Day 50: Another Decision

Today we had another rest day catching up on jobs around the caravan.  We were originally going to leave for Tennant Creek today but we decided to stay another night before leaving in the morning.  Mum went shopping to stock up on supplies.  Dad and I played soccer in the afternoon then watched a movie before going ot bed.

Written by Sean Campbell

Day 49: Another Rest Day

Today was another rest day. We got up early to get to church by 9am. Church went for 1hr and it was very interesting. The preacher told us a story about a church in South America that got invaded by guerillas with machine guns. They asked who believed in Jesus. Those who said they did were taken outside to be executed. The guerillas did not kill the people but intead told the ones who didn't speak up to leave the church and never come back. After church we went to the markets in Tod Mall to see what they had. Mum got a movie and I got an Artemis Fowl book. We finished at the market we went back to the scout hall and spent the rest of the day cleaning up and resting.

Written by Sean Campbell

Day 48: More Gorges And Gaps

Today we headed off to Trephina Gorge. We all got up and packed th car early. We travelled for 1.5hrs before the turnoff but decided to keep going to Roos River Resort at the end of the road. At Ross River we went into the shop to check out the place. When we came out there were horses walking around the car. Dad and I patted them and they stayed around for a while. Mum joined us and we jumped in the car again. Next we went down the trephina Gorge road. We went down a side track to John Hayes Rockholes. it was very bumpy just like Palm Valley but not as bad. When we got there we went on the 5min walk to the waterholes. There was a side path going to the upper level, mum said whe wouldn't do it but dad and I were anxious to see it. We climbed thed rocks and had to jump over water to get to the second waterhole. When we got there we were enchanted by the scenery and beauty of the place. We found that there was another waterhole above this one which we couldn't climb up there. Dad threw a rock into the other waterhole and it made a big splash - must be pretty big. We headed back to mum and back into the car. Next stop Trephina Gorge. We went on the 1hr walk through the gorge. We had to take our shoes off because we had to apddle through the creek to get there. We got to the end and had lunch in a nice spot in the shade of the gorge before heading back to the car. Next we stopped at Corroboree Rock - a funny shaped rock that the Aboriginies used as their church. We alked around the rock and nack to the car. Next we stopped at Jessie Gap near Alice Springs. I decided to stay in the car while mum and dad went for a look. They came back and we headed off to Emily Gap. Again I stayed in the car. When we got back to our camp, we unpacked our stuff. I took Rosie for another run in the hall before setting up the fire pit. When the fire was up and running the caretaker Curly came over to have a BBQ with us which was steak and veges. I went back to teh van to watch a movie then to sleep. Mum and dad stayed up for a while talking to Curly.

Written by Sean Campbell

Day 47: Alice Springs Again

Today we left Glen Helen and headed back to Alice Springs. We got the van and car packed then hit the road. We were on the road for about 1hr then turned off for Stanley Chasm. We got our backpacks ready and went on the 1hr walk through the chasm. There was beautiful scenery and lots of vegetation and wildlife. When we got to teh end of the walk there was a big chasm with the sun shining down on the water. We climbed the rocks while waiting for mum. When mum was finished taking pictures we all headed back to the carpark. Back on the road next stop Alice Springs scout hall again for the next couple of nights. When we got there we set up camp and went into town to get a couple of things. We asked Curly (the caretaker) if we could take Rosie into the hall for a run and he said that was fine. I took her in there and let her off the lead and she had a great time. After that we went back to the van to have dinner and go to bed.

Written by Sean Campbell

Day 46: More Of Glen Helen

Today we were going to explore more of the McDonnell Ranges. We got up and got our backpacks packed then drove 60km to Ellery Creek Big Hole. We had a look around but there weren't many walks to do. There was a school goup doing canoeing. We left Ellery Creek and drove back 10km to Serpentine Gorge. When we got there we went on a 1hr walk through the gorge. It was pretty amazing and there was lots to do. I got ahead of mum and da right near the end. At the end there was a path going up to a lookout. It was quite hard getting up there but it was worth it. We admired the view for a while we waited for mum who found a pile of rocks that looked right down into the gorge. Mum was scared so she backed off but me and dad really liked it. We headed down the slope with mum who had to have help from dad in some spots. When we got to the bottom we went on the treck back to the car. Next we headed to the Ochre Pits. We got tot he Ochre Pits , got our backpacks and went on the 15min walk to the pits. Unfortunatley we weren't allowed to take any ochre to use as facepaint. There were all differene ttypes of ochre including red, white, black and yellow. We headed back to the carpark and lef tthe Ochre Pits and headed back to Glen Helen. When we got back it was late so we all enjoyed a movie and beautiful dinner that mum cooked. Dad stayed up for a while working on the computer while mum and I went ot bed.

Written by Sean Campbell

Day 45: Sight Seeing Around Glen Helen

Today we were going to go sight seeing around Glen Helen. But before we did dad challenged me to another rock skimming contest down at the river, I won by getting 8 skims while dad got 7 skims. After we'd done that, we got on the road to Redbank Gorge. When we were nearly there we decided to go to this place called Gosse Bluff 66km out. When we got to Gosse Bluff we did the 10min walk going through the bluff. When we were nearly at the end we saw a path veering off to he side going up a big hill. We climbed it and saw the fantastic view from the top looking over the whole bluff. When other people started come up, we started to descend down the slope and when we got to the bottom we continued on our walk. After we'd finished the walk we went back to the car, had a couple of snacks and then got back on the road and headed for Redbank Gorge. When we got to Redbank Gorge we started going on the walk straight away. It was a beautiful walk and we were walking right next to the river. When we got to the end it was so beautiful and there were millions of perfect rocks to skim. We were out of there in about 10min and were on our way back to the carpark. When we got back again we had some snacks and got back on the road again. We went straight to Mt Sonder Lookout. As you might guess it overlooks Mt Sonder in the distance. We were only there for about 5min then we were on the road to Orminston Gorge. But when we got there we found out that due to flooding on all the walks you had to swim through cold water, so we left and headed for the caravan park. When we got back dad and I went to our perfect spot for skimming stones and went down there to skim a couple. After that we found out that the State Of Origon was on in the pub that night so we went home and got ready to go out. We had dinner and realised that we were 2 hours early so we watched Home Alone 3. By the time that had finished we went to the pub to watch the State Of Origon. When we got there we found out that most of the people there supported QLD, so that was good considering we went for QLD. Mum and I went back to the van at half-time, QLD were winning 10-0. Mum and I watched Crocodile Dundee 2 before going to bed.

Written by Sean Campbell

Day 44: Leaving Alice Springs

Today we were going to leave a beautiful place called Alice Springs. We had fun in Alice Springs, going shopping and going sight seeing. My favourite part of Alice Springs was probably the Reptile Cntre, seeing all the animals and learning about them at the same time. We are now heading off to Glen Helen Resort which is in the West Mc Donald Rangs right next to everything such as Redbank Gorge, Mt Sonder and Gosse Bluff. When we got there we settled in and then thought about what we were going to do the next day as sight seeing. We thought we'd go to Redbank Gorge, Mt Sonder Lookout and Orminston Gorge. After we'd finished discussing about what we'd do the next day, we all went down to Glen Helen Gorge which is right next to our campsite. We found out that to get to the actual gorge you had to swim the rest of the way, so dad and I went exploring. We eventually found a perfect spot to do a rock skimming competition, so dad challenged me. Dad won by getting 10 skips while I got 6 skips. After that we got dinner ready whle watching Home Alone. After we had dinner we decided to watch Home Alone 2. Dad went to bed half way through the movie and read, me and mum finished watching the movie and mum let me have my Ds in bed while she went to bed and watched Crocodile Dundee. It was going to be a fun day the next day, I could feel it.

Written by Sean Campbell

Day 43: Becoming Alice Springs Explorers

Today we were going to become Alice Springs explorers. We woke up at about 7am because we had to get the car in for a service at 8.30am. We took the car down to Toyota then we walked to Todd Mall. Dad forgot his licence so he went back to get while mum and I had a look around Todd Mall. We bought some souveniers then dad turned up. We all kept wlking through looking at different shops. unfortunately every time we went into a shop one of us had to stay outside because we had Rosie. Mum and dad went into Alice Plaza while I stayed outside with Rosie who got off the lead. We had to chase her. We enevtually caught her before going to teh Royal Flying Doctor Service which was very interesting and fun becasue there was a flight simulator and a pedal radio that I could play on. Afterwards we headed off to the Reptile Centre across the road. Mum stayed outside with Rosie while dad and I went inside. There was a tour on and a lady was talking about different reptiles. She and a bearded dragon, a bluetongue and large python. I got to hold the snake and the lizards, it was cool. Then we went to have a look at the other reptiles including lots of snakes, lizards, turtles and Eric the crocodile. We eventually went out to mum and went back to see if the car was finished. It was finished and I got a free lollipop. We went back to the scout hall after shopping and we watched 2 movies and had dinner before going to bed.

Written by Sean Campbell

Day 42: Scout Camp Day 2

Today once again I woke up in my tent at scout camp day two. Some people got up and went out to the yachts because there was a lot of wind, but by the time I got up there was no wind. Everyone came in for breakfast, which was pancakes, at about 8.30am. After breakfast there was a lot of wind so everyone got up and raced out to the yachts. We sailed for about 2hrs before the leaders called us in for scout's own. We were all anxious to get back out there but we had to do scout's own first which went for 10mins before we were allowed back on the yachts. We sailed again for 1hr before morning tea. Afterwards we were all assigned to a job to take down the campsite. I was assigned to take down the latrine. After I'd done that our group had to help with the shelter for the food. Afterwards we went back to the yachts for another 3hrs before having to de-rig them. It was sad to see being hauled into the trailer after having so much fun. Dad turned up to help pack the yacht trailer. All the kids had to pack up their own gear, the tents and the trailer. After everything was packed we were allowed some free time before we left. Half an hour later we left for the scout hall. When we arrived, we helped put the trailers away and then waited for parade. When parade started we all, stood around quietly while the leaders did what they had to do. After parade everyone' parents turned up so I decided to go back to the caravan, have a shower and get a good night's sleep.

Written by Sean Campbell

Day 41: Scout Camp Day 1

Today I woke up in a tent at scout camp day one. We all got out of our tents (excpet for the girls) and we had cereal for breakfast. After brekky we rigged up the yachts. After we got them set up the leaders said we had to clean up our tents before we culd have a turn ( there was no wind yet). When the wind picked up we all went out to the yachts to get one. I went in a double with a boy named Patrick (crazy driver). I eventually got a single yacht and I went a lot faster without the weight of another person. I did some drifs and I nearly crashed into a leader, Wombara. After our yacht ride we all had morning tea which was fruit and biscuits. After morning tea we were allowed to get back on the yachts( I got the single one again). After about 1hr of yachting we all went in to have lunch - hot dogs. After lunch we were split into 2 groups so we could do different things. One group had to build the washing basin, the other had to build the flagpole. I was in the group building the washing basin. We eventually completed the basin and once again we were allowed on the yachts. This time I got a double with Marcus. He was really happy with my driving and wanted to stay with me, but eventually I swapped with Daniel to get the single but I was soon kicked off by the patrol leaders. I was partnered with Marcus again. I did a few drifts and nearly crashed again. It was afternoon tea by the time we finished which was same as morning tea. We all started building the fire and the shelter for the food. After the shelter was built everyone helped digging the fire pit. It was dinner time when we finished and mum had cooked dinner for us. After dinenr we all started the fire and sat around singing songs. We also played a game called "red faces"( it was called that casue whenever you did a skit you embarrassed yourself and your faced turned red). We sang a couple more songs before going back to our tents and going to bed.

Written by Sean Campbell

Day 40: First Night At Camp

Today mum and I were going on our first night at scout camp. Mum and I got our bags packed before going out to do some shopping. We ended up going to the Pioneer Womans Hall of Fame and The Old Gaol. It was quite interesting with all the pictures and storys of different women. We left there and went shopping for like 2 hours which took us to 2:00, 4 hours from when we had to go to camp. We decided to go and set up at our new campsite for the night, well dads place, the scout hall. We settled into our new camp without hesitation. Curly, the caretaker of the 28hectares, gave us a key so we could go into the hall. Mum and I got ready for the camp while dad did fixed up the van. We just did jobs and wandered around while we were waiting for the time to come for dad to drive us to the camp-ground. The time came at 6:00 for dad to drive mum and I to the camp-ground. When we got to Undoolya Station, all the scouts helped in some way to set up the campsite. By the time we'd gotten set up for camp it was 9:00, we had supper which took us to 10:00, then went to bed at 10:30.

Written by Sean Campbell

Day 39: More Of Alice Springs

Today we were going to do some sight seeing around Alice Springs. That morning we got up at about 9:00 and got ready to go sight seeing. Our first stop was the Telegraph Station. It was a very interesting place telling you about lots of old stuff. After we'd had our walk through the field, we went on a walk by the riverside, which was really cool. After that we went to Flynn's Grave. There was also something at Todd Mall called John Flynn's Memorial church. Flynn's Grave was on top of a small hill that we had to climb to get to it. It was a small boulder with his grave underneath it, it was pretty fascinating. We then went home to tidy up some more. By the time we'd finished tidying up we had dinner, watched a movie and then to bed.

Written by Sean Campbell

Day 38: More Rest

Today was another rest day. The same things pratically happened from the previous day. Mum made me do 4 pages of handwriting, 4 pages of maths and 3 pages of grammar. I did 1 page of bible study to. That took me more time today because I wasn't in the mood. It was 5:00pm by the time i'd taken Rosie for a walk into town and back again and then groomed her. I then helped mum cook dinner and do the washing and ironing. We then had dinner and then watch a movie which took us to 8:00pm then I watched another movie before going to bed at 10:00pm.

Written by Sean Campbell

Day 37: Rest Day

Today we had the day-off to clean up the van. I got up at about 10:00am had breakfast and then made my bed. Mum told me that I had to do school work, so I got straight into it. I got 4 pages of handwriting and 4 pages of maths and 3pages of grammar. I then did 1 page of Bible Study(but ended up doing more because I was falling behind). That took me about 4hours, including the breaks. It was 3:00pm when I had done some jobs and then it was 6:00pm by the time i'd taken Rosie for a walk back to town and back again and then washed and groomed her. After that we had dinner and then mum reminded me that we were going to a scout meeting that night, so we got into our scout uniforms and then got on the road to our scout meeting. That night was fun, we even played a game that I had never played at my scout group called jailbreak which is sought of like cops and robbers. The night went by pretty straight forward from then on, doing stuff that was boring(sought of). After our meeting we found out that we were invited to come on a scout camp that weekend, we were pretty happy about that. After that we went home and then went straight to bed.

Written by Sean Campbell

Day 36: Farwell Friends

Today was the sad day that Dirk and Andrew were going to leave on the Ghan to go to Darwin. But that wasn't till 6:00pm, so we had to drop them off at 5:00pm, so we had the whole day. We went to Todd Mall and did some shopping, which was fun. We then went to the School of the Air and had a tour of the place. It was very interesting and sought-of wanted to join. We went and did some more shopping before it was 4:30pm. We went to the train station to drop them off but we decided to stay and wait for them to leave. So we aited and waited and waited and waited before the train came. We bid them farwell and almost cried. I just looked back at all the wonderful times we had had together such as the Olgas, Kings Canyon and Palm Valley. We left when they boarded because we would've had to have waited another hour. We went straight home and had dinner then went to bed at 7:30pm, I felt empty.

Written by Sean Campbell

Day 35: Rough Terrain On The Road

Today we were going to Palm Valley. We packed up and then got on the road again. We were going to stop at Hermannsberg that was 100km away. When we got to Hermannsberg we had Morning Tea, then we got back into the car and back on the road. When we got to Palm Valley, we got our stuff and started walking. We got to the top of a big hill then walked across flat ground, then down again to walk along the riverbank, while seeing lizards on the way. We had to walk through water at one stage, but that was okay. We were really close to the end when Dirk and I saw a snake rustling in the grass, but it slithered away. When we got to the end we had a yummy lunch before we went on the long trek back. When we got back we played Uno until about 6:30, then we had dinner and then we watched The Man From Snowy River and then played some more Uno as our last fun thing to do with the boys. After that we all hit the hay.

Written by Sean Campbell

Day 34: Nearly There

Today we were going to get to Alice Springs. We left Finke River 10am. On the way we went to see Dinky the singing dingo at Stuarts Well. We went into the roadhouse to find the owner of Dinky so we could ask him if we could see Dinky's perrformance. We found the owner and asked him exactly that. He said that would be fine so he went to get Dinky from the pool area and sat him next to the piano. Dinky gave me a kiss on the cheek and then he got up onto the piano and started howling while stamping his feet on the keys. The owneer asked me if I would like to play the piano with him and I did. So I went to sit on the seat right in fron tof the piano and started to play with Dinky (I wasn't allowed to touch him though). After his performance he gave me another kiss on the cheek before jumping off the piano. We said thank you to the owner and went to the other part of Stuarts Well, the camel farm. When we got there mum and I went straight into the barn. We boght a couple of souveniers and mum asked how much a camel ride was. It was pretty cheap so mum let me have a ride throuhg the yard. We went out to the barn where the camels were and the lady got me on a camel and we started walking. I founf out thatg the camel that I was riding was the winning camel of the 2011 camel race. We started to run the last few metres before me getting off the camel and saying thank you. We got back int he car and back on the road. We got to Alice Springs 2 hours later and we had a look around. WE found the information centre and went in to find out where we could stay. We eneded up staying 9km out of town at Waangardi Caravan Park. We settled inot our spot away from everyone and then went back to town to do a little bit of shopping. We came back to our camp later and we went into the van to watch a movie and play UNO. At about 8.30pm the boys went to bed in their tent so we decided we woudl hit the hay.

Written by Sean Campbell

Day 33: Goodbye Kings Canyon

Today we were leaving Kings Canyon and heading for Alice Springs. We packed up and got on the road to go to Kathleen Springs. We eventually got to Kathleen Springs and went on the 1.2km walk. We got to the end of the walk and there was a waterhole(dout anyone would go swimming today). We started heading back and when we got back we got straight back on the road. About 300km down the road we stopped at Finke River where we decided to stay the night. We backtracked about 6km and then turned off to go to the Meteor Craters. When we got there we did the 1km walk around them, they were pretty cool. After that we went back to the campsite to get set up. When we got back I took Rosie down to the river to have a run. After our run we went to cook dinner. We ended up having dinner around a fire with lots of people. I got bored so I took Rosie back down to the river for another run. I met some people that were going to Broom but going down the bottom of Western Australia and going up, so I was sure we would meet again. After our second run on the river, Rosie and I went to bed.
Written by Sean Campbell

Day 32: Night Club Mayhem

Today we were going to do the Rim Walk of Kings Canyon, which was 5km by the way. We went there pretty early, about 9:00am so we could get this done. We started walking the same track that we had walked the previous day. We turned off the path and started walking uphill, and when we got to the top we were tired but the view was fantastic. We continued walking, saw a couple of lizards and some very fancy rocks before getting to the turn-off for the Garden of Eden. We followed the path to the Garden of Eden and eventually got there, it was the most magnificent thing i've ever seen. I went down to the bank of the waterhole and dipped my feet in, it was freezing. A couple of teenagers came and had a swim, I couldn't believe they could endure the feeling of such cold water. We left and went to do the rest of the walk. Dirk and I got ahead talking about life and finished the walk before everyone else. We waited for about 30min before the others got there. We headed straight home for a good rest. We found out that the Roadies(a show that was on at the resort nearly every night, we'd heard about them in our caravan magazines) were on that night. We went home and got dressed for night club mayhem. When the time came for us to leave for our night out, we had to wait 30min before the show got on the road. When it did start, they asked me to get up and sing and then after that dad got up and sang then mum did. Our German boys even got up to get into the Aussie action. After all that had happened everyone started leaving, so we did to. We went back to the van and went straight to bed.

Written by Sean Campbell

Day 31: Hello Kings Canyon

Today was the day that we were going to Kings Canyon, the largest canyon in Australia. We got up that morning and dad went to the resort to pick up our German Friends. When he got back, mum and I had gotten everything to head out to Kings Canyon. We got into the car and drove almost 200km non-stop to one of the most beautiful things you could ever see. When we got to the Kings Creek Station, our original stop for 2 nights, we were told that it was the same as Curtin Springs, but it wasn't. It was so expencive it wasn't funny, so we kept going till we reached the Kings Canyon Resort. When we got to the resort, we went to find out how much it was for the night, it was alot cheaper than Kings Creek Station. We went to our spot and unpacked, Dirk and Andrew got their tent set up. After we'd gotten unpacked we went to Kings Canyon to find out what walks we could do that day, the shortest one was 1 hour, so we decide to do that one and leave the Rim Walk for the next day. The walk was right on the riverbank of the river in the canyon. We got to the end which was a lookout looking up at the canyon. We admired the view for a little while before turning back and heading for home. When we got back, mum got dinner ready while us boys played Uno, I won. We had dinner then our German friends decide to hit the hay. We watched a movie before our heads hit the pillows.

Written by Sean Campbell

Day 30: The Olgas

Today we were going to go to the Olgas. We went to pick up our German friends then headed out to the Olgas. We got to the national park gate, got to Uluru, then turned off to go 40km out to the Olgas. When we got there we got ready for our walk and then went on this walk. It was a 6km walk which wasn't hard but very tiring because of all the uphill walking. We were on our way when we spotted a couple of lizards and I saw a snake to. We finished the walk in about 3 hours and then we hit the road back to the resort. When we got back, we dropped off our German friends and then headed for Curtin Springs. We got back at about 4:30pm, so we had dinner watched a movie then went straight to bed.

Written by Sean Campbell

Day 29: Its A Dream Come True

Today was the big day that we would walk around Uluru. We were doing the base walk of Uluru which is 10km long and very hard. We got up early and went to the resort to get some supplies and stock up. After we'd finished there we went to the gate of the national park. Dad and I wanted to climb Uluru as an achievement, but when we learnt how important it was to the aborigine culture, he told me not to climb it, I was devestated. We started to walk the base walk together, but then I got ahead of mum and dad. When I came to the place were you could climb up it, I was so tempted to climb it and that temptation took the better of me and I started climbing. I was about half way up when my mum and got to the starting point of the climb and they just waited. Also when I was about 3 quarters of the way up I met a guy who helped me get to the top, his name was Glenn. When I go to the top the view was stunning, I got a good view of the Kata Tjuta(the Olgas) and a great view of Uluru's twin, Mt Conner. Glenn and I started to make our way down the slope. When we got to the bottom mum was so proud, I don't know about dad though. We began to continue our walk which another 6km, it was so tiring especially when you've just climbed one of Australia's most famous monuments. When we finished the walk we went to the car and got back on the road to the resort. On our home we came across a couple of German hitch hikers, we don't normally pick up hitch hikers but for some reason we did. Their names were Dirk and Andrew. We found out that they were going to the Olgas the next day, same as us. We also found out that the day after the next day they were going to Kings Canyon, again the same as us(but I really doubted if they would've because they didn't have a car), then they were going to Alice Springs and then were catching the Ghan to Darwin then driving to Cairns then driving down to Sydney to catch a plane back to Germany. They were staying at the resort so we dropped them off and then we did a little bit of shopping before going back home to Curtin Springs, the van , Rosie and a good nights sleep.

Written by Sean Campbell

Day 28: Uluru, Target Sighted

Today was the day we were going to get to Uluru. We left Kulgera and headed for the rock. there wasn't really much to do on the drive there. We stopped at Curtin Springs for a lunch break and we were only 80km from the rock and we also found out that we can stay there for free. We thought about it for a while before choosing to stay at Curtin Springs. We set up in a nice quiet spot under a tree. When we were done setting up we got back into the car and drove to Uluru. When we got to the Ayers Rock Resort we went to see our friends from Kulgera, but only to find out that they had already left. We explored around the resort for a little while before heading off to get our first glimpse of Uluru. When we go to the Ayers Rock Resort, we went shopping for grocerries and have a look around. After we'd done that we went to the edge of the national park that goes into Uluru. We found out that the cost to go in was $25 for each person over 16, people younger like me went in for free, but the bad thing was we couldn't take Rosie in and we had her with us so we decided toleave it till the next day. We headed back to Curtin Springs to have dinner and watch a movie.

Written by Sean Campbell

Day 27: Australia's Centre

Today we were heading off to Uluru, or maybe not. We decided to go to the Geographical Centre of Australia. We changed our minds because we talked to some people you have been everywhere except there so we decided to do it to. It was a good 150km to get to there then another 20km to the nearby town, Finke(or Aputula). Finke is an aboriginal town with not much to do, so it was only a quick drive around then back another 20km to the centre. It was a rough drive in and it was really rugged, but we made it in one peace(barely). We met up with the people who told us about it and we had lunch together. After they left we explored around and found the visitors book. We wrote in the visitors book then joked around about the condition of the flag and said that Julia Gillard should get a replacement. We left and passed a few people on the way out then got back on the road to go back to Kulgera. When we got back we went to thank the people who had told us about the centre then we went back to the van to go to bed.

Written by Sean Campbell

Day 26: Goodbye Coober Pedy

Today we were leaving Coober Pedy. We were there for 3 nights. My favourite part of Coober Pedy was probably The Big Winch. When we left we went to the Breakaways just a couple of kilometres out of town, they were beautiful. We saw an army of caterpillars charging towards the edge, we saw another one later on. After that we headed for our destination for that night, Kulgera. We had a lunch break at the Cadney Homestead 224km from Kulgera. A little while later we went past the border to go from South Australia to the Northern Territory. After that we got to Kulgera and set ourselves up near the pub. We found out that our friends from Coober Pedy were there to, so we went over to them to say hello. We went  the pub with our friends and had dinner there to. After that we went back to the van to setle in for the night.

Written by Sean Campbell

Day 25: Exploring Coober Pedy

This morning was annoying because we started off our day very late and I got in trouble for no reason. When we finally got on the road and went exploring. We first went to the Old Timers Mine and went on our self guided tour. It was pretty fascinating and interesting. When we finished there we headed off to do some opal shopping. We went to this place with these moonrocks for $3, so we bought some. After we looked at a couple more opal shops then went to see the catacomb church and it was pretty good. After we did all that it was about 4:30, so we went home. When we got home I was exhausted from the big day we just had. When dinner came to the table I gobbled it down and went to bed.

Written by Sean Campbell

Day 24: Coober Pedy

Today was the big day we got to Coober Pedy. We left Glendambo at about 10:00 and got to Coober Pedy at about 12:00 and went to the information centre. When we left the information centre we went to our destination for the night, Stuart Flinders Caravan Park. When we set up we went off in search of places to see. We found this place called Crocodile Harrys and went to have a look. Harry was a really weird and town character. When we finished there we went back to the caravan park to settle in for the night. We ended up getting caught up in  last minute shopping. After that we went back to the caravan to settle in. We got ready for dinner and put on a movie. After dinner mum went to bed and read for a little while before falling asleep. I went to bed a little while after followed by dad.

Written by Sean Campbell

Day 23: On Our Way To Coober Pedy

This morning was muddy and wet because of all the rain the night before. We got back on the road at about 8:30am to get to Coober Pedy. We went back to Woomera and did some stuff on the computer and ipad. After that we got caught up in a conversation with some people at a park. After we'd finished talking we went to get in the car and get back on the road. Dad turned the key to turn on the car, but the car wouldn't start, we realised our battery was dead. It took us about an hour to charge the battery back up and have lunch at the same time. It was about 12:30 before we got back on the road. We stopped at this lake and dad and I went for a paddle. The lake was salty.  When we got out we were really dirty and we couldn't wash our feet because we had to use our remaining water wisely. So we got back in the car and went to this other lake down the road. The other rest stop had a tap so we went to fill up a bucket so we could wash our feet. When both me and dad had washed our feet we got back on the road so we could get to Coober Pedy. We didn't end up getting to Coober Pedy, but we were close. We ended up staying at a place called Glendambo Caravan Park. It was a nice little spot with nice people. Mum and dad got caught up in a conversation with a man next to us and his dog Stormy. Stormy and Rosie got along well playing with each other(that's just weird because Stormy's three times the size of Rosie). After the conversation, we all came inside the van and charged a heap of stuff such as Ds, ipad and computer. After we'd put everything on charge, mum went to bed and so did I, dad stayed up and did stuff.

Written by Sean Campbell

Day 22: Trouble On The Road

Today, was a disapointing day because the road to Coober Pedy was closed because of 45ml of rain. So we had to head back around the long waym going through Roxby Downs and Woomera. The road to Roxby Downs was back past Lake Eyre, so we got to see Lake Eyre for a second time. When we got to the turn off we were ready for anything but when we actually got on the road we had doubts because it was so squishy that we could easily get bogged. We passed a few people and a few animals, then we got to a big hill that was hard to get up. When we got to the bottom we stopped because dad was changing into 4WD. But when we got moving again we were hardly moving because the mud was so thick that we got bogged. We were so scared that we would have to spend the night in the mud. But luckily a man came in a ute to help us out, his name was Ken. He said that the tyre weight was too heavy and we had to bring it down to 20 pounds to get moving again. We eventually got out and back on the road, but about another 20km up we got bogged again. So to make it easier this time Ken pulled us out and kept pulling us till about 30km from Roxby Downs. We kept going till about 20km from Roxby Downs and after that it was too hilly to keep going, so Ken had to pull us the rest of the way. When we got to Roxby Downs, I was so happy to be back on bitumen. We went to the service station and fueled up and got some air in our tyres. After we'd done all that we headed off to Woomera. We ended up staying at this place called Pimba. After we got settled in we had dinner and went to bed still very grateful that Ken had showed up at the right time.

Written by Sean Campbell

Day 21: William Creek

xIn the morning we got up had breakfast and got back on the road. We had to go about 100km to get to our destination, William Creek. When we got to William Creek we went straight to the information centre to find out wether we could stay at the campground, but we found out that we could find out at the pub. So we went to the pub to get a booking so we could stay the night. They said just pick any spot, so we went to the campground and set up. After we got set up we practically did what ever we wanted until we went out to the pub for a drink at about 5:30. We wanted to have dinner at the pub to but the food was far too expensive, so we went home and cooked spaghetti bolognese. Dinner came around so fast that the actual dinner wasn't ready so we watched a movie called The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen. At about half way through the movie we had dinner. After the movie and dinner dad went to bed and I went to bed but didn't actually go to sleep because mum had put on another movie called The Man From Snowy River. I eventually got bored and went to sleep.

Written by Sean Campbell

Day 20: Finally, Lake Eyre

After we all got up and had breakfast, Rosie started barking for some reason, so we let her out to explore. After about 5 minutes I got over protective and went looking. I eventually found her and picked her up to go back. But when I looked up I looked danger in the eye and saw a dingo heading right towards me and Rosie. Luckily, it stopped at about 3 metres away from us and that gave me and Rosie the opportunity of a lifetime to get back to the van. After me and Rosie got back I explained that there was a dingo just outside. It came right up to the door to sniff us out. After it went away and we were certain it was gone, dad and I went out to check. Fortunatly, it had gone into the paddock with the sculptures in it so it was gone. We finished packing up and got back on the road before that dingo came back. When we were about 10km away from our spot for the night whe we started seeing Lake Eyre, it was a stunning sight. It was about 10:30am before we got to Lake Eyre and alot of people were already there and we had to find a spot to park the caravan. We found a little place on top of a mound overlooking most of Lake Eyre. It was so cool that dad and I went to the water and swam in Lake Eyre, Rosie came to and she was so dirty after. When me and dad came back from our little dip, we had to wash ourselves with water. After our wash we sat down outside and waited for sunset, but we missed it cause we were busy. When it was time for dinner, we set ourselves up and ate outside looking over Lake Eyre, it was beautiful. After dinner we went straight to bed.

Written by Sean Campbell

Day 19: Lake Eyre In Our Grasp

This morning we caught up on stuff on the computer because this was the last place that we will have internet until Coober Pedy. After we’d caught up on stuff we got back on the road. It didn’t take us long to get to Lyndhurst. When we did get to Lyndhurst we went straight to the pub to have a drink. After we had the drink we went to the Farina Township Ruins on our way to Marree. They were pretty historic and there was even an underground bakery. When we finished there we went straight to Marree, the last place before Lake Eyre. Marree was a beautiful place that was very historic. We went to the information centre and bought some stuff then went to the petrol station to fuel up, we also bought some stuff in there to. After that we went to a park to look around. We found this wooden camel and we took some photos of it and then went on to Lake Eyre. It was getting late by the time we left Marree and we couldn't go far so we stopped at this little place on the side of the road. We found out that the little spot we were staying at was called Sculpture Park because it had sculpture in the paddock next to us. We settled in and went to bed at about 9:30. We were going to be the next day so I was very excited.

Written by Sean Campbell

Day 18: Leaving Parachilna

Today we left Parachilna and headed for Leigh Creek and Copley. On our way to Leigh Creek we went to Beltana Historic Township and looked around the old place. Apparently people used to in Beltana and they thrived there for over 50 years. We eventually got to Leigh Creek and fueled up before heading off to Copley for the night. When we got to Copley Caravan Park we set up the caravan and started making dinner and got ourselves set up for dinner. When dinner came to the table we ate it quickly cause we were starving. After dinner we got set to go to bed and relax but instead we ended up watching a movie. After the movie we went to bed.

Written By Sean Campbell

Day 17: Another Decision At Parachilna

Dad and I got up early that morning and went for a walk up this hill right next to our campsite. It was hard when we got to about halfway. When we got close to the top we decided it was too dangerous to go any further so we started heading down the slope. It was a lot more dangerous going down than going up. When we were about half way down our friends that were next to us left so we didn’t get to say goodbye. When we got back down I was so happy. After my happy little celebration, the family got together and made a decision whether to stay another night or not, it was a scissors, paper rock challenge between mum and dad. It was a well fought battle from dad who didn’t want to stay, but the overall winner was mum who wanted to stay. We unpacked the car and got some firewood for the fire that night. After that we decided to go into town and have lunch at the Prairie Hotel. For lunch I had a kangaroo burger and so did dad, mum had an Angus beef burger. After lunch we went back to the campsite and watched the new Narnia Voyage of the Dawn Treader. After that we got ready the fire, I got a big fat blister on my thumb from cutting logs. We enjoyed it for a little while then we all went to bed.

Written by Sean Campbell

Day 16: Great Night, Great Fire And Great Friends

This morning was hectic, running around sorting things out so we could leave that morning. But when we were about to leave, we actually decided to stay another night to be prepared for Leigh Creek, Maree and Lake Eyre. So every minute beyond that was either Ds, school work or just getting stuff ready. Me and dad were going to climb this up big hill but we didn’t. I threw a fit while I was doing some of my school work and went over and made friends with the people next to us and their dog Poppy. Rosie and Poppy had a big play while I watched them, it was funny. That night was fun because the people next to us came over and had dinner with us, and also enjoy the fire I built. After they left we went back out to the fire and enjoyed it till we all went to bed a read.

Written by Sean Campbell

Day 15: Anzac Day

When we got up we got ready for the Anzac Day Service. When we eventually got to Hawker for the service we were 5 minutes late, so there was only 25 minutes remaining. When the service was over, we went to this shop owned by someone we knew from church the previous day. This man was a painter and a photographer. We looked at his paintings and photographs and bought a couple of his smaller paintings and left to go home. When we got back to the caravan, we got ready to leave for Blinman. We left Rawnsley and drove through the Flinders Ranges for about an hour before getting to Blinman. We arrived at Blinman at about 3:30 and went sightseeing. We went to the Blinman cemetery and went to the Blinman pub for a drink. After we’d finished exploring Blinman we headed off to Parachilna Gorge to stay the night. We came across a couple of good spots to stay at but the road in was either too hard to get into or it was too rugged. We finally found a spot to park the caravan and stay the night. We settled in and made a fire to keep us warm. I enjoyed the fire for a little while then went to bed followed by everyone else.

Written by Sean Campbell

Day 14: Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday, one of my favourite days of the year. I got up that morning and found chocolates on the table. I woke up mum and dad so they could enjoy Easter bright and early, plus we had to go to church. We got ready and had breakfast. When we got to church, we practically started straight away. The church was really small, but it suited us. We sang a few songs, read the bible and learnt about God. Mum took a photo of a lizard in a shrub. After church we asked the preach if there was an Anzac Day service on somewhere and there was. So we left and went to the centre of town to catch up on internet needed stuff on the computer and ipad. After we had finished that it was about 4:30, so we went home and set up the fire. When we got home we set up the fire and enjoyed it for a little while before going to bed.

Written by Sean Campbell

Day 13: A Really Exhusting Walk

That morning, I was scared walking down the road towards the starting point. I found out the place we were walking to was called Rawnsley Bluff, overlooking Wilpena Pound. When we got to the starting point and saw the cliff we were climbing, I was ready to turn back when I realized dad had already started walking, I didn’t have a choice. When we got to the bottom of the mountain I was so tired I could hardly move, but there was still a long way to go so we kept moving. We had a couple of rest stops and kept moving while drinking and eating. We eventually made it and the view was stunning and we got to write in a visitor’s booklet that was under a big rock. We were surprised at how many people had been there before us, we wrote our names in there then headed back down. When we got about halfway down we saw some people going up the mountain, we said hello then kept walking. A little while after we went past the people, I slipped and dangerously hurt my knee, but I was ok. We saw a couple more people on the way down. We eventually made it down and walked the extra kilometre to get home, back to Rawnsley. After we got back we said to mum we were going to the pool to cool off. We got to the pool and went through the gate and waited for either one of us to jump in. We waited for about a minute before dad threw me in. It was freezing; when I surfaced I went straight to the other side to get out. Dad jumped in after I got out on the other side, and he got straight out to. We went straight back to the caravan and tried to fool mum into going in to the pool by saying it was very warm and relaxing. After that we went out to go sightseeing. We went up this big that overlooked the whole road. Me and Rosie raced mum and dad back down the hill. Me and Rosie won. When we were on our way home, we saw some really good firewood to make a fire with, so we got out and collected it up so we could have a fire. When we got back I went to set up the fire and got it started. After I got it started we sat around it and started having dinner. I went to bed straight after dinner; it was Easter the next day, so it was going to be exciting.

Written by Sean Campbell