Arkaroola, October 2007 Present: Chris, Margie Andrew, Sarah Dean Deb, Chelsea Ineke, Alan Cathy, Garry, Nick Sonya, Ben, Hannah and Thomas We left home nice and early Friday morning to make it to the Gawler Bypass by 9.30 where we had arranged to meet with Deb, Dean, Chelsea and Andrew and Sarah, as we would travel to Hawker together. Unfortunately due to Paul and Barbs daughter Katrina falling ill they were unable to lead the trip and had arranged with Chris to do the honors. Chris and Margie would join us at Hawker later Friday night. Therefore Dean and Andrew made an executive decision, seeing Ben was the eldest and in their eyes the wisest he would take the lead to Hawker. Pic tyre As we traveled making a few U turns along the way and Ben totally confusing the boys with his full time front indicators. We made it to Hawker in time for lunch and to set up camp. Later Friday evening we were joined by Alan and Ineke, Chris and Margie and Cathy, Garry and Nick. As the night became increasingly fresh we decided to retire in the very comfortable camp kitchen. Due to the cold I became a little hungry and cooked myself a cup of noodles. This then turned the camp kitchen into full swing entertainment. As I tried to eat my noodles discreetly, Chris noticed noodles running down my chin which then created noodles being dribbled over the table. This was just the beginning of the night’s entertainment which was finished with Andrews famous drum roll. Early Saturday morning we left with Chris taking the lead to make our way to Arkaroola. As we traveled taking in the beautiful scenery and listening to Chris very helpful instructions we made our way to the Brachina Gorge where we enjoyed morning tea and the precious site of a father emu with his 8 young emus. From here we traveled to Blinman where we were lucky enough to observe a camp cook off which was being held and some delicious steak sandwiches and a sausage sizzle for lunch. From here we left once again were enjoying the lovely scenery with our next stop being Mount Chambers Gorge. Luckily for Ben and Hannah there was a family camped which had an outback radio with very clear reception to the Grand final game between Pt Power and Geelong. But unfortunately it was the news they didn’t want to hear that their Pt Power team was getting thrashed. This was also the stop where Thomas discovered that he could hear air leaking from Garry’s back tyre. Yes a flatty! As a team effort Garry’s flat tyre was changed in no time. We were back on the road again traveling to Arkaroola when Garrys bad luck struck again. Yes but this time a shredded flat tyre. The team of men pulled together again and the tyre had been replaced. We arrived at Arkaroola to be greeted with some very happy Geelong supporters to Hannah’s discussed. We then made our way to set up camp, cook our meals and enjoy the social evening by the fire. Where the boys enticed Ben with a glass of Port while wearing safety helmets to keep themselves safe from Ninja Sonya. Sunday morning was a special morning with Hannah enjoying her 15th Birthday and being woken by several members singing happy birthday to her. We set off to the Arkaroola village to gain access to the echo camp back track. This was a challenging and very enjoyable 4x4 track leading us to many beautiful waterholes, camp sites, hot springs and lots of wild life. As we returned to our camp site at Arkaroola we were pleasantly surprised by Geoff who greeted us and had been listening to our conversations over the 2 way for half of the day. This was the night that Deb and Ben used their creative skills and cooked up Hannah a Birthday cake using the camp oven and some unusual ingredients which they found among their food supplies in the cars. And yum the cake was good! The following day Monday Alan and Ineke and Geoff departed from our group at Arkaroola. The rest of us traveled together heading for Leigh Creek and Homewood bound. Ben was then faced with an interesting problem with his car due to 1 of his tyres being an odd size. Luckily Chris and Dean had worked out that the tyre was making the diff over heat which was resulting in diff wind up. A joint effort by the boys resulted in Ben’s tyre being changed and Andrew towing Ben’s camper trailer to Hawker. Once the tyre had been changed it eliminated the fault. From Hawker Andrew, Sarah, Chris and Margie made their way home. While the rest of us finished lunch. We then traveled together until Jamestown and this is where Cathy, Garry and Nick said farewell while we enjoyed an overnight stay in Jamestown. We would like to thank Chris for his wonderful effort as trip leader and his supportive navigator Margie. Written by Sonya Disclaimer : please note Home Page