Day 4 – 13^th June – Tanami Desert – By Isaac

To our surprise waking up in Alice Springs was only 10 degrees c. We packed up quickly and had showers.

For old times sake for mum, we went passed Living Waters Primary School and what an impressive building it is. I am sure this must be the only new building in Alice Springs!!!  We went to the tourist information to find out where we could fill our car on the Tanami and soon hit the road. All seemed well as we pulled into a community for fuel but realised we weren’t going to be served for another hour so we grabbed some snacks and headed back out to the main track. Once we got to Yemundeu we stopped for diesel and an ice-cream as the day was getting hotter. Mum went to an Art Gallery and thought the aboriginal artwork was heavily priced.

We stopped at a Bore for the night and had Yiros for dinner.

Day 5- 14^th June- Tanami Track- By Isaac and Marlise

We woke to a stunning sunrise and packed up quickly for another day of driving. Lunch was right on the border (WA, NT) under a shady tree and we could not help but notice how the WA sign was grafettied and the NT sign was in pristine shape.  At 2:30pm we turned off to infamous Wolfe Creek to see the Crater. (I think I can watch the movie now.) We arrived at the crater camping grounds 30 minutes later and quickly set up camp. After we had finished we headed to the crater to have a look from the top. (It was an enormous hole in the ground 850m wide and 20m deep) After dinner we raced back up the crater to see the sunset and it was gorgeous. From the top, the landscape was flat with the ranges in the distance. Once we got back down to camp it was close to dusk  and although we had a noisy group of baby boomers next to us we headed to bed early to be ready for another day jam-packed full of adventure. 

Day 6 – 15^th June 2012 – Wolfe Creek – By Isaac

As we awakened there was cloud cover and a few drops of rain (it only has 400mms of rain annually), but as the rain passed and the sun came up the crater looked like a volcano set to blow. We then rushed to pack up our swags and have breakfast before the rain started again. Once again we hit the road for the Kimberly’s and the Bungle Bungles. We arrived in Halls Creek around 10am and restocked with vegetables and fruit. The liquor store only opened at 2:30 so Mum had to go without white wine again. Halls Creek was an impressively clean town. Dad went to the information centre and booked a helicopter flight over the Bungles and we all went to the Art gallery across the road. There were aboriginal artists painting away and were happy to talk to us. Mum found a painting she liked but is still thinking about it knowing we will be returning this way home. After two hours of bumpy driving we arrived at the Walardi Campsite and we thought we had the best campsite with beautiful trees for shade. We assembled camp for the following two nights (YAH) and had a relaxing afternoon. We were so relaxed we nearly missed out on seeing the sunset at the huge ridge of rock go bright red and suddenly go dark once the sun dropped below the horizon.

We had a campfire and talked to the camp host and another family of all the good spots to go to on the Gibbon Road.

Day 7 - 16^th June 2012 - Bungle Bungles - by Annie

After an amazing night of hearing dingoes and a good night sleep we woke up early. Dad rang Grandma Sue for her birthday and Nana for her birthday. We had time to explore the campground with a dry creek bed. We left to go to the airport to have a flight in a helicopter at 9:15am. So we pack into the car the things we needed and watched as other tourists came off their flight. After the weigh in and the safety check it was our turn to go on the helicopter. It was amazing. The domes did look like beehive domes.

Enjoying the 18 minutes of flying our helicopter landed and we headed off to the Cathedral Gorge. It was getting very hot as we had to walk a while in the sun before we were in the gorge. The Cathedral was awesome. Mum thought majestic. We had fun making echoes while having a drink and a quick snack.

On the way out there were lots of tourists going in including very frail old people. We walked out to the lookout and this was very hot (32 degrees c). Dad was sweating.

We arrived back to the campsite to find that the baby boomers from Wolf Creek were next door to us again.

Day 8- 17^th June 2012 - Bungle Bungles - by Marlise

It was a relatively quiet night as the baby boomers tried to keep their voices down. We rose early and packed up within 30 minutes. We went to Mini Palm Gorge first and it was lovely to walk with a gentle cool breeze. Ethan was leading the way and I trusted his navigational skills until I realized I was climbing over large boulders and thought there must be an easier way. This was an exciting walk and the boys thought all walks should be over boulders and in narrow walkways.

We had an early lunch hoping to delay time and be in Echidna Chasm by 11:30am HOWEVER the kids did not want to wait around to see the sun go inside the chasm. Sorry Sue!!

The decision was made to head to Kununurra and have showers and a pool to swim in. The scenery was spectualar!! We found Kimberlyland Resort and following Sue’s advice asked for an unpowered site and true to her word we had the best view and site in front of the lake. It was truly MAGIC!!

Quickly setting up we had a much appreciated swim/bath.

Day 9-18^th June- Kununurra

Sunrise was beautiful and it felt good to relax and take it easy in the morning. We restocked and found the best place to eat pies for an early lunch. After the third Art Gallery Ethan declared he was truly arted out!!! We drove to Ivanhoe Crossing and fortunately didn’t see any large crocs and went to Kelly Knob Lookout when to Alex’s horror the car wouldn’t start. A new battery was required and we were so grateful that this happened in Kununurra. We feel God is watching over us!!

Day 10-19^th June - Lake Argyle

A big decision - do we go to Lake Argyle or not. Yes we made it and the scenery was stunning.  We were told for every litre of water in Lake Argyle James Packer has a dollar. WOW there was a lot of water and James Packer is a rich man!!!!! Alex, Ethan & Annie spent a very pleasant hour fishing downstream of the dam wall with several bites but no success.