If there is anything I am learning on this adventure so far, it's that NOTHING is impossible, everything happens for a reason and if it doesn't happen the first go, try it again! Sure, it may take a try (or two or seven or more) to get things "just so"... but isn't that half the fun?

Like our adventures recently, took me by suprise. Las week, on an overcast day, we decided to head up to Broken River at the top of the Eungella range. Apparently, this is the best spot in Australia to see Platypus in the wild. Overcast days are better than clear days, but ideally the best time to catch the wily Platypus is either 4am (uh, no thankyou!) or between 5 and 7pm, which in my opinion is getting a little late and dark for my kids to be traipsing the Rainforest! Unfortunately, Sid (the Platypus) was not spotted... a Kiwi friend has accused Aussies of inventing the Platypus, she simply thinks, like Drop-bears, they don't exist!

The walk itself was lovely - the children were actually really well behaved, quiet and respectful. We spotted some wild turtles in the water quite easily, but decided Sid was asleep in his warm little hole along the banks. Maybe next time!

So, after a sucessful encounter with the Broken River walk (of 700m), we decided yesterday to attempt a bigger walk. My two children and my husband and I bushwalked... YES, bushwalked. We took advantage of a rare day off for Phil to venture out to the Finch Hatton Gorge, along the Araluen Cascades track to the beautiful falls and swimming hole. The 2.8km round-trip walk itself was wonderful! Axel pointed and discovered, Jovi quietly listened for bellbirds and skinks. We spotted a happy Monitor lizard devouring a backpacker's discarded kebab! The falls were beautiful, and while we were intelligent enough not to swim in the cool waters in the middle of winter, brave (or stupid!) European backpackers happily dove into the icy pools! We decided not to walk to the Wheel of Fire (another 2km return on top of the Araluen Cascade track) as our kids were at "That" point in the day, however we haven't left Mackay yet!

Which comes to the scary part of our adventure...

You see, I am a Capricorn. While I am (by definition) confident, mature, hardworking, organised and focused, the downside of my Earth sign is that I can be stubborn, controlling and headstrong. This means I like to be prepared... I am a planner, a projectionist and perfectionist through and through. I like to know where I am going and berate myself for not succeeding and berate others who stand in my way. I struggle to "switch off" and just, well, be. I have to always "do"... and know what I am doing next!

Which means the next few weeks seem scary to me! We wind up our work in Mackay in just over a week meaning a) A stop of the extra cash trickle and b) time to plan our next leg of our adventure. But inevitably, in order to doPlan B, you need to have a bit of Plan A! And once A runs out... well, it's nice to have a plan B!!!

So far we have organised our visit to Townsville, to catch up with friends and generally get a feel for where we will eventually call "home" again by January at this stage... So hint hint anyone knowing of jobs/housing info!!! Then we are on to Mount Isa for the Xstrata Rodeo, the biggest Rodeo in the Southern Hemisphere... and for which Phil required a particular item of attire. An Akubra. Not just any Akubra... Phil specifically wanted the Rough Rider, a massive tank of a thing, able to cast shadows three feet in diameter. In black, of course. So now Phil is kitted in his Akubra, courtesy of a trip to Mackay's P Comino & Sons Outfitters we can rest easy, Phil looks the part!

Following the Rodeo, we begin to falter, with no "solid" plans as such, but to make it to Alice Springs by the 20th of August for the Henley-On-Todd, Australia's famous Dry-River Boat race. Of course, we are planning to see as much of the Northern Territory as possible, but guess what? The tour operators and caravan parks have hitched onto this! So can you imagine the costs associated with seeing the Red Centre? Caravan parks have the audacity to charge up to $65 for a family to stay in a powered site. Per night. The average we pay is usually $35 a night! Add to this the cost of tours ($200 for the Uluru tour we want to go on alone!), food, fuel... WOAH!!!

So we have bitten the bullet and decided to set ourselves up in order to Freecamp along the way. Whilst our version of being "self sufficient" is just to tide us over a few days here and there, it will mean saving around $250 in accomodation fees every 4-5 days of Freecamping! Do this every 2 to 3 stops, we'd be looking at saving in the THOUSANDS for this whole trip!

Our Freecamp solution to our van is actually a very simple and economic one. Primarily, we cook on gas anyway, so cooking and outdoor lighting is not an issue. Our threeway fridge runs on Electricity when we are stopped in a powered site, and has the capacity for 12 volt, however, we have decided it too will run on it's gas setting when Freecamping. This just leaves lighting and items like recharging iPhones, Laptop & the TV. TV is a no-brainer - we just won't bother for a few days. We will all live, I am sure! The laptop & the iPhones can either be charged on solar panels, or using the car chargers as we drive. Our lighting solution was to purchase 3 LED oyster lights and two LED strip lights placed in the van. These run on AA batteries only, and while we have a AA battery solar charger, that can be also be plugged to the wall to recharge when we are stopped at a powered site, spare AAs are easy (and fairly cheap) to get hold off to provide more power to the lighting when required.

This opens up a whole new range of possibilities for us to stop and save money as we travel. So far, the cheapest powered spot we have stayed was only $15 in the Goomeri Showgrounds. Even now, we only pay $20 a night at Finch Hatton. But now, we can potentially stop beachside or even National Parks (with a pass, of course!) that have no power outlets and pay nothing to stay for a night, or even 4 or 5!

Which means, I am not as panicked as I was about the whole loss of bonus income we have been squirrelling away. In fact, I am excited! So now I can look at some of my other Capricornian traits - Economical, intelligent, patient... But I am starting to take on some that aren't even remotely Capricornian... Relaxed. Easy Going. Adventurous.

I guess that's the point we had to make this trip... that we learn, find, and discover, not only this big wide country, but ourselves as well.

Till next time!

XXX The Lincolns!

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