tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79989084094057117102024-03-06T01:04:08.488-08:00FeelingasfreeasabirdLiving The Simple Dreamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00908190473673884512noreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7998908409405711710.post-76111034852296597502011-07-25T17:10:00.000-07:002011-07-25T17:10:18.965-07:00Douglas Hot Springs<div style="text-align: center;"><br />
We decided to camp at the national park campground at Douglas hot springs for two nights. We arrived there to discover it was about 50ks off the highway (including just under ten ks of heavily .... dirt road) but once we got there we realised it was well worth the (pretty small) trip. The campground was really dry and basically just dirt but there were small firepit/bbqs everywhere. We found a fantastic site to set the van up right in the centre and we very quickly gained some neighbours. We set up the van then walked down the 10 metres to the springs, we noticed a HUGE group of people in one spot right at the centre of the creek resemblent springs. We figured they must be a huge family or somthing and decided to give them their space so we first dipped our toes in down river from them, looking for a less populated area. The water was icey cold. We then walked past them, following the "river" up and dipped our toes in. The water was scorchingly hot (60+ degrees), what a shock! So we went down to where the group was and jumped into the perfect temperatured water. It was like a hot/warm bath (dependent on where you sat) but we quickly realised that the spot where everyone was sitting was right where a cold stream that ran paralell with the hot springs, met up with the hot springs and the boiling and cold water mixed together. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">We ended up pretty quickly becoming part of the big "family" that was infact not a family - just a HUGE bunch of tourists trying to get the best spot in the water. It was a beautiful, little, social enviroment and over the two days and nights we spent there we became very friendly with a number of different people from all different age groups. At one point we joined a group of 60 year olds and the next morning we were initiated into the brat pack of ten year old girls. Everyone that comes to the springs says the same thing "wow, this water is so hot you could cook an egg in here" so of course I had to take an egg down and try! Well two eggs. We cracked oe and put it in a foil "dish" we fashioned ourselves and sat it to float in the spring. It had cooked stringy bits through it but it never actually cooked. Then we sat one in its shell right where the water was bubbling from the ground (At its hottest), we left it there for over twenty minutes but unfortunately it didnt cook either. We had lots of fun doing the experiment and we had a pretty big group of tourists (including our helpful accomplices the ten year old girls) curiously awaiting the results. It was alot of fun. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">We ended up befriending a small family that came in the second night and we had a great time sitting by the fire with them and another man in a neighbouring van, telling stories. It was fantastic! </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">everyone crowding into the part of the spring where the cold and hot stream meet.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">trying to cook an egg unsuccessfully in the hot springs</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our big boy on his new bike</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our camp (to the left)</td></tr>
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</div>Living The Simple Dreamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00908190473673884512noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7998908409405711710.post-52660485495000999072011-07-25T16:58:00.000-07:002011-07-25T16:58:32.882-07:00Cutta Cutta Caves<div style="text-align: center;">I wasn't keen at all to go into the Cutta Cutta caves as I have a sort of calustrophobic fear of squeezing through small underground gaps. However when we arrived (and did the 700 metre walk through the bush to the caves) I seen the entry and realised it was actually quiet open. I decided to give it a go. We walked in and the cave was beautiful, but the descent was a little scary. The caves go 200 metres accross and about 20 metres deep and are filled with the most beautiful stalegnite (or whatever those pointy things are called that hang from the roof and come up from the ground) formations. They were gilstening, sparkling, white, orange, absolutely beautiful. </div><div style="text-align: center;">There were snakes in the cave and apparently it is home to alot of bats but thats seasonal. I ended up getting scared about 80 metres in when we came to a section that required you to squeeze through a tiny gap. So I decided to go back out of the caves, thankfully because I was told the squeezes became more difficult from then on. Brent and Zac and our friends Barbara, Matt and Yohana kept going and all said it was even more beautiful and cathedral like further in. Unfortunately I forgot to leave the camera with Brent so we didnt get any photos right deep inside, only of the first 80 metres. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zac and Johana walking to the caves</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inside the caves</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">Zachery absolutely loved the caves and Brent said he enjoyed climbing and walking through them. Apparently it got really hot and muggy towards the far end of the caves. Cutta Cutta caves are beautiful and are pretty cheap to go and see too. It was quiet a big deal for me to go underground into a cave so I feel quiet good about my small experience with them despite not going the whole way through. Brent and Zac thoroughly enjoyed the entire walk.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUiFItr710HpVKuDtGFp-x4cy3jXOKB75f14oRMqorNqIMbG4OpB2Rp1yaOGy8E9pYXpGD8uI2XhN4Ydx_sckocZmMqd0JHY4rR5p9WX4uov4JHb9vNeEA702hTn7tfXiut-gCbrHN0xf0/s1600/P7191899.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUiFItr710HpVKuDtGFp-x4cy3jXOKB75f14oRMqorNqIMbG4OpB2Rp1yaOGy8E9pYXpGD8uI2XhN4Ydx_sckocZmMqd0JHY4rR5p9WX4uov4JHb9vNeEA702hTn7tfXiut-gCbrHN0xf0/s320/P7191899.JPG" t$="true" width="320px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The entry to the cave<br />
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</tbody></table>Living The Simple Dreamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00908190473673884512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7998908409405711710.post-34254497866263216072011-07-25T16:47:00.000-07:002011-11-12T21:58:04.153-08:00Katherine Gorge<div style="text-align: center;"><br />
The most iconic "landmark" in Katherine would have to be the infamous Katherine Gorge. This is a place I have always thought about visiting and I have always been absolutely blown away by the images of it. We decided that we must do a cruise along the Katherine Gorge while there so we booked in for a "two gorge cultural tour". The tour was on a fantastic big boat full of plastic chairs. The boat was guided by two wonderfully informative aboriginal men (whom also had us all in stiches of laughter with their stories and jokes). </div><div style="text-align: center;">We got in the boat and began our trip through the gorge, the sight was absolutely amazing. The walls of the gorge went up so high and there was alot og wildlife. We seen little freshwater crocs hanging out lazily on tree branches on the side of the river. At the end of the first gorge we got out of the boat and walked up to an enormous rock wall which had aboriginal artwork painted on them in red adn white ochre. The artwork was believed to have been there for over ten thousand years and there were a variety of stories about how it got there and what it signified. </div><div style="text-align: center;">We then got on the second boat and continued on through the second, and twice as spectacular, gorge. We learnt alot about the local tribe the "Jaowyn" people and their history and culture. We noticed that all throughout the gorge there are small sandy banks with signs on them saying "Do not walk on this bank" (or somthing similar) we were informed that all of these sandy banks are crocodile nesting ares and if you walk on them you wont nessecerily be attached by a freshwater crocodile (you would by a salty) but you will break/damage their eggs and possibly debilitate their breeding process. We also learnt that one of the banks was the spot where the Australian "crocodile movie" Rogue was filmed. </div><div style="text-align: center;">The gorge was breathtakingly beautiful and exceeded our expectations. The walk down to the gorge was beautiful and Zac had alot of fun pointing out the fruit bats in the trees along the way.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0thPuS9L3wujN_9Z8dp3M1Z47FMflDR8QZQXvI605d41M9Ut9oECFoP2WEX0VuplPU1aXAyGFvTp6dJZz9lHtr9v7xAc8rcbjZGuPxa9UA2y0ggv6LR41v-ZC5CWXwXVk-eO9lubN1rpQ/s1600/P7171753.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0thPuS9L3wujN_9Z8dp3M1Z47FMflDR8QZQXvI605d41M9Ut9oECFoP2WEX0VuplPU1aXAyGFvTp6dJZz9lHtr9v7xAc8rcbjZGuPxa9UA2y0ggv6LR41v-ZC5CWXwXVk-eO9lubN1rpQ/s320/P7171753.JPG" t$="true" width="320px" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
Whilst at Katherine we met up with some friends we made at Mataranka springs, Barbara and Matt and their little girl Yohana . We had a wonderful evening with them drinking beer and rum, eating nibblies and watching the kids play. It was fantastic. The next day Brent helped Matt do a service on his car and in return Barbara cooked us the most delicious dinner. I dont usually eat fish at all but I ate it all up that night and absolutely thoroughly enjoyed it, aswell as the beautiful salad she made. I definately cant wait to start experimenting with cooking fish now that I know I like it again. We ended up spending alot of time with Barbara, Matt and Yohana and discovered that they are wonderful, relaxed and alot of fun. It was great to make some friends along the way and it was great to all go to Cutta Cutta caves together, just South of Katherine, for a day trip. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crocodile breeding sand patch in the Katherine Gorge</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Katherine Gorge</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaxNpbQ1bAs_3GndLr1Z3OAEHfG1Q7mtQ8p3ueHwVB5agsuZnyOGmITrYvwHgpMMwObUfLqx9rFRqGcyxHWKSdEDPoT3K2RzNuoDI0sRKG4sl7aS6lhvfAauzweeYmwRfoE4m8z7H_DqkI/s1600/P7171805.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaxNpbQ1bAs_3GndLr1Z3OAEHfG1Q7mtQ8p3ueHwVB5agsuZnyOGmITrYvwHgpMMwObUfLqx9rFRqGcyxHWKSdEDPoT3K2RzNuoDI0sRKG4sl7aS6lhvfAauzweeYmwRfoE4m8z7H_DqkI/s320/P7171805.JPG" t$="true" width="320px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Katherine Gorge </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8wcb1WIfGn0nF02Ond7JzyeW6sdwxFKepJITBzOVeWYxORpWLjL8opBNymG2oF2-xrbEz06KmS49cnXH-QUGUTRkeMnJbWAFIDfA0z5HBNE6e-inJY0KbgVtYrrs4YSfVVbpSgoRsEB06/s1600/P7181872.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8wcb1WIfGn0nF02Ond7JzyeW6sdwxFKepJITBzOVeWYxORpWLjL8opBNymG2oF2-xrbEz06KmS49cnXH-QUGUTRkeMnJbWAFIDfA0z5HBNE6e-inJY0KbgVtYrrs4YSfVVbpSgoRsEB06/s320/P7181872.JPG" t$="true" width="320px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brent in the pool with ac and Johana</td></tr>
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</div>Living The Simple Dreamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00908190473673884512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7998908409405711710.post-60163110614919744332011-07-18T05:58:00.000-07:002011-07-18T05:58:02.263-07:00Our first day at KatherineWe left Mataranks springs early this morning to head toward Katherine. I decided to have a try of towing the caravan and it was surprisingly easy! I actually enjoyed towing it and will be sharing alot of the driving with Brent now (although he goes a little faster than me - I do 90 and he does 100 and somtimes 110 - the speed zones out here are mostly 130 - how crazy is that?). I felt really proud of myseld for stepping up and giving towing the van a try, I towed it the entire way to Katherine (an hour and a half drive). <br />
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When we arrived at Katherine we decided to go to the caravan park our friends suggested to us yesterday, the friends we made at Mataranka - a young couple Matt and Barbara and their daughter Yohanna. We arrived at the caravan park and set up then just relaxed at camp for most of the day as we were a bit exhausted from the last few days of LOTS of walking at Mataranka. We then went for a drive into town and had a look at the Katherine hot springs along the way (they were beautiful and warm like the mataranka ones). We bought some groceries and booked in for a cruise of the Katherine Gorge for tomorrow. <br />
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We spent the afternoon/evening at camp chatting with our friends and watching their daughter and Zac play. They had an absolute blast together! They absolutely adore eachother and they play so well together. I love watching them play, its very cute. We ended up having a few drinks and eating a bunch of nibblies (instead of dinner). All in all it was a wonderful night and we now have plans for tomorrow night. <br />
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I cant wait to go for a cruise of the Katherine Gorge tomorrow.Living The Simple Dreamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00908190473673884512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7998908409405711710.post-853280292806130252011-07-18T05:47:00.000-07:002011-07-18T05:47:42.703-07:00Mataranka Springs<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We spent two nights at Mataranks springs. It was absolutely wonderful! The springs are so beautiful and crystal clear and in the river next to the springs there are lots of freshwater crocodiles and turtles to spot, which kept us entertained for ages. I find it so crazy that there are signs saying "crocodile managment program being followed here" next to the rivers but you you are welcome to swim just at you rown risk. Its crazy being faced with that decision rather than being at a zoo or reptile park with these creatures and not having the choice to be in their habitat. Apparently the freshwater crocs dont generally go near humans but they have found the odd saltwater on occasion in there and therefore cannot say the rivers are entirely safe. But still, you can swim in them. <br />
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The campground at Mataranka springs was fantastic. It was really well spaced out and had a little pub at it too. We ended up having dinner and a few drinks at the pub one night and listening to live music for hours. Zac even made a friend, a little girl Yohana (Im not sure how to spell it). They danced the night away ont he stage and made the singer very happy. They also dug in the dirt and repeatedly took their pants off and ran around covered in mud! They were very funny together. The campground is also full of wallabies and they are really tame and will eat from your hand. Its lovely! Zac loved it and was patting them and playing with them. <br />
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We also did about 4 kilometres of walking at Mataranka, around the springs and out to a waterhole. Zac walked most of it on his own, he seems to really love bush walking! <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The springs</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Walking toward the trees through the rainforest (we seen a snake slithering around next to the path through the forest</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-bUWUukRzb19zAOL13GNwYPV9MTYEs9YQVbblBoS8lDcX5NPQkphhvXiXFimUlG5uy9nqci_8OCk4qSN_jqmXIDgMmKkdoi84_reV_WJdEpjsR739c77CWMDXsmmybm7C87m_KFWz-sRG/s1600/croc+at+mataranka.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="137px" m$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-bUWUukRzb19zAOL13GNwYPV9MTYEs9YQVbblBoS8lDcX5NPQkphhvXiXFimUlG5uy9nqci_8OCk4qSN_jqmXIDgMmKkdoi84_reV_WJdEpjsR739c77CWMDXsmmybm7C87m_KFWz-sRG/s320/croc+at+mataranka.png" width="320px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zoomed in photo of the croc we seen bathing in the sun on a log in the river</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The "not zoomed in" photo of the croc on the log. <br />
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All in all Mataranka springs was a wonderful adventure and definately a beautiful place. There is so much wildlife including crocs, turtles, countless wallabies, snakes, peacocks and other birds. There are alot of beautiful places to view the gorgeous river from and there alot of really happy, friendly locals. There are some beautiful walks through the forest and its just a beautiful natural place. The springs are amazing and the most perfect temperature and the days outside are 32 degrees in the middl e of winter, gotta love that! </td></tr>
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</div>Living The Simple Dreamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00908190473673884512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7998908409405711710.post-40090307799316487902011-07-16T16:04:00.000-07:002011-07-16T16:04:55.285-07:00The Devils Marbles and Wycliffe WellThis morning we left Alice at about 6am and drove straight to Wycliffe Well. This is a town famous for all of the stories of "alien landings/sightings". There wasnt really anything there other than a service station with an Alien Exhibit and a wall covered with newspaper articles. Including a rather interesting story about a sex crazed emu who is burning out lovers faster than trucks burn out tyres. We had a read of a bunch of the articles and notices quiet a few about pop star Robbie Williams, apparently he is UFO m.a.d and ended up buying a big property in the area to try and see the UFO's for himself. Not sure how it went though. There were alot of claims of aliens hanging out among the Devils Marbles too. <br />
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The devils marbles shocked me as I was expecting one, beautiful stack of ginormous marble-esque rocks. Which we did see! But there were countless stacks of marble-esque rocks over a huge spanse of land. They were magnificent! We clibed them and went into the middle to the cave like areas. They were such a wonderful sight. <br />
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</tbody></table>Living The Simple Dreamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00908190473673884512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7998908409405711710.post-52424251347995741902011-07-16T15:53:00.000-07:002011-11-12T21:56:05.340-08:00Alice Springs Reptile Centre and MuseumThese blog entries are all a big behind as I have been out of phone range for a couple of days. <br />
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On the 15/7/2011 we went to the Alice Springs Reptile centre and we were actually pretty pleasantly surprised by what we discovered there. It simply looked like a signposted home from the outside, in the middle of a normal suburban street. But when we got inside it was four or so rooms (And an outdoor area) of lizards, snakes, turtles and a big saltwater croc. It was very cheap too I think it was $12 each which is just awesome! (it was free for Zac). <br />
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We slowly walked through all of the rooms marvelling over the variety of desert lizards espcially the really spikey ones. We went into the underwater viewing area and had a peek at the croc but he didnt move at all. You could see him in such detail though because he was practically up against the glass. Zachery was very impressed. We then got called inside for a reptile show. <br />
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A young woman went up the front of the room and showed us a huge variety of snakes and lizards. She had one enormous snake that she let everyone have a hold of. She lined all the children up on the stage (Zac included) and let the snake start from one end and slither accross all of them to the other end of the line. Zac was absolutely in his element and shocked everyone with how interested he was. We then had to (at Zacs request) stay back after the show so he could hold each of the lizards and ... sort of voilate an unsuspecting blue tongue lizard. The lizard was kissing Zac with his long tongue so Zac decided to share the love and licked the lizards tongue... haha. Ew! <br />
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It was such a fantastic experience! Zachery loved it and how "hands on" he was able to be. I highly reccomend it to anyone going through Alice Springs. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Awesome spikey lizard</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I couldnt get a good photo of Zac with the snake as I was too far back because there were just so many people there. <br />
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</tbody></table><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Then we went to the local museum. Which also surprised us! It wasnt as big as a city museum but it was just as beautiful and had a wonderful variety of local information and artifacts. There were dinosaur bones, animal bones from all the animals found in the desert and many more. There was alot of extrememly interesting information on Ted Strehlow, a man who spent years and years with aboriginal tribes and learnt an unimaginable amount about their cultural practices and lifestyle. His researcha nd information is so extensive and so personal to the tribes he pertained it from that a huge majority of it cant even be shared for privacy reasons. There are annual conferences on the information and what can be released while still remaining sensitive to the aboriginal people and their practices. There is actually a book and a movie on it that I intend on reading/viewing when we get to Darwin if I can find it. <br />
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We seen some fantastic rocks that came from comets (I think thats what they are called... the ones that hit the earth and cause craters?) we seen pictures and models of craters aswell. There was alot of information on outer space etc. Zac was really tired by this point though so I didn't get to slow down and read as much as I would have liked to, due to a grumpy kiddie! But thats ok, I guess its a good reason to come back again? :-) </div> <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div> Living The Simple Dreamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00908190473673884512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7998908409405711710.post-57433660304943182562011-07-13T04:28:00.000-07:002011-07-13T04:28:33.908-07:00Standley Chasm and Simpsons GapThis morning we packed a picnic lunch and headed out to Simpsons gap, despite the drizzley rain. Simpsons gap is a gap formed in the mountain range after millions of years of floods and raging rivers flowing through Alice springs and wearing away at the range. The bushland at the gap was really lovely and we really enjoyed exploring the area. The rock walls were just enormous and there were huge chunks of fallen rock everywhere some the size of garden sheds or cars. The rock was really pretty too it looked like it was coated in a dirty pink coloured quartz. There was water at the bottom of the gap and small patches of water in the river blank that led down to it but it was norhing like I guess it would have been years ago when the wearing away happened. It was such a beautiful, serene place. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Simpsons Gap from the walk in</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Simpsons gap</td></tr>
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After Simpsons gap we drove another 40-somthing K's to Standley Chasm. When we arrived there we went up to the kiosk (As you have to pay $10 to go in) and there was a bulky, stoney faced aboriginal man working at the counter. I expected him to be sort of harsh and sick of being asked stupid questions by us tourists, but as I got closer he cracked the biggest, frinedlist smile. He was the most lovely, kind man. We paid our fees and began the 40 minute to 1 hour (round trip) walk to the chasm. Zachery did the entire walk by himself which was just crazy because there were parts where his tiny short little legs meant he had to climb miniature rock walls and not to mention that it began sprinkling on the way back and was ridiculously slippery. We are both so proud of him he loves bush walks and pretty much every person that passed us either commented on how great he was doing finding his way along the VERY rough tracks, or how well he speaks (which still shocks me because I thought he spoke fairly normal for his age!). When we came to the chasm we were all blown away with amazement, it was absolutely beautiful and at 80 metres high the cliffs were just such a brilliant sight. We explored the chasm a bit and took some silly photos of Brent and Zaccy posing among the rocks, then we sat down and ate morning tea in the rain on a rock. We then made our way back with Zachery refusing to be carried and walking just as fast as we were the little machine! We got back to the kiosk and the fireplace was lit and the man working was still at the counter. I asked him if we were able to order some hot chocolate each and he said he doesnt make them (they wenret on the menu) but that he would do his best to make us some. However he got busy and completely forgot about them so eventually we went and asked (not that we were in a hurry, it was lovely sitting in front of the fire and watching zachery boss around all the elderly ladies whom were fawning over him and collecting sticks and rocks from the garden as per his demands). He felt so terrible tht he had forgotten them and he began making them immediately, I had a chat with him while he was making them and as I had heard every single tourist that walked up complaining about the rain to him. I said that we were actually glad it was raining because all the photos in the pamphlets are of it in the glistening sunlight so its sort of a treasured moment to get to see it in a different light and different weather conditions. I told him how beautiful the water was running down the rock walls and that even the big walk back was great in the rain seeing the colours of the rocks on the ground change as the rain drops hit them. I think it really shocked him to hear tourists who had no wet weather gear, had a toddler and were all soaked through, so pleased with their rainy day exeprience of the chasm. He was so cheerful and positive about it all and said that it was so great that we had enjoyed the experience despite the weather. He gave Zachery a free popper when we went to leave. I had such a nice day and it was so nice to meet a friendly local. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Walking through Standley Chasm</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Walking back in the rain<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Picnic morning tea in the chasm<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">warming up by the fireplace.</td></tr>
</tbody></table></div>Living The Simple Dreamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00908190473673884512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7998908409405711710.post-83453295116840752282011-07-12T00:11:00.000-07:002011-07-12T00:11:34.034-07:00Free camping on the N.T(9/7) border and visiting Ayers rock (10/7)I havn't updated for a couple of as on Saturday night we spent the night at a free camp on the border of the Norther Territory and last night was spent at Yulara looking over Ayers rock/uluru. I really wanted to free camp as we hadn't yet the entire trip and its just the best way to save a bit of money through not having to pay caravan park fees. You can camp for free at pretty much any of the rest areas along the way so we decided to stop at the border and camp for the night even though it was only a few hundred Kilometres from ayers rock. The last time we free camped (on our way to and back from Mackay) it was a wonderful experience but this one was not so great. The noises of the wildlife and random people the passed through in the middle of the night (not to mention the road trains) was just ridiculous and made for an almost sleepless night, mostly because I was a little scared and every sound made me think someone was trying to get inside the van (im not usually that bad so it was a bit of a shock). Then a very noisy group of people pulled in in the middle of the night. I was finally asleep until I heard some extremely loud noises that sounded like gun shots. I was absolutely terrified and woke Brent up, when we looked up into the sky (both pretty scared by this point) we realised they were just fireworks being let off haha (possibly left overs from "Cracker day" they have at Darwin where fireworks are legal for one day of the year). <br />
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In the morning we moved onto Ayers rock, it was absolutely wonderful. We spotted it from about 50 kilometres away from it and we were both blown away. In the glow of the sunlight it looked pink and bigger than we ever could have imagined it would be. We set up the van at the caravan park/resort quickly and drove straight out to the rock (theres a $25 per adult fee to see it up close). Once we arrived at the rock we went for a walk on it and Zachery begged, pleaded and cryed for us to let him walk to the top however the hill is so completely steep and seems VERY unsafe to climb. We walked a fair way up but then brought Zac back down when it became to steep, despite his protests and telling tourists angrily "my mummy wont let me walk to the top, shes mean". <br />
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Ayers rock is so breathtaking up close. The actual "rock" surface is so unexpected, despite knowing its a big rock before going there. Its such a shock to see such a large rock in one piece. Its unreal! We honestly could have sat/stood there and stared at it all day, even Zac. There are a few signs at Ayers rock that were put up to teach people to respect the requests of the aboriginal owners. When the government handed Ayers rock back to the traditional owners some time ago they made the owners sign a clause that said that Ayers rock would always be open for tourists to climb on. The aboriginal owners have put up signs basically begging and pleading that people not climb the rock despite it being legal. I didnt really look at the signs until after I walked up it but Im not sure if it would have stopped me, not because I am disrespectful just because the sight of the rock is just so alluring to walk on - I think its just natural human nature to be curious. The signs went like this "Please dont climb the rock, it crosses over some very special dreamtime points (paraphrasing) that we dont want walked through, also it is so dangerous to climb and if you climb you might die and if you fall and die your mum will cry and your whole family will cry and they will be really sad". It was really.. personal and simple. It sent my mind racing. <br />
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After Uluru we went to The Olgas, they were also a beautiful sight! You could also see Ayers rock again from the olgas (you could see ayers rock from almost anywhere out there though its enormous). The olgas were just so beautiful, the roundish shapes of them seem so natural but at the same time so unnatural because they look so perfect with the right shadows on them. We took lots of photos og the olgas but my camera is just continuously letting us down as once I zoom I lose any quality the photo had and all of the colours wash out. <br />
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When we went back to the van we realised that behind the van a few feet up a hill is th emost beautiful spot to sit and watch the rock. You could see it from such a perfect angle and the sand was the deepest beautiful red which made it even more beautiful there. We ended up watching the sunset behind us and it was great seeing the clour of the sky change the colour of the rock from pink to a deep red. We also woke up early this morning and watched the sunrise in the same place which was another beautiful experience. <br />
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It was actually quiet sad to leave Ayers rock. For some reason, despite it just simply being a giant rock, it is also so much more. I dont know if its just that we spend so many years hearing about it but never imagining being there, but once you get there its just so alluring, you cant seem to look away and even at the campground you are continually going up the hill to sstare at it. We also found ourselves peeking and peeking at it the whole way along the main road on the way out until we definately couldnt see it anymore, asif we were trying to just soak up as much of it as we possibly could. I highly reccomend seeing it, it is just, perfect. <br />
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We are now at Alice Springs and I am baffled by how big it is here, I expected a couple of shops along a bright red dirt road side. I am shocked at how huge this place is, its a city! Its enormous. But more on that tomorrow!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ayers rock with the shadows of the clouds over it</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zachery very determined to climb the whole rock and he truly would have if we had let him!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3lHD3DViSwcLGheB7moWKqKLamp-k3bzFrY9Jjpr0FnMJYnEsA1h1Gpuv1GMM0KhFIhs0Gw7J2XyYy-nXK0i9bSZmarGfk_svUk6z2zgW5A1acIDZFjtN2764kaiEmbn2_CKEeIUQTQV_/s1600/P7091291.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" m$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3lHD3DViSwcLGheB7moWKqKLamp-k3bzFrY9Jjpr0FnMJYnEsA1h1Gpuv1GMM0KhFIhs0Gw7J2XyYy-nXK0i9bSZmarGfk_svUk6z2zgW5A1acIDZFjtN2764kaiEmbn2_CKEeIUQTQV_/s320/P7091291.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I took this to try to really show the "rocky" texture of the rock, in most photos it looks like a mountain so I wanted to show the ridges and holes.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The very beautiful "Olgas" or "Kata Tjuta" (their aboriginal name)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHLOcL5DfT4-jEx04ytl8lMGu_3XTBAY6D3KiMuhtkAHEzuEZ6NoybPxIIpV3aeirKrOl4AXlzkKwf3oSCu_RlOtmF-1pB4UzxzCxUXvHVW6KdO_xgU23JVMPT4xCi9NVm59VzO2N-fU2w/s1600/P7081183.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" m$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHLOcL5DfT4-jEx04ytl8lMGu_3XTBAY6D3KiMuhtkAHEzuEZ6NoybPxIIpV3aeirKrOl4AXlzkKwf3oSCu_RlOtmF-1pB4UzxzCxUXvHVW6KdO_xgU23JVMPT4xCi9NVm59VzO2N-fU2w/s320/P7081183.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hanging out on the N.T / S.A border (we slept on the border for the night).</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik2vUKYOgig7sGgJDR8WjuOZ6pfogkYpmrXW0xgVNnzfBgqYmFjtzOnjn1R7dis4n3BuAL7a-vSyLMGs9sy7ILvYw4SaWyPS24092V4u0BdukettS4u-YJcXovQreNRCV3HddoZrdGTooj/s1600/P7091416.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" m$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik2vUKYOgig7sGgJDR8WjuOZ6pfogkYpmrXW0xgVNnzfBgqYmFjtzOnjn1R7dis4n3BuAL7a-vSyLMGs9sy7ILvYw4SaWyPS24092V4u0BdukettS4u-YJcXovQreNRCV3HddoZrdGTooj/s320/P7091416.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">watching the sunrise and spread its rays over the rock.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Living The Simple Dreamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00908190473673884512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7998908409405711710.post-47264238839348351322011-07-06T20:48:00.000-07:002011-07-06T20:48:08.669-07:00Exploring Coober Pedy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1jT5hpevm1kHX4-yyVQludx0s549oEYIfc3XZ_88PXykwg29hYYT90YKkTzkFltOyQ3Q5F1P73I-xEJiQkubHAplYbdZ3zktAXVy7rbCQ8-A6OY1W9sX37ytgu8F05lg-bQ81FvMdlCFw/s1600/P7061167.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1jT5hpevm1kHX4-yyVQludx0s549oEYIfc3XZ_88PXykwg29hYYT90YKkTzkFltOyQ3Q5F1P73I-xEJiQkubHAplYbdZ3zktAXVy7rbCQ8-A6OY1W9sX37ytgu8F05lg-bQ81FvMdlCFw/s320/P7061167.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmKrTshce4kRphtR84MJgop2pYjQNJEqha0R4KN6tMkk8mStNH2u3lZ7_zhvr1Fvhvuu-PzuJQmsZlkVsDX-Rk4mcfOvPzaSrVmP_UufkgKWNj5elS3Lq9GyuKyNKnV1MH3qBFa0YXJ8z-/s1600/P7061161.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmKrTshce4kRphtR84MJgop2pYjQNJEqha0R4KN6tMkk8mStNH2u3lZ7_zhvr1Fvhvuu-PzuJQmsZlkVsDX-Rk4mcfOvPzaSrVmP_UufkgKWNj5elS3Lq9GyuKyNKnV1MH3qBFa0YXJ8z-/s320/P7061161.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrtufyva-s5LqcEfTja-2NS93oc1h6_VtmX-xiz0wiCanrEbvuLV6ZzzGbvxUa-0Q_dmSc2VeIA1XyxYc7uM5kx7sa2AWZ41omJZi-vKeMijmxGbrXNC-CNmaMmnGXdsopehBqnP5my59v/s1600/P7061159.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrtufyva-s5LqcEfTja-2NS93oc1h6_VtmX-xiz0wiCanrEbvuLV6ZzzGbvxUa-0Q_dmSc2VeIA1XyxYc7uM5kx7sa2AWZ41omJZi-vKeMijmxGbrXNC-CNmaMmnGXdsopehBqnP5my59v/s320/P7061159.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Today we went exploring Coober Pedy and it was just awesome. We went into the opal showrooms first (not all of them because there are FAR too many to see them all). Brent bought me a beautiful opal ring for my birthday (an early present). We then went to a place called "fayes underground house". Its actually a home that is currently lived in however it is a huge part of Coober Pedys history. The house is a three bedroom dug out underground house and it was dug out by Faye herself, just 48 years ago. Faye is alive today and we seen photos of her however sh eno longer owns the house. The man who runs th etour "Colin" was absolutely lovely and showed us all through his beautiful home. He even had an idoor pool in the one room that was above ground. The underground house was extremely interesting as the temperature stays at a perfect 25 degrees celcius year round (yes, winter and summer). While in the house we met a man also on the tour whom was absolutely lovely (he was there with his equally lovely wife). He was telling us how great it is to see that young people are touring Australia and just living this lifestyle. He said that 40 somthing years ago his wife was six months pregnant and developed a bad heart condition and he almost lost her. He said that as soon as their child was born and she was well enough he bought a carvan and they began travelling (in the 70's) he said he just wanted to live and explore and enjoy life as he had become aware of how precious it really is. He was a wonderful man and his love for his wife was so apparent. It was lovely to meet people so like minded to us, people whom genuinely had this journey change their life. For me, going underground was a huge step as I have an extreme fear of caves/mine shafts etc. I felt so nervous as we walked through but the fact that someone was continuously talking and that they had lived there for so long and been safe made me alot more comfortable. Thats not to say I wasnt pleased to come back out into the sunlight! hah!<br />
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We then went up to a look out that also housed a free "art" display. I wasnt very intereted in the art as it just looked like dirt piles and smashed computer screens but then again, each to their own. There was a free noodling spot that was actually inside a big metal bucket that also said "free opals" there was just a bunch of crushed rock/dirt in there but I sifted through the very fine particals and found a purpley coloured piece (well speck) of opal. The man came out and seemed really pushy and nervous, he shuffled us inside his home before we could even realise what was going on and took us into what I am assuming is a very much unlicenced opal shop (hidden in a dark room off the back of his home). He showed us his stuff and literally "yelled" at us "BUY IT BUY IT BUY IT" assuming we would give in and buy it. This was so unexpected and far more of an experience youd expect to have in a foregn country or city. His "workshop" looked fake/unused and im assuming his opal jewellery was the cheap, fake stuff you find at those "AUSTRALIA" shops they have at air ports. Probrably imported from hong kong, lol. It was a little scarey but we just said "no thank you" and he quickly turned off the lights and shuffled us out. <br />
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Every shop here keeps its lights off until someone comes inside. The towns electricity supply comes from a power plant run by diesel generators so electricty is a hot commodity. The people are very careful with it (aswell as water, of course). There is no where to attach our water hoses at the caravan park and water must be purchased for 20 cents for 30 litres. Showers are 20 cents for three minutes aswell. This hasnt been a bad experience for us though, its been quiet a great way to become aware of how lucky we are in the cities and big towns to have water so freely and readily avaliable. I love learning new things and am slowly developing a love of trying out new lifestyles, including ones that involve using things sparingly and being aware of our own consumerism. The water here comes from the Artisian basin and is brought in through pipelines and desalinated at a nearby plant. I have only really drank the water from our tanks so far but I will try some town water today and let you know about the taste, I have always wondered if desalinated water tastes any different.<br />
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When you drive around the town you see pipes coming out of the ground everywhere with whirly birds on top of them, these all lead to underground houses. 85% of coober pedys residents live underground we were told today, wow!Living The Simple Dreamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00908190473673884512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7998908409405711710.post-40542117747361250682011-07-05T22:58:00.000-07:002011-07-05T22:58:19.401-07:00Lake Torrens and Andamooka 5/5/2011 (posted the day after)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv79fuDx8Ut0TtmcMHC1kaTqyDKebzD_RuzOPgq2yRMBvP1QIib3L4FhYHwEwnRWCW8h9hjwwk_ak5Fwuncv6FzcF0rmZZWC8LCo-4AJ6_S5m1BDV3k-_G4Vzi2IXYE7afeMCvv3UfMHQ9/s1600/P7041019.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv79fuDx8Ut0TtmcMHC1kaTqyDKebzD_RuzOPgq2yRMBvP1QIib3L4FhYHwEwnRWCW8h9hjwwk_ak5Fwuncv6FzcF0rmZZWC8LCo-4AJ6_S5m1BDV3k-_G4Vzi2IXYE7afeMCvv3UfMHQ9/s320/P7041019.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A bush covered in salt crystals</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Yesterday we went to Andamooka and Lake Torrens (again). We asked for directions this time and it turns out the other day we were on the right track to Lake Torrens we just had to keep going and going and going until we got to it. We drove through the bush for ages, we found a river and decided to get out of the car and go for a walk to the edge. Brent, Zac and I all found some pretty rocks so we decided to smash them open and see if we could find some opals or somthing else special. We found a bigger rock and we each had a turn at smashing them but we didnt find anything. We caught Zachery sneaking over to the car, opening the door and smuggling a load of rocks inside while he thought we werent watching. Its funny how early kids learn how to be sneaky, haha. <br />
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We got back in the car and continued on toward Lake Torrens (constantly wondering if we were going the right way because it seemed to take forever, driving along red dirt roads in the middle of nowhere). We finally came over a rise and spotted on of the edges of the lake that ran off into like a creek. We didnt end up following it to the body of the lake as the road stopped where we were at so obviously you had to come in from a different town or access road to get to the body. We could follow the creek with our eyes and see the body of the lake but it was too far in the distance for Zac to walk after how far he had already walked around by the time we realised. <br />
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The lake was extremely salty and glowed a bright white from all the salt. The salt under the water was rock solid like a solid (but spiky) glass floor and when I dug at it (in one tiny spot, just to check) it was over two inches thick. You could see the red tinge of the dirt through certain parts but mostly it was white. The salt was beautiful, like crystals and all three of us really enjoyed touching it and looking at it. <br />
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We also found some emu footprints they were so huge and the steps were so wide as though the bird was running extremely fast. They looked so cool and were perfect imprints because of the type of dirt/mud that was there. <br />
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Lake Torrens was a beautiful experience I really loved it, as did Brent and Zac. I wish we could have gotten closer to the body of the lake but the part we found was VERY interesting alone. It was a great experience and I highly reccomend it. <br />
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After Lake Torrens we drove back into Andamooka and took some photos to show everyone how the people have all just mined their own backyards. Its so weird to see and also to think of all the opals they must have found. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zachery wanted to taste it, haha</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not so yummy haha</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">salt on the ground</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">salt</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our first glimpse of the outskirts of the salt lake</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zachery cracking open rocks</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIa9oQOQZ7CslflxjTQc-gsORGy6XqrF9mmlXBQCgEjXTpAy7u1yIfez6KdyO2yle9-ZibSGL8egeTLHreQt2qXkgKD0_PhkxgnIblmM3MNhxCPgfLjVlVyY8QOwoM5gag4kYSWuXqrFTK/s1600/P7040972.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIa9oQOQZ7CslflxjTQc-gsORGy6XqrF9mmlXBQCgEjXTpAy7u1yIfez6KdyO2yle9-ZibSGL8egeTLHreQt2qXkgKD0_PhkxgnIblmM3MNhxCPgfLjVlVyY8QOwoM5gag4kYSWuXqrFTK/s320/P7040972.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The rocks we found and decided to crack open</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqlttdSNEc4rNZdqKHRXRIFo5SezWk9WYZdRDvI-gbjUssoLzYG0FtsA4yv5kcfv9qIpIoGprtSvgRlA6LwCMIZnCmm39HUvlDo-YAGKa62_RwBz00vmLUtIi8221r5skOG9oWniEFXBXn/s1600/P7040965.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqlttdSNEc4rNZdqKHRXRIFo5SezWk9WYZdRDvI-gbjUssoLzYG0FtsA4yv5kcfv9qIpIoGprtSvgRlA6LwCMIZnCmm39HUvlDo-YAGKa62_RwBz00vmLUtIi8221r5skOG9oWniEFXBXn/s320/P7040965.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brent and Zac walking along the river</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The blogger website is stuffing up again and will not let me upload the rest of my photos so I wont be able to put up the Andamooka photos today of the mined backyards but I'll add them to this entry later and then re-post it.Living The Simple Dreamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00908190473673884512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7998908409405711710.post-29303060539592630912011-07-03T03:22:00.000-07:002011-07-03T03:22:20.020-07:00I forgot my camera!Today we went for a drive out to Andamooka in search if "Lake Torrens". We didn't find it, instead we ended up about 30 or 40 ks into the arid desert lands with no water in sight. It was a fun drive all the same and pretty interesting, I love seeing the nothingness that there is out here, for some reason its so interesting. <br />
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I completely forgot my camera and also we ended up just coming back to the van and deciding to search for Lake Torrens again tomorrow or the day after so I dont have alot of local stuff to blog about but I do have a few things I noticed which I want to record. <br />
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I noticed that there are so many children here (apparently 38% of the population) and they are all seemingly wholesome. They are all having picnics in the parks, playing ball games, riding bicycles etc. Even the older teenage ones. They dont dress anything like the girls from cities and coastal places and have just absolutely no crazy hair do's and off peircings. They all smile at you as you pass by and I'm yet to see any of them doing anything that sounds or looks remotely rude or dangerous. <br />
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I also noticed that all of the adult population are so friendly, smiley and cheerful too. From the women that work at the restaraunts and the shops to EVERY single person whom drives past you and smiles and waves (and I mean every single car). <br />
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When we went to Andamooka we noticed that (and I'll take my camera there when we go back and get photos of this to show you) all the residents have "mined" their own backyards in search of opals which seem to be everywhere here. It looks so funny/cool all the huge mounds of mined rock/dirt behind all the houses, it makes you wonder how much money they have recieved from what theyve found there because alot of the tin shacks ont he properties look as though theyve been deserted, assumingly once the residents got their money from their opals they found!. There is an opel gallery type of place with has a VERY extensive range of opals for sale (and an extensive range that arent for sale) they are just absolutely beautiful. I have never seen such amazing, clear, beautiful colours! So many wonderful greens and blues and even some orange opals. Brent said that if he gets work here and we stay for a few months he will buy me a beautiful opal ring for my birthday, they start from about $150 and go up to tens of thousands (obviously I'll get one of the cheapies, im too thrifty, and they arent all that cheap really!) <br />
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Brent is going to the Olympic dam (the mine, up the road) employment agency tomorrow, apparently there are two agencies both for the same mine so he is going to see if they have any jobs going and who has the best package. If its worthwhile we will stay here for a few months and he will work in the mine. According to a few local professionals Brent will be a hot commodity when he walks in there and will certainly be offered a good job, so we will see! <br />
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Today we also met a wonderful family whom are in the caravan spot next door to us. They have three young boys and we had a really good time chatting with the husband and wife. They are a bit older than us but seemed so similar and were so easy going, it was great! Zachery loved playing with their children.Living The Simple Dreamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00908190473673884512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7998908409405711710.post-11244481448350919682011-06-30T18:49:00.000-07:002011-06-30T21:19:04.291-07:00Port Augusta Flinders and Outback day cruise 30/6/2011<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This morning we went on a Flinders and Outback cruise up the Spencer gulf. We had to meet at the boat ramp at 10:30am but we got there about fifteen minutes early and I am so glad we did. The dolphins (in what we were told was an EXTREMELY rare occourance) decided to come and play under the pontoon style jetty we were standing on. They were chasing a school of large king fish and were ducking and diving everywhere somtimes less than a foot from us and right beneath us. It was absolutely beautiful to watch and Zac was so intrigued and so close to them too. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Once we hopped on the boat the driver played some games with the dolphins, doing "doughnuts" in the water with the boat to create waves for them to play and dive over. He also put a microphone into the water that lead to a speaker which played us the sounds of their squeels of delight as the swam and dove around the boat. They are such beautiful, cheerful creatures.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">We then continued up the Spencer Gulf (constantly being followed by the dolphins (I have hundreds of photos of them but I wont barrage you with them all). We got to the part of the Gulf that is known for its beautiful red dirt cliffs. This is the part of Port Augusta I had wanted to see the most and it was absolutely beautiful. Once again my camera could not truly capture ther red of the dirt but I gave it a good try. The Cliffs are such ana mazing site on the edges of the channle but it was quiet sad to see that a few metres of them had already dissapeared into dunes. The edges of the cliffs wear down over the years and slowly the cliffs reshape into simple dunes rather than having those extreme straight edges of cliffs. They turn into slopes and although its still spectacular to see red sloping dunes the cliffs are just brilliant. In front of the cliffs is one of Australias only "red beaches" a beach entirely made of red sand/dirt. Which is also quiet a brilliant sight to see! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">We learnt alot about the tides and history of the Spencer Gulf, we learnt that that big shipwreck I posted about on here yesterday (the one I put the photo on here of) was brought in especially to build the bridge, however they parked it (it was a barge) West (inland) of the site where the bridge was being built and used it for the process but once the bridge was finished they realised the barge was too big/tall to bring back past the bridge so they stripped it of any materials worth any money (metals etc) and left the remnants to rot away on the edge of the water. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">We also learnt that the moon and the sun (As we all know which are resonsible for the tides) can sometimes become so "in sync" with one another than there can actually be no indentifiable tide for weeks at certain times. This is extremely rare and the Spencer Gulf is one of just two places on the planet that experience this - the other place being Mexico. I think this would be quiet welcome however though because on the low tide hundreds of metres of the gulf dissapear as the entire inalnd end of it empties out and the mangroves and marine life are exposed to the elements which obviously isnt somthing that helps them to thrive. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">We learnt alot of local history too about certain buildings on the waters edge and where they came from etc. I find all of this Australian history we are learning about extremely interesting. It's such a contrast from the way I felt about it during highschool when I absolutely hated modern and Australian history and adored ancient history. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Zaccy once again blew us away with his keen interest in the actual content of the tour. He was all for the dolphins and once we were on the boat he was spotting them and pointing them out and encouraging everyone else to look for them. He was asking us questions about the things he saw and what all the creatures would eat/drink/do etc. He gasped when he seen the big red cliffs and the sand banks under the boat. He has been such a good kid the last few days, he is always wonderful but like any other child has his "terrible twos" moments of horror, but the last few days/week he has just been so passionate and interested and inquisitive about everything he is seeing and the originality and thoughtfulness of his questions are just astounding us. I feel as though even though he may be too young to conciously remember this trip around Australia he will gain valuable knowledge, skills and interests from it which will develop beyond what he conciously remembers. Brent and I are lucky to have such a brilliant little boy. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I am still quiet unwell with this chest infection and unfortunately Brent has also come down with it and once again after our morning out we had to come come and put the poor thing to bed for a snooze after some pain killers. I hope he feels better soon, I hope we both do so that we can some energy back to explore more! Luckily we bought Zachery a bubble blowing set and he and I have spent the afternoon outside blowing bubbles and playing with the dirt (quiet a messy mixture). At one point Zac put a handfull of dirt (In one very fast motion, I guess because he assumed we would try and stop him haha) straight into his mouth. His facial expressions were really funny but he must have enjoyed it because he refused a glass of water afterwards haha. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Also - Janet (Brents mum) gave us a pair of binoculars for Christmas and this morning with the dolphins (before they came in close) we were able to use the binoculars to look at them which was absolutely fantastic! We also used them along the boat trip to get a better look at the mountain ranges and cliffs, it was great to be able to see everything so close! Zachery loved having a turn of them too! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Now for some photos, enjoy! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6dxffcia6fgdz8zwpozgPU-6fRpoSEVTPC0aDJmYa23lKFkWEM9cBW5rSy6IkWuVE8aPaewwRAaOpPDvltbC1GSWN_CWCm33trxELfEs5UmgbqpMlm_Ls6rXY89U-PxPMWowEOnKV3lCE/s1600/P6290780.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" o$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6dxffcia6fgdz8zwpozgPU-6fRpoSEVTPC0aDJmYa23lKFkWEM9cBW5rSy6IkWuVE8aPaewwRAaOpPDvltbC1GSWN_CWCm33trxELfEs5UmgbqpMlm_Ls6rXY89U-PxPMWowEOnKV3lCE/s320/P6290780.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Doplphins swimming at our feet.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK-Tqjtx9SC08XyDg1hp5_1QqBnuZ1NpzD1THjmIzE5oRGhU95lEaD5teJXhepJDrAN4-pxqTj_ty0dC5MBjX7-3S1nKvpSoRGLi4_Z_ixHuBN6kqas0e-xa1w7OLzmBc8BaV5qnVYOnN5/s1600/P6280771.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" o$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK-Tqjtx9SC08XyDg1hp5_1QqBnuZ1NpzD1THjmIzE5oRGhU95lEaD5teJXhepJDrAN4-pxqTj_ty0dC5MBjX7-3S1nKvpSoRGLi4_Z_ixHuBN6kqas0e-xa1w7OLzmBc8BaV5qnVYOnN5/s320/P6280771.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brent and Zachery watching the dolphins (see the fin just out in front of them)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzd3YtFCsi4Fe4lm0eF6bfO2R5cJrBVyTy5pHviPYVAidncTyKoaaXKPfOsFhnpUh-55S5jInYmgykip9WkvQgsOIM1o8WLme1GvwU0h24848_Y-QOtb3H3pWInNUSfXKIcYCUhNPQmQMB/s1600/P6290810.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" o$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzd3YtFCsi4Fe4lm0eF6bfO2R5cJrBVyTy5pHviPYVAidncTyKoaaXKPfOsFhnpUh-55S5jInYmgykip9WkvQgsOIM1o8WLme1GvwU0h24848_Y-QOtb3H3pWInNUSfXKIcYCUhNPQmQMB/s320/P6290810.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The red cliffs</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqEOK6W0qlX7JiuJTFfhWcZt63sxmidqLjU4U5JDjQd5YeIP0jI5dlQzWyW0BCL1KRjtY0eOyMjw6SbffPla8q9uVwf0uIyasO7OMZTtu48wquCR6n0v4ySNwU9_GQLN_PC0CFKEr5mTaJ/s1600/P6290818.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" o$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqEOK6W0qlX7JiuJTFfhWcZt63sxmidqLjU4U5JDjQd5YeIP0jI5dlQzWyW0BCL1KRjtY0eOyMjw6SbffPla8q9uVwf0uIyasO7OMZTtu48wquCR6n0v4ySNwU9_GQLN_PC0CFKEr5mTaJ/s320/P6290818.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the red cliffs again</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAa22oZPCo6-NwH4zbeRJNv2rp1H8mty2w4kCUWeWnKn1I3gIZ0vdFMhwYmhc6QwwJ90Li_spUhX_2gRs8J4qfgNiNWJJB7_uWVk20aepFa-CZT6rm8F2K_r6hqI1KC0qtt0gi0MN1Mi7U/s1600/P6290823.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" o$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAa22oZPCo6-NwH4zbeRJNv2rp1H8mty2w4kCUWeWnKn1I3gIZ0vdFMhwYmhc6QwwJ90Li_spUhX_2gRs8J4qfgNiNWJJB7_uWVk20aepFa-CZT6rm8F2K_r6hqI1KC0qtt0gi0MN1Mi7U/s320/P6290823.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brent and I on the boat</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">red cliffs again</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkYYYaNrkfRntW1hHVgLARnnn2Wo2wP-aV4PrWqrnK19N132shNKBt45eePM_FxcSJS0L78GT1MvQJbsKd4X1dw0Xxr_apaETSJLdTfCA9n-qkOMZhQm1iwHzF7e2QYiJvNoJ4Yr2nyOs_/s1600/P6290828.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" o$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkYYYaNrkfRntW1hHVgLARnnn2Wo2wP-aV4PrWqrnK19N132shNKBt45eePM_FxcSJS0L78GT1MvQJbsKd4X1dw0Xxr_apaETSJLdTfCA9n-qkOMZhQm1iwHzF7e2QYiJvNoJ4Yr2nyOs_/s320/P6290828.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zachery relaxing with a lollipop</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhW1dtZCVxNQFi27Bds1Jp3Ykp6o-HEBlCN13VESNNtPHwhLbSUwt9I6N1UBi0ooZ2bh-OxiNDQHhOzK5-NH0v9LYonURXa9WOW05UVCGI4fbRqHEOduoS6MmYStDrtDSEsK4jYOntJNvp/s1600/P6290859.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" o$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhW1dtZCVxNQFi27Bds1Jp3Ykp6o-HEBlCN13VESNNtPHwhLbSUwt9I6N1UBi0ooZ2bh-OxiNDQHhOzK5-NH0v9LYonURXa9WOW05UVCGI4fbRqHEOduoS6MmYStDrtDSEsK4jYOntJNvp/s320/P6290859.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our little family</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-uyVllwiWeyEXLzhudLah_idVkmdB-SlLQkxN-TE-xyfFTD1E3zqNQ837svnjQQ8__XbaK-jmsMaFYEdUf2RqZJtcNUB35DMIrBSvlU4jJKF_4Z185UffkfaCwQvrO9iVndc8lav6Jvce/s1600/P6290852.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" o$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-uyVllwiWeyEXLzhudLah_idVkmdB-SlLQkxN-TE-xyfFTD1E3zqNQ837svnjQQ8__XbaK-jmsMaFYEdUf2RqZJtcNUB35DMIrBSvlU4jJKF_4Z185UffkfaCwQvrO9iVndc8lav6Jvce/s320/P6290852.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dolphins under the water, amazing!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAKNNMTvtokMOQYWuO35gOljBv4fqDekfaltdv1YeYP053Exs_Mfwbtr7qw5ekoGNEi4kokAxJ29x8sBJiSiExhrAIKYxJ8bc07qrbvbbAVek1YkooiQPn4n0s4MzK01p5i8uDSQj4Y4bs/s1600/P6290837.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" o$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAKNNMTvtokMOQYWuO35gOljBv4fqDekfaltdv1YeYP053Exs_Mfwbtr7qw5ekoGNEi4kokAxJ29x8sBJiSiExhrAIKYxJ8bc07qrbvbbAVek1YkooiQPn4n0s4MzK01p5i8uDSQj4Y4bs/s320/P6290837.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The sky looked really pretty</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidsb790FbGGfNwMFIzQ-ZLsLtRZiBSDHNm5L2U2kuHT9XvXUvJ7TQ78O0nygXuznBdQe11yxNRsqK9GO1yJpyS9hikEcWXWsIWRAogbWGMLTeCkELM9ITRuIShBCnH-VXVB32tmOdW3A_d/s1600/P6290865.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" o$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidsb790FbGGfNwMFIzQ-ZLsLtRZiBSDHNm5L2U2kuHT9XvXUvJ7TQ78O0nygXuznBdQe11yxNRsqK9GO1yJpyS9hikEcWXWsIWRAogbWGMLTeCkELM9ITRuIShBCnH-VXVB32tmOdW3A_d/s320/P6290865.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Little munchkin with his bubble wand</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSqVQljcCH39QkOCIWxBhYm8f7fT7-AHew6kBRQ7O69IYsJJJ9YwoxVXTPBieSpJSRm6K-tQDf22N-t8uIzw343-hLei7leGcFW5U3eIRHQuZaCq5iUGPCoRZNNLchgSGxY8wYvmmCEfPI/s1600/P6290868.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" o$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSqVQljcCH39QkOCIWxBhYm8f7fT7-AHew6kBRQ7O69IYsJJJ9YwoxVXTPBieSpJSRm6K-tQDf22N-t8uIzw343-hLei7leGcFW5U3eIRHQuZaCq5iUGPCoRZNNLchgSGxY8wYvmmCEfPI/s320/P6290868.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zac and I playing with bubbles</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkAuab36Oqx6n-trrtfrA2-sk2bogNwHL_09d1tVflHQPp6tKrMfjjG1fE0oqKe4KiKfZAzRBaIgif8Ww-_OwKB16vkVwv3aGSmiPKWO5QS7yj7sDItm-dwrlbu6wQEKbiHjbagX-PMM_w/s1600/P6290869.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" o$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkAuab36Oqx6n-trrtfrA2-sk2bogNwHL_09d1tVflHQPp6tKrMfjjG1fE0oqKe4KiKfZAzRBaIgif8Ww-_OwKB16vkVwv3aGSmiPKWO5QS7yj7sDItm-dwrlbu6wQEKbiHjbagX-PMM_w/s320/P6290869.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chasing the bubbles</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Living The Simple Dreamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00908190473673884512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7998908409405711710.post-78294883234214564012011-06-29T16:10:00.000-07:002011-06-29T16:10:38.935-07:00More from Port Augusta<div style="text-align: center;">Today we woke up, get ready pretty quickly then went down to the foreshore again. We parked on the other side of the bridge though and walked accross the old bridge (which is now just used as a walk bridge). The sun was shining and the water looked as smooth and shiny as glass. We didnt see any dolphins but we seen some people bathing their horse (which interested Zach to no end) we also seen lots of ducks and seagulls. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">We walked all the way accross the bridge and the beach then upto the park, Zach played at the park and I did a bit of a "workout" on the exercise equipment while Brent played with Zach. Then we walked into the city centre and sat at a cafe and had a nice cold drink (the boys had choccy milkshakes). Then we walked all the way back to the car after playing on the sand for a little while. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">We saw a beautiful old shipwreck by the edge of the water (see photo) Im not sure what boat it was and when it ended up there but it looked great! </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">When we got back to the caravan Brent begun to feel really unwell so he had a sleep while Zac and I played in the dirt outside for a couple of hours. When he woke up we all relaxed around the van/outside in the sun for a few hours then Brent decided he wanted to go up to the local attraction "water tower" to watch the sunset. It's a beautiful old water tank tower that has been turned into a viewing platform/room that looks out over the entire Port Augusta township. It is also the best place to see the sunset from, which is what Brent really wanted to see. I must say I am so glad we went up there because the sunset was just spectacular! The oranges, yellows and reds were just beautiful. The sun set over the most beautiful mountain range and reflected on the water in front of it. It was absolutely amazing. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Tomorrow at 10:30 am we are going on a cruise up the Spencer Gulf, which im sure will be brilliant, after that we are contemplating going to "Wadlata" the outback centre and taking a look through their expo.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFGdLwm19e5cWnvJwB3b5R6UMXyvaVlBCkpazdCbHc1F12-RtEMJ4NbC8KPyI79YndaxojVapQ_aTe9t4qAnws-DHP_bVc6LEvwhgRRRPLfINYlygHD-fDoGmzN1EBarzZ3bprJEXIh1tk/s1600/P6270655.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFGdLwm19e5cWnvJwB3b5R6UMXyvaVlBCkpazdCbHc1F12-RtEMJ4NbC8KPyI79YndaxojVapQ_aTe9t4qAnws-DHP_bVc6LEvwhgRRRPLfINYlygHD-fDoGmzN1EBarzZ3bprJEXIh1tk/s320/P6270655.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">a road train going over the bridge. The water was so glassy and perfect! </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLpc2H6F_aKQEZ3nL7yNsy4EmMiQo5emgYOXMfgCOYJ25wLNjYV5_4crac9iFElQuXhcrDNSaz5HR9Julwm8E6R7zxaeueUToUshRf1iyX2IhPponoNUGObeLEj2quNsKDgeSIpyUb5GV6/s1600/P6270663.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLpc2H6F_aKQEZ3nL7yNsy4EmMiQo5emgYOXMfgCOYJ25wLNjYV5_4crac9iFElQuXhcrDNSaz5HR9Julwm8E6R7zxaeueUToUshRf1iyX2IhPponoNUGObeLEj2quNsKDgeSIpyUb5GV6/s320/P6270663.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zaccy</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYxYTjk34_h60Px07whnp_knpsG8fUxH9UBi4LUdZAJPswV7GHKNOdj58ep39n0819GvXB0k4KlsVSs9vPQGaQIabx_7qgb2CqPh_flHY_JOE8Ig0N9y9te6Kmm5YZHeKljnHjYCz-3EM8/s1600/P6270670.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYxYTjk34_h60Px07whnp_knpsG8fUxH9UBi4LUdZAJPswV7GHKNOdj58ep39n0819GvXB0k4KlsVSs9vPQGaQIabx_7qgb2CqPh_flHY_JOE8Ig0N9y9te6Kmm5YZHeKljnHjYCz-3EM8/s320/P6270670.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">shipwreck</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBOeUvkhcWJ8nc8Lz91uOxa1MMGw_EpYDQFfGLyPLqQ8BouIP1l-JxJAaL3PbZ_JdJeBjNY0wMrf9nGUZf0v2eDjeucoKPc-UIpKKZFHCCvdigOudAI6ZlD4Hos-nzK-lM5G8nW9BRcbAr/s1600/P6280683.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBOeUvkhcWJ8nc8Lz91uOxa1MMGw_EpYDQFfGLyPLqQ8BouIP1l-JxJAaL3PbZ_JdJeBjNY0wMrf9nGUZf0v2eDjeucoKPc-UIpKKZFHCCvdigOudAI6ZlD4Hos-nzK-lM5G8nW9BRcbAr/s320/P6280683.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">under the wharf at Port Augusta foreshore.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhddvbODXNS9JA3Y_m6vmUFL5pgxHzRNTwoEcJshF64Ryp6QP2MhS_gYf6c8YBId0tjdAkdX-8edS6rVRQ5skcBd0BA54FaWGXoZTS4tTUE2WPQMLIPqMIcsYKWx-69df9V-54Hh2sttqT-/s1600/P6280694.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhddvbODXNS9JA3Y_m6vmUFL5pgxHzRNTwoEcJshF64Ryp6QP2MhS_gYf6c8YBId0tjdAkdX-8edS6rVRQ5skcBd0BA54FaWGXoZTS4tTUE2WPQMLIPqMIcsYKWx-69df9V-54Hh2sttqT-/s320/P6280694.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The old water tower which is now a lookout </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho3Hlo5K69HBuer8jf-liqq83gvqL1y5Z1QEnNj-hDq3Nwrf4mAw8QBxE0-ANP_UlC32RZNxcz7lyDleWkV7a_MVCoG1veFE52Y1-869AsZaXsAHMwuL98THlrt240ceE3zqPiIbjgSsSc/s1600/P6280721.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho3Hlo5K69HBuer8jf-liqq83gvqL1y5Z1QEnNj-hDq3Nwrf4mAw8QBxE0-ANP_UlC32RZNxcz7lyDleWkV7a_MVCoG1veFE52Y1-869AsZaXsAHMwuL98THlrt240ceE3zqPiIbjgSsSc/s320/P6280721.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The sunset over the mountain fom the watertower</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj_8y-kh_LLiaPTYFKNu79oX66yPYaXFFXl-vmIcUhXGZlkF3-O2-G8Ifi44HFDFGTLV4uQIyVKJmZkuKOEE8rHPFvPktw2X7N3FKiuaZ3hOYbk9BYJpAKLl8_BQKMBm2hKzo2AeCut-pA/s1600/P6280724.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj_8y-kh_LLiaPTYFKNu79oX66yPYaXFFXl-vmIcUhXGZlkF3-O2-G8Ifi44HFDFGTLV4uQIyVKJmZkuKOEE8rHPFvPktw2X7N3FKiuaZ3hOYbk9BYJpAKLl8_BQKMBm2hKzo2AeCut-pA/s320/P6280724.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">and again</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmMr9xBPXR48hMGSQ45zO10DbUBA3hp6qQ1qUPb3ZKcpfhdar_W3ExLIuCFjascQfhCzK6ewSU3vsX4O2dGAzU5J-d3PfwBnevzFIGqDfIzgjqCH0aPLHMGzk0gv33ubcS7xYRhwzxBKSG/s1600/P6280740.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmMr9xBPXR48hMGSQ45zO10DbUBA3hp6qQ1qUPb3ZKcpfhdar_W3ExLIuCFjascQfhCzK6ewSU3vsX4O2dGAzU5J-d3PfwBnevzFIGqDfIzgjqCH0aPLHMGzk0gv33ubcS7xYRhwzxBKSG/s320/P6280740.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just as the last bit slipped behind the mountain, its amazing how fast it goes down you can see it moving!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiggvbSbs5yCxgrwKvUb8t_Z4KReTpxryBCaLntCFN7mzvjLiYqE3RdL2vkp3Kevojt8x59AtvxKHrSbPdxw1x1jByqXTW9SEIQbdTyu3mooJJxK0lNucBG7voK3xXuRuqrb7Nbuo3abqh3/s1600/P6280704.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiggvbSbs5yCxgrwKvUb8t_Z4KReTpxryBCaLntCFN7mzvjLiYqE3RdL2vkp3Kevojt8x59AtvxKHrSbPdxw1x1jByqXTW9SEIQbdTyu3mooJJxK0lNucBG7voK3xXuRuqrb7Nbuo3abqh3/s320/P6280704.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking over the township of Port Augusta, aren't the mountain ranges (the Flinders) in the background beautiful?</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKuq5vJJhzOcQksvtXO7ctVg03R4io9j57yEtifU34dKELNeWofiOTMUOvsqE-Q7MtR6OPBx8__19fIuVJ2X1CU44ugSVBaC0Qyp58no31ivW7bOiDQkOGuVeg4Tg29t-tWeLO2XcMRDTZ/s1600/P6280713.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKuq5vJJhzOcQksvtXO7ctVg03R4io9j57yEtifU34dKELNeWofiOTMUOvsqE-Q7MtR6OPBx8__19fIuVJ2X1CU44ugSVBaC0Qyp58no31ivW7bOiDQkOGuVeg4Tg29t-tWeLO2XcMRDTZ/s320/P6280713.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking South down the gulf</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhglP1VeGp01Inq-UPvq9z_V26mr0dUccpjlkZB9hFpqcKRPqNdCRxNCBFiPRVc_NAMPSSaF9P05SBhkbNUKjr9mX7gENr_ch6WkK36XUEHQZDpSTTyrrFRkiCs2OWNBA3etvLMYnDPNlTp/s1600/P6280759.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhglP1VeGp01Inq-UPvq9z_V26mr0dUccpjlkZB9hFpqcKRPqNdCRxNCBFiPRVc_NAMPSSaF9P05SBhkbNUKjr9mX7gENr_ch6WkK36XUEHQZDpSTTyrrFRkiCs2OWNBA3etvLMYnDPNlTp/s320/P6280759.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The colours were so pretty </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg07P1VhIPmaeq8i7pm1tRHd6Ov_qzD9zgfH8xyXCzwEYGuYdgwoJRP-F7qRYY7jfQTpUj_CgVf7bFubvWAhI6iu_EjYRy42n3gbm5ArDNHmoJH1noc119qLHtf_gbZT4T4DuMhjkpdupr3/s1600/P6280760.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg07P1VhIPmaeq8i7pm1tRHd6Ov_qzD9zgfH8xyXCzwEYGuYdgwoJRP-F7qRYY7jfQTpUj_CgVf7bFubvWAhI6iu_EjYRy42n3gbm5ArDNHmoJH1noc119qLHtf_gbZT4T4DuMhjkpdupr3/s320/P6280760.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Red dirt! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>Living The Simple Dreamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00908190473673884512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7998908409405711710.post-95896748714284322011-06-28T04:02:00.000-07:002011-06-28T04:02:56.073-07:00Port Augusta<div style="text-align: center;">We left Broken Hill this morning at around 6am. We hit snooze on the alarm clock quiet a few times before then so I guess neither of us were ready to be awake at 5am as planned. The first 100 kilometres seems to fly every morning and before we know it we have 100 K's on the clock and the sun has risen. Brent and I had the most wonderful conversation this morning while the sun was rising. We talked about how much this trip has exceeded our emotional expectations so far and how it has gone beyond any of the healing hopes we had for it, after the awful year we have had. It's good that we both know that we are thinking, feeling and experiencing the same processes along this journey and its brilliant to know that this journey is helping Brent to heal from the loss he experienced. He deserves to be happy and I am just so grateful that this journey is helping him to find himself. I am so grateful that the sunrises we watch inspire him to get out of bed and enjoy the day. I am grateful that the prospect of a new adventure everyday is enough to keep that smile on his face. But mostly I am grateful for the beautiful conversations we have along the way, where Brent tells me the most heartwarming stories of his childhood with his parents and siblings. I really love the physical and emotional process of this journey around Australia, so far. I can honestly say that theres no way you can do this trip without experiencing some sort of spiritual transformation. There is just so much more beauty in this country than you could ever have accounted for. <br />
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On the way to Port Augusta we saw alot of emus, two of them crossed the road so slwoly that we actually had to stop on the highway for them. They are funny looking creatures and seem so much smaller now than they did when I was a child. We saw (yet again) some astounding landscapes/horizons/views, some of which were just completely breathtaking. The sunset this morning was completely different to those of the last few days. The sky turned to a colour I have never seen it before (other than in paintings) an almost "vanilla" tone (Brent said it reminded him of that movie "Vanilla Sky". The sky being that colour just made all of the landscapes transform into pastell masterpieces providing a completely surreal view. It was brilliant because ultimately it was the same old simple, hilly landscapes weve been seeing everyday however this shift in "tone" or colour had just changed it compltely. We also seen the most enormous, regal looking eagle sitting on a short post next to the road. He had his chest puffed out in the proudest of manners and looked absolutely unreal, he was certainly the biggest eagle I have ever seen. <br />
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Seeing the "ocean" as we came over the Flinders Range and down into Port Augusta was like a breath of fresh air. It was definately a novelty, which is funny considering we have only been out bush for a week now. Because the Spencer Gulf is... well, a gulf, it isnt like the normal ocean. It's more like an ocean coloured, river. You'd think this would take away from the beauty of it but infact it just enhances it. To come close to the water and see how clear it is (so clear that you can see the bottom) is just such a beautiful sight. <br />
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We parked our van at the Port Augusta Big 4 caravan park as we have joined their rewards program and get a discount for staying at their parks so we try to find them wherever we go now. We then had yummy ham and salad rolls for lunch and headed into the town centre of Port Augusta. Crossing over the bridge the water of the Spencer Gulf ust glistened in the afternoon sun, instantly we knew we had to go down to the waters edge. We parked the car at the "foreshore" which has (im assuming recently) been "done up" by the local council and is just pristine. They have those fancy electric toilet blocks that clean themselves and seem to play extremely loud renditions of (elevator style) Burk Baccherach songs. Zac had a big play on the park which was alot of fun for him. They have places exercise equipment around the perimeter of the childrens park so that parents can work out while keeping a close eye on their children playing on the park. Its a really great set up and we are going to try to take advantage of it while we are here. <br />
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We went for a walk down to the warf and while we were out there a pod of dolphins passed. They were so beautiful and serene just playing and gliding through the water. The sun had begun to set so the water was glistening and sparkly in that beautiful way it does at that time of the day. We felt really lucky to have come out at just the right time to see the beautiful dolphins. <br />
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We are booking in to do a cruise of the Spencer Gulf so that we can see the beautiful red walls and more dolphins and whatever else it has to offer. So hopefully I will have that to blog about in the next few days. Other than that we dont have alot of plans, we do however want to spend at least 3 nights here as we are feeling really exhausted from packing up and moving so much. Tomorrow we are going to go for a walk accross the bridge in town as when they built the new bridge for cars they left the old one there as a nice big walk bridge. Hopefully we see more dolphins.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfu8OdvvCEZJsbPUjH6Pn098-DBMCRKaz46XNYOacVrra5TbinQAKwlpXeNNZd3HdPwlUaCRrTrNDbkDx9wL70EyJszp8dgECA8FLARfqMG_CpTHUOVX5UHRAdQvPxwE98HmRVd1mT6sxO/s1600/P6260570.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfu8OdvvCEZJsbPUjH6Pn098-DBMCRKaz46XNYOacVrra5TbinQAKwlpXeNNZd3HdPwlUaCRrTrNDbkDx9wL70EyJszp8dgECA8FLARfqMG_CpTHUOVX5UHRAdQvPxwE98HmRVd1mT6sxO/s320/P6260570.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This seemed "photo worthy". One lone tree. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifd3nyoesJfdkoSdnOGGCxhe8AexPUWdYHOtW9sD8sprtWTlOML5spJXhhCvmaT8U82dJziVBvN4Jx2lAQn_WQnYhR88vQyzx6GO07ZVam53wuZZRcw6HFkvv17rYZZeKwUTKSOIfvhMDP/s1600/P6260584.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifd3nyoesJfdkoSdnOGGCxhe8AexPUWdYHOtW9sD8sprtWTlOML5spJXhhCvmaT8U82dJziVBvN4Jx2lAQn_WQnYhR88vQyzx6GO07ZVam53wuZZRcw6HFkvv17rYZZeKwUTKSOIfvhMDP/s320/P6260584.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The first part of the sunrise.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk6mA7i1s0ZOwoPehE3qoigADuUddV0QKbsHx3Jtp6bml9F25G7RyHUjJxfQankFJeIoL74GygDzfrnvDxzC3RNXw6JbMJUHLbpdxpVrcRERf-igc3KoqBjaTq-Qjd6mlgEpCtak7fp6Ku/s1600/P6260587.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk6mA7i1s0ZOwoPehE3qoigADuUddV0QKbsHx3Jtp6bml9F25G7RyHUjJxfQankFJeIoL74GygDzfrnvDxzC3RNXw6JbMJUHLbpdxpVrcRERf-igc3KoqBjaTq-Qjd6mlgEpCtak7fp6Ku/s320/P6260587.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More sunrise <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMFCCSrgwqVbFLEa4erqHevb_LlZyilDuF7qI5zpRIMBooZG53T5rd1j3JGlBX311JekwZG2dPzoTR6DZ8JF2km4IltXaoLRO8qfY2XImvro6m0HLKfAKa8Cj45XaBB3AQFBpk4MXQyQOR/s1600/P6260595.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMFCCSrgwqVbFLEa4erqHevb_LlZyilDuF7qI5zpRIMBooZG53T5rd1j3JGlBX311JekwZG2dPzoTR6DZ8JF2km4IltXaoLRO8qfY2XImvro6m0HLKfAKa8Cj45XaBB3AQFBpk4MXQyQOR/s320/P6260595.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Love heart" rock my sweet little son found and gave to me at a rest stop</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFEvDG0Q6yMY5G9159sy96tVARVGQGvFmeWU5nRoAitVPLmF0zzCth96SoSYiwDubaJKFviHFg7YFQH-BwQfAfBwTOzkxsDYT4xowZB-2-ckwrHaF_xT1EkiW8CCKlM4zQuGbcGokPIMiB/s1600/P6270601.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFEvDG0Q6yMY5G9159sy96tVARVGQGvFmeWU5nRoAitVPLmF0zzCth96SoSYiwDubaJKFviHFg7YFQH-BwQfAfBwTOzkxsDYT4xowZB-2-ckwrHaF_xT1EkiW8CCKlM4zQuGbcGokPIMiB/s320/P6270601.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My happy husband! :-)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiDEKRrjwWFwdysRPfbLJKfyens_lIM_ogXb0wHdaPcnkTyhycXr1KWevFuEXWg9iDFK-xQsgGbbAkKM0xfQbZqK3B0HQFLazwkLlw24mxsXyub-oBMjUWf20L0_EQVbFUJqlJFpT80aZh/s1600/P6270602.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiDEKRrjwWFwdysRPfbLJKfyens_lIM_ogXb0wHdaPcnkTyhycXr1KWevFuEXWg9iDFK-xQsgGbbAkKM0xfQbZqK3B0HQFLazwkLlw24mxsXyub-oBMjUWf20L0_EQVbFUJqlJFpT80aZh/s320/P6270602.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">and our happy little brat! :-)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih1HEBkc702h6UG0wPxZc2q-bvNtzHTILwZI86VrIPer5hjqDYPQMhEzcd-1IH_ZAz7dVUDZhSNb9Q-CK55MRqS7_UgUuESX0kcluG8OiEJPFVrdYJaiJPGFTF9es5QpHcJl1mq3UKoySs/s1600/P6270626.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih1HEBkc702h6UG0wPxZc2q-bvNtzHTILwZI86VrIPer5hjqDYPQMhEzcd-1IH_ZAz7dVUDZhSNb9Q-CK55MRqS7_UgUuESX0kcluG8OiEJPFVrdYJaiJPGFTF9es5QpHcJl1mq3UKoySs/s320/P6270626.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Port Augusta South Australia</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy_Sn_uH39GNQ9VCs9IX_dnNMMAhvLBBoI-F7hVLppOT1qIwqfuZxF_wfNvBn0LpN5aK-MjLbD5qK83CIxGyNaFILGc_F8NENker6Z6JR3cZZHc6iZA89pCKnR60xBYanBO0EujNkzfhbL/s1600/P6270629.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy_Sn_uH39GNQ9VCs9IX_dnNMMAhvLBBoI-F7hVLppOT1qIwqfuZxF_wfNvBn0LpN5aK-MjLbD5qK83CIxGyNaFILGc_F8NENker6Z6JR3cZZHc6iZA89pCKnR60xBYanBO0EujNkzfhbL/s320/P6270629.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The sun setting over the water of the Spencer Gulf at Port Augusta</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRmfYZXPc32TVumqoRwXWG6TAaN0o2a9w_OuvbU7wh5Of4mEhlEc8u6har88QzIfqjI4QgfvybkfOaWbpewmO99zPKHUhhX1LmvjxxUI8CONo44vsrsHgXZBPtIY0HhGdXv23JB7OeDYGf/s1600/P6270631.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRmfYZXPc32TVumqoRwXWG6TAaN0o2a9w_OuvbU7wh5Of4mEhlEc8u6har88QzIfqjI4QgfvybkfOaWbpewmO99zPKHUhhX1LmvjxxUI8CONo44vsrsHgXZBPtIY0HhGdXv23JB7OeDYGf/s320/P6270631.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brent and Zach walking along the foreshore at P.A</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQhNjzCmdKNS7IkbO5NQxGtKrB_GypiFKldhahga1pvLMZfdlpuLdEFUJRyQEgU_SVJOgd1z4QfJCjbPwQ6w_4LrsrxeD6sbygYwPnQfGKo74Sx0C6DDuF3uchcfRKbfd_uo_iuWJdLne3/s1600/P6270635.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQhNjzCmdKNS7IkbO5NQxGtKrB_GypiFKldhahga1pvLMZfdlpuLdEFUJRyQEgU_SVJOgd1z4QfJCjbPwQ6w_4LrsrxeD6sbygYwPnQfGKo74Sx0C6DDuF3uchcfRKbfd_uo_iuWJdLne3/s320/P6270635.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Port Augusta bridge and the beautiful clear water that you dont realise is that clear until you look down into it and see to the bottom, not expecting to! </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdI0QzPWa3ZPgX2tjwrSYgTVAhxMjV11-fPLPa4Ul3kZ2O8wN_MEzszkrnAsO_A6wM3O8SvBP6VPkZLGwLQOA4QuwLqFm_VfzxrKpdpCrI-SMyZJCjjEpS_fEVwfOjx9Se0b6emaejPpMR/s1600/P6270638.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdI0QzPWa3ZPgX2tjwrSYgTVAhxMjV11-fPLPa4Ul3kZ2O8wN_MEzszkrnAsO_A6wM3O8SvBP6VPkZLGwLQOA4QuwLqFm_VfzxrKpdpCrI-SMyZJCjjEpS_fEVwfOjx9Se0b6emaejPpMR/s320/P6270638.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The little sandy beach at the foreshore</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx0B9AZLbwJgijMaXiZ-JZ6K2p5H_jyCpTmED8LI-WWPi7x4Exe7gSZyYWfty9-8uwIMSNexlfR4Nix30c8BF_1MWGrXaDN8bk-A5ytrJzhipY4SbGiee_W2VH-tr9Fya4WR1-od5yo3s7/s1600/P6270640.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx0B9AZLbwJgijMaXiZ-JZ6K2p5H_jyCpTmED8LI-WWPi7x4Exe7gSZyYWfty9-8uwIMSNexlfR4Nix30c8BF_1MWGrXaDN8bk-A5ytrJzhipY4SbGiee_W2VH-tr9Fya4WR1-od5yo3s7/s320/P6270640.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zach and daddy playing on the park</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpDKkRmFhsrenvTKmi_zZH2kM3xwcWsaeTyKEwnLfg-RGZao9vN00h4tsXusH8-cUWtply4fHExJzLLM_swdw4Q0Jy7BijoIZ9zGO0AucovN_Vt7c5E5ZccnlSOfybL9gtkL9exBRHLoXm/s1600/P6270641.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpDKkRmFhsrenvTKmi_zZH2kM3xwcWsaeTyKEwnLfg-RGZao9vN00h4tsXusH8-cUWtply4fHExJzLLM_swdw4Q0Jy7BijoIZ9zGO0AucovN_Vt7c5E5ZccnlSOfybL9gtkL9exBRHLoXm/s320/P6270641.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The crazy "fandangled" electric toilets, they even clean themselves! </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZzIkE61HPMOftqWXcYBRu0JgX9FXXtXI9i8CcHwsSB5Q6ECZ_5fWpGyPYXZp0_lt7n0Qh1ry-cHHnbeZ3QCYO1RAsuhar_uEgINWvy5QHoG-zUFTaAOtU4j1hGUXOjoh16EcqIDAeEmF8/s1600/P6260569.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZzIkE61HPMOftqWXcYBRu0JgX9FXXtXI9i8CcHwsSB5Q6ECZ_5fWpGyPYXZp0_lt7n0Qh1ry-cHHnbeZ3QCYO1RAsuhar_uEgINWvy5QHoG-zUFTaAOtU4j1hGUXOjoh16EcqIDAeEmF8/s320/P6260569.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The little lone tree again. </td></tr>
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I wonder what new adventures tomorrow will bring?</div>Living The Simple Dreamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00908190473673884512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7998908409405711710.post-6539474663539773082011-06-27T03:48:00.000-07:002011-06-27T03:48:31.596-07:00Broken Hill again and the Living Desert Sculptures.<div style="text-align: center;">Today we explored Broken Hill a little (the town) we replenished our groceries for the trip accross to Port Augusta - including some fresh rolls for lunch for tomorrow. We then went out and had a look at "The Living Desert". Were not actually sure entirely of why it is called that but we are assuming its because that particular part of land is alot greener than most of the other desert plains around here. It was a beautiful place and the sculptures are amazing. The artists were invited to each create a sculpture out of rock from the desert to put on the top of the look out in 1993. I wish I had have read more of the information but I'm still sick with a chest infection and I ended up sort of rushing through a little. Now for some photos:</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9ZHt02SJ7Lc9MWiAsRMiq9gf-HSCGom1NNBb0XaSJr-xcaI2zqVt40s3xltPpzUiF0if4RYZpV_F7V5UsG5wncaZAXUoq9S-61bfWFb6TK5c8mGNIDaded-_nFP8isflZwYBIi0hGu-0m/s1600/P6260548.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9ZHt02SJ7Lc9MWiAsRMiq9gf-HSCGom1NNBb0XaSJr-xcaI2zqVt40s3xltPpzUiF0if4RYZpV_F7V5UsG5wncaZAXUoq9S-61bfWFb6TK5c8mGNIDaded-_nFP8isflZwYBIi0hGu-0m/s320/P6260548.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The View over the Living Desert, you can definately see that its greener than my photos from yesterday at the Mundi Mundi Plains. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvk64D1rMZueTHkGiNwiYagrDHC-9s9DulGxcE_KyCXR2RUX-SEEpL34LCKMFTtOHPn-KcmEHiGPgLrvHhe2HxX9s_Z-I8KgdpMmSDg-8zSnmEbXmFdJbbtxtTO04zqqNyPK0jw0zGlOPE/s1600/P6260553.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvk64D1rMZueTHkGiNwiYagrDHC-9s9DulGxcE_KyCXR2RUX-SEEpL34LCKMFTtOHPn-KcmEHiGPgLrvHhe2HxX9s_Z-I8KgdpMmSDg-8zSnmEbXmFdJbbtxtTO04zqqNyPK0jw0zGlOPE/s320/P6260553.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Little Lizard we found wandering around. Zachery wanted to catch it and keep it and "take it in the car". (its pretty much right in the centre of the photo, it sort of blends in with the photo a bit - incase you cant see it)</td></tr>
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7ri3J7Kx2I652ehGd0Fnys9rxG9CSqqGy0SaF-HP5ixHOonCVnFtYfe-tRBzLEFO_32D-nHm3-2uPBEneqcG2OgceOI4FxOokR5ITz1XON3r3rfRtQFWVvuNabhzhqG3aQvkKSzt7ZqjW/s1600/P6260554.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7ri3J7Kx2I652ehGd0Fnys9rxG9CSqqGy0SaF-HP5ixHOonCVnFtYfe-tRBzLEFO_32D-nHm3-2uPBEneqcG2OgceOI4FxOokR5ITz1XON3r3rfRtQFWVvuNabhzhqG3aQvkKSzt7ZqjW/s320/P6260554.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiER8ct7anDl9lt5HusTbvKOoqYdoe_qs6Oevm09gtLTrRT3G3AyJVJIEi8yV9ac7MwipsAO_rwwLZ7qbnaNql7k3cwp4sGS61yhGIYJ6ib_KsYHb8HzGLYIqP31YWqe5ctY8kJhaMfUKHF/s1600/P6260555.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiER8ct7anDl9lt5HusTbvKOoqYdoe_qs6Oevm09gtLTrRT3G3AyJVJIEi8yV9ac7MwipsAO_rwwLZ7qbnaNql7k3cwp4sGS61yhGIYJ6ib_KsYHb8HzGLYIqP31YWqe5ctY8kJhaMfUKHF/s320/P6260555.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTQf4LIHUZ6kQKTnLJMKdxK17kWiddX_pwt3IKx2PystMNbuOPsG4_RerXGA0qv3HihxmqIFKV84jQCrxGEjcagl5s_BnbKjtdKsnz12pV3GjYg26BgNVwmuvALMzREmjDdn9jsG5X4I6c/s1600/P6260557.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTQf4LIHUZ6kQKTnLJMKdxK17kWiddX_pwt3IKx2PystMNbuOPsG4_RerXGA0qv3HihxmqIFKV84jQCrxGEjcagl5s_BnbKjtdKsnz12pV3GjYg26BgNVwmuvALMzREmjDdn9jsG5X4I6c/s320/P6260557.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This one was a horses head, it looked really awesome! </td></tr>
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLSmH3P6gha-GIg9SVhPDD6qIzmMs3lnD7t6TIRUCyMf8NqDCyPbcecp-7AeEPdZCfQHi27zmzg7gmaBs8J1tiOJ0vLWGysleeRqdBHvjvaKy4rl9MlISiux4nWv0Q-t-zPRCbeHTTlTVu/s1600/P6260558.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLSmH3P6gha-GIg9SVhPDD6qIzmMs3lnD7t6TIRUCyMf8NqDCyPbcecp-7AeEPdZCfQHi27zmzg7gmaBs8J1tiOJ0vLWGysleeRqdBHvjvaKy4rl9MlISiux4nWv0Q-t-zPRCbeHTTlTVu/s320/P6260558.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiutNFGrei9RF7nfa6d5Jk2Ho1cgPFTADj3McHUH1frUkI5zH-wewrBlDttNdQGkuHN32GbcTU9dQLvdbqqc5CmiNat-Nk2eNA1kvObfgNsFhKheOPSXbny_HEj2TK4NLhAVsMDRV4NxWQ6/s1600/P6260559.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiutNFGrei9RF7nfa6d5Jk2Ho1cgPFTADj3McHUH1frUkI5zH-wewrBlDttNdQGkuHN32GbcTU9dQLvdbqqc5CmiNat-Nk2eNA1kvObfgNsFhKheOPSXbny_HEj2TK4NLhAVsMDRV4NxWQ6/s320/P6260559.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Living Desert again, beautiful view that my camera does no justice for! </td></tr>
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6WpP4KdnJ60Zp-NWf0O7Y8OxaxihonNG1WO2J8-MXaGN6_FIgIPyXifma-EjluZyNKql9xGtSvRMLe_iUG89NoytViK92dV17l4pU5G_02yaYca3WVRu9AAcpPQeMKGNsngK8nZaCnIbf/s1600/P6260560.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6WpP4KdnJ60Zp-NWf0O7Y8OxaxihonNG1WO2J8-MXaGN6_FIgIPyXifma-EjluZyNKql9xGtSvRMLe_iUG89NoytViK92dV17l4pU5G_02yaYca3WVRu9AAcpPQeMKGNsngK8nZaCnIbf/s320/P6260560.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDtS4ScLCkNTzj3Mo95nctNLt266oULPZOvStiIVeg6qE4dAr8lfFHM0VKGqWSHe9_0efrbHzJq4D2rkVBQkB2G2brJnmyG5NQ6Q5sg874I62y25pQEN3PGmyYs7MKLdySolOEKxgyL5Vs/s1600/P6260562.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDtS4ScLCkNTzj3Mo95nctNLt266oULPZOvStiIVeg6qE4dAr8lfFHM0VKGqWSHe9_0efrbHzJq4D2rkVBQkB2G2brJnmyG5NQ6Q5sg874I62y25pQEN3PGmyYs7MKLdySolOEKxgyL5Vs/s320/P6260562.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkUz2nB688UW7PBhE79avivqberZ-6FPaa9SoHHUgFs8DIpvKCNzdgEGRS5caHk7_MY328u1IXoChTxf6KBsb2NIWXo7OU3ZDum7ZhTmF0O1NEjqs7tdWZrsKBtfXj2roHrMdZQGK-gVjP/s1600/P6260563.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkUz2nB688UW7PBhE79avivqberZ-6FPaa9SoHHUgFs8DIpvKCNzdgEGRS5caHk7_MY328u1IXoChTxf6KBsb2NIWXo7OU3ZDum7ZhTmF0O1NEjqs7tdWZrsKBtfXj2roHrMdZQGK-gVjP/s320/P6260563.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I love this photo of Brent and Zac looking out of the Living Desert. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6ApO82JRhKyZQ624mVWJXuXm313SlEUYIwO-p9Q502xyB8Bjl5k7EdkISVpgYl2qDqyT2zkPPvKYvKBMtDPVCtIwJ7I6nrzAsAAdKwbJbVOOy8LUlI1TLaLcttXjUJdcDHl8WyA_Pww5b/s1600/P6260564.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6ApO82JRhKyZQ624mVWJXuXm313SlEUYIwO-p9Q502xyB8Bjl5k7EdkISVpgYl2qDqyT2zkPPvKYvKBMtDPVCtIwJ7I6nrzAsAAdKwbJbVOOy8LUlI1TLaLcttXjUJdcDHl8WyA_Pww5b/s320/P6260564.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I loved this one, I think it was a mother and child.</td></tr>
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimi2Yn0vj-XVRq59-Ckc99G3UHNG8cBRF15r2zm_xZo0g2IhwPvGZ-_d5EIIRU11UbrRxZHWw2pvhtxu3944QK0fGaVT7lJCoc7eFbduSWK63C5_73yUy6TakzCgWJtQ_maHE8a_Fwq5Mh/s1600/P6260565.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimi2Yn0vj-XVRq59-Ckc99G3UHNG8cBRF15r2zm_xZo0g2IhwPvGZ-_d5EIIRU11UbrRxZHWw2pvhtxu3944QK0fGaVT7lJCoc7eFbduSWK63C5_73yUy6TakzCgWJtQ_maHE8a_Fwq5Mh/s320/P6260565.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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Tomorrow we will be leaving between 5:30 and 6am to head to Port Augusta. Its about 405 kilometres from Broken Hill so we should arrive there around lunch time. From what I have found in brouchures and on the internet there is alot to do at Port Augusta. We are hoping to go on a boat tour of the Spencer Gulf, perhaps even at sunset. We are also contemplating going absaling as its somthing I have always wanted to try and although Brent has done it before he loved it and would love to try it again. We have to pass through (another) fruit fly exclusion zone on our way out of Broken hill (there was also one on the way in) we all scoffed down watermelon for dessert to try and save from having to waste it! Looking forward to the trip tomorrow, fingers crossed Zachery and I feel a bit better. </div>Living The Simple Dreamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00908190473673884512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7998908409405711710.post-22707375990445207632011-06-25T22:08:00.000-07:002011-06-25T22:08:11.923-07:00Silverton and Mundi MundiToday we woke up to another beautiful sun shining day. We walked through the caravan park and smelled the delicious popular "Sunday breakfast" smell of bacon and eggs. We decided we must have some for ourselves so Brent and Zac had bacon and cheese toasted sandwiches and I had an omelette. Yum! We than made a healthy packed lunch of chicken and salad wraps and bottled water, to take with us. We are yet to have takeaway even once on this trip, which is quiet an accomplishment for us.<br />
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We drove towards Silverton, another small, old mining town. Mayne people might recognise this name is the town is quiet famous for its landscapes and their use in the Mad Max movies. Silverton is full of Mad Max memoribilia including the Mad Max cars and the pub where (apparently) part of the movie was shot. I didn't really take much in when I watched the movies so I dont actually remember the pub but I remember the landscapes a little. <br />
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The old Silverton Gaol (jail) has been turned into somewhat of a museum. It is filled with an array of local historical memorabilia. Some of the rooms are kept as Gaol cells to show wyou the way they were but most of them are full to the brin of bits and bobs. Brent and I were so shocked at how much Zachery loved the Gaol museum. He looked at everything (with his eyes mostly, occasionally his hands). He asked us countless questions about every item/how it worked/who used it etc. It was so shocking and beautiful. He made sure we went into every single room and he had to stop and look at every single thing. When he came to the displays of the local minerals/rocks Zac emptied all the rocks from his pockets that he had collected outside and compared them. <br />
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Silverton has a beautiful little Cafe too which was like a little cottage inside and the food smelled great however we didnt eat there as we had our packed lunch. It also had a gift shop with pretty expensive Mad Max memoribilia. It also had a Mad Max museum but we didnt bother to go in there as all the cars were on display outside anyway. The roads at Silverton were basically all red dirt, they looked so awesome expecially with their proper street signs, hah! <br />
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When we left Silverton we continued onwards to Mundi Mundi lookout. Its ust so hilly everywhere so you dont really expect to come to the peak of a hill and look over hundreds, thousands of hectares of rolling, flat plains. It is one of the most amazing sights I have seen so far in my life and I honestly could have sat and stared at it all day. You genuinely cans ee the curvature of the earth however you have to turn your head as the horizen is way outside of the areas of even your peripheral vision. I strongly suggest that anyone visiting broken hill go to Mundi Mundi, even if you dont have the time to stop at Silverton. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg58pxqqIns3bP86rQS-xA-6A_vfDGBIQm7elb8MeM1HVro4L36SsCUbx9IyrpjQKEvnWgmdct_5o4T2T5vR3orR7h87E7dJtCDr1BWjxURRJhXhEW9MLdvQPf5zg_U-F0COX2KrENVhMhv/s1600/P6241076.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg58pxqqIns3bP86rQS-xA-6A_vfDGBIQm7elb8MeM1HVro4L36SsCUbx9IyrpjQKEvnWgmdct_5o4T2T5vR3orR7h87E7dJtCDr1BWjxURRJhXhEW9MLdvQPf5zg_U-F0COX2KrENVhMhv/s320/P6241076.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brent opening the gate to go onto the "Daydream Mine" private property (I did all the driving today)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgukly78qUWW6I_1EQlQ7hFfZvxa5Dm7WhuIB_qGE65XAhrNxcZzOIJ4AwtoWC92LpdPwwQY7ThNfN3kDuDdRwPe66jZGylelii2sb-c5cPnILmFLj31NWMJFiTKZJo-q6_v_u39lBwsrLt/s1600/P6251102.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgukly78qUWW6I_1EQlQ7hFfZvxa5Dm7WhuIB_qGE65XAhrNxcZzOIJ4AwtoWC92LpdPwwQY7ThNfN3kDuDdRwPe66jZGylelii2sb-c5cPnILmFLj31NWMJFiTKZJo-q6_v_u39lBwsrLt/s320/P6251102.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trying to help the little wild goat. :-(</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiopDU6ebogr2QVbU13R3m42R68hnBmrbCQRi8ViFIYOEvJJf-awtURe4zwRn4uUaI3frh-ihq6Fv0Cp2EJy3veYhWMQXayE23-Qfcm3sQwutMqe7pm1vJ795e-63Z4CusUS04CfAMDfeWi/s1600/P6251105.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiopDU6ebogr2QVbU13R3m42R68hnBmrbCQRi8ViFIYOEvJJf-awtURe4zwRn4uUaI3frh-ihq6Fv0Cp2EJy3veYhWMQXayE23-Qfcm3sQwutMqe7pm1vJ795e-63Z4CusUS04CfAMDfeWi/s320/P6251105.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The small patch of tar among all the dirt roads and it gets washed away.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5igNo3aXotLB7PWpnKAsy35-M5ClqNJubJM5mkcOCVBsoMzvXywDUapw1Iz2ST8HtAF4ESCqwFq9hl0iGiIn6GR-6JH3YhR9spX_fh-pPzwSEbdrXgGiuLLY0LqkjJ14F5GUovKo1Uppi/s1600/P6251109.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5igNo3aXotLB7PWpnKAsy35-M5ClqNJubJM5mkcOCVBsoMzvXywDUapw1Iz2ST8HtAF4ESCqwFq9hl0iGiIn6GR-6JH3YhR9spX_fh-pPzwSEbdrXgGiuLLY0LqkjJ14F5GUovKo1Uppi/s320/P6251109.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The river bed where the water flowed (this is off to the right of where the road was washed away, see the chunks of tar/road sticking up out of the dirt)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg509mQToDVAcvXEyUltUyEPuu8U9IQTaeTdN96wuPbuSO6AL08P8uRhertQzh9tDEenFTW2_SxIpXz4xoFJJ5fNOvUBIet7WYZgWOtMl4udQW9BKplkMIcQE1Mc-J6r8RuPaVt2JJ0vaA-/s1600/P6251113.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg509mQToDVAcvXEyUltUyEPuu8U9IQTaeTdN96wuPbuSO6AL08P8uRhertQzh9tDEenFTW2_SxIpXz4xoFJJ5fNOvUBIet7WYZgWOtMl4udQW9BKplkMIcQE1Mc-J6r8RuPaVt2JJ0vaA-/s320/P6251113.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mundi Mundi lookout, my camera coulen't get a wide enough photo to show the curvature of the earth, I guess you'd need a panoramic camera. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpOmDVWo-SrCAK2KtEZGke-KP3pWsO6Q1j6_lcFnKRY4sg5xnh38SBvZQ8bQ1JCiYs0bM1r9UxXvWYXNH13oAgwWz9uWyI8ekSs0DgSSKbLkUDq4Nk_kW0ETtgRvnFFFNQMb363hgK_e6E/s1600/P6251121.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpOmDVWo-SrCAK2KtEZGke-KP3pWsO6Q1j6_lcFnKRY4sg5xnh38SBvZQ8bQ1JCiYs0bM1r9UxXvWYXNH13oAgwWz9uWyI8ekSs0DgSSKbLkUDq4Nk_kW0ETtgRvnFFFNQMb363hgK_e6E/s320/P6251121.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brent looking over Mundi Mundi with the photo of it from the Broken Hill brouchure. </td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div> <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBKIMaRBfR0ZBWAyC7sERoX5HKsjybliwGX4TF5GNId7sbCWuVFRN-IchoLwiWGqHI651viNSbrKSANEra5szpLvSehVKtN5fCH1hxQ-WGHIbYG1g9q2YrZSF8nfYzqMK0qpE7qYv4dUz8/s1600/P6251118.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBKIMaRBfR0ZBWAyC7sERoX5HKsjybliwGX4TF5GNId7sbCWuVFRN-IchoLwiWGqHI651viNSbrKSANEra5szpLvSehVKtN5fCH1hxQ-WGHIbYG1g9q2YrZSF8nfYzqMK0qpE7qYv4dUz8/s320/P6251118.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mundi Mundi again, you cant even take it all in while your there because the horizon is just so flat and travels further than your peripherals can even go. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqzjgrAXegvbQdIN5E2EEXovCuTRS3jyQw4fWiU3QZNaqc2g2nJaLii8xXhTpXokKaHABrwKli3rFnuNOpkuXhL1vhMbXq5myknc_9dImSowoDASNu9-rCTCa6RWod4fL2uqCSKWCczbmR/s1600/P6251123.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqzjgrAXegvbQdIN5E2EEXovCuTRS3jyQw4fWiU3QZNaqc2g2nJaLii8xXhTpXokKaHABrwKli3rFnuNOpkuXhL1vhMbXq5myknc_9dImSowoDASNu9-rCTCa6RWod4fL2uqCSKWCczbmR/s320/P6251123.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Mad Max pub see the towns dirt "roads" they look awesome out there. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3TgMXuqB2AFMXfkIh23Q94ptf5NnQGjxSL7KGKkhOekHALO-VMH16bLf0Rp5d-nM6onSkYJ7DDfwjjDXgW2BJTlJoqa5J1JXvzLwXD9-Chmc7NaUoflA2VBQMXvgLdnuclIIti8zz1cgW/s1600/P6251160.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3TgMXuqB2AFMXfkIh23Q94ptf5NnQGjxSL7KGKkhOekHALO-VMH16bLf0Rp5d-nM6onSkYJ7DDfwjjDXgW2BJTlJoqa5J1JXvzLwXD9-Chmc7NaUoflA2VBQMXvgLdnuclIIti8zz1cgW/s320/P6251160.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the Mad Max cars</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_Vm-1MieCCHQ50ztp8g_036BrXrF_1pjwR30uTlZbPbQGX3cCygSg7oMXrJZKmL2b5pY-OjANQQ08Eozo80RKd5XZVErtF1k6-BJBq1B3j39zkJ2UMY-udw6mn29ALikkCiJRgnU3wCrY/s1600/P6251134.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_Vm-1MieCCHQ50ztp8g_036BrXrF_1pjwR30uTlZbPbQGX3cCygSg7oMXrJZKmL2b5pY-OjANQQ08Eozo80RKd5XZVErtF1k6-BJBq1B3j39zkJ2UMY-udw6mn29ALikkCiJRgnU3wCrY/s320/P6251134.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another Mad Max car parked in front of the Mad Max museum.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2xHdj3RipQ48-2yQNZ4dlO1FWiCpDh3nVgKmnW0Gk-d31N5q6XXMJfE1zRWmN34O21sRp7H2pKGRrOssObglTW0H3jO3kDSlf5lQSg003H0VLXn0Jw8ugHbOKx875tpBD8rd8V5rvDOto/s1600/P6251168.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2xHdj3RipQ48-2yQNZ4dlO1FWiCpDh3nVgKmnW0Gk-d31N5q6XXMJfE1zRWmN34O21sRp7H2pKGRrOssObglTW0H3jO3kDSlf5lQSg003H0VLXn0Jw8ugHbOKx875tpBD8rd8V5rvDOto/s320/P6251168.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Silverton Gaol sign out the front of the gaol</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGyWykge5wFABSMPBAXmi0ht-THzx7o2D0yRgoXzq7fc_JCdCUksEygzLFlbu6fHg2QLF3AEAFx_vFa4EFoFc7RzlkzCsYET5N0jBkeWpggwrVKj7GlJB1y3s7BvGCvt7pMQ7CDDmOwvEA/s1600/P6251193.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGyWykge5wFABSMPBAXmi0ht-THzx7o2D0yRgoXzq7fc_JCdCUksEygzLFlbu6fHg2QLF3AEAFx_vFa4EFoFc7RzlkzCsYET5N0jBkeWpggwrVKj7GlJB1y3s7BvGCvt7pMQ7CDDmOwvEA/s320/P6251193.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the cells, Brent colsed the door and tried to bolt it (jokingly) while Zac and I were in here. I was a little scared haha. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Q6Y3PDn5m7P7YgC3y4zdeuY3v0WF-n6CzejJCkAA3rd51-4XGc2Ywn7chIqZJ4laYvBViRQW8RpsSxkcTxLfPyFYpcGqQAibYxyx745P-B8ChUVITuPAbcVHP_UXPYiKPHxhkVw3Xeq6/s1600/P6251203.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Q6Y3PDn5m7P7YgC3y4zdeuY3v0WF-n6CzejJCkAA3rd51-4XGc2Ywn7chIqZJ4laYvBViRQW8RpsSxkcTxLfPyFYpcGqQAibYxyx745P-B8ChUVITuPAbcVHP_UXPYiKPHxhkVw3Xeq6/s320/P6251203.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zac made Brent give him a pretend haircut in the barbers chair in the barber room at the museum (all of the rooms used to be cells etc)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYMbrjHsH706Z7Z2otwyGUyhZccwC6XD-E2CXE0mYM5PWmtPAI1F93qzG3SxFVVXAZgSMA4B2AoMuBLGbjyyaz-ouZQWUC5PtpaX3uWWAScEQ6vPMB4x6x-H74PpOaEXx3cBXJ8CjFiVsA/s1600/P6251220.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYMbrjHsH706Z7Z2otwyGUyhZccwC6XD-E2CXE0mYM5PWmtPAI1F93qzG3SxFVVXAZgSMA4B2AoMuBLGbjyyaz-ouZQWUC5PtpaX3uWWAScEQ6vPMB4x6x-H74PpOaEXx3cBXJ8CjFiVsA/s320/P6251220.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Once again Zacherys favourite was the mining and farming machinery and he loved this old style drill and made me tell him all about it. He listened so intently. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjd3tvQhtFo37R5wbbKnTp-8heb_QqfCx_6JitZCJ95UPptYbf3AhTha82I1IFNP-dg9VDLUsFeZI0e_HL4Ax0UKWic0ejCYjoCu3kM7foFjzVlkbTohcGq_yGDZzi7BMCwjKHMeUw2FDE/s1600/P6251216.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjd3tvQhtFo37R5wbbKnTp-8heb_QqfCx_6JitZCJ95UPptYbf3AhTha82I1IFNP-dg9VDLUsFeZI0e_HL4Ax0UKWic0ejCYjoCu3kM7foFjzVlkbTohcGq_yGDZzi7BMCwjKHMeUw2FDE/s320/P6251216.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zachery also loved the farming room with all the saddles and stirrups etc. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW19g4FPmmY-8PuIZc_T1mfZtBB7ZMwLlopJCGGed93FzcLRHG_utDkhdB7iYJWawdzvXUkjaxhweiLF5Dyn5wpGtWiIrKX4FZ_rjOswRip-uftVGdXI1vPg8xKJY_K6XI7IvVJjpDYQIA/s1600/P6251253.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW19g4FPmmY-8PuIZc_T1mfZtBB7ZMwLlopJCGGed93FzcLRHG_utDkhdB7iYJWawdzvXUkjaxhweiLF5Dyn5wpGtWiIrKX4FZ_rjOswRip-uftVGdXI1vPg8xKJY_K6XI7IvVJjpDYQIA/s320/P6251253.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The dirt road again at Silverton</td></tr>
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We also went out to Daydream Mine, another old mine site. There wasnt much out there and we didnt even get out of the car and go into the building out there as we didnt really feel like doing a 1 hour walking tour today. On our way back along the road that joins to the road out to silverton (off the property the Daydream mine was on) we found a wild goat stuck in a fence. Brent tried and tried to free it but couldnt get it free. He even got his bolt cutters from the car and tried to cut the fence but it wouldnt cut. The goat was quiet distressed and was getting itself further and further stuck. Brent calmed him down but we still couldnt get him out. It was really sad but we eventually had to leave as there was no point in going to the farmers for help as the goats are pests up here. <br />
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Further along the same road we can to an empty flood plain. The riverbeds look amazing all empty and dried out! You could see how the (one small section of tar that was actually even out this way) had been ripped apart but raging waters at a time when they had come through. Huge chunks of "road" were thrown everywhere. It looked pretty amazing. <br />
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After this we came back to town and searched for a chemist as mine and Zacs chest infection seem to be getting alot worse so we wanted to purchase some medicine to try and get the colds off our chest. None of the actual shops were open though event hough all the cafes and restaraunts were. So I guess we will have to wait for tomorrow.Living The Simple Dreamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00908190473673884512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7998908409405711710.post-42645316554761422572011-06-25T04:27:00.000-07:002011-06-25T04:27:16.146-07:00Today and tomorrow in Broken Hill.Today was a very cruisy, lazy day. Zachery and I have a chest infection so we weren't really up for the activities we previously had planned today, all of which involve alot of walking. Brent ended up trying to find an electrician but apparently there are only two of those in Broken Hill and ones booked out for a week and the other one didn't answer his phone. We decided instead to book in at Port Augusta caravan park for Tuesday night and organise an electrician there prior to going there. <br />
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We have alot of plans for tomorrow, we are going to Silverton a small historical mining town tomorrow (most of the towns out here are mining towns) there are alot of interesting things at Silverton but I'll waffle one about those tomorrow, after we have been there. We are going to pack a delicious picnic lunch and plenty of drinks and spend the entire day out there. Then on Monday we will explore Broken Hill a bit more and go to the museum in town. <br />
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The caravan is running fine on solar power and gas (the fridge and hot water are running of gas and the lights and television are running of solar). We arent able to use the caravan power points with solar so when we want to use the toaster/heater/laptop etc we run an extension lead into the van from the power box outside. We will ust charge out phones up tomorrow while we are driving to Silverton with our car chargers although we dont have much phone signal once were back on the road. We never have it between towns only once we come into the next town and we lose it as soon as we leave. <br />
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We have a nice chat with our "neighbours" today, the older couples on both sides of our van are really lovely and friendly. One of the couples came over and stood with us for ages this morning, theyve just done the big trip we are doing but in reverse. They had lots of stories and were incredibly open minded about all of their good and bad experiences ont he road so far. They were a definate breath of fresh air. Alot of people tend to have such strong negative opinions about some places and we would much rather form our own opinions unless its a question of safety like it potentially could have been in Cobar/Wilcannia. <br />
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Zachery seems to be having a great time. Today he told Brent "we aren't at Cobar anymore, we are at Broken Hill" it was very cute. He has also picked up what we have been saying and says (at least twnety times a day) "Ok guys, lets go explore the town" haha. He has been playing with the kids at the park and absolutely loves it. He is so brave when it comes to approaching a new group of kids and he is really funny the way he just "forces" himself into their little groups. Its great! I think his confidence is realy developing already and he is at such a great "reservation free" age so shyness/fear of not fitting in just isnt an issue at all. I'm so proud of him and how well he is adpating to this lifestyle. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh4GyC2pR1jzXBfoqwCko5Lxyl7p39EE6fSxj-sR0_oGQEdMG0tfwc3PVzp1eKGlt7Ul25jyEG8oUtQbKNib9pJ9dK-RatUaUqBRYW9V_vpPuFhRZrOi7QhTMhrbNgkNrD2f0FE7hZog7J/s1600/P6231064.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh4GyC2pR1jzXBfoqwCko5Lxyl7p39EE6fSxj-sR0_oGQEdMG0tfwc3PVzp1eKGlt7Ul25jyEG8oUtQbKNib9pJ9dK-RatUaUqBRYW9V_vpPuFhRZrOi7QhTMhrbNgkNrD2f0FE7hZog7J/s320/P6231064.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zachery on the see-saw with his new little mate. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>Living The Simple Dreamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00908190473673884512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7998908409405711710.post-83105166234399615622011-06-24T15:41:00.000-07:002011-06-24T15:41:17.526-07:00Just for a laugh...I'm finding it interesting the way that our experiences can change us as people. Parts of our personality we assumed were fundemental can just dissapear and the results can be interesting new experiences. I have alot of fears and alot of reservations especially related to safety and the possibility of accidents in any situation. So this trip is quiet a huge "cornerstone" for me into lightenting up and being set free of some of my quiet debilitating fears. <br />
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There are also always those smaller, silly reservations we have, a few of which I have overcome: <br />
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1) Showering - I love showers, everyday and most days twice a day. However when you are on the road in a caravan thats not always a possibility nor a priority... Even Brent cannot believe I went a day without a shower haha. <br />
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2) My bike being broken - Brent didnt attach the rack for my bike properly on the back of the van so when we set of from the central coast the entire rack spun around, ended up upside down and my bike dragged along the road for anywhere up to 70 kilometres of freeway. Usually this sort of thing would leave me very stressed but for some reason I just could not stop laughing, it would have looked ridiculous, there would have even been sparks because the tyre was ground away and the rim was half ground away hah. I suppose I'm just more relaxed when were trekking. <br />
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3) Claustrophobic situations - going into an underground mine shaft was somthing I never thought I would even come close to doing, even an under "building" simulate one, but I stepped inside and shut the door behind me. Granted - I stayed very close to the door but still, this was quiet a hurdle for me. Maybe I'll be spulunking through tight caves soon? hah! <br />
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4) walking through dark caravan parks late at night alone - I have become somewhat co-dependent with Brent. Perhaps even afraid of the dark! Especially iin random towns I dont know anything about! However last night I umped up, put my jacket on and went for a little walk through the van park and down to the amenities block. I dint even continuously check behind me and freak out. I just walked casually then walked back to the van. It felt lovely. <br />
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Even though these growth experiences may seem silly to others they were small things that really held me back. I think every little tiny step is so important when your working on self development so I feel really grateful that I was able to push my own limits and evolve as a person. All these tiny steps will add up and by the end of the trip maybe I will be far less nervous than I am now days. :-)Living The Simple Dreamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00908190473673884512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7998908409405711710.post-40227801385899041362011-06-24T03:16:00.000-07:002011-06-24T03:16:32.308-07:00Arrived at Broken Hill We arrived at Broken Hill around lunch time today and came straight to the caravan park. We were given a caravan site that was about ten foot long so we immediately had to go back to the office and request a slightly larger one (considering our van is 24 ft long, haha). They found us another site and we settled in very quickly. We did a couple of small loads of washing in our van washing machine then had showers and headed up the road to the shops. <br />
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I am so surprised by how huge Broken hill is and how populated it is. There were people absolutely everywhere. I am also shocked by how the mines just run paralell with the main street, one block back from it. Can you imagine working in the times and being that close to town? Broken hill seems like a wonderful place. The locals have been extremely friendly and we stopped counting after five different people/groups at the supermarket commented on how beautiful Zac is and how bright his lovely smile is. Everyone in every shop was extremely friendly (especially the staff) and they had plenty of time for a chat. Its a nice change from the main towns, not being rushed out by busy customer service staff. <br />
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The caravan park is nice, a little more expensive than other places though at $32 per night for a powered site. It has a nice little park for kids a communal camp kitchen and standard amenities. Its also about a five minute walk from the shopping centre and the centre of town. <br />
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Were having some problems witht he caravan tonight. The electricity is stuffing up and it has left us without a heater which is absolutely freezing. Weve checked out pretty much every possible thing we can check so we will most likely have to attempt to find an electrician in Broken Hill tomorrow. Hopefully that wont be too hard or costly. <br />
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Brent is considering looking for some work here, especially with the mines so close to town. Well, in town. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg38LhLUHFi01GCr_K_Naa_arTj2qBE0zmaywkF5ZDIqH1LNCRRkY-xZZ278O_C04QGfH8t7B3zCfRs2KqZ6F0ijdXBBCoXS8xfhGh6MnKcM7NFi8tv4QTEGlgjv0nrKqEZ09wbLgtJbO5G/s1600/P6231039.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg38LhLUHFi01GCr_K_Naa_arTj2qBE0zmaywkF5ZDIqH1LNCRRkY-xZZ278O_C04QGfH8t7B3zCfRs2KqZ6F0ijdXBBCoXS8xfhGh6MnKcM7NFi8tv4QTEGlgjv0nrKqEZ09wbLgtJbO5G/s320/P6231039.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is photo 1 of 3 that I took on the "highway". Brent and I wanted to show you how .... well how much of "nothing" there is out there (although its still so beautiful). This photo is standing on the rest stop paralell to the highway looking to the left. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6BvbptAwiDeyMhIBoti-nJaqdy_D2QWbPdjlGwr0kcqqpCL35hmPudfDDXN1eBnGMLyG6Dd6_C8j2-0Eb_J72Uepy3GbSBtiP7bMo9jDYujNlogIwJ0ULYOw4NEQRsuuaTfhd-inta_7L/s1600/P6231037.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6BvbptAwiDeyMhIBoti-nJaqdy_D2QWbPdjlGwr0kcqqpCL35hmPudfDDXN1eBnGMLyG6Dd6_C8j2-0Eb_J72Uepy3GbSBtiP7bMo9jDYujNlogIwJ0ULYOw4NEQRsuuaTfhd-inta_7L/s320/P6231037.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This photo is facing straight out forward in the same spot as the last photo</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPhyOXPdccrl8khZKzUfDWmMj8wio3rvzGLJiROArC6_k-x25kLSN-sfo8XAUrw-XYRHRLCVjVNsKXIVU98oMXRZH6dbb5lsSqY0X8p9SuePZ7QLoELnEkvQkirUMZ5WI7GHx3sxZNAW_E/s1600/P6231038.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPhyOXPdccrl8khZKzUfDWmMj8wio3rvzGLJiROArC6_k-x25kLSN-sfo8XAUrw-XYRHRLCVjVNsKXIVU98oMXRZH6dbb5lsSqY0X8p9SuePZ7QLoELnEkvQkirUMZ5WI7GHx3sxZNAW_E/s320/P6231038.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And this photo is to the right, so as you can see there was nothing in any direction for as far as you can see.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuwK28LE8cdSphHCAfSSWPADCeOxSRg2qtVLljTLA0F_QYNoAQVerMvKI_fruMjzLeHypkp2todeuMZjbvqal0QaIVUid7O_XPAhP5Zx-ccKgHfUxYHwczRKOotUQrFZBvnpt8zXrfbOa4/s1600/P6231040.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuwK28LE8cdSphHCAfSSWPADCeOxSRg2qtVLljTLA0F_QYNoAQVerMvKI_fruMjzLeHypkp2todeuMZjbvqal0QaIVUid7O_XPAhP5Zx-ccKgHfUxYHwczRKOotUQrFZBvnpt8zXrfbOa4/s320/P6231040.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A close up of the sign behind the caravan on the other side of the highway.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU9eA7i6wotdUeKVY_22OOZ5ZFAoS68cooJufxx67NdX5HzUCh6mH7dFV2BQxT6tpDv4jxlwmHgnXQjUoHbYm-6ErO5fBqpFPYOJ7OR3RAs_qAqgfdFzrDB8ceWA2gqFrNwKmuRJLY4JIE/s1600/P6231057.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU9eA7i6wotdUeKVY_22OOZ5ZFAoS68cooJufxx67NdX5HzUCh6mH7dFV2BQxT6tpDv4jxlwmHgnXQjUoHbYm-6ErO5fBqpFPYOJ7OR3RAs_qAqgfdFzrDB8ceWA2gqFrNwKmuRJLY4JIE/s320/P6231057.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Driving through the main street of Broken Hill.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJoyCAiMN7EBRvMukI5bN_Pwh34mSw8wj-zQ_govoEOcF-Iu-DHpgH36gosMShAbUsmVGNeaVUVKiSp9lCXzOxApo7OzyeO2Cy7fyDcJY-mu3fjUs6l_wuLBsb3JyJAAIrdOhoP-zHXovc/s1600/P6231059.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJoyCAiMN7EBRvMukI5bN_Pwh34mSw8wj-zQ_govoEOcF-Iu-DHpgH36gosMShAbUsmVGNeaVUVKiSp9lCXzOxApo7OzyeO2Cy7fyDcJY-mu3fjUs6l_wuLBsb3JyJAAIrdOhoP-zHXovc/s320/P6231059.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">See the "hill" at the end of the street, that is the mine. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKhL0PxTGEplWBwSjefAcaNdod0vSMKoMrCypZDdBDFBq_E_zQMxVfQfEIrhiZOnJAKSXdLZ5zL-MVRKc-uLS01c0i3HwzJ4SgBJ5TcqznS88s9YpVW0jMewJpF142O5ttm7w0Fe47cGUJ/s1600/P6221030.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKhL0PxTGEplWBwSjefAcaNdod0vSMKoMrCypZDdBDFBq_E_zQMxVfQfEIrhiZOnJAKSXdLZ5zL-MVRKc-uLS01c0i3HwzJ4SgBJ5TcqznS88s9YpVW0jMewJpF142O5ttm7w0Fe47cGUJ/s320/P6221030.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And a somewhat crappy photo of another beautiful sunrise this morning (this was taken through the car window, while driving after the best part of the sunrise was already over). <br />
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Please cross your fingers for us that our electrical problems are sorted out tomorrow. Its sooooooo cold in here without the heater and its frustrating paying for electricty and not having it. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>Living The Simple Dreamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00908190473673884512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7998908409405711710.post-81478619914398696242011-06-23T03:41:00.000-07:002011-06-23T03:41:40.207-07:00Bus tour of Cobar<div style="text-align: center;">Today we went on a bus tour of Cobar and one of the Cobar mines (a gold mine). We were picked up at the Cobar caravan park and all together there was a group of 21 of us (the tour was compltely booked out!). I'm really glad we went on the tour as it was a great way to get to know our way around town and learn alot of historical and modern information about Cobar and its mining industry. <br />
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The first place we went was back to the smaller open cut mine that we walked through yesterday. The tour guide drove us through it and pointed out all of the remnants of the old machinery (this mine is no longer being used). He told us alot of really interesting stories about the locals and their involvement in the mine and a few funny stories about the different things the kids used the water filled "pit" for after the mine shut down. This is the pit I mentioned yesterday which is 45 metres deep to the bottom where a 450 metre deep shaft begins!. So its a very deep pit. The tour guide told us there was a rumor going around town that some locals believe and others dont. The rumor suggested that when th elocal circus was in town their elephant became sick and died. According to the whisperings of a few older locals the elephant was disposed of into the pit, under the water never to be seen again. <br />
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We then drove around town and learnt alot about the schools, old buildings, new buildings, local culture/lifestyle etc. They took us out to an amazing man made dam that had a beautiful "Free camp" next to it (which we didn't know about) The locals actually go boating and fishing in the dam and its so pretty to look at. <br />
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We also went to a look out above an absolutely breathtaking mine. A road just went round and round and round a huge basin type "canyon" in the earth and at the bottom there was an entry to go underground and follow the same road pattern even more of a distance underground. While we were there a truck emerged from the underground mine and begin the steep incline around and around to the top of the hill, the truck looked as though it were built for ants from so far away although we were reassured it was a very very large mining track. I think this view was one of my favourite parts of Cobar. <br />
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We then went past a few mines, seen lots of wild goats and ended up at a currently working gold mine. The tour bus went into the working area (above ground only) and drove underneath and around all the machinery. While we were there waiting at the entrance to the underground mine (just having a look) a ute came up an we watched it drive into the underground mine. We also seen the enormous dams they made to hold the tailings. The tailings is the "dirt" thats left after all of the rock has been crushed, sorted and hit with cyanide to remove all of the minerals such as copper, iron, gold etc. The tailings are then put into what looks like enormous damns, the one we seen covered 8 hectares. The tailings have to be left in the sun as the UV filters out and removes the cyanide. The tailings dams were actually really spectacular to look at, they looked a bit like a salt lake except they were so full that the "mounded" in the centre like a hill/mountain. <br />
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This tour was absolutely brilliant and we learnt alot about the gold mining industry. Cobar has been a wonderful experience for us however I would definately reccomend taking the tour on the first day you arrive here as you get alot of ideas for bush walks etc to do, from the tour guide. I think Cobar is a beautiful town but I have heard that it wasnt always this way. The tour guide told us that the main stretch of Cobar has undergone a 2.5 million dollar makeover just in the last 12 months aloe and many of the other streets/buildings have had makeovers of similar financial proportions. The town is fast becoming a tourist attraction rather than just "a place to stop between Dubbo and Broken Hill". Brent and I both highly reccomend the town especially if you want to soak in all of the wonderful historical information. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWabOBsy-40op2f4VCxAlFKQwuYImYdJrHPsCETwiykL-Sa-zI65EYW-go-NFeYvCmjtgi33zvRzysq1rqB3YDEIWTUfFKPSygO-sa9riXivLqtyeHari8xgN4kyYWbyJtECkxVwtPQot6/s1600/P6210911.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWabOBsy-40op2f4VCxAlFKQwuYImYdJrHPsCETwiykL-Sa-zI65EYW-go-NFeYvCmjtgi33zvRzysq1rqB3YDEIWTUfFKPSygO-sa9riXivLqtyeHari8xgN4kyYWbyJtECkxVwtPQot6/s320/P6210911.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zachery eating the "silencing" lollipop we bribed him with when he started to "get over" the bus ride.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The road through the old open cut mine.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilRs4hFiDs1d2-UPSf6Za5LPwApy2UyRy1XaP83w9E_igeLVDONuhRbddH7Dvx6uJFXuHzWxCc0h72Lb_Lqn459bpKOZBAgq8E1TSTdvgtAXAJAlCFIc7ngilDEfdvuHQuBVPvRJp1ClAh/s1600/P6210930.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilRs4hFiDs1d2-UPSf6Za5LPwApy2UyRy1XaP83w9E_igeLVDONuhRbddH7Dvx6uJFXuHzWxCc0h72Lb_Lqn459bpKOZBAgq8E1TSTdvgtAXAJAlCFIc7ngilDEfdvuHQuBVPvRJp1ClAh/s320/P6210930.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The pit full of water, once again. This is the one I mentioned yesterday that is 45 metres deep than at the bottom of that 45 metres has a 450 metre deep vertical shaft.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-ChlcFcejBmdrIBaFwiIyocBDhb4JpDW91FA80lecdOUidKfEk21O6LMdFXjceMCHHKexkvwLf73PszY_e4NSXeZqT0eX3e0k3LLjIySpp81bheoxkEtFEJUmWhyHE7jzEt6uXwaJAto0/s1600/P6220951.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-ChlcFcejBmdrIBaFwiIyocBDhb4JpDW91FA80lecdOUidKfEk21O6LMdFXjceMCHHKexkvwLf73PszY_e4NSXeZqT0eX3e0k3LLjIySpp81bheoxkEtFEJUmWhyHE7jzEt6uXwaJAto0/s320/P6220951.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The beautiful manmade damn at Cobar. This is also the towns "free camp". It is an absolutely beautiful, serene place. Apparently in summer people ski and wakeboard in here, it also attracts locals with its on/off fishing.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3-qQyFug9xcLOWAc1NT4JDS80q9LoQ_eTkyTgAYnpGf7aRfT8b2TSnUZVSbzLM2IxBI_84Tb720UMr4tKiLKQJp-_Q2drSl8cttiy5UHSxuyw2S3_sq7lE4IRQdd4rEVT8MGRw0ZSkPy2/s1600/P6220962.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3-qQyFug9xcLOWAc1NT4JDS80q9LoQ_eTkyTgAYnpGf7aRfT8b2TSnUZVSbzLM2IxBI_84Tb720UMr4tKiLKQJp-_Q2drSl8cttiy5UHSxuyw2S3_sq7lE4IRQdd4rEVT8MGRw0ZSkPy2/s320/P6220962.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The mine, breathtaking.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVt301lcpwAbTgWcoWpTfdEXC6duZ5_DouEg0O3o1cTXaAOxwubr-IMytrN0VQeYzzMHEZzRiPIWfjBDJXBzXMdwjen8QyIZY_CWAvBX3gKIaTSoO_QnokF8Y5RGezQSaeXfAz76LlABB7/s1600/P6220963.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVt301lcpwAbTgWcoWpTfdEXC6duZ5_DouEg0O3o1cTXaAOxwubr-IMytrN0VQeYzzMHEZzRiPIWfjBDJXBzXMdwjen8QyIZY_CWAvBX3gKIaTSoO_QnokF8Y5RGezQSaeXfAz76LlABB7/s320/P6220963.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The mine again.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLbDD7kT6LV4AAtSunF_Kw5oDEG5hmvIqXcrOVBGvHYgT-d_dPkk8mwj-VltMlOTfMJt6OKWuriOJmZIdSOKZoXJZK0bKTura8a9R7BRKcw0stvojpbq769KiHplGAIKLAnn0nW-8g1eQe/s1600/P6220975.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLbDD7kT6LV4AAtSunF_Kw5oDEG5hmvIqXcrOVBGvHYgT-d_dPkk8mwj-VltMlOTfMJt6OKWuriOJmZIdSOKZoXJZK0bKTura8a9R7BRKcw0stvojpbq769KiHplGAIKLAnn0nW-8g1eQe/s320/P6220975.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A huge mining truck driving out of the underground entry/exit (the hole in the mine wall at the bottom) and up the roads with a load.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkGIY59LiSvhF0yUUxJoxEdDJ9sM1cR-w_9fNMIukUMsEYhuZIQdse8sA7ubCSaQhPRjBxmD30H5saMZSZzjwwvf5Qw3FDv8ERKajTg88Ft-J8DpLYAK9AFnm9ae4Zu8RinXUO5hO991D3/s1600/P6220970.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkGIY59LiSvhF0yUUxJoxEdDJ9sM1cR-w_9fNMIukUMsEYhuZIQdse8sA7ubCSaQhPRjBxmD30H5saMZSZzjwwvf5Qw3FDv8ERKajTg88Ft-J8DpLYAK9AFnm9ae4Zu8RinXUO5hO991D3/s320/P6220970.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brent and Zachery enjoying the view but not the cold. It was absolutely freezing up here. </td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUSiX7ayDsPSCrXoib5W38-n9vejXamBAnsR6kWGAZ2gGU6HjOvsPVXW3mZJchH50kBXfW2niq2Tz4XTB7x2E6KqjM_mTdoDIbmxSIOeWce6XVra5qZrngGEljKUCJZ-fc67418jqaMIJz/s1600/P6220983.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUSiX7ayDsPSCrXoib5W38-n9vejXamBAnsR6kWGAZ2gGU6HjOvsPVXW3mZJchH50kBXfW2niq2Tz4XTB7x2E6KqjM_mTdoDIbmxSIOeWce6XVra5qZrngGEljKUCJZ-fc67418jqaMIJz/s320/P6220983.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some of the heavy machinery used to crush the minerals out of the rock at the gold mine.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1llx9wRqGDB1Il-SAG3xHO8Z44xA4d1TeCaRBlUS0jTAzHoCrLKcoSQEd_GR2iIb29TDvtQNwI6Y4HrSEuURk_sZJZDxJ_MHG_rQdJxlHpKovI8tGw7GgQlLedszF5ss-xZg0LdkcNs5x/s1600/P6220989.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1llx9wRqGDB1Il-SAG3xHO8Z44xA4d1TeCaRBlUS0jTAzHoCrLKcoSQEd_GR2iIb29TDvtQNwI6Y4HrSEuURk_sZJZDxJ_MHG_rQdJxlHpKovI8tGw7GgQlLedszF5ss-xZg0LdkcNs5x/s320/P6220989.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zachery was pretty excited about the heavy machinery.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhS-C9wY4DCeBwCE0pLGtZ73kjBG1Bg5fQqiL4Cb7nQbdIyDFrreVVUvA_khNymp41MpaaO3RX0QLgj426sgf2dd1YeK24t7xlmVpk8F5j02kh6D0VC36hxw0V8xwcO5pUTUShYP6qHjKV/s1600/P6221007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhS-C9wY4DCeBwCE0pLGtZ73kjBG1Bg5fQqiL4Cb7nQbdIyDFrreVVUvA_khNymp41MpaaO3RX0QLgj426sgf2dd1YeK24t7xlmVpk8F5j02kh6D0VC36hxw0V8xwcO5pUTUShYP6qHjKV/s320/P6221007.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The amazing tailings damn. The cynide content in these tailings is deadly and mine workers have to regularly check the surrounding fencing to ensure animals are not drinking from the run off as they die instantly. The last death was a few years ago and was a rabbit that managed to get through the fence. </td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYCxJVbMrwvaYyzJlundvrAebMXOOmHUZm8HZK6FarGosBONCwwFArqNQGx6y3bUibuQq0Lsi9UBFD0cSYTtFGAO_2YPZIkA7UqNAH28RFhxWD0Vbq1337O6tXCuqsz19lbCgvIlnFTo4A/s1600/P6221006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYCxJVbMrwvaYyzJlundvrAebMXOOmHUZm8HZK6FarGosBONCwwFArqNQGx6y3bUibuQq0Lsi9UBFD0cSYTtFGAO_2YPZIkA7UqNAH28RFhxWD0Vbq1337O6tXCuqsz19lbCgvIlnFTo4A/s320/P6221006.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The tailings damn again.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSKTCQ8DYIL6nanuPE-FEtBp9izORUgnTEvteTibku4WTh9vzq1VsAj9dJCI6EpR1z39sg8we_k_w8xytrMnKex8ijljLPz2cRmZJ0rFbUV3usU4LzwjKCmSp5uLLqAh184gkxc9oa3Ryt/s1600/P6221021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSKTCQ8DYIL6nanuPE-FEtBp9izORUgnTEvteTibku4WTh9vzq1VsAj9dJCI6EpR1z39sg8we_k_w8xytrMnKex8ijljLPz2cRmZJ0rFbUV3usU4LzwjKCmSp5uLLqAh184gkxc9oa3Ryt/s320/P6221021.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A mine ute driving into the underground mine. The road undergraound is wide enough for two landcruisers to pass on it.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh78t6nMJRiTHT_ScbJpn529MJY0PE58OKLSVgYn0arsWaHocOgPhtB_TiN2QCuwfn9BxweZO5Fnq9kboGMPj73ALMlL7BKcD1iumRb_9n-CcgJuRGG67IOojeJFWAMyKKBZlWUNZWGsMJG/s1600/P6221023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh78t6nMJRiTHT_ScbJpn529MJY0PE58OKLSVgYn0arsWaHocOgPhtB_TiN2QCuwfn9BxweZO5Fnq9kboGMPj73ALMlL7BKcD1iumRb_9n-CcgJuRGG67IOojeJFWAMyKKBZlWUNZWGsMJG/s320/P6221023.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The conveyer belt that runs the ore (after it has been crushed) onto a pile to be picked up and moved elswhere. </td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3CTWsFrn2oNQVowWqviSkPsg520zjaE5qjHn8n-vFo7yhapI3TufYfG0AcGhq9xPq4HQa23R4CLsyKOLVFSsZVSPv-KAYZpNF__7llrSUAeu5PwSMAlrpSAySLrpKmtFzTeWJJ5K_jm-v/s1600/P6221026.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3CTWsFrn2oNQVowWqviSkPsg520zjaE5qjHn8n-vFo7yhapI3TufYfG0AcGhq9xPq4HQa23R4CLsyKOLVFSsZVSPv-KAYZpNF__7llrSUAeu5PwSMAlrpSAySLrpKmtFzTeWJJ5K_jm-v/s320/P6221026.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These "cabins" are placed underground and can handle a heavy load ontop. The are for the miners to get in in the case of an emergency. They have enough oxegyn for "1 man for twelve days or twelve men for one day" the tour guide said. They have plenty of water and a deck of cards but for some reason they dont keep any food in them. <br />
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Cobar is a definate "must see". Its not as "flashy" as some other places but the history of the town is very interesting and we read some absolutely amazing stories from the early 1900's about some of the wonderful people that came and helped the town during a mining lull. Theres definately alot more than meets the eye and alot to learn. </td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;">For any other caravanners out there - the Cobar Caravan Park is $28 a night or $27 a night if you pay cash. <br />
</div>Living The Simple Dreamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00908190473673884512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7998908409405711710.post-42000253985588629442011-06-21T22:07:00.000-07:002011-06-21T22:07:45.091-07:00Cobar and the Cobar heritage house and open cut mine<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJoGFNYem226dLcvPYfuAZ1D1WF5ip_MevJNq_4RhJVqCqN_U2me6bk54-6-X3z3H0cbrP6BupqSJPuQqm5sVfs8kgkCp3fUu8LrzWMBco9CGff1QLTUqwT1XibJ-1yxwv_gPzrzohnX-e/s1600/P6200748.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJoGFNYem226dLcvPYfuAZ1D1WF5ip_MevJNq_4RhJVqCqN_U2me6bk54-6-X3z3H0cbrP6BupqSJPuQqm5sVfs8kgkCp3fUu8LrzWMBco9CGff1QLTUqwT1XibJ-1yxwv_gPzrzohnX-e/s320/P6200748.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFqFV1Nprr6MvWMDJCtZUiMV5losYPVk_TBSUg4WQvUIyMNjeLxKhCBCfvbIoY6_qMrMeuS6PHmfDPpwmwACgeVyw_e5QJ6ax89_ztoA0XMumwBx4RhYKujmve0vDQCVjrwRXYgwqwntlI/s1600/P6200743.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFqFV1Nprr6MvWMDJCtZUiMV5losYPVk_TBSUg4WQvUIyMNjeLxKhCBCfvbIoY6_qMrMeuS6PHmfDPpwmwACgeVyw_e5QJ6ax89_ztoA0XMumwBx4RhYKujmve0vDQCVjrwRXYgwqwntlI/s320/P6200743.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPVnqwaMA8bxlZS6rtGLfLtIlqAkOVO4LXigHPmQdyHpTRM3zZgfpPW6HDi-D94sSzoY0pv8iM40zaUdCWAO930Yl9oUGqyg3oX__yB9ZbG6F41h96pZOBDb5lqwYY8UZfouj38GbqCmBx/s1600/P6200746.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPVnqwaMA8bxlZS6rtGLfLtIlqAkOVO4LXigHPmQdyHpTRM3zZgfpPW6HDi-D94sSzoY0pv8iM40zaUdCWAO930Yl9oUGqyg3oX__yB9ZbG6F41h96pZOBDb5lqwYY8UZfouj38GbqCmBx/s320/P6200746.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">I feel as though I need to share the spectacular sunrise we seen this morning while on the road between Dubbo and Cobar. We were so blown away by it that we just had to stop and take photos. <br />
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We left Dubbo at 6am as we didn't want to risk being stuck inside because of rain. We decided that we would stop for the night at Cobar because all of the brouchers on Cobar made it sound extremely interesting. We stopped at Nyngan - about halfway between Dubbo and Cobar around breakfast time and plugged out generator in (for the first time). It was absolutely freezing outside so we decided we needed some sort of a hot breakfast as cold cerial was not appealing at all. We made some toasted sandwiches and quickly ate them up. It was fantastic to be able to use the generator for electricity so that we could use our power outlets, with solar we are only able to use lights and television so if we wish to make hot food we have to warm up the gas oven which we then have to wait for it to cool down before we can pack up to leave again. The generator made the stop alot faster! <br />
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Thr trip to Cobar was beautiful, the dirt is getting redder the further West we go although it was hard to show the colours properly in my photos. Brent and I thought it was absolutely beautiful! We even seen some wild goats romaing around just outside of Cobar, they were a bit too hard to catch photos of though as there was no where to stop the car near them. The frost was also amazing, it covered entire fields and paddocks and was all over the side of the road early this morning. It looked like snow but it melted quiet quickly once the sun was up completely. Zac and I picked up some leaves with frost on them and pulled all the ice off, it was amazing to see that so much "ice" had formed just over one single cold night. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1cTyRIMA7Lae3Oz6T4K9m5kvDJ7cxtbqZJ1gnpu0mRhlj1DHtH31fEY5Xn_9DuuaP3bWMcwBNuLEiNR83GpunpuzwUWBjhngvuGiRkry1S1suNNV3pRLAxb5BVbgcgceAX3rj2KHJup-N/s1600/P6200776.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1cTyRIMA7Lae3Oz6T4K9m5kvDJ7cxtbqZJ1gnpu0mRhlj1DHtH31fEY5Xn_9DuuaP3bWMcwBNuLEiNR83GpunpuzwUWBjhngvuGiRkry1S1suNNV3pRLAxb5BVbgcgceAX3rj2KHJup-N/s320/P6200776.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The seemingly "never bending" straight roads just go on for miles and miles.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The gorgeous white frost that Zaccy and I just had to see up close.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The red dirt and beautiful bushland.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brent and Zachery outside the heritage centre when we stopped off for some tourist information on the way into town. This was before we went to the caravan park, settled in, had lunch and got Zachery out of his pyjamas haha.<br />
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We arrived at Cobar at about 11am and immediately went to the caravan park, we chose a site as the office was closed and had a sign saying to choose your own site and come back to the office at12pm. We set everything up, had a quick lunch then went up to the office. At the office we checked in then we decided to drive back to the Cobar Heritage House which is also the tourist information centre. <br />
The heritage house is absolutely amazing! It is only $9 per adult to enter ($7 for children over 4) and it is filled with years and years worth of Cobars history. It covers the wool industry, copper mining, gold mining (and other types of mining), domestic life and so much more. It is definately a "must see" and it is worth stopping at Cobar to see this attraction alone. The Heritage house is the orginal office building of the open cut mind it is situated in front of and your entry fee to the house also allows you to wander (unguided) through the open cut mine (in some areas). Ever item/piece of machinery/vehicle/tool/photograph in the entire place is sign posted and has information next to it. There is a simulated "underground mind shaft" you are able to walk into and spend some time inside and there is just a whole lot more, far too much to list. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">The cool "simulated mine shaft" It was a bit scary for me as im claustrophobic (a little) so I stayed near the entry, but Brent and Zachery went straight in. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMF-4Ow2qNtN0jD76rxBEExjfdyBF5dLglIhxSWUamOUFcJX7z8l6MmvcDUSTN118pIp1cNhWdx4CsCBB2Xe__PSeVjGSraE5VOoV2sZ7Tq3tdy5RDS9ay04NlKfbSFv6n7zsfk_lIlc0h/s1600/P6210825.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMF-4Ow2qNtN0jD76rxBEExjfdyBF5dLglIhxSWUamOUFcJX7z8l6MmvcDUSTN118pIp1cNhWdx4CsCBB2Xe__PSeVjGSraE5VOoV2sZ7Tq3tdy5RDS9ay04NlKfbSFv6n7zsfk_lIlc0h/s320/P6210825.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zaccy touching some sheeps wool on one of the exhibits. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWDas5L-G9dVkD9zH18DJN5IKJjs6HOkb5sSEqf9Ty6VbDAidLqvZoYIRKYS0JosLZ24xDMKo0X1zqIpMyuNRQSCTh0uoDu_eNE-aM3xpCF4z7jtMw1gNx6btS3de9XQsGSp_7HZYNPx9w/s1600/P6210883.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWDas5L-G9dVkD9zH18DJN5IKJjs6HOkb5sSEqf9Ty6VbDAidLqvZoYIRKYS0JosLZ24xDMKo0X1zqIpMyuNRQSCTh0uoDu_eNE-aM3xpCF4z7jtMw1gNx6btS3de9XQsGSp_7HZYNPx9w/s320/P6210883.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This pit of water is in the middle of the open cut mine. It is 43 metres deep despite how small it is in width/length etc. It looks like a tiny dam which makes it more shocking that its that deep. Once you hit the 43 metre mark beneath the water there is another 450 metre deep vertical shaft aswell as that. The shaft goes down through where all the underground mining used to occour. <br />
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Cobar, for us, was the perfect place to discover the concept of "Seeing things for yourself". When planning this trip and explaining to people about how we are NOT well seasoned travellers and do not want to go anywhere where there may be any sort of danger from any level, we were advised that previously there had been alot of warnings about crime in Cobar. This led us to add it to our list of "places to avoid until we are a bit more experienced with travelling". However while in Dubbo we picked up some tourist brouchures and discovered that Cobar has come along way and is quiet a historical jackpot. I am so grateful for all the advice we received about this trip but at the same time I think its wonderful to come to a place we were very nervous about and find that it has changed and is quiet a beautiful place to visit. Tomorrow morning we are booked in for a bus tour of a copper mine and a gold mine and a tour of the town and its other attractions. The tour goes for three hours and will hopefully be a great experience for us and Zachery. We are also going to spend tomorrow night in Cobar aswell and will move on to Broken Hill on Friday. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>Living The Simple Dreamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00908190473673884512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7998908409405711710.post-19852340752719616632011-06-20T21:29:00.000-07:002011-06-20T21:29:47.074-07:00The Dubbo Zoo and tomorrows plans for Dubbo<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZbWqp3WyKGcLfTsrBJCVsHc-Wrgjv-_TgsNwglST305V7F-VK4nyaZX88xat5Bg6KodWH8YMtIIMZj40ZKBvQQuXF1ZKZkZzJPfQx8AN1uiiWNnwt7Ts_JyihIenoY1G0va4DIMghGshw/s1600/P6190629.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZbWqp3WyKGcLfTsrBJCVsHc-Wrgjv-_TgsNwglST305V7F-VK4nyaZX88xat5Bg6KodWH8YMtIIMZj40ZKBvQQuXF1ZKZkZzJPfQx8AN1uiiWNnwt7Ts_JyihIenoY1G0va4DIMghGshw/s320/P6190629.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zac and Brent riding Rhino statues<br />
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We had a wonderful morning at the Dubbo zoo. Zachery and I walked most of the zoo and Brent kept bringing the car up to meet us at the next exhibit. It was a lovely, sunny, cool morning so it was perfect for walking around the dry dusty tracks. Zachery loved all of the animals and it was so brilliant to see him staring at them, searching for them and spotting them. Previous times when we have been to zoos for him he really hasn't understood what he was looking for in the seemingly empty enclosures, this time he was running for the next enclosure in excitment trying to guess what would be in there. <br />
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Zachery told us the colours of most of the animals and also identified a maority of them (excluding the really exotic variities of deer/buffalo etc). </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidIXkl5qnyzRXZCuZSIOsBX09q-f9yx42AqLcpesAqwyCgvYjbGQc-piXWe-QwYAkUVIprp-rKLK-wvmEMf27OJXyfDKgL7a9M75gC2wwvBIrA0pK1vRspFdeok_fIgeGJWQv2DrGQKCq4/s1600/P6200704.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidIXkl5qnyzRXZCuZSIOsBX09q-f9yx42AqLcpesAqwyCgvYjbGQc-piXWe-QwYAkUVIprp-rKLK-wvmEMf27OJXyfDKgL7a9M75gC2wwvBIrA0pK1vRspFdeok_fIgeGJWQv2DrGQKCq4/s320/P6200704.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Family photo infront of the Zebra's</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zachery got to feed the giraffes lots of carrotts, he loved it but he was crying while he was waiting in line and other people were fedding the giraffes because he thought "their bellys will be too full when its my turn" haha.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our sweet little cherub, getting very sleepy by this point.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4XBiIj6u0sVUlt7Dy0DBTYSZhOGljWdhr9gun6iEoSYv13qojdpbEmdI_pSHO-MRQPxwIixTLDLsoPzgGnpwsb-cMBnrRiYR8-myjPpuz1Mtv3Zn6GrXOUntRJ0ETFChNkCcT5X5ojyWC/s1600/P6200730.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4XBiIj6u0sVUlt7Dy0DBTYSZhOGljWdhr9gun6iEoSYv13qojdpbEmdI_pSHO-MRQPxwIixTLDLsoPzgGnpwsb-cMBnrRiYR8-myjPpuz1Mtv3Zn6GrXOUntRJ0ETFChNkCcT5X5ojyWC/s320/P6200730.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Daddy and Zaccy both cuddled the wallaby.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zachery was blown away by the rhinos. He said "look theres a daddy rhino and he has his baby Zaccy rhino" </td></tr>
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The Dubbo zoo was a great experience. It VERY spread out and makes you feel as though you are almost in the wild/the bush. It is wonderful to walk and you can tak eyour own food in. We packed a big picnic lunch and at it at the zoo. There is an enormous variety of animals to see and alot of interactive extras you can do - including feeding the giraffes - Its a beautiful family day out. <br />
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Zachery was very tired by 1pm so we decided to have a quick look in the gift shop and then head off. Zachery chose a Cheetah toy as he loves cats and he said it was like his grandmas cat, Jasper. Once we left the zoo we went into the Dubbo tourist information centre and picked up alot of information on the surrounding areas. We also picked up information on two places a friend of mine mentioned to me, the Japanese gardens in Dubbo city and the Wellington caves. We have decided we will visit both of these places tomorrow. <br />
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Tonight is our last night in the Big 4 caravan park as we are going to try to find a "Free Camp" in our Camps book to stay at tomorrow night so that we can stretch our money a little further for the trip. Hopefulyl we can find somewhere near by. We might go have a look around this afternoon and choose one for tomorrow.Living The Simple Dreamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00908190473673884512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7998908409405711710.post-74422633489345384382011-06-19T22:50:00.000-07:002011-06-19T22:50:31.388-07:00First stop - DubboSo we arrived at Dubbo today. Not without a small hiccup along the way - The bike rack we fitted to the back of the van spun around and after ALOT of beeping, flashing of lights and waving from other cars we realised what had happened. The bike was now hanging upside down and the tyre was ground down to the rim and the rim is ground down and hacked apart too. It was dragging along for a majority of the half an hour we had been on the freeway, unfortunately. So we will have to replace it tomorrow afternoon. We left at 5:30am, before the sun was even up and we arrived at Dubbo Big 4 Caravan park around 1:30pm. We quickly plugged into power and water, set everything up properly and then walked down to play on their big "bouncy pillow". It was absolutely amazing! So much fun! We had such a blast, so did Zac. We all jumped on it for about an hour until we were exhausted. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCv6rlBUbItoM7bLBBPM3M3jiqyEodPIZwDPC0w38sOv7suNCG8qcK0Bq2SwYeUoiFfFl_2fmF3ACkSAD5pua9wpV81LT5sf4iZ-E6armMIPCxVwLZOphw3M_Nq9kPvS-CiB0Sbd7-jk6t/s1600/P6190606.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCv6rlBUbItoM7bLBBPM3M3jiqyEodPIZwDPC0w38sOv7suNCG8qcK0Bq2SwYeUoiFfFl_2fmF3ACkSAD5pua9wpV81LT5sf4iZ-E6armMIPCxVwLZOphw3M_Nq9kPvS-CiB0Sbd7-jk6t/s320/P6190606.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zachery enjoying the bouncy pillow</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUS4qkiKqtWPFdMRRtlQReAj7uwL8-ax0sOSGlk-u38wiNrsape8wl1EGOa8F6in4hNIICJ5PC8aOZkFwULX2oqAJD2EEQrgxJ628rNuXi7CIxmBt4vgESV1Xr8AxbNmzlwmAZgV4i1hXO/s1600/P6190594.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUS4qkiKqtWPFdMRRtlQReAj7uwL8-ax0sOSGlk-u38wiNrsape8wl1EGOa8F6in4hNIICJ5PC8aOZkFwULX2oqAJD2EEQrgxJ628rNuXi7CIxmBt4vgESV1Xr8AxbNmzlwmAZgV4i1hXO/s320/P6190594.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zachery and Daddy on the bouncy pillow</td></tr>
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Dubbo Big 4 is a beautiful caravan park it is absolutely full of trees and huge grassy areas. There are beautiful, bright coloured birds everywhere, a recreation room with a huge projection movie screen where they play a movie every afternoon at 4:30pm. The amenities are beautiful (although we mostly use our caravan ensuite) and there is even a heated pool and a childrens park. In the recreation room there is a kitchen and a table tennis table also. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMRw1Hj0TaKs1j1XJOMefdfVddfhf3ezNPaIx5uuglKLEjKou3oV_nmdxHqxDFUwpZz0L7Ae4SMf5Ae2Du0ZB7X69TQZTNvArCum5mZ56p5wXwjLUENJP4uHjOwoTplVEZ4dh6eb2Yhg4O/s1600/P6190578.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMRw1Hj0TaKs1j1XJOMefdfVddfhf3ezNPaIx5uuglKLEjKou3oV_nmdxHqxDFUwpZz0L7Ae4SMf5Ae2Du0ZB7X69TQZTNvArCum5mZ56p5wXwjLUENJP4uHjOwoTplVEZ4dh6eb2Yhg4O/s320/P6190578.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
The childrens park at Dubbo Big 4</td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXBzsTmtS3uAfl3biadzf6vNgci00hzZY-Fyl6GHHi3KT0XPa9Ez7LYwcBv83HzXltf5-tUHkBe5laLmFTGxyXrx3zyOpTaAHdVc5mdWOfyj2JxzxjehtudDtfLqpDCppVA95Au0qdYOjK/s1600/P6190621.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXBzsTmtS3uAfl3biadzf6vNgci00hzZY-Fyl6GHHi3KT0XPa9Ez7LYwcBv83HzXltf5-tUHkBe5laLmFTGxyXrx3zyOpTaAHdVc5mdWOfyj2JxzxjehtudDtfLqpDCppVA95Au0qdYOjK/s320/P6190621.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>The Movie screen in the recreation room <br />
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</tbody></table>We have settled down in the van now as its absolutely freezing outside already. We have the heating blasting away so its toasty warm inside thankfully. Were going to have showers and pop down to the Recreation room at 4:30pm to see if the daily movie is a kids movie, if Zac is interested in it then we will stay and watch it, if not then we will come back to the van and do some craft. <br />
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Tomorrow morning we will be waking up bright and early and heading to Dubbo Zoo. We have heard it is quiet a big walk so we are going to take the pram so Zac can rest whenever he wants to. We are also going to take a lovely picnic lunch and lots of water to drink, hats, sunscreen etc. Once we finish at the zoo we will go to the tourist information centre and get the information for a few places our friend told us about which we now want to see (I will write about them tomorrow once I get the information on them). <br />
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Take care everyone! Were missing our friends and family alot already but we are also having lots of fun (although Brent is so warn out its only 3:30 in the afternoon and he has fallen asleep on the bed having a grandpa nap haha).Living The Simple Dreamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00908190473673884512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7998908409405711710.post-47477354997335137522011-06-13T07:42:00.000-07:002011-06-13T07:42:37.200-07:00More organisation tips and hints for caravannersI am going to continue on with my list of tips and ideas we have utilised to make life a little easier, cheaper and more organised, in the caravan. I just have to say first that some of these ideas will seem rather obvious, but I'm still going to list them. <br />
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<u>Organisation tips:</u><br />
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<u>In the kids room: </u>We bought a family van with a bunk room as we currently have one child and may choose to have another down the track. However as we only use one of the bunks (the middle one) we have chosen to use the other two as "shelves". We wanted our son to still be able to enjoy a variety of toys and games, despite how small our home is so we decided to try and keep hi sbelongings as organised as possible. I purchased a variety of plastic "clip lid" tubs, six of the fifty litre (big) ones and 6 of the lowline ones that are designed for going underneath beds. Along the bottom bunk I put a row of the lowling tubs then ontop a row of the bigger tubs. I did the same with the tope bunk. On the top bunk the tubs are filled with extremely lightweight items like out spare Hay for our guinea pig Pepper and some of Zacs lighter toy boxes. On the bottom (the ground bunk) is the box of stationary, box of craft items for Zacher and other heavy items. I have found this organisation method works really well for us. All the boxes are labelled and we keep them very tidy and organised. We continually go through them and reduce the clutter of things we dont need or things that are broken or have pieces missing. <br />
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We also keep Zacs wardrobe very well organised. Everything is in its place. We keep stocked up on nappys although we are currently toilet training. We keep a great variety of winter and summer clothes as the weather can change at any time. Whenever any of Zacs toys are damaged (beyond repair) we get rid of them, same goes for books. If a puzzle is missing pieces, we throw it out immediately. Although we do try hard to look after things, but theres no point in having them take up space if they are broken. We have mentioned to our families and friends that for birthdays and christmas for Zac presents should be quiet small and simple - not too many toys and books. We have started a trust fund for Zachery and have invited our families to add to this is an alternative to gifts if they wish too. We also suggested that they could send money on experiences for him, as gifts, rather than objects. At the same time however we are open to rotation of his toys and will just minimise the older toys to fit in some of the new ones if he happens to recieve quiet a few on his upcoming birthday. <br />
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When we are stopped at sunny places we rotate the toy boxes we bring out for Zac. We will bring the train set out to the mat outside (under out awning) one day, than another the trucks and cars, another the mixed toy box. However in the bottom bunk shelve Zac always has books, craft items, musical instruments and a small variety of craft and art items readily avaliable for him to choose from.<br />
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<u>In the Kitchen/living area:<br />
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baskets: </u>We love baskets! We have baskets in our draws for our items like zip lock bags, sponges, lids etc. I keep a basket on my benchtop (which I just pop on the bed or in the bathroom when were in transit) with my toothbrush, toothpaste, face wash etc, as I cant go into the bathroom until after Zac has fallen asleep, due to having to go through his room to get there. I have a basket on a small bed end table in our bedroom area which I keep a packet of wipes and a handfull of nappies in. This makes it far easier than continuously going into Zacs wardrobe to find them. We have baskets in our bedside hutches for our wallets, keys, phones etc. To make them a bit easier to find. Baskets are wonderful and really hep you to stay organised, especially when you generally have to remove everything from your benchtops to travel - this way you just pop the basket somewhere safe and pull it back out once youve stopped. <br />
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<u>Food storage: </u><br />
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<u>Tubs of extras: </u><br />
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We also keep a variety of spare food items, spare washing powder, washing up detergent etc in more of the plastic 50 litre tubs under our bed. This way we are able to keep stocked up and have our items easily accessable. <br />
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<u>Tupperware or other stackable containers: <br />
</u>When you only have limited space you need a pantry storage system that will pack up neatly. I have chosen tupperware (as I went through that crazy cycle of tupperware parties al of us young mums have to experience) howeveer there are countless other brands on the market in shops like big W and woolworths that fit just as nicely together. I strongly reccomend buying a VERY big variety of sizes of these containers as you ritems storage needs will be varied. I keep quiet a few cerial containers as we like a variety of cerial, and I also keep a LOT of baking/cooking ingredients. Having these storage systems allows me to keep items very fresh for a long time in a variety of climates. Spending a little extra money on buying yourself some sotrage containers will save you money in the long run when you fine your food in the cupboards and fridge, are alot fresher and last a lot longer. <br />
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<u>A few other ideas:<br />
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Meal planning: </u>I plan a months worth of meals, based on what I have in the cupboards aswell as other items I need to purchase. I try to use mostly the items I already have first, that way I know they will get used within the month. But there are always other items/ingredients that I am missing. I try to be realistic with my plans and keep them quiet filled with a variety of meals. I also do my best to cover breakfast, lunch and snacks. I dont plan them for a particular day, I generally just plan thirty of each meals and we eat whichever, whenever. Having meals avaliable all the time and especially having a list of a huge variety of things you could cook at the drop of the hat (including a bunch of very quck and simple meals) is a great way to save money by not turning to takeaway at those moments of real hunger or exhaustion. <br />
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<u>Treats and junk food: </u>I also am realistic about treats, we like to have some sugary items here and there so I buy the ingredients to make the occasional self saucing chocolate pudding, pancakes or just some simple chocolate bars or sweet biscuits. I keep these items packed away and when we bring them out we enjoy them as a family. Having these items spread through our food storage system means that we dont find ourselves turning to service stations and takeaway shops for the occasional treat. <br />
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sleep time now. Will add more again along the wayLiving The Simple Dreamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00908190473673884512noreply@blogger.com0