The journey doesn't end...Murray Sunset National Park

Well, we did make it home (albeit 7 months ago now!) and had a very bumpy landing (no power to the house for 2 days for a start and great difficulty coping with all the stuff that we had at home after 9 months of living out of a car and trailer/tent and so many people in the big city!), but we are slowly getting used to it. (It took me a good week to work out how to use the stereo and then there was the microwave...)

We have learnt that we need big gasps of air out bush (or desert) to keep us 'OK' and keep us connected to each other as life at home keeps pulling us apart.

So last Easter holidays we ran away to the Murray Sunset National Park hoping for some peace & quiet. We got it on the whole...until the hordes arrived 4 days later on Good Friday...and camped on top of us! By Easter Sunday, we were done, and packed up and came home. We didn't need to camp that closely to others when we live in the inner city.

Things that we did while we were there...

Fiddling around with the car

A little bit of driving around the sandy and eroded tracks...to explore the massive National Park (all up we drove about 500km in the park)

Throwing seeds in the air to watch their aerodynamics

Walking on salt and tasting it

Eating damper, pancakes, Easter eggs, and roasted pumpkins.

And we did watch some crazy people get themselves out of being intentionally bogged...what can I say, it was Easter!

We did learn that most of our kitchen camping stuff had disappeared back into our house (oops!), and that whilst camping on our trip by ourselves was fine, short trips would be more fun with another family or two (need to find another family, or people that would like to go 4wding and camping where there may not be showers into interesting places - takers?).

Next stop is Mungo National Park, NSW these holidays...although we have decided to stay in the Shearer Quarters at Turlee Station instead of camping as the kids have all been sick. We really wanted to go there on our way home back in October, but it was closed due to wet roads - it is a very sensitive area and has very old fossils in it. We are hoping that the roads are dry when we get there!

To Broken Hill to find Pro Hart...and much much more in Silverton

 I led the way... (this is really just to prove that I do drive for those who think that Matt does all the driving...) from Port Pirie on.  We stopped at Peterborough for a cuppa and checked out the really cool info centre which is a really old train.  Would you love one of those in you backyard!

 Just another oversized thing...there seemed to be heaps of those on the road from Broken Hill to Adelaide...

 Beautiful old houses...I love looking at them and taking pics of them.

 WOW! Another border crossing...although it seemed to be a little quiet...suddenly we crossed. The more we cross, the more boring they become.

 At the border.  How old is this sign?

 Time for a rest.  Not far to Broken Hill, but time to stop for the night.

Finally, as soon as we have left South Australia, we see the emblem of their state!

First stop in Broken Hill was the Pro Hart Gallery.  How fantastic!  I absolutely loved it...I hope that the rest did (??)

The reward of a milkshake at the end was gooooood!

We decided to go out Silverton (25km out of Broken Hill) to stay.  Pop 50!  Our smallest town yet.  One place to stay - Penrose Park.  Pick your own spot wherever you want and only & $18 per night for us!  Brilliant!! Worth every bit.

Great plants for the desert in Silverton.

One of the galleries in town

Outside the John Huges Gallery there were these really cool painted cars (emus)

 ....Looking at you!

 This is covered in bottle tops

 One of the big attractions in Silverton is the Mad Max memorabilia...

 and the lookout to the Mundi Mundi plains where Mad Max, Priscilla, and heaps of commercials were filmed.

 There is the odd donkey around...

At the new (7 week old) Mad Max museum being run by the mad fan (in a great way) Adrian

 Adrian's car number plate..I think this says it all

 I found a sock knitter here, Jacquie, who inspired me to start knitting socks.  Life is not too short to knit socks.

This is the road to where the next Mad Max 4 will be filmed - put off until 2012 due to the landscape to GREEN!!!

 A bridge that was smashed down during recent flooding!

 The Umberumerka Dam - was empty at the start of the year - can you believe that!

 A little rumble over afternoon tea!

 Mundi Mundi

 The old Gaol - one of the best museums that I have been to

 The memorial at Silverton

 Our campsite

 campfires there...nice

The Flinders Ranges

A time to rest at Parachilna Gorge,

A time for catching up on family journal,

A chance to get really muddy,

Mountains to drive up,

A time to wait at Brachina East Campsite in the Flinders Ranges National Park,

for our friends, the Brieffie's to arrive,

for one last camp,

before they go west, and we go east.

We moved together down to Port Pirie of all places to shelter from the forecast storm and to spend a few more days together.  Interesting place...check the next entry...