 The first few weeks of our journey have been a big learning experience. Learning how to best set up and pack up camp, learning how to occupy the children in the car and in van parks, learning left from right (Jasmine that is). We have noticed many changes in all of us: we are neater, shorter-tempered and loving having Daddy around all the time. The first few weeks have been the hardest, but we are finding our groove and loving the adventures even more!
WEEK ONE
Favourite place: The highlight of our week so far has definitely been Australia Zoo. Jaz has been dying to see the BIG lizards, and there she was very impressed by the BIG SNAKE! Jemma took more photos of people than animals, but luckily all the people thought that was pretty funny too. Jasmine's favourite photo is the one she took of the big screen at the demonstration showing that the biggest crocodile was the size of two Herbie cars.
Best PowerShot photo: There are many actually, but they are all of Jasmine! She has spent most of her time taking photos of herself making funny faces. I think there is about 200 so far. I must admit though, she has perfect aim when it comes to photos of herself!
Funniest moment: Jemma chasing down a kangaroo to take a close-up portrait. The kangaroo kept hopping away but Jemma would chase after it, trying to tackle it around the neck. She yelled in frustration, "Stay STILL!" When the kangaroo finally stopped long enough for Jemma to take the photo, she went right up to its face and remarked, "Gotchya!"
Most useful item of the week: TomTom definitely. Jasmine had an allergic reaction and I forgot to pack the antihistamine. We were on a freeway just out of the Gold Coast and had no idea where anything was. We did a search for a chemist on our TomTom and up came the phone number for the closest chemist, which was on our route, so I could call to make sure they would be open when we got there. It might be a good idea to also mention that we don't have any maps. We are pretty much relying solely on our TomTom, which is affectionately referred to as Tom and taken with us everywhere.
Most interesting person (you've met so far): Kaleb, Jasmine's first holiday friend. We met Kaleb at Binna Burra and he and Jasmine worked out that they were both 5 and loved taking photos. From then on they were instant friends and ran around taking photos of everything and everyone. They set their cameras to movie and waited behind a tree for a bush turkey to walk past so they would have movie to show their friends at school. Kaleb only stayed one night but he knew everyone in the camp ground.
 Best comment/reaction of the week: We haven't had any out of the ordinary comments; however, people still find it hard to believe we are travelling with such young children and normally leave us with a 'good luck'.
Most looking forward to next: The ruggedness of Northern Australia. It is so far from what we are used to in Canberra and so beautiful.
What I most miss from home: A fully stocked pantry and fridge. The WAECO is great and gives us a freezer as well as fridge but it is still hard to decide what to cook on short notice (which is most nights).
A close second for me is the convenience of an electric kettle. We have a stove top version but it is such an effort to boil and make the coffee. I still go to all the trouble though; nothing comes between me and my first cup of coffee in the morning!
Greg said he is missing Friday night football. We spent the evening with friends last night to watch the State of Origin but they all went for QLD. That is no fun, especially when NSW loses! We keep forgetting we are in QLD territory too - gotta watch ourselves!
Favourite PowerShot feature of the week: The ruggedness! Jemma clunks hers against anything. She climbs, forgetting it is around her neck. The first day she had it she dropped it down our front stairs and there is barely a scratch on it! Jasmine has repeatedly dropped hers - she gets tired by the end of the day and just forgets she is holding it. Again, still works perfectly and barely a scratch.
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The Powers are currently camping in Litchfield National Park and are without any mobile/email reception, but had a chance to chat while they were still in Darwin. Here are some updates and photos from recent weeks.
Scary croc moment of the week: The family saw three crocs at Yellow Waters, where at one point Jasmine climbed a rail to get a better photo. Her sister Jemma stuck her head through the rail for a look as well, but the only problem was the PowerShot camera dangling around her neck was only a meter from the water. Luckily, mom quickly saved Jemma from the dangerous freshwater crocs!