Flinders Ranges, Menindee, Mungo and into The Grampians

Wow, again, so much news and not enough time!

There are two things I would like to re-visit that I forgot to tell you about. Firstly, if you travel to Albany you have to go to the marina and visit a place called The Squid Shack - UNDOUBTABLY THE BEST FISH AND CHIPS I HAVE EVER EATEN!! (cheap too, and they make a mean coffee)

Secondly I found this shot of Jasmine in Flinders Ranges that I just had to share with you. She is very excited about fossils and I think we may have found her calling in life. This shot shows what she called her "Shop" where she spent hours and hours "chipping" rocks in the hope that she might find her own fossils.

From Flinders Ranges we travelled to Menindee and camped on the bank of the Darling River. For those who don't know, the area is made up of about 5 lakes that are flooded from the water dammed from the Darling. The lakes feature the dead trees sticking out of the water, although only one of the lakes has water the dead trees still make an odd sight. Greg will put some shots on the Gallery soon to show you what I mean. The Darling River is so very dry, it is a sad sight to see the once mighty river so low. Camping beside the river was so serene. We had the whole place to ourselves with a camp fire burning and even had a quick fish (not that we caught much, we only had cheese as bait!)

I couldn't resist putting this shot in. Jemma still hates wearing pants - we had a hard time trying to keep pants on her when she was toilet training and she will still take every opportunity to get out of them! This shot is for you Mum!! You might also notice my boots in this shot (and are featuring lots more as the weather gets cold). These were a Mother's Day Gift that I chose. They are called Toaster Boots and appropriately are SO WARM!! they are my slippers and my hiking boots and don't come off till I crawl into bed!

From Menindee we travelled to Lake Mungo. It wasn't until we got there that I realised that it was another dry lake (hasn't had any water for over 18,000 years). It is such a fantastic place, Greg had visited Mungo about 3 years ago and was excited to take us all back. There are Pinnicle like sand structures that are so fragile you can not touch them. While Greg spent time trying to get the right shots I spent time trying to keep Jemma away from the sturctures, she had way too much energy and just didn't understand that she had to "Look and not touch!"

We took the self drive tour around the National Park that was such a great idea. It was around 70kms and gave you the background on the pastoral, archeological and aboriginal history. Again, Jasmine was in heaven with the great big animal the size of a Rhino that used to live in the area millions of years ago (there was a life size replica in the Visitors Centre). I never thought that Jasmine would beso interested in the actual science behind the animals and artefacts that are found from millions of years ago. This is just one of the things that has amazed me about Jasmine and I know her poor teachers are going to have a hard time teaching her when we get back (she is going to have the hardest questions for you Karen and Kathryn!!)

While on the self drive tour around the park we came across SAND DUNES!!! This is possibly the most favourite thing for Jasmine and Jemma (and Greg, the big kid!) they absolutely love running down the dunes. They spent about half an hour running up and down the dunes, I was amazed at how much energy that had. I thought they would sleep well that night and I wasn't wrong!

When Greg was in Mungo last there was a bar at the Mungo Lodge just up the road from the camp ground. Looking forward to a great beer we decided to see if it was still there. We drove up and to our surprise we found a newly renovated 5* lodge. It was not only an amazing place to have a drink, we stayed for dinner. When you camp there is one thing you look forward to - someone else cooking AND washing up! The food was divine. The service was also amazing, Lahnee and Pablo often walked over to chat with the girls through the meal and to make sure we were happy. They put cartoons on the big tv for the girls so we could enjoy our meal in peace, they even took us through one of the rooms that was so luxurious I was jealous!! If you don't like camping (and lets face it pit toilets aren't for everyone) Mungo Lodge is such a fantastic option for you. They are working on a self contained cabin at the moment and Pablo was telling me about some of the kids activities they run - boomerang throwing, didgeredoo playing, dot painting and lots more.

We have decided we will certainly be back and we will be staying at the Mungo Lodge we were so impressed!

From Mungo we drove through Mildura to the Grampians and we are staying in Halls Gap. This is such a great little place with shops and open areas for the girls to play. The Halls Gap caravan park we are staying at is just as lovely. We sit outside our camp surrounded by mountains and kangaroos with joeys in their pouches. This is such a great place to spend Father's Day and Greg is loving it here, again we are looking forward to exploring lots more.

Before I say good bye I have to say Happy Father's Day to my Daddy Bear. My Dad Jim Power is one in a million and I really miss his little unannounced stop ins to play with the girls. We really miss all the family however Father's Day really hits home how much we both miss our Dad's. Happy Father's Day to Eddie Pook, Greg's Dad too (Greg is chatting to him right now) We hope you have had a great day and although we are sad to miss sharing the day with you all we will make up for it when we return!