Okay buckle down for the LONGEST post ever! Are you seated? Have you had a bite to eat? I would recommend it because I am pretty sure this post is going to take a while to scroll through. Just be glad that not all 700 pictures from our vacation are on here all right.
Here in Australia, Easter is a public Holiday so Bridger had Friday and Monday off (wahoo!).
Here is our trip day by day.
Here is our trip day by day.
------------ DAY ONE -----------
Friday we headed on our way through the blue mountains.
Aww I just love the blue mountains.
(this picture is actually from the drive home but I like it of Bridger)
We saw awesome signs like this! Unfortunately the only wombat we saw was a dead one... poor fellow.
We drove for about 5-6 hours on Day 1 and ended in a cute town called Dubbo (say "Dah bow") We played at a really fun water park, swam in our hotel's pool, and played tennis that evening. All-and-all a great start to our holiday.
-------------- DAY 2 -------------
We woke up and headed to Dubbo's Saturday market.
and got some delicious fresh fruit
Then we hit the road, again, and headed into the outback.
Look at that straight road!
Welcome to the Outback
the best part of driving in the dessert are the speed limits. Sa-weet!
hmm.. Bridger seems to be going above the speed limit.
We drove for about 7 hours that day and the kids did amazingly well.
Westly danced and sung us songs
Forest quietly played on the ipad or colored in activity books
Most of the outback looked like this
but because of abnormal amounts of rain this year we did see a lot of flooding
this is not a lake
About an hour from our destination we went through a ghost town. All that was open/ not boarded up was a very unique petrol station.
Finally we made it to White Cliffs
Just in time for Sunset
To watch the sunset we were on top of the motel. So we headed back down into the motel.
White Cliffs Motel is Australia's largest underground motel.
The mountain was first dug out for opals and then families moved into the old mining holes and dug out homes. Being in the mountain/ hill keeps the house about 72 degrees, wonderful for desert living. The motel was originally a home but when the local motel was over booked the family welcomed visitors to stay. They since have expanded but have tried to keep it the same "family- feel" and so all guests are welcome to eat dinner together.
Here are more pictures of the motel. The rock color is really the brownish color you see in this picture. But they sprayed most of the rock with the white cement to help make it more secure and more clean. There are some places where they let the natural rock color shine through. These places are sprayed with a clear sealant sort of a thing.
Our dug- out
our skylight
----------------DAY 3--------------
Bridger woke up early and enjoyed a peaceful sunrise
We headed out that morning and walked around the old opal mining holes.
The flies were AWFUL!!!! There were so many of them buzzing around us. Whipping the branches around us really helped a lot to keep the flies at bay.
The dry earth
After walking around the opal mines we headed to "Jock's place" which is a man's home/ "museum"
Jock had the THICKEST Australian accent, I hardly understood him and I pretty sure he hardly understood me.
it was kind of interesting walking through the old mines.
Bridger had a good time playing and trying to scare me
AHHH! So dusty!
We then hit the road - the dirt road- to Peery lake. We drove pretty slow on the empty road so we let the kids out of their car seats.
KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE ROAD!! Yikes! I think this is foreshadowing of what it will be like when he is 16.
Westly was so serious while driving. He never once took his eyes off the road.
Searching for wild life
Aww an Emu! We saw so so so many Emus during our Holiday, it is ridiculous how many pictures I have of them.
I love watching their tail feathers bounce as they run away. They are so funny to watch!
Is it a flock or Emus? a gaggle?
I can't believe this is the only picture we took of the pink cockatoos! I love cockatoos!
(Bridger actually took this while driving)
A wedge tailed eagle. Unfortunately the camera died on me right after this shot so I wasn't able to take a better photo. But we saw 3 of these huge guys (the size of Westly with a wing span about the length of my arm span) only about 10 feet from us! Pretty awesome!
Can you spot the kangaroo? This is the first (alive) kangaroo we saw on the trip and Bridger spotted those little ears while driving! I am pretty sure Bridger has Superman's eye sight.
Seriously Kangaroos are so awesome!
After the lake we headed back to the motel and spent an enjoyable evening watching the sunset, eating, playing cards and enjoying the stars.
DAY 4 we drove 12 hours home. The kids were amazing in the car and so we made it home in no time.
What a perfect Holiday!
6 comments:
Erin, what a cool vacation! Until seeing the picture of your skylight, I hadn't realized your room was so deep in the cave. That is one unique hotel! Great job exploring the outback!
Such a fun vacation!! Very very cool. I'm so amazed the boys were that good on the car rides. Harper gets antsy going to the grocery store. You always have the best pictures too:)
Great job documenting that babe. Very impressive and it was a VERY fun vacation. For those that like bonus features and fun facts:
We drove 2,220kms, that would be 1,380 miles. That is just 300 miles shy of driving from Portland to Provo and back.
Additionally, the gas price in the picture was 167 cents PER LITRE, not per gallon, it is equivalent to AUD $6.32 per gallon or at the current exchange rate, USD $6.55 per gallon. Next time you complain about petrol prices in the US, just remember the US has the lowest prices!
So cool! I loved reading this. I showed Mike the pictures of the emus in the wild and he went nuts - he now wants to take a vacation to the Outback. Keep having adventures
Love your post and pictures. I feel lucky we got the inside tour and scoop ;)
Thanks for having us over and for sharing the pictures with us. When we were walking home Garrett said "that was fun. I kept thinking how its a lost form of entertainment to sit and look at photos and hear about someones else's experience". It's true too. People used to do that all the time and now it doesn't happen very much. We really enjoyed it!
I love the photos! Amazing trip! I love seeing your little guys "driving".
Were there windows in your room? or was it just a cave with only a skylight? What a cool place to stay!
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