22/9/08
It was mid June when we started our journey, the dry season up north which equates to clear blue skies and warm days. The average temperature in Darwin in June is 31 degrees, with overnight lows averaging around 20 degrees. As we headed towards central Australia the temperature dropped the further we traveled. We bought extra blankets in Katherine and acquired more layers of clothing along the way.
The logistics of camping with little kids isn’t always easy. Steve could take the boys to the shower block, and everyone showered themselves. The girls however were a different story. They preferred to lie on the floor, look into the next cubicle or open the door while you were shampooing your hair. It ended up being easier to wash them in the saucepan box then shower alone later.
While we’re keeping it real, long distances in a car and 100’s of kilometers with little to distract, meant LOTS of stops. Separate to the many toilet stops there were the tree climbing stops, soccer playing stops and the running up and down empty truck stop stops. There were also the refusals to get back into the car and arguments about who sat where. However, all in all, they were pretty good about the travel considering their ages.
Steve is definitely Mr Fun. He has a way of being able to make a game out of anything. The photos above for example are from a game of who can find a termite mound as tall as them? These simple games always lifted morale and there was always some kind of prize on promise. I love the photo of them all squinting towards the sun, but Emma solved the problem by making her own sunglasses.
Travelling 1000’s of kilometers by car to see the middle of Australia certainly wasn’t the kids idea, but I think we made it fun. We tried to stay a few nights in any location they were really enjoying. Including spending an extra night at one spot, so Emma and Tom could finish building their bush fort. The photos do not do it justice, but there was an open area under all that debris that one could sit in.