Because Life Should Be a Festival!

'I had lots of fun at the Undara Experience' says Lily as she joins her 3 siblings on a trip around Australia.

Below is her most recent journal entry:

In the last few weeks we have been doing lots of things.

At Undara Volcanic National Park we went on a sunset tour. On our Sunset Tour we walked up sunset bluff so we could see the magnificent departure of the sun, along with cheese and nibbles accompanied with champagne and OJ. After that we went to an underground lava tube, but we couldn't go in because of the CO2, ( carbon dioxide.)  We were going to leave but then we spotted a spotted python and observed its behavior for ten minute. On the bus we sang all the way back too camp.

For  dinner we had rice and  chips  and  for dessert  we got a chocolate volcano, which is a yummy chocolate filled with melted chocolate and surrounded by three splodges of cream and  mousse. all while watching an interesting lecture about space.  We went back to our swag tents and collapsed  on to our beds.

We had bush breaky first thing in the morning and a mean kookaburra stole mummies sausages!

Then we went on a lava tube tour. The first lava tube was called the road  cave  and was eighty metres long. we had  to go on the  board  walk because the mud was very soft at the  end. the mud was as hard as  concrete in the  beginning though.

The next cave had heaps of water so we had to take our shoes of and wade through it. The water was freezing!!!

The last cave was full of water but we could not go in because the fungus attached to the bat poo could leave a nasty infection in your bloodstream.

When we got back there was free cups of tea. Then we had to go.I had lots of fun at the Undara experience.

The road to Dirt N Dust Festival

This week our family packed their trusty old family wagon full to the brim and set off to Julia Creek in North Queensland with the intention of making it to a festival we have been watching with longing and curiosity, the Dirt N Dust Festival.

The Dirt N Dust Festival is 3-day Outback extravaganza, welcoming thousands of tourists who travel on the 1550km Overlander's Way from Townsville to Mt Isa. Brainchild of local citizens for a fun family event at the club one day developed the Dirt N Dust Festival over 18 years into 'an iconic attraction in Outback Queensland'.

Images of athletic sweaty bodies on rodeo and bull rides, bog snorkeling, cow pat throwing and tough international standard triathlon fill our minds with wonder.

Around Goulburn and up through Crookwell in NSW we drove, the road north from here was beautiful. Winding roads and quite a lot of corrugated dirt certainly made us grateful for our mechanic to squeeze us in over Easter for new shock absorbers and CV joints. As we had a full load, the car accentuated every single bump and pothole - which is a lot of bump in 2300km.

We passed by a popular destination for campers called Abercrombie Caves and made a mental note to visit with friends next summer. Lunch in Orange at the Botanical Gardens and kids' adventure playground was a fun surprise. Very much a locals' spot, there were a number of birthday parties in the park and Sunday outings at the Greek-owned cafe whose motto is 'stay calm - and grow a mustache'.

We drove by Wellington Caves, Dubbo and Gilgandra then into Gulargambone. Apart from its great name and impressive corrugated Galah sculptures upon entering the town, it is also the turn off to the nearby Warrumbungle National Park, which we would also like to stop on another trip.

But on this occasion we headed through and rang ahead for accommodation at Lightning Ridge. Although it is dangerous to drive in dusk and through the night, Kevin felt energised and determined to make a bit of distance while the children were so excited. We stayed at Agate St Retreat where our hosts, Rick and Shelley were very friendly and helpful.

Lightning Ridge is an opal mining region famous for its unique black opals. We spent the day following several 'Car Door Tours' around the town. The aim was to follow an explanatory map spotting sites of interest at each colour-coded and numbered car door. The drive was fascinating for us east-coasters and got even more interesting when the locals down one road had uniquely painted car door themselves. We visited old mining shafts, fossicked in rubble and found opal bits much to the children's delight and saw an opal field worth billions of dollars only 20 years ago. We saw fascinating buildings, like a church used in a film set, a hand-built castle from ironstone and a quirky Astronomers' Monument too. One sign to a makeshift home read: Fossicking or Clairvoyant by donation.

A memorable moment at Lightning Ridge that evening was a visit to the hot springs. At 41 degrees we tentatively slipped in and enjoyed a relaxing soak before bedtime. The baths were busy with local families and tourists, a reminder of the differing ways that community socialises.

We stocked up on groceries and were surprised to find that the large supermarket was out of tomatoes - none - not even grape, cherry, roma or regular. Not to worry, we were off to Roma in Queensland - they'd be sure to have some.

We drove out of New South Wales into Queensland cotton country at harvest time. For hundreds of kilometers we saw dry cotton plants harboring fluffs of cotton wool on top, harvesters and transport trucks carrying rolls of 'cotton wool' in rounds the size of large water tanks.

Well, Roma was naed after the first Governor's wife and not roma tomatoes but fortunately we still found some there for our sandwiches. It is a vibrant town that hosts a gas mining industry, road workers, flood workers, health workers and house builders for a growing region. We drove down the Avenue of Bottle Trees that were planted to remember soldiers of World War I.

As there was no accommodation to be found in Roma, we continued on to Mitchell and camped by a beautiful sandy river under the stars. The children said it is the best camping spot ever and wanted to stay longer but a swim, a campfire and an attempt to go fishing Huckleberry Finn style was the best we could do before a hot dry day of long mileage on straight roads with the occasional bounce. We have seen a lot of dry grass, cattle, emus and fluffy clouds.

We stopped at Barcaldine to see the Tree of Knowledge, the oldest tree in town and Longreach which is home to the foundation of Qantas (Queensland and Northern Territory Air Services). We were delighted to see the Queensland Distance Education learning centre too, similar to the New South Wales centre that our children are enrolled in while we are on the road. We carry 4 school bags with us with each child's work that has to be completed and posted each fortnight.

Again we were concerned about traveling on dusk but one man explained that because it was so green, the kangaroos were satisfied elsewhere on the fields and were feeding by the side of the road less often. To crash into a kangaroo on the highway would be disaster for our urban family vehicle.

We made it to Winton on dark, the town where Banjo Paterson wrote 'Waltzing Matilda' and had a well deserved swim at the Matilda Country Tourist and Van Park. Our cabin was alongside a group of enthusiasts who were traveling from Melbourne to Cairns in the 'Shitbox Challenge', a charity car rally that had earned over a million dollars for Cancer research, where all 150 cars had to be bought for under $1000. Sadly, at least 3 cars died each day on the journey much to the disappointment of the 9 support vehicles whose job is was to nurture each vehicle on the pilgrimage.

The best bit at Winton for our family was the Musical Fence which was exactly that, an acoustically prepared fence and supporting drum sets from recycled materials. Our family rendition of Waltzing Matilda was ... memorable.

Heading North, we drove past the billabong where Waltzing Matilda's 'ghost may be heard' and on a by-road to Julia Creek which was freshly graded and a surprisingly smooth drive. That was until 20km out of Julia Creek when we met a roadtrain. These 3 carriage monster trucks stop for noone, not even our family wagon, and a windscreen chip was our casualty.

We are now settled in Julia Creek at the racetrack camping area for the Dirt N Dust Festival. It is 35 degrees in the shade and we are topping up on water regularly. Our youngest are catching green frogs and lizards, Sophie (10) is playing harmonica and Finn (10) has just discovered what cricket feels like in the Aussie sun.

costs involved getting to Dirt N Dust Festival;

Petrol 2300km $490

Food (groceries for 6) $60 per day = $300

Accommodation 2 nights at Agate St Retreat = $190
Camping at Fisherman's Rest, Mitchell = $0
Cabin at Winton Tourist Park = $105

optional extras;

Opal mine tour at Lightning Ridge = $68 family
Musical performance 'Black Queen' at Lightning Ridge = $100 family
Matilda Museum = $50 family

 Ten year old Sophie hit the Workshop Stream at the 2012 National Folk Festival culminating in an appearance as part of the Festival Choir. Impressive!

Festival Australia has just returned from Canberra’s National Folk Festival, which takes place around Easter every year. This year in addition to the fabulous performances, I enjoyed taking part in the many workshops that the Festival had to offer.

Musical festival folk were invited to take part in the ‘Festival choir and percussion ensemble’. I participated in the Festival choir which sang a relay of songs in Zulu about standing up for your rights, as well as a nonsense song with a catchy tune. I didn’t know about the percussion ensemble, however, due to its title in the program. ‘Festival percussion experience’ gave me quite the wrong impression. The two groups performed in the Final concert on Easter Monday in the Budawang which was a tremendous experience.

I also attended a Harmonica workshop with Doug Lyons. I think his lecture was more for beginners in harmonica, as it was on things that I already knew, rather than a workshop.

Another event that I participated in was the song writing workshop on Sunday. Thanks to Mike McClellan I learned heaps about the art of song writing.

A popular workshop was singing with Katie Noonan. She took us through some of her warm-up exercises and taught us about the needs of a singer.

Beside these I participated in a tin whistle lesson and enjoyed some great performances like The Girls of Shamrock Shores, The Battlefield Band, Death Circus and Spellbound Belly Dancing just to name a few.

 All in all, I really enjoyed Canberra’s Folk Festival and I DEFINITELY want to come back next year!

‘Australia’s festival  folk flagship, the ‘National’, draws together people from all around Australia and the world. They come to share in the songs, dances, tunes, and verse that have flowed through the ages from many communities into Australian folk culture.’ Festival Australia's Maddi' Parker reckons that whilst it takes a bit of saving up to get a family of six there, it provides great value for an Easter Holiday with non-stop entertainment and educational opportunities galore.

The National Folk Festival in Canberra was a wonderful experience. With twenty two venues running a full schedule for over 4 ½ days, we arrived home exhausted and very elated. It was a feast for the eyes at every moment and definitely very good value for money for our family of 6.

There was a space where artisans could exhibit their magnificent handmade musical instruments from harp to ocarina, guitar and bouzouki. Sophie nearly got herself a beautiful first harp at the NFF but where was it going to fit in our trusty vehicle as we travelled around Australia this year visiting festivals? She had to settle on a tin whistle instead.

On the street, musicians busked at every opportunity and street performers gave polished and hilarious performances. Finn and Sophie were ‘discovered’ while playing their flute and harmonica on the sidewalk and invited to perform on stage that night in a youth concert where a number of ten year olds got their first gig at the folkie. Internationally known fiddle players The Davidson Brothers were such buskers only a few short years ago we heard a compere saying.

The Piazza was a central dance floor that programmed a variety of workshops and performances including English clog, Argentinian Tango, Bellydance, Welsh dance, Australian Colonial, North West Morris and Cotswold Morris dance and Swing. We enjoyed a tango workshop one evening that left us feeling in awe of the professionals but very proud that we had a go. Our children engaged in a story about orphan girls called ‘The Girls from the Shamrock Shore’ by the Sydney Irish Dance Ensemble one afternoon also.

The Kids’ festival area was a very gentle space where our two younger girls stayed for hours at a time. There was plenty of engaging craft activities such as finger knitting, painting, jewellery and lantern making, musical toadstools and an interactive box city that continually morphed over the four days. The kids’ stage had continuous workshops and performances of storytelling, humour and music. Peter Combe is well known for the silly song ‘Wash your Face in Orange Juice’ and had a wider aged audience with those reliving their happy childhood memories.

Performances that we enjoyed included the Volatinsky Trio, Stringmansassy, Battlefield Band and Kristina Olsen. We also had a great time kicking back at some of the blackboard events to see all sorts of great acts including a ten year old singer song writer called Lucy Sugerman, a school teachers band (all from one school) and the owners of the delicious Corn Fritters food venue doing a gig. What talent!

Twenty workshops a day were also on the program. We went to Singing with Katie Noonan, Harmonica with Doug Lyons, Tin Whistle for beginners and song writing. Our daughter Sophie attended the Festival Choir rehearsals each day with world music harmony and rhythm master, Andrea Khosa. Sitting in the front row at the final concert and watching her sing in Zulu on the big screen was truly memorable.

In our opinion, the National Folk Festival is definitely a great way to spend the Easter school holidays which is well worth the saving effort beforehand.

Costs involved:

2 x Adult Festival Season Passes  including up to 9 days camping and 4 ½ days festival $350 earlybird ($425 at gate) = $700. With 65 hours of events across nine stages and numerous workshops + camping fees etc at approx $75 per day per adult plus food/drink/goodies.

4 x Children aged 5-15yrs $90 earlybird ($120 at gate) = $360. That works out at $20 a day per child for a complete entertainment and educational package!

Vehicle Pass $25

Petrol to and from Canberra $60

Groceries (including a few more treats for Easter and a week for us away from home) $300

Optional extras – festival souvenirs, CDs, yummy world food, bar drinks, tent hire, program

 $1535 for 6 people for a full program for at least 65 hours over 4 ½ days.

This is an average fo us of $57 per person per day or $4 per person per hour for the festival with world class performances and a constant range of options.

Canberra’s National Folk Festival this Easter, 2012 By Sophie

By looking at the program I think that The National Folk Festival is looking as exciting as ever. From early morning yoga to late night bands I am not going to be disappointed with what this festival has to offer.

As I rise fairly early when camping, I think that the Poets’ Breakfast (8:30-10:30 Fri, Sat, Sun & Mon) will be an event to attend. This is a great way for the many poetry lovers to begin their busy day- and there’s food!

I am also interested in participating in the Festival Choir, and would encourage other children to do so as well. I think that this choir is an excellent opportunity for people visiting the festival with an urge to sing and perform.

After taking part in the world’s Biggest Umbrella Dance as a tribute to Mary Poppins on Bradman Oval in Bowral, NSW Australia in 2011, I find myself looking to enter the World Record Book again. There is a perfect opportunity to do so with the Folk Festival’s ‘Lagerphone World Record attempt’. This seems like a great chance to say ‘I took part in that’.

Then there are times where you just want to put your feet up and relax with some good entertainment. The performances I would like to see include; Dance Kaleidoscope (11-11:30 Fri, Sat and 12:30-1 Mon), Le Petite Circus (3-3:50 Fri), Margaret Winnett’s Irish Step Dancers, Flamenco Fire, Riogh, Yvonne Gluyas, Irish dancing Ensemble, The Working Voices Choir and Zombie Choose Your Own Adventure, just to name a few.

All of the above and so much more is to be found at the Canberra Folk Festival, I just can’t wait to get there, and see it all for myself. One place I don’t want to go, however, is the lost children’s post!

 

Festivals for us are a family affair and our ten-year old son, Finn, has cast his eye over the programme for this years gathering.

The CANBERRA NATION FOLK FESTIVAL is an international festival with no doubt. it has a million squillion world renowned performers as well as an extremely large variety of styles.

From Morris dancers to circus performers, from banjo player to bathtub performers it displays that diversity and the differences of everyone, and hippy or not, there will a place for you to relax and enjoy the CANBERRA NATIONAL FOLK FESTIVAL.

Mic Conway and Robbie Long are an act that I am anticipating. The child performers have a great history at the NATIONAL and I am anticipating a great few hours of toe tapping, side splitting performing. Mick Conway can make an instrument out of anything and Robbie Long is the funniest person ever to win the national flat-pick guitar championship, (in his opinion.)

The Simpson Three are a trio of Celtic musicians that perform Irish and Australian music. These three siblings promise a bucket-load of the best traditional, contemporary and original tunes and songs around. Their line-up includes banjo, mandolin and bodhran. The family group have just won the 2011 Folk Alliance Australia Youth Award so they are definitely not missing any talent.

The thing that I want to go and do the most though is definitely Zombie Chose Your Own Adventure, the guy who runs the workshop is a poet and he listens to everyone’s suggestions as together we stop the Zombies from attacking Canberra. Only you can stop the evil bloodsuckers as the nation’s capital is under siege.

But with every festival there are some acts that just don't work for kids and my wooden spoon this year goes to the Working Voices choir. I am thrown off by the name and I am further displeasured by the fact that it is a choir singing of working life. Mum and Dad tell me that they are on their list which just goes to show.

The CANBERRA NATIONAL FOLK FESTIVAL will most indefinitely be a success I am looking forward to travelling to Canberra to hear the voices of some great performers and notorious world class acts.

What? National Folk Festival 2012

Where? Exhibition Park in Canberra, ACT When? Easter Long Weekend each year (April 5 - 9, 2012)

Website? National Folk Festival

                                      

We are going to the National Folk Festival in Canberra ACT this Easter. It is a favourite for our family as we have been there many times before and are familiar with the festival layout and a number of the performers.

We have lots of memories about past festivals; when we lost our teenage son for about 4 days as he explored his options in life, when a street performer badly managed his fire twirling materials, when we were the only people at a performance, when The Waifs were on their way up, when an unknown man in Australia but popular in Japan got off the plane came straight from the airport to the festival and took up a blackboard gig his mate had chalked him in for, when artists fell in love and later married (and one fell off the stage at the Troubadour on final night…).

Negotiating a family of 6 (with four 11 and under) around a fabulous festival program packed full of quality engagement and entertainment should not be difficult. As we are enrolled in distance education whilst on the road this year and are experienced festival goers, we should be able to weave in some informative workshops such as round singing and Festival Choir and some fun ones, like circus skills and comedy writing.

Below are my artist choices,before husband Kevin and the children get their hands on the 76 page program and everything starts to change as the negotiations begin!

 Maddi's Choice

Bukhchuluun Ganburged is a Mongolian Throat singer (Khoomei) and Horse Fiddler (Morin Huur). Producing a sound described as expansive and unrestrained, both soulful and haunting, like a wild horse neighing, or a breeze across the grasslands.

Mikelangelo and the Black Sea Gentlemen is playing a live show of hits and memories in The Majestic on Good Friday 9.30pm. Definitely gotta be there. “The energy and humour that drives the performance is highly infectious and constantly amusing, but beyond that Mikelangelo and his black-clad gents are seriously superb musicians”. We have seen them several times and they are great value but maybe not for the littlies!

Cloudstreet present the very best in vocal harmonies, magnificent arrangements of traditional and contemporary songs and tunes and a compelling sense of show.

Corinn Strating has been a contributing member of the Melbourne and Australian Irish music scene for many years, as a performer and as an avid sessioner. Her love of and respect for the tradition is clear in her flute playing and interpretations of the tunes.

Linsey Pollak live loops saxillo, clarini, rubber glove bagpipes, carrot clarinet, elastic, balloons, melodica and jaw harps. Be entranced by the mellow sounds of a watering can clarinet quartet or bop in your seats to the dose of seventies style funk delivered by “Mr Curly” or his Macedonian Gypsy Brass Band workshops.

Ernest the Magnifico (left) is apparently a unique comic character – he tells us that he could have been a Beverly Hillbilly, he would have been right at home with the Dukes of Hazard, Ernest the Magnifico is Australia’s favourite daredevil so we are told.  Sounds great for kids.

West Australian Union Choir Working Voices (below) sing of working life, social justice,peace, reconciliation and harmony with our environment. They’re a bunch of feisty angels and they stand for what they sing. Our son, Finn, is not so enamoured with the thought of seeing the choir but we are still working on the social justice dimension of his education!

John Colville & Primrose Henderson – Stan Coster Tribute

Their repertoire is rich in the culture, folklore, ballads, songs and dance music of Scotland, and as long time residents of Queensland they hav

e also developed a passionate interest in Australian music.

The Perch Creek Family Jugband sing and dance their unique blend of jug band music, bluegrass, old-time jazz, and country blues to the enjoyment of young and old.

Unfortunately I am very afraid.

Past experience was 4 children insisting on watching the same street performance for 4 days and a major thunderstorm as we packed up to go home. Current experience is that they can read the program now and it has something to interest everyone at all times…

So how are we going negotiate the National Folk Festival line-up?

The National Folk Festival is an event we have attended regularly for almost over 25 years and is a long weekend we look forward to. Situated at the Exhibition Park on the northern side of the ACT, the National offers a large and diverse program and can manage big crowds, even on rainy days. There are plenty  of camping local accommodation to suit all preferences.

We like to set up camp from Thursday and attend the opening night concert. The camping area is close enough to the festival that it will only take a few minutes to walk to any venue, with some areas designated for people preferring a quieter spot. There are enough toilets and cold water taps to provide basic amenities, especially if showers are not high priority.

It is important to remember to pack plenty of warm clothes and bedding because the nights can be very cold. Many moons ago Canberra Easter mornings didn’t worry us, as we were asleep and would rise with the warmth of the day. Years later and 8 months pregnant with twins, the cold struck with a beating stick as we tried to squeeze into our tiny little tent for a ‘good night sleep’. Most experienced campers like to bring their camp bedding plus extra doonas from home if they can fit them in.

Camping also makes the long weekend a little more economical because some food can be prepared at camp instead of purchased at the festival site. We tend to make our own breakfast with hot tea or coffee, bring sandwiches and snacks for the day and buy a delicious meal from the many fine food stalls at the festival in the evening. This way, there is a bit left over for a yummy treat for the children and a Guinness or Coopers for us!

In our experience, planning to camp with friends at the festival is fun too. It can be a way of sharing cooking or childcare and camp facilities plus see concerts with other people. We find it is interesting to hear their thoughts about which shows they enjoyed and what else is going on at the festival that we must try and catch before the weekend is through.

With over 5000 people camping at the National Folk Festival, camping gives greater flexibility to enjoying such a full program at both ends of the day, because it is so close to the festival action for the full four and a half days.

Tumbarumba Sightseeing - by Sophie (10)

After a lovely sleep-in and a late breakfast we all left our holiday house and jumped into the family vehicle (literally we jumped). We circled the town of Tumbarumba three times until we settled at the Tumbafest site. While mum and Dad made themselves known, we kids had a competitive game of Pooh Sticks (everyone drops their stick over the side of the bridge into the stream then rushes to the other side to see which ones come out first.)

Then, after running around the skate park we clambered into the car, drove back home, collected our swimmers that lay forgotten at the bottom of our bags, then started the tour.

We started our tour on a dirt road to Paddy’s Falls. And after taking the 130 step descent to the water a delight met our eyes, graffiti! No, no just kidding there was graffiti on the rocks but the true delight was Paddy’s waterfall. I imagined falling in, not pretty was my conclusion.

A rainbow shines through the fall as we head back up towards the car and we continue the journey.

Next was the Southern Cloud lookout. From this significant lookout we could see the hills that the Southern Cloud plane, where its pilot, co-pilot and six passengers disappeared in 1937, all those years ago. The people on the plane are buried in Tooma cemetery.

We then continued to the Murray 1 Power Station. Where we learnt how all the power it creates goes to the power grid and the provides electricity for 1 million home in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and even Tasmania.

We left the power station to try and find a pool or a creek to swim in. Mum guided us to one but not before displaying her skills as a lostbrarian.

The place we found was a Pub next to the Murray River. We enjoyed lemonade and a swim and were looking forward to tomorrow’s festival.

 Tumbafest Area Sightseeing by Finn (10)

Tumbarumba- try saying that fast three times over!

Tumbarumba is holder of the annual Tumbafest and has been since 1997. Before watched any music though, we proceeded on a sightseeing tour of the nearby area, the Snowy Mountains region.

First we travelled to the majestic Paddy’s Falls which were awesome. There was a tunnel between the rock face and the beautiful cascades but Dad would not permit me to venture through the gap. It was a great experience all the same.

The Southern Cross lookout was a learning experience for me and hopefully my 3 sisters; being told about the crash of the late 1930s and the plane’s uncanny discovery 20 years later was great.

On our way to the Murray 1 Power Station we kept imagining potential ‘hazardous crashes’ as we spotted planes flying past. Although we stopped when our caring mother/guide/teacher/lostologist pointed out that the planes weren’t on fire and weren’t crashing but had blinking lights and were landing!

The Murray 1 Power Station had an electric feel- and so it should because when all systems are go, it can provide full electricity for 1 million homes! The way this power pumping system works is that the mighty Murray River flows into 3 pipes which, at the bottom, have wheels that are spun by the water very fast and an ingenious system turns the force of the wheels into electricity via powerful magnets.

On our way back to our ‘home for the week’ some of us were transformed into Monsters by mysterious forces (mud puddles - picture below). All in all we had a great day.

The Pipes by Lily (7)

When Finn and I saw the pipes we thought they were water slides but when we got to number   one power station we noticed they weren’t water slides they were pipes. Finn and I thought what if they were water slides that that would be so much fun. The problem is if they were water slides the big blocks at the end will have to be taken away and instead a pool. You know the water slides or should I say pipes were 220 meters long then dad took a photo of the pipes so we could remember how much fun it would be if the pipes were water slides.

The fish in Tumbarumba by Freyja (6)

We saw a fish in Paddy’s River.

When we left the falls, the fish came too.

“We are going to Murray 1 Power Station”, Finn said.

 “yes”, Lily said.

Sophie said, “What? Do you think they will be nice?”

“Look over there!” I said. “It is a fish”.

“We’re there” said mum. Mum pulled back the engine and we all got out. When we got inside we wanted a turn of the turbine. To do the turbine you spin a circle. It was so much fun.

After that, we went for a swim at Tumbarumba Creek. Me, Finn and Lily got so muddy that dad’s head nearly fell off.

We floated down the creek.