PaddleRock

The last post for the trip!✅😍

Everyone was absolutely living their best LYF on the ranch. The kids flat out crusty demons on the motor bikes sun up to sun down. Horses, chickens, bulk fruit trees, eating frenzy’s every meal time, chainsawing, fires,
‘watching’ 😉 😉 Dan fire guns 22’s through to 308 & 12 gage shottys 🤪( felt like the kids were doing real life call of duty 😆 fekin loose to say the least!!)

Kids fully cooked each day 🔥

No better way to round up the trip and punch the final 7hrs home 😎 (final supper celebration at Oportos 🥲)

In summary:
It’s been an unforgettable journey and adventure 😍✅
We clocked around 24,000km’s 🏎️✅
Went around Australia including Tassie in 14 weeks✅
We managed to duck and weave any trip finishing carnage / injury some how 😮‍💨✅
The best having time with friends all around Auz 😘✅
Don’t be fooled into thinking it was all harmonious peace loving rainbows 🌈 👎
The meltdowns and arguments over the most petty s**t was a steady constant 🤯🤯 (I may of even cracked it a few times, would ya believe it!?! 🫣)

Good to be home? Sure 👍
Could we swing it around and keep it goin? I’d love to if it was possible 🥰

Disclaimer :

I want to be vulnerable and transparent about the whole social media platform conundrum

I felt very conflicted towards the back end of the trip taking time to do a post as it felt like I didn’t want to waste any time being in the moment! 🤨 (good that vodaphone kept us out of range bulk of the time✅😆)

We have family overseas and friends globally that we
Could easily keep updated on the adventure which was great,

but,

I’d find myself in a rabbit hole of ‘WasteBook’ and Insta G animal fail videos on a death scroll ☠️ ..

We are truely in a time where we are so busy watching other people live their lives on social media , rather than live our own lives 😐

Come work Monday the socials will be gone 🪓

Big Love to you all and reach out any time ❤️
Will still have messenger to keep in touch
(How’s that for cutting of the nose to spite the face 🫠😆)

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Headed to Gunnedah to visit Carina and her vibrant fun family (great friend of Emma’s from the nursing days)
Found out Dan was getting into climbing so the most rubber arm in the game was hard to convince for another climb 🧗‍♂️ 😆

What better than a 300m outcrop epic in the
Warrumbungles with a 12km walk 😜

It was unreal type B fun. Heart stopper moment when I pulled on a 1 ton block that started to detach!! Few choice words articulated 😅

It was below zero , started snowing/ hailing on the way down , bush bash. Fun ? Absolutely 🤩

Dan did awesome for his 1st multi pitch ever and he was thoroughly impressed what can be done in crocs 🐊 🤙

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Like many places we have stayed / visited could have easily just kept staying there.. 🥲

Continuing south we caught up with dear ol frisbee mates, Matt and Sandra. The family is awesome and Matt has the large task of organising the World Ultimate Frisbee Championships which is being held on the Gold Coast later this year!

The trophy / medals are gunna be epic and the big wigs for the Brisbane olympics are gunna check out the finals 🫨

Kalani over the moon about meeting the real life Chilli dog who the producers for Bluey ‘borrowed’ the name for the shows mum character 🥰 (pretty progressive as the real life chilli is a boy 😜)

I asked the nephews in Townsville to pray for Uncle Tim’s front left tyre to make it home.. (was about 12000km over due for a replacement 😝)

Was joking to Sandra about it and totally brought the flat upon myself.

Bob Jane sorted some fresh rubber x 4 and we were off to our last destination. With the late start we had our last slum on the side of the road. I think the best was till last with a bubbling stream, no road trains and a toasty bush TV 🔥

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All through the trip we have foraged for random fruit and veg. This passion fruit was exceptional! 😋

Warmed the heart to see Sonny frothing on farm work and connecting with the animals. The owners were saying when he finishes school to send him up for an apprenticeship 😅

Proud of Emma having a go climbing . One n Done ✅ 😘 sexy lips

Little Kermit lived in the toilet there. Must of been part cockroach putting up with the Booths doo doo rocks 💩 😆

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The days at Brooyar were a great mix of activities.

Good destination if you have a range of abilities and levels of psyc on the climbing front 😁

Some solid top roping bolts 🤪
Keo stepping into big dawg zone, said he would hump the 35kg pack 😆

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From Mt Tambourine we headed back north west to Brooyar just out of Gympie 😀

4 nights and 4 days at a farm stay which we had the place to ourselves!

The climbing was fantastic and super user friendly

Sonny spent his days as a aspiring jackaroo and the 2 owners really took a liking for his enthusiasm

Amazing place and it’s for sale. 2700 acres, 15 dams, 8 bedroom house to name some features. (Only a cheeky $15.5 million..)

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On the road again ! 🎶

Pushing south and we had our pinnacle of gravel pits for the trip (not in a good way ..🤪)

Back to back road trains that sounded like they were air braking to drive through the swag . On the other side was a bonus of a sandwiched rail line that had freight trains go past every hour 🫠

Fark.. was death warmed up ☠️ 😆

We made it to 1770 which was a nice place for sure

Did find the overpriced camping and over the top caravan rigs stacked inches from each other kinda overwhelming. All these cats coulda been BCF ambassadors (sleep deprivation talking 😝)

On the positive side we were gunning for the amazing wedding of Bryson and Jemma. We knew jagging room 8 (magic / playing nb) was a good omen for things too come

We were put at table 1 with the brides and groom parents 🥲😆 we luv the family so much and they are such an amazing young couple 🥰

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Magnetic Island 🧲

Used the military discount again and hid 3 kids in the back of the car to save money on the ferry ⛴️ 😆

Action packed day of bike riding, bush walks, snorkelling, fishing, SUP, bouldering, jetty jumping and eating of course!

Fantastic week and a half with family 🥰

We set the compass south and we begin the run home
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Rock jumping and Natural water slides 🛝 🤩

Castle hill offers great multi pitch right and the edge of the CBD 🌆 awesome to take my nephew and nieces out with my brother in law Jono for some adventure

We hit the buffet at the casino with our military discount cost next to nothing 🤪

Had everyone fasting since breakfast and went tactical on food selection. The kids had one plate and 4-5 dessert bowls. All I could think of was Monty Python as we rolled out of there 🐘

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Mad push from the Northern Territory to QLD.

Pot holes are epic with trip ending potential 🕳️

So hyper alert when driving and when night falls pigs, goats, Roos, eagles, emus, dingoes, cats and ga billions of rats 🐀!!

The 130km/h speed limit has us maxing at 60kmh 🤪

Must of skittled over 100 rats with the kids highlight of two sh****ng / fighting got squished 😆

I was joking about them nibbling the kids toes at our chateau de gravel pit. Sure enough they ate water bottles, thongs and through the bottom of the swag ! Cheeky beggars 😑

But we did good time as I was positive it was a Tuesday and in reality we got there Monday 😀

So fantastic to see and stay with family in Townsville . Urban climb was great for the fix 💉

Crystal creek was fantastic swimming and exploring

lucky a neighbour had a welder to do some repairs, the local library had a no limit on book borrowing so the kids got a shopping trolley worth 🛒

Got some good reps in with Hugh for our run towards worlds.
(Finally staying some where for more than a red hot second 🥲)

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Nitimuk Gorge near katherine was unreal. It was looking like $500 to hire kayaks so we opted for the 14km walk to hit the magic spots

Bulk bribery and distraction got us there and back 🤪
Swimming and rock jumping was superb!

Checked out the sign on the other side of where we were swimming all day just before leaving🍑 😵‍💫😆

Met a Portuguese 🇵🇹 family of seven.
5 kids under 8. They have had some solid epics 🤯 Yet still going strong and smiling 🙂
(Made us feel way better bout our carnage)

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Nitimuk gorge near Katherine was unreal!

It was looking like $500 to hire kayaks, so we went tight fist and hiked the 14kms to get to the magic spots 😀

Swimming and rock jumping was truly excellent 🍑

Noticed the sign as we were leaving 😵‍💫😆

Met a super nice Portuguese 🇵🇹 family of 7. (5 kids under 8)
They had some epic travelling war stories 🤪

Still smiling and getting after it!

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