Last week in Kununurra

Here are some photos of our last week or so in Kununurra. We spent 9 and 1/2 weeks here and loved every moment! We have some great memories and have made some special friends. None of us wanted to leave and the girls kept saying they wanted to live here. They stated quite clearly that our van is our house and we could just live in it here! It goes to show how meaningful a place is when you connect with people. The church family in Kununurra welcomed us in and made us feel right at home. We thank God for having us here in Kununurra for this time. But our journey must go on...... we now head into the Northorn Territory.

It may only be little, but Chris was pretty happy with his fishing at Ivanhoe Crossing. He had a few fishing afternoons and enjoyed catching some black bream and silver cobbler.

Cooling off on a hot afternoon at Ivanhoe Crossing. The kids (and Tim) would get a run up and slide into the water. Good fun!

After watching the local kids, our kids wanted to be a part of the action. As Tim drove by they hung onto the back and were dragged through the water.

Back with The Parkers!

With the Parkers at the top of Kelly's Knob. We chose a cooler day to walk to the top, but with the cloud cover we didn't get a sunset. Oh well. The walk was good. It's been great meeting up with the Parkers again. We loved having them around and enjoyed their friendship and company. Hopefully we'll meet up again soon.

The view from Kelly's Knob overlooking Kununurra.

Chris's last job in Kununurra and last job with Tim (hopefully just for now). They're renovating Gary's bathroom in the rectory.

Al and I enjoying a drink for my birthday. The Parkers put on a lovely dinner for me. The start of a great and memorable birthday. Thanks Al.

Lauren had made a special dessert for my birthday dinner. It was so yummy.

Lauren had made a special dessert for my birthday dinner. It was so yummy.

Nikki took me out for breakfast on my birthday. Mmmm eggs benedict, my favourite. Thanks Nikki!

Claire and Becky

Claire with her good friend Becky. They are helping decorate my birthday cake. Good job girls!

Bridget and Beth

Bridget refreshing her piano skills with her good friend Beth. They were so excited when they first met and realised that both their names started with B, they were both 8 and their favourite colour was blue! The start of a special friendship!

I had a lovely birthday dinner at the Mock's. Anne cooked the most amazing roast lamb (so exciting when you don't have an oven) and the girls decorated the table specially for me! I felt very special. The girls stayed for a sleepover and had a ball.

Our girls connected very quickly with the Mock family. It's easy to see why. They got on so well and will always treasure the friendships that were made.

I realised I kept taking photos of the girls friends and not of friends that I've made. So here are some wonderful friends who made my time in Kununurra so special.

After some advice and instruction from Beth, Bridget has a go at archery. She hit the board...good effort!

Spending the afternoon with our special friends. We've swapped emails and hope to remain friends for many years to come!

Lily Lagoon

We loved going down to the park which surrounded Lily Lagoon. Kununurra is a beautiful town.

Lily Lagoon. You can see how it got it's name.

A gorgeous big Boab in celebrity tree park-Kuunurra.

Final photo of the house Chris was helping out with. It was amazing watching it all come together.

Cruising Lake Argyle

All ready to hop on the boat and see Lake Argyle. Lucy doesn't look too impressed, she's only just woken up!

Thanks Gary! What a perfect way to spend our last arvo in Kununurra.

It was so beautiful and relaxing cruising around Lake Argyle. It was so much bigger than we thought!

The girls enjoying the gorgeous scenery on Lake Argyle.

Saying goodbyes. This is a friend Bridget has made in Kununurra- Carolyn.

The girls with some friends enjoying the Steve Grace concert. They had a great night dancing away. What a way to spend our last night in Kununurra. Fantastic!

Steve Grace-Kununurra

Chris and I with Steve Grace after a fantastic concert! He even remembered his Yeoval concert way back in 1994 !! Chris and I were both there. It was my first ever visit to Yeoval. Great memories!

Building Update!!

Here's where the house is up to. The guys have been busy working away in the heat! At least the roof is on now and there's a bit more shade!

Apart from helping with the house, Chris has been busy doing other jobs around the church. Here he's made a new door to make the toilet accessible from within the church.

Chris, Tim and Jake spent the day in Wyndham (hour from Kununurra) extending this verandah on the church up there. Chris has enjoyed working with Tim again after four months of being apart.

Chris and Tim took a 20min flight from Wyndham to an Aboriginal community for the day to help out with a few jobs at the church.

Flying over the Ombigari community.

This is the 'church' Chris and Tim did some maintenance work on in the small Aboriginal community.

El Questro - Gibb River Rd

Yay!! It was time to pack up our camping gear and explore a little more of the Gibb River Rd. We were all excited to be camping again. We spent the weekend with some friends we've met here in Kununurra and had a ball exploring El Questro together.

This was the first of our walks for the weekend - Emma Gorge.
The water was VERY fresh. Luckily it was a warm day and we didn't mind. It was the first time we'd felt cold in a long time!

'3 cheeky monkey's sitting in the tree, teasing Mr Crocodile, you can't catch me!!'
Just joking!! This gorge was croc free!!

Claire loved this little waterfall at Zebedee Springs.

Zebedee Springs has all these little swimming holes. We enjoyed laying back and relaxing. The girls loved exploring them all. We spent a good few hours in here.

Wow, wow, wow!! Looking out over the Pentecost River and the beautiful Kimberley country.

We went 4WDing on Saturday afternoon and came across this amazing lookout. I thought it was time for another family photo!

Happy Birthday Chris!!!

Chris celebrated his birthday out camping at El Questro. The girls happily helped blow out his candles. The cake only just hung on after falling apart in the back of the ute. I got up early and tried to smooth the icing over so it covered up all the cracks. This photo was taken at 6:30am!! I thought after I fixed it we had to sing straight away or it would just fall apart again. Definitely a birthday cake to remember!!

This is the halfway pool up El Questro Gorge. After a dip to cool off, we had to climb that massive boulder to continue the walk!!

Lucy being a little champion on this long 3hr hike (and that's without stops). We had to scramble over and climb boulders and rockwalls all the way up. The walk was stunning though in this pretty little part of the Gibb River Rd.

After a long walk up El Questro Gorge we were rewarded with a gorgeous little waterfall. It was so refreshing to dive in and cool off.

We enjoyed camping with another family from church. The girls all got on well and enjoyed the company.

Heading back down El Questro Gorge. It was a tough walk and not without injuries, but it was well worth it!!