Day 80 - Home Sweet Home!

 
We’re finally home!!

While we thoroughly enjoyed the trip, there really is nothing like home! We should have named this blog ‘Around Australia in 80 Days’.

We thought we’d recall some of our memories from the trip:

Favourite Zoo: Dubbo Western Plains Zoo and the Caversham Wildlife Park in Perth.

Favourite Animal: Giraffe (Adrian), Meerkat (Kylie), Cassowary, Kangaroo and Dingo (Ryan).

Best Caravan Park: Big 4 Cairns Coconut Holiday Resort.

Best Cabin: Tamworth Big 4 Paradise Tourist Park.

Favourite Experience: Swimming with the dolphins (Kylie), Sky Diving Simulator (Adrian), Going to the zoo and spending time with Mummy and Daddy (Ryan).

Total Kilometres Travelled: Just over 16,000km in our car plus two flights, two hire cars and two crossings of the Bass Straight!!

Thank you for sharing our journey with us!


 

*Quiz Answers – Final Week*

 
Quiz Question #79 – Which TOWN is in South Australia just after the Victorian BORDER?

Answer #79 – Border Town – what more can I say?

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Quiz Question #80 – Which bird is the official ‘bird emblem’ of Western Australia?

Answer #80 - The official ‘bird emblem’ of Western Australia is the Black Swan.

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Quiz Question #81 – Compared to the other states, where does Western Australia rank in terms of population (e.g. 1st, 9th)?

Answer #81 – Western Australia is the 4th largest state population wise, beaten by New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland.

* * * * * *

Quiz Question #82 – What is chocolate made from?

Answer #82 – Chocolate is made from cocoa beans, grown in Africa, South America and parts of Asia.

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Quiz Question #83 – Which family are dingos from (e.g. bears, cats, frogs)?

Answer #83 – Dingos are from the wolf family – a common misconception is that they come from the dog family.

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Quiz Question #84 – What is the floral emblem of South Australia?

Answer #84 – The floral emblem of South Australia is the Sturt Desert Pea.

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Quiz Question #85 – What is Coober Pedy best known for?

Answer #85 – Coober Pedy is best known for opals, with numerous opal mines in and around the town.
 

Day 79 – Tennant Creek

 
It was a fairly quite drive today with not many people on the roads and we made good time now that we can drive up to 130 km/hr.

We had a couple of interesting stops along the way.

The first was in the alien capital of Australia, Wycliffe Well:







The second was at Devil’s Marbles which boasts some pretty impressive rock formations:





Accommodation – Outback Caravan Park

Rest Stops – Ti Tree, Wycliffe Well, Devils Marbles
 

Day 78 – Alice Springs

 
We were glad to leave Coober Pedy – it’s not a particularly nice place and the bed in the caravan park was basically a slab of hard foam....

It was good to cross the border back into the Territory!!

It took a few hours to drive up to Alice Springs from the border and when we did we crossed the Todd River which was dry as usual:



Poor Ryan has been cooped up in the car for a few long days in a row so we found a playground for him to work off some of his excess energy:





Accommodation – Big4 MacDonnell Range Holiday Park

Rest Stops – Marla, Erldunda
 

*Quiz Answers – Week 10*

 
Quiz Question #72 – Which other city in Australia has a Luna Park?

Answer #72 – The most famous Luna Park is located in Sydney.

* * * * * *

Quiz Question #73 – What is the average speed of the Spirit of Tasmania during crossings of the Bass Straight?

Answer #73 - the average speed of the Spirit of Tasmania during crossings of the Bass Straight is 27 knots or 50 kilometres and hour.

* * * * * *

Quiz Question #74 – What name was given to Tasmania in 1642 by Dutch explorers?

Answer #74 – In 1642 Dutch explorers named Tasmania “Van Diemens Land”.

* * * * * *

Quiz Question #75 – What is the name of the bridge that crosses the Derwent River into Hobart?

Answer #75 – The Tasman Bridge crosses the Derwent River into Hobart.

* * * * * *

Quiz Question #76 – In which town was Adrian born?

Answer #76 – Adrian was born in Launceston, Tasmania.

* * * * * *

Quiz Question #77 – On which river does Launceston sit?

Answer #77 – Launceston sits on the Tamar River.

* * * * * *

Quiz Question #78 – In which year was gold first discovered in Ballarat (hint: between 1850 and 1870)?

Answer #78 – Gold was first discovered in Ballarat in 1851.
 

Day 77 – Coober Pedy

 
We had a fairly quiet day today, with not much traffic on the long, flat and straight roads.

There were also very few towns along the way. The two or three that there were over the 500 kilometres were nothing much more than a pub and petrol bowser.

Coober Pedy is a small mining town with mines everywhere, in and around the town, with houses and shops built into the sides of the mines (and a few free standing ones too).



I couldn’t convince Kylie to stay in one of the underground motels so we had to settle for the caravan park instead.

We found one more of the ‘Big Things’ – The Big Winch in the middle of town:



Accommodation – Big4 Oasis Tourist Park

Rest Stops - Pimba, Bon Bon Rest Stop

Quiz Question #85 – What is Coober Pedy best known for?
 

Day 76 – Port Augusta

 
We had a long travel day today.

Ryan woke up at 05:30 after having had a 4 hour nap yesterday afternoon. I had arranged for a wake up call at 06:00 and it arrived on time….

At 06:00 the fire alarms went off in the hotel. We jumped up and started to leave when they stopped, so I quickly packed the suitcases.

About half an hour later a different alarm sounded so we decided to head for the airport earlier than planned.

No business class upgrades this time, but the flight was 30 minutes shorter. Ryan wasn’t as calm this time but luckily he went to sleep after an hour and slept for the rest of the flight.

When we landed we jumped in the car and drove 3 hours up to Port Augusta as Adelaide is hosting the Special Olympics and accommodation was scarce.

P.S. Ryan loves Aunty Kate and he is very sorry that he keeps telling Daddy to make jokes about her on the blog. ‘Arr me hearties!’.

Accommodation – Port Augusta Big4 Holiday Park

Rest Stops – Adelaide, Port Wakefield

Quiz Question #84 – What is the floral emblem of South Australia?
 

Day 75 – Perth

 
We went to the Caversham Wildlife Park today. While relatively small they had quite a few animals including:

koalas, kangaroos, wallabies, emus, possums, echidnas, Tasmanian devils, cassowaries, goats, sheep, pigs, deer, donkeys, rabbits, guinea pigs and dingos

We chose this over the zoo as they have more opportunities to interact with the animals up close which is far more fun for Ryan.



Ryan thoroughly enjoyed feeding the kangaroos (including the albino ones):









Kylie and I were able to wrestle our way past Ryan to feed the kangaroos a few times also:





He also enjoyed the petting zoo where he got to pat some deer, sheep and goats:







I had a goat when I was younger. His name was Harry. Aunty Kate isn’t a big fan of goats?!?!



We went to dinner at a Chinese Restaurant tonight and Uncle Justin insisted on wearing a silly hat, so Ryan had to copy him....





Accommodation – Mantra on Hay

Quiz Question #83 – Which family are dingos from (e.g. bears, cats, frogs)?
 

Day 74 – Perth

 
Uncle Justin and Aunty Cathy took us down to the Swan Valley this morning.

First we went to ‘Swan Valley Oasis Supa Golf’ to play some Mini Golf:





Although it was bloody hot (over 30 degrees) I managed to win with a 2 stroke lead over Aunty Cathy. Uncle Justin came in a distant third after a shocking result on hole 11 where a few choice words slipped out.

Afterwards we went to the Margaret River Chocolate Company where we sampled some locally made chocolate and ice cream



And what day out would be complete without Ryan finding a playground to play at?





Accommodation – Mantra on Hay

Quiz Question #82– What is chocolate made from?
 

Day 73 – Perth

 
We went to visit Uncle Justin (my brother) and Aunty Cathy this morning. They hadn’t yet met Ryan so it was good to catch up.

Afterwards we went to the Aquarium of Western Australia at Hillarys Boat Harbour – a fancy marina on the edge of the Indian Ocean:





Did I ever mention that I’m one quarter Indian? My grandfather was born in India.

At the aquarium we saw some sharks, sting rays, fish and turtles. Once again Ryan enjoyed being able to touch some of them in the ‘touch pool’.





Ryan even found a shark statue and a crocodile statue:





At lunch Ryan was learning how to use Uncle Justin’s iPhone:



Ryan was so tired from the long day yesterday that he fell asleep in the car (with his new nemo toy clutched to his chest) and slept for 3 hours all up!!!



Accommodation – Mantra on Hay

Quiz Question #81 – Compared to the other states, where does Western Australia rank in terms of population (e.g. 1st, 9th)?
 

Day 72 – Perth

 
After a long drive and late arrival yesterday, we thought we’d better take Ryan to the playground before we jumped on the plane:





I had a surprise for Kylie when we got to the airport - business class seats across to Perth. This was Kylie’s first time flying business class (I’ve done so a few times for work).

To top it off, there were some Channel 7 sports staff on the flight and Kylie was sitting next to Bruce Mcavaney, the AFL sports announcer who was flying to Perth to call the Essendon v West Coast match (go the Bombers – sorry Greg).



Uncle Phil is a BIG fan of Bruce so we were lucky to get this photo for him!!

Kylie was quite impressed with the hot towels, glasses and real cutlery in business class, as well as the (almost) restaurant quality food – we had beef Wellington, potato gratin and roast vegetables for lunch:



Ryan was glad to have more space on this flight and was enjoying trying to listen to the captain on the loud speaker through his headphones (the captain came out later in the flight to say hello):



The flight took around 3.5 hours and Ryan finally fell asleep about 20 minutes prior to landing (just our luck):



Speaking of luck, we must have run out as we had trouble getting the rental car. Somewhere between Flight Centre, Infinity Holidays and Europcar, the booking was stuffed up which amounted to us waiting over 2 hours at the airport for the car!!

Accommodation – Mantra on Hay

Quiz Question #80 – Which bird is the official 'bird emblem' of Western Australia?
 

Day 71 – Adelaide

 
We had a long drive through the Victorian country side this morning – it was 10 degrees and drizzling for the first few hours!!

Just before Horsham (at Dadswells Bridge) we came across The Giant Koala:



I’m not sure about the sign though.....





We didn’t arrive in Adelaide until quite late in the afternoon so we went down to Hogs Breath for dinner and then back to the caravan park to rest for the long journey across to Western Australia starting tomorrow.

Accommodation – Big4 Adelaide Shores Caravan Resort

Rest Stops – Ararat, Dadswells Bridge, Border Town

Quiz Question #79 – Which TOWN is in South Australia just after the Victorian BORDER?
 

*Quiz Answers – Week 9*

 
Quiz Question #65 – In which year did the current Parliament House officially open?

Answer #65 – The current Parliament House was open in 1988 by Queen Elizabeth II.

* * * * * *

Quiz Question #66 – How many senators represent the states and territories?

Answer #66 – There are 76 senators, 12 for each state and 2 for each mainland territory.

* * * * * *

Quiz Question #67 – What do the worker bees feed to bee lava to make a queen bee?

Answer #67 – In order to create a queen bee, the worker bees feed the lava nothing but royal jelly.

* * * * * *

Quiz Question #68– What is an apiarist?

Answer #68 – An apiarist is a bee keeper!!

* * * * * *

Quiz Question #69 – On which river does Melbourne sit?

Answer #69 – Melbourne sits on the Yarra River.

* * * * * *

Quiz Question #70 – What is the coldest recorded temperature in Antarctica?

Answer #70 - The coldest recorded temperature in Antarctica is –89.2 degrees Celsius in 1983.

* * * * * *

Quiz Question #71 – Who is the Premier of Victoria?

Answer #71 – John Brumby is Premier of Victoria.
 

Day 70 – Ballarat

 
Another early morning today as the boat docked in Melbourne at 06:30. We drove up to Beechworth to collect the trailer from Aunty Jan’s and had some morning tea at the famous Beechworth Bakery:







We arrived in Ballarat late in the afternoon after spending hours driving down the (fairly boring) Hume Highway. When we arrived, Ryan was glad to get out of the car and run around the playground:





Accommodation – Big4 Ballarat Goldfields Holiday Park

Rest Stops - Wallan Service Centre, Beechworth, Seymour Service Centre

Quiz Question #78 – In which year was gold first discovered in Ballarat (hint: between 1850 and 1870).