drive to darwin - june holiday

we're finally back after 5 wonderful weeks away!  i've broken up the trip into 6 sections.  the first part of the trip saw us driving from derby, along the great northern highway, to darwin over three days.  what an incredible drive. the first day we left at 6am and it took us 9 hours to get to kununurra where we camped at discovery park along the lake.  the drive was so beautiful. we saw all kinds of wildlife along the way like wallabies, cows, birds, snakes, goana's, lizards, etc. next day we explored kununurra for a bit and then drove to katherine where we stayed with friends of a friend. next day we explored katherine gorge which was fantastic and then drove up to darwin.  on the way we stopped to hike into edith falls - a really beautiful oasis. on the way from kununurra to darwin we saw wedge tailed eagles, wild pigs, wild horses, and lots more of the typical wildlife.  we also saw many beautiful mountains (hills really) and incredible sweeping vistas. left for bali at 2am...which was a bit rough. see more photos of our drive through the kimberley and into the nothern territory (to the top end!) in this album

camp breakfast

next morning we woke up when we felt like it and it was drizzling ever so slightly. miski was still sleeping soundly which was unusual. enjoyed the cool morning breeze and lounged around a bit. eventually we got up and took puppy for a stroll and broke down the tent. then we made traditional australian breakfast: jaffles!  they are amazing! i had baked beans, egg and tomato. jose had salami, cheese and beans and tomatoes. yum.  the boys also had some cherrabun to top it all off. we had tea and chatted and watched the dogs run around and play.  we eventually cleaned up and went to the stream again to wander in the water. headed out early to get home for nanna naps and laundry. it was so great to finally get to go camping again after all this time!  jose and i had such a good time. can't wait for the next outback camping.  more photos here

Camballin camping

went on a short camping trip this weekend with our friends sam and ayesha! poor miski got car sick on the way... we went out to a spot near Looma community and Liveringa station. couldn't cross the "stream" because it was far too squishy to get to the other side. it was a beautiful, breezy, cloudy day so we set up shop for a bit in the afternoon and tried to get some cherrabun (prawn like critters) without success. jose fished a bit and miski and cora bonded by the cars.  after a while we drove around looking for an alternative place to camp. found a good spot by the side of a small hill and set up our tents and gear.  miski LOVES camping!  she drove poor cora to distraction and wreaked havoc for a while but it got her wiggles out. she even learned to swim with cora in a nearby watering hole.  the boys went off to catch our dinner and ayesha and i stayed back to chat and have tea and watch the fort.  they came back with the biggest creatures i've ever seen!  we had cherrabun, steak, and stir-fried noodles/veggies for dinner. yum! add a bit of red wine and some good tunes and we had a lovely, relaxing, beautiful evening out bush.  went to bed and miski slept all night at the foot of my mattress. so cute.  see more photos in the camballin camping trip album