Around Australia in a Land Rover

[Iain_U1250]

On the drive out of town, the wind got worse. By the time we got to Arckaringa Station, the temperature had dropped, and the wind was howling. We decided to stay in the cabins. We got there early enough to head off to the "Painted Desert, about 20km up the road. We did the 2km walk, but it was very windy, no photo shoots today said my model, but maybe tomorrow morning. We scouted out a few good locations for a shoot when the sun was coming up, and took some more landscape shots. It is also an incredible place. Like the Breakaways, only bigger. There were few flies this time, as it was a lot cooler, still in the high twenties, and so windy the little buggers could not find us.




We needed out boots for this climb, the sand was stinging our legs at the the top of some of the rises. Out of the wind it was OK, but in the wind it was pretty painful sometimes



We both had a go a trying to take off - it felt like we could.

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We drove up to the lookout at the end of the desert, then went back to Arckaringa Station to see Hobbsey for a room.



We got back to Arckaringa Station around 6:00pm. Hobbsey said we had enough time to see the Copper Hills before sunset, so we headed off to see them as well.

We drove down the track through the Copper Hills, it was nice, but not as good as the painted desert, We found the ruins of an old homestead and a lonely grave. John William Davis, age 4 was buried there in 1958. It was pretty sad to see this grave, out in the middle of nowhere.



We headed back to Arckaringa, and since we could park right next to the cabin, I unpacked the car and fitted the new inverter, this time it work. Hobbsey came over for a chat, and Trish asked about the grave, he said he had no idea, the homestead was abandoned in the 1960s. We went to bed early, the wind really howling for most of the night, but it dropped down by the next morning but it was pretty cool at sunrise, so we abandoned the sunrise shoot and got moving only around 8:30 - back to the painted desert for a photo shoot whist the light was still good, after all, a deal was made.





In the morning, the lighting was pretty good, but a bit hazy compared to the day before.





A deal had been made, and my model bravely honoured her side of it, we kept out of the wind as much as possible, but it was still pretty cold, especially without any clothes on.




With some great photos in the camera, we headed back to our trusty steed, ready for the next part of our adventure - the Oodnadatta Track.

 

[mrFelix]

I hope you checked out Lollipop Lane when at Coober Pedy

 

[Iain_U1250]

We did, strange little trees, were they planted by someone or natural?

 

[Iain_U1250]

Ruins, Ruins and more flies.

We left the Painted Desert, and headed up to Oodnadatta, we just had to see the famous 'Pink Roadhouse". Unfortunately is was a big disappointed, we were expecting a quirky but lively place, what we found was another roadhouse, and a very bored British backpacker manning the till. She was doing something, and when we walked in the door, she looked at us as if to say, "what do you want" We looked around, there were loads of cheap gimmicky things, but nothing worth buying. We decided to have a toasted sandwich, we approached the girl at the counter, and she looked at us, and said, "you have to order over there", pointing to the other cash register opposite where no one was. We walked over, and she came around to the other side. We ordered, paid and to our surprise were given a table number - and we were the only ones there. I almost laughed, but she was serious.


We sat down, and Trish started to write up some post cards to send to people from Oodnadatta, after we finished, we took a couple of photos and left. In the mean time another couple had arrived to annoy her.



After the disappointment of how dowdy the roadhouse w was, the Oodnadatta track was pretty good and there were no other cars to worry about. . We stopped at the first of the railway siding ruins, it was in great condition, we were thought it would be great for a photo shoot. We just had a shot set-up and had taken one photo, when Trish saw a car, right outside and they were coming around toward our side of the building. I quickly headed back to the car, whilst Trish sneaked around. I arrived back with her clothes, just as they were about to drive around the building to where Trish was. They were also about to drive over a pile of old wood with loads of old rusty nails. I quickly went over to them and showed them the rusty nails, and to my surprise, it was an old couple in their 70's at least. I told them they need to turn around, before they get a puncture, mainly because I did not feel like changing the tyres in the heat. I cleared a path for them to turn around and they made it turned, we were expecting them to continue back to the road

We took a few photos for the blogs but when we turned around again, they had decided, probably because of all the excitement, to stop, let their dog out, and have some lunch.




We walked around the ruins for a while, walked up the old railway line, looking for old railway spikes and things and taking some photos of the ruins.



After about 15 minutes we came back they were still sitting there, so we abandoned the idea of a shoot. On the way out, there was another lonely grave,



This one was pretty weather beaten, and we could not read anything on the headstone.

Our next stop was an old railway bridge. We did a quick photo shoot, but as this was fairly close to the road, and and we didn't want to be caught twice in one day. We continued on to a very large railway bridge, where the guys in the Opal shop had said there was a great camp ground, if you pull off and drive under the bridge. We did that, and ended up on top of a hill overlooking the railway bridge. It was great, and a very good place for another attempt at a photo shoot, this one went a lot better, and we got some good photos.



We had some coffee and biscuits for lunch, then headed down the Oodnadatta track again. We stopped a couple of time to look at the scenery on the road.



It was like a miniature painted desert.




We saw a place on the map called "Peake Ruins" it was about 20km off the track, and reading up about it on the track guide, it talked about an abandoned town, telegrapher repeater stationad and a copper mine, built in the 1890's which has been "stabilised" by the Parks Dept to stop it from falling down . There was camping available as well. We headed off down this very rough track, and about 45 minutes later came to the old village of Peake.



The town was in pretty good shape, but it was hot, and there were loads of flies. There was a natural spring at Peake, and this attracted loads of local wild life and cows. We broke out the fly nets, sick of the little buggers crawling in our eyes and ears. We wandered around town, looking at all the old buildings, and headed up the track to the old smelter and mine. There was loads of copper ore in piles around the place. There were quite a few things left in the ruins as well, like this old bed.




This was the town toilet - only one in town. Things were a bit rougher in those days it seemed.

 

[Iain_U1250]

The view from the smelter back to the town.




We decided to stay there for the night, and do do a couple of photo shoots for the book as the sun was setting, as that would be the best light and hopefully the flies would have gone away. We decide to on one of the trails, and as it was still very hot, and a "shorts tan" was not acceptable, so rish wore only the bare minimum. We were pretty sure no one would be coming down the track as it was getting late, and the track had not been used in a long while before we came down it. Trish was looking at all the rocks and stones, she had quite a collection of shells, stones and rocks now.



As the sun set - we noticed a few tiny little flying critters - and then a cloud of then came from the wet ground behind the car - midgies. I have a pretty bad reaction to them with big red bites staying itchy for about a week, the don't seem to bother Trish that much, but occasionally she gets and itchy one. WIt was late, and we didn't want to find another camp ground, and I really wanted to do a photo shoot here at sunset.

I got a long sleeve shirt on, and we both sprayed ourselves with the insect repellent. We hope that there would not be many midgies at the ruins, and luckily there were not so many and they must not have liked the Bushman's, and neither of us got bitten. We did out photo shoot and it was great - we got some really good photos, there were just so many nice backgrounds. There were a few less flies, and Trish stuck to the job a hand, she complained a bit, but thats good, as it stops me from carrying on shooting too much. Getting back to the car, we both dressed in long sleeves and long pants, sprayed some more Bushman on hands and feet and carried on. The midgies died down after sunset, and a bit of wind help blow them away as well. We went to bed early, and had a great night's sleep.


We headed off the next morning, heading to William Creek. We had been to William Creek a few years ago, when the whole area had been very wet, then there were loads of flowers and Lake Eyre was full. When we stopped at the Road House, there were a load of pretty rough looking blokes around, most likely, from the road construction camp that was on the outskirts of town, We discovered it was Sunday, so it must have been their day off . I filled up with diesel but when Trish got out the car, their eyes nearly fell out their heads. We decided that it would be better to push on, as Trish was pretty uncomfortable, and there was not another female in the whole place, unlike last time when all the staff were female and there were quite a few couples around. We thought about going to Lake Eyre again, but with the flies so bad, we decided to push on to Farina, as the weather forecast we had last seen in Coober Pedy was not good, another cold front coming in we decided to find some place that was sheltered, and the best place around was Farina, where we knew there was a good camp ground which should be pretty sheltered. We had the whole day to get there, so we stopped off at quite a few place

We stopped at "Strangways" another old telegraph repeater station, it was a great location, but the flies were very annoying to say the least, so much worse than the last time we were there.



We found a few good locations for photo shoots there, but they were pretty short ones, due to the flies. We had gotten our photo shoot method sorted by now. We would scout out all the location, decide on a few good ones to come back to and which angles worked well with the lighting etc, Then a quick check to see no one else had arrived, and then on to the photo session.

The Land Rover handled the rough roads well, and and we sat at around 90kph thanks to a nice tailwind.



We stopped at the Wabma Kadarbu Mound Springs Conservation Park, quite a long name for a tiny spec in the desert. We has seen some of the other "Mound Springs" at Strangways, but they had long dried up and were pretty boring, however these ones were still flowing.

This is the car park, a pretty boring desert.



However, a short climb and you come to a spring, you can see the ripples where the water is flowing up.



There wasn't much water, but enough to have small stream.



There is another one further up the road, but with a lot less water flow



Looking around from the top of the mound, you could see that when all the mounds were in full flow, this would have been a huge oasis. The Great Artesian basin that feed these springs does not produce the water it used to. According to the information board, it is due decades of over use of the resource and approximately 15,000 uncapped bores that just flow out to waste further up the basin.


We headed on, stopping at Marree to get some milk and biscuits. We met a German couple in a Britz camper van, they were asking about whether they would make Coward Springs, a little caravan park on the track. It was about 100km away and there was a couple of hours of daylight left, they would be able to make it, but had to be careful driving into the sun. They complained about the flies, having to buy fly nets, and we warned them that the fly got worse the further west you got. They had a very tight program, they had come from Adelaide, were going to Alice Spring, then across to Cairns - all in three weeks. It reminded us of our last few trips.


We got to Farima, and the camp ground was empty. We had just set-up when another car arrived. The drove around and around, then stopped for while, then drove around some more, then left, pretty weird.

We went for a walk around the old town at sunset. There were a lot less flies, and it was nice to see the old building being restore. We had done loads of photo shoots at ruins, and these looked the same as all the others, so we did not find anything special in the town



However, there was this old horse drawn grader, and with the sun going down it made a great place for a photo shoot.



I waited until the sun went down, and took some more photos before we headed back to camp.


We fired up the old wood donkey heater, and had a nice hot shower. There was no wind, and we things were looking up weather wise, or so we thought as we went to bed.

 

[Iain_U1250]

It was around 3:00am when we start to hear the wind coming through the trees, by 4:00am if was freezing and the wind was howling, We had to close up the three sides of the tent, and the whole car shook every five minutes, needless to say we did not get much sleep.

Our camp site was pretty well protected from the wind as well, with a hill on one side, and tall trees all around. We were worried about branches falling off the trees, as we were camped under a large gum tree. As soon as it was light, we packed up and moved the car from under the tree, the wind was still very strong.




We left Farina, and headed off to Leigh Creek - and being South Australia and a Sunday, it was closed - everything except the petrol station was closed, and the petrol station was only open for a few hours, so we had to wait a bit for it to open. It was also freezing, around 12 degrees and very windy.
We had internet connection, so we spent an hour in the car, looking at all the option in the area. The weather forecst was bad, high wind, and cold, minimums of around 6 degrees and highs of 15. We decided to head to Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctury, as they had some lower cost accommodation, we would most likely stay there two or three days, to wait out the weather,

We got there around lunchtime, and they had a few options. A cheap room ( which was just a two beds - nothing else, some reasonable rooms for $79 per night and some more expensive rooms at $180 per night. We wend with the $79 room, they had a tiny bathroom, a little heater and loads of blankets. It had a communal kitchen.

We settled in, and waited for the weather to warm up a bit. We met quite a few people, thanks to the communal kitchen. There was one couple there, and I really felt sorry for her husband. She complained about everything, even him talking to me was a problem, as she was trying to concentrate on her blog, and he was talking too loud. When she wasn't moaning at him, she complained about the beds, the kitchen the tables, the high windows that reflected off her computer screen, the uncomfortable chair, all she did was complain.

We both were rather tired, so went to bed early and despite the overnight temperature dropping to 5 degrees, we were warm enough with all the blankets on. The next morning, first thing to go on was the heater, before we got out of bed.

We had a nice chat to the owner ( or manager) she told us about the various walks and 4wd tracks, and we decided to go on the Echo Camp Backtrack. She also told us that we were free to walk up the dry river bed at Echo Camp, as far as we wanted, and the we could climb over some rocks to get to the waterhole at Bararranna Gorge from the 4wd track.


We had a great day, despite the cold. We drove to the first waterhole, the got out and walked about 1km up the river, there were some huge trees, and loads of interesting rocks. Note the jersey and beanies in the photos below, apart from the full winter jacket Trish has, this is the limit of our warm clothes.



The second place, Echo Camp was where she said we would walk up the river about 10km if we wanted, we walked in about 3km, stopping every 10m to look at the rocks. Echo camp was an old mine lease, where they found rubies, emeralds and sapphires. There was also gold and silver there as well. The river follows a geological fault, and there are so many different types of rock all over the bed. We spent about 2 hours wandering up the creek, the light was pretty bad, and it was still a bit cold







I was asked why my wife is in most of the photos, well firstly, because she is the reason for this trip, and secondly, as a photographer the most important is to add a scale, otherwise you don't really know how big things are. This is a photo Trish took of me taking the photo above.




Trish spent a lot of time looking at the rocks, and I also found myself looking for bits of old glass stuck in rock, you never know what you might find. Not sure what we would do if we found anything, but since we basically had know idea what to look for anyway, that was a very remote possibility that we would think about if it ever happened. There were loads of place for photo shoots, but the morning light was not good, and it was pretty cold when the wind headed up the valley. We planned to come back in the afternoon when it warmed up.



We then went through the locked gate for the Echo Camp Backtrack - they classify it as "Extreme 4wding" and the tracks had Trish hanging onto her seat, closing her eyes and occasionally asking to walk, but she hung in there and the Land Rover just walked up and down the very steep tracks easily, despite us having a very heavy load on board and all the stuff still on the roof, not the ideal way to go rock climbing.

We went onto an "optional track" to Bararranna Gorge, this was pretty serious 4wd track, with some very steep sections and ledges, but in low range / first gear we just drove up and down easily, it surprised us both how easy our heavy workhorse performed on these track.

We got to the gorge, and as the boss lady had said, there was a pleasant water hole. By this time, the windy had died down, and it was pretty hot - and we both had long sleeve shirts and jeans on. Trish had a "hot flush" and the jeans came off, - it was pretty hot in the gorge, out of the wind. soon the rest of the clothes were off as well . We knew that there were very few people at the camp who would come down here, there were only two 4wd utes, and both would struggle with the first part, let alone the optional track. Once they got here they would also have to climb over the rocks, which were pretty high and a proper climb, no marked track at all.



The gorge was great, we did a whole series of photos for the book. The water looked inviting, but we did not swim as the we were warned that the pools gets a very thin freshwater layer over the top of the more salty water, and that is what the wallabies drink. We were careful not do disturb the water,




Wwe spied on by the yellow footed rock wallabies, who wandered into a couple of our shots, one of them sat and watched us for about half an hour a we did a session on a series of large boulders.



We came across this scratching in rock, pretty far upstream. Juan someone decide to make his mark, and I wonder what for, and how old if was?



After an hour or two of photo shoots and just watching wallabies, we headed back to our car and had a look around. No one else had come down the road judging by the tyre tread patterns, looks like we were the first in a while, as there was no other tyre marks to be seen. If you go to Arkaroola, try Echo Camp Back track if you have a reasonable 4x4, and take the track to the gorge, it is worth the effort, and it's fun scaring your passenger

 

[Iain_U1250]

We continued around the 4wd track, which became a bit easier, 2nd gear/low range , and came across this old gold mine - according to the information booklet, a single miner found a seam of gold around 1946 and mined it out. This was his camp.



He was pretty tough, living by himself in a hut about 2m x 3m. He hand dug shaft with tree shoring. Just wide enough to squeeze down, my foot is on the bottom right corner for scale.



He also cut a tunnel into the side of the hill, it is also only about 3 ft high, i suppose when you have to dig it out by hand, you take the minimum amount of material out. We continued on to the highest part of the track, and added a rock to the stone Cairn. You can see a long way out over the desert below, all the way to Lake Frome, about 40km away.




We continued out to Tillite Gorge, which surprisingly has huge slabs of tilite. Tilite is a rock formed by glaciers, depositing rock, stones and boulded into the mud, which then hardens into rock over millions of years - Glaciers, in the middle of Australia, now we know where the cold came from

The tilite of course made for interesting photo shoot backgrounds. The purple rock is pretty hard, and there are all sorts of other rocks and pebbles embedded in the purple rock.




We headed back to camp, just as the sun was going down we came across this Ochre river bank. It made the perfect background for another photo shoot, in the end, we had done three very different photo shoots, a really good day for me.. On the way back we decided to stay another day, and do some of the walks in the morning, then head back to Echo Camp river for photo shoot in the late afternoon.

Trish decided to make some more fruit cake again in the Ecopot, so we had travel food for the next few days. This drew quite a lot of attention from the other guests, as they had never seen an Ecopot and could not believe you can make fruit cake in one. There as a lot of explaining done and everyone wanted some, but since it takes a whole day to cook, there was little chance of us handing out samples.



The next morning we got dropped off at the start of the walk at 9:30am the next morning, it was supposed to be 9:00am, but whilst we were waiting, and old couple decided to go on the walk - we won't be 5 minutes, they said, and they weren't. Having them behind us would make for difficult photo shoots if we found any nice back grounds. We set of at quite a pace, and were already on top of the first hill before they started. We tried on session, but the light was all wrong, and just as Trish got dressed, the older couple came around the hillside. The track went all the way up to the top of the mountain, but it was pretty hazy for some reason.




We could see Lake Frome again, and all the various layers of the mountains, it was worth the climb.



It is amazing how far Trish has come, before starting this trip, walking on flat roads for an hour was about her limit, but now we can easily walk up and down mountains, or go rock hopping for three or four kilometres , me carrying the big camera backpack and Trish with the little backpack with 3lt of water in it. We now find that we look forward to hitting the trails and miss the activity if all we do is just sit in the car for days.




I decided to put the macro lens on the camera, as it had had little use on this trip, so I decided to take some close ups of the world as well as the landscapes.






The trip down was more difficult than the trip up, as there were a lot of loose rock and stones on the path. We got back by lunchtime, and spent the rest of the afternoon getting ready to leave the next day.

 

[Iain_U1250]

Late in the afternoon, we set out for Echo Camp riverbed again. We found some more cool rocks as we casually walked up the river bed, then I noticed that the sun was going behind the hill, and the whole valley was starting to go into the shade. We then started to walk a lot faster, almost running so we could get to the locations before they went into shade.



We made it in time, and did a great photo shoot amongst the rocks and massive trees. The sun went down and we had to finish up, but the light was great for the time we had.



Here is another example of how having someone in the photo makes a huge difference. Here is the valley we did our shoot in.



and the same shot with Trish in the photo to show how big everything is.



and because I love taking photos of my wife


It was pretty dark in the valley as we walked out. This tree looked like it was going to fall over, all the growth was on one side.



As we left, we saw quite a few of the yellow footed rock wallabies, they were supposed to be almost extinct a few decades ago, as people hunted them for their skins. We also found out the difference between wallabies and kangaroos from one of the guides when we got back, the tail in a wallaby is made from cartilage, whilst the tail in a kangaroo is bone. The more flexible tail makes the wallaby more manoeuvrable. The yellow colouring makes for good camouflage in the yellow rocks as well.




On the way back we stopped for loads of kangaroos and wallabies. We stalked this one, creeping forward slowly until Trish could lean our the car and get this photo.



This one was acting pretty weird, and we laughed at this one, must have fleas, or was saying to it's mates, "watch, I can make these guys take a photo of me"



These are "Euro" kangaroos, pretty big ones as well. The yellow foot wallabies were very shy, but these guys hardly even looked up as we past.



We made it back, just as the sun went down. It was our last night in Arkaroola, so we went to the bar, we got some funny looks when we ordered two chocolate milkshakes.

The next morning we left Arkaroola, but it is definitely on the list of places to go back to again.

 

[Iain_U1250]

Heading East - Sturt Desert National Park

From Arkaroola we headed east again, up to the Stezleki Track. We decided to stop for lunch at a place called " Montecollina Bore". We had driven up the Strezleki a few years ago, and this time it was much better. Last time was after the heavy rains when the Birdsville Races were flooded out, we had to wait at Lynhurst for the road to open, and could not go via Arkaroola or Moolawatna. We were driving up the track, we decdied it was time to have some fruitcake and coffee. We saw a rest stop/ camping area on the map, so decided that would do, expecting the normal little table next to the road. If you are driving up the Stezleki, take time out to visit this place, it is amazing. It is a wildlife sanctuary in the middle of the desert. It is called the Montecollina Bore. We drove in, and decided not to stop at this shelter, the Corella's had taken over, and we didn't want to disturb them.




The actual bore runs into this small pond, which in turn flows out into a fairly big swamp. It was weird finding this oasis on in the desert.





We tried to do another photo shoot, but it was midday, the lighting was terrible but we figured we could makes something work. Then just as we had taken the first few shots, some people turned up. We had been eating cake and drinking coffee for the past half and hour, wandering around looking for potential shoot locations and only when we start, do the people arrive.

There is only one problem with the place - and that is that people have left their toilet paper everywhere. There were also babies nappies, and other thing left behind. I understand there are no toilets or rubbish bins provide, but if you are travelling in a remote area, you should be prepared. Dig a hole, bury your turds and take you toilet paper with you - we use baby wet wipes instead of toilet paper - they work better, much smaller and just go into the rubbish bag.

We took a short cut instead of going to Merty Merty on the Strezleki. It is on the map, sometime listed as a private road, but it has speed limit signs and other road sign. It cuts off about 50km of the trip to Cameron Corner. We were planning on doing another photo shoot at the "Yellow Bus", and icon of the track to Cameron Corner. We had taken photo there last time we were there, but this time we wanted something as the sun went down, which would have been out "Cover Shot" for the book.

We drove and drove, looking for the bus, after all, it's a yellow double decker bus, not something you miss easily, but we could not find it. Turns out the owners of the station either sold it or buried it ( depend on who you talk to) as they did not like people camping there. We were both very disappointed as we had especially come this way, and extra 300km to do the photos at the bus.

We stopped at Cameron Corner Store, had a ginger beer and did the obligatory photos at the corner post.



Our next stop was going to be Tibuburra, but as we were leaving Cameron Corner, a convoy of five families with camper trailers came past, and we overheard on the radio that they were headed to the camp site at Tibuburra, so we decided to have an early day and stop at Fort Grey, and do some photo shoots there.

It was well worth the stop. There was only one other vehicle when we got there, but no one else was around. We parked right next to the shelter with the barbeques, the shelter providing a decent wind break as well. We took over the barbeque area as well - the other people had another shelter near their car, so this one was ours



We then wondered off looking for photo locations. We took some great photos here, and we thought this might have a "Cover Shot" with shots of the windmill. Getting the shots cause a fair amount of discomfort, as I had to lie down in the dirt, and the local bull ants decided to take exception to that. Eventually I had to retreat, but it was worth it.



We moved down to the lake, there were loads of emus getting a drink, so I stalked them for a while, getting close enough to take a few photos before they all ran away.



There were a whole load of dead trees in the lake. We started taking photo, and had been busy about half and hour when Trish saw some people coming around the lake. Normally this would end the photo shoot, but instead she just moved behind the tree, and we did a whole series of shots with the tree between her and them. They got pretty close before Trish decided to put sarong on, and they must have been wondering what I was taking photos of for a while, as the look on their face was priceless when Trish stepped out from behind the tree The wind had picked up, and Trish had a bit of a struggle getting her sarong on, luckily she had it under control by the time she stepped out from behind the tree.



The other couple were avid bird watchers, and after the normal introductions they had to show me a bird photo they were really proud of, a very rare kestrel that they had come here especially for, and they had some really great photos of it. They were really happy. I don't get the bird watching thing myself, but whatever floats your boat I guess, I know that taking photos of Trish floats my boat

We had a chat to them for a while, then headed back to the camp. Trish and I were taking on the way back to the car, we both thought that the lake would make a great backdrop for some sunrise silhouettes,but would it be warm enough, and would we wake up; that was the question.

We went bed early, too early for me, and I woke up at 4:00am and decided to work on the previous days photos and wait for the sun to rise at about 5:30am.

It was still fairly warm when I got up, I had just a towel on, but I noticed the moon went a bit darker, so I took a few photos of these clouds that rapidly covered the moon.

One minute I had really bright moonlight, and the next the sky was dark, then this band of cloud covered the moon.



Then it got really cold and I had to go back into the tent to warm up and fell asleep again.

The tent was pointing east, and the birds woke us up and it was pretty cool, but there was no wind. After some discussion and looking out at the great sunrise that was about to happen, we decided to give it a try. By the time we had gotten out of the tent, it was starting to get lighter, and we had to run to the lake, which was about 500m away, but we took a wrong turn, and ended up on the wrong side of the lake. We then ran around the lake for another kilometre or so, and just as the sky turned orange we were ready to shoot. Trish was nice and warm by that stage, and was pretty happy to strip off.

We took some awesome shots, some of the best of the trip.



We took photos until the sun was pretty high, and Trish started to cool down, her feet were freezing, as the sand she was standing on was wet. We had just finished, and Trish had her clothes on when the bird watchers arrived. We are not sure whether they were watching us ( or more likely Trish) until we had finished or not, but either way they turned up just as we finished.

We both think that we may just have our Cover Shot from this session. It felt great, especially after the disappointment of the previous day. I did take some landscapes as well by the way.


We returned to the car, had breakfast and headed down "The Cut Line" going east towards Coffs Harbour.

 

[Iain_U1250]

Back of Bourke to Mt Kaputar.

We both felt good after the morning's photo shoot, so after breakfast, we took the scenic route to Tibooburra this time, it is called "Middle Road" and it goes through the middle of the National Park. It was in a lot better condition than the main road, no corrugation to speak of really. It was pretty scenic in parts, but for most it was fairly boring,

We got to Tibooburra where we refueled and had a nice coffee and raison toast for morning tea. We hit the road again after doing a bit of checking of the weather and where we could camp. Out plan was to find a nice gravel pit or somewhere along the Cut Line, and it seemed like the weather would for once play ball.

The Cut line is a very straight road, pretty boring all the way to Wanaaring. We found a stretch of road that had been fixed up using a white gravel, and when you get a bit of red dust mixed in, you have a pale pink road!




This was of course and another ideal location for a photo shoot for the book. We found a nice section, and spent about 15 minutes shooting some photos, I eventually got the shots I wanted by standing on the roof of the Land Rover. It was a pretty warm day, and we were not in a big hurry, so we just cruised along until we got to Wanaaring




We had out run our paper maps, and were relying on the Hema iPad maps to do our planning. We found a nice map at the road house in Wanaaring, and had quite a long chat to the owners. They warned us that the road from Wannaaring to Bourke was very bad, and asked us to complain to the roads department engineer, and gave us his mobile phone number.

The road was not very good, but was not as bad as expected, however, the weather turned bad, and we started to get some rain, but luckily only after we had gotten to the tar section of the road. We decided to see if there was any accommodation, as we don't like setting up camp in the rain, and when we got internet signal, we did a search and found a nice little motel - "Back of Bourke" motel, it had nice rooms and was a reasonable price. We found the place just as we got on the phone to the agent, and after giving her the credit card details, they said that the key was in the door, just go on in.

It only rained a bit, but we made good use of the room, getting our coffee supply up to date and washing clothes and all the towels in their laundry.

We left Bourke the next day, we were planning to look around a bit, but the whole town seemed a bit depressing, and everyone we met seemed in a bad mood, or were just always grumpy towards strangers. Some thing had jammed on the fuel pump, and it would not start up, so I went inside to ask them to fix it. One lady looked at me and with a big sigh, asked her younger assistant to "go fix the bloody pump again" We were there so long that Trish wandered around taking photos.





We left around lunchtime, after having a nice pie from the local bakery, the staff there were equally grumpy, so we decided not to stay around and hit the road, heading towards Narrabri.

It was a very boring drive, just endless fields of wheat broken up by short sections of gum trees. We had an idea for a photo shoot, but each time we stopped, there was always a car or truck coming our way. Then we saw a sign for Burren Junction - the distance markers were like the ones below:




Unfortunately, it seems like the sign made for good souvenirs, as the only ones we could find were either very close to a house or somewhere else very public. Looking for the signs did make for a distraction on a pretty boring road. Once we got to Burren Junction, we looked for more sign on the opposite side of the road, but by then the sun was behind, and the photo idea just would not work. I considered doing some "Photoshop magic" and took a few photos of the distance signs, but the traffic between Burren Junction and WeeWaa was pretty heavy, the idea was good, but we could not make it work. Maybe a little "Photoshop magic" is required after all



We headed on to Narrabri, where we planned on staying at Mt Kaputar National Park. It was something we should have done a bit more research on before we decided to go there. We pulled into the Information Centre in Narrabri, about 10 minutes before closing time. The people there were very helpful, and gave us directions to the road to the park. They said there should hardly be any people there at this time of year. As it was late, we just refuelled and headed out.

The road up to the camp sites was pretty steep, and it felt like we were climbing forever. I was watching the air intake temperature fall as we drove, in Narrabri it was a nice 35 degrees, as we climbed the mountain, the temps fell, until when we drove into the camp site, it was down to 14 degrees. It turns out that the camp ground is around 1400m above sea level.

Getting out the car, the first thing we did was unpack the warm clothes as it was freezing. We had not brought any firewood, so we quickly wandered around all the fire pits, scavenging the remnants so at least we could have a camp fire. However, we we went to the notice board, it was written in big read letter - "Total Fire Ban" - so no camp fires!



Once we had gotten all of our warm clothes on, and we moving around, we felt a bit warmer, but without a camp fire we were going to freeze.

Within minutes we had a visit from the locals



We both decided to take some photos, we were sneaking around, not wanting to scare them off, but we need not have bothered sneaking, as the basically came right up to the camp site, looking for food, and we had to chase them away.




This became a regular occurance, having the Kangaroos around. We almost decided to do a photoshoot with them, but it was a bit too cold for stripping off, so we made do with taking photos of the wild life.






We did not really enjoy our stay there, if we were prepare for cold weather, and could have a camp fire it would have been OK.

We climbed to the summit - but the view was not as good as some of the other lookouts.



There is a road all the way to the top, but we took the harder route from out camp site as we needed the exercise. Ther are a number of walking tracks around the camp, and we did all of them and walking helped keep us warm. I'm not sure if being 1500m above sea level affects your fitness, but we both felt pretty flat and lacked energy the whole time we were up there.

The next day we went out to one on a track to one of the look outs. The view was a lot better, and Trish was warm enough from the exercise to do another photo shoot. She cooled down pretty rapidly though.




Whilst we were there, we read about all the bush fires in New South Wales, and going to the various Nation Park website where we planned to go to, there were either on high alert for bush fires, or closed by the bushfires. We now had a dilema, our plan was to go to Coffs Harbour, get the car serviced at the Land Rover dealer before the end of the 100,000km warranty and there were a few things that need fixing, the disc brake shields, and and annoying rattle from the clutch at 1500-1800rpm. After pushing the "home" button on the Sat Nav, we found we were only 620km form home, about a days drive and that would enable us to get the car serviced at Gold Coast Land Rover who serviced it since new. We decide that we would head home, but since we were not supposed to be back until the end of the month, we both agreed that we would spend a week on Fraser Island instead of Coffs Harbour. So at 10:00am, we hit the road and headed off down the montain.

By the time we got to the bottom, using the engine as a brake for almost the whole 30km, I knew there was something a bit off with the Land Rover. When we got to "Cunningham's Gap" on the Cunningham highway, and used the engine as a brake again, a vibration started coming from the front prop shaft. A quick inspection revealed that the front universal joint on our expensive "Tom Woods" heavy duty prop shaft had failed. We had paid a lot of money for it, and even more to get it shipped up to Cairns and fitted at the local Land Rover specialists. 18,000km was not what we had hoped for.We decided to press on, as whilst one cup on the uni joint was damage, the other three were holding on, and we had less than 100km to get home.

A bit further down the road, a car two cars in front of us hit a fairly big kangaroo. The poor kangaroo was knocked down, and the car in front of us hit is hard, the kangaroo going under the low Ford Falcon. It lay their twitching in the road, I had stopped, but could not leave the poor animal to suffer, so I tried to end its suffering by driving over it's neck, but somehow it move and I missed. I got out of the car, and it was still alive. I reversed back and had another try, this time I got it right. I vaguely heard people on the radio complaining about what I had done, and Trish telling them off. I don't like killing things, but I could not leave it to suffer.

The driver of the Ford was also upset, he had seen the kangaroos like us, and had braked to avoid it but the driver that hit the 'roo did not even slow down. There was water coming from the radiator of the Ford. The 'roo had cracked the bottom tank. He made it to the servo down the road, but that was about it. A while later, we passed the car that had hit the roo, he must have done some damage, as he was being picked up by a flat bed tow truck. Serves him right.

We made it home at around 7:00pm without further incident. The next day, I fitted the old prop shaft and booked the Land Rover in to get the warranty items fixed, or at least, report the items so they would be fixed

 

[Iain_U1250]

Fraser Island

We arrived home on Sunday, but since we were still officially on holiday, we kept a low profile. First thing Monday we booked the car in for a service, and after much haggling, we managed to get it in on the Wednesday morning. In the mean time I put the old propshaft back in and cleaned up the car as much as possible.

We spent most of the time doing the dreaded BAS tax return, it had to be in by Wednesday night. We were going to contact the accountant to ask for an extension, but since we were home, we decided to just knuckle down and do it.

The car came back with a list of things that would be replaced, two brake shields, the rear ABS sensor had been damaged when one of the brake shields failed, and the noisy clutch springs also would be replaced under warranty. Whilst we were there, we bought a new key and remote, to replace the ones I dropped in the gorge at Mornington.

The next day we set off to Fraser Island. Our sat nave offered up an alternative route to the normal road via Gympie and Tin Can Bay road, it suggested we go through Pomona and take a back road through the State Forest and cut off about 50km or so. Since we were not in a particular hurry, we decided to believe the SatNav lady - that turned out to be a mistake, the road she wanted us to go on was closed - but the road closed sign was not at the start of the road, but about 15km from the end. The only alternative was to navigate through the multitude of forest logging tracks. We made it, after a few dead ends and it probably about the same amount of time. It would have been a lot quicker had the road been open, and talking to the Ranger when we picking up the tickets, he said that the local council was repsonsible for maintenance, and since they had not bothered in a while, they just closed it. He said you can still get through it, but at your own risk though. Pity we did not know that before we took to the forest tracks.

We got to the ferry point on Fraser, and let the air out of the tyres, time for some sand driving. We drove onto the barge, and were the only ones on it. That was a good sign we decided, the less people the better.

I took the obligatory barge photo



The we got chatting to the guy on the barge. We asked him about the tides, the number of people, told him about our three month trip and he was very friendly. We got dumped off on the beach, and did as the barge man had told us "turn right, and drive for about an hour, just past Dilli Village turn off. Pull into the first opening and there are some good camp sites behind the dunes, will be very sheltered from the wind. He was dead right, local knowledge sure helps. The wind was pretty strong, but we could hardly hear it in our camp site.



We both had a pretty good nights rest, glad to be back on our trip again.

The next morning the weather looked bad, all over cast with an occasional spots of rain. We decided to visit a few of the inland lakes, and headed back down to Dilli Village. As usual, we were on the road early, and got to the first lake around 7:00am to find it deserted.



We then did another photo shoot - this time Trish was brave enough to walk right out on these huge trees that had fallen into the lake. We got some really good photos. Trish told me to go out on the limb so to speak, and she took some photos of me for a change.



We had just finished and were walking up to the parking lot when two cars arrived - our strategy of an early start had paid off again.
We carried on down the road, and came to another big lake, but this one had a large bus next to it. We walked down to the lake shore, and despite the overcast and windy weather, the beach was full of back packers, some trying desperately not to blend in with the white sand. It was quite funny to see them. Some were adventurous enough to be in the water, which to us was freezing, but they seemed to be having fun.

We carried on down the road again, and it got pretty bad. The big busses can chew up the track pretty badly. The sand was pretty soft in some place, and we had to use low range second for a few of the climbs to ensure we got up. Then we came around the corner to this long stretch of soft sand. Bogged, up to the axles was this little Suzuki Vitara. The French couple in it asked if we could help them, and were so happy when we said we would. We snatched them out in reverse, then towed them to a place where they pull off the track and suggest they turn around, as the track got much worse further up.

They pulled off the road so that we could take the lead, just in case they got stuck going back and just 50m down the road, we came across another 4wd bogged as well - this time a German couple, they were trying to help the French couple and had gotten stuck going to their aid. We got past them, then reversed up the soft sandy section - the Land Rover it so easily, both the French and German couple were amazed. I did not tell them that we have 33" tyres, were running very low pressures and diff lock front and rear.

We snatched them out easily, and we towed through to the harder sand. The French couple had made it back down through the soft part - by just putting his foot flat all the way.




We took the lead all the way back, making sure that neither of them got stuck at some of the softer climbs. We were on one straight section when we saw another vehicle approaching. There was no real place for us to pull off, and with two other car behind, I thought it would be better for them to move over, but they just came on driving. It was one of the tag along backpacker tours, where the lead vehicle had a guide driving, and all the backpackers had to follow. There were five vehicles in the convoy, and every seat on was full. I pulled over to the side, the Land Rover at quite a side angle, and so did the other two cars behind us. The guide in the lead vehicle just said "Four other car behind me" as he passed, no thanks, nothing. The other cars squeezed through as well and we continued down to Eurong to get some lunch and a coffee.

The German couple decide to go to another lake, but the French couple followed us all the way to Eurong, and we had a great chat to them over a cup of coffee. They were fro Evian, where the Evian water comes from and were here on five week tour of Australia. We told them about our trip, and how it might be pretty hot where they were going, as normally tourists don't go to Alice Spring in November. Matthieu spoke pretty good English, he had lived in New Zealand for a while, whilst Amadine did not speak that much, but she could understand quite a bit, but occasionally Matthieu had to translate for her.

We spent around two hours at Eurong, as it was high tide and there were section of the beach that were impassable up ahead. Almost exactly two hours after high tide, the parking lot emptied, with vehicles heading in both directions.

We left a little while afterwards, saying goodbye to Amadine and Matthieu who invited us to visit them when we get to France on our round the world trip.

Driving up the beach in "rush hour" was not much fun. The tide was still pretty high, and you had to drive in the soft sand. The ruts were pretty deep, so you just got thrown around in the rut. We got to Eli creek, and would have had to park far up the beach, there were three tour buses, about fifteen cars full of backpackers, all having a look. We decided to skip Eli Creek and headed up to the ship wreck. This was a scouting mission, to see where and how we could do a photo shoot. When we arrived there was one other car, we wandered around a bit, looking for possible angles and what would be the best light, sunrise or sunset.



After about 10 minutes, more people arrived, then another massive tour bus, and then further down the beach, and airplane had landed. About thirty people were wandering around, and with two more tour buses bearing down on us we decide it was time to leave. On the way to the car, I asked the guy directing the air plane passenger what time the fly until. He said it depends on the tides, but not within one or two hours of a high tide, and not much after 5:30pm. That got me thinking of when we would be able to do our shoot.




We headed up the beach, past Indian Heads and Waddy point. It is as if there is a magic barrier past Waddy point. The tour buses seem to go to "Champagne Pools" or maybe Orchard Beach, but no further. We stopped in at the shop at Orchard Beach, and had a chat to the manager, We asked where some good sheltered camp sites were, as most we had passed were right on the beach, and right in the wind. Like the barge man, he was very helpful and told us to try the ones near Ocean Lake, there are some high dunes around and we should be able to find a decent one. It sure seems to make a big difference when Trish is wearing one of her tiny bikinis, we always seem to get a lot of help

We followed his direction, and sure enough there were quite few decent camp sites. We found this one, and when we parked close to the run, we were completely protected from the wind. It was high up in the dunes as well - very difficult to find as you can't see the entrance driving from the south and most cars would struggle with the very steep climb and soft sand. We set-up camp here, and it turned out to be such a nice camp site, that we stayed there for three nights.



We decided to just relax and not drive around, especially on the inland tracks as I had basically had enough of driving in first gear at around 15km for hours on end. We did not see most of the inand lakes, but with the amount of people there, I doubt it would have been fun anyway, we were just not used to having that many people around us.

We sat around reading books on our e-Readers and testing out cooking ideas. We had bought a little Weber Baby-Q high top gas barbeque to act as a stove. We just had to test it out and made a great roast pork, with roast potatoes and corn in our little oven. It takes up a fair bit of space in the back of the Land Rover, but we really bough it for the Unimog.



We would be in bed by 8:00pm, as it got pretty cold, and there are no camp fires allowed on Fraser Island. This meant that by 5:00am, I was awake and got some great sunrise photos.

 

[Iain_U1250]

On the Monday, we decide it would be a great time to go to Sandy Cape, the very end of Fraser Island. The only problem was that there is a couple of points that are only passable within two hours of high tide. We packed up and were on the beach by 8:30, and we had to be back past the Ngkala Rocks not later than 10:30 or we may be stuck there for 12 hours.

We head up the beach, and the areas where you would not make it past were pretty evident, but since the tide was low, we could drive past. We made Sandy Cape by 9:15. We just had to do another quick photo shoot in the dune next to the Cape. We would have done it at the Cape itself, but there was a large encampment of fisherman set up there. We move 100m down the beach and did out photo shoot near this lone tree on the dune.



We decided that since we were ahead of schedule, we could press on to the lighthouse, another 7km away. As we drove down that beach, we could see that this would be a problem, it was very narrow, and pretty flat, the water had only to rise a few inches and the beach would be impassable. We got to the lighthouse, but decided not to do the 800m walk up through the dunes to the lighthouse itself this time. We did not want to spent another 12 hours on this little stretch of sand.



We made it back to the Cape just in time, having to drive in an incoming wave on the narrow sections a few times.



After that we decided that if we were going south again, we should camp near to the Maheno, as at 3:30pm, the tide was very high, and that would be a great time to do the shoot, when all the vehicles are either waiting for the tide at Eli Creek, or back in camp for the night.

We went to visit Champagne pools on the way down, as there was only two other cars there, we though it would be good for a swim. Just as we had gotten changed into swimming costumes, put the sunscreen on and had just walked down to the stairs above the pools, an entire bus load of backpackers arrived, about 30 of them, all pushing their way down to the pools to have a quick swim before jumping back in the bus to the next site. We looked at each other and took a couple of photos, then headed back up to the car.

Thwarted in our efforts at Waddy point and Champagne pool, next on the "Iconic" list was Indian Heads. There we had a plan, and were able to get about five or ten minutes of "shoot time" and got some more photos for our book. "Ninja shooting" at it's best

We continue down the beach, Cathedral beach was nice, but compared to the Breakaways and the Painted Desert, not really that special. I'm sure we could have found somewhere to do another shoot, but I was focused on how we would do a shoot at the wreck of the Maheno.



We got to the wreck, and looked for a campsite, and found a great one just 200m up the beach. We set-up camp and waited for high tide. Whist we waited, we counted the air planes taking off, there were six take-offs in the two hours we waited. Then, like magic, the cars stopped coming and we heard no more airplanes. We waited another hour, right at the peak of the tide, and walked up to the wreck. Unfortunately there was still one car there. We walked up slowly, taking our time. Eventually the people left, and we had the wreck all to ourselves.


We spent about half and hour taking photos, it was pretty difficult at high tide, we could not get close to to the wreck, as the waves would wash in front of it. It was too dangerous to get close as well, the rusty steel ship has loads of jagged edges. There are also some signs telling people to stay 3m away, or risk a fine as the ship was too dangerous. We stayed more than 3m away, but due to the waves more than anything else. I really find these type of sign annoying, it is obvious to me that the wreck is a dangerous place, there are loads of sharp rusty bits of metal around. Now some bureaucrat decided that they have to place two signs, right in the middle of the ship, spoiling a lot of photos just because some idiot got injured. If they are stupid enough to climb on the wreck, then the deserve to get hurt, and they should pay for any costs associated with rescue or treatment.

Anyway, we got some good photos, only one vehicle came past, and Trish put her sarong on as they came up the beach. They did not stop, but carried on trying to get off the beach. The photos were good, but it was not the ones I wanted, that needed a nice sunrise.



The next morning we go up before sunrise and head up the beach. As we got close enough I could see a car and four figures, most with tripods. I had not taken into account a photography tour. We carried on walking up to the wreck and I took some photos of the sunrise with the wreck.



Trish has worked with photographers before, and was about to tell them that we would be doing a nude shoot on one side of the wreck, and ask if they were OK with that when they started to pack up.

The leader of the tour came and chatted to us whilst the group headed for the car. Trish told him what we were going to do, and he actually apologised for "using the light" and hoped he had not spoilt it for us. With that they jumped in their car and headed up the beach to Catheral Beach for more early morning landscapes. I wonder if the other people in the group would have rather hung around a bit more

We had missed out on silhouettes, but the lighting on the ship was still good for the other shots we wanted.



We had left Trish' s clothes around the middle of the ship, and during the shoot had wandered up to the end of the boat, about 50m from them. I kept on checking for any approaching cars, but at 5:30am everyone else was still in bed. Then out of the corner of my eyes I saw a movement, a pair fo dingos were walking up the beach. That's cute I though, then I realised that they were heading straight for Trish's clothes. I sprinted up the beach towards, them, expecting them to stop, but the one just ran faster towards the clothes, trying to get there before me, but I just managed to get there in time, and grabbed them. The dingoes just stopped, and looked at me, then they turned and carried on walking up the beach. I could imaging the trouble I would be in if the dingos had gotten Trish's clothes and run off with them without us seeing them - there was basically no place to hide, and our camp was ten minutes walk up the beach, and I just had a pair of shorts on, so nothing to offer Trish.



Here is how close the got, before running off. We could just tell they were up to no good, and our camp site would most likely be visited by them, but we were confident that everything edible was packed away, even the chairs, the only left out was the plastic table and the gas stove.

We carried on shooting for a while, and around 7:00am I noticed the first tour bus off down the beach heading our way, and Trish got dressed and we walked back to the campsite, we had some great photos of one of the major icons of Fraser Island, we were both really happy.

We got back to camp, and we could see the dingo prints, and then I looked at the stove, about to turn it on for morning coffee. The dingos had chewed through the rubber gas hose!




With our stove now gone, along with all the gas, we were in for a cold camp from then on. We had breakfast, and cold coffee., then sat in the sun warming up. Trish had gotten a bit sandy and needed a shower, but did not fancy a cold one as we could not heat any water now. She just sat back in her chair, absorbing the sun rays.




Trish then checked the weather forecast - severe storms and possible hail for the afternoon. Bugger. It was then we decided that we had decided to end our holiday at the most easterly point in Australia - Cape Byron.

We packed up quickley, and b 9:00am we were on the barge, heading south again.

 

[Iain_U1250]

Cape Byron, the other side of Australia

We drove back on the "normal" route, and watched the storm coming over on the weather radar. It looked pretty bad, and there were loads of warning on our phones and on the radio. We were going to drive through it somewhere close to home. We decide to seek shelter at the industrial unit where the Unimog is being built, and get as much of the stuff off the roof as possible.

We stayed at the unit until the storm was passed, then headed down to Byron, on the way we booked some accommodation in what looked like a great place. Unfortunately when we got there, the place was all locked up. We tried the contact number on the website, straight to voice mail. Eventually we contacted the Wotif customer centre, and they tried to contact them as well. At around 6:00pm we decide to find an alternative place to stay the night, hoping that we would get a refund without having to have too much trouble. We found a new place, and spoke to the owner ( or manager) and she was really friendly. We got there and the place was really nice, pretty tired from the early morning and long drive, went to bed early.

The next morning, we were both in high spirits, whist this was the last day of our holiday, we were in Bryon bay, and would achieve our aim of going the full West to East crossing, with a few detours.



Colin the Camel, Craig the Crocodile and Ernie the Emu joined Trish in bed to celebrate our achievements. Our trusty travelling companions had done a great job in lifting our spirits every now and again, and also guarding the cameras underneath them

Trish was really glowing in the morning. We were planning on doing a photo shoot at Cape Byon, so she worn a minimalist out fit, just a shirt with press studs and her trust and now very holey shorts.




We wandered around down to the beach, and did the touristy things again at the various look outs.




Then we headed off to the Cape, or at least the accessible strip of rock going out into the bay. The rocks were incredible, a hard outer shell with honeycomb interior being eaten away.





Just the right place for a photo shoot.



With a bit of rock hoping and some very careful positioning, we managed to our final shoot right under the look out at Cape Byron. A few surfers and maybe a fisherman might have been pleasantly surprised, but we got the photos, pretty good ones as well, with the sun coming out at just the right time for us. With that we head back up the hill, do take the official "Most Easterly point of Australia photos.



With that, it was the end of our holiday. We had been across Australia, driven 20,000km, most of which on unsealed roads. It has been a fantastic trip, and the benefits to both Trish and myself have been enormous. We were asked what as it like having only one person to speak to for such a long time, and we both found it enlightening, we are closer than ever and most importantly, Trish is back to her old, fun loving self. The anti-cancer drugs still take their toll daily, but she battles through the pain and discomfort and really makes the most out of life now. We are already planning another trip in the Unimog this time. We both love travelling in remote areas, we love the isolation and being together.

I'll do a final post of the "lessons learnt" and a final wrap up on the highlights of the trip.

 

[PKDreamers]

Guys great trip Kel and I enjoyed reading your reports and looking at your photos as well.
It is good to see Trish is back to her old self after what she has been through .

 

[k9lestat]

i enjoyed it thoroughly. although your better man than me. i dont think i could traveled that far in that short of time with the distractions you endured..:coffeedrink: