Sydney NSW (Dec - 1/2 day)

We will be back in Sydney tomorrow for a brief overnight visit (we shall be returning closer to Christmas for a longer reunion) and then we will home! It is hard to believe that this incredible journey that we have shared is in its last days. We feel a mixture of sadness that our adventure is almost over and excitement about being reunited with family and friends. We also await the thrill of setting up our new home in Port Macquarie (a renovated cottage recently purchased, that we will fortunately be able to move straight into).

We feel extremely blessed to have experienced this remarkable adventure as a family. Eight months of travel and exploration has whizzed by, but we now have a lifetime of beautiful memories to reflect upon for many years to come. The children have already talked about taking their own children on a similar journey! Our many joys and trials have grown our family in ways that we could not have anticipated. We feel most grateful to our incredibly generous and almighty God for his loving care and protection during our travels. We feel enormously proud of Annabelle, Harrison, Hannah and Georgia for enduring hundreds of hours in the car and for embracing this journey with us.

Some 32,000 kilometres around our amazing country….a life changing experience that we will never forget!

Bathurst NSW (Dec - 4 days)

After waiting eight long months we finally arrived in Bathurst to spend some time with the Milton’s (Kate’s cousin) whom we love spending time with! They made a tree change from Sydney less than twelve months ago and are now embarking on the exciting task of starting a farm on a property in the picturesque outskirts of Bathurst. It was so wonderful to have some quality time catching up with them again, for the kids to play with their second cousins and to see their new home for the first time.

Alexandra Vic (Nov - 4 days)

After collecting our van we travelled north to Alexandra in rural Victoria. This is home to Tim’s Grandfather’s farm. We had a terrific time soaking up the beautiful surrounds of the homestead, fishing in the dams (our fishless streak continues), seeing the vast property by 4WD, feeding the horses, picking lemons and making lemonade! The kids were also treated to a visit to a friend’s farm that is home to a menagerie of farm animals and pets. They were able to feed, pat and hold a range of animals which was very thrilling. We took a lovely drive to Marysville for lunch and visited a very unique sculpture gallery/garden.

Phillip Island Vic (Nov - 2 days)

During our Melbourne stop we took two days out to visit Phillip Island. We treated ourselves by leaving the van behind with friends and staying in a lovely apartment on the island.

The highlights of the visit were the newly established Nobbies marine education centre and driving to various scenic spots and beaches. We were all geared up for our sunset ‘penguin experience’ after rugging up in jackets and beanies. We were shocked to discover that the attraction is one of the top five attended by bus loads of overseas tourists. It was packed and we were literally shoulder to shoulder trying to view the little penguins waddling up from the sea to their burrows. We had to stand over the kids to ensure they were not trampled in the crush! It was a lovely wildlife experience, but was tainted by the dreadfully cold night air and overwhelming crowds!

Melbourne Vic (Nov - 4 days)

We had a delightful time in Melbourne staying with some lovely friends the Cresps whom we met during the east coast leg of our trip. The kids relished the space of a house with huge playroom, trampoline etc…They adored time with their travelling friends also. Our stop in Melbourne was centred around catching up with family and friends. We stayed with Tim’s grandfather also and had a lovely dinner with Tim’s Melbourne relatives one evening. It was wonderful catching up with family, including Tim's nan who is 96!! We were also fortunate enough to be able to help Grandpa celebrate his birthday during our visit.

Queenscliff Vic (Nov - 2 days)

The end of the Great Ocean Road saw us at Queenscliff. We actually did very little here except take refuge from the terrible weather. We had our first occurrence of hail, along with very familiar high winds and driving rain. The children had a terrific time swimming in the very warm indoor pool and spa at the caravan park. We sampled the quaint town shops, bought some gorgeous strawberries and of course coffees. We took a brief drive to Port Lonsdale, but otherwise did very little. Our plan from Queenscliff was to take the ferry across to Sorrento and make our way down to Wilson’s Promontory and also Phillip Island. Due to the ghastly weather which we were experiencing and the forecast for these south-eastern parts were considerable worse (strong wind warning, flash flooding etc), we decided to alter our plans and visit Phillip Island after travelling up to Melbourne for a few days. We now plan to visit Wilson’s Promontory during trip two (more of southern NSW, VIC and TAS – possibly a shorter trip in 2012!).

Great Ocean Road Vic (Nov - 2 days)

The Great Ocean Road was certainly a highlight for all of us. It was drizzly and blowy for the most part (what is it with this wind!?), but the sights were very impressive. The first day took us from Point Fairy to Apollo Bay. Along this wilder stretch of coast we saw The Bay of Islands. These limestone outcrops chiselled by the elements were amazing. Then there was London Bridge and not to forget The Twelve Apostles (the ‘Twelve Fossils’ according to Hannah). They really are a majestic sight rising up out of the ocean, their rich earthy tones a beautiful contrast to the raging sea. Hannah The drive took us through some stunning National Park forests and through lovely pastoral land. It was very green and hilly. Our stop over point, Apollo Bay is referred to as ‘Paradise by the Sea’. This was not too grand a claim. The green hills meeting the sea was picture perfect. This was a spot we could happily revisit!

Day two took us to the end of this famous stretch of road and then around to Queenscliff. The sun came out and we enjoyed viewing calmer waters as we wound our way along the coast-hugging stretch of the journey. We pulled over at several points to have a better look, and again at Lorne for a walk, play and coffee. The actual Great Ocean stretch was over far too quickly and Kate did suggest re-driving it. Easier said than done for Tim who had negotiated many tricky bends and passes along the way with the van!

Port Fairy Vic (Nov - 2 days)

Another quaint little town was discovered in seaside Port Fairy. Even the name is sweet and heightens its likeability! Port Fairy is home to some lovely colonial architecture and National Trust buildings. It was fairly windy at the time of our visit, but we could see that there were some nice spots, best enjoyed on a calm day. Kate liked the town even more after an hour in a massage chair and a pedicure at Port Fairy Day Spa (a little treat after the red dirt!).

The three big kids and Kate enjoyed a walk across to Griffiths Island, which is reached by footbridge from Port Fairy. The island is the nightly landing place for thousands of birds that return to breed. In addition to birds we did see a good number of large jellyfish and some wallabies (so Harrison called them – Kate unsure…a bit different looking).

A strange and quite inconceivable thing happens when you have been travelling for this many months. Some of the shorter hops begin to blur and twice whilst in Port Fairy we had to remind ourselves of where we actually were! In addition to this what day of the week it is and what the date is sometimes has to be checked on our phones! What a lovely free lifestyle this has been in many ways….quite unlike any other time in our lives we’re sure!

Mount Gambier SA (Nov - 2 days)

On route to Mount Gambier we stumbled across another incredible adventure playground at Millicent. The kids had a terrific time and even Kate and Tim joined in riding the twin flying foxes!

We didn’t know what to expect from this stop either, but what a unique place it turned out to be. The focal point of Mount Gambier is a series of volcanic craters. The largest, Blue Lake is huge. The water within the crater is grey for eight months of year and in November turns to a vivid blue for the summer. Lucky for us it had just changed. The sight was breathtaking! It was unlike any other inland body of water of its kind that we had seen on the trip. We went on some lovely forest walks and just soaked up the green ‘mountainy’ atmosphere. This end of town really was the highlight as the town centre itself held little appeal for us.

Robe SA (Nov - 2 days)

This little town really was a pleasant surprise. Situated on the Limestone Coast of SA this town is fringed by some beautiful bays and headlands with clear sparkling water and intertidal reefs. The town had a good number of tastefully restored historic buildings and some great coffee spots! Robe had a great ‘vibe’…it was one of our favourite stops in SA.

Adelaide SA (Nov - 8 days)

Wow what a big hop! We actually ‘cheated’ a little on this leg by catching a car ferry from Lucky Bay across the Spencer Gulf. This took us within 150kms of Adelaide which we did that day. We decided to miss this little part of the coast (including Port Augusta and Whyalla) as we were all feeling a bit ‘over’ the long driving days by this point!

In Adelaide we stayed in West Beach next to the seaside hub of Glenelg. It was lovely really. Fairly windy then a heatwave (36-37 degrees across two days), but we did have fun exploring the area. We enjoyed some great coffees in Glenelg and the kids had a blast at the Beach House amusement park/centre (as a fair reward for the long journey across the Nullarbor). They whizzed down water slides, zoomed in dodgems, squired each other in water boats, went on train rides and the carousel. The operator actually had to stop the carousel for Georgie who had a major meltdown during the usually fun experience. (We hope she won’t have ‘horsie’ nightmares).

We went on a few walks trying to burn off our treats. Another day we drove into the Adelaide Hills. We looked out over the city from Mount Lofty. It was chilly but beautiful. We loved the scenic route through the hills. The green peaks and valleys, the farms, orchards and wineries. It was just gorgeous. We stopped at two townships for markets, lunch (and a chockie shop). It was a great day in the lush green hills that were in such contrast to our very dry surrounds in Adelaide city.

Much to Tim’s horror we found ourselves within walking distance of a massive direct factory outlet complex. Kate and Annabelle had great fun browsing through Esprit, Pumpkin Patch and several other discount stores. We managed to drag the others along on a subsequent visit as we had to find some new shoes for Georgie. She had her second major ‘Adelaide meltdown’ in a shoe store. She lost it completely as the assistant tried to measure her foot. One of those howling matches that grabs every other shopper’s attention! It took two parents for this small task (and then frazzled, we had to have a coffee!). Her third big crying match erupted at the hairdressers, as a hair trim could be delayed no longer. The poor hairdresser snipped away undeterred as Georgie sobbed uncontrollably on Tim’s shoulder (time for another coffee)!

The retail outlets proved to be a saving grace as a refuge from our non-air-conditioned van (with no shade) on the heat wave days. This time we headed to one of Kate’s favourites, IKEA. We ‘researched’ items that would help our storage solutions back at home, taking a lovely long time to browse in the beautifully cool store.

One morning after seeing a young child ice skating on Playschool Hannah announced that she really wanted to go ice-skating. We decided we would try and track down an ice skating rink as we hadn’t yet done anything special ‘just for Hannah’ on the trip. She was delighted to be tying on some skates less than an hour later. As much as the other kids wanted to skate we assured them that this treat was just for Hannah and that they could go when we get to Sydney. Tim was very quick to opt out saying that his ankle was weak and that Kate would have to accompany Hannah on the ice. Hannah obviously had ‘Disney on Ice’ images in her head and was more than a little shocked to realised that neither she nor Mummy could glide onto the ice like a princess and perform twirls and jumps. Well….thank goodness it was quiet at the rink and we were able to use the smaller ‘beginners circuit’. The two skaters clung to the rink wall for some minutes. It really was a hilarious sight with lots of raucous laughter. Talk about ‘the blind leading the blind’! Finally Kate found her skating feet a little and then discovered some wooden skate supports that helped enormously. After an hour or so Hannah and Kate were whizzing around (with their wooden helpers). Hannah was thrilled! There was only one minor fall and some sore feet, but it was worth it for the obvious joy on Hannah’s face.

Port Lincoln SA (Nov - 4 days)

This port is known as the seafood capital of Australia (most likely because of the tuna fishing industry here). Given this it was a shame that our young fishing enthusiast had little luck with a catch here either. Harrison fished off the jetty within the caravan park many times. Tim has taken him fishing countless times….but they really are having zero luck on the catching front! Despite this we did enjoy this seaside port, staying in a nice park overlooking the bay. The highlight for us was a drive out to Port Lincoln National Park where we drove along some great 4wd tracks that led to beautiful bays. One of them we explored by foot and saw some beautiful shells, but there was plenty of flies!

Streaky Bay SA (Nov - 3 days)

We set up camp here in unassuming Streaky Bay and did very little for three days. We were all quite pooped after the long days prior. The kids combed the bay for small crabs, shells and other interesting marine discoveries. We took a few walks into town, restocked our supplies and enjoyed a few nice coffees. We did enjoy a fabulous drive to Point Labbatt Conservation Park, home to Australia’s largest colony of Australian mainland sea lions. Here they were playing, snoozing and swimming off large granite slabs beneath the lookout. We were able to capture some great video clips of their various frivolities. They were fascinating to watch and we would have stayed for much longer if it wasn’t for that dreaded rain again!

After an attempt at fishing off the town jetty one night, Harrison and Tim realised that their catch was not going to be fish, but large blue swimmer crabs! Armed with a newly purchased crab net they set off the next night to test their skills. Harrison burst into the van quite late with all girls and Mummy already tucked up for the night, to excitedly announce that he had landed two of these beauties! He was thrilled. What a wonderful father to take his son out at 9:30pm and stand in the chilly night air to satisfy his desire for a catch! (Yes a late hour…. we have had countless time changes across the states and with daylight saving etc. We are trying hard to adjust!).

On our way out of Streaky Bay we headed to Murphy’s Haystacks. Ancient pink granite formations rose out of the wheat lined landscape. The grey overcast sky provided a fabulously dramatic backdrop to yet another amazing rock formation! The kids had a hoot running from ‘haystack to haystack’, the flies were the only bother.

Nullarbor WA & SA (Oct - 3 days)

Mentally we had been gearing up for the Nullarbor as one of the more gruelling legs of our round Australia trip. We knew we had to head off armed with the obvious full supplies of food, water, fuel etc., but we also knew that we had to have a few tricks up our sleeve for the journey to help the kilometres pass for the four youngest Smeads. We decided that advent calendars could be helpful with one chockie per half hour being the goal. The calendars were a hit and those half hour marks sure came around quickly for everybody. We’re still trying to work out however how the Christmas Day window was opened and treat eaten by the end of day two of the Nullarbor. Giving Georgie a new pack of tissues to pull apart also worked well for a while, until we pulled up to our stop at Eucla on Day two and in gale force winds the contents of the tissue pack sailed into the dusty outback in every direction! New videos, Mummy folding origami animals for the kids and various other boredom busters made the trek bearable. However what made things much easier was to be travelling in convoy with another family. We were fortunate enough to have the company of our friends Greg, Lisa and little Joe once more. It was great to pull up at a rest stop or at the end of the day and all pitch in to set up, organise dinners etc and to have that time to sit and chat over the evening meal.

Our first nights stop was at a great outback oasis called Fraser Range Sheep Station, about 100 kilometres east of Norseman. We set up and then headed off for a walk around the property across deep dry creek beds and through a maze of prickly bushes and cattle and sheep bones that the kids had great fun examining. Both Harrison and Annabelle wore a cow’s pelvis around their heads at one point! After some time it started to rain and the temperature dropped so we headed back to the refuge of the van only to find that we hadn’t set up the bed flies, so we had a couple of wet beds which was a bit of a pain (with no means of drying them out). Heavy rain for much of the night on the Nullarbor, who would have thought!

The next nights stop was at Eucla on the Great Australian Bight and just shy of the SA border. We set of in bathers to have a dip at the beach, only to find that the walk over the dunes went on and on and without sufficient water supplies we thought it best not to press on late in the afternoon. By nightfall we were in jackets and beanies. What a contrast! Day three we stopped off at The Head of Bight both for breakfast and to look for more whales, but apparently they had moved on only days prior. We did spot a dolphin and the sheer cliffs of the Bight were very impressive. Australia literally drops of into the deep at that point. It was a marvellous sight!

After crossing the border into South Australia we finally arrived in Streaky Bay. A beautiful little town with wheat fields running down to meet the bay. This was a welcome sight after the bareness and relative monotony of the Nullarbor outback. All in all the Nullarbor was actually quite a fun adventure. The kids were great, we shared special time with new friends and the landscape (which was actually more vegetated than we had expected) was beautiful in its own way.