We left Kakadu bound for Western Australia. I was particularly excited to be homeward bound. We decided not to tackle the Gibb River Road in the end because while Tom and I were keen to try it, we realised that the kids were not going to cope with the demands of the Gibb, nor were they going to appreciate the beauty of the region, as well as the fact that we were not going to be able to stock enough food for us all. Tom and I have come to realise that waterfalls, gorges and swimming holes are to Australia as churches are to Rome and our kids were reaching saturation point.

So we headed west not really sure what we were going to do. We had hoped to spend a few nights at the Zebra Rock Mining Camp Stay but they had closed for the season. The retail shop however was still open (just) so we braved the corrugated road in to find out exactly what zebra rock is as I had never heard of it.

Basically it is an unusual rock, found only in a small pocket of the world on the border of NT and WA, that has unusual patterns that resemble that of a zebra. It is pretty cool actually. Check out the website: Zebra Rock Mine.

The kids were invited to polish their own piece of zebra rock and were encouraged to take the rock home and promote its preservation.

I was lucky enough to pick up a bargain pair of earrings.

The mine also had a few local friends that the kids were introduced to.