Bushwalk Australia

Finally, I've made an end of it! All shopping is done and nearly all hiking monies are expended. Thank you all so much for your VERY patient help. Whether I followed your advice or not, I certainly paid attention to it and took it very seriously! Here's what I ended up with:

WE Karijini Pack (Large)
Vango 55 Sherpa Pack (for helen)
Tatonka Ambros 12l Pack (Laura)

Coleman Phad x3 Tent

Kovea Moonwalker Butane Stove
Backpacker's Barn SS Billy
3 Sea-to-summit bowls
3 enamel mugs
3 sporks
1 long spoon
1 el cheapo trangia knock-off (will cannibalize and use cook stuff)
1 Sea-to-Summit folding sink

We went synthetic with our bags for a) cost and b) moisture resistance. All of these bags cost me under $500 Aus, and all up they weigh 4kg. I was all set to go for down, but in the end we decided that hiking with down bags and a 5 year-old in a wet climate was not the best idea. We'll upgrade later if needed, but with the addition of the downmats, I'm sure they'll be plenty warm. Also, the Northface bag will fit my buffalo butt comfortably.

Mountain Hardware Lamina 20 Woman's Bag for Helen
Northface Mammoth 20 for Mr Big
Northface Blueridge 20 for Laura (5 foot kid's bag)

Here's the big money: For sleeping mats:

3 Downmat 9 Pumps (from Moontrail- got me a free pair of goretex gaiters with them!) We were going to go for the PO Ether Thermo 6 Mats, with all three costing the same as one downmat, but tonight Helen talked me into the Downmats, since she hates sleeping on the cold ground. I guess with a bad back and some old lung scarring from chemical burns, she needs to be kept up off the ground and warm. While I have no doubt that the PO mats would have done the trick, the Downmats will be 100% sure to keep her warm (and the rest of the family too.)

So now, I wait for it all to get here, add a couple of minor things (a bottle carrier for the karijini, a rain jacket for Helen, and a pair of boots for Laura), and we're totally kitted out.

Thanks again all! Now I just have to carry it all somewhere interesting.....

Incidentially, our base pack weights are as follows, including some water but no food:

Laura 2.9kg (she weighs 23kg) (Downmat, clothing, Gerald the Giraffe, 500ml water) (Gerald is VERY important)
Helen 8kg (misc gear (cooking, first aid, etc), clothes, snacks, raingear, GPS and/or EPIRB, downmat)
Me 15kg (Tent, sleeping bags, my downmat, food, clothes and raingear)

Helen and I will split the food.

I could have gotten my weight down to 12-13kg, but that would have been around $1700 more, and would have involved using gear made of ultralight materials. I wanted to avoid this.

this works out to be just under 9 kg each.

Congratulations - pretty good weights too- leaves scope for luxuries too if you choose!
Where do you think your first test o/nighter will be to?

Well, I'd consdiered taking the ferry up to Narcissus Hut, as Laura would think that was awesome, spending a few days up there daywalking etc, just to get her used to it, but Lees Paddocks is closer and would be good fun too. I'll let the missus have the final say. I have a list somewhere of walks we could tackle while Laura is still small, in preparation for longer stuff. I'll have to see if I can find it.

It seems that you've put a lot of careful thought and research into it, and listened to a lot of advice. I hope you enjoy using all the new gear, and I'll look forward to hearing how it all goes. Lees Paddocks and Narcissus are both great flatish places to take kids or people who are just getting into walking.