Getting ready to go

There is just so much tying of loose ends that has to be done. Multiple scrips to collect, paying the speeding fine, getting the Blackwoods planted and getting those new whizz straps that will hold the rubber over the back window of the car. The car and van had a polish this week and I'm sure the Toyo is wearing a smirk! But it's exciting. Every task that gets ticked off is another step On the Road Again. We have determined we will go to Cape York - which was meant to be our first trip in 2008 - and we've read "Swimming with crocodiles" by Will Chaffey to get some tips. Thinking about it a good part of visiting the Kimberley is that it is basically free of those estuarine croc hassles (there is a big cliff all along that coast).  Friends who have visited the Cape say it's not a worry but I keep hearing about mysterious disappearances, so a healthy respect for the 230 million year old buggers will be required. Extraordinary thought that these same creatures took dinosaurs from river banks too! I hope it doesn't recognise this one!

When we looked at road conditions on the web last week all the inland tracks to the Cape, or the Kimberley, are impassable. So it isn't really clear what we will be able to do and with that in mind we'll travel up the Newell and follow the eastern bitumen just west of the ranges etc., all the way to McKay. If friend Barry is on duty on Hamilton Island we'll see if we can swing a few days with him (are you listening Barry?!). Son Andy is getting married in Fiji at the end of June so we'll possibly leave the rig at Gympie with friends and fly down to Melbourne to join the wedding party on the flight over there.

Part two will follow at the end of July for a further few weeks. Maybe across to Kununurra to see Brian and a look at the Bungle Bungles and back via the Tanami Track and Alice. Surely the roads will be accessible by then. Have to drive carefully because of the washouts. So, we would be really pleased if anyone following us on the blog would make comments. Enjoy.