KD Trip Down Under: Wednesday, December 19 Blue Mountains (Megalong Valley to Newnes Plateau)

Traveling with six in the LC presents some challenges. It is a rather wide vehicle so sitting three across is not as cramped and sweaty as one would presume. But finding spots for all our stuff did take a bit of rearranging. The biggest adaptation was wrapping a large chunk of our gear in our big tarp, tying it into a large package, and heaving it onto the roof basket. We're glad Ryan and Dan are here for the muscle work.

Then Kristy gets on the roof and ties it down with her fancy climbing knots. That still leaves a lot of other junk to stow in the back of the car, as well as under seats, and any other nooks and crannies we can find. But somehow we make it all fit, and I can even see the traffic behind us as we drive.

First, you fill up the bundle ...

... and fold it up into a waterproof pack ...

... then you carry it over to the car ...

... and push it up onto the roof. Notice, no old people are involved.

Finally, Kristy ties it all down

Renting a car for the week and a half we'll be on the road was an option we had talked about, and for a month or so before everyone arrived that was the plan. That sure would have given us a lot more room, and with the four kids dividing up the cost of a small car wouldn't have been that expensive. But after two days of driving we all agree that we would have missed out on all the chattering and laughing and communal road observations that we've always enjoyed as a family. Plus, coordinating even a two car convoy with only one cell phone can be frustrating. Of course, after another week of travel we might be frantically searching for a car rental place, but for now, we're happy with our arrangement.

After driving a short way up the road we had a major animal sighting

If this were Yellowstone we'd be starting a mile long traffic jam ...

... all for a little spiny echidna

Next we stopped at an old mining town.

Looks a little like an old Scottish castle

Further along Ryan investigated a termite mound.

They're a lot harder than you'd think, almost like mortar.

Like Mexico, wrecked cars are abandoned. At least in the wilderness.

"I think this would be a good restoration project for us, Dad"

And of course, interesting rock formations must be climbed.

We drove on an old 4 WD track that took us into some deep fern-filled gorges. No one else was around except us. It felt a bit like Jurassic Park.

Deep in the wilderness of the Blue Mountains

Kelly and Dan far, far away from Ohio

We ended up at a perfect free campground at the end of the road. No showers or running water, but the pit toilets were clean and odor-free, and we had ...