Day 8

DAY 8

28^th June

Morning pack up then off to Mt Finke. Only 80 odd kms to travel but a lot of dunes in between. Stu told me to drive... fun, fun, fun!! We stopped and had a look at the memorial for Martin (Dinger) Denton (Son) and Goog Denton (Dad). They built the Googs track and the road out to Mt Finke.

Lots of fun on today’s drive. Some large dunes with soft sand and bumps at the top. But nothing could get in the way of any cars in our convoy... even casper (the Delica) and Pete towing a T-Van found the going easy enough. Another group of cars struggled ahead of us on some of the dunes, they were also headed to Mt Finke. One of the guys gave us 16 bags of jelly beans... one for each person in our group. How nice.

Didn’t see any animals other than birds, lots of flying ants nests and camel tracks.

We got to Mt Finke before the other group. They decided not to camp near us when Col informed them we had an 11 month old that wakes about 4am each morning... LOL!! Parkes, Williams, Madison and I walked up Mt Finke, got the lungs pumping. Tough going with the steepness and the rocky track covered in Spinifex plants. Well worth the effort for the spectacular views. At least 5 wedge tailed eagles circled us at the peak. We headed back down for happy hour (poor Jessica decided to fall into a Spinifex bush) and another nice evening around a campfire. Several sightings of satellites were made and Stu saw a shooting star. Then it was off to bed ready for an early start and a BIG day of driving tomorrow.

Day 7

DAY 7

27^th June

Just woke up as we pleased. Nowhere to drive today....yeah!! Mike was in chocolate heaven, 3 slices of Nutella toast cooked on the campfire and hot Milo for breakfast. Jamie decided to have three slices as well, just because her brother did.

The day consisted of collecting wood for the fire, walks on, around and across Googs Lake. Discovering diamonds in the salt crystal rock formations was a favourite activity. Walking, photography, reading and just hanging around. Just what the doctor ordered for most of us. Mike and his toy 4WD car played all day together creating all sorts of tracks and jumps. Jamie and Haley loved their day of make believe playing and Chelsea enjoyed some freedom and crawl time. Cheryl and I tried our best to get her to take her first steps on the lake.

The guys all did checks on the cars and made some adjustments.

Cheryl was king of the kids organising a M&M damper cooking activity. A real winner!! Especially with the eating part J

I made ham and cheese, Chez made fetta and semi dried tomato and Anthea had fetta, mushroom and ham. Yum. Very full stomachs though. Fiona’s blue M&M damper looked like a cake.

The night was topped off around the campfire. The older kids had prepared an African song and dance for us (Jordan, Jack, Jessica and Madison) which was great. They are all so talented.(Better not forget special effects by Col). Jordan also sang us a song, what a perfect end to a lovely day!

Day 6

DAY 6

26^th June 2012

Woke up early for a ‘quick’ pack up!!! Wet swags, red dirt and freezing fingers don’t make for a happy start to the day. My turn for a melt down LOL!!! Watched a beautiful sunrise in between packing up. No time for photos for me L That’s okay, “suck it up princess is the saying”!!

On the road about 8.30. Headed into Ceduna for a top up of supplies including spare petrol. We managed to do some laundry and have a cafe lunch while Pete got a new car battery and a few auto electric repairs done to his car. We all picked up some prawns for a seafood risotto dinner!

After our stop in Ceduna it was on the road to Googs Lake for new camp site. At the start of the Googs Track we let down our tyres for the sand driving and had the launching of ‘the flags’ ceremony. Cheryl tried to get a photo without the People Mover ‘Casper” or the silver Pajero without the real bumper bar Lol!!! Then we were off!! Jutter, jutter, jutter............. nothing like corrugation driving! Our blinker kept coming on, quite funny. It is fun to be driving off road and discovering new parts of our beautiful country!!

We stopped to check out some Rock Holes that the Aboriginal people use for water supply when travelling to the sea.

Finally, we were at Goog Lake and setting up our camp. Two nights here, and no driving tomorrow made me feel very happy!!! We all made risotto for tea. Maiden risotto for Lisa. Worked out pretty yummy too. Thanks Fiona for the recipe!! Poor Anthea, SOMEONE?? Forgot to get the prawns for the Freeman dinner. L Their holiday HAS to get BETTER soon!!! Campfire warmth then off to bed.

Day 5 the bit I missed :-)

DAY 5 CONTINUED:

We spent a couple of hours driving this afternoon towards our new camping spot. The roads were all dirt but the grader had only just been through so it was nearly highway driving. Wombat holes a plenty along the edge of the road. We arrived at a beautiful little salt lake called Loche Clay Pan. Pulled off the side of the road at set up our camp near the lake. The kids had a ball playing in the hard sand where the lake had dried up. We had a nice evening walking around, and then sitting by the camp fire. Packed up quickly when the rain came and all decided to call it a night!

Simpson Holiday Day 5

DAY 5

25^th June:

Our second day at Mt Ive Station. A pretty chilly morning. Poor Stu and Bruce up at 4am chasing off swiping foxes from around the camping area. Jamie was crying with cold and sore fingers again (I knew how she felt) and Mike was too cold to eat cereal!!! Another meltdown morning J

On the road again about 9am. We had a little more exploring to do around the station before heading on to our next location. Pete filled up his water supplies in the T-Van. They are very nice people at Mt Ive Station.

We set off towards Lake Gairdner. Stopping along the way for a walk up the river bed to view the organ pipes at Kath’s Castle and to walk along the 1892 built dam wall. Finally we got glimpses of the beautiful Lake Gairdner, smaller in size to Lake Ayer but beautiful pristine views and reflections. It had water in it just above ankle deep but the white salt pans that formed the bed were spectacular. Nestled amongst the red rock ranges the lake forms the northern boundary of the station.

We enjoyed playing in and around the lake, taking in the views and lots of photographs. We had our lunch there, before packing up, returning maps and gate keys to the homestead.

Simpson Desert Holiday Day 4

DAY 4

24^th June:

A nice sleep in today, didn’t have to get up till about 8am. The kids enjoyed waking up and exploring the sheep station around our campsite. The station was established in 1867. It is approximately 900sqkm and is situated amongst the vast volcanic landscape of the ancient Gawler Ranges.

After breakfast we were on our way, exploring the countryside around Mt Ive Station. We took to the 4WD track named ‘Flight Path’. This was a 30km round trip. We crossed dry creek beds and took in views of some beautiful outback scenery such as Peterlumbo Hill, Mt Ive and contrasts of red and green. More kangaroos, emus and goats dotted the countryside. The volcanic rock outcrops (Rhyolite Columns) forming spectacular pipe organ type landforms, such as “Peters Pillars”.

We all enjoyed some 4WDriving, though not too tough, and being able to get out of the car and explore some of the countryside. Jordan enjoyed some driving practice, although the tree branch got a little bit of a beating, LOL!!

Back at camp the kids went for a walk around the station, visiting some of the farm animals. We built a lovely campfire and enjoyed a relaxing evening in the warmth. And tonight Bruce had no troubles getting some port buddies. Ahhhh.

Simpson Deset Holiday... Day 3

DAY 3

23^rd June

Wow!! Saturday morning we had to get up at 6am again. The temperature was -2 degrees!! It was a freezing night, definitely not warm and cosy in the swags. The kids swag, the fox wing, Parkes’ tent and cars were covered in ice. The condensation in the kids swag had also frozen to the roof! Packing up was a chore. Jamie had a melt down because her fingers and feet were so cold!! Poor little thing!

We finally got away, 30mins later than planned. Better late than never. It was another long day of driving. Morning tea saw us stop at Peterborough (built in the 1800’s). The kids liked the old steam trains and railway. Stu, Williams and Freemans all enjoyed ducking into the cafe for a ‘real coffee’ while the Parkes headed off again with Jordan behind the wheel!! Go Jordy!!

We drove through a lot of open, shrubby country. Emus by the dozens scattered the country side. We were treated to some spectacular views of the Flinders Ranges. Eventually we made it to Port Augusta for lunch and some restocking of petrol, fruit and vegies. Col was getting toey though, so soon enough we were back on the road, travelling through the vast open country side. After passing Iron Knob we turned off the bitumen and on to the gravel roads for about 120km to Mt Ive. We dodged emus (just), foxes and sheep finally arriving at the property as the sun was going down. After setting up super fast we all feasted on meat and three veg. Some of us were lucky enough to score a shower before the hot water ran out. A little bit of luxury. Although the way Jamie was crying you’d have thought she was in an ice bath. The ‘big kids’ spent a few hours in the common room playing table tennis, draughts and chess etc... Bruce couldn’t find a port drinking buddy so ended up hitting the sack. I managed to download some photos and update my diary.

We are all looking forward to some sightseeing and exploring around the Mt Ive Station area tomorrow.