Day 1- after making the most of the warm weather and abundant water we departed Kakadu NP at 2.30pm and drove to 5km before Mataranka where we found a secluded roadside stop and enjoyed our last warm evening.
Day 2 - now the serious driving began! We still squeezed in an early morning swim at the divine Bitter Springs (34deg natural hot springs that we preferred to the nearby Mataranka) before driving over 1200km and camping the night about 60km south of Alice Springs. It was a mammoth day in the car. The kids did really well and we rewarded them with their first McDonald's Happy Meal for dinner. It was 8pm, they were starving and the pasta that we had planned for dinner was definitely not getting cooked! Although I cringed at the disgusting fast food, they were very excited. We didn't get to our overnight spot until 9pm and we were all very grateful once finally laying in bed.
Day 3 - another huge day. Drove about 1000km to several hours south of Coober Pedy and bush camped in the vast expanse of the Woomera. Made a roaring fire to compensate for the freezing wind and tried to enjoy our last sunset in the bush, though both kids, as if on cue, decided they needed a poo just as we had poured ourselves a well earned drink. Daniel dug two holes and I enjoyed the sunset whilst my children did their business next to me! Gosh we have definitely turned into Feral Katz, certainly need some etiquette training on our return to society!
Day 4 - our initiation into the cold weather was rapid and shocking to bodies used to an average temperature of 30deg. Lunch in Port Augusta and the temperature was 8deg, then as we moved further into South Australia we got bombarded with wind and hail (which decided to start when we were at a toilet stop!). We made it to Mildura about 4pm and our lovely rooms for the night (we didn't want to get the van wet on the last day). Splurged with a mouth-wateringly fabulous meal at the Mildura Brewery to celebrate our incredible, life changing trip.
Day 5 - made it to Bundalong (our holiday house) by lunch and spent the next few days unpacking the house, which had been rented whilst we travelled. It was a great way to ease us back into civilisation!
Over the next week we finally met Logan, our nephew born a month after we left, had several family dinners (including a very happy reunion for the kids with their cousins Ruby and Mack), attended Dad's retirement lunch, moved into our new, albeit temporary, home in Corio, had a wonderful catch up afternoon with many of our friends, negotiated pre-approval for a home loan and spent lots of time with our dog Rascal (who was super excited to see us and forgave us for leaving her behind). We also took the kids to their first game of AFL where Dad tried to convert them to Melbourne supporters
It has been an action packed month since we returned and we haven't had a chance to let the post holiday blues get to us yet. We have made many decisions, and changed our minds many more times! After our initial plan to move to Mansfield asap we looked at many houses there over several days, but unfortunately nothing really appealed us. So after much 'toying and froing' we have come to our final decision. We will move to our holiday home in Bundalong after leaving Corio (we are here for about 3 months for Daniel's work) then we will live there for at least next year and reevaluate. Emilia is enrolled at school in Yarrawonga and Jackson got into kindergarten there too. I am hoping to do some relief teaching and Daniel will continue to do shutdowns away but he won't have to do too many. We have decided a great lifestyle, with lots of time spent together as a family, is the most important thing for us and we are confident we will enjoy living at Bundalong, who knows....we may never leave.
And so the gypsy life has been curtailed for the time being, but without another mortgage to pay the next trip is certain to be in the not to distant future!!!!
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| They were so excited to have their first Happy Meals they wanted to keep the boxes. |
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| Dozing away some of the many hours in the car. |
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| Our last bush camp spot - we were trying to enjoy our last sunset in the bush but both kids decided they needed 'number 2' at the same time!! |
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| A roaring fire at dusk was a lovely way to end our trip. |
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| Emilia wandering around the bush collecting firewood - she was VERY sad to be in the bush for the final night. |
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| By day 3 of 10-12hours per day in the car boredom had really set in. |
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| Welcome to the south - a flash storm complete with hail (kids were dumbstruck by it). |
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The outside temperature hit 4deg and it was pouring - a huge shock to our bodies!
Cuddles with her cousin, Logan.
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