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.

A scorcher today. Top of 39 degrees. It gets to the point where you just have to “suck it up” and bear it. You stop thinking about what you can wear or drink to be cooler because absolutely nothing is going to cut it. This is the real Australian Outback. It’s time to really embrace the elements for what they are.

After a walk at 6:30am this morning, Vicki and I did two loads of washing each, hanging them out on the caravan park lines. We returned to our vans to shower have breakfast and organise the kids. 30 minutes later we checked on the washing (necessary in caravan parks otherwise things grow legs and wander off on their own) and we couldn’t believe that it was all dry. Including towels. That just gave us another job to do: folding and putting away.

We decided to brave the heat and visit the the Anzac lookout and then the Reptile Park. There was an interesting display of lizards, snakes and a crocodile called Terry. The added bonus was a handling display where we learnt about the reptiles and got to handle them. Caleb was the bravest, going first to have the python draped around his neck. Chris has a pathological fear of snakes so he wasn’t going anywhere near them and even told the handler (who was trying to convince him to have a go) that he would leave if she brought it any closer. Hannah said she would do it if her Mum did too. Vicki bravely got up with Hannah and the snake was wound around them both. We took numerous happy snaps but Vicki has banned them from any online space considering the look of horror on her face. But she did indeed do it.

Terry the crocodile swam around and posed for photos in and out of the water. A great introduction to what we expect to see further up North.

But, definitely the highlight of the day was meeting up with Adrian and Frances Batt. Hannah and Caleb were excited to see their Music teachers, what a happy co-incidence that both kids’ music teachers are married even though the kids go to different schools..

We were relaxing around the resort style pool when they turned up for a visit. It was lovely to hear about their travels and benefit from their experiences with the places we were heading to.

After an enjoyable beverage back at the caravans, we made the decision to take advantage of the special of $9.90 schnitzels at the local Bistro. They were huge. We were sure that Adrian wouldn’t finish his and would need a “doggy bag” to take the rest of it home. He surprised us all by polishing it off.

Such a special time to catch up and compare travel stories. Adrian and Frances have been following this blog so it was quite amusing that many things we spoke about, Adrian said, ” Yes, I read that on the blog”.

Another drink and before we knew it, it was late. The Batts were needing to be up early for a 4am pick up to go ballooning. It’s a shame that we will have to wait til we see them again to catch up on their experiences further down the travel track.

Farewell Adrian and Frances. It was so fantastic catching up with you guys. Safe and happy travels.