Stockman's Hall of Fame & Outback Heritage Centre.

Hi all!      Hope everyone is well.

What a great day we had in Longreach today! We first went to the Stockmans Hall of Fame and Outback Heritage Centre. It was Awesome! We had a fantastic time and the kids also had a wonderful time. In the Hall of Fame we covered all the floors, there was 5 in total. It covered everything from the beginning of Australia been discovered and who discovered what, when, where and how they did it. About the first white settlers and who became rich and famous, and who still are to this day. What they did for jobs, both men and women. How they outed the Aboriginals and also had them as workers and friends. What they did for entertainment, from circuses to horse shows even knife throwing! Boxing seemed to be the sport of the time. It covered the Royal Flying Doctors Service and how it evolved to what it is today. It went over all the many famous stations of the outback. So much history there, you could really spend days!
 We went and saw a movie in the theatre which went over Longreach's history and why the Stockmans Hall of Fame and Outback Heritage Centre was created. Flick was a little grumpy here so I had to take her out and get her to sleep but Trent said all the pictures were amazing.
 Next was the show that we went to outside. We were greeted by a man called Luke on a horse, Slim Dusty music playing in the background and another man dubbed 'Clancy'! Luke was a great showman and very good with his horses. He ended up starting his a quiz, there was 3 teams, Trent was the team captain for us. He had to go into the main arena and when anyone, including him knew an answer to a question he had to ring his bell and answer. All the questions were related to what was in the Stockmans Hall of Fame. So much fun! And, when they got a question wrong, Clancy cracked his whip very close to the team captain. Luke told Clancy to take a step forward each  time he had to do this, so Trent in his wisdom when this was said moved his chair forward a couple of steps!  Anyway, our team won and Trent got a Book and Pen for his trouble. The kids were all very proud of their Dad! Luke then did some more tricks with another horse, he's a fantastic trainer and handler. Then he showed us his Camel called 'Alice', this made the kids laugh and Pheobe told him that she had a cousin called Alice!!! He explained a little about Camels and how they were used in times gone by to help out on the land. He also got the Camel to talk, which he then translated for us because it was Camel talk! Next he called up one of his dogs and told it to go get nine bullocks, do off it went and got the bullocks. Luke and Clancy then got the bullocks doubled up, the bullocks were soooo quiet and very well trained. He put the yolks on them and we watched them walk and collect a log and bring it back into the yard. He then showed us how they were used to load things onto carts etc... It was a terrific show, Pheobe said the best she's seen so far! Maurice loved it too.
 We ended up talking to Luke for a bit after the show, then went back into the shop inside the Hall of Fame. There was a little Cowboy Hat there that we saw, so cute! We ended up trying it on Maurice and it fitted. It was made by Akubra. Maurice was so keen to have it that we ended up getting it for him. He was such a Happy little man and he looks so handsome in it! After this we went to the Bar and Grill that they have there for our lunch that was part of the entry ticket. Yummy lunch!

Pheobe on one of the saddles in the Hall of Fame!

Maurice also on the saddle.

Pheobe and Maurice looking cute!

Maurice with his new purchase - a Rough Rider Akubra Cowboy Hat! How handsome is this little boy now!

Luke on his horse.

Luke's horse giving him his hat that he dropped on the ground!

Trent in the arena as Team Captain.

Luke with 'Alice' the Camel. 

The bullocks coming into the arena,

Some bullocks like Nannie and Papa's cows - that's what Pheobe and Maurice said anyway!

All lined up and getting the Yolks on.

Out to collect the log.

The bullocks pulling the log.

Pheobe and Felicity patting the head bullock with a lady who just picked Flick up because she was cute!

Maurice, Pheobe and Felicity in front of the head bullock

Trent with his new mate!

Krista with her new mate!

So that was our time at the Stockman's Hall of Fame and Outback Heritage Centre! It was so much fun and we recommend here to anyone that is coming this way.

And one last message before we sign off tonight, Please cheers hard tomorrow,
AND....

GO CATS!!!!

 

We are Geelong the Greatest Team of All!

Good luck Geelong - We will be watching and cheering very hard!

Take care everyone!

Love the Guye Gang! xoxoxo

Happy Birthday Nannie Di

Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday Nannie Di,

Happy Birthday to you!

We hope you have had a fun and enjoyable day!

Lots of love The Guye Gang! xoxoxo

Happy Birthday, Love Pheobe!

Happy Birthday, Love Felicity!

Happy Birthday, Love Maurice!

We should also say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to these people:

Uncle Ash for yesterday!

Lachie for the 1st of September!

Grandpa & Belanna for the 7th of September! AND,

Stu Lapsley for the 17th of September!

We hope that you have all had great birthdays and look forward to seeing you all soon.

Cheers Everyone!

GO CATS!!!!

Here we are at Longreach!

Howdy Everyone!

Well, we've made it to Longreach! We had a nice stay at Charters Towers, the park was really quite good and there was lots to have a look at. Here are some pics from our stay there:

You can't not swim if there is a pool, and of course out little fish jumped right in!

Pheobe enjoying herself.

Pheobe, Maurice and Trent enjoying the pool at Charters Towers.

A road train that we managed to get a pic of going through Charters Towers.

Pheobe, Felicity & Maurice in front of the 'Buckin Bull' in Charters Towers.

Trent & his mate.

The next four pics are from the lookout at Charters Towers.

These are taken from an old mine site up about the town. The town was big on Gold Mining in it's day. Now days, its more farming however there is still some mining around too.

Pheobe on the jumping pillow at the caravan park!

The next day we headed for Hughenden! It was a long drive, but we got there by lunch time. We went into the information centre & they couldn't tell me where 'Farmer Frank' was (he comes from here and is from the current season of Farmer Wants a Wife!), so we had some lunch at a cafe and then kept going after fueling up!

We finally arrived in Winton! It was about 3.30pm, so we decided to find a caravan park, there is only two to choose from in the town. Once check in, we got out of the car and it was HOT! We closed all the blinds in the van, cranked up the air con, got our bathers on and jumped in the pool. It was cold, but it was nice to feel that way instead of Hot!!! There was also a funny smell about the place, we kept asking if someone had popped and I was checking Flick's nappy. Anyway, we came to discover that in Winton they get their water from the Artesian Basin. This is a pic below:

What happens is the water is underground by about 1000 meters, it's temperature is 80 degrees c. As it is pumped up to the surface it is cooled to about 50 degrees c before being pumped into the drinking pipelines. As you get it into say your, glass, its at the right temp but the sulphur is still letting it's gas go, that's what makes the smell! You can wait until the water is clear or just simply boil it before drinking, they say it's the nicest water you will ever taste, we didn't try it! Too hard if anyone gets sick when your on the road, esp. with little people! If anyone has been to Rotorua in NZ you will know the smell I am talking about! It was hard enough to have a shower with the smell, let alone try and drink it!

Just a quick pic of Trent and Felicity in the pool at Winton!

We had dinner that night at a local pub, there were about 4 to choose from. We decided to go to the one with the most cars out the front! It paid off, had a nice meal and I didn't have to cook in the van in the hot weather!

Now we get to Today!

We decided not to leave Winton too early and headed to the Waltzing Matilda Centre, This is because Winton is here Banjo Paterson wrote this very famous song! It was a great place to visit, full of history about the song, but also the Winton Area. The art gallery had some magic photo's, all the displays were FULL of great information and props taken from their time. Trent and I could have spent hours there if we didn't have the kids, although I think they did enjoy it! Afterwards we had coffee, hot choc, juice and a scone before making our way back to the van and hitting the road, headed for Longreach.

Maurice, Pheobe and Felicity in front of the Banjo Paterson statue at the Waltzing Matilda Centre at Winton.

This is the plaque they were standing in front of!

This is a pic of the Billabong room that you go into and there is a show that runs for about 20 minutes. The show is all related to the Waltzing Matilda song and how it has been in Australia's hearts and souls since it was written and performed for the first time in Winton.

So, onto Longreach. It was a rather LONG drive, or at least it seemed that way. Only about 2 and a half to 3 hours, but I think because the scenery doesn't change all that much we were all looking for something else to be doing. We did see a goana walk across the road, not sure if we actually hit him with the van wheels or not. Trent at first thought it was a snake until we got closer and we could see his legs! We have also seen some dead cows on the side of the road, some roos of course and some pigs! We had a Helicopter at one point right over the top of us, almost in arms reach! Maurice thought that was great! There are soooooo many stations out this way, some with great names. We saw a 'Rodney Downs' and an 'Alice Downs', two names we are very familiar with! And, we also had some Lee Kernaghan played today to break the drive, thank god for the iPhone!!! We played some songs of this that related to many thing in these parts that we are travelling in. It's actually nice for me in particular to see the places that I hear many for my favourite singers sing about!

Finally, we rolled into Longreach. Again, 2 parks to choose from. Both dry, no green grass to be seen! Anyway, we are staying at the Discovery Holidays Park, it is also part of the Top Tourist Parks. We have an en suite site and a concrete slab to roll the awning over. It's warm here but not as hot as Winton. Once we unpacked and had a late lunch, we had a look around the main street and to the information centre. From there we went to the QANTAS Founders Outback Museum and the Stockmans Hall of Fame. We wanted to familiarise ourselves for our adventures tomorrow. Back into the main street for a look, I of course went into the RM Williams store! We also had a look at a few other shops, one called the station store. Here we ended up booking ourselves in for a Horse and Cart ride tomorrow afternoon, it will take us on a journey of one of the old mail runs through the bush. Kids thought it would be fun, so why not!!! Will let you know how we get on.

Back to the park and of course there is a pool. And, what do you do if there is a pool? You have a swim of course!!!!! Trent, Pheobe, Maurice and even Felicity all got in, too cold for me! I also went along to watch. And, you think you are somewhere that no one you know will be and of course I run into some patients from work. Julie, Molly and Ben, I forget their surnames. I knew it was Julie when they first came into the pool area, but I didn't really say anything except Hello! Then all of a sudden she came over and asked me if I came from Geelong. I told her is was EGMC that she knew me from and it was all conversation from there! Our kids and her kids had a fun time in the pool together, so it was nice. They didn't get out until about 6pm! Her husband was fixing something on their van so I didn't get to speak to him. Shame they are leaving tomorrow, it would have been good to have other Geelong people to cheer with on Saturday! Have seen one CW flag flying from a van here already!

Pheobe in the pool at Longreach.

Miss Felicity in the pool at Longreach. She is becoming more confident now and wanting to go in the water just like her big sister and big brother!

Maurice getting ready to dive into the water. He won't stay still long enough for a photo, so I just have to get him in action.

Well there you have it folks! We are all up to date on our adventures! I think we have a full day planned here for tomorrow, so I will be sure to let you know how we get on.

Take care everyone,

Love the Guye Gang! xo

PS. GO CATS!!!!

We've made it to Charters Towers!

So, after a little stop over at Townsville to have the radiator fixed up yesterday, we have made our way a little inland to Charters Towers. It's a nice place, neat and tidy and if I had to I could probably live here. However, it's VERY hot!
We have checked into the Big4 - Outback Oasis Holiday Park. It's got a pool (this is where Pheobe, Maurice and Trent are right now). It also has a jumping pillow which I think the kids might enjoy if it cools off a little! When we first arrived and check in we unpacked a little then went for a look around the main street and the information centre. The main street was great to look around, lots to see and plenty of different shops! Thinking if I get a chance I might go back and have a better look around at the shops!!!! Anyway, we got back to the van, had some lunch and I cleaned up and got Felicity into bed for a sleep and like I said, the others are in the pool and I'm just catching up on a few things.

Although it isn't the greatest pic, I took it from the one that was printed for us. It's the Guye Gang holding the croc at Hartley's Croc Farm that we visited near Cairns!

Pheobe holding the croc by herself! Again, this is a pic of a pic!

Took this photo yesterday of the kids in the baby basket! Thought it was too cute not to share with you all.

Anyway, not really sure where we will end up next. Planning on getting to Longreach at some stage soon.

Take care everyone,

The Guye Gang!  xoxoxo

Port Douglas & our time at the Sheraton Mirage!

G'day!

So, after our trip to the cape and roughing it a little I decided that we should spend a couple of nights at the Mirage in Port Douglas. It was also a treat because once we left there we were on our way back down and our holiday has now turned into the count down of how many days left instead of 'we've got heaps of time'!
We went up to the lookout at Port Douglas when we first arrived, then went into the main street and did the shops, stopped at a cafe for lunch and did a quick stop at the supermarket for a few items that we needed. Once we arrived at the Mirage we were taken by golf buggy to our room once we checked in. We ended up grading our room, so we had views of the pools. We also had a balcony which right below was a pool with a little beach across the way. The kids could literally be put into the pool by us from the balcony and we could watch them swim from our room! We didn't let them swim on their own of course! So, straight to the pool for a swim, yes please! A few hours later and we had to get in and showered for dinner. We had the buffet in the Lagoons Restaurant, it wasn't all that great for the money you pay, but it filled a hole and the kids had a great children's menu and enjoyed their meals. We had 2 double beds in our room, so Phe and Maurie in one bed, Trent and I in another and we put Flick in her Port-a-cot! So great to be in nice crisp clean sheets!
  The next day we had a full breakfast at the same place we had dinner the night before, this was great!!! Everything you could imagine that you would ever want for breaky was there! Kids had a ball choosing what to eat and drink. Next we were back in the pools, couldn't get them out! Finally after about two and a half hours I got them out. We went and had lunch at the pool bar, it was yummy! Then, everyone was soooooo tired I got them into bed and had an hour or so to blog and catch up. After waking, the kids wanted to be back in the pool, so we swam in the pool near our room. Again, an hour or two later and I had to drag them away for showers so that we could have dinner. We had dinner this time in the lounge area, a little more relaxing here. The kids coloured in at the table, danced to the music that was playing and we all just kicked back a little. This night Pheobe and I slept in the 'GIRLS' bed and Maurice and Trent slept in the 'BOYS' bed!
 The next morning it was a big breaky again and then a last minute or should I say last hour and a half in the pool before having to shower and check out at 11am. What a blast, and what a fun time we all had. It was well worth it.
We drove back to Cairns and stayed one more night at the Drayton's caravan park, they have been so wonderful to us. Please, if anyone is coming to Cairns and wants somewhere to stay - even in the cabins if you aren't in a van, stay here Crystal Cascades Holiday Park - it was awesome, clean, great facilities and one of the best parks that we have stayed in this whole trip. Friendly staff, full of info., and really they are very proud of what they have got -  and so they should be. Go and stay there! Anyway, had to do all the last minute washing and got ourselves organised for the trip back down. Had our last dinner in the camp kitchen - veggies, steak with mushroom sauce, pancakes, ice cream and fruit for seconds. When you get a camp kitchen as good as this, you make the most of it! Saves doing it in the van and heating it up!!!

We said our good-byes, the kids even made friends with a little girl called Charlotte so they had one last play too. We then took the journey south along the coast and have ended up back in Townsville. We decided that we might not have enough time to go inland across from Cairns, so we have come to here and are going to head inland to Charters Towers and along and down to Longreach. We were hoping to make it to Charters Towers yesterday when we left from Cairns, but as we were going along the temp. gage in the car kept rising, then going back down. So, we have decided to stay here at least until tomorrow when we can get the radiator looked at. Trent thinks there might be some of that 'Red Dust' in there after being able to have a look at it himself, so he wants to take it and get it tested, maybe flushed out and have new coolent put into it. That way we aren't going to be left on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere!
So, once we arrived in Townsville we got settled into the same park we stayed at last time, and the same site! We chatted with the two people, Leonie and Peter that we met last time - they are still here. Leonie is actually having chemo treatment for cancer, so they won't be moving on until the end of the year. She has now shaved her head - looks cool! She has also finished her first two of five treatments and test results are good news - so we are celebrating with them about that! They love the kids and the kids love them, so its been nice to see them again. Flick and I also went to the supermarket to stock up again, them back to cook dinner and get everyone into bed. Today we haven't done heaps. More swimming pool activity this morning, by 9am mind you! Out by 11.30am, showers and then I got some lunch organised and also did some washing. Thought it would just keep us going if I could keep on top of it a little. Once Trent had his nanna nap, we went for a drive around town and along the waterfront. We then stopped at the shopping centre near the caravan park, Trent got his hair cut, Pheobe and Maurice got new DVDs from the ABC shop and Flick and I got nothing! Back at the van, Phe and Maurie watched their new DVDs, Trent and Flick kept themselves entertained and I prepared dinner and did a little cleaning up etc... We had BBQ chops and snags and salad (kids had veggies coz they don't like salad!) After dinner I bathed Flick in the sink, gave P and M a wash down and we got everyone into bed by 7.30pm. It's now 8.40pm and I have managed to fill you all in on the past few days events.
I'm sure to be in touch again soon, until them take care everyone!
Oh, GO CATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We will be cheering very hard from where ever we are on Saturday. Pheobe actually asked if she could fly home and go the the grand final with Nannie Di, but I had to tell her that she couldn't. A little up set by this, so I hope to find some deco's and we might try and make a fun time out of it for her on Sat. Do hot dogs and maybe party pies for lunch or something. Anyway, for those of you that might get to go or for those of you that are in and around Geelong over the next week, enjoy the time and cheer hard for the Cats on Sat!
Love the Guye Gang! xo

The Port Douglas lookout!

The Guye Gang at the Port Douglas lookout!

Kids first dip in the pool at the Mirage.

Pheobe and Maurice starting off in the boats.

Pheobe driving her boat!

A bigger view of the kids in their boats.

Maurice driving his boat!

All 3 kids together.

A Pic at the Mirage.

The view from our balcony.

Pheobe in the pool near our room.

Maurice in the pool and Trent watching on.

Pheobe and Maurice in the pool.

Trent having a nanna nap! He was suppose to be watching the kids in the water!

Flick having fun in her swim ring!

Maurice enjoying himself!

At dinner in the lounge area - kids colouring in.

Pheobe's last pic in the pool at the Mirage on the morning we left!

Back at the caravan - just relaxing on the bed!

Maurice, Pheobe and Felicity with their little friend Charlotte!

There you have it, the photo's just to keep you up to date.
The time is now 9.20pm, Trent is almost snoring, so I will get some sleep now myself.
Cheers,
xo