Day 22 - Mildura 9/10/15

Today we all had a bit off a sleep in and a lazy morning. We had pancakes for brekky and then I went to the pool with the other kids. We stayed in there for a couple hours and then got out and had some lunch. After lunch we went on a Paddle Steamer called the Rothbury. The ride was 2 hours down the Murray and into the lock chamber. In the lock chamber we got to watch the water level go down so that we wouldn't have a waterfall drop into the lower section of the Murray. It was really cool and the ride was quite nice. The captain told us some interesting stuff about the Murray and Mildura. At one point he asked if any of the kids wanted to steer the boat. Darcy, Indi, Ra and I all had a go t steering the paddle steamer. It was way harder than it looked. The wheel everytime you tried to turn it one way, would try and turn back the other. It took a lot of effort and muscle to steer the boat ini the right direction. We all did pretty good until Indi almost banked us twice which was pretty funny. She started steering towards one river bank and went told to turn the other way she went to far and was heading for the other river bank! The captain made it pretty funny though, saying things in the speaker so everyone could hear and tried to make it that she was meant to steer towards the bank. On the way back we went back into the lock and watched the water level rise so we could go back into the higher part. It was really hot so when we got back to camp us kids went back into the pool for a few hours before getting and having a shower to get ready for dinner at the pub/restaurant place. Dinner was really nice and Kenna wrote us a real cute and nice message on the chalk board. Before we left we all had a go at the chocolate game. The one with the claw that you have to pick up the chocolates to make them fall. We all did really well, but I was so good at the game and ended up pushing a couple of toys down with the chocolates. When we ran out of money Adam put them on the table and the kids had to line up youngest to oldest and pick one thing at a time. In the end I think we all ended u with 6 chockies each. When we went back to camp it was still 35 degrees outside so again we all sat outside Jackos tent and talked and looked for the moop whoop owl. Tomorrow we finally go home. I'm looking forward to see Amber and Minty again.

Today's blog is written by Chloe :)

Day 21 - Mutawintji to Mildura 8/10/15

Today is Jacko's Birthday. We all said happy birthday to him and slowly packed up and set off at about 8:00. When we started driving it was the time of morning for kangaroos to be out and about eating. Luckily we didn't hit any but there were some very close calls. There were thousands of them jumping out in front of the car or sitting on the side of the road. We finally reached Broken Hill without hitting anything and had a break. We stopped at the shops to get a couple of supplies and brought a cake for Jacko. We then drive to the visitors centre and had some Gloria Jeans for morning tea and looked in the suvinear shop. We then set off again to Mildura. We didn't stop again until we reached Mildura and had set up in the caravan park. It was a really nice caravan park, the grass was green (which we hadn't seen in 3 weeks), the pool was cool and the toilets were the best. They were clean and the showers were the best we had all trip, they also had in the soap dispenser, soap and lotion. It was really nice. We set up on the Murray River and us kids went in the pool for a bit before we got out and got ready for dinner. We had a BBQ for dinner in the camp kitchen and saw the first T.V in 3 weeks. It was quite strange actually. When all 3 families had finished eating dinner we gave Jacko his prezzies and did cake. We all sang happy birthday and then sat around the Jacko's tent for the rest of the night. 

Today's blog is written by Chloe :)

Day 20 - Tibooburra to Mutawintji 7/10/15

Today's drive wasn't too long. Some of it was on bitchumen and some was on dirt but finally and thankfully not corrugated. There was nothing interesting that happened on the drive. We saw a lot of road kill and then a plain nothingness all around us. When we got there we set up and all sat around in the shade. I had a bit of a nap and when I woke up and sat back outside, Tracey Downs asked if I wanted to go for a walk. So about 20 mins later Tracey, Kenna, Indi, Ra and I were in the car going to a walk into Mutawintji Gorge. It was nearing sunset when we started out 6km walk and we saw a million goats and kangaroos all eating. There were a lot of cute joeys. The walk felt like it was going on forever and it was all through paddocks and stuff so there was nothing really too interesting to look at. When we were almost at the gorge we swooped by a flock of budgies. They scared us quite a bit because we weren't expecting to be swooped by budgies! When we reached the gorge it was really pretty. The creek bed was dry but the trees and the slowly setting sun was an amazing sight. We took photos and explored a bit before having a short break with chocolate eclairs Tracey brought as a treat. We then started to make our way back to the car. On the short car ride back we saw heaps and heaps of goats and kangaroos again. When we got back to camp we told everyone how I walk was and sat around the fire for the rest of the night.

Today's blog is written by Chloe :)

Day 19 - Innaminka to Tibooburra 6/10/15

This morning we woke up and had breakfast in SA. We then packed up and said goodbye to Steven, Sharron and the kids. They left us today to head back to there home mp near Sydney. We then left and had a very long and very corrugated drive along the old strezlecki track to Cameron's Corner. Cameron's Corner is the corner where the borders of SA, NSW and Queensland meet. We were meant to camp there but it was another over 40 degree day and there was no shade and the camping looked pretty bad. So we drove over the border into the Queensland for the second time in 2 days and had lunch at the Cameron's Corner pub. The pub was pretty cool and had a wall of hats and the roof had money pinned to it and there were stickers and stuff too. We had some lunch and sat under the shade for a little bit before we jumped back into the car and drove over to SA again so we could get to the point of the borders. It was pretty cool there was a podium thing that said the states and the remaining 3 families (Jackos, downs' and us) all put there hands on the podium so we were all in the 3 states at once. Mum, Dad and I had a photo taken where I was in NSW, Mum was in Queensland and Dad was in SA. After everyone had taken photos and stuff we hopped in the cars and drove over to NSW to Tibooburra. When we finally got to Tibooburra we set up,had dinner and then we all just sat around. It was a really warm night and we were all still in shorts and t-shirts at 9:00. The one thing I found awesome about today is that we had breakfast in SA, lunch in Queenslasnd and dinner in NSW. I thought that was pretty cool.

Today's blog is written by Chloe :)

Day 18 - Burke and Wills 5/10/15

Today we had a bit of a lazy morning before we took a drive to Queenslant to look at the Dig Tree. The story of Burke and Wills is that they lived in Melbourne and was sent off in 1860 to fill in the blank spaces of Australia in the north and central. They had many failed attempts and when they reached there 65th camp from Melbourne, along the cooper creek, they split the party in 2. 5 people when with Burke, including Wills, to explore the Gulf of Carpentaria, which is why they were called the gulf party. Brahe was one of the men left at camp and was put in charge with orders from Burke to wait for the gulf party for 3 months. Brahe and the others waited 4 months and only decided to leave because one of them fell sick. This is whenthe dig tree was first 'made' when Brahe wrote on the tree 'DIG 3 FT NW 21 April 1861' which means dig 3 feet North-west and the date it was written. Turns out Burke and Wills got to the depot camp 65 the night Brahe and the others left, it was only hours later. That's when Burke saw the mark and they found supplies. Brahe was the one who left most of the markings. You only see one of them clearly and the others are gone because of the trees natural healing process. We saw Brahe's blaze, B LXV, indicating it was Burke's 65th camp from Melbourne. We also saw the face tree. The face tree is called that because in 1898 a man came and decided to carve Burke's face and initials into the tree. It was an awesome site to see and I wish that the other carvings didn't heal over so we could see them. After that we then drive back into SA to see Burke's grave. It was a 300m walk on sand to see a rock with a plaque saying Burke's name and the date he was born and the date he died. This little grave is actually where he died and he is buried in the Melborne General Cemetery. When we got back to camp we all relaxed for a bit and sat by the cooper creek until we decided to head out to the Innaminka Pub for dinner. Dinner was really good! I had the best chicken Parma with shredded ham, cheese and chips. When we had finished dinner we all sat outside until about 8:00 when we went back to camp. While we were sitting outside all us kids were playing mini golf. It was a really fun a don good night. Also apparently the temperature got to 42 degrees today. No wonder we were all so hot and tired! 

Today's blog is written by Chloe :) 

Day 17 - Arkaroola to Innaminka 4/10/15

This morning everyone was up early and packing up to go our separate ways. Once someone was packed up we would say goodbye to them as leave. It was a really nice morning and and once everyone was packed up and most people gone we left. The Butchers, Downs and Jackos are coming with us part way home and then we will split off. We took off to Monta Colina where we were supposed to stay but decided to keep going to Innaminka. When we got to Monta Colina the reason we didn't stay was because it was 40 degrees and there was no shade at all. There was nothing at Monta Colina except for buches and sand, it wasn't that nice of a place. So we had some lunch under Jacko's car annex. It was the only shade we could get so it was a quick lunch with everyone very hot before we took off again for the drive to Innamika. The drive to Innaminka was another 2-3 hours of very hot and cramped driving along the new strezlecki track. We stopped for a little break at a lookout to Moomba which was a really cool sight. Moomba is a gas mining station where they process the gas and burn off the excess. That's where the big flame comes from. It looks awesome! After we tried to take some photos from a distance we jumped back in the car and drove the rest of the way to Innaminka. When we finally got there and set up it was about 6:00-6:30 and thankfully for daylight savings that started last night, the sun was only starting to go down. We started the fire and started dinner before we all just sat around the fire for a bit and then went to bed.

Today's blog is written by Chloe :)

Day 16 - last day and grand final 3/10/15

Today is our last full day of the MySwag Flinders Rangers trip. It is also Grand Final day and my Pa's Birthday, so happy birthday Pa!

It was really hot today, something like 38 degrees, so in the morning everyone just did there own thing and relaxed in the little shade we had. Indi, Ra, Darcy and I went in the pool for a bit after breakfast and played around with Beccy the local dog. She was so cute and every time someone jumped in she would jump in with them. We stayed in there until use before lunch, then we got out and had some lunch before we all wandered up to watch the grand final. All the MySwagers went up, either to watch the footy, get out of the heat or use the places wifi. The girls and I watched the footy up until about half time, then we went back into the pool for a little bit. When we went back inside it was getting to the end of the 3rd quarter and you could clearly tell that Hawks were going to win. John was still hoping that the Eagles had a chance because he made a bet with Darcy and he was loosing. The game started to get a little boring because there was no way Eagles could catch up but we stayed and watched until the end of the game anyway and as soon as the full time buzzer went Darcy was over getting his chocolate off John. For the rest of the night Jacko and Darcy were singing the Hawks theme song. After the game we all went back to camp to have showers and get changed before we went up to the restaurant for dinner. It was a really good night, all the kids talking and laughing on one table and the parents doing the same on another. When we all decided it was time to go we all just kind of went to bed and didn't start the fire. I guess because we all have big days tomorrow to get to the next place we are staying or home. It has been an awesome 2 weeks with the MySwagers! 

Today's blog is written by Chloe :) 

Day 15 - echobacktrack and astronomy

Today we went on a drive called echo camp backtrack. We set off at about 9:00 and  started our drive. We went passed the Arkaroola waterhole and started the 4WD track. It was really fun going up the low range hills and then coming back down. Dad and I loved it but mum doesn't like that stuff that much. It was a really fun rocky track and we stopped at Bararranna Gorge. The gorge was really nice and when you walked further into the gorge there was a really nice waterhole full of water. We sat there for a while looking at the water and then we Decided to keep going with the track. The rest if the track was just a normal 4WD track and when it finished a few of us stopped for lunch at Arkaroola Springs. When driving into Arkaroola Srings we saw a Mummy and Daddy Emu with about 7 chicks. They were so cute! We stayed there for a while eating lunch and sitting in the shade more than anything. We then drove home past Jaspers twins, which were 2 big rocks, and the Ocher wall. When we got back to camp we got ice-creams and went to the pool for a little bit before I went to have a shower. For the rest of the afternoon we just relaxed until dinner. After dinner me and dad went up to do an astronomy tour thing. Quite a few of us did it and it was awesome! We went up into a dome thing where part of the roof came down to show parts of the sky. Our tour guy was the owner of this place, Doug Sprigg, and first he showed us Saturn through the telescope. It looked like it should of been fake but it was the real Saturn and we could see the rings and the colours and Saturns only moon which is actually the same size as Earth. Doug then took outside so he could show us come of the things we would look at and to show us some contilations. We then went back inside and he showed us different galaxy's and clusters of starts. The last one he showd us was really cool. When you look at it with the naked eye it looks like a dust cloud in the sky but when we looked at it through the telescope it was acually a whole bunch of stars together and then they spread out. It was an amazing experience. Tomorrow is our last full day of the MySwag trip. 

Today's blog is written by Chloe :) 

Day 14 - Alpana to Arkaroola 01/10/15

This morning we said our goodbyes to Linda, Kristin & Tayla. They are now headed south to Adelaide where Kristen will head off on her new adventure. We will miss our travel buddies.

We headed off at 9.30 for a leisurely 209km drive to Arkaroola. The drive was very dusty with lots of emus to be seen.

Arkaroola makes me feel like we could be on Mars......it's very hot, not many trees & very dusty, but we are in the outback heading towards summer so what else whould we be expecting. I am currently getting desperate for some fresh produce & was quite excited to hear the "resort" has a shop which said it had fresh produce but the shipment had not arrived so no lettuce or tomatoes for me, Matt was safe for another day.

After setting up camp the kids were ready to have a swim, Tracy & I took the big kids to the freezing cold pool & met up with Caitie & the boys. Chloe, Ollie, Darcy & Jasper were the only brave ones to get in the pool & judging by the shivering every time they got out I was not tempted to get in.

Another beautiful sunset & night around the fire. Tomorrow we are heading off another 4x4 drive.

Today's blog is written by Di :)

Day 13 - Mt Chambers Gorge - 30/09/15

Today a few of us drove out to Mt Chambers Gorge. It was a very long and and bumpy drive out there but when we got there it was quite nice. There wasn't really any water in the the creek but it was still nice and shady. The kids found a rope swing and spent most of our time on that, even Jacko and dad had a go. After a little bit we went on a long walk to find some aboriginal rock cravings. The first part of the walk was on a steep narrow cliff with holes in some parts that we had to jump over. The second part of the track was along the creek bed to see the aboriginal carvings. They started off small and dotted around the place and then we got to climb up a small waterfall where there was a big flat rock wall with heaps and heaps of carvings. Then John and the kids all went further to see if there were anymore but there wasn't so we turned around and started going back to the cars. On the way back me, Ra and Ollie ran ahead and almost got lost but ended up back on the right track in the end, which ended up to be the longer way back. When we got back to the cars we went on the swing for a bit longer and then had some lunch. On the way back to camp we stopped at Blinman for an ice-cream and to see if we could ring Amber. We couldn't get onto Amber so we got an ice-cream and then drove to Angryrichiner to get petrol and try Amber again. We got onto Amber and talked to her for a little bit and then drove back to camp. When we got back to camp it was quite hot and barely any shade. We had a nice afternoon and the later after dinner us kids played spotlight.

Today's blog is written by Chloe :)

Day 12 - Off to Alpana Station 29/09/15

The Flinders Ranges is fast becoming known to us as the land of the Emus...they are everywhere! I think we have seen hundreds of them. They are everywhere sometimes in mobs as large as 50. There is also lots of black Kites everywhere, they are after the grasshoppers and sadly when they are around the Wedge Tailed Eagles are not which has been very unfortunate because there is nothing more exciting than seeing the Wedgie in the wild.

Today we packed up and said goodbye to Wilpena Pound to our next destination Alpana Station. Alpana Station is a family owned and operated sheep station which is on 60,000 acres and owned by the same family since 1878. The shear size of this station is amazing, it hard to believe how much land they farm on. They are currently farming 3,000 Merino sheep which get sheared once a year in October.

After setting up camp we were lucky enough to go on a tag along tour with the owner Sally around the property. We only drove across one paddock which is 5,000 acres. Along the way we got to go in and have a look at the shearing shed and she explained how many shearers they have come in, 5, and the process of the shearing and what happens to the wool after its off the sheep. Most Australian wool is sold over to the Asian countries who ironically make jumpers out of and sell back to the Australian market.

During this tour we were taken to the waterfalls & springs they have in their property. We saw a Wedge Tailed Eagle nest which hasn't been used since 2009 and Sally is hoping they will come back and use it one day. This was by far my most interesting and favourite drive of the trip. To be able to drive around the property & have Sally on the radio fielding all our questions about life on the land & what we were seeing was truly great. We also saw some wildlife, lizards, emus (of course) & three different types of Kangaroos. I have always thought the Red Kangaroo was a beastly impressive site until I saw a Euro Kangaroo, this is one lean solid mean muscled kangaroo, I would not want to meet him in a dark alley. And of course we saw the Eastern Grey.

After the tour we all quickly went back to our campers to grab some drinks and nibbles and headed up to Sunset Hill. Wow what an amazing sunset. The Australian Outback really does put on a spectacular show. 

We are lucky that we have had John & Caitie put together this amazing trip, as a little thank you from the group we took up a collection and Matt made a fake cheque and presented it to John as a thank you, we donated $200 towards Johns Ride for Cancer cause which he is doing next year. Of course the real cash was handed over on return to camp.

Back at camp the Victorian men, Matt, Jacko, Adam & Clarkey decided they would show the interstaters what a real fire looked like and I think you could have seen it from the space station. Very warm and impressive fire. 

We have been having some really hot day 28, 29 degrees and heading towards 38 but the nights are chilly so the fires are greatly appreciated. Tonight we were also lucky to see the most amazing moon rising.

Today's blog was written by Di :)

Day 11 - The Feral Mixed Grill 28/09/15

Today we got to have a leisurely start to be ready to leave camp around 10.15am this is a late start for us. We packed everyone into the cars to head into the great outback to the Prairie Hotel to try their world famous Feral Mixed Grill, this experience is listed as one of the top 20 things you must do in the Australian Outback.

We arrived at a quaint but extremely busy little pub in the middle of nowhere in a town called Parachilna. This pub is covered in beautiful and extremely expensive Aboriginal art and is quite classy on the inside. Parents were seated at a table in the main restaurant while the kids got their own private dining room, they thought it was great. Now onto the meals.........the Prairie Hotels main attraction is a dish called the Feral Mixed Grill and what this entails is a kangaroo fillet, emu fillet mignon & a camel sausage! Matt could not wait to taste this and he was not disappointed, loved every mouthful. I couldn't bring myself to eat our native animals and trusty camel so opted for a steak sandwich, this was the biggest sandwhich I had ever seen, it was a full porterhouse with a variety of other stuff in the biggest sandwhich ever! Extremely delicious but could not be finished. Chloe had the old faithful chicken & chips. Matt washed his lunch down with Farger Larger which is the pubs own brew, he tells me it was a great drink, evident with the few bottles he taste tested.......

The toilets were outside the main hotel & Caitie came back in to tell us a bearded dragon was in the ladies which made us cross our legs until a nice man moved it on for us....phew it's a long time between stops.

After rolling out the door of the hotel we loaded back into our cars and headed off to the the Nuccaleena Mine. These old ruins are reported as the best mine ruins site in the Flinders Ranges with most of the stone structures still in tact.

It was a rough & rocky track into the mine site following along a red gum lined creek bed which gave us lots to look at. The mine site did not disappoint with some buildings including the chimney still in tact. It fascinates me how someone back in the mid 1800's stumbled across copper out in the middle of nowhere and built these mines up from nothing.

This mine site is also where Matt found his new mascot Barry, a skull from a kangaroo which apparently just had to come back to camp with us, I drew the line with allowing Barry to be strapped onto our bull bar. Barry or should I say Matt spent the coming evening tormenting Chloe & the Jacko girls Indi & Ra with Barry appaearing in their tent or shoes or just casually watching them from the camper....it gave many laughs.

Today's post is written by Di

Day 10 - Merna Mora 27/09/15

Today we went for a drive to Merna Mora.  Merna Mora is a historical trail which is located on a sheep station which has been owned by the same Fels family since 1889. This was another 4 wheel drive track which would take us the good part of a day. Along the historical trail we saw on the track was an old school & house which were last used in 1957. This settlement was located on the old Ghan line. Around the old buildings was lots of remants of a time gone by, old bike wheel and some other bits & pieces. There are also a couple of intact railway tunnels from the Ghan.

The track continued along some quite tricky 4x4 tracks which Matt & Chloe loved! I on the other hand occasionally had a firm grip on the Jesus bar in the car & sometimes had my eyes closed, but the views on top of some of those mountains were well worth my anxiety.

After returning to camp for another casual afternoon & drinks it was decided those who wanted to were headed to the Wilpena Pound Bistro for dinner. 6 families headed off for a rowdy dinner with 12 adults and 13 kids it was never going to be a quiet affair but the food was great & it was really nice to not have to cook or do dishes.

Back to camp to sit around the fire with those who didn't join us & a relatively early night for another big day to be had tomorrow.

Today's blog is written by Di :)

Day 9 - Walks and drives 26/09/15

Today we woke up a bit early to get ready for a walk we are doing today. The jacko's are joining us on this 6.6km walk to the Wilpena Homestead. The walk was fairly flat with a gravel path through a kind of rain forest. There was a river that ran in parts of the track were we saw birds and tadpoles. It was a really nice walk up to the homestead. We stopped at the homestead for a little break to sit, have some water and look at the homestead of course. Just behind the homestead was a rock sculpter of 2 aboriginal men hunting. It was really cool and strangely pretty. Then after we had, had a break and looked at the homestead and sculpter, we started climbing to the look out which was 500m up. It was a really steep climb and we were all struggling when about 100m up we found a lookout. We went up there and it was an awesome look out of Wilpena Pound. We could see the walls of the pound and the view was amazing. We found out after that the lookout we were at wasn't the actual lookout and we still had 400m to go. So Dad, Jacko and us kids went up to the other lookout while Mum went back down to the homestead. We struggled getting up to the other lookout and by the time we got there we were almost dead. It wasn't really worth the climb anyway because it was the same view as the lower lookout. By the time we got back down to mum we all collapsed and told her she was the smart one for going back to the homestead. When we got back to camp we all sat and didn't want to move. after we ate some lunch mum, dad and I went to Bunyeroo Gorge and drove along the geological track. Bunyeroo gorge was quite nice. There weren't a lot of flowers in the gorge but it was still nice and on the geological track, the rocks date back to 630 million years. That's a long time for the rocks to be there. While we were driving around Bunyeroo gorge we stopped at the famous Razorback lookout where the windy road is in front of the hills. Apparently it is in most photos of the Flinders Ranges. When we got back to camp we didn't do anything except for sit and then I cooked dinner of homemade pizzas. We then sat around the fire with everyone else for the rest of the night.

Today's blog is written by Chloe :)

Day 8 - SKYTREK - 25/09/15

Today is our first full day in Wilpena. A few others and us are going on a 4WD track called SKYTREK. When we got there we paid, aired down and got our maps with heaps of  information about each stop. There were 50 different stops or sights to see and the whole track about 80km. The first part of the track was through a gorge and the paddocks. The river in the gorge had no water in it but all the trees and flowers growing  where still really pretty. The second half of the track was all low range 4X4. We had to drive up and down steep hills to get to look outs and we drove along the top of the hills. We stopped for lunch in the old river bed and saw a huge wedge tailed Eagles nest. Sadly and luckily it isn't nesting season. Sadly because we didn't see a wedgie and luckily because we think it would swoop us if it was nesting season. One of the stops we did was Willow Springs water hole, where it is believed the name Willow Springs originated from because willow trees once lined the water hole. There are now only gum trees where the willows were believed to be. Another one of our stops was the Aboriginal Carvings. On the side of the track there was a big flat part in the hill where there were aboriginal carvings of arrows and foot prints. The whole day was really interesting and an awesome drive. When we got back to camp we all just relaxed and sat around the fire, had some dinner and the kids played a few games of spotlight before going to bed.

Today's blog is written by Chloe :)