We went through cobolt gourge in a little boat but it needed to be small because the gorge is only 1.5 meters wide I got some good pictures of cobolt gorge and the three crocs they didnt move much but one of them did move and when he did he was very fast then then we got back from the boat we went on a walk up the hill and saw some cool things but it was so hot and we didn’t have much drink left.Then we went to lawn hill it was very dusty in not much there but as soon as you get to the gorge it is great. We went up the gorge in car inner tubes and it took hours but it was still good.Then the next day we went up the same gorge but in canoes that was not as fun because it was very windy and hard but you did see alot.Then we went to lorella springs and it was fun because it wasnt so dusty and we had hot springs which were good.The women that ran the site said she would show us some slides and we went and there was a slide made of smooth rock and you go realy fast and i didnt even hurt but just up a bit was a two metre deep pool wich was good to jump in.

hi everyone three nights ago we went to Lorella and it had hot springs. But on one of the days we went to a water slide and it was made of rock and it was really cool. Also next to it was a plung pool so we could jump off the rock into the pool. Cat recommended a banana paddle pop and we had one yesterday and they were really tasty. see you soooooooonxx

We are gradually winding our way up to Darwin. The road has been slow and pretty tiring. By the time you get this we should be in Katherine which is in the Northern Territory. Yes, after 6000ish miles we finally crossed the border from Queensland. The last few days have not been without some minor hitches. I killed an Eagle. It flew into the van, smashing the front light protectors. We ruined a tyre driving offroad on the most horrendous roads. Poor Robbie had to change the tyre in 34 degree heat. We then had to travel some 500km offroad to get to somewhere to have a new spare fitted. That’s a challenge in itself. You can travel hours without passing a car, let alone a shop or petrol station. Robbie made us laugh the other day. After travelling for several hours without seeing a soul, a couple of cars passed us and Robbie said ‘God the roads are busy today’ We have been bush camping for the past week or so. Seriously though, you could easily die out here and no-one would know. It is so hot and food/water supplies and petrol are so scarce. If you broke down off the main track, you might never be seen again! Luckily Robbie has backups for everything so all should be good for us. We have never been so filthy though..The dust is in everything. I thought I was brown until I had a shower tonight and it all came off. There are so few people camping the way we are. Most tourists are not so stupid and stay in proper campsites or motels and take organised bush tours. We have been camping with the real dedicated Aussies who have all the gear and travelling is their life. Last night a man cooked us ‘damper’ in the dutch oven on the fire Damper is a kind of Aussie bread. He put some sugar in it and it tastes like scones. There are advantages of bush camping though. Not many people see the amazing things we have encountered over the past ten days. Above are pics of the highlights.

hi grandad sorry to hear about maisie’s heat stroke but we have bought here a campervan to cheer her up. she would like to chase all the birds here and one of them jumped up to get some food. This morning we had our first bath in 6 weeks on the side of a road in the hot springs.there is a volano under the ground which makes the water hot.we are on the way to the outback and we have seen lots of termite mounds. see you soon bronte xxx

Everything in the outback is so far away from each other. Over the next few days we will be travelling over a thousand kilometres. The area we are covering at the moment is the size of Switzerland. It’s weird, I thought that I’d find the outback landscape boring but you see beauty in everything. The road is a bright red colour and stretches off into the distance as far as the eye can see. Emu’s race across the road along with the kangeroos. When I was reading the guide to Australia I remember seeing a picture of a huge termite mound and thinking ‘we must visit that.’ Little did I realise they are everywhere. Thousands of the things, peppering the landscape like graves in a cemetary.

On our way out of Cairns we stopped at another national park in the Atherton Tablelands. We met up with Robbie’s Dad and Roz and stayed with them for a couple of nights. This is a magical place. The wildlife is amazing. We were right on the edge of the lake with no-one else around. In the morning you open the curtains and see pelicans swimming in the lake. We had great fun watching all the birds. The attached picture is of a Rosella in the bottlebrush tree. Jack took the picture of Bron. He thought she looked like a weed monster.

The kids forgot to mention that after we had dived and were on our way home, we saw a whale in the distance. We stopped the boat and waited but it disappeared out of sight. Then suddenly right in front of our boat a huge whale appeared and swimming alongside it was it’s baby. It was an amazing sight. They were so close you could see the shine on their skin. We were so lucky as the guys running the boat said it’s rare to see them this close. They were probably 10 metres from the boat and massive. We were all screaming and I was crying! The day on the reef was really good though. It cost over £500 but was worth it to see Jack diving with us.