WEEK 2 - Winton ,Richmond, Charters Towers

Well over pancakes we decided we wouldn't tackle the dinosaurs at Winton and Richmond today.  After handing out medicine over the breaky table I thought we all needed some r & r.  The kids have been pretty sick so Longreach you're going to have to put up with us for 2 more days.  The van got a good clean and the washing machine got a workout.  Michael says cleaning the van is like getting a haircut you feel so much better!  The Discovery Caravan Park at $30 a night a pool and spas and the country music down at the Woolshed Bar you can really get into the country atmosphere here.  A little bit of ho down.  I have to give a special mention to BF Savage &Co the butchers here, I'm not a sausage lover but these are the best sausages I have ever tasted.  They sold 14 tonne last financial year!!

Thought we better get inspired for some school action, so off to The School of the Air - the largest distance education school in Australia.  With a 45 min lesson once a day by phone and servicing 193 families it's a pretty major task.  Then it's up to the mum's to each them for the rest of the day.  I think some of these mum's might be sneaking in a bit of whiskey in that afternoon cuppa.  They're pretty flexible here, they do get time off for mustering and get lesson packs every 2 weeks.  They are a very dedicated team here.

I think I was a bit harsh on Longreach, you just have to scratch the surface of this place and it's a really nice place.  With the sand-fly epidemic, stink bug and locust plague, they breed em tough out here.  Amongst the Akubras and the RM Williams boots we don't stick out much!!!!

So off to Winton to see the Australia Age of Dinosaurs and it looks like something out of Jurassic Park or the Lion King.  Waiting for a herd of Zebras to run through the savannah.  You can't take the caravan up the Jump Up so you have to unhitch and leave it.  This is where they found the long necks Matilda and Banjo about 5 yrs ago.  The paleontologists found these amazing fossils which you can touch and bring them here in plaster casts for protection.  There is an amazing group of people here that slowly, painstakingly chip away to the bone and put these amazing dinosaurs together!  What an experience!

The car didn't stay clean for long for we decided to push onto Richmond.  What a massive day of driving.  4 1/2 hrs of unsealed red dirt, mud track.  It was a bit hairy at times and at one stage I thought we were going to lose the van.  There was red dust all through the cupboards just a taste to come when we get to NT.  This is a drive I would not recommend with a caravan!!  We did get treated to seeing emus, hundreds of camels, echidnas, kangaroos and lots of cattle crossing the unfenced road, which the kids loved.

Kronosaurus Korner was very interesting.  Richmond itself is not worth a mention but the museum was worth it, if you're interested in dinosaurs.  This part of Australia had a massive inland sea and when the water subsided all the sea dinosaurs became extinct.  A lot of the farmers out here have found fossils over the past few years on their farms.  And at $25 and audio to listen to this place was great value.

The country is so beautiful and green at the moment there is so much wildlife.  The landscape does change as well , it's a huge country though.  The long drives can get pretty boring, so with the kids taken care of with dvd's, dsi's, mp3's we've been tuning into the colourful language of the truckies through the cb.  VERY ENTERTAINING STUFF!  Also tuned in to some farmers mustering.

Life is settling into some sort of routine.  We've been doing school work after breaky, when Phoebe has been calling me Mrs.Wood, and then off travelling or exploring.  Night time comes and we're doing journals, reading books and telling stories under the stars.  So week 2 has been pretty good.

A BIG MENTION to the BIG 4 at Charters Towers, a little bit of paradise for the adults.  Jumping pillow, pool, playground we didn't see the kids for hours.  This place is the cleanest, prettiest camp site - HEAVEN!

TAM'S SURVIVAL TIPS #2
Do not wear country road shoes in the outback - it's hard to get the gooey bits off
It's amazing how a little bit of perfume makes you feel in the outback

TAM'S ON THE ROAD PLAYLIST
Lisa Mitchell - thanks Katrina
Nirvana - our therapy after visiting Richmond
Spiderbait - to keep the driver awake