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Bec & Kev's Big Lap
  • Kevin Dinn
  • Rebecca Dinn
  • Kevin Dinn
  • Rebecca Dinn

Bec & Kev's Big Lap

A 363-day adventure by Kevin & Rebecca Read more
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  • Bec & Kev's Big Lap
    The site on full swing
    The Bash getting set upAt the top of Big RedBig RedIt got a bit muddy!The world recordThe dog's cosy set up at the showHoodoo GurusAnd an amazing sunset to top it all off

    Big Red Bash - Day 1

    July 2, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    After quite an odyssey we got to the Big Red Bash, the most remote music festival in the world on the edge of the Simpson Desert in the middle of Australia.

    It was made more challenging by a rare rain event. In the desert these are always interesting as drainage is not much of a thing around here. And the fine powder dust turns into clay, then soup, then flood depending on the amount of water.

    We managed to dodge the worst of it and enjoy day 1 of the music with highlights of the The Hoodoo Gurus, Troy Casserdaly, and The Pierce Brothers.

    We also made a world record (wearing blue wigs to support Juvenile Diabetes Foundation) for the most people making a map of a country!    Read more

  • Bec & Kev's Big Lap
    The dogs were very comfy again
    Rebecca and our friend TraceyThese are the original brothers that formed the angels. They look a bit old but still play amazinglySee the silhouettes of the people on the dune behind the stageIva Davies still leading Icehouse

    Big Red Bash - Day 2

    July 5, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    Another banging day and the sun came out to warm us up and hit the solar panels.

    Many bands today but the highlights were Icehousr,c and Kevin's favourite The Angels.

    It almost didn't happen as The Angel's and Kate Cebrano were in a plane that lost an engine and had to make an emergency landing at Birdsville!

    Note: check out the Day 1 footprint if you missed it, it didn't send out a notification    Read more

  • Bec & Kev's Big Lap
    Getting organised for the Nutbush
    Sunrise over the desertThese flowers only come out in the desert after rainAnd theseSome people had a harder time than others getting there depending on which day they tried to get inDragonHuman Nature

    Big Red Bash - Day 3

    July 6, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    Another day, another world record! We took part in the largest number of people dancing the Nutbush which was huge fun.

    Band highlights included Dragon, Human Nature and a great tribute to Tina Turner by all the female performers of the event.Read more

  • Bec & Kev's Big Lap

    Tropic of Capricorn

    July 8, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C
  • Bec & Kev's Big Lap
    The land we went through was super flat from horizon to horizon.The main highway to Mount Isa

    Boulia

    July 9, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 7 °C

    We stayed less than 24 hours in this funny little town which was a delight and could best be described as "random" because we encountered:

    - a helicopter landing and taking off from the caravan park
    - a pig and chook right next to the van
    - right next to them was a camel and a donkey who liked a cuddle
    - a horse waking out of the local pub and chowing down on the grass outside
    - a sanctuary full of rescued kangaroos who hung out with alpcas

    The road out to Mount Isa was another one of those amazing country roads: a single thin strip of bitumen (or 2 tyre tracks on dirt) which is for both directions with a speed limit of 100 kph!    Read more

  • Bec & Kev's Big Lap
    1

    Dajarra

    July 9, 2023 in Australia ⋅ 🌬 20 °C

    Every town, big or small has an ANZAC memorial. They are always a central feature of the town and a heartfelt tribute to the fallen.

    In Dajarra, a very small town where we stopped for lunch, the war memorial was for the sole local, Peter Craige, who went to war after riding 1,000 miles to sign up.

    Every place has a story.    Read more

  • Bec & Kev's Big Lap
    The view across the town centre to the mine
    In the underground hospitalThere's still a lot of the original drugs and gear thereAmazingly, Japan was prepared with currency designs for all the countries they were about to conqueMiner KevWhat the mine dunnies used to beHuge machines! This is an underground electric tip truck, see the pantographA diagram of all the shafts under Mt IsaAlan (who is a 90 year old ex miner) who still helps with the toursFascinating demo of how they blow things up in a quite clever wayOne of the more modern monster machines1On the way out of Mt Isa, we thought our rig was big until we parked it next to a road train

    Mount Isa (Kevin's photos)

    July 10, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    In contrast to the quaint little country towns we have been visiting recently, Mount Isa was very much a big, industrial town with a major mine in the middle of it.

    Despite this it was fascinating in its own way, albeit with a fair bit more crime (there were 2 cars stolen from our caravan park in a week!)

    We visited the underground hospital which was prepared for a WWII invasion by Japan. Also Kevin went on a tour in a mine that was set up as a demonstration of how the underground mining had gone on in the past and present. Lots of big awesome machines!    Read more

  • Bec & Kev's Big Lap
    We're getting a bit dustySpeed limit of 130, there used to be no limit on these roadsThat's just one truck! Filling the tanks of the roadhouse1They're wild to pass going the other wayWild Ginea Fowl wverywhere

    Barkly

    July 15, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    This was a roadhouse on the way into Northern Territory. It was a good place to stay for the night.

    On the trip, and at the roadhouse we encountered some of the legendary NT road trains.

  • Bec & Kev's Big Lap

    Tennant Creek

    July 15, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    This is a town on the main highway which goes the height of Australia.

    We stopped in at the cultural centre and read up about the wonders of indigenous culture, and the history of how they were treated.

    Sorry, we didn't get a photo here.

    Now, North to Darwin!    Read more

  • Bec & Kev's Big Lap
    Water lilly3Kev braving the crocodile infested watersThe locals. One cheeky one jumped in someones van 😁1Crocodile saunting down the river3A distinctive feature of the area is the immense number of termite moundsHot and dusty tropical campsite

    Mataranka

    July 17, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    Thermal springs. Mataranka springs and Bitter Springs. Bitter Springs pools opened again the day we arrived after being closed for 10 days while a saltwater croc was hunted and removed to a different location. Freshwater crocs were still around. Did make us a tad nervous 😏Read more

  • Bec & Kev's Big Lap
    Katherine river right next to the homestead park where we set up
    The Katherine River near the caravan park1Wont be swimming!The bin chickens are much more tall and elegant around here (it's a Brolga)Cutta Cutta cavesInside Cutta Cutta caves. The interesting thing here is WWII soldiers shot the bottom of theseThe limestone on the surface is black due to fires1Edith FallsTop of Edith falls. Long hot hike up!Cruising along Katherine GorgeThe boat tour of the gorgeWalking through some parts of the Gorge (there are actually 8 gorges in total)Zoom in to see the fresh water croccrocodiles lay their eggs in these sections of sandy beachesAmazing rock formationsEven a croc rock 😀3Everything was big and awesomeCapok (native fig) plant

    Katherine

    July 23, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    We only spent a couple of days in Katherine but after putting the dogs in kennels for one of the days we packed in a lot of awesome sights

    The caravan park was next to the Katherine river where we went for the dog walks. It was beautiful but we were always nervous about crocodiles! An interesting feature is how all the trees next to the river are bent over because in the wet season the river is meters higher.

    We went to Edith falls and had a great hike up to the top pools for a
    picnic.

    We also went on a boat tour of Nitmiluk Gorge (formerly Katherine Gorge) where the splendour of the massive cliffs and lakes in the gorges left
    us in awe around every bend. We saw some fresh water crocodiles and gained much fascinating knowledge of the geology, climate and history of the place. As usual the indigenous people were very hard done by, but now the local "mob" owns and runs all the activities in the gorge,

    New animal sitings: Freshies! (not Salties thankfully)    Read more

  • Bec & Kev's Big Lap
    We are getting very used to being hot and dusty all the time!
    Beautiful beach. You can only swim if youre prepared to battle salt water crocs! 🐊The beaches go on and onStunning sunsetsMuch of the area around here has been returned to its indigenous owners which is fabulous.Picnic at sunset2Enjoying the view (or maybe the picnic food!)Stunning colours

    Dundee Beach

    July 24, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    There’s not much at Dundee Beach but what there is is very beautiful. Just an area to park your van, a pub with surprisingly good food and a beach. What more could you need.

  • Bec & Kev's Big Lap
    Mindil beach
    1Bosley cooling off in the spray from the fountainDarwins botanical gardensEnormous Orb spider webEnormous Orb spider!Amazing aray of tropical plants and colourful flowers1Hot boys cooling off under a lovely big tree

    Darwin

    July 28, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    An extended stay ...

    We intended to stay a week in Darwin but Rebecca had to return to UK 2 days after arriving as her mum was in hospital. Kevin then stayed another 2 weeks on his own with the 2 dogs which was challenging.

    All good though and we did manage to spend a day exploring Darwin beaches, the markets, the botanical gardens and have a nice lunch out before separating. Kakadu will be a future trip. Now the adventure continues.    Read more

  • Bec & Kev's Big Lap
    Lovely place to stay for a few nights
    Huge termite mounds1And lots of them. These "magnetic" mounds have flat sides which always face north/southBeautiful creeks flowing in to amazing waterfallsFlorence fallsFlorence falls further downTolmer fallsPink and black rock2Challenging 4WD tracksLong dusty track to the Lost cityThe Lost city. Amazing to walk through these mass of sandstone structures resembling an ancient city1Wangi fallsBillabong or swap?? Lots of birdlife

    Litchfield National park

    August 14, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

    Fabulous National Park. We stayed at a lovely camp ground on the edge of the National Park and bonus……they provided dog supervision whilst you went in to the park.
    Amazing waterfalls, billabongs and sandstone structures.Read more

  • Bec & Kev's Big Lap
    Us ruining a perfectly good view of the lake1The park has a rather nice infinity pool with an amazing view3Dam!The inside of the dam from the boat1A family of wallaby residents of one of the islandsA big freshwater crocA Jabiru on her nestAfter an hour of boating this is how far we got before we turned around!But not before we both had a swim with a drink thrown in (literally). Straya!Some bower birds. The males make an elaborate nest and collect white things to impress the ladies1The amazing tale of the first settlers in the area who walked 7,000 cattle from NSW!

    Lake Argyle

    August 19, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    Lake Argyle was our first location after crossing the border into Western Australia!

    It's a huge man-made lake with a fascinating history. It has as much water as 21 Sydney Harbours! It’s the size of Switzerland

    We stayed at a park overlooking it and went on a boat tour which provided much information and some views of cute animals.    Read more

  • Bec & Kev's Big Lap
    Everywhere you look around this area the scenery is spectacularThe park was very niceAnd it had an especially big boab tree!And some cool finches (which are quite endangered apparently)The local portAnd brolgas wandering aboutAnd quite a nice spot to "work from home"There was an amazing lagoon down a 4WD track with a huge amount of bird lifeThe pictures don't do it justice reallyWe also visited a *grotto".The track down was a bit perilousBut Bosley wasn't bothered!It was worth the tripThe local Cafe had some interesting piesWe went down a side track in order to drive across this3The weather was amazingly consistent. Always hot, dry and sunny. For weeks on endBut at least we're all clear for cyclones!

    Wyndham

    August 21, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    Wyndham was a little town but a big surprise package!

    Its at the top of WA and we went past Kununurra by 100 kms to get to it because Kununurra looked a bit dodgy.

    Wyndham has a long history supporting the huge cattle stations in the Kimberley’s since the late 1800 particularly from the Port and the old Meat works.
    It had one of the best caravan parks we have stayed in with the "Biggest boab in captivity". The town was quaint and full of character and there were surprisingly many sites to see nearby including a port, lookout and spectacular lagoon.

    It's also Australia's hottest town with a year round daily average over 36.    Read more

  • Bec & Kev's Big Lap
    It was quite a hike in, with a bit of climbing but Rebecca made it look easy-ish!1The swim in the gorge at the end was a highlightIt was getting a bit crowded as we left1The turquoise pool. It has a resident frshwater croc but we couldn't spot itThe fascinating rippled sandstone which was made at the bottom of a river millions agoSpectacular

    Emma Gorge

    August 27, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    This was a trip out from El Questro for a morning. It was quite a hike to get in! But it was worth it.

    We just made it in time as they were shutting the place as we were leaving due to a looming bush fire.Read more

  • Bec & Kev's Big Lap
    El Questro station entry.
    Amazing sceneryRiver crossing at the entry to the station1Nice bar and bistroNice sites4Zebedee thermal springs. WonderfulZebedee thermal springs1The swimming hole near the homestead (bar). Not enough water to actually swim2

    El Questro Station

    August 28, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    This working cattle station on a million acres is fabulous. Lots of gorges, walks, and springs to explore including Emma Gorge and Zebedee springs. The station also has a restaurant and little bar area with live music.
    It’s a little unknown where the name came from but it apparently translates to “big hills” and the first lease holder apparently liked American Wild West stories so it is thought that may have influenced the choice of name.    Read more

  • Bec & Kev's Big Lap
    2A ride down the river, we're up on the leftOn the way out

    Top of the World campground

    August 28, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C

    This was a free camp along the Gibb River Road beside a river with crocs.

    The sites are spaced so far apart your effectively alone in the wilderness.

    We saw a big freshwater croc on the bank opposite but so far no salties!Read more

  • Bec & Kev's Big Lap
    So picturesque in every directionThe dogs loved cooling off paddling in the waterStrike a pose!The track in was pretty challenging...1But we were in good hands with Rebecca

    Warla Gorge

    September 2, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    Warla Gorge was a beautiful scenic swimming spot in the Mount Elizabeth property.

    It was a bit of a challenging 4WD to get there but Rebecca got us there! We all had a paddle and an explore, and as usual, this late in the season, had it all to ourselves!Read more

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