We sold up, packed up and decided to embark on the adventure of our lives. Follow us as we travel around Australia in a caravan.

We have arrived in the Flinders Ranges. We are all in awe of the rugged beauty of this amazing place. It’s totally understandable why so many people travel from far and wide to explore this area, many of them repeatedly year after year during different seasons so that they can see the Ranges in all their differing types of beauty. You can stand and stare at the ranges for ages and continually see something different.

The weather here is hot, we think its about 28 degrees. Add the dusty red soil and the obligatory flies and you have AUSTRALIA!

Being here has given Caleb the opportunity to, in his words, be like Bear Grylls. He has his knife attached to his belt and every road kill we see he asks if he can cut it open! We think we have a budding butcher on our hands. Or…it doesn’t appeal to think about the alternative.

The kids are covered in red soil and constantly playing with river pebbles. Hannah has shown Caleb how to create markings on a rock with another one. They have spent ages looking for the perfect stones and then sitting in the red dust having an art lesson.

After dinner Ray built a campfire and we broke open the marshmallows that Trace, Mick and Will gave us as a parting gift, along with the toasting irons. So glad to have them, the kids are loving it. Sitting around the campfire with Chris and Co planning our next day and beyond, is the stuff dreams are made of. I feel so fortunate to be sharing this adventure with him and his family.

Just when Vicki and I thought the kids should retire to bed, Ray declared that a spotlighting trip was in order. I think he really wanted to create a childhood fantasy or something he once saw in a movie!  He piled the 3 kids onto the tailgate of the 4WD, told Az to join them ( for safety sake) and set off with the spotlight torch. Chris jumped in the front at the last minute and was along for the ride. Vic and I refilled our wine glasses and stayed close to the fire. It was so quiet, no one else was around. We had set up camp the furtherest out that we could on the 280 acres that is the camping ground. It was eerily silent.

We lost track of the time, consumed by idle chit chat and catching up with girly stuff. It wasn’t until they all returned, Hannah clearly shaken, that they admitted that they got lost. They were gone for about an hour, most of that time spent finding their way back. You can really understand how people get lost out here, the landscape just goes on forever and is very unforgiving.

Definitely a night to remember!