Photos from Broken Hill to Mataranka

The road to the Daydream Mine, Silverton (Broken Hill)

Down in the old Daydream Mine

The Big Chair, Broken Hill

In the Flinders Ranges, SA

Sunset with Rawlinson's Bluff (part of Wilpena Pound) in the background

After the tour of a working Opal Mine, Coober Pedy

Sunrise at The Breakaways, 30km odd north of Coober Pedy

After the 10.4km ride around Ayers Rock

And even little legs managed to ride around the rock

Sunset at Uluru

Sunset at Rainbow Valley (we camped about 50 metres from here looking pretty much at this view!)

Rainbow Valley...still far enough south to be very cold overnight

Simpsons Gap, Alice Springs 

Sunset at Devils Marbles, 400kms north of Alice Springs

Our bush camp at Devils Marbles...just us, the dingo and about 30 other people with the same idea!

The oldest pub in the Northern territory...and a really good beef and barra feed!

Mataranka Thermal Springs...a natural pool of 32 degrees.

Alex's Diary - Week 3

Day 15 – Wednesday - 16/5/2012 – Rainbow Valley to Alice Springs

We woke up and got dressed. Lachie had breaky and then we all packed up. It didn’t take long. I hit Mum’s hand while packing up. I think it must have hurt. I felt very sorry. I reckon it was a pain! We got on the road and I had a breaky of saladas. We didn’t see the cows coming back though. When we got back on the Stuart Highway it was such a relief! We saw the “Alice Springs” sign and took photos. When we arrived we chose the caravan park and dropped the trailer off at our site. We went and did some sopping and got a lunch of cheese and bacon rolls. We went back around the fist round about I seen with 5 exits! We went and came to our site and set up. Our site was next to the jumping pillow and park. We played on the jumping pillow and then on the playground. We then played on the jumping pillow and played tip with all the kids in the park! We even saw Eden. We had dinner and went to bed.

Day 16 – Thursday - 17/5/2012 – Alice Springs Day 1

We woke up and got dressed. I went onto the jumping pillow and had races with them. I twisted my ankle so I became the judge. I then jumped on the pillow and challenged my body to things. I even managed to do 8 steps on 12 metres. That’s 1½ metres each step! I had breaky. I rode my bike with Shawn in his go kart. It was really fast going down hill!  I came back and read Harry Potter. I went down to the basketball court and played “horse” with Dad while Lach rode his scooter. We came back to lunch after Dad winning “horse”. I played tip on the jumping pillow with Abi, Olivia and Lachie. We went out to Simpsons Gap. We walked through all the tiny little stones and shells that were in the river bed. They made my feet feel nice and smooth! We drove along the Todd River to Anzac Hill where Mum asked me to point out all the places on a board. Mum, Lachie and me walked down Lions Walk to the bottom of the hill. We drove to the community centre where all the kids were playing!  We drove back and I had a bike ride on the BMX track. I came back and had dinner and went to bed.

FACT: There’s a boat race in the Todd River every year! There’s 4 people in a cardboard boat running together. 1^st team finished wins! I think it’s a silly idea and I’m not doing it!

Day 17 – Friday - 18/5/2012 – Alice Springs Day 2

We woke up and got dressed. I went outside for breaky. Me and Lachie played “Thong Thrower”! You play it by person 1 throws the thongs somewhere and you run to find them. Once they are all found you try and steal them from others! The winner is the one that has all thongs on his/ her base, as once no thongs on base your eliminated. Lachie won both times. We then rode our scooters around and around while Dad did the washing up. I went for a bike ride on the BMX track. I conquered it 1^st go! We went to the National Transport Museum and got in. There was the old fire engine and an old double decker bus. There was also a massive truck! I also saw a gangster car and the London taxi! We went to the outdoor section and saw a 3 wheel car! We saw the 1^st touring bus as well. We went into the Kenworth Hall of Fame and saw gigantic trucks, a cement mixer and then a truck pulled apart so you could see the back! I loved it because we sat in some! We went back and had lunch, a holiday one, to be exact. We went out and shopped. When we got back I did a ride on the BMX track and Dad came down after a bit. Hi is good! I went back and had dinner and went to bed.

FACT: Some truck trips take days or weeks so they have a bed in the back! I’m not doing one of those!

Day 18 – Saturday - 19/5/2012 – Alice Springs to Devils Marbles

We woke up and had a chat.  Lachie said he would eat Mum for breaky, Dad for lunch, me for dinner and his teddy for a snack.  We got dressed and started packing up.  We had a play on the playground and played pirates.  We finished the packing up and hit the road.  Just before we left the caravan park we stopped at the BMX track so me and Mum could do some riding around it, Mum’s better than Dad!  Dad took some photos and video of us. I love it!  Once we got on the road we were quite late and hungry.  We saw a car crash and dropped in to a petrol station to report i!  I finished my second book.  We arrived, we set up and the annex roof blew down on top of my head!  We went for a walk and climbed up a rock to where the sun was setting.  We got up on a rock and took some photos.  We got down and found a natural rock cave!  We walked down the rock face to return.  We kicked the footy and had dinner.  We went to bed.

FACT: Where the water comes down the face of the rocks, a black mark appears and sometimes wears a ridge.

Day 19 – Sunday – 20/5/2012 – Devils Marbles to Daly Waters

I got up extra late and got dressed. I helped pack up and we managed it in record time! It was also really windy which made it difficult. We hit the road and had breaky. After 100km we stopped at Tennant Creek to get some bread and petrol. We drove for another hour and stopped at Elliot for lunch and a drink. We ate on the road and Dad had put or DVD players on so I watched Michael Jordan’s second game. Once we got there we set up quite quickly. I kicked the ball with Dad and then played cricket. I got off to a bad start and lost 36 to 31. We played cars for Lachie and then had showers. We went to the pub for dinner. We found out that the pub was the first pub in the Northern Territory. A kind lady gave us a booklet that we got a free ice-cream if we colored the front page in. I did that and did a treasure hunt it asked you to do! It included having to count all the hats hanging up and what year the first plane landed in Daly Waters. It was 1928 and the pub was built in 1930! We had dinner and me and Lachie voted it the best put we had ever been to! I saw a thong tree and wrote a story about what I had done at Daly Waters. A comedian came on trying to advertise Northern Territory. He said things like “Victorians are only proof that Tasmanians can swim” and “I was down at Tasmania for the Sydney to Hobart yacht race and the crew of 23 were the only people ever in a hurry to get there”! We went back and went to bed.

FACT: In the olden days planes used to have to go Sydney, Daly Waters and then Singapore because they had to refill. Look how far technology’s come!

Day 20 – Monday – 21/5/2012 – Daly Waters to Mataranka Springs

We woke up and read for a bit. We packed up and had breaky at the picnic table. We hit the frog and toad to find nothing particularly amusing. When we got within 75km and the light came on the petrol gague we started guessing how far Dad would have to ride when we got out  of petrol………..and it turned out to be none!  We did a quick set up. We rode our bikes around the caravan park and then read our books. We had a swim in the thermal springs. WE met some friends and played “Marcus up”. You play it with 1 person throwing the ball and the others trying to catch it. We went back to the tent, had dinner and went to bed. The thermal springs were natural pools and warm. I like them!

FACT: There are 2 sorts of crocs, freshwater and salt water. Freshwater crocs are found here and their harmless but further downstream there are vicious saltwater ones!  

Day 21 – Tuesday – 22/5/2012 –Mataranka Springs Day 1

We woke up and I read Harry. I’m thoroughly enjoying it! When Mum woke up I jumped up and had a cuddle in their bed. I had a breaky of pancakes and apricot on toast. Yum! We went for a swim in the thermal spring and when we floated, it took us downstream quite slowly! We were in there for about 2 hours and were prunes when we hopped out! We came back and had a holiday lunch. I rode my book and Mum started to read the first one while Dad read the second. We then went for a family bike ride and saw 5 wallabies and 3 Lyre Birds. We rode to a homestead and had a look inside … after getting soaked by the sprinklers! It had an old bed, a dresser, the gowns that Angela Punch MacGregor from ”We of the Never Never” and an old chair! We rode back to the tent. We went for another swim and went to bed.  I would hate to live in the homestead! I could see a movie in it! Only a poor person would live in that.

FACT: The water from the springs comes up through the cracks from an underground store of water. The temperature comes from the depth of the earth.

Alex's Diary - Week 2

Day 8 – Wednesday - 9/5/2012 – Wilpena Pound to Coward Springs

We woke up, packed up and hit the road. We drove through the Flinder’s Ranges to Brachina Gorge. The bit after the turn off was really bumpy! There was nothing at all in the gorge. There were lots of different colors in the rocks. This is caused because all the different minerals over many millions of years have made them different colours. We stopped and said goodbye to the Flinder’s Ranges for the last time. We drove on and saw the largest coal train in Australia. It has 150 carriages pulled by 3 engines! We stopped at Leigh Creek and bought some supplies. We drove to Marree and had a look at the old train, old bullock wagon and the old truck. The truck still had its gears and steering wheel inside it so I got inside it and pretended to drive it!  We played at the park that was there as well. We jumped in to the car and drove on. We saw an outdoor Museum kind of. It had a robot, a massive dog and two planes! We then saw Lake Eyre and I tasted the salt. We arrived, set up and went to bed.

Day 9 – Thursday - 10/5/2012 – Coward Springs to Coober Pedy

We woke up and packed up. Once we packed up we had a swim in a spring. We jumped in the car and drove through the Oodnadatta Track into William Creek and looked at a small grave and a small museum. When we got back on the road we had an apple and an anzac biscuit as our breakfast. We drove into Coober Pedy and checked into the Hotel. We went and did an Opal mine tour, I found it really fascinating and we got to do this test typed thing where we held two thin long pieces of bronze and they were supposed to go out and come back in and cross over. The miners did it so they could determine where the slide was because they find opal near the slide. It didn’t work on Mum. The guide, Jo, told us that it only works on 6 out of ten people. We had a look at the outside of the mine and I discovered it had a lot of flies. We went and Mum and Dad did some things at the bank, bought some stuff and went to see and underground church. We went back and Lachie made a friend called Olivia.  I had a rest and got changed and went out for dinner and went to bed.

We stayed at an underground hotel which was carved cleverly. Most of Coober Pedy is underground!! I could love to live in a town under the surface! It was really dark too! I loved it!

Day 10 – Friday - 11/5/2012 – Coober Pedy to Ayers Rock

We got up very early and went to see the sun rise at the Breakaways. It had a large array of different colours and was really cool! The Breakaways are just as they sound, they are just a rocky outcrop! We drove on and came to a halt at Cadney Park and Dad put on our DVD player. We stopped at the border for a leg stretch. We drove onwards and stopped for some petrol where we saw a gigantic fake echidna and chameleon and 3 live emus! We drove with in 50 Kms and we saw Ayers Rock! It’s huge. It’s 9km around it and very high! We saw the Olgas to the side as well! Once we arrived at the campground Mum and Dad set up while Ned played footy with us. Ned was our next door neighbour at the campground.  Once we were set up we had a swim in the pool and went to bed.

Day 11 – Saturday - 12/5/2012 – Ayers Rock Day 1

We woke up and got dressed. I skipped breaky because I wasn’t feeling well and we lazed around. Mum went and did the washing and me and Lachie hunted for a games room. We couldn’t find one so we returned and spread the news. We went to the park and played on the equipment. There was a rock climb that I got hurt on and a really cool slide. I went back and sat down with Mum and Dad while Lachie nagged me to go and play with him. After lunch I played footy with Eden and Grant. Dad fixed the bikes and we went for a ride. We went to bed.

Day 12 – Sunday - 13/5/ 2012 – Ayers Rock Day 2

I woke up and had a cuddle in bed. I gave Mum a massage and Lachie gave her the card and book because it was Mothers Day. Once we got up we got dressed and had breaky. We sunscreened while Dad rode to the rock. At first while we rode around it it was very stop, start, stop, start but then we did 8.5 kilometers flat out. We learnt a lot and it was a fun cycle. We say the Boy’s cave, the Men’s cave, the Women’s cave, the old people’s cave and the schooling cave! I started to do the 18 kilometre ride back with Mum but gave up half way. When we arrived back I had a lemonade iceblock. I played footy with Eden which is where I jarred my thumb. I swelled up quickly, so I had to sit down with an ice pack on it. We had dinner and went to bed.

Day 13 – Monday - 14/5/2012 – Ayers Rock Day 3

We woke up and got dressed. We got breaky and Eden came over. We talked about the AFL ladder. We packed some snacks and headed for the Olgas. They’re beautiful because they’re a bunch of huge rocks next to each other! We did a 1km walk inside them and saw a bunch of rare plants. We also made it echo which was cool. We sat in the car to have lunch and went to the town square to see the boomerang and spear throwing which was where we got a special demonstration but a kind man, as it wasn’t on. It was rally coo and we even got a go! The spear swung around and hit my shoulder as I threw it. He told us that the old aboriginal people could throw it 200 – 300 m! We went and listened to some aboriginal didgeridoo playing. It was beautiful, they got volunteers up as well! We went back and started to get ready to prepare dinner. Once we prepared dinner, we went down to Uluru and had a look at the sunset over the giant of a rock while we had dinner. It was really nice and looked spectacular. When we got back we got into jarmies and went to bed.

Day 14 – Tuesday - 15/5/2012 – Ayers Rock to Rainbow Valley

I woke up and got dressed. I read my book for a bit and then helped Mum with the bed stuff. I read my book some more and then pulled all the pegs out so Mum and Dad could fold the tent up. We played “throw the soccer ball over Alex’s head and he ahs to stop it” as I call it! We played that with Ruby and Kale. We then did games that got each of us points, such as “find the ball”, “who can throw the ball the highest and furthest” and “estimate the length I can throw the ball! The points were Lachie=19, Ruby=10, Alex=7, Kale=5. A good game from everyone! Once we hit the road we saw 3 road trains, 2 with 2 carriages and 1 with 3. We did the last 24km on dirt track which was where we saw the cows on the side of the road! They were walking around, some even on the road! When we got there we quickly set up and we went for a walk to see rainbow valley rock. It was very pretty in the late afternoon sun and we could see purple, red, orange, pink, white and green! It looked cool! We went back, had soup for dinner and went to bed.   

Alex's Diary - Week 1

Day 1 –  Wednesday - 2/5/2012 - Home to Parkes

I’m feeling very very excited as I get prepared to go away, but I know I’ll miss my neighbours. I might even get homesick and I’ll definitely miss my friends and relatives. We’ve been doing a lot of preparing with packing, cleaning, organizing and selecting what to take. This includes trying on outfits, selecting what to take, lots of shopping, packing, unpacking and repacking to make everything fit, vacumming, late nights and a lot of effort from all of us. Good work team! I’m most looking forward to having Dad off work and Mum off cleaning! The places I’m most looking forward to are Coober Pedy, Broken Hill, Ayres Rock, Broome, and Alice Springs! The only thing I’m worried about is our water supply. When we head off I am soooooooooo excied!!!!!!!! I can’t believe it. We drive on and come to an immediate halt at the bike shop to check if Mum’s bike is good to take away with us. After that we filled up at Janelle’s house with her hose, so we had lots of water for the trip. Then we were off. After an hour and a half of driving we arrive at Glenbrook to say good bye for the last time for four months! We had a good walk around and when we get back Grandma gives us each a book to do on the trip. Hen we go to Bathurst where we see old street lamps and a bunch of ancient buildings as we drive through town. Then we head on. We come to Manildra where we drove under a flour factory! Once we get to Parkes we played “Tip” with our cousins and then we played football and went to bed.

Day 2 – Thursday – 3/5/2012 – Parkes to Broken Hill

Longest trip.

We woke up and I played throw and catch and then AFL with Max. It was forty two all. Then we got dressed and cleaned our teeth. We mucked around for a while and I chase Annalise around for a ball, sort of like a war! Then we said goodbye and headed off to Broken Hill, our first real spot! We say my cousins pub because we drove past it. It’s pretty big. Then we saw some cotton plants growing along the side of the road. We even picked some to feel it. It’s very prickely but the actual cotton is soft but the very middle is quite hard. We saw the   factory which the cotton is cleaned and processed. Once we passed the factory and drove on some more, we arrived at Nyngan and we played rock soccer. I also made up a poem.

“Lach got a rock in his croc and wasn’t wearing a sock, knock knock” said Jock!

We drove on to Cobar where we look at Copper mines. They are big. We also saw a two headed lizard! We had lunch at a park and played on the equipment. We went to Willcannia and there was absolutely nothing at all!!!!! Then we drove past a beautiful sunset. Then we arrived.

Day 3 – Friday – 4/5/2012 – Broken Hill

We woke up very late on a misty day as we all had had a sleep in from our very late nights on day 1 and day 2. We had breaky of cheerios and me and Lachie rode our bikes around which was where I discovered two things. The first thing was that there was actually a road on the other side as opposed to gravel and dust and secondly that there was a really tricky bit to handle which consisted of a bump, a very sandy curve with a ditch, a sand dune and another sandy curve. Dad took videos of me and Lachie riding our bikes. Lachie stacked once but I didn’t stack at all. After that we played on the equipment at the park. There was a swing, three slides, two sea saws and two climbing frames. It was fun. Then we rode our bikes a bit and I fell of on the curve which I soon after mastered. I did a lot more riding and then had two mandarins and a banana. We then went and played at the park which was where I got kicked in the cheek going down a slide. We then went for a bike ride down to the information centre and back as a famil. It was fun except for Mum and Dad both getting wheels punctured and us two kids getting our front wheels punctured. When we got back we had a lunch of sesame seed rolls and berlina with sauce. We then went and shopped around to find some things we had forgotten and I saw he mines that make the hill so broken, and why the name was true. We came back and had stir fry in the camp kitchen and went to bed.

Day 4 – Saturday - 5/5/2012 – Broken Hill Day 2

I woke up and we all had a cuddle in Mum and Dad’s bed, the only proper bed in the camper trailer. Once we got up I went and helped Dad with the wiping up. Mum made the lunches while Dad got us breaky. We cleaned our teeth. We jumped in the car and got to open some gates on a very bumpy old dirt track to the mine tours where we got tickets for the mine tour. We did the underground and surface tour with a tour guide called Peter. The surface was too much abut information for me but the underground was a bit more like a tour. They even showed us how the machinery works and how much light they worked by. I hit my head on the roof six times so it was shallow in most bits. I enjoyed it and it was relieving to come out and get fresh air. After a chat with a man we drove down the Silverton and saw the horizon curving! IT was an awesome sight! On the way back there was a camel weeing in the middle of the road! We went to a lookout on Broken Hills’ active mine. There was a massive chair that was about 7 feet high! We all sat on it and a man that we had a chat with took a photo of us all and then I took a photo of the other 3 in the chair. We drove to the shops and did some shopping and went back to camp.

Day 5 – Sunday -  6/5/2012 – Broken Hill to Wilpena Pound

We woke up quite early so we could pack up and go. We got up and I stacked our mattresses and sleeping bags on the bed and got dressed. I then got to put the shoes in bags that would stack easier. Then I had the task of unzipping the windows. We had a breaky of mandarins and toast.  After breaky I tried to contain Lachie by going to the park and making some games. When Mum asked me to come back and help that had made huge progress! I helped by putting poles in the bag, going the Velcro, winding the legs up and putting the towbar on. 50kms later we took photos of us all in front of the “Welcome to South Australia” sign. We saw a couple of road trains and a massive train with over 70 carriages! Once we arrived I helped set up. I help set up the annex, get our beds out and help Mum with the clothes. We played tip with bar being a rock and went to bed.

Day 6 – Monday - 7/5/2012 – Wilpena Pound

We woke up and had a cuddle in bed for a bit and then ma and Lachie played car races and then cars on the annex floor. We had a breaky of cherios, bacon and toast and did a bunch of jobs with helping wash up. I then went down with Dad to find out if there was anyone who could fix our brake lights and reception told us to go to Chris. We discovered a playground. We played on the weird tow seat swing and then on the thingy mabobby that had a seat and a ledge for both people on it. We went to Hawker and Chris had a look at our brakes while we went and looked at a shop and had lunch. At that shop I learnt my family’s birth stones. Lachie is a peridot, Dad’s a pearly, Mum’s a ruby and I’m a opal.  When we got back to Chris he said he couldn’t what was wrong. We went back to camp, put on our shoes and went for a big, big six and a half kilometer walk in the Flinder’s Rangers. It was a tough walk and every one did really well. Lachie fell over. A bit later on, there was a big hole in the rock which was six metres deep! It was called Pine Caves. We came back, had dinner, read a book and went to bed.

Day 7 – Tuesday -  8/5/2012 – Wilpena Poud Day 2

I woke up and had a long cuddle in bed and accidently fell back asleep! I think I woke up over tired from six and a half kilometer bush walk from yesterday. Once I woke up for the second time I went out and had breaky. We played at the park, got ready to go on a walk and went. We went on a dirt track up the top of a hill to a lookout that looked out over the Flinder’s Rangers. We drove to Wilpena Pound Resort, parked our car and starte our 7.8 kilometre walk. It was fairly flat at first and then it got slightly steeper and more trees around. Roughly 3.3 kilometres later we stopped at a place called Hills Homestead. It had four signs which told you about its history, three outside tables and a small house. I bet you that they spent most of the time outside@! We had lunch and decided whether to go to the top lookout (600 metres) or just the bottom one (300 metres). In the end we decided to go to both. It was a very hard climb and was very slippery. We came back down and I experienced my 1^st time ever at going to the toilet in a hole. Gross!! We went another 900 metres and stopped for some water and a mandarin and kept going. We met a couple with some kids and walked the rest of the way with them.  I sprinted the last 100 meters and up the set of stairs, 3 at a time. When they all arrived we got an ice cream. I had a rainbow paddle pop. It was refreshing! We drove back, got ready and went to see the sunset. It was beautiful. The hills were virtually red and green, like the Christmas colours! We came back, had dinner and went to bed.