Kangaroo - by Louis

Kangaroos are amazing creatures and also terribly boingy. We saw lots of them when we were travelling around Western Australia in our RV.  One day we had a super big rain storm and suddenly we couldn't take our eyes off one. "Oh look a kangaroo!!"  I shouted. When we got to the visitor centre, we got out of the RV, we saw kangaroo after kangaroo after kangaroo.  One night we were sleeping in the national park and daddy heard a scraping noise so he went outside.  Sure enough there was a tiny joey, a big mum and his dad outside!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Kangaroos everywhere, coming out for a drink after the rain

Some facts about the kangaroo.

1. When the kangaroo is getting chased by a dingo they throw out their joey into a bush to make themselves lighter.
2. There are 40 different types of kangaroo.  A male is called a boomer, a female is a flyer and a baby is called a joey.
3. When a European explorer came over to Australia and saw the strange hopping animals, he asked one of the natives "What are these animals?" The native replied "Kangaroo" meaning “I do not understand you” and the explorer thought that was their name! 

Kangaroo with joey drinking from the road!

(PS We haven't seen any kangaroos in Borneo.  This is just a piece of work it took a while to finish! Dad)

Gorge-walking - and swimming - in Western Australia's Karijini

ready to go a-gorging

The Karijini National Park is on most people’s route if you are heading inland from the Ningaloo Reef. In Australian terms, its just a short jaunt a little way across the map heading east from Exmouth (about 7 hours!) just past a place (not a person) called Tom Price.  It promises some spectacular views and fascinating natural gorge walking amongst some of the oldest rocks in the world.  And by not going overboard with signs when you are on it, with small discreet coloured disks on the rocks, it occasionally keeps you thinking about where to go next.

We got to Karijini towards the end of the afternoon, so only had time for a short descent to Fortescue Falls - the idea of coming back up a steep crumbly slope in the dark didn’t appeal so we left the extension trip up to Fern Lake for another day. The water was cool and refreshing and clear enough that you could see the rocks below to navigate your way in. The strata of the rocks were almost like steps as you descended down to the water. 

The following day we took a longer walk along the Class 4 route to Circular Pool, a couple of kilometres up the gorge, which presented us with the opportunity for plenty of rock-hopping and jumping along the way, that the boys loved. Every now and then as you are brushing aside hanging fronds or bushy long grass to find your way, you have to remind yourself that there could be some unwelcome visitors hanging about.  Fortunately we only came across interesting and friendly ones - a Golden Orb Spider, and a Giant Centipede and plenty of lizards, including a legless lizard. (It’s a specific variety, honest).

Golden Orb Spider

Giant Centipede

Lizard (with legs)

Frankie in the pool, Jules and Louis under the waterfall

You passed some amazing views of the impressive gorges, banded with different hues of orange and red, creating mirror-like reflections in the crystal green water below. It was a very hot morning, with no wind, and as we reached the welcome sight of Circular Pool, we were very much ready for a swim in the lake.  If you swam to the far side, after adjusting to the unexpectedly cold water, there was a warm waterfall, made so by the fact that it flows across the sun-roasted rock above the hole. We paddled there for an hour or so before coming back up a different route, and giving the boys a chance to scramble up an even steeper, crumblier route than the previous day.  We had to rein them back in frequently as they were keen to leave us behind and get to the top!

Rock-hopping

getting back to the top

A German girl from a nearby RV came to us for help and showed us some mysterious bite marks on her ankle; possible a spider.  We weren’t really able to help her very much, other than an ice-pack which didn’t seem that effective - although I think the glass of wine was welcome. She was fine in the morning so it probably wasn’t anything (immediately) fatal......

It was very pleasant to eat outside in the evening, the flies for the most part disappeared when the air cooled. Unfortunately our RV wasn’t a great off-roader so we were only able to spend a couple of days at Karijini, more’s the pity.  There remain numerous other gorges that will have to wait for our next visit!

Four stations in one day.......

I like truckin', I like truckin'........

Driving around Australia in a campervan is a great way to see the country, and makes arriving and leaving new places refreshingly simple.  No need to book ahead, no need to lug your rucksacks out of the car or bus and then unpack them.  And consequently no need to repack them when you are leaving.  You just park, turn on the gas for the cooker and you are good to go. Sure, the journeys are long and the scenery can be boring at times, but there are a heap of things that could happen on the way to keep you on your toes.

Ready for the 'Kangaroo Slalom'

Firstly, there's the possibility of a kangaroo about to leap out, especially if you are early in the morning or approaching sunset.  You see enough dead ones to know that this is a reasonable bet at some point. Then there's the added drama of overtaking road trains, all fifty-plus metres of them, with the excitement of the rear trailer (some have four trailers in all) snaking along and threatening to whip across and push you off the road as you attempt to pass; the sheer length of the road trains making you sometimes question whether you have left enough road to pass them as it takes an age to do so, and forget the huge sideways gusts of air as you finally pass the front of these giant road beasts. I chatted with a road train driver, he said they drive sometimes 1,400 kilometres in a day, up to 17 hours. (I couldn't help thinking about the "I like trucking" sketch from the 'Not The Nine O'clock News' team all those years ago, but there wasn't a kangaroo sticker in sight on the driver's door). 

Move over,  house coming

You get plenty of “wide loads” coming along, which force you to come off the road sometimes less you find yourself embedded in the side of a moving house......yes house. Then every now and again you'll see a flurry of activity on the road ahead, and as you get closer, you'll make out crows and wedge tail eagles feasting greedily on a bloody carcass, probably the latest victim of the merciless road train, that stops for practically nothing. The eagles are always last to leave the table, circling lazily around to return once you've passed.  But the crows are cannier - we've seen quite a few dead eagles, but not a single dead crow. 

Australia is the most expensive of all the places visited on our trip to date. So when we found ourselves visiting four gas stations in one day yesterday on a particularly long trip from Karajini to Sandstone, I figured we'd definitely not be coming out under budget for the day.  I'm not saying that we used four full tanks, but the received wisdom out here is generally to top up whenever you can, as the distance between filling stations can often be 200 or 300 kilometres or in some cases, particularly when you get inland, considerably more. 

Beach breakfast al fresco

Head to toe in their cosy RV bed

Still, this part of the trip was particularly for the boys, who loved the idea of an RV trip ever since we spent a week on a houseboat in Canada a couple of summers ago. And they, and indeed we, haven't been disappointed. Lots of meals al fresco, (except when the flies become just too much), and opportunities to sleep close to nature - like in the Cape Range National Park by the beach on the amazing Ningaloo Reef amongst inquisitive kangaroos; or in the outback at Karajini National Park close to the beautiful gorges and refreshing lakes; or overlooking the curious metal sculptures that dot the dried out salt flats of Lake Ballard and seem to continue endlessly out towards the shimmering horizon. 

Camping on the edge of Lake Ballard

I'm sure we'll miss the RV a little when we hand the keys back in a couple of days. Although having a little more space will no doubt be welcome too!

Loads of room, really, when you have a system.......