HI FROM SCARLETT

Hi I was feeling left out so I asked mum if I could do one too. I am missing everyone too, especially the nanas and grandad.  I really miss my bed as well.  I am having lots of fun, I really like the bushwalks and the fishies I saw when we went snorkeling. All this exploring makes me hungry so mum has to make sure there's lots of food for me.  I love talking a lot in the car and listening to mamma mia!  We have some new pets, but just for a day,  we caught some hermit crabs off the beach and set up a home for them and painted their shell.   It's been lots of fun collecting shells and painting them.  I keep asking mum if we're going to see snow tomorrow, but she says that's a long time away.  Dad takes me to special things when the big kids are doing their homework, like fishing, walks along the beach, ice-cream lots of fun stuff but it's a secret!  I thought it was fun sleeping in the tent at Cape Trib and we told lots of stories.  I couldn't stop screaming at the fun water park at the campsite it was so much fun going down the slides.  I talk about kindy and all my friends and teachers at kindy and can't wait to see them again. Bye big hugs for everyone. 
Scarlett

AHHH! KARUMBA

Happy Mother's Day to all the mums, especially ours.

If your wondering why your lucky enough to get 2 blogs out of me this week we might be out of range for the next couple of weeks as we are heading into the Northern Territory (woohoo).

As much as we love being near the sea and to us it feels like home, these coastal areas is where we spend a lot of money.  Being a tourist up here is expensive.  They charge the most outrageous prices and there seems to be surcharge on everything.

So we head inland, the drives can be long and a whole heap of nothing sometimes, but it's the little surprises around the corner that make it all worth it.  Windy Hill was one of those.  Travelling through the tablelands we came across this wind farm that produces enough electricity to run 3500 houses.  The kids got a kick out of seeing the windmills up close and it was amazing how cold it was up there.  Then there are those moments when you look at each other and say "is this it?".  Innot Springs is one of those moments and with thoughts in our minds of gum trees lining the bank and hot bubbling springs to soothe our weary bodies the reality was a dirty creek and all we came away with were scalded feet and a sense of major dissapointment.

But the disappointment was short lived when we arrived at Undara, back with the kangaroos, starlit nights and the peace of country life.  Still travelling with our buddies the Malones, Jacinta and I decided to take the kids to a sunset tour of  the lava caves.  About 20 of us hop into the bus and the kids got a buzz about seeing all the different kinds of kangaroos.  They are amazing - did you know that when the mother kangaroo feeds her joey she also has an outside teat to feed other baby, glad I'm not a kangaroo!  There's only one variety of kangaroo that we eat and it's the eastern grey.  This is volcano country here and we head up the mountain for champagne and nibblies, pulled up a rock and watched the sunset.  With it's amazing array of colours it's quite a site.  Then the really exciting bit came when we all headed into the lava cave and saw the bat show.  This particular cave is huge and goes in 350mtrs but you can't go any further because of the co2 levels.  Each of the guides have to bring in a lighter to check the o2 levels.  The bats in the cave are small miro bats and there were a couple of scary snakey characters on the way out that were eating them.  But the fun didn't stop there for the kids as the guide took them on a night bushwalk with torches too see all the wildlife that comes out at night.

We all wanted to try our luck and try some gem fossicking, hoping we'd find that bit of sparkle so we could just keep going around and around this amazing country. ( By the way we have met a few grey nomads that do just that,  just keep going round and round).  Mt Surprise was a bit of a surprise as you could drive through it in under a minute.  We stopped off at the info centre and met a very cranky rude old lady who told us we had to go 40k out on a dirt track, little did she know there was a little gem fossicking place 2 buildings down??  So for 1hr we bought our 3m x 3m pit and go for it.  For $30 all the kids got a kick out finding gemstones and there were lots of digging and sifting action going down.  The Malones got the prize for most gems found! Then we walked up the Kalcani volcano rim, a 2.5k walk which was perfect for the kids.

Undara campsite is made up of old train carriages done up for accommodation, but at $250 a night it's a bit steep.  We had an arvo session in one at the pub which was cool.  That night the kids had a great time making a fire, melting marshmallows and eating damper.  How nice is the country life!!

After 7hrs in the car I was ready to leave Scarlett on the side of the road.  The kids have been surprisingly good on the car, but Scarlett has grown her 3yr old horns the past few days.  So needless to say the journey to Kurumba was long and painful.  Ahh Kurumba, this is grey nomad party time here.  Everyone has a boat so we definitely were not in the cool group here.  There's no one around till the afternoon happy hour where they get together and tell their fishing stories.  We went to Ash's for barra & chips and we watched the sun go down, by far this is the best one yet setting over the sea.  We are all on croc alert up here and getting really excited about getting closer to the N.T border.  We ran into one of the locals when we were buying prawns and she said you even have to go to Cairns to get a decent pair of undies, that's how remote it is, us city people are lucky. The petrol seems to be getting more expensive the higher we get which we expected.  We paid $1.47 at Kurumba but when we went through Normanton it was $1.87! (needless to say we did not fill up there).  We have been really pleased with the car and van, both have been travelling really well.  We haven't got cabin fever yet and haven't even watched TV in weeks, can you believe it.

TAM'S TIPS
Don't believe the hype (Innot Hot Springs)
Watch out, if you hear a kangaroo grunting he's about to attack!
After having many happy hours on the road, elastic pants are your friend

WEEK 5 - WET, WET CAIRNS

Well, we have survived the 1st month.  I read somewhere if you can survive the 1st month you can survive the trip.  Yes we have had moments where I have screamed at the kids to do their homework and have opened that bottle of wine a little earlier than normal but overall the trip has been amazing.  We have seen a different side to all the kids - Spencer who doesn't really like trying new things  and won't go outside his comfort zone is really trying.  Phoebe talks the most she has ever spoken and is turning out to be a very responsible, happy girl.  That Scarlett well, she's crazy as a cut snake in the nicest kind of way, has improved with her speech and really grown up - sometimes!!!  And as for Michael and I we are closer than ever and work as a great team, no one has been locked out of the van yet!!

So we leave Mission Beach and it's paw paw, banana, passionfruit, sugarcane everywhere for miles on end.  When does it ever stop raining!!

We were happy to hit Cairns and catch up with the Malones again and have decided to stay a week here.  The Big 4 at Cairns is like a theme park there are 3 pools, 2 massive jumping pillows, huge playground and also a restaurant so it ticks all the boxes for us.  The weather hasn't been great but what can you, do we are in the tropics!!

It was Michael's birthday this week so he and Chris went white water rafting along the Barron River and the boys had a great time, while Jacinta and I took the girls horse riding through the Daintree which was lots of fun.  The bums were a little tender the next day.

Kuranda was pretty but not what we were hoping for a little too touristy for us and the Skyrail being $300 was a little steep for us.  We walked through the markets and had the best fruit ice cream ever and went to the Butterfly Museum.  Phoebe and I loved the blue Ulysses butterfly and the kids loved seeing the big caterpillars.  They actually do look like the ones off Bugs Life, so next time you go to touch one don't forget you shorten their life if you.

Went to the Mossman Gorge which is absolutely beautiful with its massive boulders and breathtaking views it's something that you'll always remember.  We thought we would brave it and go up the Daintree to Cape Tribulation and try our luck 4 wheel driving up the Bloomfield Track.  We camped out and christened the tent at Cape Trib near the beach and it was lots of fun, the kids told stories at night and you couldn't keep the smile off Michael's face.  He was in his element.  And yes people I braved the tent, thought it might be too rough but loved it.

So with excitement buzzing in the air we headed off for the track,  we drove 9hrs from Cape Trib to Cooktown and then back to Cairns, a massive day.  It was pretty hairy at times.   The track is unsealed, muddy, and very windy and steep but what a rush!  Walked through croc infested streams that were waist height and for me the highlight of this trip.  There were 2 french guys who had been waiting for 2 days to be rescued, so I hope they are out by now!  They hit the boulders and panicked  and stopped and flooded the motor so they might be up for some big dollars to get them out. 

Finally we made it to the Lions Den Hotel and what a place, over a 100yrs old, used to be an old tin mining area.( which seems ironic as it's our 10yr wedding anniversary which is tin). It's an alcohol free zone here so it was pretty lucky we didn't have any in the waeco.  It's a long way up to Cooktown but we made it. YIPEE!

On our way back we stopped off at Port Douglas which I loved and I must say a place where I could stay if we didn't have kids.

Our beautiful friends the Malones had made a fantastic roast and we all tucked into a great home cooked dinner, we will miss the dearly when we part ways at the end of this week.  It has been a lovely surprise to meet such wonderful people.  So we celebrate our 10yr anniversary in Cairns and share our last night together with the Malones.  We survived!!!

TAM'S SURVIVAL TIPS #5
Might be a good idea to be organised when you leave the van and go off the beaten track! Came home to a rip in the awning from the wind blowing the awning into the clothes line and ripped it.
Go the extra money when it comes to the Big 4's you definately need a break from the kids.

Michael's tip - always send your wife through the croc infested waters to check the depth of the stream before crossing

WEEK 4 - TOWNSVILLE, MISSION BEACH

Well from dry heat and flies to humid sweaty heat and mozzies.  We've hit the tropics!

Townsville the heart of the military was so hot and humid it was unbearable, you would be sweating in places where you don't normally sweat.  I have to mention The Frosty Mango before I go on which is on the way, everything mango, the best mango ice cream ever.  Also took a quick trip to Murray Falls for some bottom surfing under the waterfalls.  The look on Spencer's face of shear terror going down the rapids was something I'll never forget, but he got up again down he went.

Townsville is not a place we wanted to stay long at. The Strand is very pretty though with beautiful views to Magnetic Island and the Pandanus trees and the big black cockatoos.  We ventured to Reef HQ Aquarium where they have a turtle hospital on the premises.  After the reef trip the kids could really identify  a lot of the fish and coral they saw.  This place was  so interesting we loved it, I could have sat there all day just watching the fish.  They talk to the divers  and have an interactive part where you can ask the diver questions about the sharks and other fish which was pretty cool.  And I think the kids got a lot out of seeing those poor turtles being rescued.

The boys were going to go to the Cowboys game but it was going to cost an arm and a leg and half the night just to get there, they decided to give it a miss.  We all got up super early for the dawn service on the Strand and as the sun was rising over looking Magnetic Island as they played the The Last Post it was a special moment.  We were happy to leave Townsville and hit paradise at Mission Beach, cassowarie country, even though we haven't seen any.

And those beautiful Ulysses butterflies they are everywhere.  It's like all the bugs and insects have been on steroids they are huge up here.  We could actually live up here, even though the locals say the wet season is really hard to get through, which I can understand.  The kids went for a swim in the netted area because the box jelly fish and irukandji are everywhere up here, the beach is filled with vinegar canisters just in case.  It is a pretty idyllic place with the palm and coconut trees swaying in the breeze all I needed was a g&t and some nibbles!!!  Now I know I was only joking to everyone about me turning into an alcoholic but with 3 kids 24/7 there's nothing better than that g&t at the end of the day!  Got some shopping in as well here, after 3 weeks of nothing a girl needs some retail therapy so I got my fix for the next month.

If you are around this way it is worth having a drive to Bingal Bay it's so pretty, peaceful and untouched, no photos sorry was too much in awe.  We hit the waterfalls today and went to Millaa Millaa, Zillie and Ellingaa.  Even though it was raining and low cloud cover it was pretty spectacular and it's only going to get better more north we go.  We also visited the Malanda Dairy farm where they make cheese, yogurt and milk and got to see the way they make it.  The countryside is breathtaking here.

We've been aching for some adult conversation and met some lovely people from Victoria with beautiful kids which we met briefly at Airlie and stayed across from us at Townsville so we are looking forward to catching up with them in Cairns tomorrow.  So will keep you posted with some more tropical fun!!!

TAM'S SURVIVAL TIPS #4
Go off the beaten track, you'll never know what you might find.

Get those kids working, this is not a holiday

TAM'S ON THE ROAD PLAYLIST
More John Butler Trio - Spence has finally come around to love the John
Angus & Julia Stone - Perfect for rainy days

Until next week, keep on truckin!