The McLardy Aussie Adventures

It's really happening!

2009-10-24T15:44:00.003+10:00

Ok so alot has happened between posts...ALOT, well it has been over two years, I'm suprised this blog wasn't automatically deleted!

There have been too many camping trips to count, a new baby, a change of schools and.....

We have packed up the house, the tenants have moved in, we have bought our dream caravan, and now have a home away from home.

Back in May we decided to do the craziest thing we have ever done, hit the road!

Maybe all a little prematurely as we were supposed to leave in June, we now can't leave until April 2010 due to business commitments (a whole massive house to build, another story, don't get me started).

Since May we have lived in our van, at my parents, at Adrian's parents, back to my parents, now we are in my sisters front yard and next week we go back to my parents, suffice to say, it's a little trying moving 3 children from here to there all the time, but hey it's all for a good cause.

So join us on our crazy adventure that well hasn't started yet.

Home - Wednesday 1st August, 2007

2007-08-03T10:41:00.000+10:00

Having travelled 5334 kilometres over 22 days we have arrived back in Coolum Beach.

We left Cania Gorge at 11am after packing up for the last time, it was sad and exciting all at the same time, exciting because I knew that night I would get to sleep in a comfortable bed and have a shower in my shower, all by myself.

The trip home went well, we drove through Monto, had lunch in Eidsvold and continued on through Gayndah, Kilkivan and Gympie before arriving home at 5pm.

Zoe was heartbroken as a "bird" took her dummy as the "bird" didn't think she needed it anymore, she screamed for a good couple of hours and was very very upset, I felt sooo bad as I know how much she loved that dummy, I nearly caved and gave it back to her but Adrian put his foot down and said no. Anyway all is good now, she has accepted the fact that it is gone and that she won't be getting a new one and that's just the way it is. I'm glad because if I had to hear the words "Where's my dummy" one more time I may have gone insane!

I've written a journal for the kids to read so they don't forget their trip, it has lots of maps and information in it and pictures too when I get them printed, they sit there for hours looking through it already.

It was such a relaxing holiday, I got to draw lots and I read two books, it's been a long time since I've been able to read two books, I must do it more often.

I'm now hoping Adrian gets itchy feet and wants to travel around Australia soon, I'd do it in a heartbeat.

Somehow Jack & Zoe turned into little angels whilst away, sleeping a good 12 hours every night and playing so beautifully together.

Back to reality now :)

Cania Gorge - Our last stop :(

2007-08-03T10:26:00.000+10:00

After leaving Seaforth we drove for 10 hours and arrived in Biloela at 5pm and were all asleep by 6.30pm! We didn't see much of Biloela at all as when we woke in the morning we headed straight for Cania Gorge, a place I have wanted to go to for a really long time.

The kids loved Cania as the caravan park had a great big jumping pillow that they hardly got off and there was bird feeding in the afternoon, with birds landing all over them, they thought it was hysterical.

We went on a wonderful drive and learnt about the history of the area, driving through the Monel Goldfields and seeing the old relics of 100 years ago. We had lunch at a little town called Many Peaks and then went 4wding to get back to camp. There was a huge tree across the road that had fallen down and we had to pull it off with our truck, Jack couldn't get the grin off his face. We got a little lost but found our way out by 4.30pm.

Was a great way to spend our last day.

(Photos to come, haven't downloaded them off the camera yet)

The perfect spot...

2007-08-03T10:03:00.000+10:00

Seaforth! I have fallen in love with this place, I could truly live here if it didn't mean leaving my family and friends here on the coast.

Seaforth is north of Mackay and the most perfect little place and we will definitely be going back for a lot longer than 3 nights next time.

We had only planned on staying for one night but ended up staying for 3 as we couldn't bring ourselves to leave plus the campsite was great as it was in the park right on the beach and about 4 metres from our camp was the children's playground, you couldn't ask for better.

Jack and Zoe must of been tired as they slept in til 8.30am everyday, the camper is really dark inside so it must of tricked them into thinking it was still night time :)

The kids had their first fishing experience, they didn't catch anything but had lots of fun and we went for a drive around the area and walked out to an island when it was low tide and did some exploring.

The view from our camp

The island we walked out to on low tide.

A heart attack day!

2007-08-03T09:38:00.000+10:00

We left Cardwell and we had decided to go to Charters Towers to try and get away from the rain but things turned out very very differently!

Took a couple of detours to check out some other camping spots for when we go back up that way again and ended up driving to Paluma. Now to get to Paluma you go through some exceptionally beautiful rainforest and over Little Crystal Creek, this is the most magical place I have ever seen, it felt like another world.

We then decided we may as well do the circuit from Paluma into Townsville, on the map it looked so quick but ended up taking us 4 hours! We started to think we had gone the wrong way it was taking so long and the road was horrible AND WE WERE RUNNING OUT OF FUEL!
Oh my god it was soooo scary as there was not a town or petrol station in sight. The fuel light come on and Adrian had to put the car into neutral and glide down the hill as it was running out fast, it was now 4pm and we still had no idea where we were going to stay. I was having a panic attack that I was going to be left in the middle of nowhere with two screaming children and Adrian having to walk to god knows where to find some fuel.

Someone must of been looking down on us because just before we run out a fuel station come into sight and I have never been so happy to see a Caltex sign before, I wanted to hug the lady that worked there when I went into pay :)

Anyway we ended up staying south of Townsville at a little place called Giru and all was well :)
Took me a good day to get over it though and I have now become obsessed with looking at the fuel gauge.

Cardwell - on the way south again

2007-08-03T09:23:00.000+10:00

Had no idea where we were going to end up today, we just wanted to get away from the rain, not much fun camping in the rain!

We ended up in Cardwell and stayed at the Kookaburra Caravan Park, we attempted to get fish and chips for dinner which turned into a complete debarcle after I had a fight with a crazy lady in the fish and chip shop, I ended up running out thinking she was going to shoot me haha

The next day we went for a drive up to Tully Gorge, what a beautiful place, would love to have seen the white water rafters going down the gorge but we got there a bit too late. It was pouring rain and very eery.

We went for a drive through the Misty Mountains Park and saw a Cassowary! It was exciting as we kept seeing Cassowary signs everywhere but didn't think they actually existed. It was in the middle of the road and I think it nearly had a heart attack when it saw us, it looked at us like we had caught it without clothes on :)

We had lunch at Murray Falls, I hope to camp here oneday and we went for a bushwalk to the lookout on the Cardwell Forest Drive to see Hinchenbrook Island.

Lake Barrine

2007-08-03T09:18:00.000+10:00

If you ever go to the Atherton Tablelands you should go to Lake Barrine, it was absolutely beautiful. We went on a rainforest walk, this seems to be Jack's favourite thing to do, he just loves to explore, Zoe on the other hand likes to be carried.

We had the best hamburgers ever in the teahouse.

Lake Tinnaroo - Atherton Tablelands

2007-08-03T09:04:00.000+10:00

Today we decided to leave Port Douglas as it was very windy and head inland.

We drove through Mossman, Mt Molloy, Mareeba and Atherton and ended up in Lake Tinnaroo National Park.

After setting up camp Jack opened the fishing bag to find a scorpian! Luckily he remembered they were very dangerous after learning about them at the venom show and told us and Dad put it in the bush. Scary! I'd never seen a scorpian before so it was kind of interesting.

I'm not sure I liked Lake Tinnaroo much, it was cold, windy and rainy and rats crawled all over our camper all night, I didn't sleep for 3 days, except in the day when Adrian took the kids for a drive and come back with chocolate to cheer me up :) I wanted to leave but the camper was too wet to pack up so we had to stay 3 nights instead of two.

I'm sure the place would have been great if the weather was better and all the rats were dead!

Port Douglas

2007-08-03T08:51:00.000+10:00

We are now up to day nine, the time is going way too quickly.

We left the Daintree and went back over the river to Port Douglas, we stayed at a Big 4 caravan park and may as well been in a retirement village, I truly cannot believe the amount of old people (or grey nomads as they are known on the road) around. It's funny seeing their faces when we rock into town :)

Luckily for them they do not get woken up early in the morning by screaming children, as Jack and Zoe have turned into perfect angels and are going to bed around 7pm each night and not waking until at least 7.30am the next morning! Bliss....

We went to Hartley's Crocodile Adventure Zoo, and saw so many crocs I don't care if I don't see another one again. We watched the crocodile attack show and Jack put his hand up when it was question time but become too shy to ask whatever he wanted to ask, it must of been the 200 pairs of eyes on him. Dad, Jack & Zoe had their photo taken with a baby crocodile, they were so excited it looked like they might burst.

The Daintree & Cape Tribulation

2007-08-03T08:10:00.001+10:00

Wow what a beautiful place, it is just gorgeous. We went from Kuranda to the Daintree on Day Six and stayed a great park called Lync Haven, it was in the rainforest and had rainforest walks all through it, Jack & Zoe loved these and we had to go over and over and over again. It would have been better if the bloody generator there didn't run all through the night, the first night I don't think I slept once, it was driving me crazy! After the second and third night I got used to it.

We went on the river train and saw a very big, very angry crocodile, the boat had to move as it was going to bite it!

We also went 4wding on the Bloomfield track, Adrian has always wanted to go on this track and finally got to do it. We drove up to the Bloomfield Waterfalls, they were spectacular.

On the way back we stopped at Woobadda Creek for lunch and Jack & Zoe decided to go for a swim (there are no crocodiles up stream) and the water was absolutely freezing, they put their feet in and that's it.

We also saw our first Ulysses Butterfly today, such a beautiful bright blue colour.

And we saw a crocodile sunning itself on the bank of the river.

Kuranda

2007-08-02T21:51:00.000+10:00

What a great place, I loved it here. We met some lovely people around the camp fire and ended up getting drunk with them...nothing like a bottle of wine (or two) with strangers :)

We spent the days exploring the village, lots of shops to look in and took the kids to the Venom Musem where they got to touch a snake and spider and learn all about creepy crawlies (this comes in handy for later on when Jack spotted a scorpian in our fishing bag! $30 well spent I would say, I still can't believe there was a real live scorpian in our bag)

We wanted to take them on the train and but it was going to cost over $ 200 so decided against it, Jack was a little devastated but soon got over it when we took the training wheels off his bike and he rode without them for the first time...very exciting!!! He did so well and only stacked it a couple of times before getting the hang of it. Luckily he learnt how to ride quickly as his beloved 3 wheeler that we also took with us died and we had to throw it in the bin, was a sad sad day :( His Tonka truck also broke but he doesn't realise that is missing yet.

The next couple days.....

2007-08-02T21:40:00.000+10:00

We left St Lawrence and continued onto Ayr where we stayed at a lovely little caravan park, we searched all over town for a fish and chip shop and after an hour of searching found one just 2 mins from the caravan park, well it was worth the wait, it was delicious!

Jack had his heart set on seeing the giant snake he spotted driving into Ayr so we stopped for a photo, he couldn't get the grin off his face.

Ended up in Mission Beach, I got a little stressed when the two main caravan parks in town were full and the free camp was also full, ended up staying in a park just outside town.

Made it to Cairns! Decided Cairns was not the best place to stay, and headed to Ellis Beach, it was booked out! argghhhhh so drove up to Kuranda and ended up staying there 3 nights.

Day One - 11th July, 2007

2007-08-02T21:21:00.000+10:00

Our trip started at 4am when we got Jack & Zoe out of bed and straight into the car, luckily we were completely packed so we didn't have to do anything (I even went to bed in what I was going to wear, how lazy is that!)

Adrian couldn't get the grin off his face as the 4wd in the picture is brand new and he only picked it up the day before we left!

We weren't really sure how far we were going to get on the first day but we ended up travelling 11 hours! and ended up staying at a free camp about 4 hours north of Rockhampton at a place called St Lawrence.

They were so great in the car, Zoe only threw up once, but I think it was from the Macca's we had for breakfast, silly me (note not to have Macca's for breakfast again)

Wouldn't stay at St Lawrence again, the mozzies were massive and it was bloody freezing! But it was free so who's complaining.

We are home!

2007-08-02T14:09:00.000+10:00

Had the best time ever, will update as soon as I catch my breath, lots of unpacking and 3 weeks worth of bookwork to be done (right now it isn't feeling like I even HAD a holiday)

Watch this spot....

2007-07-10T15:58:00.000+10:00

Nearly packed!

We leave at 4am tomorrow morning, after a 'hopefully' good nights sleep, can't really see that happening cause I don't sleep very well when excited.

The new car is here, I love it! Just packing it now, the camper is all ready to go.

So I may, or may not update this while I am away, depends if we can get net access or not I suppose.

Will have lots of pics :)

Officially Cranky

2007-07-05T14:36:00.000+10:00

2 more sleeps are now 5 MORE SLEEPS!

We won't be getting the new car until Tuesday now :( I am so cranky, we could still leave on Saturday but it would mean going in the Pajero and risking breaking down half way there, I think I would be crankier if that happened than I am now.

Oh well, look on the bright side, it's a few more days to get everything perfect before we go, I won't have to rush around with my head chopped off now I will have the weekend with Adrian at home to get organised.

Hey I should be used to it, nothing ever, and I mean ever goes to plan for me/us.

Grrrr 3 more sleeps may turn into 5 more sleeps!

2007-07-04T20:06:00.001+10:00

Well it looks like we may not be going on Saturday afterall. The new car may not be ready :( and we really really want to go in it. The Pajero is not very reliable, I mean it 'should' be ok but who knows? And we REALLY want our new Landcruiser!

Bloody car salesmen that make promises they can't keep give me the complete shits.

Fingers crossed it is going to be ready! I am sick of changing the dates.

3 More Sleeps!

2007-07-04T15:11:00.000+10:00

Ok, I am 'nearly' organised. Spent the morning shopping for the bits and pieces I needed to get. Got the kids a couple of new toys to play with along the way to keep them occupied in the car. Thank god they travel well.

4 More sleeps til our holiday! Countdown is on!

2007-07-03T21:12:00.000+10:00

We are busily getting prepared for our holiday....we have the camper, we have the gear, we just need to pick up the new car and we are off!

This Saturday 7th July we head off on a 3 week camping holiday, driving to Cairns and back again. We cannot wait!

Hopefully I will get time along the way to update this blog with some pictures and stories of our adventures.

It is going to be so great spending time together, the kids are going to love it, imagine getting to spend 3 whole weeks with their Mum & Dad without any distractions.

4 more sleeps!

Me

2007-07-03T20:09:00.000+10:00

Isn't it hard to write about yourself? Well I think it is anyway, I'm sure once I get going I will be fine :)

Firstly, you will soon work out that I LOVE to talk, LOVE LOVE LOVE it, alot of the time I don't shut up.

Mostly it's about the things I love the most, my family :) Adrian is my husband of 11 years and I've got two totally cute kids, Jack and Zoe. Jack is four and a half and Zoe will be three this September, gosh the time has gone fast.

I work 3 days a week in Adrian's building company, and am loving the freedom this brings. Up until a month ago I worked for a local radio station AND worked for the building company and I hate to admit it, but it all got way too hard. Trying to fit everything in was a nightmare! I decided I wasn't being a good Mum, Wife or Employee so I found a way to fix that and things are working so much better now.

The best thing about not going 'to' work is that I get to spend time doing the things I really enjoy doing, like cooking (my most favourite thing to do) and sewing, since finishing I have made 2 new pants for Zoe, a bag for me and a couple of blankets for the kids! It's great fun.

I would love to be one of those people that have a funny, witty and entertaining blog but I'm not sure it will turn out that way as I've decided I am not that witty, funny or entertaining :)

Anyway shall see how I go.

Bye for now.