1 week of driving

3000 kms!!!

On the first night, we made it to a free camp spot at Rockhampton.

Mum had reminded us to appreciate the Qld rest stop bathroom facilities.

2nd Night, made it to a free camp spot just short of Longreach.

Along the drive, it was great to spot a flock of wild emus running alongside the road.

Tuesday morning, we drove the final hour to Longreach Water Hole (yes, free camp spot) for 2 nights, and enjoyed the rest of the day just doing nothing.

Stockmans Hall of Fame...

Wednesday, we visited the Stockmans Hall of Fame - fantastic. The live show was wonderful - Rusty, the stockman, rounding up his sheep, chops, chops & chops, & his cattle dogs.

Nat even lost his tooth while enjoying a steak sandwich for lunch!

The longest days so far were by far, from Longreach to Mt Isa,

Mt Isa to Three Ways & finally Three Ways to Mataranka.

The driving was so long & boring that Nat & Noah even wanted to do their school work!

Mataranka ...

But now that we are here, it was worth the drive! It is beautiful, and we can see why Gran liked it so much.

We have enjoyed 3 nights staying at the Mataranka Homestead, walking to the Thermal Springs - a constant 32 C. Nat & Noah brought their snorkel gear & have been scaring all the fish. Beautiful rainforest walks - especially appreciated after the long drive through nothing! Lovely peacocks walking through the park grounds.

Well, it's off to Kakadu now - to meet up with Mum & Dad (Lance & Cathy, aka Gran & Poppy).

Sorry there's not many pictures, the internet service here at Mataranka is a little slow, and keeps dropping out!

Also, a big thanks to our dear friends (most likely the evil Austins) for our Bumper Sticker - applied in the dead of night - to our Caravan, saying:

TONY & VAL - Living the dream, 2008.

Ant, Lis, Nat & Noah Leave Tomorrow!!!

At last our time has come...

We had intended on beginning this great journey on Saturday, but after such a busy week, with heaps of last minute catching up with friends, etc., our whole family was fairly zonked!

So, we have had a restful Saturday, Nat in particular has been lying around all day, letting his tummy settle down from all the excitement, and finished the packing & getting ready without any pressure, with intentions to leave tomorrow, Sunday, 15th June 2008.

Thank-you to all our dear Friends & Family who made this special time to catch up with us ... (& those we ran out of time to see)

We were fortunate to catch up with dear friends, Tan, Andrew, Lucas & Fin, Katie, Heath, Tatum & Silas, Mark, Leesa, Jordan & Micah, Kim, Jon, Amy & Vhairie, Tracey, Peter, Jesse, Tiarna & Zander, Kate & Steve, Ma, Luther, Jo, Catherine, Paula, Judy, Kerryn and all of Noah's Prep Red Class Mates & all of Nat's 3G Class Mates - this week alone (& that doesn't include all the loving phonecalls).

Mt Crosby ...

Last weekend was a wonderful opportunity to catch up with all of Anthony's family, (Ron & Shirley, Kath, Pete, Emily, Grace, Sarah & Thurston, Heather, Steve, Ellen, Robert, Gillian & Charlotte).
We all camped at Mt Crosby Allawah Scouts Grounds. We enjoyed beautiful scenery, gorgeous weather & a very special & wonderful time together.

We even had a small church service together on Sunday morning, where Lissa demonstrated ( or rather trialled) her "still-improving" Camp Oven Skills, making damper for our communion bread (also added to these Holy Sacrements, were the jam & cream!!!)

Please pray for us ...

Well, whatever we have forgotten now, who cares !!!

We ask you all that you might keep us in your prayers, for our safety, for protection over the car & caravan, & God's blessings over our family.

We hope to keep in touch now ... God Bless You Richly,

Love Lis, Ant, Nat & Noah.

Darwin

On to Darwin for a week ...

Lance & Cathy have stopped at a Caravan Park on the Stuart Highway, approx. 10 minutes from the beach.

Lance has had to work for a couple of days, doing tenders for TCS, but in the process, able to catch up with an old work colleague, Terry.

Each evening, they have discovered a new beach to take Zoe & Scruff for a walk & to watch the beautiful sunset with their dinner.

Mataranka - Cathy's been waiting!

Aaaahhh....

Beautiful Mataranka ...

Finally, after 2 weeks, Lance & Cathy have moved on to Mataranka for a few days.

Cathy has been looking forward to returning here.

Each afternoon they take a casual 10 minute walk to Bitter Springs, which is a natural thermal hot spring, with a constant temperature of 33`C. Very relaxing

We of the Never Never Homestead ...

Mum & Dad also called into the replica of the We of the Never Never Homestead (the original building is nearby, but unsafe).

Also, the Grave sites of We of the Never Never are here. Very interesting.


Lovely, Natural, Shady Campgrounds ...

.... and lovely, natural facilities !!!

Roper River Fish, Fish & More Fishing

What great bait sized barra Lance has been catching! Or, is this actually Cathy holding her catch?

Anyway... most of the photos Mum & Dad have been sending us are now of fish.

But at least Lance is having fun. And Cathy's have peace & quiet - oh, & lots of fish for dinners!