It's About The Journey

‘Adventure must start with running away from home’ – William Bolitho

It’s late February 2020 and Rach is watching CNN at home in Cyprus. “Babe, I think this might be serious”. “Nah Babe, its just another bird flu virus thing in Asia and a slow news week, they are milking it, it’s nothing serious”, declares Paulie with his usual confidence concerning all things related to global current affairs. By this stage, we are packed up ready to move countries, both technically unemployed and Zeke and Lani finishing up at another school whilst we all get ready for the next chapter in our adventures. On the night of the 14^th March, we post (yet another overdue) update to our blog, satisfied that we are closing one amazing chapter and ready to set forth on another before we get on a plane the next morning, yet very aware of the craziness starting to unfold, although with no comprehension of how different the next 12 months would be.  

We awake far too early the next morning to Miss Lani informing us that her tummy hurts. “That’s okay darling, you’re probably a bit nervous and excited like we all are”, says Dad (who is nailing his predictions at this point). Within minutes she begins to violently evacuate the contents of her stomach, and possibly some internal organs. For a kid that had only been sick once in her 7 years, we took it serious enough to do some quick googling. Our ‘diagnosis’ confirmed that a) it definitely wasn’t nerves and b) likely the 22 Russian dumplings she ate at a friend’s house the day before.

Showers all round as we get ready for the taxi to pick us up. To take us to the airport. To move from Cyprus to the Netherlands. In (what we now know) was the beginning of the world descending into chaos and the start of an historic global pandemic. March 15^th, 2020 is a day that is permanently etched in our memories, and we are forever grateful that it is an experience we can look back and smile about.

As we get in the taxi, we hear that airports around the world are closing. If you are sick or have any signs of illness – isolate yourself and close contacts. This was not another ‘Asian bird flu’. Using our inner most mind power guru tactics and everything we have learned about working with people in 20+ years of senior management we convince Lani that she is not actually sick as we traverse through the airport which is now on semi military lock down, where men with big guns are eyeing everyone in the crowd on the hunt for sick people. This works extraordinarily well, until we get to the check in counter. “Dad, I think I’m gonna be sick”. “No Lani. No, you are not going to be sick.” “Dad, I am gonna be sick.” “Rach, Lani is gonna need a bathroom!!!” Too late. Details beyond this point are not required, but by some miracle, we were able to board the plane and with several gastro incidents and clothes changes later, Lani’s condition thankfully seemed to be improving.

We land in Amsterdam around 1800. Whilst we were in the air, the Prime Minister of the Netherlands had announced that the whole country must lock down immediately. All shops, cafes, restaurants, everything must close, right now. Our taxi driver was genuinely concerned that we would not be able to buy food or any supplies (this was when we were all new to the idea of lockdowns and didn’t know that the world wouldn’t run out of toilet paper). New country. New life. New language. New world all in the space of a 3-hour flight. Just wow.

Thankfully, and although we did not quite know it at that point, we had just landed in one of the most remarkable countries in the world. We arrived at our apartment to find a crackling fireplace and the toasty warm hospitality (and cold Heineken) of our local hosts. Jeanette, Romy and Neils were there to make sure we had everything ready to go and let us know that they were there for us for anything we needed. Relief does not even come close to cutting it – What. A. Day!

From that point on, we have embraced every moment.

From starting a new school where “the kids are just so kind”, making new best friends, exploring the parks, farms, flowers, windmills, canals, art and playgrounds in our new neighborhood to experiencing the vibrant and historical culture of our European neighbors (when travel restrictions allow). Long weekend stays in Paris, and road trips through Belgium, France and Germany have given us the opportunity to explore parts of the world we used to only dream about and to build memories that are imprinted for an eternity.

With the experience of our year spent camping together in 2018 and the fact we do enjoy each others’ company (most of the time), we have made the most of these lockdowns and if anything, feel closer as a team. Christmas and New Year were special, despite being so far away from loved ones, we ate and drank like the best of them, both in our cosy apartment and enjoying the kind hospitality and fantastic company of new friends.

Soon, the world will figure out a way to get back to a new kind of normal. People will begin to roam once more and then we will have even more fun. We will get to share some of the utterly magnificent places, people, culture and history of our new home with the people we love the most – we are so looking forward to what 2021 brings and can’t wait for visitors!

‘If you’ve ever been homesick, or felt exiled from all the things and people that once defined you, you’ll know how important welcoming words and friendly smiles can be’ – Stephen King

“We carry our homes within us which enables us to fly.” – John Cage

We last updated the blog just before we returned to Australia for a month, after being away from ‘home’ for a year. Family, friends, summer sunshine, laughter, tears and celebrations – the best way to enjoy the land down under. It was wonderful to meet our new cousin and nephew, Charlie, and have so much fun as we always do at Burnewang. Christmas in Dongara is a blast and catching up with everyone we love so much all over Australia, really makes us appreciate all the beautiful people in our lives and how lucky we are to have them all.

And of course, never a dull moment – during this time, Rach was offered an incredible career opportunity to return to a well-respected former employer in a senior position, based in The Hague in the Netherlands. Wow, what a decision process we went through to leave an amazing company to move countries, change schools and start a new role… more on that soon.

After being back ‘home’ in Cyprus for a week, Rachel attempted a not so stylish dismount from a chin-up bar at the gym. The (rather painful) result was a dislocated (and freaky looking) elbow, with a break in it for good measure. We are now 8 weeks on with hours and hours of physio, with lots more to go to get her arm ‘back’.

Miss Lani turned 7 with an awesome birthday party at Galactica, bowling with all the kids in her class to celebrate. She also got a beautiful new guitar (and lessons), so many gorgeous gifts from her mates and heaps of new clothes (oh, and unicorn poo from Zekie).  

We also met an incredible artist who is sure to become a life-long friend, lucky for us he is amazing at tattoos! We have spent a lot of time together, allowing Chris to leave his very talented mark on us for many years to come. Photos to follow once we’ve healed up.

With our time in Cyprus drawing to a close, we set about checking out the few remaining corners of Cyprus we were yet to see. As well as this island, there was a place less than an hour’s flight away that has been on our bucket list for ever, which we just had to experience before we departed this part of the world.

Israel. Incredibly talented writers have struggled to capture in words the experience that a visit to this remarkable country instills in you. There is no chance we can do it justice in just a few words but suffice to say the experience left an imprint on all of us that will last a lifetime. As one of the cities where modern history as we know it today begins, we spent a few days exploring the old city of Jerusalem by foot, both above and below ground. There we walked within the city walls with fellow humans representing just about every culture, country, civilization and corner of the globe, all with their own agenda, ideas and beliefs, and all walking peacefully beside one another.

We visited the City of David, including Hezekiah’s (water) tunnel, visited the Western Wall, walked the Stations of the Cross marking out Jesus’ last walk to his crucifixion and saw his tomb.  So much history jammed packed into such a small area, were blown away by the Israel Museum to see the Dead Sea Scrolls and relics from the earliest human civilization of the region from more than 7000 years ago. The Dead Sea and the desert fortress of Masada rocked our world, where the Roman’s siege of Jewish rebels came to life in our imagination. A Roman aqueduct still sitting on the beach at Caesarea, gorgeous chalk grottos at Rosh Hanikra right on the Lebanese border (complete with chatting to Israeli soldier on watch) filled our brains to exploding.

Our overnight stay in Tiberius, on the shores of the Sea of Galilee was a highlight with a tour of the Golan Heights along the border with Syria – with Israeli tanks and bunkers – the best kind of classroom! We dug up a 2200 year old rubbish dump leaning about archaeology and found bones, pottery and charcoal before heading to the Ayalon Institute with its incredible story of a clandestine underground bullet factory from 1942, showcasing Jewish chutzpah. Only an hour’s drive away from all this history is the vibrant city of Tel Aviv on the emerald Mediterranean Sea. Truly one of our favourite explorations to date, and thanks so much to Chana – we were so lucky to find a true gem of a guide, to share so much with us with such passion.

As we sit here in a packed-up house, ready to fly tomorrow in a world consumed by panic with the coronavirus outbreak, we’re reflecting on our time in Cyprus and the emotions are swirling. There is some joy in our sadness though: we are sad to be leaving this special little island, the friends we have made, the things we have learned about the world and the growth we have experienced here as a family; and the joy comes from the exciting new adventure that is just around the corner, where our new home awaits.

“All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us” – Gandalf

When we last updated the blog around 5 months ago, we were quite settled in to our new home and the Mediterranean lifestyle. After exploring and discovering countless gems on this special little island, we were beginning to ponder some adventures further afield. True to form we went full steam ahead and although the photos probably best tell the story, here’s a snippet of what we have been up to….

Austria / Germany

For the Easter school holidays we flew to Vienna and spent a couple of weeks backpacking through Austria and Germany – we explored magical palaces and castles, ventured deep inside ice caves and salt mines, we ate schnitzels by mountain lakes and saw classical music in glorious historical churches. We wandered the world’s oldest zoo and danced in beer halls drinking brews (and that’s it for the rhyming).

With summer on its way, Cyprus in May was afterschool kiteboard sessions, discovering more of this special island, a Duathlon (run and ocean swim) and we even watched the Dockers actually win a game on TV!

London Town

The team was separated for a couple of weeks until early June whilst Rach was in South America for work, but we got to rendezvous in London, and even better was catching up with besties from Perth and hanging with them and their incredible London based family. The Lion King Musical in the West End, The Natural History Museum, SkyGarden, Platform 9 ¾, street art (Banksy) and chasing squirrels in Hyde Park were a few highlights. Big Ben is currently undergoing restoration work much to Lani’s disappointment…

Greece

Returning home to Cyprus where we rather impatiently counted down the days to the arrival of Team Chandler and Marnie at the end of June… a week here to show the family some of our favourite places around the island before we all set off to explore Greece for 3 spectacular weeks. From the birthplace of democracy, philosophy, theatre, science and the arts – to the birthplace of Zeus and the gods of Mount Olympus….from mainland cities to island villages including a little island called Santorini where we got to celebrate Aunty Nika’s 40^th in style. There were castles, water parks and heatwaves in Crete before we flew north back to the mainland to hike around Mount Olympus and then explore the utterly amazing monasteries around Meteora. After a tearful good- bye to our family at Athens airport, we ducked home to Cyprus for 6 days to unpack, then repack for a 5 week trip to Argentina where Rach had a work assignment.

Argentina

Buenos Aires is an experience more than a destination. Home to around 16 million people it is unlike any other city we have visited. The culture, the history, the people and what they have been through, make this a truly remarkable place to live for a while. The unique opportunity for us to spend 5 weeks in (almost) the same place provided us with a different travel experience. Rach had lots of work to do and travelled to various Latin American cities during the week, while Paulie, Zekie and Lani became quite the locals in our inner-city neighbourhood of Palermo (especially at the local empanada store) and little celebrities enjoying the Boca Juniors futbol match at La Bombonera. We managed to sneak in a few side trips on the weekends out to Mendoza, home to the world-famous wineries in the foothills of the Andes, and another trip up to Iguazu Falls on the border of Brazil….one of the seven natural wonders of the world.   

After so much travel, it has been wonderful returning to our peaceful island life in Cyprus. Zeke and Lani have settled back into a new school year, making new friends and still impressing us every day as they continue to grow up far too fast.

Our next adventure is booked, of course, and we are all so very excited about returning to Australia for a month to spend Christmas with family and friends, who we are all missing dearly.  

“Not knowing is half the fun”, Aphrodite said. Rick Riordan

This weekend, (one of fourteen long weekends in Cyprus this year) we are staying in a small village on the more remote western end of this magical island. Gorgeous little Latchi is around an hour and a half from our new home in Limassol and is the gateway to some of the most breathtaking terrain on the island, the Akamas Peninsula. This morning we hiked the Aphrodite Trail. The Baths of Aphrodite are along the hike, a surreal mountain grotto where it is believed that Aphrodite, the goddess of love, beauty, pleasure and passion used to take her baths. We can certainly feel what she saw in this place!

We are now around three months in to our latest adventure of life on a Mediterranean island and we are loving every minute of it. The culture, history, food and warm embrace of the friendly and helpful locals have made us feel right at home from the minute we stepped off the plane. It was a gigantic leap for Zeke and Lani to go from travelling the country, camping in the Australian outback for a year with Mum and Dad as their ‘teachers’, to moving to the other side of the world and having to wear shoes (and shirts and ties) to go back to a real school. They absolutely rose to the challenge and are now thriving and utterly loving their new school, teachers and friends from all corners of the globe. Mum and Dad couldn’t be prouder of our little troopers. Speaking of Mum and Dad, Rach is absolutely revelling in being back amongst the working class, loving her new role and the people she is working with. Plus, she is very much appreciating only being a 4 hour direct flight from London for business.  Between cooking, CrossFit, kiteboarding and teaching himself to trade Options on the NYSE, (and writing blog updates) Paulie doesn’t have time to scratch himself – which makes him happy, although he still struggles to explain to people we meet, what exactly it is that he does.

We always knew that a major bonus of living at the junction of Europe, Africa and the Middle East was going to be the opportunity to travel and explore. The first opportunity was to visit our long-lost besties who have lived in Cairo for the last 6 years. Not only did we get to spend an incredible 10 days catching up with old friends, we got the total local inside scoop on how and where to explore in and around Cairo.

On the day we flew back to Cyprus, Rach had breakfast in Cairo, then we had lunch at home in Limassol, before we took her back to the airport for a work trip and she finished the day with dinner in London, before heading off to South America, via Madrid in Spain the following day. When she got home, we thought it might be nice to have a few days at home, so we set of for 5 days exploring the Turkish occupied area of Northern Cyprus. Such a beautiful part of the island with an incredibly emotional and complex history that we could only begin to try and understand by visiting.

Well, what’s next – who knows? The kids have 10 days off at Easter, we might go backpack around Austria and Hungary, after all it’s a few hours away and less than 100 euro to get there…..

“Home is where one starts from”, TS Eliot.

And so, after around ten months on the road we found ourselves about as far away from Perth in this fine country of ours as possible. Partly due to the unforeseen, and probably a little more to do with our love for and reluctance to ever leave Queensland. However it happened, we had left ourselves around three and a bit weeks to get back to Perth to allow enough time to prepare for our next adventure….

Happily for us, if you draw a straight line from Weipa to Perth it takes you through some of the most remote, spectacular and inhospitable parts of the country – pretty much our favourite places. It was time to leave the tropical rainforests of North QLD!

Down into the Gulf Country along parts of the Savannah Way and on through to the breathtaking oasis of Adele’s Grove in Lawn Hill National Park – a place we had been longing to visit and it certainly lived up to the hype. Visiting yet another of QLD’s five World Heritage sites – the Riversleigh Fossil Site blew our minds. Then through the iconic mining centre of Mount Isa before heading further south in to the legendary QLD Channel Country, home of min-min lights, artesian swimming holes and landscapes that have made the Australian outback known the world over.

Arriving in Birdsville, the anxiety levels started creeping up as we made our final preparation and checks before heading off to cross the Simpson desert. At this point we were about a month too late, going in the wrong direction, towing a trailer and on our own (none of which are recommended). Confident we had the experience and the equipment we needed to tackle one of Australia’s most revered 4wd challenges, we set off nice and early after a good night’s rest. Less than two hours after leaving we were bogged. Not just a bit bogged. Very, very bogged, in very sticky mud, home to loads of big wolf spiders – not what we were expecting in the desert! And so began a mentally and physically arduous, crossing of the desert. It’s been 6 weeks since and we still can’t seem to describe the feeling and we’re not sure we ever will. It was one of the most difficult, rewarding and exhilarating things we have done – so far…. Six days after setting off from Birdsville, we collapsed alive, intact and very dirty in Alice Springs. Relieved doesn’t quite cut it.

After a few days exploring ‘The Alice’ we were off again down through the Macdonnell Ranges and over to Uluru and Kata Tjuta – just wow! What truly spiritual places. Never having visited before and only seeing pictures, they still completely took our breath away. We are grateful to share such magical places with the Anangu people, the oldest culture known to man.

Time to start the final leg across a couple more deserts to get ‘home’. We took the Great Central Road through the Gibson and Great Victoria Deserts and came in the back way to WA via Warburton, Laverton and Leonora. Although dirt roads and fairly remote, this leg was a complete breeze compared to the Simpson. After a couple of big days driving we made it to Dongara to spend a few days easing (and cleaning!) ourselves back in to the real world with family, and demobilising some of our gear before we made the final leg to Perth.

340 days and around 41,000 km later and we are forever changed by this truly incredible experience that we somehow managed to make happen.

Although, there hasn’t been a great deal of time to reflect as we have spent the last four weeks reconfiguring our lives before, we jump on a plane and move to Cyprus for a year or two (or maybe London after Cyprus – who knows?). We are so grateful we managed to spend some quality time with so many family and friends and a bit sad that we didn’t get to see others but appreciate everyone’s understanding of our crazy lives.

Twelve months ago on this day, we headed off from the shack on a journey. We had no idea what we were looking for or what we would find. What we discovered as a family is more than we can ever put into words. Right now, we are at the airport about to board a plane and head to Cyprus to live in the Mediterranean for a while. It is beyond exciting to even try and imagine what we will discover in 2019!

In the wise words of ancient Greek philosopher, Plato: “Life must be lived as play”.

Well, it’s been three short months since our last update and we are pinching ourselves about all that has happened in that time…

In our last installment, we had just left the lush tropical rainforest of the Daintree in north Queensland to make our way to the Salmo River in Canada, via Sydney.

Zeke and Lani had the most amazing time. Visiting family, helping friends in need, having special desserts, learning to knit, playing epic games of hide and seek, visiting Jump Zone, excursions to a submarine, trips to the beach, amazing lollies from the Long Track Pantry, playing with Belle and Molly, snuggles with Aunty Weff and Nan, building stuff with Pop and hanging out in his museum, a trip back to Burnewang to see Aunty Emma and Uncle Aaron, watching a foal being born and riding horses!!! Along with afternoons playing with Libby, Ella and Archie whilst training wild ponies. Wow.

We, on the other hand realised a long-held dream. We made the journey to Shambala, a music and arts festival in Canada with our best mate, Tex. We met gorgeous new friends and submerged ourselves in beautiful expressions of beats and creativity. Just Wow.

Returning to Cairns, Paulie did a dive job with old mates and new, in the Cairns Marina whilst Rach and the kids caught up on school work, fed turtles, shoo-ed tree snakes from the kitchen, visited the Aquarium, swam in the lagoon and brought lunch down to Dad every day. Zeke turned 8 and we all went to an incredible authentic family-run Japanese restaurant for dinner. On Father’s Day we had lunch at a brewery and gin bar (of course) before playing in the fig treehouse playground, splashing in the lagoon (again) and having an ice cream on the foreshore.

Although we could easily have stayed Cairns forever, Pajinka was calling, so it was time to hit the road…Cooktown, the Endeavour Museum and camping on a passionfruit farm before we hit the Wakooka Track on our way up to Cape Melville, which is off the beaten path even by Cape York standards. The usual late afternoon bogging, before setting up camp at Crocodile, aptly named as we had a late night 4m visitor (a good 30m from our beds). We made some lifelong friends whilst exploring the northern most part of our remarkable country – the fabulous ‘Mettler-Morans’ and we captured some of our adventures together in 15 minute video which is on YouTube; Pajinka (Cape York) Adventures

After conquering the Frenchman’s Track and leaving Chilli Beach, we noticed a slight scrub on the camper trailer tyre was beginning to reach epic proportions… pulling up north of Archer River to inspect in detail, we discovered the axle had a rather large crack in it! After a long and eventful day, the RAC recovered our sorry, broken home back to Weipa where, although we didn’t know it at the time, it would spend the next 43 days waiting for parts to arrive.

During those 43 days, we all flew back to Perth where Zeke and Lani had lots of fun, adventures and cuddles with family and friends, whilst we flew to Cyprus to tee up a new home, a new school, a new car and a new life come January 2019, where our adventures will certainly continue….but not quite yet…

Arriving back in Cairns, which now feels a bit like home, we spent more quality time with wonderful friends and Zeke learned to dive on the Great Barrier Reef! Finally, we have made it back to Weipa to get the band back together again. Today, we collected our home (camper trailer) with a brand new shiny underside, ready to tackle the Australian deserts in a (roughly) straight line back to Perth before all the tracks close in about three weeks due to the scorching heat…

“Adventure is worthwhile.” – Aristotle

Reefs, rainforests, waterfalls, crystal clear swimming holes in volcanic craters, crocodiles, cassowaries and ridiculously friendly, genuine people. North Queensland we are in love with you.

Zeke and Lani were beyond delighted when Aunty Emma and Uncle Aaron rocked up to our campsite at Hold It Flats, south of Proserpine, and even more so to spend ten rare days with them both in this magical part of the world. Mermaid Aunty Emma diving with us on Hardy Reef and the mind-blowing Yongala wreck, fishing Alva Beach with Uncle Aaron’s expertise, snorkeling with the big fish on the Great Barrier Reef and long hours by the campfire talking about all the important things in the world.

As always, saying goodbye was tough but we continued north to Big Crystal Creek in the Paluma National Park, where the bonus of school holidays meant making best friends and playing all day in nature’s playground, a dry creek bed near our camp. The crystal-clear waters of the granite swimming hole seemed to cleanse us for the laid-back lifestyle that North Queensland dishes up on huge platters of green and calm and happiness.

The magic of Paronella’s castle in the rainforest with its story of an inspiring man following his dream, rediscovered in the overgrown rainforest and brought forward to share with us all again some 80 years on.

The Daintree rainforest and Noah Beach where we witnessed first-hand the goddess Eos breaking open the gates of heaven for Apollo to ride his sun chariot across the brilliant blue sky (yes, we’ve all been reading Stephen Fry’s latest book, Mythos, in fact, Zeke has read it 3 times!). The filtered green light of dense rainforest at our campsite made for one of the best classrooms in the world – albeit somewhat distracting at times with lace monitors, cheeky swamp hens and wompoo pigeons calling by.

Long barefoot treks through the rainforest, holding big sticks to ward off the wild pigs we could hear grunting not too far away. Iconic four-wheel drive trekking north up the famous CREB track, ending with a giant five metre saltwater crocodile hanging out safely far below on the banks of the Bloomfield River.

It was a privilege to spend time with old friends and legendary locals in Cairns, sharing their secret places where everywhere you look is the picture postcard stuck up in millions of offices around the world, “if only”… the long, lazy, sun-drenched day at mysterious Lake Eacham, a recovery hike into the rainforest at Stony Creek and delicious scones with local homemade jam on the shores of Lake Barrine.

Now it’s time for a little side trip. Yesterday we left our rig in Cairns and flew to Sydney to be met with warm hugs and so much love from our beautiful family, where Zeke and Lani are being spoilt rotten while Mum and Dad head off for a brief adventure to Canada with Tex for a couple of weeks.

We feel the universe continues to smile upon us and we are making the most of every moment. To borrow a quote from the wonderful Anthony Bourdain, may he rest in peace:

“The journey changes you; it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind.”

Well, once again, it’s been far too long since our last update, and we hardly know where to begin but here goes…

From Sydney, we headed south to check out some of Australia’s most spectacular coast lines and sleepy towns, while watching for the perfect weather window to shoot up into the Snowy Mountains and hike to the summit of Mt Kosciuszko, Australia’s highest point, on a vivid sunny day.

After a few days of chilly mountain weather in Thredbo it was time to head down from the hills to chase a bit more Man from Snowy River history through to Corryong. From there it was up to Canberra (the back way of course), where our nation’s capital far exceeded our expectations. Visiting Parliament House and the Australian War Memorial is something every Australian should experience in their lives and a full day at Questacon (science discovery centre for kids) was a highlight for Zeke and Lani. Every year we attend a Dawn Service on Anzac Day, usually somewhere special. The Dawn Service at the Australian War Memorial was touching beyond words and spoke to each of us in a way that will stay with us forever. Lest we forget.

We ducked back into Sydney for Lani to receive a copy of Thelma the Unicorn and to catch a Portugal. The Man gig with Aunty Steph at Enmore Theatre – both significant events in our lives 😊. Being back in Sydney gave us the opportunity to enjoy one more hike with Nan and Pop, who took us up to the Blue Mountains to experience the magic of the Grand Canyon track with Aunty Maree and Uncle Tony.

Leaving Sydney (again) we started to make our way back to Adelaide for Rach to attend the APPEA Conference. Of course we went the long way – squeezing in a few laps of Mount Panorama in Bathurst and an amazing fossil and gemstone museum in Dubbo. Then it was up to Lightning Ridge, the Australian epicentre for eccentricity, a very special town, before we headed way out the back of Bourke (literally), through to the Corner Country where three states meet, into Innamincka and surrounds retracing the fateful steps of Burke and Wills in a real-life history lesson not to be forgotten anytime soon.

We travelled south through the Strzelecki Desert into the northern Flinders Ranges – coming from a landscape where nothing living existed apart from swarms of bush flies, into the Flinders Ranges where we saw donkeys, wild dogs, dingoes and thousands of kangaroos. We may or may not have inadvertently found ourselves lost on an active uranium mining lease after coming in the back way…

The Flinders Ranges are nothing short of magical: geologically awe inspiring for us all, camping among 650 million-year old rocks at the Trezona campground, spending the best Mother’s Day ever on the Skytrek 4WD track and collecting a rather special rock specimen.

After the usual equipment repairs in Adelaide, and a successful conference, the best part was picking up Marnie (Rach’s Mum) to spend a couple weeks with us!

Whilst hitching the trailer to leave Adelaide, with a plan to head roughly towards Uluru, Paulie received a call from a good mate to see if he wanted to come to Swan Hill for two weeks diving work in the freezing Murray River…so we spent a great couple of weeks catching up on school work and experiencing some of our early colonial history at the Pioneer Village and the Catalina Museum with our wonderful Marnie, and watching Dad work hard from the shores of the Murray River, under a bridge built in 1896. Marnie flew home out of Melbourne, so we squeezed in another quick visit with Aunty Emma and Uncle Aaron at the wonderful Burnewang North.

When the dive job finished, we were well and truly ready for some warmth. We basically fanged it north until we hit some warmer weather and found ourselves stopping off at Australia Zoo in Beerwah on our way to Fraser Island…just WOW!

Then over to Rainbow Beach to catch the Fraser Island ferry from the infamously boggy Inskip Point, without any issue whatsoever, driving 100km along the eastern beach of Fraser to camp at Waddy Point, where we were joined by Australian 4WDing icons Roothy and his crew, along with Brad from Maxtrax. An absolute bunch of legends in a truly amazing place – words cannot do this island justice, it well exceeds all the hype, what a very special place.

After Fraser we headed down to Brisbane for a couple of nights to catch a fantastic display at the Queensland Museum on Egyptian Mummies. Then we heard a rumour that our one and only Uncle Ryan was in Bundaberg on assignment to film the HMAS Tobruk sinking, too good an opportunity to pass up, we headed north again, plus we got to see how real Bundaberg Ginger Beer is made.

We wandered up the coast a touch more to find a place to sit tight before Rach headed off to London for 6 days to attend a conference. 50km south of Proserpine we found an absolute gem of a little farm where we camped by a crystal clear flowing river. We passed the week with cows, horses, firewood collecting, motorbike riding, strawberry picking, bow making, pig hunting and school work while we anxiously awaited the safe return of our Queen. Needless to say, Rach returned safely (although it felt a lot longer than 6 days), and we continued on our wonderful journey……

“Standing at the water’s edge, a sudden urge took hold of him…”

‘Family’ is an elemental part of the human experience. As we have settled into life on the road there is a sense that is exactly what our journey is all about  – the family we have left behind in Perth and are missing terribly, our little family and the journey we’re taking together, the ‘family’ of people who are transient in our lives on the road, and our family on the east coast that we have been spending time with and becoming closer to every day…

Over the past month we’ve travelled from Melbourne to Sydney by the least conventional route possible. Heading down from the High Country we arrived at the Inglis Thoroughbred Sale in Melbourne to see Uncle Aaron and Aunty Emma doing their thing – the excitement of a horse auction and watching Aaron and Emma excelling at their craft gave us goosebumps. Melbourne also had some on-edge moments as we worked through a few broken things on our car and drove all over the Big City to get it all fixed.

Back to the stunning Burnewang North (near Echuca) for two magical weeks of farm life – taming Gina the ‘wild’ miniature horse, seeing Kate the vet stitch up a cut on the hind leg of a beautiful mare, wrangling seriously giant spiders, hot-shoeing horses, playing with Olive and Jade the dogs, Matilda the grumpy pig and all of the goats, riding everyone’s favourite Dodger in the lake while watching duck hunters hunt, butchering a lamb for our freezer, blacksmithing daggers and unicorn shoes and camping on bank of the mighty Murray River with Aunty Em and Uncle Aaron, fishing and tubing the hot afternoon away.

We needed more of the alluring High Country, this time via Tolmie just out of Mansfield. Visiting Stringybark Creek and other sites of the Kelly Gang, and Harry Power the most excellent bushranger ever – many interesting conversations to explain bushranger history and how times have changed.

Seeking serious adventure in the Wonnangatta Valley, we found it! – during a pouring rain, howling wind, three day freezing cold weather event – we decided to drive some of the most iconic and challenging 4wd tracks in Australia, and yes, towing our trailer. After a white-knuckle drive into the remote and peaceful valley, on slippery mud-goat-tracks on the side of mountains, we set up camp, disturbing a sleepy red-belly black snake, before settling into school work and a marathon Dino-opoly game in the tent to wait out the weather.

When the sun finally came out it was time for reconnaissance to find a way out of what might be Australia’s most spectacular valley. Working out gradients on various routes before scouting them without the trailer to find one we were least likely to die on. After making it out of a particularly steep and rocky spur, Paulie said, “I did NOT think you could tow a trailer up that”.

Arriving in Dargo we celebrated in a proper high country log cabin at the back of the Dargo pub before marveling at the uninterrupted beauty of the Blue Rag Track, the following day, feeling on top of the world.

We camped at Lake Hume under a massive blue sky on our way north to the family property for Easter, near Taralga in NSW on the Abercrombie River, surrounded by the Blue Mountains National Park – a fantastic bush Easter Egg Hunt with family and nights filled with spotlighting wombats and a warm fire to learn Latvian by…

It was so good to spend such a time with our family, learning so much history of the area so dear to their hearts.

The past two weeks have been so wonderfully full of love and laughter spending quality time with Pop, Nan and Aunty Steph (and all their pets!). A sensational day at the gorgeous Taronga Zoo, working out at F45 together, crushing cars with an excavator, wonderful dinners, too much wine and an epic eight hour hike into the famous Slot Canyon in Bungonia National Park… Zeke and Lani continue to amaze us every single day.

“…He jumped into the water and discovered he could swim!”…

 

This fabulous journey of learning we are taking together continues in the most delightful of ways – the Australian bush is a truly magical place, full of wonder and discovery, not only for all the amazing creatures that live there, but discovery of what it just might be that we went looking for in the first place…

The event that took place on the beach in the Coorong was a three hour, jam packed crash course for many of life’s lessons – working together as a team, keeping cool in times of crisis, making good decisions, clear communication and just a little bit of good luck. With no photos taken during probably one of the most stressful off-road situations ever, here is the summary penned just a few hours following the successful un-bogging: (it was posted to Facebook, but just in case you missed it)…

Paul, we just got our car AND our camper trailer bogged to the gunwale on weird angle towards the sea, below the high tide mark, on a remote 2m wide beach in the Coorong, South Australia, at 3 in the afternoon, 3 hours before high tide… and got everything out, safe, 2 hours later, not broken or lost, with less than a single metre between our trailer and the surgey, Angry, Current-ridden Southern Ocean.

We. Are. A. Team.

Love you xx

#coldbeernevertastedSOgood

From this, the magic cranked into full gear at Fort O’Hare just outside Dartmoor, Victoria, on the banks of the Glenelg River, where Major Mitchell camped in 1858 on his epic Australia Felix tour of our magnificent country. Huge river gums, koalas, Apple the rainbow lorikeet, a tawny frogmouth, gang gang and yellow tailed black cockatoos, superb fairy wrens, magpies, kookaburras, social huntsmen, corellas, banana loving possums, crimson rosellas, black faced cuckoo shrikes, wood ducks, white faced herons…  wow.

The head of the Glenelg River is in The Grampians so it wasn’t surprising that it was there that we found the best magic of all… “the magic that made Hush invisible”…. hiking in those ancient sandstones, we are now fully in our transition phase… invisible… exploring Australia to find what it just might be that makes us ‘visible’ again…sometime… but not too soon… just like Hush and Grandma Poss.

We planned to head south to the Great Ocean Road but the weather had different ideas and so we turned north, right into Wail on the banks of the Wimmera River – what was intended as a pit stop to avoid inclement weather, became another serve of magic with the Silo Art Tour. The most unique art gallery lead us on a wonderful jaunt of discovery through rural Victoria, including a coffee at Emma’s Garage in Cooper’s Crossing (home of The Flying Doctors).

Being so close to the coveted High Country – with Aunty Emma and Uncle Aaron’s farm right in the middle – determined our next course. A stopover at the beautiful Burnewang North, followed by pure heaven in the High Country out of Mansfield at Sheepyard Flat on the banks on the sparkling clear, pebbled-bedded Howqua River….

“So later that day, they left the bush where they’d always been to find what it was that would make Hush seen…”