The Kowsas' Big Lap: September 2011

Bless me father, for I have sinned. It's been a long time since my last Blog...

We have been having too much fun and had no time to do computer tasks! More to the point, we have spent a lot of time out of service over the last few weeks, so updating the Blog has not been easy.

Broome was a lovely place and we ended up there for nearly a week. We were lucky enough to snag their annual festival, so were treated to a few extra things to see over that time. Our highlight though was a trip up to Cape Leveque with a nights stay at Kooljaman. This was a spectacular and raw area and we could have easily spent another week there just to explore it a little more. Monday morning we booked a tag-a-long tour with a local Aboriginal guide and had our best day to date. The girls were entertained by Brian, just as much as he was entertained by them!

It was hard to peel ourselves away from Broome, but the promise of more beach and maybe a big fish moved us on. Eighty Mile Beach put us into holiday mode and our 2 night stop turned into 4 nights. Lots of fishing was done, but unfortunately only the smaller version of salmon were caught. We did endure 3 nights of fish however...someone's gotta do it! In the end I think we all pulled in a fish, even Tom and Shan. The huge tides were another amazing thing to be seen at this beach, not to mention the sunsets at low tide.

We headed inland again for a bit to Karijini National Park. When we first arrived at Dales Camping Ground late in the day, I will admit I was almost a little cranky about being back in the red barren lands again, but little did I know about what was waiting for us.

Our two big days of adventure are hard to describe and I still can't believe some of the places we saw and took our two little monkeys to. Day 1 we started close by and ventured into Dales Gorge. The walk to Circular Pools was relatively easy, but the reward at the end was beautiful. The girls had a quick dip and we started our climb back to the top.

After lunch we ventured on out to Kalamina Gorge. It too was beautiful, with snippets of running water and amazing rock structures. It was then time to head back to camp with a quick stop back at Dales Gorge for a swim/bath at Fern Pool. Paddy and the girls ventured in with our travelling buddies the Kenagy's, but I opted for a warm rinse off at home.

The next day we did a bigger drive and aimed to have some fun at the Weano Recreation Area. We weren't expecting too much, as we had been told we may not access too far into the walks, as the park caretakers didn't think the kids would handle much of the treks.

Well our day turned out to be a massive adventure and once again, the girls overwhelmed us with their strength and willingness to venture on. I won't go into full detail of the day, as I am a little strapped for time, but be assured it was an incredible adventure.

First stop was Oxer Lookout where you can see the point where 4 major gorge systems converge. Apparently it was voted as the best lookout in OZ. It was then onto Hancock Gorge and our trek took us down a steep decent, ladders and then onto the gorge floor. We moved on through freezing water, the Amphitheatre, Spider Walk and down to Kermits Pools, with each section leading me to believe we wound't get the kids through, let alone us two mums! There were high fives all around and lots of shivering little bodies.

After a refuel, we tried our luck at Weano Gorge and managed to give myself and Sarah heart failure. The handrail section in particular was the true heart stopper, but once again the kids all took on the challenge and revelled in the excitement once the task was accomplished. Our amazing day was finished off beautifully back at camp with a BBQ, helping Trent celebrate his birthday.

We still can't believe that we managed to achieve a Class 5 walk with 5 kids in hand. The photos just don't do it justice and a lot of the time we were unable to have the camera out, so not much to show in that department unfortunately.

Yesterday we had our biggest drive to date and arrived in Exmouth just before dusk. This morning we will grab some more supplies and venture down to Cape Range National Park for five nights and hopefully enjoy some snorkeling, swimming and fishing.

Festival fun

Outdoor Movies - Red Dog was a great movie

Beautiful Beagle Bay Church

Cape Leveque - Kooljaman

Our day with Brian

Very special

Bush tucker treat!

Lunch!

Eighty Mile Beach and huge tides

Massive fishing here

Amazing sunset

Karijini N.P.

Circular Pools

It's freezing!

But fun!

Oxer Lookout - pics don't do it justice

Now it looks like a real 4WD

Hancock Gorge - Trent checking the road ahead

Yep, we got the kids and mums down there!

More checking ahead

Waiting for the all clear

Weano Gorge handrail section

4 princesses warming on the rocks

A little surprise at the end of our walk!

Tomorrow's date will bring us up to two months on the road and I must say that life in the van is feeling normal and at this stage, I wouldn't swap it for anything. I also must add that to date I have not been anywhere that I would like to move to permanently and do like the idea of heading back home to the lovely place we live eventually.

Since I posted last, we have had a wonderful time exploring with Grandad and Shan. We enjoyed a beautiful day touring Lake Argyle and the Ord River and marveled at the enormous volume of water this system holds. Another highlight of the day was seeing a large number of fresh water crocs, but for the girls it was definitely the short snippets of high speed cruising in the boat, down the Ord.

Last Saturday was time to celebrate Imogen's birthday. Although she anticipated no presents thinking we hadn't managed any time at the shops without her, she woke to 3 wrapped goodies to open. We then went on to devour her request of pancakes for breakfast. After packing up for the day, we headed off to El Questro with Grandad and Shan, and the Kenage family for a big day out. First stop was Zebedee Springs and after an hour or so of meandering through the beautiful warm rock pools, it was time for a birthday morning tea and the cake! We then moved on to the spectacular Emma Gorge. It was a big walk in, but the reward was great with jaw dropping scenery. The only down point was how incredibly cold the water hole was. Paddy did manage an invigorating swim across to the falls though and the girls shivered their way through a quick paddle. I however, was more than happy to cool my little tootsies off! That was the end of our El Questro venture, so into the car it was for a dusty ride back out through the east end of the famous Gibb River Road.

Sunday we celebrated Fathers Day and Paddy went out in the morning to try and catch himself a Barra. Unfortunately with no luck though.

We farewelled Kununurra on Monday and made the journey south west to the Bungle Bungles. We arrived at the 3 month old Bungle Bungles Caravan Park, which is around 1km in towards the National Park off the highway on Mable Downs Station. We once again set up camp and had the offer to be driven in an old safari style Land Cruiser, down to the water hole. Of course we took the offer and enjoyed a play down by the water.

Tuesday morning we were up bright and early, ready for our Bungle Bungles tour. Our bus left at 7am and took over 2 hours to reach the first stop at the visitor's centre. A few more creek crossings and a gazillion more corrugations and we were starting to get our first glimpse of the bee hive like structures. We first ventured into the southern end of the park and did some of the Picinini Creek walk, the Domes walk and also the stunning trek into Cathedral Gorge. The day was hot, but as we moved up into the gorge it was like someone turned on the airconditioning. There was no swimming in the gorge, with only a small puddle of stagnant looking water left, but the amphitheatre like shape of it made for a memorable time taking in its beauty. After another bumpy trip in the bus and a lovely lunch, we arrived at the north end of the national park and Echidna Chasm. Only Grandad, Paddy, Libby and I ventured in and we left Immy and Shan to stay cool back at the bus. The chasm for me at times was a little heart stopping, but also just amazing. As we started on the walk, the landscape changed and a crisp cool breeze enticed us in. The chasm grew smaller and the smiles grew wider! This was definitely our favourite walk of the day and topped off a great day.

After a well deserved sleep in the quiet of the country, we once again packed up for a big day's drive and a nights stop at Fitsroy Crossing. Yesterday's big day in the car got us all the way to the Western Australia coast and lovely Broome. We have booked in at the Cable Beach Caravan Park for at least 5 nights and look forward to enjoying the area. Yesterday after we were all set up, we headed on down to the beach. It was so fantastic to be at the ocean again and rip the thongs off (I'm talking pluggers here!) and go barefoot on the sand. The intense blues left us sighing with contentment, particularly after all the earthy reds of the country we have been in.

Today after sorting a few bill hick ups at home, we took off into the town centre. We toddled through the China Town area and I drooled over many things. Especially the beautiful pearls that Broome has to showcase. After a bit more sight seeing, we made it back to base to sort a few things out for the week ahead and whip up some dinner. We then headed off in convoy with my Dad and Shan to Cable Beach. A short drive on the sand found us a patch of beach sufficient for watching the sun depart for the day. The newly purchased frisbee was played with, a thousand photos taken, drinks poured and my now famous (or so I think) Prawn Risotto was served. This is the life!