Author Archives: Sarah

For something different, today it was ‘Children’s Day’ and we went to the biggest free playground in the Southern Hemisphere at Donnybrook.  There were slides of all colours, shapes and sizes, swings large and small and some that could hold more than one person, ropes, short and tall, tunnels, thin and wide, roundabouts and spider webs. It was hours of fun.

Back at camp we decided to check out Bunbury, so we headed into town and climbed a tower and got blown about.  Next stop was a lighthouse and beach, where the waves crashed onto the shore where all the big rocks were.  It was freezing!

Screaming on the swing

Playground Paradise

Lighthouse

Waves crashing

Did you know that in SA and NT, Victoria time goes back half an hour, and in Western Australia,Victoria time goes back two hours, meaning to say that right now as it is 9:11pm in Victoria, it is 7:11pm here, in Western Australia.

I’m having such a good time here we are just over the border of Western Australia and in Kununurra.
This morning(at 4:45am, WA time) we got up and dressed in less than half an hour and headed to the gazebo at the front of the caravan park where we waited to get on the bus to the airport to board the plane to the Bungle Bungles!
When we got to the airport we waited in the reception room and were quickly advised of where water and toilets were. We were introduced to our pilot and when “Four adults and two children,” were mentioned, the other pilot joked and said “Well counting him (our pilot) there’s three kids!”
we left the building and walked on the tarmac to the plane . When we reached the plane we were shown how to board and get out of it. Then we got in. There were only seven of us including the pilot, as there were two other planes going up as well, so it was not too tight or noisy.

Ready for take off

Once we were in the air we flew across:first Diversion Dam which diverts the Upper Ord River through Lake Kununurra to the Lower Ord River, second Lake Argyle which is 10,763,000 mega litres, which in comparison to Sydney Harbour, is around 23 times larger in volume and can be up to 63 times larger in flood conditions, third was Smoke Creek, fourth was Lissadell Station, fifth was the Argyle Diamond Factory, and a couple of the last few things to see before the Bungles was Texas Downs Station and the Osmand Ranges which appear as two seperate waves of rock.
Then finally arrived at the Bungle Bungles!

A photo doesn't show how big or how colourful they are! Those fuzzy bits on the green are large gum trees.

The rock formation and colour was amazing, but sadly I was drawn towards motion sickness, but I was not sick.
So on the way back we passed all the same stuff and I got really dizzy, but thanks to Mrs Hamilton (my teacher, for those of you who don’t know)I used her strategy of looking into the horizon where the sky meets the land.
And so we came into land and because we took the morning flight we got served breakfast at the Ivanhoe Cafe, including: a salad, baked beans, eggs, toast and bacon.
After we were dropped off, back at our caravan park we left again and visited some of the local attractions, including:the local gallery and zebra rock souvenir shops.
Then we came back and swam and at 5:19pm we went up to Kelly’s Knob and watched the sun set.

(Sadly during the flight we could not land and take a look around at the places we flew above.)

I am terribly sorry that I haven’t written for a little while.

This morning we had packed up and left Alice Springs by 8:15am, headed for Tennant Creek. Talking into the two way radio we debated over where to have morning tea, and by the time Mummy decided on Ti Tree we had already driven through it . So we stopped off for morning tea at the side of the road, at Stuart Memorial roadside park, where we looked and compared some of the birds flittering amongst the trees and had a warm drink.

At lunch we stopped off at the Devil’s Marbles (some rocks).  They were huge and when you tapped them, they sounded hollow because the outer skin of the rock keeps breaking away.  They call it onion peels and then we looked and strolled around and we all got some great shots of the Devil’s Marbles and I even heaved some rocks around (LOL)!

Sarah at Devil's Marbles

Sarah gets into a tight spot at Devil's Marbles

Matilda and I made up a new dance routine after dinner tonight.  There was entertainment in our caravan park but our entertainment was more fun (LOL)!

BIG Walk!! I mean BIG.  Today we walked Kings Canyon, 5.5 km.  First we walked up the very steep rock stairs. Then you supposedly walked the middle of two canyons only really seeing the one to the left.  We diverted off to the right and walked into Cotterill’s Lookout, climbing up the lookout and looking down the canyon.   It was a little steep to come down and just at the base we met a lovely French girl, who was out in Australia for 6 weeks.  She had already covered Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide and after Kings Canyon she was heading to Darwin.  We sat in the shade of the left side of the canyon and ate some lunch.  Travelling along and crossing the bridge, we meandered down to Eden’s garden, finishing the rim walk and heading down a well maintained path back to the car park, taking 3.7 hours.  Getting back to our camp, we all went swimming.

This was our first challenge on the Kings Canyon walk... the stairs to the top of the canyon!

The steps are hard work, but the view from the top is amazing.
The little white things near my left arm are the buses in the car park!

Some of the rocks look like they might fall at any moment, so Matilda and I thought we'd give them some help to stay where they are.

Taking a rest after some hard climbing and walking

Yes, the edge of the cliff is very close!

This morning we packed up from our side-of-the-road stop at Lake Hart and ventured into the bush along the only sealed road from Port Augusta to Coober Pedy.  Right now I am in Coober Pedy in the middle of South Australia. It’s a real hole in the ground, actually lots of holes in the ground! Coober Pedy is where they mine for opals and yesterday we all camped on the side of the road and used a tree for the toilet!
Earlier today we all went into town and we went to the underground bookshop (in Coober Pedy it can be so hot that they temperature underground is a more suitable temperature for people than above ground) and then we went to the underground catholic church.
When we got back to the campsite, Matilda and I went to the playground and because I was silly enough to wear thongs (or flip-flops) I cut my foot on a rock and currently have two steri-strips and a band-aid over my cut!

P.S. I really Miss all my friends back home and I can’t wait to see you all again!

One of the underground churches in Coober Pedy

Yes, it hurt (and still does)!!

Woke up at 5:40am to be seated in a car for approximately five hours and a few stops in between. Tonight we are staying at Murray Bridge. Yummy dinner.