Desert Park Bird show

We really need to stop planning our visits to attractions so well. So far, we have had to get up by 7am for all but 1 morning... my camping brain is telling me to sleep in but we just haven’t managed to be able to do so yet....

Tomorrow morning is free pancakes by the Caravan Park, but at least it doesn’t start until 8:30, so there is a slight chance of an additional 30 minutes or so. 

Today, the plan was to get to the Alice Springs Desert Park by 9am to see the Dingo feeding and then follow on for other animal exhibits. Despite getting up just after 7, breakfast dragged on a bit long, plus all the preparation needed for lunch etc, we didn’t actually get there until closer to 9:15. This allowed us to walk straight into an emu discussion, followed by the Birds of Prey, which is my main goal for the day. 

The park was fascinating and was laid out very well with heaps of information and exhibits. The talks ranged from native bush tools to nocturnal animals to bush tucker. Before we knew it, the clock ticked past 2pm and we realised we still hadn’t eaten lunch yet. 

Our next visit was to the RFDS which turned into a bit of a fizzer and we only wandered through the gift shop before heading into town centre. The local Woolworths has been calling our name and we finally relented. It also helped that the BWS was right next to it and I needed a top up of my night caps as well. 

Eventually it was back to the park where they had a performer showing off his didgeridoo skills. He was actually pretty impressive for a white fella. 

Tomorrow we are off to the local markets, Telegraph Station, then catching up with friends again where the boys will ride bikes 17km to Simpson’s Gap. We will of course drive there and have a walk before heading back to catch up with yet more people we know from the kids school. 

Alice Springs

It turned out to be almost exactly the 9 hours predicted - the headwind slowed us down, Erldunda was a madhouse with nearly 50 caravans and buses either stopping for lunch or needing to buy extremely expensive fuel, plus our own stops saw us arrive at around 4:30. Check in took another 20 minutes thanks to only 2 staff with an outdated booking system and about 30  arrivals, most of which had prebooked and another few cranky ones that were turned away
This park has really big sites and feels spacious - and safe. Lots of activities for the kids for those few hours we are at the park. 

The kids were off to the pool as soon as we allowed them into the van to get to their bathers. 

It was still a balmy 27 degrees but we later found out this was a very unique day and we were to expect closer to 20 for the next few days... and checking the weather app also highlighted the -1 degree nights ahead. 

Tomorrow we are going to the Alice Springs Show. This is just a much smaller version of the bigger Royal Shows we have back home, with the same over inflated prices for over cooked food and cleverly marketed pricing for show bags worth half their marked “special” prices. 

It didn’t take long for the kids to spend their money on rides and show bags, which meant we were out by 12:30  (Yippee)

Next stop was the Anzac Hill lookout where there was some good views and lots of information on the town. 

The kids were busting for a swim again, so we went back for an hour or so and let the magic washing machine do it’s stuff. Sure enough, by the time the kids and I got back from the pool, the washing was in neat folded piles on the table all clean and waiting to be put away. 

We then piled back in the car and headed out to see the School of the Air where we learnt all about how remote kids all over Northern Australia get their schooling without leaving home. 

Lastly, we went to visit some friends who had recently moved here from The Adelaide Hills. Our two boys took off on bikes with their two boys, while Kayla did some other stuff with their daughter, leaving us to catch up over coffee and biscuits. 

Getting back to the van after dark meant cooking sausages in the dark, but thanks to my infatuation with timing the cooking and the wonderfulness of the Weber, they were cooked perfectly. 

The Opal capital of the World

The lure of one of the worlds most most valuable gems (more expensive than gold) must be an amazing feeling and also a very lucrative living. I cannot think of any other reason that anyone would want to live out here in these conditions. Everywhere you look outside of the town square mile, there are verandahs poking out the side of hills with junk scattered everywhere around. With heat regularly soaring above 40 degrees and just as regularly down to 2 degrees in winter, and the underground rooms maintaining a constant 22-26 degree ambience, it makes sense. Also, because nobody has a yard when your home is dug into the side of a hill, all your hoarding has to live out the front.

I am sure there is some sort of planning rules governed by the local council, but to the untrained eye it appears that everybody simply lays claim to the side of a hill and starts digging. 

Every bit of machinery seems to be either 100 years old or a million hours used and is barely standing, never mind functional. If you don’t own a 4wd, you are a local. If you do own a 4wd, you are obviously a tourist and your car will be filthy. 

We took off down the Oodnadatta track late afternoon yesterday and stopped at the Moon fields (where Priscilla - Queen of the Desert and Mad Max III and Pitch Black were partly filmed), then along the Dog Fence to The Breakaways- a historical area where the sunset and views were spectacular. 

In some areas, it really did feel like we were on the moon. Except for the wind. The wind was howling, but just still bearable so that we could witness the spectacular sunset. 

Today was bus tour day. Despite visiting many of the underground main tourist attractions yesterday, we knew that there had to be more to understand this place. And I was very glad we did. Getting an understanding of just how extensive the underground living areas are, as well as the huge network of horizontal tunnels, made it worth while. Turns out the thousands of dirt hills that are oh so familiar, are not dug in hope of finding lots of opals, but instead they are looking for a seam that can then be followed at depths of anything up to 28m below today’s ground level. 

There are also at least 10 underground churches of all different denominations, of which we visited a couple. Some are always open and available for anyone to walk in and visit at any time. This could never be the case at home, but it appears here in Coober Pedy there is very minimal vandalism or other unsociable behaviour unless some “out of town” locals wander in, but they seem to be very quickly dealt with too. 

One of the stops was at the 3 hole golf course. Great care is taken to preserve the course with the most unusual aspect being a drop toilet in the middle of the greens - this is because there are no trees. 

Each hole has a nice green patch for you to tee off from, and number 1 is at the highest point giving perfect views of where you need to walk towards looking for your mis-hit ball. 

In the afternoon, we did a bit of our own exploring and even went to the underground pub where we had a cold brew and played some 8 ball with the kids. 

We have a big driving day tomorrow as we need to get to Alice Springs - nearly 700km away, with the inevitable “I need to Pee” stops (which never seem to coincide with fuel stops), and lunch, I am figuring we need close to 9 hours. 

There is even a high chance I am going to slide over into the passenger seat and pretend to be sleeping whilst Tracy drives for a little while. Maybe. 

Home - Coober Pedy

And so it begins. 6 weeks of no work. With all 6 of those weeks travelling north in this huge country of ours.

We left home at precisely 12:31 on Sunday July 1 and by 1:20pm we had stopped. The planning for today had changed plenty of times thanks to the boys soccer schedules. Dylan was playing the furthest away he possibly could from home in Ethelton, near Pt Adelaide with a 12 midday kickoff.  Thankfully we had plenty of people willing to drop him off so we had arranged to meet at a central point for the exchange. 

Then, we were off.  Well, until 30 minutes later when I started hearing the murmurs from my darling front seat passenger about needing a toilet stop. Being the caring understanding type of man everyone wishes they could have in their life, I told her she would have to hold on at least until our usual stop in Dublin. (About an hour away 😎)

Then we were off. This time I knew we were going to make it at least an hour before I was going to be asked to stop. 

There was no real set plan for tonight’s destination. I had mused at the thought of stopping somewhere near Pt Germein, however we had passed by and made it to Pt Augusta by about 5:30, so we pushed on to look for s rest stop on the side of the road. 

We turned into a rest stop about 60Km North of Pt Augusta at a place called Ranges View where there were about 12 other vans. It was now dark and freezing but we found a good spot to set up. 

There was a drop toilet up the other end of the rest area that was clean but smellier than any of us cared to experience. We had bought ourselves a little Thetford Port-A-Loo some years back, but never used it (not that I am ever going to be allowed to use it......). Thanks to the appeal of the seat over a hole we were offered, this got broken in over night by the girls, whilst us 3 boys made sure we were sound asleep and the snoring was loud enough to drown out all those potty noises that none of ever need to be hearing. (Nor seeing...)

We awoke to an amazing sunrise. Well the kids did anyway. I was up just after 7:15 which is that awkward time in the morning where it is too light to step outside the van in my boxers and Ugg boots to pee in the scrub land thanks to the other campers who are also up and about contemplating the same thing. It is also that time when everyone is going to the drop toilet and stirring up last nights sandwiches whilst the bugs zoom around precariously close to exposed bits that are never supposed to be made available to such disgusting critters. 

The kids went for a walk across the vast expanse of scrub. I have this weird sensation of it being the same type of fields in American Werewolfe in London, and watching them walk off and disappear behind hills that I didn’t even know were there, was a bit of a moment. 

Breakfast was toast and vegemite, as we admired our surroundings in a brisk 3 degrees. 

We packed up and hit the road with the next  stop at Glendambo for an early lunch. Then off to a stop about 100km short of Coober Pedy where the Port-A-Loo was once again broken out. 

It was also here that I let go, and got in the passenger seat with Tracy driving the rest of the way. It’s not that I don’t trust her driving..... I just like to drive. And be in control. And not be put in a situation where I might have to tell someone how to do something...( ok, you all know that last bit is a lie, but it looked good as I was writing it. )

We made it safely to Coober Pedy, getting there at about 4pm. It becomes an extremely long day for some reason, despite Google Maps trying to convince us it is only 4 hours 45 apart. My calculations say we left at 9am and got here at 4, making it closer to 7 hours. 

As we rolled into Coober Pedy, there were about 30 vans lined up at the Big 4.... which we were NOT staying at. We went into town where I had booked in at The Oasis. The lady at the counter just laughed and said “ I hope they booked in”,  knowing that most probably hadn’t. 

The sites here are a little squeezy, and we had one of the 10 sites with water, which I paid an extra $9 for. It is a super quiet park at night, with great big gates and fencing all around it to keep the locals out and to keep us safe. The amenities are reasonably new, with the showers requiring 20c for every 3 minutes of hot water needed. I reckon if my shower had actually been hot, I would have been willing to feed in the $2 of 20c coons I had.... but they were clever enough to reduce the temperature to just above outright cold so that nobody chose to stay in any longer than necessary. 

Tomorrow we go exploring. Starting at the visitor information centre and then heading off into the streets to see what this town has to offer. 

Supportive parenting

Day 2 of being a Ref for Tyler today. Another 7:30am start, and this time we supported him fully by letting him cross busy Military Road by himself and wander over to the oval, whilst I cooked breakfast on the ever reliable Weber. 

He has 5 games in a row today with only 10 minutes break and we are betting he is going to be knackered. 

Dylan and Kayla had no intention of going to watch today, despite the cool but near perfect weather. 

After an hour on the jumping pillow, they announced they wanted to go in the pool. This put us in a bit of a dilemma as that is not the place I want to be sitting right now. 

So like all good responsible parents should, we told them to tell anybody that asked their age, that they were 12, 

Then Tracy and I headed over to the fields to support Tyler in his day of referee-ing and make sure no one was abusing him. Just like all helicopter parents would. 

It was finally after 3pm and he was finished. And exhausted. 

He had done an awesome job but hadn’t stopped running and concentrating all day. 

This meant it was time to go back and see if the other 2 were alive, or worse, banished from the pool. Luckily, neither scenario was true, so we set up for Wine o’clock. As you do. 

The cold rolled in, the wine and bourbon was flowing and the chatter around a non existent winter fire continued on. 

It was finally time to crash... ready to pack up in the morning and say goodbye to soccer for the weekend. 

Its all about the Ref

The sleep in ended at 6:45 this morning. Tyler had to be at the check in station for Refs at 7:30 ready for the 1st of 4 soccer games he is referee in. 

The 1st 2 are as a linesman (or do I have to say lines person nowadays), with the last 2 as the primary field ref. I went with him to make sure he got orientated, watched the 1st half then headed back across the road to fire up the Weber for breakfast. 

The BIG4 we are staying at is reputed to be one of the largest parks in Australia and is massive (not that we have yet explored anything past the van site we are on)

Kayla was desperate to show me her manoeuvres on the jumping pillow and managed to put on an amazing show for anyone that was watching. Very talented. 

I then wandered back over to watch Tyler while Tracy took Kayla back up to Mt Barker for her usual Saturday morning Cheerleading practice. 

Tyler did an awesome job (and as a Weyland child, it was never going to be any different! )

It was a very late Wine O’clock start thanks to the soccer across the road. But it did happen (was there ever any doubt??)

A butterflied chicken on the Weber with roast veggies finished off the night, well finished off the food part of the night.... well except the chocolates and snacks,.... and we settled down with a few more drinks to see the night disappear. I set up the projector against the shade sail on the side of the car, which kept the kids both out of our way and quiet for 2 hours. 

More soccer for Tyler tomorrow, more wine and cheese for us. 

I might even go for the 300m stroll to the other side of the park and down to the beach. Maybe. 

West Beach in June - Why not?

June long weekend always guarantees one thing. It’s cold. And damp. And cold. 

It was a strategic destination this year thanks to Tyler being selected to referee in the SAJSA state soccer carnival all weekend. The games are being held directly across the road from the caravan park, so like all good responsible parents should, we have arranged to get stuck into the wine and cheese tomorrow whilst he does his “reffing”. I reckon there might even be the possibility of me wandering over there at some stage to check out what is happening. 

The van had been packed during the week with just fridge food and last minute items thrown in today, and we were off soon after the kids got home from school. Arriving in near darkness thanks to the miserable grey winter clouds and being middle of June, we were setup within an hour and sitting down with drink in hand - well I was anyway.... Tracy may have got a bit involved in organising tea for everybody apparently. Jerry towed the van beautifully as expected, this is our last test before setting off on our 6 weeks trip up to Darwin (leaving July 1st). 

The Footy is now on with Port outplaying Richmond easily. Here’s hoping the 2nd half is just as positive. 

Our adorable Easter Bunnies

Unfortunately, Easter Sunday is also the day that marks the end of daylight saving. So it was technically only 6am when the kids were up and about eager to pick up any stray bunny eggs that happened to have dropped out of the pouch during the early hours. 

As we have 20 kids here this weekend ranging in age from about 5 up to 15, it was a remarkably restrained event and almost unnatural to see them all hanging around in a group waiting for us to give the all clear to start collecting. It was amazing to see them able to pick up about 150 eggs in 3 minutes, considering it takes about 150 days to pick up 3 items off their bedroom floors. 

More beautiful weather broke through clouds over the next few hours, setting the scene for a caravan park funded egg hunt with half the park kids eagerly circling, waiting for the signal to dive in and look for even more chocolate. 

After lunch, we almost fell into the Cheese and Wine o’clock trap, but escaped just in time to take the kids up to Normanville for a swim. Their goal was to jump the waves, but I reckon the wait was going to see them reach retirement before any waves rolled in today. It was pristine and dead calm - perfect swimming weather, but not so perfect wave jumping weather. 

Eventually, the wine o’clock alarm bell did go off, so we bundled everyone into the cars and raced back to camp at full speed. 

The day ended very quickly, just like the whole weekend. The dog was even knackered and passed out on the dry grass, looking forward to a night of rest, under a blanket of leaves. 

Home tomorrow, although it will be later than normal, thanks to the relaxed attitude of the managers and the permanently open boom gate. 

Horsing around

We were greeted by some more beautiful weather this morning. Brilliant clear blue skies, 22 perfect degrees. Couldn’t ask for better Easter weather. 

I cooked up the usual bacon and eggs for breakfast whilst the kids played on their bikes and on the tennis court, and sometimes both together. 

I took off down to the marina with the dog and fishing rods in a vain attempt to catch some squid. After an hour of playing with my rod but still no satisfaction, I called it quits and drove back to camp for some lunch. 

The rest of the crew had been out on the oval playing softball , which apparrently ended once again with one of the youngest being hit with the ball by an over zealous parent

Kayla and Dylan were booked in for a horse-riding session this afternoon with about 10 others. We are secretly hoping they hate it and never ask to do it again. After what seemed like an eternity, they were on the horses back and off for a 60 minute ride through the dunes and along the beach. 

It seemed kinda crazy driving away from the yard, knowing that our 9 and 10 year old were somewhere in a 30km area on top of 1 & 1/2 tonnes of crazy animal that had the strength (and probably desire) to crush them in an instance, but being the caring worried parents that we are, we wished them good luck and headed back to camp and had a bourbon anyway!

I picked them up an hour later, and the smiles and excitement in their voices showed me very quickly that they had enjoyed every minute of it. Now I need to spend the next few hours convincing them it wasn’t as fun as they thought it was. 

Tea was hamburgers and sausages, washed down with ice cream and plenty of drinks. We even gave the kids some. (Not the drinks!)

The fire was stoked up, the wine started flowing, and another night of frivolity and laughter began.

Looking forward to Easter Bunny turning up in the morning. My diet starts Tuesday, so I will have no regrets about the exorbitant amount of chocolate and Hot X Buns I will attempt to consume over the next few days.