Saturday 4th February 2012 - Close to Smokey Bay

We all haven't caught up with the time change so the kids went to bed close to 10pm and therefore happy days we got a to sleep in!

We got going at 10am and walked down to the water and played around there while Ed fished with occassional help from the kids.

On his second cast he caught a 55cm flathead  followed by some nice sand whiting which was nice for dinner. It was very relaxing just wandering around the beach. The kids enjoyed freely playing around us.

After a late lunch the kids settled down to update their journals which for Thomas lasted less than 10 minutes before he wanted to play with his Lego!

Ed took the kids for a 4wd afterwards and I enjoyed some time to catchup on the blog and read a little in peace.

The wind started picking up and by dinner time we pulled down the annex and tied packed everything away because the wind was getting very strong. Ed and I had a restless night as the wind was so strong (before that the mosses were a problem!). Anyway, we found out later that it was approximately 70km/hr winds. No wonder the trailer was groaning under the strain!

Ed and I were very tired!

Friday 3rd February 2012 - Another long driving day across the Nullarbor!

We packed up early and hit the road after a breakie of damper and jam. We stopped several times and saw some big limestone caves and several lookouts as we crossed the bight. Ed was keen to have a fish when we stopped and asked for a permit at the Nullarbor Roadhouse, but as it was aboriginal land and we couldn't contact the traditional owners it wasn't meant to be. The bight was spectacular!
We pushed on through to Smokey Bay just south of Ceduna. At Ceduna we were relieved of all our fruit and veggies except the carrots so we had to stop and restock.
We made our way down to a lovely spot south of Smokey Bay in a conservation area right on the water.
A feed of chicken and fried rice was folioed by a fresh crab given to us by some fellow campers. Nice was to end the day.
So glad to have finished the Nullarbor crossing!

Thursday 2nd February 2012 - A driving day

We took a 4wd track from Condingyup through to Balladonia. As rain was expected we got on the road early to try and avoid any potential problems on the track. Some of it was pretty rough! On the way I talked to the kids about why Balladonia was famous. I even remembered it was July 1979 when Skylab crashed into town. Maybe I haven't still got placenta brain! We went into the roadhouse and saw the museum and parts of Skylab inside and on the roof. The girls were quite interested, especially Charlotte. Thomas didn't really care!
We drove along the longest stretch of straight road in Australia (146km) and made our way in the late afternoon to Eucla. We visited the Old Telegraph station and the view was beautiful down to the ocean.
We pushed on through to Border Town and crossed into South Australia. We went off road and camped in the bush for the night.
As it was late  I was chef for the night - bangers & mash. Ed cooked a damper and the kids toasted marshmallows on the fire.
A lovely end to a long day in the car. The kids were pretty good for most of it - only a few arguments along the way! The stars were spectacular that night!

Wednesday 1st February 2012 - on the road again!

Ed took the car to be fixed while the kids and I did some packing up of the camper. (More play than packing from the kids!)
We left around lunchtime after a visit to the bakery and headed to Cape Le Grand. We saw Frenchmans Peak but as it was a hot afternoon we decided not to climb it. I would like to go back and climb it, probably first thing in the morning when it's cooler!
We then went onto Hell Fire Bay which was a beautiful, pristine beach with squeaky white sand and clear aqua blue water. It was stunning!
We then drove onto Duke of Orleans Bay in Cape Arid and camped the night at the caravan park. Ed was not happy - $50 to stay the night!!!
In the late afternoon we went to Whartons Beach. It was probably better then Hell Fire Bay. The girls boogie boarded and Thomas and Ed went rock climbing. Thomas was scampering over all the rocks so Ed nicknamed hime the 'Rock Hopper' after the penguins with the same name! We all joined them over at the rocks and found some coral growing just under the surface and a few very old creatures of the sea.
Ed followed this up with a fish in the evening - no success!
Thomas was Chef for the night and he wanted 2 minute noodles. He put his order in but didn't actually want to do the work! (the playground was calling him). I added veggies and chicken to the order and we sat down to a stir fry. The kids were tired after the swim and rock climbing and crashed almost straight after dinner.
Ed and I sorted a few things out before crashing early. We wanted to get on the road early to attack the Nullarbor.

Tuesday 31st Jan 2012

Well Ed is disappointed that we were not on the road. The car was booked in for Wednesday morning so he just had to wait! It is very windy in Esperance so my dreams of squid or any fish for that matter were going to be left unfulfilled. We went to see Pink Lake (which wasn't that pink!). It is meant to turn a pinkish colour with all the bacteria/algae. Wasn't seeing it.
We moved onto a lovely beach called Twilight Beach where the water was very cold but it didn't stop us all from getting wet. The kids all got the boogie boards out and had a great time followed by some specky sandcastle and tunnel building on the beach. The boogie boards died (broke in 2).
We returned back to the caravan park for a late lunch and a rest (too much hard work!). Ed, Charlotte and Thomas went down to the Jetty for a vary optimistic fishing expedition and Olivia and I followed later on. When we joined them at the jetty there was a huge Sea Lion resting on the beach and another one swimming around the jetty. No wonder Ed didn't catch anything!
After a spot of shopping (new boogie boards for all 3) we returned to the camper to start out journals (Olivia was not very orientated to task and she may prove difficult to home school - time will tell!)
It was Olivia's turn to be chef. She was assisted by Ed and they made wonderful hamburgers for dinner.
After a bit of fuss the kids finally went to bed. We met some nice people at the camp site and we shared a drink with them talking about various travelling adventures and places to see.
A pretty relaxing day all round.

Trying to leave!

We had planned to leave Perth on Sunday the 29th January, however a combination of the very hot weather and having far more crap in our house than we ever realised forced us to abandon hope for a Sunday departure. We handed over the house 9am Sunday morning to our tenants and spend Sunday over at Mum & Dad's trying to sort out our stuff. Ed and I were exhausted so it was better to not rush and leave Monday after a good nights sleep.
We measured the kids height and weight so that we can see how much the grow over the time we are away. I just hope that I get smaller!!!!
Our first stop was Hyden to visit Wave Rock. It was hot! Charlotte and I ended up with some sunburn. Ed discovered oil leaking from the transfer case. We got some oil and made our way to Esperance where we are waiting for a mechanic to fix it on Wednesday. I hope this is not the start of mechanical issues!

Almost on the Road!

Well we leave on the 29th of January. We are very excited, however, there is load to do! We have to finish packing up the house, redirect the mail and pack everything that we will need on our adventure.
We are looking forward to a farewell drink with our friends on  Sunday which will be followed by a mad week of packing and cleaning! Yay!!!!
It is great not to be getting ready for school and thinking about getting back into the school runs. We will do our schooling anywhere anytime for as little or as long a time as we like!
First stop is Wave Rock for lunch followed by Esperence for dinner (I am dreaming of some squid off the jetty for dinner!!!)
Bye for now!