved driveway out, oh no it will be tight, after shouting at Gill who was trying her best we decided we could not make the turn, in fact going backwards appears to be a worse option. Decided to do the 4wheel drive thing, over gutters, mounts and grass to everyone’s amusement we made it back onto the road. Its never dull on the Prescott journey!!

We made it to Bussletown BIG4 Beachside Caravan park. There are heaps of Parks here, we choose based on a jumping pillow, cappuccino machine and close proximity to town. It has not disappointed, its quiet, we are next to the jumping pillow and right next to the beach.

Up with the van and annex and settled in with the kids meeting some new friends and Aidan projectile vomiting, all normal!!. In fact their friends are from Croydon!!

FINALLY SPAGETTI BOG AGAIN FOR DINNER!...

3^rd of September (Fathers day or as we have renamed Worship BILL day).

Being a Bill is not easy. The pressure of being Bill is something I would not wish on anyone. The constant pressure of saving humanity is a curse that has been handed down from Bill to Bill. Bill Clinton once held this burden in fact it dates back to the battle of 1066 when King Bill conquered King Harry and England to save the word from tyranny.

I was lulled into consciousness by the children singing me a sonnet from Bill Shakespeare’s (another who carried the burden), mid Somme night dream. This was followed by gifts. Over 1 hundred handcrafted chocolate balls which covered nuts that had been carried by naked women from far away lands. There was also gifts of stories and written word befitting of my position.

Once the ceremony finished I decided to grace the town with my presence upon my wheel cycle. I rode like Lance as the town folk showered me with praise and adulation as I rode 40km at a leisurely 60km per hour!!

Once back and bathed by in milk by Egyptian Goddesses I gathered the family and we, followed by a procession of servants, headed for the Lighthouse were we are to be presented the keys to the city and taken on a tour. We were given priority access to the lighthouse, shown all levels including the mechanism and was led out to the balcony at the top where the townsfolk had organised a large whale for our amusement.

We then, with procession in tale, headed to the hamlet of Donsbourough where the bakers of the day presented pies and sausage rolls for our consumption. Although the town was pitiful we were given some reprise from the charming grassed area usually set aside for regal visitors.

To our amusement our next location was marked in the road by rose petals. These led to Ngili Caves. Nigli which is aboriginal for Bill was once a spirit who also had carried the burden. After 100 hundred years of carrying this heavy burden he retreated to this cave for solitude and peace. (we were later told by a dero on the corner that he actually came to this place after constant nagging of misses Ngili, a hat maker from Tasmania who had a small but smelly growth on her back). Not really sure who to believe!.

We were carried by goat to the doors of this magnificent cave. A small ritual was performed by the local natives and we headed down 37 meters to explore the stalactite, stalagmites, helitite, helmites, straws, columns and shoals created 500 million years ago.

The peasant owners had actually created a small dark slide that one places their body thru and drags oneself thru the rock to a small hole down in the main chamber. Of course I pushed to the front and leaped headfirst down the hole, my followers gasped at the bravery shown. (what this really means is Gill and the kids went first to ensure that first it was safe and secondly I could fit down the hole, just did not sound as good!!).

We spent an hour exploring the crevasse, shimmering down ropes, climbing escarpments, we found a number of new caves to the delight of the locals. We then headed back to the chariot as the palate was parched.

I demanded BEER and the locals quickly formed a human archway leading us to the Bootleg Brewery. A fine establishment who in my honor crafted a beer of the finest hops naming it RAGING BILL with 7.1% alcohol which tasted like liquid gold. The court Jesters were sent to please me with songs from the 70’s in a beer garden bathed in sunlight. My offspring Aidan quickly took up conversation with a poor beggar boy and gave him false hope of friendship by kicking a leather hide across the grass that is green.

On completion of my duties and ones bladder, we where whisked away to a ICREAMERY aptly named Bills (Simmos for short) Ice creamery where I was presented with a range of flavors made available to the selected few. Coffee Crunch from Brazil, Strawberries form London, Chocolate from Belgium, they had it all including Liquorices Ice cream. For our amusement they had an emu that eats ice cream and had created a recreation areas from my offspring.

With the days duties on complete we headed back to the castle, dinner was cooked by my wench and the children were presented with a story from a small but noisy screen.

Red wine and sleep. Another great day for BILL.

Wow the Spaghetti Bog worked a treat!!

After the storm we moved onto Norseman. The first few hundred kays was clear but we fought a massive headwind. However we then found ourselves in intermittent rain. They are upgrading around 100km of highway so we traveled between stop go signs in the dirt and mud. The Van finally looks like it has now traveled covered in red mud and dust!!.

We stopped at a roadhouse for breakfast and to Hugh’s delight we purchased 5 trucky sandwiches. Ham and Cheese Toasted sandwiches. He continues to ask for these. The other kids were not fussed as they were toasted on top of a grill with pepper etc.

We finally made it to Norsman. This is a bigger town that has suffered dwindling gold reserves. The buildings are getting old and need of repair and appears to that the population is small.

We did a few laps of the town and found our accommodation. We decided to stay at a Best Western hotel after the long drive. We booked in and found our room. A nice Mud Brick place that smelled a little but had 5 beds in one room. Was perfect for what we wanted.

I made the mistake of asking the guy at reception for a map. He was an elderly man with BIG Fat glasses and a hearing aid. Well did this guy go on!! He was the official Norseman travel guide and did not need much prompting to go on about everything in town. In fact there was very little in town however he must of named nearly every building down to the doll shop which I may or may not enjoy!!. 20 minutes later I escaped!

We decided to eat at the restaurant that night. We are obviously in a dust town as we needed a commercial grade cleaner to find the table tops. Anyway the meals were excellent, pork roasts and parma. Nice bottle of shiraz and we were VERY satisfied.

We slowly packed up in the morning and headed off for a look around town. Norseman is named after a horse who kicked up some quartz with gold when some prospectors were passing thru town. There is a statue in the main street. We also passed thru the last mine in operation that still produce around hundred thousand grams per year. The tailing mounds are HUGE and have obviously been there for more than 100 years.

We then went up the main look out, was raining and a non event. Kids collected quartz which they were sure had gold in it if we looked hard enough.

As we were leaving town we decided to fill up with Fuel. When paying I met a lovely old lady who looked a little distressed. I then noticed something walking around the back. It appeared to be Gollum from Lord of the Rings. A funny looking creature with bald hair smelling like moselle with no shoes. It then approached me making weird sounds. At this stage I was paying and looked away to sign my receipt then he hit me on the arm as he thought I was not paying attention  to him. I was then sizing it up but found it was really and old guy with no teeth that could not really talk. Poor bastard was probably telling me about his problems and I had no idea. Any way the old lady asked me to stay around while we fed him a coffee hoping he leaves. I went outside and called Gill and the kids back to the car. Then decided that I would tighten the wheel nuts while waiting to leave. This at least gave me a tyre leaver as weapon if Gollum jumped me. Any way out he comes with his coffee. He has already cracked the cup spilling it everywhere. He then attempted to speak to me almost knocking me off my feet with the smell. I think he was telling me about how to tow a van or maybe how he liked vegemite on bread, not really sure. He then left up the road forgetting me however I have thought of that poor guy everyday since. You wonder what his story really is.

 

We then headed off to Kalgoorlie.

This was only 180km away from Norseman which is really only a dvd away!. We found the park (Top Tourist) and settled in quickly. The park was well set up and although there are no grassy sites it was very clean and hard a park close by.

We decided to head into town. This place is rocking. The resource boom has fallen well on this town. There is even a huge display in the main street showing stock market and resource pricing activity. The coffee shops are very modern and the people are very trendy which sort of looked out of place. In fact I looked like the hick not having washed for a few days and looking grubby!

We grabbed lunch at Subways (this place has everything) then heading off to the SUPERPIT. This is what Alan Bond built. He purchased all the small leases and built one big open cut gold mine. A lasting legacy.

We then went to the Museum. This has a mine shaft lift to go up in, plenty of history and a volt of interesting gold pieces. This is a great place given that you make a donation at the door. $5 got us entry for at least an hours walking, browsing.

We decided to stay and extra day as we needed a break and this was a good place to be. We visited a few ghost towns that have fallen on hard times. We came a across an emu with chicks running around to the kids delight then spent the afternoon at the park playing basketball and riding the bikes.

The boys both got punctures from the cateyes in the grass. Off to Kmart for some spare tubes and repair kits. All fixed and we packed up ready for departure. Cooked on the camp BBQ. Wow not spag bog in 24hours, starting to feel withdrawals.

Next stop Wave Rock.

We headed off early still unsure if we were going to take a short cut down a 140km dirt track. The wheel bearing started to get noisy, probably just dust and given we were told it was probably 50km an hour we decided to stick to the main roads even though it adds 150km to the journey.

10km into the main road journey another car kicked up a HUGE rock and cracked the window. Started as a star but moved quickly in one direction across to the pillar and now it making its way up. Will need to get it looked at.

Anyway the road is pretty good. We stopped at a little town Narabeem for lunch and a cuppa. The signs stated this was a perfect town to live in. We were actually impressed with the playground given how small the town was. In fact it was very weird, a little like the movie Jim Cary stared in.. something something SHOW.. cannot remember the name.

It was like someone got wind that we were in town and a director queued each member of the town. First man with dog, then man with ute and dog, then happy family then two cute country teenage girls walking down the street. Id say we saw 90% of the population in the matter of 10 minutes but they all had a job to play to ensure we enjoyed our brief but interesting stay. Maybe they were looking for recruits, not sure.

We made it to Hyden, home of Wave Rock. The caravan park is small privately owned, facilities are ok and there is power and water. It is only 200metres from wave rock. We really enjoyed the quiet and would visit again if in the area.

Wave Rock is a small section of a HUGE granite rock. It was worn away over time. The cool thing is you can walk on it, in fact you can walk all over the rock. We found a small cave call Hippos Yawn then went for a walk over the top. We found that they have concreted a wall around the top to capture the rain water into a rock holding area that is used as the main water source. The water was very clean and tasted great.

 

Some souvenir hunting then we took the kids for a night walk to the rock. It was sooo dark and soooo scary for the kids we lasted 10 minutes but was great. Soup and toast for dinner, sat out on the wooden picnic tables.

Next morning we headed off to another cave and found some original aboriginal hand prints and some interesting rock formations. Kids luv climb thru the cave and rocks.

 

Once done we headed for Perth. The road was good and on the way a plane dropped very close to us and we realised it was crop dusting. These guys can fly planes. Low swoops, sharp banks, amazing.

We also came across a town that claimed to be the birth place of the dog in a ute. They had a few old utes up around town and we noticed for at least 5km all we came across were utes!!.

FYI – We pass a lot of other vans. You must wave at them all!!. The most popular van is the small AVAN Campers. At least 75% of people are towing these.

We made our way to Freemantle. The Sat Nav had us taking back streets and given the amount of building going we were amazed we found the correct road. We check out 3 parks and settled on the BIG4 at Woodmans Point. Great park which is owned by ASPEN Parks. BIG4 is like a booking agent. ASPEN have an unlisted property fund and is buying up a lot of parks and bring them up to a new standard. We started unpacking and Janine (my sister), Chris and Curtis arrived to say hello. They live 30 minutes south of the park and we hope to spend some time with them in the coming days.

We finally got sorted, had dinner and crashed.

Day two in Perth and we were off to Rottenest Island. This is and island off the coast of Perth. The bus picked us up and the park and the ferry took us 30 minutes to get there.

Gill and Hugh took their bikes and we decided to hire a bike and a trailer for Jemma and Aidan as we expected the ride around the island to be too big.

Once ashore we headed off only to get a flat tyre on the hire bike in the first 10 minutes. The bike was replaced and we headed off looking for quokkas and beaches. Well no one told us there we hills and Jemma and Aidan feel like they weight 10 tones each as I towed the trailer along. Good exercise but!!.

We found a number of beaches, and shipwrecks. Hugh patted a Quokka and we covered around 15 km before lunch. We sat in the main settlement surrounded by peacocks in the trees and on the ground. A quokka also made a visit under the tables to pick up the scraps. There is a lot of building going on and would expect this place to be packed in tourist season.

 

We spent the afternoon exploring the other side of the island. Made our way back to the ferry and enjoyed a smooth ride home.

Gill whipped up dinner and I am now writing up this blog. Tomorrow we are off to spend the day with Jan. Looking forward to seeing her place and new town.

22^nd August

Packed up quite quickly. We decided the little bikes caused to much damage in the van so have moved them into the car. The result is a much quicker packup. Filled the petrol tank and set out across the nullabor.

Just out of Ceduna, the treeless plane begins. Impressive vast distances dotted with only the rare stunded tree.

Yalata, the aboriginal roadhouse was boarded up so we kept on until nullabor roadhouse. The head of the bight was on the way so we all piled out of the car to see the whales ($24). They were amazing. Quiet close to the boardwalk. A sign on the door said there was 90 whales today. We saw maybe 10 to 20 rising and diving and one white baby. The water was a stunning bright blue, must be very deep and sandy.

After nullabor roadhouse the road moves closer to the coast. The water can only be seen briefly in small dips in the land. We pulled into one of the viewing areas. It was very windy so we held tight to Aidan and Hugh’s hands (jemma went later) and kept well away from the edge. The cliffs back towards the east were just as we have seen in books or on tv. Fantastic!

Had a picnic lunch at the nullabor roadhouse and tried to eat up the rockmelon before crossing the border with its quarantine gates. Driving into Boardertown we found the BIG KANGAROO and sign posts to most quarters of the world.

Then over to the Quarantine check. A very serious lady waved us over and asked to check the car and van. We had to open the boot and pull out the van we did not even think about the veges in the fridge.

Eucla is a large well used roadhouse. It sprawls across a motel, camping ground and powersites. (No water). We paid for a site and set up by about 4pm. The road thru Eucla takes you down the side of an escarpment towards the ocean. The cliffs have gone now and out over the plain with a little airstrip we found the old telegraph station among the sandhills. Amazing to think they went to such lengths to get the message through.

Pasta Bog for dinner (Again!!). Ate in the BBQ shed.

A storm moved in with a lot of lightning but it pass fairly quickly. Bill tied down the flys and we watched the lighting show for another hour or so. At 1.00am in the morning a bigger storm came through. This time we were worried as the wind was VERY strong so we moved the kids together. We sat and listened for about an hour to we were sure it had passed. Then we settled down again.

“Bill’s spin on the 1.00am storm”

It was a warm sultry night. Small gusts of wind slowly drenched us as we laid peacefully under the night stars.

Far off in the distance we could here rumbles which Gill blamed on the spaghetti bog however I knew that the devil himself was conjuring a curse that was to unleash the most furious storm that man has seen.

Within minutes large forks of lightning were hitting the tree around us. The wind screamed with fury slowly lifting the van 1 then 5 meters above the ground. I (the hero of this story) sprang into action. Grabbing large vines from the nearby trees, pulling the van back to safe ground and tethering to the large icicles that were forming on the ground.

The storm grew stronger. The hail started to tear holes into the van. I decided to leap on top of the van with my trusty nine iron and with mighty blows sent each hail ball for 6 across the desert.

He who must not be named then grew more impatient. The storm was transformed from angry to almighty picking up camel and livestock from the surrounding planes spinning them in a Category 10 cyclone and hurling them at me with the strength of a thousand rhinos.

 

Not phased by this I picked up my trust pocket knife and with the speed of a leopard slashed each animal into fillets to be later packed and stored in the freezer for later consumption.

The children were amazed, the wifey in awe. The devil himself grew quiet in respect.

The storm subsided, we hugged and kissed, it was all over. I have saved the day again!!

20^th August

We packed up quickly and headed for Ceduna which is around 450 km’s from Port Augusta. Forgot to tighten the wheel nuts so stopped about 30km out of town. You really need to tighten ever 100kms for the first few thousand and yes they needed tightening.

Stopped on the way to get fuel.. Starting to get more expensive 1.46 cent.. 

We also stopped at Kimba where they claim to be the half way point across Australia. Technically they are incorrect however the photo opportunity is great given it is also home of the BIG GALAH!!.

About 150km out of Ceduna the Engine warning message came on.. OH NO!!!.. We pulled over started and stopped the car and the warning did not come back on. (Update.. there is a Holden dealer in Ceduna who has a diagnostic machine!! Which is pretty amazing as there is not much else! He ran a back trace and could not find any problem with the engine.. Just a gremlin in the system.. He gave it a clean bill of health!!).

We made it to Ceduna where we are staying at our First FPA (Family Parks Australia). There is no grass out here however the facilities are clean, the water is drinkable (just) and the beach is just over the hill.

After setting up with went looking for whales only to find out they do not make it up this far.

We then set off to the beach which is aptly named Shelly beach as it is covered in shells!

Dinner on the camp bbq, laundry then watched the matrix 3. Night started off warm, no need for jumpers but ended up very cold!!.

21^st August

Woke up to Aidan wanting to go to the toilet at 5.30am.. very coooold..

After breaky we packed the bikes into the car and headed off to town. There is a 7km ride to the lookout and back. Gill and I walked and the kids had fun riding. Couple of stacks. Hugh got a bloody knee and Jemma a few dents in the legs!.

We stopped in to look at the BIG OYSTER.. There are sooo many BIG things on our trip!

The boys then got a haircuts while the car was looked at by Holden. Stopped into Sip and Save (the local Dan Murphy’s then headed back to camp.

We are now of to the beach. Then will pack ready for and early start on the Nullarbor including the Head of the Bight to see the Whales, see the BIG RED KANGAROO and to Eucla WA for the night.

Friday 18^th

We spent the morning getting packed up to head off for Port Augusta. We lost one of the keys to the van somewhere so Hugh and later Gill spent some time looking for it. No luck.. We have a second set.

We set off for Pt Augusta. The road is well maintained and we were able to keep a comfortable 110kphs.

It rained on and off up for 50% of the journey. The highlights were;

• The Salt production at Adelaide, miles of salt mounds waiting to be processed.
• The Pink Lakes which were pink due to salt and pink mud/sand.
• Eagle swooping in front of us
• Very long train which we raced to Pt Augusta.

We stopped at Crystal Brook which is another town the Prescott’s settled. There was no Prescott relics however the kids did enjoy Nutella, Peanut Butter and Vegemite Sandwiches!!  (so do mum and dad!!).

We arrived in Pt Augusta later afternoon. Found the BIG4 and set up reasonably quickly.

Hugh was disappointed at this BIG4 as he was spoilt at Adelaide however it did not take him long to jump on the bike and go exploring. The facilities are good and we really like the BIG4 service where they show you to the site and help you reverse in..

We cooked hamburgers for dinner and had a cool but comfortable night.. (Watched the Matrix, kids also watched a movie on the little Toppy (video / mp3 thingy).

Saturday 19^th

We got up cooked breaky and I went for a ride around town. Found the Pichi Richi railway, old water tower, road thru main street of town, out past the Flying Doctors Service and School of the Air.

We then headed off all together to climb the water tower. Jemma was scared as it was pretty old and steep. Boys called her a sooky puss.

A quick trip to Autoplus to get a spare fanbelt, spark plugs, fuses etc. (just in case!!).

We then made our way to the Wadlata Outback Centre which has a history from Aboriginal to European Settlement. Not that expensive and plenty of things for the kids to do like movies, listing to school of the air, old telephone conversations, simulation of coal mining equipment etc.

Then off to the main part of town to explore and do some food shopping.

We stopped at an old ship wreck then back to the camp site for kick to kick, table tennis and a chat with the neighbors who gave us some tips on where to get cheap petrol across the Nullabor.  

Steak and vege’s for dinner.. We have filled up with cheap petrol for Safeways and are ready for our big trip to Ceduna tomorrow.

Sill disappointing Mr Byron, no red wine consumed only JB and Bacardi and Cokes!!.

Will most likely struggle to get an internet connection for the coming days. Will update once we get to Kalgoorlie.

Spent the morning at the beach. Was pretty windy. The kids collected shells and rocks and I made a knife from a large shell which actually works!!.

We then went to the city to pick up some documents for the bank. Parked next to Rundle Mall and did some shopping.

We then met up with Aunty Kat at the botanical gardens. Katrina is here doing part of her PHD. Jemma LUVS Aunty Kat and could not keep off her, I am sure Kat is counting her bruises!!.

We then drove back to the Van to pack up the annex before it rains. The van is off for its 1000km service tomorrow.

We cooked satay chicken skewers (one of Hugh’s Favs) on the camp BBQ. Looks like a school is having a camp, kids everywhere.

The Wind has picked up. There was a warning of 100knot gusts.. The van shook all night (due to the wind Glenn!!), the kids still slept well.

Thursday the 17^th I think!!

We organised a cabin for tonight to put our junk in while the van gets it service. Spent the morning packing and moving. The kids led the way riding their bikes from the site to the cabin.

Once all packed we headed off to find the Jayco service centre. The rear left blinker was not working which made it difficult driving around town. This was compounded by me typing in the wrong address into the TOM TOM (which I blame on the women who gave me the address). We made it on time and headed back home.

We then decided to head off for a bike ride to Glenelg. I decided not to ride so I could push Jemma and Aidan along. Aidan needed little help and Jemma kept me company as I ran to keep up. We made it to Glenelg where you need to walk across a lock where the boats go in and out of a small harbor (can you have a small harbor? harbor sounds bigger than what it was!!). Anyway a gangplank electronically moves across the lock. We waited a minute the walked across.

 

We found a playground and a LARGE sailing ship which has been dry docked and converted to a restaurant. We had some sandwiches (fritz) and then road over to the whalf where Gill remembers on a previous trip the tram ran down to. Things have changed in 25 years but she could still remember bits.

We headed back home. We covered around 10km which is the biggest ride Jemma and Aidan have ever done!!.

We jumped into the car and headed off to Magill to find the original Penfolds Winery. In the early 1830’s Raymond Penfold started a 200 acre winery around the same time William Prescott set up the wheat and dairy farm. Both these farms are in Magill and could have possibly shared a boundary. They were also there at the same time and may have knew each other. Amazing.

The Magill Farm has the original house which was named GRANGE HOUSE. It still is an operating winery and produces small batches of boutique wines including Penfolds Magill and Grenache. Grange is now made up in the Barossa however this is where it all started.

 

We did a few tastings and one of the guys showed us the old wine fomenters. Southcorp who own Penfolds has spent heaps of money restoring the old buildings which are now heritage listed.

We spent too much in the cellar however came away extremely satisfied that we visited.

I have notice I use the royal “we” sooo often !!

The van was ready and fixed. The blinker was just a connection that needing adjusting. Back to the cabin, kids had a play on the jumping pillow thing then we went out for dinner at the Henly RSL. Great food, the ride gave the kids a HUGE appetite. Jemma actually ate a whole bowl of spag bog, garlic bread, dinks and icecream. The boys were pigs as always. The Oysters were great as well as the fish.. Oh yeah and a PINT of beer, finally!!

Back home crashed out quickly!

Port Augusta tomorrow!!

Highlight of the day was catching up with Aunty Kat.. more to come.

Also fixed the photo issue with a card reader. check out the gallery..

Cont. for last night.

Cooked dinner in the camp bbq. Met a couple of crazy Scott’s who are back packing around the country. No idea what they are on but pretty sure it would be illegal in most countries. Could not shut them up!!..

We watched a movie “Sahara” on the laptop. We backed up a few using DVD Shrink, which works really well.

New day and another ride (for my record 42km 1hour 26minutes, almost died, average heart rate 162 maxed at 181.. painful but fun).

Started teaching Aidan and Jemma to ride without training wheels. Their legs are so small!.. They might master it before the end of the holidays. Hugh spent his time racing his bike against the planes taking off at the near by airport.  He has consumed a book already (bookworm). The kids are being home schooled by Gill. Their diaries are coming along well.

Contacted Katrina (Gills sister in law – Hi Kat we know you are an avid reader of this blog :-). Will catch up tomorrow.

As you may or may not know the Prescott’s owned most of Australia in the first 100 years of this great nation. We spent all afternoon finding the most important parts of Adelaide we owned. We found Prescott Terrace where a plaque detailing the wheat and dairy farms the first William Prescott established. We then looked for some graves however found none. We then headed off to Mt Torrens where Edward Prescott ruled the town with an iron fist. We found where the old mill once stood and went for a walk up Prescott Street.

You may or may not know that after the first 100 years the Prescott’s had enough of running most of the country and handed it back to the people on the proviso that we were remembered for our generosity. I am sure we were remembered for the first few weeks which leaves us where we are today, still generous but resentfully bitter about the decision of our ancestors. Anyway back to reality.

On our way back from Mt Torrens, a parents worst nightmare. “CHOCOLATE FACTORY 200 METRES ON LEFT” Hugh grabbed the handbrake, Aidan jumped out the window and Jemma asked politely if we could stop. $20 later we left the chocolate factory with a handful of lollypops and chockys. YUM.

Pizza for dinner (yes this is a little boring for most however it is a record of our journey so we really do not care if you are bored or not!!).

We hope to have the camera issues sorted out tomorrow and will load some photos.

Bye for now.

Hi all

We had a great day. I went for a ride (for Damian 40kms, 1hour 25, pissed down rain for the last 20kms. stopped with another rider when it started raining, cleat got stuck and crashed as I pulled up!! I am an idiot!!, got over taken by a 20 year old girl with muscles like a guy and riding 8k bike!!) 

Kids had lots of fun riding, feeding ducks, collecting shells. Took a look at the ferris wheel that Elvis rode in the movie roustabout, to Aidans disgust it was closed.

Rained in the morning and sunny the rest of the day, Aidan got sun burnt face!!. 

We have not had a drink since leaving!!. (Byron would be disgusted). Finally got a drink today!!.. Scotch and cokes!!. Wow headache has now gone!!.

The park at Adelaide is the best we have ever been to. Facilities are great, pool, bouncy castle sort of thing. Lots of grass etc etc.

Lunch at Semaphore - Old historic maritime town, pretty trendy now. Bakery for lunch YUM.. 

Gill will update her thoughts of the day soon.

Bye for now.

Bill

Sms from Adelaide

Well we finally made it to Adelaide.

Hugh actually did not make it to soccer as he was still not feeling well.

When I finished my last post I found Aidan throwing up!! He did recover and we got his trophey and headed off soon after.

Final packing and we were gone by 11.30pm. We enjoyed our drive to Horsham were we stayed the night at Wimmera Lakes Caravan Park. Owners were orignally from Ringwood!!.

Nice park however however not a four star as it was rated. Kids had lots of fun riding on their bikes (on flat ground which is rare in North Warrandyte!!).

Gill cooked up a storm (spagetti bog) and we had a cold but comfortable night.

Slow packup in the morning and headed off to Adelaide. We noticed one of our blinkers on the van stopped working. We stopped at a servo and put in a new bulb however still not good. Warranty Job!!  Also Gill was to pay for the petrol and the bulb but the bulb was overlooked and we did a runner.. We are now fugitives..

The BIG V8 has not problems pulling the van (touch wood!!). 110 all the way to Adelaide. We stopped at Tintinara for lunch and a play.

We the made our way through the Adelaide Hills to the Adelaide Shores BIG4 Caravan park. We sort of got lost on the way as the Tom Tom (SatNav) sent us up the wrong way. Well it could have been me who punched in the wrong address. Maybe!! Not really Sure!!. In fact I take no blame!!.

Unpacked and set up the Van.. Getting quicker all ready. Dinner / DVD and now Blogging.

Will be here for 4 or 5 nights..

Next installment soon.

Bye for now.

BGHJA.

p.s. We forgot the cable to upload the photos from the digital camera!!.. Have only loaded 1 of the jemma and aidan from Bill's phone. Will get a new cable somewhere!!

We leave today.. Just made some last adjustments to our adfreetv website. Found a bug!! oh no... tried to fix it!! running out of time ..

Fixed it and now ready to do final packing.

Aidan gets his AusKick Trophey today.. He is such a great kid.

Hugh returns to Soccer after being sick. Will be his last game for the year. Will do a few 10 minute subs.

ok... packing up now..

Here we goooooooooo.

Only 7 days to go until the big trip west. Camper was tested last week and all is fine. Will be updating every few days once we leave.