Kalbarri

So we left the grey skies behind for sunny days, blue skies and a relaxed camping atmosphere. We set off from Perth prising the kids away from uncle Dave's tv to arrive in New Norcia, the only monastic town in Australia. We did the tour of the town and for once even the kids enjoyed the tour (well we bribed them with the hope of lollies at the end so they stopped complaining), the tour guide was so interesting and regaled us with lots of information and personal recounts of life in a monastic town.

After the tour we visited the hotel and sank a few abbey ales (well I did, none of that boutique crap for Mike) and listened to the live music, it was such a relaxed afternoon, hopefully setting the tone for the next leg of our trip. After stopping to stock up on fresh baked abbey bread, we left early the next day and had a long 6 hour drive to Kalbarri. We pulled up at the ranch and hit jackpot. A beautiful horse ranch with lots of animals for the kids, shower and toilet to keep mum happy and cheaper than a caravan park to keep dad happy!  

We ventured over to happy hour near the camp kitchen to find a 'mixed bag' of interesting travellers, (who would soon become great friends), some were WWOOF's, who need 12 weeks on a farm for their visa to be extended, couples and other families who were travelling together around Australia.  Lola was rapt to see a little girl her age and quickly made friends, we were happy to find such a relaxed bunch of people to enjoy a beer with and such a great spot to explore the Kalbarri National Park from.

The first night we pulled up the kids were so excited to be setting up next to the penned in area which held a crazy looking goat and sheep. We all snuggled down after a long day driving for a good nights rest, in the middle of the night I was woken by a  strange noise, I couldn't work out if someone was being strangled or pleasured....or both...listening from the opposite bed to Mike I started to question whether Mike was having his own 'very bizarre alone time' in the middle of the night, but he was still snoring happily In his own bed so I ruled him out, the 'noise' kept going and going, I wasn't sure if we had some late night campers finding a romantic spot in the bush.....then I realised it was the bloody goat!!!!! The goat has clearly mistaken his blue feeding bucket for another goat and attempting to 'befriend' it in only a way a goat could, it truly was some of the weirdest noises I have ever heard, and geez I was fortunate to listen to the blue bucket loving nearly every day of our stay!!!  After a few days into our stay, we were discussing the goat, and Deb, one of the other travellers told us that the first night we arrived she thought the noises were coming from us!!!!! Hehe no 50 shades of grey in this campervan!

We have had such a great time, exploring the beautiful gorges and Murchison river, the scenery is spectacular and I know that the landscape only gets better and better on this next leg of our trip. Oscar set up his hammock and spent many a morning relaxing in the breeze, I certainly think this week has reset the kids after 2 weeks of 'city life' The kids were lucky enough to be offered pony rides, Scarlett was so blissed out, she loved it, until Krystal took her for a trot and then the look on her face was priceless!!!!  We have swam in the pool, Oscar attempting to better his balance by crossing the slack line that was set up over the pool, Lola and Scarlett have been practising their gymnastics on the slack line and enjoyed playing with all the other kids (big and little) on the grassy area, it has been a chilled out week of relaxing and enjoying the company of others at the extended happy hours around the fire.

We finally dragged ourselves away from Kalbarri, arriving at Monkey Mia just in time to have a beer and watch the sunset! The kids are looking forward to seeing their friends from Kalbarri in the next few days, feeding dolphins, a boat cruise and swimming in the ocean! Geez it is a hard life we lead:)

Onwards and upwards!!!!!

Well we are leaving Perth and the south west of WA, we have had a great time, enjoying campfires and exploring the caves at Margaret river, climbing tall trees and tall lighthouses, walking through amazing forests and national parks, dodging the rain as much as we can and spending time with family in Perth. 

After two weeks in Perth dealing with 'minor' mishaps with the car and the computer (and that is the last we will mention the lemon car we are driving) we have reset the sails and are ready for our next adventure. We are looking forward to warmer weather, the friendliness of fellow campers and lots of snorkelling at the amazing Ningaloo Reef! 

Southwest WA

From Lucky Bay we headed into the southwest of WA. We set up camp in the sterling ranges national park for a few nights and explored lots of great walks in the park. We attempted bluff knoll, the highest peak in WA, but it was a little tough for the kiddies, the views were still amazing though, Oscar attempted scones in the weber as part of his school project and after such a great attempt he is now on baking duty for the rest of the trip.

We arrived in Pemberton with an excited Oscar who was keen return to this area as he was on a mission to attempt all the climbing trees. One afternoon he snuck off with Mike, a mischievous grin on his freckled face, he blew me a kiss as they drove off and I knew they were going for a climb. My stomach was in knots until I received the picture of him at the very top of the 57m tree. He was so excited that the next day we went to the Gloucester tree in the national park. It is the tallest climbing tree at 67m and it had been wet the night before so I was not inclined to let him climb, but in a blink of an eye he was gone scaling as fast as he could. I watched as he got smaller and smaller, the knots in my stomach getting comparatively bigger and bigger, I think the climb up isn't as bad as watching the climb down, Oscar feeling his way down the metal pegs, me hoping he doesn't slip, my breathing only returning to normal as his feet reached the ground. Scarlet and Lola still haven't  stopped giving Mike darkies for not letting them climb and quite often remind him that it's their turn the next time we find another tall tree!

After seeing the joy on Oscars face at achieving his goal I decided to see  if I could break my record for climbing the trees, a whole 12 pegs!!!!! Well I accepted the challenge and with my knees knocking I made it to peg 13!!!!! Woohoo record broken!!! Oscar may have climbed  nearly 200 pegs by by golly I made it up 13!

Each night Mike had a big fire as the weather was a little cold and drizzly, the kids spent a lot of their nights eating the oozing goodness of cooked marshmallows.  With each marshmallow Oscar would repeat 'I'm melting, I'm melting', as his marshmallow rotated on his stick. The girls would giggle as each marshmallow met the same slow fiery death.  I was happy to have a big more space to move in and made use of the camp kitchen in the caravan park, I became friendly with a of French backpackers who were working in Pemberton and living in tiny tents for 6 weeks. Every night after work they would roll in, I'd call out 'hi honeys how was your day at work?', and they would giggle at the crazy women stirring her pots on the stove. I was always so impressed with the simple but delicious food they would whip out of next to nothing, they certainly had their cooking down to a fine art, they even made swigging on wine out of a brown paper bag look stylish and super cool!

On the final morning I went for a walk, it had rained all night so it was misty and the forest was a deep, deep green. The ground was soft underneath and the smell of the eucalypts strong. Pemberton is a beautiful little town surrounded by the most majestic trees, so tall and the smell of the forest invades your senses, I always thought I felt so at peace near the sea, but the invigorating freshness of the forest seems to be challenging the stormy seas for top place.

From Pemberton we moved to Leeuwin naturaliste national park just near Margaret River, it is such a beautiful part of the world, more gorgeous forests to walk through, cool underground caves to explore, amazing light houses to climb in Augusta......oh and did I mention the wine..... Hello heaven!!! Clever old me timed our visit to Margaret river to coincide with Mother's Day!!!! What better way to celebrate Mother's Day then touring the beautiful wineries, breweries and cideries in the area. I picked our tour to be suitable for all of us, a brewery every hour or 2 so the designated driver could complain about the 'crap'  overpriced boutique beer he drank, and most of the wineries chosen for me also had a playground for the designated driver and the kids to amuse themselves with whilst I savoured the wine tasting! Happy days, it would only have been better if I had some of my favourite women folk with me to share a bottle with, I don't think I'll be able to save any bottles for my return though....We had  a long leisurely lunch at cheeky monkeys brewery and enjoyed the music and beautiful scenery for a few hours, we finished a perfect Mother's Day at the ice cream shop just out of town.

During this lovely week exploring Margaret River we have met some lovely people and spent long nights around the campfire sharing dinners and a few beers and bottles of wine. I have got to do a few things on my list of things I love to do, hang out with really interesting people, play cards and drink wine in beautiful surroundings, go to the farmers market and stock up on delicious food from the region.....my type of holiday.  (Wow i just read that back to myself and I am so cool, markets cards and wine......maybe I really am getting old??)

So next stop who knows, we have a week or so before we get to Perth, we may stop near donnybrook, pick some apples, visit more markets and maybe even update the Watson gnome family at gnomesville with any later additions since Sharon's visit. Happy travels xx

I love.......

I love that every morning when my kettle starts to whistle Oscar screams 'you're scolding my insides!' On behalf of the kettle.

I love that the kids have a system in place so they know whose turn it is to sit next to me for tea and whose turn it is to sleep with me each night. 

I love that Lola comes up every day and gives me a big big squeezy hug and looks me in the eye and says I love you more than dad, then does the same thing to Mike. 

I love that Lola attempts to cheat when playing uno and go fish.

I love that Oscar gets up extra early to sneak time on the ipad when he thinks I won't know.

I love that Scarlett has me addicted to the stoopid bejeweled blitz frozen game and the mad excitement of her attempts to help me get to the next level!

I love that every morning the kids say what can we have for brekky and  take forever to decide, when they always decide on the same thing. I love how much this irks Mike even more! 

I love that each time we go to the beach mike tells the kids, 'don't get wet', and each time they end up saturated!

I love the slow mornings, big walks before breakfast, card games at night.

Crossing the Nullarbor

When a lot of people think about the trip across the Nullarbor many assume it is a long boring drive of nothing. This was our second trip across and I loved every minute of it again. The scenery changes, but  the sky remains blue and the flies remain sticky. I prepared myself by stocking up the ipod with lots of Australian music, as I felt the Nullarbor, a truly iconic Australian drive, deserved great Australian tunes. Mike was not so impressed and so started the 3 day complaining about my taste in music. By day 3 of driving I was a little over his negativity so I thought he would enjoy my stunning renditions of every song I played at the top of my voice. Fair to say I don’t think he will be complaining about my music choice again! Although I was tempted to spend the Nullarbor singing the frozen soundtrack with the girls, I don’t think I could put up with the whining from Oscar and was happy with my Australian song tune decision.

at the border, one foot in SA, one foot in WA

We only stayed 2 nights crossing over, one at Eucla, which had a major refurbishment and looked amazing. It has a beautiful new pool overlooking the ocean and lovely gardens which is very surprising for the middle of the Nullarbor, the next night we stayed at Fraser Ranges, which did not disappoint again. We set up camp at the first cattle station to be settled across the Nullarbor and spent the night sitting around the camp fire with other campers having a few drinks.  I got chatting to a guy who has spent the last 35 years working the mines around Western Australia, he was so interesting and explained so much of the mining process, (either that or I had a few too many beers and I just thought it was interesting). 

the long straight road!

the pool at Eucla in the middle of the Nullarbor

the Eucla telegraph station 

fraser ranges station

After a scratchy start to the next day we finished the last leg of the Nullarbor and arrived at Lucky Bay, Esperance for a week of camping at the beach that was voted to have the whitest sand in Australia. I had an amazing start to our week at Lucky Bay, going to the dawn service for Anzac day on the beach. It was really moving and after wards enjoyed the conversations explaining Anzac Day to the backpackers who didn’t know what it was and why we commemorated the Australian soldiers on this day. We have had a great time at Lucky bay, swimming in the ocean, walking the beautiful nature tracks and pretending to do a little school work with the kids.

Second Week Wobbl(i)es

This week we have been exploring the Eyre Peninsula. Due to our sorely depleted bank balance we are attempting to free camp/find cheaper options (aka freeload from family) as much as possible for the next 12 months. Before we left Mike spent every waking moment in the shed tinkering with the van in an attempt to make it livable for the next 12 months for ‘one disappointed mother who really wanted to upgrade to a better caravan that we could actually fit comfortably in’ and her family. So the past week has been a good chance to check a few things out and see how it (ahem….me) stands up to this free camping lifestyle Mike loves so much. 

Let’s see ….so far the battery in the camper has died a slow death, meaning we are on limited power supply…we have been managing fine thanks to our lovely electronic/ electrician neighbour who has been supplying us with led lights and low voltage options. Oh and the new whiz bang hot water system that Mike strongly advocated was just as good as a shower in a caravan has also failed….YIPPEE so far I am LOVING this free camping never having a hot shower thing!!!! Sponge baths take on a totally different connotation when you are attempting one with 3 kiddies in tow!

my studious Scarlett

Aside from my complete lack of ‘sucking it up’ on my behalf, we have had some lovely days chilling with the kids. Scarlett, my super excited studious little chick, has been busting to start her distance ed school work,  so instead of having two weeks off we have been getting ourselves familiar with their distance ed modules. Surprisingly we have got off to a good start with both Oscar and Scarlett enjoying their first week of schooling mumma style. I am not enjoying all the reading that I need to do the night before to prepare myself but I am sure once I get the swing of it we will be fine! Oscar is not to happy that I make them say “Good Morning Mrs Watson” in a sing song voice as I enter the camper to commence classes, Scarli however loves how ‘funny’ her mum is….I secretly giggle every time she sings so enthusiastically. Lola likes to sing out ‘Morning Mrs Farty Bum’ and run away, the cheeky minx!

We had been staying in a campsite with a few other travellers, mostly grey nomads and I have enjoyed having a natter with the old ducks over an afternoon cuppa, not that I can get much in as they all have a habit of speaking over themselves…(just like a bunch of other dutch aunties I know!!!) Mike has been testing out his 4 wheel driving skills in the sand dunes around where we have been staying and I have been laughing as I watch how he digs himself out of every sand bog! The kids have loved sliding down the dunes and were continually attempting the bigger dunes to throw themselves off.

Lola playing with her rock and shell collection

Lola beating me at Stacko

Oscar at the top of a look out

the cubby house the children made

sunrise from Port Lincoln National Park

We then headed to Port Lincoln to set up in the national park and wait for the Easter bunny to find us.  We were lucky enough to set up near a lovely family with kids similar ages and an older couple. We had a great five nights in the national park, playing lots of board games, walking the bush trails, watching everyone else fish, swimming in the ocean and generally chilling out. The Easter bunny still managed to find us and over supply us with lots of chocolate goodies. We cooked up a big batch of pancakes and had a great morning sitting around scoffing pancakes with our new friends.  Today we headed for streaky bay and after a very long day in the car ended up in Ceduna, we have washed clothes (and ourselves, I can tell you now that the shower I had tonight totally kicks arse over the pitiful drip system Mike calls a shower) and restocked the food cupboards in preparation for the start of the nullabor tomorrow.  

THE WATSON'S HAVE RETURNED TO WANDERING!

Well the wandering Watson's are back wandering the country side. I can’t believe that it’s been three years since we left on our last journey, but here we are again a week into the latest adventure. This time it feels less ‘holidayee’ more like an experience for our family. The excitement is still there but the feeling of unknown and anticipation has been replaced with the knowledge of what is ahead of us.

Five weeks ago in a mild panic I wrote this………

“So apparently in 4 short weeks we are leaving on a trip around Australia…..4 weeks, the house isn’t packed, the house isn’t rented out yet, the education of the children isn’t organised, I do however have beaut new hiking shoes, new bras and undies to hang on the caravan park clothes lines, the kids have new coats, new runners, new jumpers, I have ‘appropriate’ camping clothes, a  new low power kettle option and a kindle to read a million books on. I have transferred all my cd’s to my computer and purchased an iPad to use for ‘educational purposes’ (aka facebook)…. oh and apparently we will get as far as Beaufort before we need to start looking for work as we have spent all our savings preparing for the trip. Despite all this, in four short weeks we will be departing on the next wandering Watsons adventure, broke, slightly shit scared, not emotionally prepared for close confinement and not sure if the feeling in my gut is excitement or a panic attack!!!!

In amongst all this preparation and packing, the thing that is pressing on my mind the most is, should I buy new doona covers for the camper to make it fresh and ‘holidayee’?????………… yep that’s the most important thing floating around up in my brain keeping me awake at night. Not how much do I really like baked beans considering we have no income to buy food, not can I make enough money from busking to support a family of five?, but what can I decorate……hehe.”

Now five weeks later we are a week into our ‘experience’ we were waved off by Ballarat family and friends, spent a lovely couple of nights catching up with Mick and Jo and Andrew and Di before we made our way across to Adelaide. We stopped in Adelaide for a few nights to catch our breath, to organise ourselves and the camper a little better. To realise that everything that wasn’t sorted a short 5 weeks ago is, it feels good to finally feel like we are prepared to continue on, to get the last minute items we didn’t have time to get and today it finally felt like we were on holidays!!! We got up and the sun was shining so the kids and I rode our bikes along the beachfront, we played at playgrounds and visited Meagan and Ruby in the morning, we watched movies and relaxed at the camper and then I had a lovely evening with Adi catching up for a drink after she finished work.  I think today I finally felt like we were ready for this ‘adventure’

Oh and those doona covers I was losing sleep over…..haven’t got them yet but what a great excuse to have a little shop in every town we visit!