Karijini and Homeward Bound

I must admit, since we left Broome, I've struggled a bit. I think we have all struggled a bit. The dirt is seeping into everything; our things are no longer neatly packed in the trailer, instead they are strewn all through it; the kids are tired; the same five DVDs we bought with us have been replayed time and time again, and are setting our teeth on edge; we are all suffering from too much convenience food; and we have been lacking space and alone time.

The day we left Broome, we drove all day until we got to Port Hedland, where we had McDonalds for dinner. Miya had a belly ache, I was resenting eating more junk food, and Eden was swinging between performing Fairies' tunes to the diners, and melting down under the table. We dressed the kids in their pjs, piled them back into the car, and decided to keep driving to a rest area the map promised was 50km Newman side of Port Hedland.

Fifty km, sixty km, seventy km, and still no rest area. Meanwhile, an orange glow that started on the horizon was becoming larger and larger, and there was no way I was camping within burning reach of a scrub fire. We kept driving until we were well out of reach of the fire, and at about 9:30pm we pulled up in the scrub behind a truck assembly bay. Up went the tent, and we all piled in together, exhausted.

The next morning, we woke early, and packed up camp. I was so tired of travelling, I could easily have driven straight to Northam and been done with it. I was snappy, the kids were crabby, Nath was trying to keep things ticking over. The destination for the day was Karijini.

I had forgotten the magic of Karijini. It has always been a magical place for me. So hard to put into words, the majesty of this place is unrivaled. We took the kids down into one gorge, and they were captivated.

Some pics from our time in Karijini:

Our scrub camp - morning light.

Karijini camp - Dales Gorge campsite.

Brannen is crawling now!!

Happy boy on Dad's back.

Ready for the hike down into Dales Gorge.

Miya became quite the adventurer.

Walking through the gorge.

Looking down into Dales Gorge.

Fortescue Falls.

Brannen enjoying the walk.

One of the amazing trees in the gorge.

The roots seeking out the water tricking down the rocks.

Fortescue Falls.

Fern Pool. So worth the swim out to under the waterfalls.

When the dirt gets too much - embrace it by having a red dirt fight!

Grubby Edie.

I got 'got'!

Afternoon light across the ranges.

I love how the sun catches all the Earthy colours.

Sunset.

Dinner - nice and easy.

We are homeward bound tomorrow, and very much looking forward to it. I am craving a simple life again. While we have enjoyed the excesses of holidays, excesses are only enjoyable if they are just that - excesses. Not the norm.

See you on the simple side!