29th June 2013
we are travelling steadily north towards Darwin. Since last post we have stayed in a variety of places - all with their own unique flavour.  These have included freedom camping en route to Tennent Creek, Banka Banka Station which has been diversified to enable camping in a lovely spot- great hospitality and an enjoyable overnight stay.  From Banka Banka to a roadside freedom camp ( you start to not hear the trucks passing by through the night !) then a favourite place from our last visit - Mataranka and Bitter Springs- beautiful clear natural springs at 30 degrees temp.  you can visit as often as you like so needless to say it was hard to resist over the two days we were there. Not disappointed this time - it will always be a favourite.  So shorts, T-shirts and togs are now the norm on a day to day basis.
we have had two nights in Katherine- a caravan park with green grass !! you do get to appreciate the things we take for granted in NZ.  We move towards Darwin tomorrow but will take a couple of days to do this- have booked into Darwin as it has limited caravan parks and its the school holidays for the next 3 weeks.  Totally open to where and how fast we go after Darwin other than knowing we will go to Litchfield National Park and start moving south again before we head West towards Broome.

All going well - have trouble remembering which day of the week it is ( sorry to rub that in but it doesnt take long).

Pic 1 is up on a hill looking down on Banka  Banka station - a tiny piece of the actual station
Pic 2 Bitter Springs- photos cant do it justice and really hard to get out of !
Pic 3 Mataranka- also hard to get out of
Pic 4 Katherine - low level nature reserve - Briar and Paul will recognise it well
Pic 5 Sunset tonight at Katherine.

Jenny and Bill - meant to say - your recommendation to stay at the Finke river freedom camp was spot on - a delightful spot in the West Macs.

23rd June 2013
we are now steadily moving north - will be in Katherine in a few days.  Will spend couple of days there enjoying the warm Katherine Gorge water and prior to Katherine spend some time at Mataranka and Bitter Springs- well known for their lovely warm natural springs.  We have now progressed to shorts and t- shirts- a sure sign of the warmer northern territory weather - only a little nudge / reminder that it won't be that pleasant in NZ or other parts of lower Oz

We spent a couple of days in the West MacDonnell ranges west of Alice Springs- a beautiful part of the country with many national park camping areas.  Beautiful weather and beautiful, majestic scenery that makes you appreciate just what Mother Nature is capable of - albeit 800 million years ago !  Great freedom camping areas too.

Some pics to try and demonstrate the majesty of this area.

Pic 1 - Ochre pits
Pic 2 Redbank Gorge
Pic 3 Ghost Gum Tree Lookout.  Note - not too proud to wear the hat with net - forwarned is forearmed for the fly brigade !
Pic 4 Simpsons Gap
Pic 5 - Devils Marbles - en route to Tennant Creek.

19th June
some photos :
1-2 Mildura- a lovely spot - our campsite was right on the Murray River
3-5 Silverton- about 20kms from Broken Hill.  now a ghost town but with very interesting history.  Loved the donkey who wandered freely around the place and was baying at the shop door for lunch ! only in the outback !!
6-7 Broken Hill.  Amazing piece of architecture - memorial to the miners and a restaurant high above Broken Hill.  oversize seat - no I havent shrunk that much !
8-9 CooberPedy - Barren and underground accommodation - not for me but its how many of the locals live- consistent temperature all year round

Its only 16 degrees in Alice today- the locals are feeling it alot. 

17th June 2013
A lot has happened since last entry - the worst thing being that my handbag was stolen from Echuca caravan park - it had our passports and other items in it.  A long story cut short - went back to Melbourne so that the processes for new passports and insurance claim could be done as well as to take a breather from the whole frustration and disappointment.  We stayed with Marsha and the one bright side was seeing the grandies again for a few days.  Thanks to the girls and friends who were all great support through what was a really upsetting time.

We have been back on the road now since Friday 7th and done some pretty big mileage including Broken Hill, then towards the centre main highway en route to Alice.  Have had some great spots freedom camping and making aquaintences around campfires etc.  Definitely getting warmer in the days but still cool at night.  All is going well and to plan ( well what plan really ???).  Will spend 3 days in Alice then possibly 2-3 days in West McDonnell ranges which come highly recommended and which we didnt do last time 3 years ago.  From there will be a little more leisurely getting to Darwin - probably by late June.

No photos for now as we havent quite got sufficient data for uploading but will put some on further along.

Keep your emails and comments coming - it's lovely to have the on going contact.

from the kiwi travellers