In and out of NSW.....and just WHERE R WEE?

Well, it's about time we slowed down the fun a bit, and write what's we've done & where's we been !
The long story.....( starting below with more blogs to come...) 
The short story is.......we've crossed 5 borders, seen some great places & now currently in Kununurra W.A... And so looking forward to 'cruisin' around the Kimberley's over the next few months....Yay.
 
So what would you like to know about our trip?
 
 *Fuel cost ? (really who cares - fill it up and enjoy the ride). But if you must know, the most expense diesel we've seen to date is $2.27..and if you don't want to pay that...well,it's a long walk! Feel better about what your paying now? 
*How many kilometres we've covered ? (heaps with lots more to go) Approx 18,000klms and both vehicles going strong! Of course they're Toyota's.
 *Where's the best place in Aussie so far? ( gosh, many favorite towns, anywhere there's a flowing creek & we can have our campfire I guess. But I do recall the historic town of Burra and it's old copper mine,left an impression).
 *How are the kids coping? (Fine, told to sit down & shut up,haha,seriously they're still lovin it ! Enjoying their 'bunk beds' with the occasional sleep- out in the tent or swag...what more would a boy want! Great little bush walkers they are now too, the longest to date has been 8.6 klms. We've stopped Distance Ed,...yep,stuck it out for 9 months, but I'm no wonder woman.It was becoming quite hard to juggle.Boys now go from school to school, making new friends,and learning the 'different ways of learning' via Australian schools.....and I, enjoy no more headaches)
*Is there plenty of work out here?  U betcha.Both John and I have succumbed to that 4 letter word on this trip.So if your willing to give anything a go...get packing,there's plenty of work out here.
 *What's been the biggest drama? (Um...maybe losing the bike rack OFF the back of the van,yep, cruisin the highway at 90 clicks dragging my ass,um, bikes actually.Oh dear.Jack's bike suffered the most damage, with a grazed peddle, handle, seat, and snapped BRAKE cable to!!.Lucky he can still ride it ,just uses his 'shoes' to stop now, not his hands!!!....2nd drama was rushing BJ ,our youngest, to Timber Creek N.T Medical Centre.Yep, thanks to a 'gash to the head'.Our 3 little darlings have given up on the 'thong' throwing, ROCKS into water is now the go.....Just remember to aim straight, better still, DONT DO IT boys! Yes,there was lots of blood, tears and a lesson learnt.We hope? The doc did a glue job,stitches would've been to horrifying for mum, let alone BJ!
 *Is it fun dragging a big dog around Australia? Well... it was great for a while... But it's a bit cruel having to keep her on the lease everywhere and if you enjoy dry wrenching while picking up huge dog poo's ,...than go for it...I am over it.... Although we love our pet so much.....man's best mate is maybe best left at home....
Gosh there's so many questions to answer about travelling.I could go one forever....
I know nearly everyone we meet who are working their butts off, just wish they were us...make it happen people.You have one life to live and if doing something like this has always got you excited...then get packing.There'll be no regrets.
 
Well,the last blog was more like a 'novel' so I'll try make this one a little shorter......Hmm,Yeah right!
 
Outback NSW is an interesting place,seems to have emu's galore, even walking the streets... Plenty of  'no fear' aborigine boys too....climbing 20ft high up trees and jumping into the river below,crazy.There's lots of famous people's final resting places too , Fred Hollows, Bushranger's Ben Hall, Captain Starlight,& Midnight's,we were luck to see most of them.There's the best zoo in Australia at Dubbo,the old gaol where our Jack took part in a theatrical performance, and there's even gold to be found if you have patience!
Many free camps around the state with quirky things that come with them, like the Swap or Donate camp kitchen at Whyandra,  or the free mineral pool at Barmedmen..(where's that?- get your maps out) .Such great places everywhere,they stay in your mind ....especially the unique ones,  or the camps where the boys get hurt,.... Or where we leave something behind....yeah, that's always memorable. 
 
Spent a fun time boating,skiing & tubing on Burrendong Dam with old friends,caving at Wellington, seen the house made of bottles, enjoyed the Elvis Muesum & festival, along with a visit to the 64metre high ' Dish' Radio Telescope at Parkes. Near Condoblin, we visited 
"Utes in the paddock"...which is a line of old Holdens that have died, then resurrected by great artists, and some viagra!... Interesting. See photo's..
It was around this time we'd decided to place the kids in school, choosing Alice Springs as the destination to settle for term 1 and 2.Knowing we were going to miss the start of term 1, we continued our journey cramming in as much as possible before making the cruise up the centre of Australia.
The mid western highway towards Hay is a good run, just make sure you obey signs about fruit fly control & eat up all that fruit...or bin it,which we all know is too expensive these days.Hay has a great showground camp site,the boys reckon the best skate park so far & the Murrumbidigee River  was very brown & muddy when we drove over it.From here the big semi's & roadtrains, which I love the sight of, were in abundance as they do their weekly runs across the country from Perth to Sydney & Melbourne and back again.
The weather at Hay was becoming very 'cyclonic' as high humidity & very low circular clouds from ex -cyclone Anthony chased us out & further west.Joining the trucks along the Sturt Hwy we crossed the "Hay Plains" & wondered what the truckies do, to pass this boring area of Oz.The land is a 'taste ' of what the Nullabour is to many travellers........flat & bare.
We made it to Buronga & crossed the NSW/VIC border over the almighty Murray River into Mildura only to swing the convoy back around & camp in "NSW" at the Buronga Van Park.Such a lovely place we couldn't go past it. 
Aussie's who live along this Murray River would have to be in one of the best places in this country.... I love it.All the small towns spread along the banks are just gorgeous and witnessing it in full flood was a sight to see.We took a ride on the Paddlesteamer "Melbourne" admiring the peace, quiet, and enjoyed pure relaxation.Almost had to boot us off....I'm definitely going back there one day.
It was here we got right amongst Mildura's flash flooding, very lucky we had the van hooked up at the time, when ridiculous amounts of rain fell on the town. We searched for higher ground,as the highway was flooding & to dangerous to drive.We eventually found a place & stayed on the side of the road near Wentworth for 3 days.Wentworth is a great little town,very historic, fantastic sandhills to run a mok on & it's the junction where the two biggest rivers in Oz meet.The Darling River, which is brown & the Murray River which was flowing fast & blue! Fantastic to see the colour of the water.
 
Quote for the day:
I used to say, good things come to those who wait...but come to think of it....the things that come to those who wait, are what's left behind by those who got there first!
 
 Another family members lesson learnt:
Just after our 2nd son accidently placed mossie spray on his 'cuts and abrasions' he quickly asked .."Oh Mum, should I spray this on here ???"
Within seconds he got his answer..... burning skin...."ARGHHHHH" . But lotsa laughter coming from his brothers....
 
Something else to wonder:
Just what would you do, if you saw a endangered animal eating an endangered plant ??
 
Photo's do take a bit of time to place on here,there's SO many to choose from..... but I'll do my best to catch up...enjoy, keep dreaming,
Till next time,
 
CruisinDownUnder...