alezanewmanphotography

Uluru & Kata Tjuta (Ayers Rock & The Olgas) NT

Well a trip around, well not around, but about half, of Australia wouldn't be complete without a side trip to Uuru & Kata Tjuta!  Or so we thought.  Personally, I could have lived without the greedy, grasping,consumerism of Yalara Resort (the only place you can camp/stay), but hey.  Congratulations Yalara, you have shifted into our number one least likeable place in Australia.

On a blissfully positive note, we took an Ananga tour (and I cannot find a link for this one?) at sunset.  This involved two beautiful female elders (Elsie & Bonnie) from the local Anangu tribe, an entertaining interpreter and a walk 'behind' the rock seeing and hearing a whole new experience.  A dreamtime telling (that explained some of the rock formations no less) interwoven with how the area was once lived in, how food was caught, water collected and the bush foods available from the area.  THIS was worth the entire trip. 


I got a few pics of the cave paintings.  Basically, it was like a classroom and several fires were lit to keep people warm etc.  The smoke would blacken the walls of the cave and the walls were reusable for more paintings! 


As for food (meat), a young male would keep watch while the older men would shift in to position when it was time for the emus to come to the water to drink.  The boy would signal their presence and how many he saw.  The men would wait for the emus to drink, then wait until all but the last had left and only kill the last emu.  This way, the rest of the emus wouldn't be scared off from that water hole and come back to drink again another night.



The women learnt to make the tools they required and what foods they could collect from the older women.  Many foods can be dried and rehydrated as needed into a paste or for flavouring other foods/drinks.  They were taught the importance of complete silence so they didn't frighten off animals the men were hunting.


This was followed by the obligatory sunset watch - along with five zillion other tourists unfortunately - but it was pretty special nonetheless.  It is unfortunate that the pictures cannot show how darn BIG Uluru is in person so I am grateful to have experienced this at least!




We walked along a smallish walk (about an hour) in Kata Tjuta earlier in the day.  That was a lot of fun!  Again, it is very difficult to show how big and awe-inspiring these sacred sites are, but I've tried :-).



One of me being a gawky tourist lol

And that should about do that tour!  It's worth a quick couple more showing Mt Connor (on the way to Uluru, about 100kms east).

We loved staying at Mt Ebenezer for the bargain rate of $10 (powered - unpowered is free) and a whole lot of peace with NO rules!

And the emu at Curtin Springs!

Until next time,
take care xx

Coober Pedy and the NT border

We just LOVED Coober Pedy (local aboriginal language translated to mean "white man in a hole" lol)!!  I think that the environment and resulting lifestyle ensure the pace of life is spot on!  We were never too noisy, too much trouble *bliss*.  A mine tour, a wonderful shopping expedition and noodling have hoisted Coober Pedy to our top 5 locations.  Firstly a photo of the bus in CP.

What the housing looks like from, er, the outside!

A tour in the Umoona Opal Mine was fantastic.  Jacob was desperately overdue for a sleep and so running riot but it was all ok for our wonderful hosts.  The tour shows an underground home from when the idea first started.  A little low, but bear in mind they were dug out by hand.

Then a look inside a modern home dug out by machine.  Bathrooms and areas needing water are all built together at the front of the home so there's only one lot of water pipes that don't go too far - I'm sure you can see the logic there!  No septic waste as per a "normal" home (just a deep trench outside).  No need for heating or cooling as the homes stay in the low 20's throughout the entire year day and night.  What electricity bill?!!  You can even use the old blast holes as shelving!

Then underneath all that is the mine itself.  Talk about an alternative to keeping your cash under your mattress...

This photo was taken looking up a 30ft mine shaft.  I couldn't show it, unfortunately, but miners would climb in and out of there like spiders up the shaft - after they had lit a fuse and were making a run for it!

After all this, er, appreciation, we just had to go and gawk at the hard won rewards encased in shiny gold.  Joy of joys I wear a stunning, full-of-colour, opal on my hand *grin*. 
And it is hard won, a little bit of noodling and I have a whole new appreciation!  Long story somewhat shortened sees Mike taking a look at a fellas clutch for him.  In return, he shows us where and how to noodle for opal.  Basically, it's looking through piles of dirt for bits of opal that have been missed. 

Our super, dooper magpie is Amelia who unfortunately began to find it all 'a bit boring' as she walked around with fist-fulls of shiny rocks. While the others would have been happy for a scrap of shiny rock lol.  I spent most the time looking around, bending down for tiny rocks is getting a bit beyond me now.

After Coober Pedy we headed for an overnight rest in Marla, the last roadhouse before the border to NT.  The next day brought us the nicest little rest area and border signs.  Now why doesn't the WA/SA border have this??  You can stop, take a nice break, take a few pics (there's even a decent toilet there) before proceeding with your trip. 


Border "village" has n-o-t-h-i-n-g other than a hand-over-your-fruit-and-veg-and-honey if you are headed west stop.  A boring couple of signs and that's it.

So here we are - The Northern Territory!  In all honesty, I had very lukewarm anticipations for SA, but overall it was an absolutely wonderful, richly enhancing leg of our journey!

Until next time,
take care xx

Port Augusta - Woomera

Well waddayaknow - we are actually on the Stuart Hwy!  I never thought we'd sort of get this far.  Hmmm, maybe I shouldn't speak too soon...

We are actually in Coober Pedy now but as we haven't finished our looking around and photo taking I'll have to save the pics for another post ;-).

Poor Lilli today, she was playing so happily and nicely with her sisters today and she misjudged and came up too soon and smacked her head into a display frame.  I was giving her a cuddle and we suddenly realised she was dripping blood all over the floor - that was not a nice feeling I can tell you.  Long story short, we tried to clean it ourselves and decided it would be best to get it seen to and she had a couple of stitches put in to hold it together.  She was an absolute trooper, no screaming or crying, just told us when it was "ow ow ow" or "that hurts".  She made it to 8 before her first major-ish injury, not bad!

Now how I can subject jump...but keep up with me here.  Those who know me best know I'm a subject hopper lol.  I've been giving myself a severe talking-to on where I am going with my photography and why I feel limited.  After reading some fabulous articles I've come to realise that what would at first seem a good idea is actually cramping my abilities so I'm going back to my original training and practising using manual not only to control exposure (Both aperture and SS in manual mode as opposed to one or the other) but *gasp* manual focus.  Now that, I gotta tell you, isn't easy after years of using AF lol.  So lots and lots of non-moving models (as in the Woomera pics I'm getting to) and patient portrait models (Lillian and Amelia are good for this) and gratitude that I can take lots of pictures of an active 2 year old and promptly delete them as needed.  It feels good, though ;-).

Ok, to bring our journey up to speed, a couple of pics of Port Augusta taken from a watertower:

For a couldn'tlandscapephotographinapinkfit photographer, I'm happy with 'em!

Then on to Woomera.  Firstly a picture of the bus out in the middle of nowhere - gosh this drive is so pretty!

Then a couple from Woomera Museum exhibits:
A Woomera!!

Jacob fully investigating:

Lillian Investigating:

The remains of the rocket used to launch Australia's first satellite:

And that should do it for now!

Until next time,
take care xx

Taking a tour inside the bus.

Ok, let's see how we go tonight!

Just a short post to show the inside of the bus for thse who haven't seen it yet or haven't seen the "upgrades".
First off is a picture taken on the steps leading in to the bus at the very front.  Dining area to the left, lounge to the right.

A picture of the left side of the kitchen (benches, cupboards, sink & stove).

And the right hand side (pantry, drawers, dishwasher, fridge, microwave).

A bit of perspective.  On the left behind the stove is the toilet then cupboards.  On the right behind the fridge is the shower.  Followed by the washing machine/dryer under bench, sink and general bathroom area.  Then another cupboard.

The laundry/bathroom area.

Bedroom area.  A Q size futon.  Dark cover because the bed is a major playing zone!  4 bunks.  Reverse cycle air con.

No, the bus isn't usually this tidy!  Only when we have to pack it all out the way ready for driving :0).
Until next time,
take care xx

(tech issues again - I apologize in advance!)

I cannot believe it - we finally manage to get across one of Australia's borders!  Norseman to Ceduna (last major WA town to first major SA town going west-east) is about 1200km.  I spent most of it feeling sorry for myself due to illness.  However, I did grab a couple of pics of the bus at some roadhouses.
Balladonia (and yes, those are REAL storm clouds - it ended up bucketing for a few days):

Cocklebiddy (still WA):

Then we stayed a couple of days at Eucla.  Mike had driven 700kms in 2 days with a stopover in a rest area for one night and was exhausted.  Bear in mind that the bus averages 60kms/hour so what would be 7 hours driving in a car is usually around 13 or 14 hours in the bus.  He also was starting to be affected by his own version of the illness our family was sharing so not surprisingly needed the rest.  For the record, it's a very nice spot to spend a couple of days - just make sure to provide your own water!  We took the kids for a drive around and saw the old telegraph station that is all but a sand dune now.  I, again, completely forgot the camera (didn't know where we were going or what we would be doing) but the girls had an absolute ball.  Some info on Eucla can be found here.  I couldn't readily find any photos of the telegraph station unfortunately.  Still learning that I should pick up the camera bag with my keys...

However, we did get some pictures of a visitor to our bus.  A goat came-a-walkin' and found all sorts of entertainment.  Poor Kandy was beside herself not knowing whether to befriend, chase, eat or run and hide lol.  Kids didn't know whether to squeal in delight or fear!

Unfortunately, we didn't stop at border town so I had to snap a couple of quick pictures out of the front of the bus as we went driving past.  Image quality is a little..dubious...but at least we have proof!!

First sight of the Great Australian Bight.

What was next?  Oh we stayed at a rather seedy caravan park in Nundroo, but it had some power and some salty, hard bore water so it met our needs.

Next stop, Ceduna.  A lovely caravan park there at Shelly Beach Caravan Park.  Even a family bathroom that had a real size bath that took all four kids in deep water which they just loved!  I don't know how the other campers felt about all the noise, though...The spot was even better than any drive through previously so Mike was a happy camper :0).  We met a forum friend there and her delightful, scrumptious little girl who is the same age as Charlotte.  They hit it off marvelously.  We explored and enjoyed ourselves immensely.

From there we went south to Streaky Bay and the kids got to see the Streaky Bay shark replica.  And Lillian got a haircut!  You'll see in pictures coming up in the next post.
 

From Streaky Bay we went to one of our favourite highlights - Murphys Haystacks.  We didn't know what these would be but it was a magical memory.  The sun was close to setting and we all had fun making shadow patterns on these amazing formations.

Murphys haystacks

A "family portrait" (including dog!)

Exploring

One of Amelia I couldn't resist

And yes, finally, I let Mike take one of me

Well, you've just covered about 1400km with us!

So until next time,
take care xx

Kalgoorlie

So on Mike's list of to-see is Kalgoorlie.  Well, to get from Esperance to SA one would normally go 200km north to Norseman then turn right.  Normally.  Instead, we went 700km north to Perth that left the path clear to go another 600km east to Kalgoorlie THEN 200km south to Norseman before heading to SA.  Where is the little laughing emoticon when you want one?  Lol.

It was a great trip all round though and the bonus was being able to catch up with my cousin and her lovely family and Mike's cousin and his lovely girlfriend.

I try to have a policy of emailing possible caravan parks ahead of time (we need to find ones able to take the size of the bus and ok with pets).  I found one in Boulder, emailed, they emailed back.  I emailed to say we were delayed by a breakdown.  When we went through Karalee Dam and Coolgardie to Kalgoorlie on the Friday we didn't worry about timing because we had a spot to set up sorted.  So we arrived at around 4pm to find out they had messed up and given the spot to some other people.  Great.  We hurriedly called another park who fortunately took us, was a better spot, cheap as chips ($20 a night) and the nicest people to boot.  So all in all was a good ending.  Or so we thought.  We stopped in the driveway and unfortunately the spot we had meant we had to separate the trailer from the bus.  The car has to come off while the bus and trailer are still hooked up.  The car battery was dead and we were stuck there blocking the entry.  Now, like I said, they were the loveliest people running the park and so they came along and jumped the car for us no worries.  That was a pretty stressful entry to Kalgoorlie, but it makes a good story!  And yes, I have since learnt to give a bit more time for set-up.  If you ever need a fantastic caravan park in Kalgoorlie, we highly recommend Kalgoorlie Caravan Park :0).

We try to get around and see/do as much as we can in each place we visit, after all that's the point of this trip, hey?  So we took the kids to see the super pit.  Oh my, it's only when you realize how darn big those trucks are that you can really appreciate the size of the pit!

   

Then we thought we'd go take a 'quick look' at the Mining Hall Of Fame and then off to the museum.  Over 3 hours later (at the mhof) we decided we'd look at the museum next time... 
The kids panned for gold.

Amelia made sure she didn't get her pretty dress all yucky.

They had a photo with 'Paddy Hannan'.

Discovered how it was to live in the goldrush days (Lillian's face when she saw what they would have used for a bath - IF they had the water of course!!)

Jacob making a cup of tea.

Some views from the lookout.

The Chinese garden (wishing pond) and some of the flowers there.
 

Well I am sure I could put in a heap more pics but that should do it for now!  We enjoyed our time in Kalgoorlie immensely, was well worth it. 

Until next time,
take care xx

Finally!

Ok, yep I'm back.  Now, in the meantime, Typepad has gone and changed on me and I have absolutely no idea what I am doing technically with my blog layout so please bear with me... 

So I finally dumped all my pics from my camera on to the 'puter from Clackline WA to Streaky Bay SA.  A few miles there, huh?!  To start with is Clackline.  We left Perth 28th May after two weeks at the 5 star caravan park in Maida Vale :0).  HALF WAY up Greenmount hill and we had our first major malfunction lol.  I was following the bus to keep some weight off for the haul up and for some reason we think this affected the trailer brakes which locked and the tyre burnt down to the wire :0(.  Also, Mike discovered that there was a leak in the bus brakes as well.  We pulled over into the John Forrest National Park and sorted it all out, including Mike driving back to Midland to track down some new hose, and then we were off again.  Several hours later.  So that night we slept in a pull over area in Clackline.  All of about 50k's from Midland.

The next day the kids had an absolute ball exploring this little rest area with creek and bridge and rocks.
Some pics:

We finally have the ball rolling again on home schooling which was great.  Lilli and Mia finished off some of last year's school books and they are ready to start some new ones.  That got us to Meckering which was followed by lunch at Merredin and a play in the park there.  They got more fun out of sliding up and down the skate ramps than the playground itself lol.

We weren't too sure where we would sleep that night but made a bid for a camping spot in our fabulous book.  Made it to Karalee Dam (about 50km east of Southern Cross) after dark.  Had a bite to eat and shut down for the night only to be greeted by one of our favourite spots to date in the morning.
Lilli and I had a shot at catching the sun (yes!  I was actually up for sunrise!!!):

My shot at a sunrise picture over Karalee Dam:

The kids spent the morning running up and down an aquaduct that is over 130 years old and still there.  Was damaged by cyclone Vance I believe but they managed to get a grant to sort it out again:

Jacob is actually posing lol:

Then off to Coolgardie.  Absolutely fantastic museum there.

Then of course it was Kalgoorlie.  But I've gotta leave some info and pics for the net post ;-).
So until next time,
take care xx

Charlotte's party

Charlotte had a few friends over last week for a little girly party - so cute!  We had it during term time so her party wouldn't be "gate-crashed" by older siblings lol.  Her birthday is actually tomorrow and I cannot believe that she is going to be 4!!

I was busy hosting so not nearly enough photos but just a couple to show how it went :0).  When her guests came they were presented with a set of wings and a halo headband.  Then we did some treasure box decorating and wand making.  This was followed by the cutest, tiniest pass-the-parcel I have ever seen lol (she had 4 guests only), cake and then we all walked down the road to pick up the older siblings from school.  It was a very peaceful & relaxing party!!

Just a quick post - school holidays are upon us!  Don't forget to submit your guess in our comp, you have until the end of April!

Until next time,
Take care xx

Time to update!

I guess I can officially file myself under the "slack about updating" file!  I have only just returned to feeling vaguely along the lines of normal so that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!!

I'll open with a competition we (Mike & I) will be running for our regulars.  Ok, friend/family/forum people here it is:  If you can accurately guess the day, weight & sex of our baby there's a prize to be had.  Ha, ha - I'm not telling you the prize for now because it'll depend on where you are located.  So, just be sure it'll be nice :0).  Rules:  all you have to do is post in the comments section below what your guess is.  And because I'm nice,  I'll make it easier for you.  Our EDD is early September and there's only one baby.  So, get to it and start guessing!  Date; Weight; Sex.  All entries to be received by 30th April 2008.  (Cos after that we will get a morphology scan and that'll just make it tooooo easy).

Now, on with some pics.  First of all, we have an interesting group of photos showing Amelia's mind at work.  It was later at night than it should have been (I fantasize about a peaceful house each night at 8:30pm, but I'm just not getting it!)  so she's in flashlight, but gosh she's a smarty.  Look at her duplo designing:

Now, the next is the kids on day one of school which was aaaaages ago!  Lilli is in yr 3, Amelia in yr1, Charli in kindy and Jac along for the ride:

Then our little Jac Jac was initiated into the world of hair maintenance.  Mike was getting a no.4 (home-cut again!) and Jac patiently let us do his hair as well.  His hair is unbelievably baby fine so some long hairs survived but all in all not bad! A pic  showing his baby mullet well:

Then his first photo with dad after:

A Jacob grin that makes me grin every time:

And I just lurve this one.  Such a typical Dad & Jac interaction that I managed to capture:

A tarp + a slow running hose + a hot day + 4 gorgeous kids = a heck of a lot of fun!
(Charli wasn't too sure about it so tended to watch more than partake)

And to round out this update, a photo of Mike on his birthday.  Lillian & I made him a cake and a cup of tea and he was happy!  A special daddy indeed.  Now let's see what he has up his sleeve for tomorrow...lol :0).

So don't forget, if you come under the friend, family or forum heading (or all 3!) to enter our competition.  It ends 30th April 2008!

Pa has started it with the following: 11th Sept, 7lb4oz, boy.

Until next time,
Take care xx

Home-Cut

Well, I would say 'home-grown' except that I'm referring to a hair cut lol.  Charli has, in my opinion, gorgeous long layered hair...well, she did.  She said that she was ready for a haircut so Mike offered to do it there and then and before I knew it, the deed was done.  *sigh* she's growing up so fast!  And as shocked as I was/am, I am incredibly impressed with Mike's cutting abilities!

Well, day one at school for ALL THREE girls tomorrow (year3; year1 & kindy).  Wow, doesn't time fly when you're having, ah, er, *ahem* fun!

Until next time,
take care x