Signing Off from Vinters on Tour

As the saying goes "All Good Things Must Come to an End" and sadly it is now time to sign off from Vinters on Tour....

It has been an amazing 3 months - an incredible adventure and an experience of a lifetime. We have covered 16,500km and used 2,650litres of petrol (not quite carbon neutral). We have experienced the vastness and unbelievable beauty of Australia. We have seen the outback, the desert, the coast, the savannah lands, the mountains, the gulf and a million other things in between. We have counted 100's of stars and spotted an abundance of wildlife (and only run over a few of them). We have had great adventures and swum in the most beautiful natural waterholes and waterfalls. We have bushwalked and canoed and toasted more marshmallows than I care to remember. We have come across weird and wonderful people. We have cracked the windscreen, lost the front number plate and lost a piece of the car. We have laughed and cried and endured a fair share of tantrums but most importantly there has been 3 months of family time. An incredibly special 3 months of time with 3 little boys...this is what life is really about!

As our adventure comes to an end it is time to reflect on the past 3 months...

Top Destinations - The Kimberleys, Cape Leveque, Uluru, Litchfield National Park

Unexpected Gems - Keep River National Park, Edith Falls

Favourite Activities - Swimming in waterholes, snorkelling, mud crabbing, flying in the helicopter

Looking forward to - catching up with family and friends, sleeping in our own beds, using the dishwasher

Not looking forward to - traffic jams, noise, pressures of city life, job hunting.

Totally over - khaki shorts (never want to wear again in my life!), washing dishes in a bucket, wearing thongs in the shower, scrounging around for $1 coins for washing machines and then fighting for a turn, constantly wiping toilet seats for Will, mossie spray, souvenir shops, petrol stations, caravan parks, long drops, hitching/unhitching the trailer, road trains, cane toads, discussing the best fishing lures, driving....

Going to miss - family time, big skies, open spaces, amazing sunsets and sunrises, fresh air, thrill of discovering new and exciting places, the sound of the bush at night, stars, look of delight and excitement on the boys faces as they encounter wildlife and natural wonders, 5pm beer and snacks (although probably a good thing for the rapidly expanding muffin top), bushwalking (but not carrying Will), Will singing his way around the countryside (a song for every occasion)...the freedom of the open road...

A big thank you to the Steele-Parkes for having us to stay, Andy and Felicity, Craig and Hayley for the great dinners and the Bricks for putting us up at the weary and dirty end of our trip. It was great to see some familiar faces along the way and catch up with friends in far flung corners of Australia. Your hospitality and generosity was greatly appreciated.

We really have had the most fantastic time and as Ollie said tonight "It has been the best 3 months of my life!" I think that sums it up for all of us. 5 different personalities and 1 great adventure....memories to keep for a lifetime!

Thanks for tuning in....over and out from the Vinters!!

Vintersontour merchanise is now available at your nearest roadhouse. Keep your eye out for VoT Tea Towels, Caps, Stubby Coolers, Tea Spoons, Fridge Magnets and more....Special price for regular bloggers!!!

Moranbah - Goonyella Mine

Moranbah Qld - More than just a hole in the ground.

We stopped in on some old friends who have lived in Moranbah for the last 5 years.
Geoff and Chris Brick along with their sons Sam and Harry kindly welcomed the weary travelers. I was really great to catch up with them and see a little of what life is like in this mining town, enjoy a home cooked meal and a beverage or two. Geoff also showed us around the Goonyella mine. This was a fascinating behind the scenes look at this massive mine. Geoff was an excellent guide and answered all our stupid questions with humour and patience. (alternative career opportunity here for you Geoff if you can master Japanese) We were however, slightly disappointed when we weren't allowed to blow anything up. (perhaps this could be worked into future tours).



A "hard as nails" coal miner



Geoff and Harry at the cabin of a very big truck.



Looking relieved at being able to find a parking space.




Harry standing in the bucket of one of the massive Drag Line diggers.

Queensland

Time for birthday celebrations!!! Port Douglas - a great birthday destination! After breakfast in a fantastic cafe in Cairns (couldn't face breakfast in the van park on my birthday) and a relaxing morning at the lagoon pool, we headed up the coast to Port Douglas for a night of luxury - special treat for my birthday!!! Craig had managed to arrange a deal for us at the Rydges property in Port Douglas (thank you) - it has just been done up and we had a fantastic one bedroom apartment overlooking the pool. So lovely and we all felt very decadent lounging by the pool and lying in bed watching TV - just slightly different to the trailer we have been living in for the last 2 1/2 months!!! We all very quickly adapted to resort mode and despite our lack of resort attire had a fantastic time - so good in fact that we ended up staying an extra night! We just couldn't drag ourselves away from the resort pool and the thought of setting up the trailer again was less than tempting...
Went out for dinner at a very groovy tapas/pizza bar followed by cane toad racing at the pub - what an experience! Will managed to score a lucky ticket for the races and was allocated a toad that went by the name of Aussie, Aussie, Aussie! I stepped up to help - big mistake.... Will suddenly became all shy and I had to take over. This involved fishing out Aussie, Aussie, Aussie from a bucket, giving him a kiss (unbelievably gross) and shouting Aussie, Aussie, Aussie to the audience so they could all reply Oi, Oi, Oi!!! The boys and Michael of course found this hysterical and had I known what was involved I would have sent Michael up to help. Our toad ended up winning and we know have a lovely stuffed cane toad leg as a souvenir - to be treasured forever!!!

A quick stopover at Mission Beach for one night - the boys spent a lot of time trying to crack open coconuts! They managed to expend a huge amount of energy with no return....

Sunset was incredible and we were staying in a campsite right on the beach with an amazing view (and a less than amazing amenities block!)

Headed to Airlie Beach next for a couple of nights and checked out all the yacht charters for Michael's next dream!!!!

Cairns

After a successful fishing stint in Karumba it was time to head for the coast....the beginning of the long haul back to Sydney! We arrived in the Atherton Tablelands which is incredibly lush dairy country - such a contrast to all the desert, outback and savannah lands we have travelled through over the past 2 1/2 months. We had forgotten how gorgeous luscious green grass looks! We were tempted by a night in this green paradise until a couple of locals told us that it had been down in the minus range overnight and frosts every morning....suddenly the lure of the coast was too strong! So we pushed on to Cairns arriving as the sun went down and the full moon shone brightly. We spent a couple of days in Cairns and caught up with Craig (an old work colleague of Michael's) and Hayley who very kindly fed us for 2 nights - great food and great company! Thank you...


The lagoon pool down on the Esplanade at Cairns....absolutely beautiful! Such a great set up - so relaxing, not crowded and great atmosphere. It was like a resort pool with lots of timber decking and small sections of sand!

We spent a day out at the Frankland Islands - a group of uninhabited islands just off the coast of Cairns. Beautiful secluded beach and great snorkelling - lots of amazing tropical fish and coral. Michael and Harry even managed to swim alongside a sea turtle! A great day had by all....

Are we there yet?

Catch cry of the trip...

Karumba - Gulf Country

After not being able to drive the Savannah Way from NT to Qld mainly due to road closures from the unseasonal rain, Michael was still desperate to do the Gulf Country, so we headed north to Karumba, a small fishing town on the Gulf of Carpentaria - apparently one of the best fishing spots in Australia! We wouldn't want to miss out on that!


Sunset on the Gulf...

Michael and Harry still determined to catch a fish (any kind would do) headed off on a half day fishing charter while Ollie, Will and I were left to explore the town. Well that took about 5 mins - the bakery and supermarket were about as good as it got! Karumba is a funny place - full of grey nomads who fish. The van park was wall to wall landcruisers, caravans and boats - the men fish and the women play bingo or attend craft sessions! Some of them stay up there for months - extraordinary...


Success at last - finally we can relax! Harry so excited and proud to have caught 4 mackeral and 4 bream. Michael also scored well on the catching front and apparently they caught the most fish on the boat!!! By all accounts it was a great morning and we had beautiful fresh fish for lunch and dinner. Unfortunately we had to give some away as the boys don't actually like fish and we were not so keen to have it travel with us for days in the esky in the car!


Fish gutting and scaling at the van park - fortunately this did not fall into my domain!


Farewell to the Gulf - it was great to have reached the Gulf.

Qld - Lawn Hill NP 2

Back at the campsite the pontoon on Lawn Hill Creek provided hours of entertainment with the game of rocking the pontoon to see who could stay on the longest...


Is my toast ready yet?

QLD - Lawn Hill National Park

Finally made it to Queensland with the promise of blue sky and sunshine....Beautiful one day - Perfect the next! Sounded fantastic particularly after a couple of cold rainy days in Katherine. Not exactly - it was actually freezing and had been raining buckets also in Qld. Unseasonal rain of course - this is the dry season!!!



Managed to make it to Lawn Hill National Park just as the rain clouds started to gather and the threat of the dirt roads into the park being closed once again. We were determined to make it to the campsite that night rather than being rained in at the nearest roadhouse which looked like one of the least exciting places you could come across. Luckily we did as it then poured all night and most of the next day ensuring that all roads in and out of the park were closed. Camping in the rain really has very little in the way of positives - nowhere to escape from the wet and 3 hyper kids...



The boys of course were totally unfazed by the weather and managed to entertain themselves for most of the day in the huge mud puddles building cities and islands. Boys and mud - they never grow out of it... Michael also spent most of the day digging little channels to redirect the flowing water away from the tent!

Another day passed and the sun started to shine....everyone so excited! We raced off to Lawn Hill Gorge for a day of canoeing - this is what we had been waiting for and did not disappoint. The gorge was incredibly beautiful and peaceful. I managed to draw the short straw on the upstream leg of the journey and shared my canoe with Harry who treated it like a pleasure cruise - feet up and not much paddling! Too much hard work for him - his arms ached etc etc. Ollie on the other hand paddled his little heart out just like Huckleberry Finn!! It was great fun and well worth a couple of days camping in the rain!

Kodak moments 1

I like to move it, move it.....


On the road again...


The glove obsession seems to run in the family!


This is my best angle...

Katherine Gorge - at last!

We arrived in Katherine for our third and last time on our way through NT. Our timing was perfect, finally all the gorges were open - the moment Michael had been waiting for! Unfortunately the Sydney weather also arrived - freezing cold and raining! Not exactly the perfect swimming and canoeing weather....Between rain showers we managed to head out on a cruise of the first two gorges. It is beautiful and impressive even in the bad weather. We had an Aboriginal guide who filled us in about the Jaowyn people, the Dreaming and the Tribal Laws - this was particularly fascinating as the tribal laws are still legal in NT and are incredibly tough. The boys were enthralled by the stories of spear throwing at guilty parties for punishment.


Looking back at the first gorge.


Entering the second gorge.


Time to put your feet up and relax - life is tough when you are 3!


Mastering the art of the didgeridoo...not sure if the sound that came out could be classified as music!

Kakadu - Gunlom Falls

We headed down to Gunlom Falls in the southern end of Kakadu with the hope of swimming in the freshwater plunge pool - this is one of the only places in the park that is relatively safe to swim. It is of course swim at your own risk!!!




View from the top of Gunlom Falls - you can vaguely see Ollie, Will and I at the waters edge. Some of us were not feeling particularly athletic and declined the steep climb to the top in favour of hanging around the beautiful plunge pool.



Harry at the top of the falls where there was a series of beautiful rock pools - obviously it was worth the climb!



On top of the world...




Will and Ollie frolicking in the plunge pool as featured in Crocodile Dundee... not the one where the croc attacked!

Kakadu - Yellow Waters

Sunrise on the Yellow Waters - We were up early for the sunrise cruise which was definitely worth setting the alarm for! Beautiful morning with a great sunrise and the light was fantastic. An abundance of wildlife and and incredibly beautiful setting - a definite must on the Kakadu itinerary! We saw so many different birds and the boys have become experts in spotting and naming them all. As a bonus we also cruised alongside a huge saltwater croc which then tried to snap up one of the egrets - no luck for the croc!