So Long, and Thanks for All the Memories

Our good friends, the Millers, are departing our country today. They managed to inspire, educate and encourage us to do something a little different. We spent around ten days getting ready to follow our friends on an adventure that has been so much fun.

I Will Remember...

... hearing the Millers tell stories of their adventures on Friday nights, that is how it all started. Lounging around our living room after eating a large meal, the boys outside in the dark, playing nerf wars in the paddock. We would sit inside telling and listening (mostly listening) to stories of previous adventures.

... sitting in the sun on a lazy afternoon, chatting to Tony over a very long coffee at the local café.

... Bangaroos

... the sun setting against the rocks and trees in Alice Springs, the burnt sienna rocks on the hills glowing between the grey gum leaves.

... Hannah playing the mandolin as the sun passes below the horizon and the breeze turns cool, her tunes setting the mood of the evening - relaxed and chilled out.

... watching Gabe with Adeline, walking down paths holding hands.

... the boys jumping around play fighting with Elisha and Ezra. It seems that any stick could be Thor's hammer in the outback. It would seem that a stick fight is more important than putting a roof over our heads for the night.

... the meals. Eating either what was planned, or what was thrown together from the emergency stockpile. It is amazing what you can accomplish with a single pot.

... Zombie Buses.

... Hannah's knee. Outback Australia left a very impressive imprint.

... driving slowly through hot desert plains wondering how the air conditioning was like in the car following us. I love the Millers so much for journeying through the desert with us and our broken car - thanks for not leaving us on the side of the road.

... sitting under the stars in the outback. It is was long hot day of driving and we finished in an arid landscape, over looking an almost-empty lake. We sat under the black veil of the sky, stars twinkling in the Great Beyond and we chatted, and we laughed.

Then They Went Southwards

Saying goodbye the day you drove off felt unfinished. We had spent such a long time traveling throughout red sands and along long roads that saying goodbye so quickly seemed unlike how things had come to be.

In a way it felt like we would meet again soon. I hope that to be the case.

Millers, you have inspired us, encouraged us and showed us that things can be done a little differently. We are a little ways out of Cairns, in a free camp, in our tent and we are not rushing homeward. This is such a long way from where we were three months ago.

Enjoy your journey home for the winter months. While it may not warm you up, you can remember how hot it was driving across Australia. We will remember that drive for a very long time.

Boulders. It's Beautiful.

There are butterflies in the trees. They are flying around the leaves of trees about 4 metres high. They are tasseling with each other, in an un-orchestrated dance. A few are above the treetops, like little birds.

The River Runs Calmly

Jacqui and the boys went for a swim in the river that runs past here. 15 people have died swimming in unsafe areas. We haven't seen the unsafe areas yet, the eagerness to swim in a clear river surpassed going for a walk.

Down some metal steps and down to the river. There is a large rock that is a landing before stepping into the river, sand is on the river bed. Not too far from the steps there are smooth rocks below the surface. The water is clear, you can see the bottom even though you cannot determine the depth.

The water was cold. But by the time you realise that the temperature of the water at Ocean Grove was freezing in comparison this, the temperature was perfect. The boys went under, some of them finding a landing to jump off. Secluded and not busy, this little place is perfect.

Dinner for Two (families)

We were preparing dinner for the Miller's tonight. They were returning for one final night together before heading south on a fast trip to fly out of Australia, destined (eventually) for home.

We get back to camp and the boys make friends with the children travelling on a bus for a year, we watched them arrive, parking their bus among the tree. They play Uno in their home, shaped as a bus, while Jacqui and I sit outside for a chat with the parents.

I started making dinner. Trying to get the timing right with no communication to the Travelling Millers, the dinner reservation was imprecise. They arrived and we finished off preparations for the meal as the tent was put up.

We stood around the small concrete table listening to tales of diving the Great Barrier Reef, funny jokes told by sea-bound diving instructors and things that had gone right and wrong.

Our last meal together in Australia was great. The rain started after we finished washing up.

Then It Rained

When we get rain at home it gets heavy very occasionally and when it does fall there is not very much. In Cairns the rain falls in plenty and does not let up. We feared a few times our tent would collapse beneath the weight of the rain drops.

It started light. Pattering down as we moved things away for the night, hiding the food in to car to stop attracting some unpleasant. Within ten minutes it was heavy. Causing us to run back and forth to get everything away for the night.

I went to bed so early to avoid the rain that I woke up several times to hear it had not stopped. I could feel the water running beneath our tent.

The rain was alternating between nice and gentle, followed by some big drops that splat on the fly of the tent and they increased until the rain was all "splats", the heavy sound feeling like it would knock the tent over.

It was still raining in the morning.

Cairns. A More Tourist Destination Than We Expected

Dear Adventurous Reader,

Cairns was our coastal destination for a few day of no-travel. We had planned to setup in one spot and enjoy a leisurely swim and take it easy for a few days. It started off bad.

No Miller's at the Moment

We separated from the Miller's this morning. They drove off ahead of us to get to Cairns and get some work done before heading off on a boat for a few days.

Joash said: "I miss Elisha. I am happy that we get to see them in a few days."

Getting There

We left the free camp at Toomula and headed north on the highway. The scenery was magnificent. The road swayed between the ridges of rainforest covered mountains. We went up small hills and down longer descents as we made our way through small towns.

The road was slow and the air was sticky with humidity. Sugar cane grew by the roadside, in some places it was harvested, it was cut and placed into trucks that were talking it to narrow gauge trains. We caught a glimpse of a few trains, under load, delivering the harvested cane to their destination - wherever that was. The boys were excited to see trains in motion.

We moved forward through the heat without a destination.

Arrival, of Sorts

We got to Cairns under pressure. Not place to stay, in a hot car, with boys who were five days ago in Alice Springs. We have been moving too fast and we all wanted to unwind.

After an Escalated Discussion we drove aimlessly through Cairns to find a park. The boys all whining in the back about letting us stay at a Big Four resort, that was not going to happen. Eventually we found the park, a marvellous water park on the waterfront called Muddies. We guess it is there because of the stingers and crocodiles in the ocean.

The boys cooled off and I tried to find a reasonably price place to stay. As it turns out, if you want to be disappointed by your stay in Cairns just let me choose a place to stay. No rainforest, no play park, no silence.

Make Do With What You Have Got

So we are getting by. The camp kitchen is nice. The pool is shaded, so the kids have been swimming lots. We are close by to the Boardwalk in a rainforest, which we walked in the third morning of our stay.

We returned to the water park the second day to meet half of the Miller's before they went off on their next adventure. They boys had a wonderful time running through the water park together.

I think we are all enjoying that the car rides are to the shop or to a watermark and do not consist of a few hundred kilometres. So to complain about our situation would be silly, in a few days we have some good things planned to go and see, so we will enjoy what we have and look forward to the rest.

I Lost My Happy

Dear Adventurous Reader,

Today I lost my Happy. It may have fallen from the car on the long drive heading east. It may have slipped when I was watching the view change. It may have just disappeared because the drive is long and it just the same things on different days.

We have driven four days in a row from Alice Springs. Almost each of those days ended with the thought of water:

A dam near Mt Isa, which was bone dry except the small lake the watered a heard of cattle. They came past in the morning sun to drink and then walked off into the dry surrounds once again, looking for food;

A pool in a small town of Hughendon or Prairie or Torrens Creek or Pentland. We drove east thinking of a pool in Hughendon but it was expensive. So we moved on to Prairie and then to Torrens Creek but no space around to pitch a tent. Finally we stopped at Pentland but it was too late to swim in the pool;

Townsville on the beach. There was the threat of stingers and crocodiles. We were not swimming there.

The Car is Hot

The Australian desert is hot. Our car has been getting across the open tablelands with no air conditioner and the front windows wound down. We have been using the second radiator to help any overheating issues.

The thought of water kept us going over the 2,100km of travel in four days. Windows down in the front doesn't help air flow in the back, the windows are bad in the rear of the Tarago.

We brought a bag of ice to put in drinks and to snack on to keep Jacqui and the little guys cool in the back of the car.

There were showers in Pentland, but it wasn't enough for me to keep my Happy.

On the Coast

We are on the coast. I have been looking forward to this for a while now. It has been a long haul and hopefully the next days start to look up and I can find my happy, somewhere.

The Road Goes Ever Onwards

The sun with no clouds in the sky is melting the asphalt. It smells almost freshly laid.

The wind is blowing from the south, hard. Slowing our already slow travels down. It blows the van sideways, the hot breeze barely cooling the engine.

The kids sit strapped in the back. Hot. Tired. Bored. There is some yelling and some crying. We are all hot and bothered. We travelled more than 700km yesterday and almost 450km today, in the baking sun.

The landscape changes again. The trees disappear over a crest and open planes of the tableland are before us, around us. Hemming us in by the inescapable heat.

Down the road a little there is a herd of cattle blocking the road. Slowing us down to a standstill while they meander where they choose.

Soon the dirt isn't so red. The red tint has faded but is still there if you look hard enough. We come into a town, it is small. The weeds blow across the main street as another road train heads off in the direction we came from.

Finally a stop. Let the car and ourselves recompose ourselves. Lunch is canned tuna on rice cakes. Again.

The wind blows. The heat bears down on us, though we have kept to the shade for our lunch. The boys have played with some water from the tap. We start up again. Hawks and falcons circle in the blue sky.

The landscape changes again. More trees and the rocks and hills that surround Mt. Isa. We turn to the south, the wind blowing directly toward us and the temperature gauge drops. We put the windows down and let the breeze come in.

It is still hot. It feels like it has always been hot.

A quick stop for some food and we push on to find out camp. Past a gate and a short, twisty, dusty road is where we stop. The car has had a long day, pushing the overheating mark. We have had a long day; it was hot outside and even hotter in the car.

The ground is rock. The tent pegs bend when we hammer them in.

On Memory and Forgetting

We tend to remember our story in things that happen. The time we hurt ourself badly on the monkey bars; the embarrassing moment in front of a class room; the difficult transition into adulthood. We tell these stories from our perspective and then write them upon our hearts; as scars, wounds or celebrations.

These are our stories of what happened and if we tell them back to ourselves often enough they block out other stories from our past that we would be better-off remembering.

I remember our last road trip. There were many fights between the boys. There was crying because of being hurt by another, they were mad at each other for being annoying, they were tired of sitting next to each other.

Grumpy kids equals grumpy adults. Grumpy adults means that new trips are considered by distance and how likely the kids are to get into a fight. I was not eager to travel long distance again because of the pain from before.

Kids will be Kids

The problem with taking past experiences into consideration is that you are less likely to take the leap into a new adventure. So watching others take their own adventures from the sidelines is what I have been doing.

Kids should allowed to be children. Traveling in cars is boring to the uninitiated and unpracticed. Being dragged by your parents somewhere that is not interesting, or is a surprise, can be uninspiring.

We got in the car with the kids, on a nice day for a long drive that should take us further than 9,000kms through Australia. We had not practiced, we had to learn as we were on the road.

The boys are learning (slowly) that traveling takes patience with everyone. The older boys are fighting less when they are together. Sometimes it falls apart with a brawl in the backseat, for most of this travel they have been finding things to do or talk about to alleviate their boredom.

Joash is patient in the car, he occasionally will make a noise, but for the most part he takes it well, opting for a colouring book, something to read or just to look out the window.

Elijah is boisterous. He is easily bored. Usually as soon as the door is closed and we find the open road he starts yelling "I'm hungry!". Really, he is bored and nothing entertains him by choice, he must be tricked into being entertained.

Elijah is learning how to travel. I can find him frustrating yelling from the backseat, but he is four years old and he is aloud to be bored. It is up to me to think about and approach the situation with a different mind.

Adeline gets bored after a long stretch of driving, when she is well rested. She loves to run about and roll in the dust, not to be stuck in her seat for 4-5 hours a day. Who can blame her?

For Adeline we just get her something to eat, read a book or talk to her. She loves that close connection so we need to make an extra effort.

Fear is What Keeps Us Here

We can all be scared to do things again because of bad experiences with children. Doing a long road trip was not something I would have considered as fun. I was looking at the past instead of looking toward the future.

Will the kids get bored and find it difficult to travel long distances? Sure they will. But how will they get the chance to change that if they never go on a road trip? How will they get to experience Australia as a whole country if they stayed at home?

It would have been silly of me to pass up a road trip because of past experiences but that was all I could think about. A band I listen to has an album called "Fear is What Keeps Us Here", and it does. The fear to experience those bad things again keeps us from doing something new.

How do you get to see Uluru without driving the hundreds of kilometres through salt-bush and red sand? How do yo get to experience the vast outback along open roads, under the burning sun with not a cloud in the sky, without driving? How could I let my kids grow up in Australia only ever seeing the East Coast?

Getting in the car was the best thing we could do to combat bad travel experiences. We are finding our groove and finding how to travel.

A Problem Encountered is Experience Gained

Bad experiences give us lessons in what we should not do again. The long road trips before were worth it but I was looking at it wrong. It was scared if ending in the same place, instead of seeing what I did as a mistake. I can change my problems with a bit of thought.

I had written the wrong things on my heart the last time we traveled. I remembered the bad, instead of remembering the good. I was dwelling on the fighting instead of the ways around the fighting. A problem encountered is experience gained; only a dummy would tackle the same problem the same way, and I was a dummy - waiting for the boys to change instead of me.

This time I am trying to see where I can change. What different approach can I take, or how can I view a situation differently. If I can walk away from this thinking about heading out again then we have won the battle, I would be writing the best things on my heart instead of the bad.

Uluru, Australia's Great Rock

Dear Adventurous Reader,

Today we went down to Uluru, Australia's very own big rock. It was a magnificent sight, at first popping out above the horizon over the trees and then towering high above us. It was unexpected after our long journey to get here.

Camped out

We are camped at Uluru Camping Resort, the gums are magnificent and the grass is dotted with red sand. The wildlife has made its home close by and we are enjoying the swimming pool. There is an excellent camp kitchen and showers that have heated water. We have paid and also got an extra night, I am enjoying being setup for more than a single night.

Can we go home now?

Voices echoed from the boys at the foot of Australia's great monument, Uluru. "I'm bored." "I'm hot." "I want to go back now!". There is a myriad of terms that they spoke, all trying to find a way back to the swimming pool at our camping ground.

The boys had a point. It was on the way up to 41 degrees celcius and the monument is just a big rock in the middle of Australia. Kids don't find awe in the things that older people do, but part of me is intent on forcing them to enjoy what they are seeing - or at least wait until the memory is burned in their brains.

We have tracked from the south. A long journey fighting against overheating car to be where we are. We should just stay a little longer and enjoy the view.

The boys realise the significance of the land we are on. At this moment, fighting flies, the heat and the blistering sun they are choosing their significant moment to retreat.

We stay just a little longer, in the heat. Watch the big, red rock sit in the sun and then go to the cultural centre.

Sunrise

I watched the sunrise over the burnt earth and saltbush trees that cover the ground between the horizon and Uluru.

The sun hung below the horizon, taunting the sky just a moment longer before rising. The yellow reflection of the rays and the bright circle of the sun rose slowly above the edge of the earth.

I tools some photos. They don't capture the moment, but they define the memory.

Three Night Before The Rock

We stay for three nights at the camp ground. On the third day it almost rained; some water fell from the sky, but not enough to be called rain.

The boys explored some cultural dances and learn about boomerangs and spears. They came back to camp holding their new boomerangs, big smiles on their faces. Joash got to painting his very quickly and the others followed.

They enjoyed the afternoon throwing boomerangs in the open spaces near the shared kitchen. Adeline enjoyed the dust, playing in it every opportunity she got.

It wasn't so hot the next few days. We took that as a good sign and went on a walking tour to learn about the Mala people.

Leaving

We drove away, watching the national monument disappear behind the desert dunes.

It was a hard trek to see Uluru. The road was long and hot, the journey was tiresome and after all of the problems we still got to see it. I guess that is the way it should be sometimes, if it is too easy you have missed the experience.

Stuck: How to Assume Problems

We are in Marla. A town where we would have stopped to get petrol. A town bypassed by the Stuart Highway. A town that we would not have remembered on long travels, except maybe by a receipt found from my wallet when I was cleaning it out in three months. But here we are; talking to the staff at the rest stop; watching travellers come and go; waiting for a phone call from the RACV.

The kids are out under some trees in the nice breeze blowing off the outback open roads. They had run under a sprinkler, eaten lunch and asked questions about what was happening. Now they are under the trees, listening to a story - The Princess Bride. I had planned to read it to them but Tony has started. I think they will love it.

Stopping in Marla was not a plan. We are around half the distance into our planned journey for today but we have been stopped by a car refusing to go further. I could limp the car along the road but it would probably leave us in the desert on the side of the road, or like the roadside carnage dotted along the side of the highway. It is not worth pushing it further.

I am not sure if there is a way to plan for breakdowns. We planned ahead as best we could. The car went in for a service a few days before we left and nothing was flagged. The mechanic said "She is in great nick mechanically, even though she is a bit rough to look at." That gave me some confidence in the car, until two days ago, on the drive to Coober Pedy it started overheating.

This is something we have dealt with before: we took a long drive out to Beeac for a Christmas lunch, only to spend the afternoon sweltering in the car because we needed to use the "second radiator"; with a standard car you would call it a heater, in our car the heater is the second radiator. Just push the gauge onto hot and watch the gauge drop to normal levels again.

Last time this happened it was the water pump, which was followed by fixing a head gasket. Surely it cannot be happening this close to getting the gasket fixed. I guess we will see.

How It Happened

We were asked to come on this trip by the MIllars. They blew into our town and took us away on a magic carpet, a whirlwind adventure. The thought of seeing some of the outback and Australia's great monuments with great company was an opportunity we couldn't pass up. So we didn't. We made lists, we packed for everything possibility we could think of and within twelve days had our car and six kids all packed up ready to depart.

I had some doubts about the car but the mechanics words and my optimism for a smooth ride was all we needed. So I thought.

It first started playing up towards Coober Pedy. The temperature gauge started rising and so did my suspicions on the coming days, with temperatures set to increase to 38 degrees celcius.

I took it into the local mechanic and told him my woes. He pointed at a old pickup and said his car did the same thing on the roads, the wind blows across the front of the car instead of in towards the radiator. The car overheats. But because I hung around a little longer he invited me to bring the car around the back to have a look at.

They took a closer look at the radiator and blew some compressed air through it. Said it was okay and didn't take any of my money. I guess they see plenty of suckers come in after underestimating the vast and brutal place the is the australian outback.

We saw some sights and camped underground. Then we left on our scheduled departure.

Marla. Where the Bloody Hell is Marla?

Above 80km per hour the car got a shudder. It was not too bad at first, but it started to get worse. Adeline was sitting in the back of the car making a noise that sounded like someone was patting her back. She was entertaining herself, I was getting worried.

The car had a shudder and for the past 70km we had had the heater on the entire time. Something was wrong and I was beginning to think the head gasket was gone. We pulled into the Marla service station and I went in to make a call to the RACV. It turns out the closest service point was Marla, so we didn't get a tow and the local mechanic wouldn't even look at the car.

I waited and chatted to the man behind the counter. His name is Nick and he didn't mind the conversation. Finally the RACV lady called back, she sounded concerned but kept saying "You sound stuck." and "You've got thinking to do." Well, I knew I was stuck but her suggestion of thinking wasn't really in the RACV brochure.

Camping Underground: Coober Pedy

Dear Adventurous Reader,

Tonight we are sleeping underground. Our tents are pitched with no pegs, some corners held down by large sandstone rocks, within three walls and everyone is asleep. Except me.

Today was a big driving day. We finally got out of Port Augusta later than we wanted.

The luscious blue, clear sky stretched far overhead. The sun shone upon the road heating the expanding bodies of dead kangaroos. The outback eventually took over the landscape; drying out the trees and salt bush until a low lying cover of grass could be seen growing from the red sand.

In the distance the watery haze of a mirage sat always at the end of the road where it joined the horizon. Occasionally a truck with three containers behind would rocket past in the other direction, a road train on the job.

It was not hot, yet; 28 degrees is not hot when the forecast is saying 38. Those ten degrees can change a lot and it caused me to start dreading those coming days.

The Change was Too Soon

I was watching the temperature gauge when it started to rise. It moved slow, at first and the sudden jump was when I caught a glimpse. Turn the heater on inside the car and allow the needle to drop. Crisis averted for now, but from then on I watched the needle with interest.

I broke the news to our companions over lunch. They were not familiar with the foibles of our car. I do hope and pray that band-aid solutions will see us to the end of this road trip.

So We Are Underground

We pitched out tent using boulders of sandstone that are everywhere. Coober Pedy is a mining town and a few houses are constructed underground. "I have always wanted to do this, even though I never knew it." one of the boys said as he walked down into the old mining tunnels.

The walls were cool, despite the 38 degree day outside, all over them etched deeply with the claws of a heavy mining drill. The ground was covered in small sandstone peddles, cast from the walls, which made it impossible to walk silently through the hallways. Elijah's voices echoed off the hard walls, followed by the "shushing" of an adult or older brother following behind. Excitement was high.

The spare day we had we spent seeing some of the attractions in the small town. Feeding baby kangaroos at an art store and visiting an underground church, carved out of the sandstone. I took the car to the mechanic.

Coober Pedy is build upon sandstone. It can be seen from the highway, heaped into small white piles on the surface while the miners are below the ground looking for opals. It lays under the region which is how the underground camping was constructed, etched and clawed below the land the sun beats down upon.

The region gets around 13cm of rain each year. It is hot with the sun baking down upon the vast, open earth and the little shade does not help in finding a cool place. At least we can retreat underground to get out of the sun.

Kids, Older Kids and Uno

The boys are enjoying having company past themselves. The Miller boys are fun to be around, they understand the little guys love hanging out with them and they have time for all of our guys.

It is lovely to watch Gabe hang out with Adeline. It is fantastic to see Elijah give everyone a smile with his antics. Joash is fantastic for a discussion, with his observations explained with detail.

With the hot days Nathanael, Ezekiel and Levi have been spending their time making new friends. I walked into the eating area at our accommodation to find our boys, the Miller boys and a few German tourists playing Uno.

The road is a great place to make new friends, even if it just for an afternoon card game. We were planning on meeting them up at Uluru, as they were heading our way for the next few days.

Staying Still for a Few Days

Dear Adventurous Reader,

The past few days we have been enjoying keeping a tent up for more than a single night, while enjoying a camp ground in the Barossa Valley. Here we met new friends and saw many vineyards that give the region it's name. There is a jumping mat that the boys have been leaping on most of the day.

Car Trips and Kids - The Beginning

Car trips can be short but a road trip, by definition, includes a lot of driving. For the driver it can be fun sitting behind the wheel and looking at road, most of the time the driver is the only one with something to do.

For kids in the back of a car on a long day it can be boring and tedious. We haven't had a long day of driving yet, they are to come, when it gets hot. For now we are still finding a groove in which to belong on the road; there is yelling; there is crying; and there is fun hidden in amongst the bad things I remember.

The driving part is an inescapable part of this trip. I am sure we will find a groove. But for now we are finding a two hour drive a long way. It should be too, we have no driven this far on consecutive days in a very long time; the last time we did I remember it not going so well.

Barossa Valley

Kilometer after Kilometer, after Kilometer of vineyards welcome us as we enter Tanunda. The sky which was darkened with rain had been left before we came over the hills and now a cold but less-threatening sky greeted us.

Check in to the caravan park was simple, we even got a spot right next-door to our friends who were waiting to meet us.

We still do not have a pattern happening when we arrive, being the second day of travel we still have to yell out for a hand to get the tent set up. The temptation for the boys to run off and play with new friends is too much.

The boys made friends quickly with Oliver and despite the burden of setting up the "house" for the next few days they were off toward the jumping pillow where they were to spend most of the next few days.

We had escaped the unpredictable and mostly cold weather of the Bellarine Peninsula and driven to the next state to enjoy the wonderful weather. The sun was beautiful in the Barossa.

The boys played in the open green grass while I sat and worked in the common room. This trip was not a holiday, it was to experience a way of life that is different and work on the road is what pays the bills.

While My Husband Gently Works

So I worked and the kids played and the mothers talked. Jacqui had read all of Jill's Blog before we had left so it was nice for her to meet and connect with Jill. I think she thought that she would find a friend in her.

Whomever thought of retaining air under a mat and surrounding it with sand was a genius. The boys spent hours jumping and wrestling on the parks inflated mat, or running around the park play-fighting with each other. Some of the boys set out on an endeavour to make some money collecting rubbish, which turned into a few dollars.

We ate and laughed. Adeline and I jumper on the mat too, she loved it - being up there with the big boys.

On the last day we went to two wineries to enjoy to old landscaping and sample some of the wines. I can see how the Barossa Valley has a lot to offer to tourists, it is an enjoyable place made nicer by the people we were spending time with.

Then as we went to the last shopping centre to get supplies the sound of the road calling gripped me. It was time to move on from old and new friends and to find the unexpected and uncertain path that lay before us.

First Day on the Road

Dear Adventurous Reader,

We have come a long way since we left home. Further than we might have if a few things had not taken our attention.

Tree Top Adventure

First we headed in land to visit a Tree Top Walk. It was fascinating to see how the trees changes as we walked down hill to the forest floor. Huge trees surrounding us, reaching and competing for the light creating a vast canopy towering over us. The Trees that covered us created a vast forest floor, with ferns and damp bushes that smelt wonderful.

From the forest floor we walked along the tree top walk, standing high above the ground on a metal walkway, looking below to the ferns and above and across to the trees that once covered us below.

The boys walked along the metal walkway not phased by the height, looking for places to go higher. The steps to the top of the canopy was ascended with impatience and once conquered it was down to the bottom again. Sometimes youthfulness is about being first and watching the losers loose, not about enjoying the view when you get there.

We sat in the car park of the tree top adventure upon mats and dined on the finest cut veggies, rice cakes, tuna, and salami sandwiches.

Spooking

Driving is fun, I enjoy it a lot. But for the other people in the car it can get boring, hot and sick-inducing. Twisty roads at high speeds, narrow dips and furrows in the road and the warm sun baking the back of a van is a perfect recipe for car sickness. (Un)Luckily the Great Ocean Road is all of those things.

Poor Joash found himself feeling ill when we stopped for petrol at Warrnambool. His face turned sour, like his tummy and with a quick word of encouragement found his way outside before he was "Actual Travel Sick".

He told our traveling companion, Jenn, that he had just "spooked" while he held the Encouragement Ice Cream she had just bought for him. She asked him what he had said. "I spooked. But I got out of the car in time." Car sickness through the eyes of youth.

Camping

We set up camp between the trees in a camping ground that was not planned. It was unplanned because of the distance of the Great Ocean Road and the stops that we had.

It was a nice camping spot. The bugs we had collected on the windscreen driving in were at the camp when we first arrive but were blown away by a steady wind that came with a cool change.

The tent was setup in the wild for the first time. The boys were fed by The Amazing Jenn, who prepared food while we put up tents. And after the boys were put to bed we sat out under a darkened sky to talk about our day and previous adventures.