Hitting the Rowe'd

18/09/2022

WEEK 13 COOBER PEDY to FLINDERS RANGES

Emu's: well I am still the winner but we saw so many emu's coming into Wilpena pound that I lost count!!
Goats: all these wild goats everywhere too!!
We**ie: 3
Snake: 1
Echidna: 2!!!!! Omg they are SO damn adorable.

Wow, what a weird, quirky, strange, fascinating, amazing, bizarre place in the middle of Aus. Aside from the fact that it is now where all 3 boys want to move, live underground and become opal noodlers, Coober Pedy weedled it's way into all our hearts for all of these reasons. Met some characters, had a blast (no pun 😜) at an underground mine tour where the kids got to barter their goods they noodled, enjoyed a beer in the underground bar and spent some time with our new friends. The landscape consists of piles of dirt next to up to 90 foot deep holes everywhere. Like EVERYWHERE!! You can go and dig a hole wherever you like and if you strike opal you go pay $500 to the govt and off you go, your a opal miner!!!!

Our next leg involved the legendary Oodnadatta track, which follows what was the original Old Ghan railway line. This was something special. However what we weren't prepared for was it to a) rain b) storm c) the road to turn into an ice skating rink and d) literally be in the centre of nowhere at the end of a long day trying to find a campsite where we would not get stuck in the bog forever. We found out later that the track gets shut pretty much as soon as it rains, probably a good thing I didn't know this. So after a finger biting, white knuckle day driving we managed to find a campsite that we could drive out of the next day. Thank goodness for Callum's "cracked" (as the boys called it) driving abilities we managed to avoid getting our van and car bogged and safe from landing in a ditch. With some interesting transportation of all of us from car to van we slept well and the sun was shining on us the next morning. Following the ruins and history of the old Ghan was more special than I had thought. When we lost sight of the track we would get a bit sad.
We arrived in the Flinders safely and excited as our beautiful friends from Lismore arrived after 2000km in 2 days with small kiddos. Legends. So of course we backed this up with a 9 km walk and then the next day climbed the tallest (ok it's only the second tallest but not by much) mountain peak in SA. Not gonna lie, it wasn't easy, not in the slightest. It was hell at some stages, but when an experienced hiker told us we were superior hikers (ok he didn't, he said we did well as he thought he'd catch us sooner than he did but I heard different) it gave us the will to continue, that and the promise of an ice cream.
The Flinders ranges are like nothing we have seen so far. They are absolutely the prettiest, most vast, stunning mountain ranges we have seen. Definitely pleased we "backtracked" a little to see these amazing formations. Haha.

10/09/2022

WEEK 12 KATHERINE TO ULURU

Donkeys: 2
Cows: so many cows
Camel's: 0 (none unfortunately even tho I'm desperate to see a wild one)
Wild horses: so many and they are so beautiful

Wow. Daly Waters pub, you complete me. Haha what a fun place to stop and take some quirky photos and have a beer. We free camped in some beautiful spots along the way. Had a quick stop into Alice for supplies and odd jobs and hit the West McDonald ranges with great excitement. What a stunning part of the world. Gorges, chasms, waterholes, hiking galore. Then the added bonus of meeting up with some beautiful friends we made earlier in our trip, who had kids similar ages to ours who all got along like a house in fire. And would you believe they live 20 mins away and know a whole heap of people we know in our community. Such a small world. We had planned a similar itinerary for the next week so ended up linking up and having the best time. We arrived in Yulara, set up camp and headed straight for Kata Tjuta (the Olga's) The Valley of the Winds hike was so beautiful. Definitely a sight to see, topping it off with watching the sunset over Uluru. What a day!! Then we backed it up with 11km sunrise walk around the rim. I really can't explain how this walk was, but special/spiritual/awe-inspiring seems like an understatement.
Spent the afternoon doing some dot painting with an elder, a bucket list tick for me. The boys spent the afternoon whittling, sanding and shaping various wooden tools as they'd seen at the workshop/information sessions.
The last day was Father's day so big breakfast followed by activities provided by the township and then a race out to the rock as it was raining. We were so lucky to see this amazing change to the rocks colours. Grateful 😁

09/09/2022

WEEK 10 Darwin to Katherine
Crocs-: salties, freshies, jumping ones, painted ones, totem ones. So many crocs
Lizard's: so many and so cute, bobtail, water perentie, ta ta lizard and frill neck.
Golden tree snake: rare find canoeing up the katherine.
Rainbow finch, zebra finch, budgies, kites.

Hello everyone!! Goodness me I'm way over due on this post. But reception has been dodgy and if I'm totally honest I have been having too much fun 😜😜We left Darwin and went straight from some jumping crocodiles. That was an experience. They were so close to Rylan it wasn't funny but I was so excited I forgot to think about his safety. 🙂
Then onto Kakadu national park which was full of hiking, stunning Aboriginal rock art, culture and stories that we all soaked up. Unfortunately no crocs at Cahill's crossing, and no water at Twin or Jim Jim falls but we did enjoy our time here. Then we meandered to Nitmiluk, Katherine gorge where we had the most amazing canoe up the gorges, jumping out, carrying canoe to next gorge. Boys loved it and so did we. Ended this stage with a dip at Bitter Springs near Mataranka on our way south. So relaxing and the water was crazy warm. Beautiful what mother nature has given us! Also beautiful to see it so well cared for and still in its natural state. Sending you all loads of love X X 💜🐍🦎🪃

27/08/2022

WEEK 9 LITCHFIELD- DARWIN
Emu: Kerrie 12 Rye 2 Lucas 3 (not verified but he swears he saw them) ROF 0
Crocs-: so many, croc tracks (too close for comfort)
Jumping crocs: 8
Finches: 6 so cute
Buffalo: 2 (no longer with us sadly)
Wallabies: so many (and again some no longer with us)
Bin chickens: roosting in the trees at great heights, funniest thing ever
Water monitor: came and sat next to Callum at Buley's and then dove into water where we were all swimming. A few moments of concern with nobody swimming before he jumped back out and baked on a rock! Amazing
Ta ta lizard: he was waving to us

Litchfield national park- no expectations but loads of people saying how awesome it was. We arrived at lunchtime and decided to crack on and get a few of the walks done. Magnetic termite mounds (wow), Florence Falls was spectacular and Buleys Rockpool. The boys started at the top of the falls and made their way down to the bottom one, while I captured it on film. So much fun, but if course with a lot of jumping in to the middle rock pool. Perfecting their peg legs, horsies and bombies has been the main goal this week.
Hitting the 4WD tracks the next day we visited Surprise falls and Sandy Creek Falls where the boys enjoyed pushing the limits to how high up they can jump from. Thanks to another dad there that day we think they nailed the 5m mark!! 🙈🙈 On the way home we called into the Blythe homestead, the original homestead built, where they raised ....wait for it......14 children 😳😳 and the entire house was the size of your average bedroom. Unbelievable!
We finished off with some beautiful walks and swim's on the north end and a last visit to Buley's where I joined the tribe going from the top waterfall to the bottom and enjoyed a relax in many rock pools (and I may have done a few bombies also😉). Just spectacular. So Litchfield definitely made it to the top of all our lists as a fav spot. We arrived in Darwin a little worn out to be greeted by our beautiful friends Ange and Greg. Ange was my year 11/12 geography teacher, so so amazing to catch up with them both again. Not sure I believe the stories about me in high school though 😉😁
Darwin was an absolute surprise and delight. So many beautiful memories made, places explored and special moments with friends. Callum reconnected with his mate Chris from Kununnura and we spent a lovely afternoon at their house catching up and meeting his lovely family. Happy days. The military museum, the wave pool, the art museum, so many many things to do and see. Fish and chips on the rocks at Nightcliff beach and burgers at the surf club, all while watching the fabulous sunset. Thanks to Ange and Greg for letting us take over their air bnb for our time there (oh and for the thousand loads of washing to help us on our way for the next leg, so grateful) the jigsaw puzzle, the beautiful morning walk, the op shopping, the aerial yoga lessons and of course your very special warmth, humour and welcome into your home. We were all sad to drive away!

16/08/2022

WEEK 7-8 KUNUNNURA to EL QUESTRO to LAKE ARGYLE

Wallabies- so many and so cute
Donkey - one, called Jill who stood outside our campsite 2 nights in a row waiting for an apple
Crocs- 🐊🐊so many we saw and so many we probably didn't see!!! Some way too close 😳
Wild horses- so many but we got to meet and pat and feed samples and carrots to Mojo and Chokita
Cows- think I've forgotten to mention the multitude of cows we see, some very close to the road 🐮🐄

Some of you may or may not know this but Callum worked in Kununnura 22 years ago and always wanted to take me back. It only took 20 years but man was it worth the wait. To say I fell a little bit in love with the Kimberley's would be an understatement! Our time in Kununnura was special. Visiting places Callum used to live, work, party, swim, explore was cool for us all. And being camped up on the bank of Lake Kununnura on our mates property was soothing to the soul. Mountains are my happy place and I still cannot believe the rolling mountains, plateaus, the Cockburn ranges, anywhere the eye could see.Breathtaking!! And where there are mountains/ranges there are gorges, and where there are gorges there are (some really hard) hikes but with the rewards of swimming holes and waterfalls.
El questro was just this, 2 and a bit days of hiking, rock clambering, cliff face shuffling, (near death experiences 🙈) waterfall finding and rockpool swimming. We even got to experience Zebedee springs a thermal rock pool, so relaxing and beautiful.
After El questro we meandered our way to Lake Argyle for a few days of relaxation after some pretty intense days. All our muscles needed a rest 🤪 Argyle was a spectacular little water hole (haha only 21 time the size of Sydney Harbour!!!! )
We were sad to leave the Kimberley's but super excited to start the next stage as we headed on over the border to the NT!!! Are they ready for us?? 😁😁

05/08/2022

WEEK 6 Middle Lagoon - Bungle Bungles

Now I've started I have to keep going as this week we've spotted down cool animals.

Emus: Kerrie: 13 Rye: 2 ROF: 0
Crocodile: so excited we've seen about 30!! Some way too close for comfort.
Wedge tail eagles: 4
Wallabies: so many but a very special brown curly tailed one we need to look up to see what he is.
Turtle: 2
Camp dogs: 20
Wolfe creek crater lizards: 4
Cave Bats: 7

So I'm a little late on my posting of what was week 6 of our trip!! Apologies for that. But what a week it's been. Now that I sit down to write it out I'm amazed at what the boys (and me haha) have managed. We left Middle Lagoon and smashed out a big day to Derby, stocked up and continued to Birdwood downs station for the night. This allowed us to get on the road and arrive at Windjana gorge early. We met our first Crocs and hiked the gorge that afternoon. We decided to smash out a full day to Bell gorge on the Gibb the following day, a 5 hour return trip, one flat tyre and an absolutely spectacular water fall and swimming hole later. Definitely worth the effort.
From there we headed to Tunnel creek, an amazing cave system that required walking through waist (well for some of us) deep water, with fresh water crocs and in the pitch black! Head torches made it ok. At the end of the cave we were able to see some beautiful rock art. Left there and arrived in Fitzroy for hot chips and a restock. A boat trip up the Geike gorge (it's the only way you can really access the gorge) made for a beautiful relaxing afternoon. The next day we headed off early for a tour of the Mimbi Caves. This was a special cultural experience run by the traditional owners of the land. Harrison our guide treated us to Dreamtime stories, playing guitar and singing us songs he had written whilst eating damper and having tea. There may have been a few wet eyes. Definitely a highlight. And finally we arrived at the Bungle Bungles!!!!! And what a sight they are!!! We've met some beautiful people this week. Even some Perth people who of course we know their cousins!! Small world! Hope everyone is happy and well, love to you all. 💜💜

25/07/2022

WEEK 5 Broome -Middle lagoon
Camels: don't think they count all tied up with tourists on their back but I'll include them anyway haha
Turtles: 2
Whales: one close with a calf and about 6 not so close
Hermit crabs: 1,364
Fish: so many beautiful fish when snorkeling.
Sea cucumbers: 58
Tiger snake: big one
Small white sand snake: 1
Buffalo: 1 (not alive unfortunately)
Feral cats: 3

Where do I start???? What a week we have had. Don't get me wrong there's been days when I think we all needed a bit of space, a bit of down time and was good to be in one place for 7 days. We got to restock, reload and refresh before the next leg. We ran into friends we made in Exmouth at the visitors centre and turned out we were staying in the same van park, so was lovely to have a few catch ups with them!
So I'm not gonna lie, everyone has said to me how amazing Broome was. I'm telling you I felt like I was missing something as I wasn't feeling it. But after an afternoon of 4WD, swimming, relaxing, listening to music and chilling out I think I finally worked it out. We saw pearl farms, dinosaur footprints, road the high tide in at Coconut Wells, learnt a heap of history we didn't know and most of all the boys got to play in the water park at Town beach which was a massive hit. There was so much diversity to Broome. For me it really was like opening up an oyster shell and not knowing what I was going to get inside.
We moved onto Middle Lagoon for 3 days, man we could have stayed longer. But the little taster we got we definitely know we'll be back one day. A special treat visiting the community of Ardyaloon (One Arm Point). Such a beautiful friendly place, with an amazing turtle hatchery that is their main tourism attraction run but a very funny and animated local man who had us giggling, smiling and enraptured with his stories. Then we were lucky enough to stop for our lunch and have a swim at Jogolo beach. The most stunning spot. Had this whole beach to ourselves for an hour and then we went to leave and a stack of people turned up. Was funny!!
Back at camp we enjoyed the stroll down to the beautiful beach where we found hermit crabs, built sand castles and Rye finally for to wet his birthday fishing line. Even caught his first fish on it, which of course we missed getting a shot of 🤦🏻‍♀️ Scored some firewood for our last night so ended our time with a beautiful campfire. Yey!!
We left feeling like we'd been there for a week, relaxed and ready to rock for the next part of our adventures 🎣🎣

17/07/2022

WEEK 4
Emu spotting has been dismal. None for a long time so I'm still in the lead at 10!! Haha
What an another epic week exploring Oz. We ended the time at Wickham with the beautiful Mumma P with a special visit to not only the memorial for Red Dog but also where he has been laid to rest. An explore around Cossack, the most amazing little settlement near Wickham. Definitely worth a look and two beautiful nights stay right on the beach there at Settlers Beach. (Campsites 1-4 if you ever get the chance to stay there, only $20 for the 5 of is a night, could have easily stayed a week.) Was amazing.
Then a couple of nights at Pardoo station where we played a bit of lawn bowls, a bit of 4WD beach time and found a smoko table and chair in the middle of a paddock with the most breathtaking outlook ever.
80 mile beach, which did not disappoint. Talk about a place to relax and unwind. Miles of beach (haha like 80 of them) hermit snail races, hermit crabs, star fish, sensational sunsets and a bit of ice cream which went down a treat with the boys (big and small 😜) We arrived in Broome Friday and managed to ride the tide down Coconut Wells thanks to the advice from a good friend (thanks Asher 💜). The boys loved it and we heard a lot about the 🍑🍑they got to see. Was the best experience and so relaxing. Today we headed out to the Willie Creek Pearl Farm for a tour and has been a really fantastic day. Looking forward to chilling out for the next couple of days here in Broome.
The boys are loving when the caravan parks put on a sausage sizzle!! A real highlight Haha 😂😂

15/07/2022

Bit of fun at 80 Mile Beach!! What a place to really wind down and remember what fun it was to be a kid, collecting shells, taking goofy photos and just having plain fun!! ⭐✨☀️

09/07/2022

WEEK 3 Exmouth - Karinjini - Settlers Beach Wickham.

Emus
Kerrie 10
Rylan 2
ROF 0
Wedge tail eagles 2
Dingoes 8 (1 way too close for comfort when I made Anzac slice in the bbq and he came for a sniff)
(Rye asked me to include the following)
Whale sharks 2 (but 4 times)
Turtles 18
Red jellyfish a trillion
Dugongs 2
Kangaroos like 2- think they heard the borders were open and took a holiday!!

Well what a week it's been. We can't believe it's been 3 weeks since we left!! A few massive days in the car to be delighted with the little town of Tom Price and then onto the magnificent Karinjini. I'm not gonna lie, I was a little worried about some little legs not making it up and down these gorges (mainly my own). But what a couple of days exploring the most beautiful natural landscapes I have seen. The boys were super pumped, we managed a level 4 and 3 level 5 gorges, Rye and Callum also managed an extra one on the last day. The rest of us were so knackered we watched from above. Everyone said we would love it and they were absolutely right. We left there early and made our way to our beautiful friend Petina to see her little nook of the world in Wickham and set up camp at Settlers Beach in Cossack. What a little surprise. Stunning beach side camp site watching the ships come in and enjoying the peace and quiet. Just the best few days. Sending you all loads of love 🐋🐢🐾🦅🎐🎐🎐

05/07/2022

Week 2 Coral bay to Exmouth
Emu spotting:
Kerrie 10
Rylan 2
ROF 0
Wow. What a week it's been. Off grid, off road, few screws loose and a couple of whale sharks!!!

I can't even describe how I feel about the whole whale shark experience, proud all 3 boys had a crack, exhilaration for being so close to something so magestic and mystical, lucky and grateful and just damn blown away all at once.

We've enjoyed snorkeling, swimming, hiking, and feel like we've found our swing. Looking forward to our next adventure as we head out to Karinjini!!

22/06/2022

So for the WA peeps you'll have to forgive my posts as I am writing this through the eyes of a Queenslander. I started this journey not knowing what to expect, and it's only been a few days but wow! The WA coastline is pretty special. We had big two days I bthe car with a night in Geraldton reminiscing the times Callum lived there as a boy for a few years. Then onto Denham where we have been amazed by the sunsets, the set ups of all the fishermen in the campsite, the wildlife and how chilled and quiet it is here. Aquariums, bluffs, lagoons, dolphin feeding, random turtles, 4WD tracks we enjoyed getting lost down. Just so special. Just had to share after a super special day and send a lot of love to you all X X 🐬💜🐠

Oh and emu spotting tally
Kerrie: 10
ROF: 0 (rest of family)
(Not that I'm competitive 😜)

22/06/2022

18/06/2022

And we are off!! First stop Geraldton 😁

07/06/2022

10 Sleeps to go until our trip around WA, NT and SA!! Thought this little page would be easier to catch everyone up on our adventures!! 😁🧘‍♀️🏄‍♀️🤿🎣🏸🥣🍾