Tues-Thurs, now in Alice Springs

On our second day in Coober Pedy we visited an underground book shop and got some great books. We also looked at the history of opal mining, also underground, and checked out the Anglican Church...yep, underground.





In the afternoon we drove for about four hours before stopping at a campsite off the highway. The kids collected firewood and we had yummy marshmallows. I did the big "snakes, dingos (Jess calls them bingos) scorpions and crocodiles lecture", after having a dingo-cross circle us throughout lunch at the rest stop.



We are now in Alice Springs. I've washed around two tonnes of red dirt out of our clothes. Three of the kids have had temperatures the last two days, so today is mostly a rest and catch up on school work day.

Coober Pedy

Fantastic! Just the most amazing place. It's incredible that people can live here. There doesn't seem to be any system of roads except for the main street. Just dirt paths going between the houses and dug outs. Water is limited and to fill the tank in our caravan we have to pay at special taps in town. Today we went to a working underground opal mine and afterwards did some noodling (going through the rocks for opal that was missed by the miners). It's quite addictive and was hard to drag the kids away.

Woomera

Woomera was an interesting place to visit. It was a great addition to the "Space" unit Arch and Darcy had done in term 2. (Take note Mr Homeschool Inspector Man!!). It was amazing to see how this community survives in the middle of the desert. We stayed one night and drove on to Coober Pedy today.

Our camp visitor- Flinders Ranges,
+ Jess travels sleeper class.

Archie on the Daddy-made swing at Mt Remarkable. We were also camped right next to a beautiful creek but it was much to cold to paddle in.

Jess

Jess having a relax and some morning tea, somewhere between Cobar and Wilcannia, NSW.

Isaac doing a watercolour painting of the ranges and plains out to the Spencer Gulf

For the last four night (until 27th July) we have been camping at Mt Remarkable NP in the Flinders Ranges. I reckon heavan might be a little bit like this. We have had emus visit the caravan and wallabies and euros everywhere. The bushwalking is great and even the little kids can manage a couple of kilometres- although Jess did fall asleep in the sling on the way home.
Off to Coober Pedy today.

Above is the old school, now closed, in Silverton. the kids had a great time seeing how school used to be. They looked at schoolwork from the 1880s and played marbles and hopscotch in the yard.

Day 1 Sandy Hollow- Day 2 Nyngan- Day 3 Broken Hill

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Darcy and Greg tried to help a prisoner escape from Old Dubbo Gaol, but they were busted and had to serve 3 years hard labour as punishment.
In Broken Hill we discovered that the desert can have lots of plants. Because it was so windy there was a dust storm. We visited the old school house in Silverton- now essentially a ghost town. The kids enjoyed seeing how school was 130 years ago.

As we drove past the Silverton Hotel Greg and I remembered having lunch there 13 years ago, when we were just engaged. Then we took the kids back to the caravan for peanut butter sandwiches, which is really just as exciting as a meal at Silverton.

Two More Sleeps!! by Camilla

Today is Friday, and the plan is that we leave Sunday afternoon. We aren't sure how far we'll get on the first day, but our aim is to get to Broken Hill on day three, and spend a few days there.
Greg and I have been pretty busy this week getting organised. Greg has been sorting out the mechanical side of things, while I've been deciding how many teaspoons, socks, CDs etc we can fit. Not enough, it seems!
Isaac, Darcy and Archie went to my parents' property for a few days and had a fabulous time. Mum and Dad are off to Tonga for a month to do some voluntary teaching work. Tonight Isaac is having a sleepover at his Uncle Ado and Aunty Shelly's house- lots of PS3 no doubt.
We've only been in our new house for three months, and it's hard to imagine living in a 'house' the size of our living room floor rug for the next three months. Our backyard will be huge though!
We are all really excited about going to places that none of us have been to before. After Greg calculated the distances, and considering we all don't particularly like being in the car for too long, we've decided to spend 4-5 weeks in both the NT and Queensland, with a few weeks getting there and home. That way, hopefully, we'll gain a better appreciation of the outback, coast and rainforests.