Viewing the stars in Charleville

Moving locations on a school on-air day is a little bit more difficult now that we are back on Queensland time and they go from 9:30 am until 10:30 am.  We either have to get up and going and hope to be within mobile phone range by 9:15am which allows us time to log in and get setup, or ask the caravan park for permission to check out late and get on the road around 11am.  Our decisions have been based a lot on how far we plan to drive for the day as if you have a long day, only getting away at 11am is really quite late for us. 

So as our plan was to get to Charleville for our next stop we decided that we needed to get on the road by no later than 8:15am and really that would have been cutting it fine.  Still we surprised ourselves and were on the road by 8am, beating pretty much everyone else out of the caravan park!  Obviously 8am is too early for most (ha ha) but it works for us, and well it was really easy because Hamish woke up at the crack of dawn and would not stop talking so we decided we might as well get up. 

We made it to Tambo with plenty of time that we thought we could have a cuppa and enjoy morning tea before the lesson started.  However we had trouble connecting to the internet so in the end just scrapped in with having it all setup in time for the lesson to start.  Kayla and I just hung around in the park area whilst Jason and Hamish did the lesson.  We even found a massive rolly-polly that Kayla had fun playing with.  I have no idea what plant they use to be but that is what we always called them as kids. Whilst waiting for the lesson to end, I noticed that we must have only just been ahead of most travellers as they all pulled up, had their cuppa and left before us, so we had now been officially overtaken by them all on the road.  Some even recognised Kayla from her dance moves the other night in Blackall.

One massive rolly polly.

Once back on the road we hot footed it straight to Augathella where we pulled over and had some lunch at the servo.  Jason actually made the call that it was the best steak sandwich that he has had this entire trip.  Now that is a big call but I must admit it looked very nice indeed.  Then it was back in the car to do the last 80 or so kilometres to our destination for the next three nights.  We had decided to stay at this little caravan park outside town as it sounded really nice and quiet.  The problem is there is also a low cost campsite with the same sort of name a street over, and you guessed it, that is where we first pulled into and had to drive in and turn around, explaining we had the wrong place! 

The place where Jason got his best steak sandwich so far on this trip.

Not to worry as we managed to find ours easily once we stopped listening to google maps!  We checked in, picked our site and set ourselves up nicely.  It is a great place with heaps of room.  I mean there is nothing for the kids in the sense of playground or pool but they are kind of getting use to that and a few sticks seem to entertain them for a while.  As we had been told about the 4:30pm happy hour around the fire Jason decided to get some marshmallows for the kids.  I was doing school with Hamish and it just happened to involve craft and of course Kayla wanted to stay.  I told Jason I didn’t mind at all and she would be fine.  Well what felt like half a tub of glitter later I was starting to regret that decision.  At least now our floor shines, and it isn’t because we have scrubbed it clean!

We then did some painting outside for Hamish’s puppet show before making our way over to join everyone else at happy hour.  Now we were definitely the youngest by far but we have gotten use to this on the road and find the company great no matter what age.  Of course Kayla had everyone wrapped around her finger and the kids had fun toasting marshmallows on the fire.  Hamish even gave one to another gentleman.  I think he might have regrated saying he was jealous of them having marshmallows, but politely ate it all the same.  You see, Hamish doesn’t just toast his; he burns them to a crisp!  Not the way I like them but hey if he is happy eating them that way then let him be I say.

Cooking or burning marshmallows.

Happy hour around the fire.

After a while everyone started to disburse and return to their vans for dinner.  I got the kids straight into the shower and started dinner before Jason finally came back.  He had been having a great chat with some fellow travellers.  As I went to cut up the vegetables I asked Jason if he had bought the zucchini that I had put on the shopping list.  I just assumed that they might have not had any in stock but he assured me he had.  Well he hadn’t, instead we had another cucumber.  I think this is the third time he has done this so I think I might need to show him the difference between a cucumber and zucchini.  We did get a good laugh out of it and said Pop would be in disbelief!

I think we are really going to like it here and there seems to be so much to see and do in the area so I hope three nights is going to be enough.  That evening we finally submitted our tax returns and let’s just say some not so nice words were said about some government departments.  Honestly it feels like each year they try and think of a way to make it harder.  It doesn’t help though when I constantly forget the MyGov password!

Thursday morning was a little bit chilly but I still managed to drag myself out of bed and get a few things done before everyone else got up.  Jason did put on the heater when he got up to warm up the van for us all.  We thought we would finish off school for the week, do Hamish’s on-air lesson and then go out and see the sights of Charleville.  Well that was all thrown up in the air when I got Jason to check the details of the weather station tour and we found out it started at 8:45am.  Luckily we realised this with about 30 minutes to spare and had already managed to do some school before that.  So now we had to quickly get dressed and get over to the weather station.

It was certainly an interesting tour.  We have wanted to do one our entire trip but we are either there on the wrong days or the station has closed or no longer does tours so we were happy to finally get one.  However the gentleman who ran the tour was kind of like a disgruntled public servant who knows he is on limited time before his job is made redundant.  So his passion really wasn’t there and you got the feeling that having a tour really wasn’t what he wanted to do.  Still at least we learnt a few things about the weather, it was just a shame you got the feeling he didn’t want us there.

Up goes the weather balloon.



Now checking the temperature.

The rain gauge.

After that was over we had to rush back to the van to join Hamish’s on-air lesson.  Of course that involved writing which he wasn’t too keen about at all but they got through it.  It is so hard to think of ways to try and make the writing of sentences and sounding out of words exciting for him so he wants to actually do it.  From there we headed straight out into town as we so needed a nice coffee.  We found a little bakery and coffee shop and had a delicious morning tea and a nice coffee before we browsed the streets. 

After a while we thought we should head to the Bilby Centre to learning about what they do to help bring back up the number of Bilbies since they are endangered.  We found out they run two tours a day and we needed to book them through the Cosmos centre (which is where the Information Centre for the town is).  So we headed off along there to book in for the afternoon tour and Jason booked us in for the evening tour at the Cosmos Centre for us to look at the stars.  Whilst I was in at the Information Centre I complimented them on their information brochure for the area.  It really would have to be one of the best and most informative I have seen in our ten months of travelling. 

So we returned to the van for some lunch and finished off the washing and just chilled for a bit before heading off to our tour of the Bilby Centre.  I must admit I was disappointed when I saw there were two other couples there for the tour as the lovely girl who runs it said that if it had only been us she would have skipped the video.  Not because it isn’t good, we really did like it, but she said it would be a bit long and not interesting for the kids.  She was spot on and Kayla lost interest pretty fast.  Still it was amazing to see what two totally different blokes who got together managed to achieve.

All excited to meet a Bilby.

A yellow footed rock wallaby.

After the DVD we headed out and checked out where they breed the Bilbies and keep them, before returning to the room where she brought in a Bilby for everyone to pat.  That was by far the best bit for the kids, they just loved it.  It was however sad to hear that the barrier fence that is used to protect the Bilby (located in the National Park 400km south of Charleville) had been breached by feral cats after some flooding.  As a result they had gotten in and killed off a lot of the poor little Bilbies.  It must be hard when you have worked so hard on something and you see that happen.  At the moment they can’t release any more Bilbies in there until they have fixed the fence and killed off all the predators inside and that could take a few years.  It is more the assurance that there are no longer any predators inside that takes the most time.

Here she is.

Kayla was pretty impressed.

Hamish even took a photo of Jason having a pat.

Hamish loved patting her.

 

By now it was getting late in the afternoon so we headed back to the van to prepare for dinner and have showers as we needed to be at the Cosmos Centre by 7:30pm for our star watching.  I finally got around to reading an email with Hamish’s feedback from the first two units of the term.  It is funny how I get nervous about reading these as you just don’t know what to expect or what is going to be on there.  Overall most of it didn’t have anything we weren’t already aware of.  We knew he is behind in his sight words but we are working hard on that and reading more to try and get them to stick.  He has improved heaps on his letters and sounds with just a few to go.  I think what shocked me the most was the comments about how he wasn’t doing well with his reading.  It kind of came out of left field as I thought this term he had improved so much and was doing really well with his reading.  Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t expect him to be at the top of the class, I am realistic but I didn’t expect him to be still graded as finding level 1 difficult.

The problem is that it isn’t just his ability to read the sentences but talk about the book afterwards using the words from the book.  So we will have to get him to slow down and read the book slower and use the pictures and the first sound of the words more in conjunction.  It is just hard when you are getting this feedback for the first time half way through term three.  Still we will get there and I am sure over time he will improve.  That is the one thing I struggle with the most and it feels like a lack of support when your child falls behind.  I don’t know if this is the same in other schools or not, but we keep just getting told to persist and make it more interesting but we aren’t qualified teachers with years of experience behind us so maybe a few suggestions of what has worked for others in the past would be great.

Trying to put that aside we headed out to the Cosmos Centre.  As soon as we walked in the door of the Hamish was so excited he just couldn’t contain himself and wanted to ask a million questions and look at everything.  We did have to tell him that we would be coming back the next day to check it all out so there was plenty of time.  I really wasn’t sure how the kids were going to go with this, and it was really all too much for Kayla but luckily she fell asleep after ten minutes.  Trying to get her to see into the telescope would have been very hard.

Hamish on the other hand would happily line up and wait his turn to have a look through and then come back and describe it to us.  He also told the man how he knew the names of two planets and that he was going to build a rocket when he was older and go to the moon!  It really was a fantastic night out and when we had entered they asked families with young kids to sit near the first telescope.  Now I don’t know if that is because it is the only one that can go up and down or if the gentleman who was on that one had the most patience for young kids, but he was fantastic and so great with the kids.  Not to mention totally passionate about his work.  One interesting fact that we didn’t know was that if a star is 7,500 light years away, we are actually seeing the star as it was 7,500 years ago as it takes the light from the star that long to reach earth.  So in theory if this star was to blow up (due to a supernova), then we would not know about it for another 7,500 years.  This place is definitely a must for people to come and see.

By now it was home to bed.  Of course feeling the pressure we did some sight words and reading with Hamish before bed.  Which really if he is struggling with it all we do just have to accept that he isn’t ready yet to do it rather than force it on him.  The last thing we want to do is have him absolutely hate school or push him through and he gets left behind once he joins a classroom.  He is at least happy to do his reading at night but we just need to talk more about the books and pictures before and after reading them.  Slow and steady I am sure we will get there.

So Friday was our last full day in Charleville and we didn’t have too much planned so it was nice to ease into the day with Jason cooking us all a delicious cooked breaky.  This was extra special as he did it in the cold outside whilst we all remained in the cosy warm van.  Next of course was school and washing before we headed out to the Black Sheep Café for some morning tea.  I had read about this café in the tourist brochure as it mentioned that there was a play area for kids.  Kayla was straight there but Hamish took a while to warm up to it but was then happy to go over.  The wall is one big chalk board so I think that was quite tempting for them, not to mention the little tent cubby in the corner.

So whilst they were happy playing, Jason and I ordered some coffees and enjoyed having a peaceful chat.  The only problem was when our coffees came out Kayla must have seen it and came and sat very matter of factly at the table and was wondering where her drink was.  Yeah whoops, Mum hadn’t ordered anything so back up I went to get them a milkshake each which she was quite happy with.  I love it when places do the kids sized drinks and they are charged at fair prices, so it was only $5.70 for two milkshakes that were the perfect size for them both. 

Once we had all finished our drinks we thought we should head back to the Cosmos Centre to do the daytime activities which were included in the price from the night before.  However, first I just wanted to pop into the cemetery and visit my Grandad’s grave.  I thought I had a good idea of where he was buried but after about 15 minutes of looking it became quite clear that I had no idea.  So I tried to call Mum but she didn’t answer, so I thought I would try again later.  Up at the Cosmos Centre we got there just in time to join a daytime discussion on meteoroids but we didn’t get to hear all of it as again it was just too much for Kayla and she was in one of those moods that she was not happy.

This meteoroid hit heart and then bounced back up.

Check out the colour in this one.

After the talk finished we did a few more activities and then called it quits.  Kayla was just being a little bit feral to put it nicely and there wasn’t anything there that could entertain her and most things needed to be listened to or read so we weren’t really getting the most out of it.  I can understand her dilemma as most screens she was too short for or she could just reach these pretty buttons to press but had no idea what they did.

Checking out some of the displays.

Kayla just wanted to wear the headphones.

So we returned to the van for some lunch and a bit more school which was interesting.  It involved trying to teach Hamish about questions, which he understands to a point but when we had to give him an answer and he had to come up with the question that was the end of it.  Another one we can easily practise or just point out in real life and he will slowly get it.  Jason tried to take Kayla for a drive to get her to sleep and out of the bad mood but that was a fail so he ended up fuelling up the car and grabbing some more fruit and snack food for the kids.

I finally called my Mum again to ask for some help to find my Grandfather’s grave and she was smart and called the local council office who gave us a reference.  So back to the cemetery we headed and this time we all went in search and this time we all came up empty handed.  The guys working out there said to go back to the council office and get a map, so we did that and got some names of the people around him.  So back again we went and thankfully this time we found him.  Talk about trying to avoid family even now!  He was actually not in the section we were told so we have noted it down and will make it on the map to make it easier for future family members!

So feeling relieved that I finally found it we headed back to the van to pack up outside in preparation for moving on the next day and to get ready for going out for dinner with Al and Rod (family friends).  We were to meet at the Bowls Club at 6pm so Jason packed up outside whilst I showered and dressed the kids.  I found a tick on the back of Hamish’s back so of course had to remove that and then I checked both kids thoroughly before they hopped in the shower.  We had already had to remove one from Kayla whilst in Longreach so it isn’t a job I like doing but at least the kids are good about it.   I guess this is what happens in bush camps when the kids play in the dirt.

We made it to the Bowls Club with time to spare and the kid’s eyes lit up when they saw the playground outside and the other kids playing on it.  So they were in their element and we didn’t see them for the rest of the night.  Well we did when they came to get a bite of something to eat and a drink.  Still it was great to be able to catch up with Al and Rob and have a good chat with them.  Before we knew it, it was time to head home and get the kids to bed and ourselves to bed so we are refreshed for the drive the next day.  Kayla pretty much fell asleep on the way home but Hamish took a lot of convincing so we let him watch a dvd for a while first before he fell asleep in our bed.  One day he is going to be too big and not want to do this so I am going to enjoy it while I can.

 

Finally checking out the sights of Blackall

I was up at the crack of dawn, but at the same time very sad that we were leaving Mum and Dad’s place.  We wanted to be in town for Hamish’s on-air lesson at 9:30am so had to be away from the property by 8:15am.  Of course we couldn’t leave until the kids had fed the sheep for one last time and I must admit seeing them so happy to drive away with their Grandad to do the feeding really tugged at the heart strings.  They have really enjoyed their time out on the property.  After a few family photos we said our goodbyes and hit the road.

We made it to town just in time for Hamish’s on-air lesson, so we dropped him off, then Jason dropped me off for my blood test whilst he went to unpack the car of everything from Mum and Dad’s place and then re-pack the back of the car with everything that normally travels in the back.  Then he picked me back up and we headed up to the school to get Hamish.  Longreach was buzzing that morning as the Variety Bash was in town and we loved seeing all the cars done up and there were even three limos as part of it.  I can only imagine how they go down some of the dirt roads.  Still it was great checking out all the cars.

Rally cars wherever you went in town.

This one caught our attention.

We then hitched on the van and hit the road.  The aim was to try and make it to Ilfracombe before Hamish’s reading lesson and we managed to do it with two minutes to spare.  So Hamish and I completed his reading lesson whilst Jason and Kayla went for a walk to look at all the old machinery on display.  Once the lesson was over it was back on the road with a quick stop outside Barcaldine for some lunch before continuing onto Blackall.  We were so exhausted from everything that had gone on that day that we just wanted to make it to Blackall and setup in the caravan park.  It was good to finally stop in Blackall as normally we just scoot through on the way to visit family.

The line up of old machinery in Ilfracombe.

Booking in was easy but we took a while to get into our site and we thought we had picked the easy one!  Then we couldn’t unhitch but thankfully we quickly worked out what we thought the problem was and rectified it and managed to easily get off.  The rest of the afternoon was spent setting up, doing school and Jason ducked down to the post office to send off something for my nephew’s first birthday party!  Then just after 4:30pm we heard the music kick off at the camp kitchen so we headed over there to enjoy the gentleman performing and wait around for the camp oven dinner we had paid for. 

Someone else cooking us dinner.

Loved this converted seat.

Kayla having a dance.

I mean after such a big day, we really didn’t feel in the mood to cook something up and since they were doing up a camp oven dinner how could we say no.  It was well worth it and the kids had fun dancing around and playing hide and seek with us.  Kayla even got quite a few compliments on her dance moves.  No idea where she picked them up from as honestly Jason and I can’t dance to save ourselves and well poor Hamish has obviously inherited the same ability as us.  Still it was a great night and we met some lovely fellow travellers who passed on some great tips on places to visit whilst we are here and when we got to Charleville.

Outback humor.

Getting some damper.

The things you see in your caravan park.

Jason then put the kids to bed whilst I caught up some more on the blog and some mail that needed to be sent.  He was obviously very tired and crashed on the floor beside Kayla.  Tomorrow we will go out and explore Blackall some more.  We are definitely glad we decided to stay here for two nights as otherwise we would have been just rushing around and not enjoying it all. 

After a great night’s sleep we were all ready to start the day and were slowly getting into things when I got a call from my Mum to say that my Uncle John would be passing through town around 8am and if we would be able to meet him for Breakfast.  Of course it is the least we could do as we didn’t call in when we passed through Winton.  So we quickly got ourselves and the kids dressed, finished our coffees and headed down to the local servo.  The timing was absolutely perfect as just as we were driving up we could see my uncle parking his truck.

It was great to sit down and enjoy the big breakfast (which can really feed two adults) and catch up with my uncle.  The drought is getting so bad out here he now has over 300 cattle down on agistment as he was just returning from taking another load down.  Before long we had to say goodbye as he needed to continue on home and we had to get back and ready for Hamish’s school lesson.  Whilst Jason did his on-air lesson I took Kayla down the street to post some letters and check out the town.  It was actually quite depressing seeing how many shops were having closing down sales and it just goes to show how the drought affects these towns.

On our return to the van I did a bit of school with Hamish before we ducked to the bakery (I mean seriously if there is one, we will visit it) and grabbed some morning tea to eat in the car on the way out to the Blackall Woolscour as we wanted to try and make the midday tour.  I raced in and enquired first and luckily we could still go on it and better still we were the only ones.  So we didn’t really have to worry too much about the kids being a bit noisy and making it hard for others to hear as part of the tour involves two movies.

Hamish making his way to the Woolscour

Oh look Mum this one doesn't move when I try and pat it.

An old wool press.

I didn’t think I could learn much about this place having come from a sheep station, but straight up I learnt it was where they washed the wool!  Really, I never knew that they use to do that, and of course having closed before I was born it would explain why, but it was so interesting to learn about why and how they went about it all.   My hat goes off to all the volunteers.  They do a wonderful job and the gentleman who did our tour was fantastic and a wealth of knowledge.  This is the last one standing out of about 59 that had existed so it is a pretty big part of Australian history that they have here and I really recommend that you come and visit it.

Looking into the wool washing area.

Checking out the old caravans.

Yep I can honestly say ours is in better condition and cleaner!

After the tour ended we walked round the grounds for a bit before treating ourselves to some ice-cream and sitting outside to enjoy them.  Of course a certain someone thought that we should share our treat with them.  Yes it was one of the resident goats and I am pretty sure she had the puppy dog eyes down packed.  However she greatly underestimated our families love for ice-cream and was left with nothing.  On the way back into town we called into the cemetery and Jason went and found Jackie Howe’s gravesite.  Now for those of you who don’t know, he is a famous shearer who set the record for the number of sheep shorn in a day using the old style clippers!  From memory it was 321 sheep, but don’t hold me to that.

Ever get the feeling you are being watched!

Someone wanted their photo taken.

Hamish and Kayla in front of a sheep statute out the front.

Back in town we also stopped at the Black Stump before returning to the caravan.  We did up a quick shopping list and Jason headed out with Kayla whilst Hamish and I knocked over some more school.  After Jason returned we unpacked the shopping and had a little break before jumping into our togs.  No we weren’t crazy and going swimming in freezing cold waters.  We had actually been informed the local pool sat around 32 degrees, so we were certainly going to make the most of that.  We were even lucky in that it wasn’t that cold when we hopped out. 

The Black Stump.

Jackie Howe memorial.

Beautiful warm pool to swim in.

So back at the van it was time for showers, the last bit of school for the day and then dinner.  I love school lessons where it involves everyday activities, so Hamish just needed to help Jason make a pizza for dinner.  It was a mighty fine tasting pizza too.  Then it was straight to bed for the kids as we have a relatively long drive the next day, which we want to get away at a reasonable time so that we can be in the next town in time for Hamish’s on-air lesson.  Fingers crossed we can pull it off.

Catching up with family in Longreach

Before we knew it Tuesday had rolled around and whilst we weren’t originally in any rush we seemed to have managed to drain our caravan battery right down and lost power for a bit.  Well until we turned a lot of things off and then we managed to regain lights at least.  So we took the hint and decided to hitch on and take the van around to Mrs Avery’s place as she was kindly allowing us to leave it out the front of her place for the week.  Poor Mel I don’t think expected us to rock up so early and my kids certainly made themselves at home whilst we un-hitched, hooked into power and then organised everything we needed to take with us.

Then it was straight up to the Longreach School of Distance Education for Hamish to do his on-air lesson with his teacher.  I must admit I was so nervous as to how he was going to behave, yet alone if he would do the work she required for the hour.  So once he was in and settled I just walked away as I didn’t want to distract him.  His studio is called the fish bowl as it is right next to the tourists’ room and they can watch the teacher perform the lesson and of course they can see out.  Every now and then I would try and get a glimpse and he seemed to be doing okay.  Kayla and I hung out in the library until Jason who had been running all over town doing jobs came back and then we watched the end of his lesson.

All ready to meet his teacher.

Hamish and Mrs Lockrey.

Sitting ever so still and behaving for his teacher.

Thankfully he had done well and Mrs Lockrey couldn’t get over the energy he had.  Well at least now she knows what we go through each day and how hard it is to get him to sit still.  Yep next year is going to be a huge shock for Hamish having to join a classroom and sit still for so long.  So now we decided it was time to head out to my parents place but of course made a quick stop into the bakery for some morning tea.  Of course we all treated ourselves to something totally delicious and not good for us before buying some extra treats to take out to my parents place.

Still behaving at the end of the lesson.

The drive out home on the Silsoe Road was like a highway compared to some of the roads we had done in Western Australia.  We even joked when we went over a little bit of corrugation that it was nothing and if anyone ever made a comment over the driveway into my parents place, they need to go and drive into the Bungle Bungles and they will never complain again!  So we made it out in time for a late lunch and of course my kids were straight out of the car and ready to terrorise (well I think their words are play) with the pets.

Turning off to my parents property.  Our car is slowly turning grey.

It is really sad seeing the place so dry and walking through the big empty old homestead, but over in the cottage Mum has the most beautiful garden growing and it is so homely and welcoming.  Hamish couldn’t wait to help Grandad feed the sheep and chooks and loved playing with Toxer the dog.  Kayla tried to make friends with the cat Osama but of course she was way too much in its face that it would just sit way up on top of the cupboard to avoid them.  That night we retreated to our beds in the main homestead and I had the best night sleep I had gotten in ages.  Poor Jason didn’t and the kids did wake up twice but hey at least I got a good night’s sleep!

Feeding more pets.

Grandad's little helper.

Spot the child amongst the sheep.

Unfortunately due to our poor planning and disorganisation we had to return back into town on Wednesday morning.  We needed to have the car’s minor service done.  Also, I could only fit into a doctor’s appointment that day and Hamish’s teacher wanted to review his sight words and letters with him.  So we thought we might as well go in and get it all knocked over in the one day.  Thankfully Mum and Dad were happy for Kayla to stay with them for the day which made things a lot easier for us as it meant that whilst we were waiting for the car to be serviced we could go to the library and focus on school.  As we hadn’t done any the day before we were a little bit behind where we normally like to be so wanted to make the most of the time we had in town.

Our first stop for the day was LSODE so Hamish could do his on air lesson with Mrs Lockrey again and then she would review the work with him.  We made the most of this opportunity and ducked into town for a well-deserved morning tea in peace and quiet.  Then Jason went to pick up Hamish from the school while I made my way over to my doctor’s appointment.  I wasn’t sure what to expect as I had instructions from my OB in Brisbane to get a referral for a blood test.  Thankfully the doctor knew what I needed and had all the right paperwork ready.  Then she asked how my pregnancy appointments I had been going to.  I think my blank stare said it all so she filled me in on what I should be doing for now!  Obviously that is what I had done with Hamish and Kayla but I think with this pregnancy I have been a little blarzay.

I also used the trip to town as an opportunity to buy some more winter clothes for the kids.  I thought I had packed a few singlets for the kids but no, there were only two each which really meant you had to wash every day and when we free camp we can’t so obviously needed some more.  So now the kids are all sorted with some warmer clothes except I totally forgot about Jason and I.  We only have two long pants each and of that my jeans no longer fit due to the expanding baby belly, so I will have to go back and get something more.

When we arrived back home I was relieved to hear that Kayla had been good for Mum and Dad.  We just weren’t sure how she would go since we hadn’t really left her for that long with anyone for a very long time.  Mum then filled me in on all the lessons she learnt whilst looking after Kayla.  For example, not to turn her back on her when she has scissors and is near a pot plant.  Poor Mum’s pot plant got a good trimming back.  Then she found out Kayla could open the gate to get out, so after taking a phone call, came out to find her gone.  Luckily she was only 200m or so from the cottage and at least the dog was going with her.

Hamish's new pose for photos.

Still all in all it was a good day and I must admit it is so nice to come home to a delicious cooked meal and your washing done for you.  It is certainly nice having those extra two sets of helping hands when you need them after a long day.  As we were sleeping over in the main homestead we couldn’t send the kids to them early in the morning.  Hamish was especially up early the next day asking if Grandad had already fed the animals.  Of course I said he probably hadn’t so we had to quickly got dressed and head over to the cottage for breakfast.  Well for me it was for breakfast and for Hamish it was to make sure he didn’t miss out on feeding the animals.  If we were smart we would have just let them go over, pretending we were coming and then sat down and had a cuppa in peace!

Out feeding the sheep.

More of them running along.

Grandad's two little helpers.

That morning I went for the drive with Dad and the kids to feed the rams and the sheep down in the front.  It is so dry out here it is quite hard to see and Mum has pretty much warned me about going down to see the house dam as it is so low, so I think I will avoid that one.  Once we were back Jason and Dad went out to Cavell (a back paddock of the place) to move the pump so I tried to do school with Hamish.  We had fallen a bit behind so I was determined we were going to catch up that day!  Of course Hamish had other ideas and trying to keep him still to do it was harder than normal it seemed.  I must admit there were so many more fun things that he could have been out doing.

Checking out the cattle in the yard.

Guessing Kayla wanted to get home fast.

The men came back and we enjoyed a nice hot soup for lunch along with salads.  It is certainly colder today than the day before but still not too bad.  That is really a good thing considering my lack of warm winter clothes.  In the afternoon Jason tried to do some more school with Hamish and soon learnt why I had been frustrated that morning.  Funnily enough Mum didn’t volunteer to teach, guess she has done way more than her fair share teaching us girls and was probably sitting back laughing and thinking about how it is great that karma has come back to bite me!

Off to collect the eggs.

Jason cooked up dinner and put it in the dream pot and then we went down to Puds dam to throw in the Yabbie pots.  Hopefully by leaving them in overnight we might manage to actually catch some.  If not we might try Pink Dam.  That night we enjoyed Jason’s dinner and then sadly watched the cowboys getting beaten by the Rabbitohs.  Well Mum was happy as she had tipped the Rabbits!  It was all too much for Hamish and Kayla who fell asleep whilst watching the game.  It was so beautiful seeing Kayla snuggle in with Grandad.

Fast asleep on Grandad's lap.



Well I woke up after yet another fantastic night sleep.  I really think I need to steal the pillows and blankets as I am so snug and warm.  It helps too that the kids didn’t wake up until 6:30am so it felt like we had gotten a sleep in.  We quickly got dressed and headed over to the cottage to have breakfast and so the kids wouldn’t miss out on feeding the sheep and collecting the eggs.  Honestly I have never seen my kids move so fast in their life.  I think we are going to have to get a few pets when we settle back down again.

Helping Grandad.

Wherever he went two kids followed.

Still helping.

Jason went out to help Dad again in Cavell whilst I stayed back and did a bit of school with Hamish before helping Mum with some gardening jobs around the main homestead and the cottage.  Of course after that we decided that we deserved a break and enjoyed morning tea on the verandah in the sun.  Hamish really loves the chocolate cake that Mum had made and I had to say no after three pieces, otherwise I wouldn’t have gotten any the next day!

Helping Grandma feed the lambs.

Now one must feed the chooks.

Hamish making friends with the cat.

 

After morning tea we headed out to check our yabbie pots.  Unfortunately there weren’t any yabbies but we did manage to catch a few shrimp so at least we could use them for bait.  We decided to try our luck at another dam so on the way home called into the dam and threw them in there.  Fingers crossed that we have more luck this time.  After lunch Mum and Dad went to have their rest and Kayla just stood at the door watching and sort of banging it a little bit until Mum invited her in.  Mum then put her up on the bed beside her where she fell asleep.  Talk about making herself at home this kid.

Having a nap with grandma.

Checking the yabbie pots.

The kids loved watching the shrimp.

We then did a bit more school before waiting for Bid to arrive.  Unfortunately she didn’t arrive and Mum started to get a little worried so tried to contact her on the radio and then call back to their main homestead.  When there was no response Mum and Dad set off in the Landcruiser to find her to make sure she was okay and hadn’t gotten into any trouble.  Thankfully the car had just overheated so they found Bid making her way back to her place.  I was so grateful when Mum called to say that everything was okay and that they were just going to be a little late to the catch-up at the four corners and that we should go ahead and pick the tree and start the fire.

Grandad getting some coals to cook with.

The kids playing with shovels.

Well didn’t we feel the pressure, I mean yes how hard is it to pick a tree and start a fire, but which tree do you pick to not spread a fire.  After a false start we found the perfect one and managed to have the fire going before the Gordon’s (my parent’s neighbours) arrived.  It was a great evening spent around the fire with great company of course.  I even managed to burn my hand trying to move a log closer.  Not my finest hour but it will survive and if I am truthful it is really just one finger on the hand, not the whole hand but that doesn’t sound as dramatic.  Another lesson I can teach my kids of what not to do.

Jenny this is my attempt at an artistic shop.

Kept us nice and warm.

Both kids were exhausted and fell asleep before we even left.  It must have been all that running around and throwing of rocks at each other!  Honestly sometimes I don’t know who owns these two, but it is always fun and games until someone gets hurt and funnily enough it seems to always be me (I had a rock narrowly miss me, thrown by Kayla)!  So yes I was very grateful once they were asleep and luckily they transferred easily to their beds when we got home.

Another early start with the kids busting to get over to Grandma and Grandpa’s place as they don’t want to miss the feeding of the animals or collecting the eggs.  After a lesson of school Dad took us out for a drive to where he had found the remnants of an old saddle.  It is quite amazing hearing all the theories and we tried to look for more little bits but it is really like looking for a needle in a haystack, yet still very addictive.  Maybe we need to organise a week out here with metal detectors to help find more of the missing parts and help solve the mystery of whose saddle it was.

Kayla having a look around.

Looking back down at the channels.

We didn't have any luck.

After lunch we went down and checked the yabbie pots again but still there were no yabbies but we did get a few more shrimp.  Then later in the afternoon we headed off fishing to one of Mum and Dad’s dams.  Normally you wouldn’t fish there but due to the drought the water had receded to the main dam part so Mum and Dad thought it was our best bet and did it pay off or what.  Of course the first thing we did on arrival was collect sticks for a fire.

Hamish having a go.

Kayla checking out Jason's first fish.

Getting some more water for the fish.

At first I didn’t hold much hope, especially when there were three pelicans that flew off on our arrival, but then you started to notice all the fish jumping.  It took a little while, but really not that long and Jason was reeling in the first one which was followed closely by another.  Both being keepers.  We were all so happy as now we at least had enough fish for a meal for the adults at least.  Poor Mum and Dad weren’t having much luck on the other side of the dam but that most likely had a lot to do with my kids hanging around them and Kayla throwing rocks in exactly where Mum was trying to fish.

No idea why they moved to the other side of the dam!

Kayla having a go.

I was proud of my fish.

After a while she stopped throwing the rocks into the water and took to throwing them at Hamish who of course retaliated.  It was all fun and games until one got Hamish in the head.  I don’t think Kayla realises just how good of an aim she has or either that she does and takes the opportunity of being on the other side of the dam to get at her brother.  Luckily Hamish was okay.

Dad with his first catch.

Of course Jason had to outdo both of us.

Mum warming up by the fire.

In the meantime Jason had set me a challenge as he had now overtaken me in the catching of fish (we only count keepers) for our trip around OZ.  Mind you I only had 1 to my name but I was just ahead of him on 0.  Not long after offering up the challenge I reeled my first one in so I just turned to him and confidently said challenge accepted.  However after Jason reeled in another three in close succession I admitted defeated and went to work on cooking some damper on the fire.

From the top of the dam bank.  Normally it is all water.

The kids decided to dress up.

Another great way to end the day.

Dad then also managed to reel in two fish and then Jason another two.  By now Mum and I had decided that we really weren’t required on the fishing front and was trying to cook (and not burn) our damper on the fire.  Once our total had reached 10 fish and it was dark we decided to call it quits and return home for some dinner.  Of course Mum had already defrosted some mince so we had some yummy tacos for dinner.  This gave the guys plenty of time to clean the fish.  Jason went to bed very happy and proud of his massive fish haul of 7 that night.

Our catch for the day.  All were measured and legal.

I can’t believe how fast our last day had rolled around.  It just seems to go so fast when you are all having fun.  So I decided to hand over the teaching of school to Jason for the day, but of course we couldn’t do it before Hamish had helped Grandad feed all the sheep.  Whilst Jason got into school Kayla and I went over with Mum and Dad to take some netting off one of the mandarin trees.  Kayla had fun picking the mandarins and eventually we managed to get the net off the big tree and prune out some of the dead sticks.

Moving some furniture back to the homestead.  Open air caravanning.

Then back to the cottage we all headed and I helped Jason out with the school and Mum cooked us some of the yellowbelly for lunch.  It was so delicious and we couldn’t help but go back for more until there was none left.  I then tried to catch up on my blogs but felt like everything was just not working in my favour.  It just seemed to be not worth the effort but I managed to get one done and another one ready.  Meanwhile I was falling behind again in the actual typing of the blogs.  I also had to send some school emails and convert recordings which all take time but I got there.

Goodbye family photos.

Grandparents with two of their grandkids.

As the day rolled to an end we had to do the dreaded packing up of everything and find all the bits we had managed to spread over the two households.  Whilst we were doing this, Mum was spoiling us with a delicious roast mutton for our last night there and we sat around chatting before it was eventually time to get the kids to bed.  We really have enjoyed coming out and spending some quality time with my family, it is always hard when the time comes to leave.  Thank you Mum and Dad for putting up with us, feeding us all and letting us use your precious water.  We are truly grateful.

Also a big thank you to Mrs Avery who let us store our caravan out the front of her place.