Departing from Perth Western
Australia
Heading Northwards
Departing 15-04-2007 for Geraldton and then on to
Kalbarri.
Nanga Bay, Shark Bay, Monkey Mia, Hamelin
Pool & Carnarvon
Nanutarra, Paraburdoo, Tom
price, Karijini & Port Hedland
Broome, Derby, Fitzroy Crossing & Halls
Creek
Kununurra, Lake Argyle & off to
Northern Territory
First Stop – Geraldton and then on to Kalbarri
At last we
are off! Everything is ready so it is simply a matter of hooking the cars up
and leaving.
No! There
are the tears at the exit happening.
A phone
call from our fellow nomads and it is decided that we will leave at 08:10Am and
meet at a truck bay about 10 kilometers out of the Swan Valley. 08:22 and we
are off and as we come up on our friends we ring them and they pull in behind
us. We traveled until 10:30 when it is decided to stop for fuel and a coffee
break. We all decide to then travel through to our first stop, which is The
Rivermouth Caravan Park at Cape Burney North (Greenough) about 10Km out of
Geraldton. Upon cresting the hill into the Greenough area it is a view, which
told us that our trip was beginning. We checked out our site and were pleased
with our choice of Caravan Park. 20 minutes later we have met our neighbours
“Peter & Jenni Greenham” who are teaching at Mount Margaret (an aboriginal
outback school) but are on the end of their holiday break. Peter informs us
that it is after drink o’clock (which we learn is anytime after midday) and so
soon we are all enjoying a drink. Some calculations are made and everyone seems
to think that the 5Km per litre that we have achieved is very good but that
David’s consumption of around 7Km per litre is extraordinary. Three days at the
river mouth and we are off to Kalbarri via Northampton.
The trip to
Kalbarri was via Northampton and Port Gregory with “Tom Tom” (the sat nav
system) 
protesting all the 
way. This was a more economical trip, as our fuel consumption was much
better because of the flatter terrain and with the winds behind us. Dave
achieved around 7 km per litre.
On arrival
at Kalbari we checked in to the Murchison Caravan Park, which was full to
overflowing due to the school holidays.
The Pecks scored the top spot with lawn and even their own palm tree
whilst we had a lovely location but in a sand pit which made it almost
impossible to stay clean. They put up their annex whilst we just set our awning
and decided to spend most of the time at their place.
Kalbarri
has so many walks and sight seeing trips as to keep most people busy for as
long as they wish to be busy. The best of them would seem to be “Mushroom
Rock”, if you do its associated walk and of course the River Gorges where the
“Z Bend” walk down into the valley although challenging was enjoyed by all. At
right is a photograph taken from the “Red Bluff” lookout path looking back
(away from town) which gives an idea of the terrain.
We spent a
week in Kalbarri and enjoyed every minute of it!
Nanga
Bay Holiday Resort, Shark Bay (Denham) Monkey Mia, Hamelin Pool & Carnarvon
We left Kalbarri with the intention of staying at “Nanga Bay Holiday
Resort” which sounds very nice but on arrival was discovered to be a desolate
and very run down complex of yesteryear. We booked for 2 nights as it would
allow us o do a day trip into Shark Bay & Monkey Mia in one car on the
morrow. After setting up and carting rainwater to fill our water tanks (as
there is no drinking water on tap) we set off for “Shell Beach” to watch the
sunset whilst sipping on champagne – This was Mary’s Idea and a worthwhile
visit as Shell Beach is quite unique. Next day we went to Shark Bay (which is a
very impressive modern town in growth mode and a good idea to take a look at)
and then on to Monkey Mia (which was also interesting although we missed the
Dolphin Feeding), with both being easily fitted into a day trip. On the way
back we stopped several times at small inlets or bays and at every place there
was an abundance of small shells that the girls seemed intent on collecting. On
leaving Nanga Bay for Carnarvon we stopped at “Hamelin Pool” to see the
“Stromatolites” a worthwhile and interesting visit. On to Carnarvon which had
been described as a go through by all and sundry. How wrong hey were as we all
enjoyed Carnarvon and even stayed an extra day when we realized that the
blowholes would be a day trip easier done in one car. In retrospect we should
have taken our caravans as you can stay for $5.50 per day and it is an
excellent spot for snorkeling, fishing or just chipping oysters off the rocks
for consumption. Many warned us that the snorkeling at the Blow Holes (which is
in fact past the “Blow Holes”, around the corner in the next bay and is often
missed by outsiders) is superior to that experienced at “Coral Bay” our next
stop.
Carnarvon
was the best part of this lot!
Coral Bay and Exmouth
After
around 240 Kilometres travel from Carnarvon we arrived at Coral Bay. If you
like snorkeling it is probably OK but other than that it is a bit like Nanga
Bay except with grass. There are unlimited flies to go around and once again we
are carting drinking water. The caravan park is very expensive being 50% more
expensive than we are used to paying. Mary went snorkeling immediately we
arrived but 
complained that visibility was poor so she will try again tomorrow. I
checked out the town and am already looking forward to leaving for Exmouth in a
couple of days. Around 2 hours after leaving Coral Bay we arrived in Exmouth.
We booked into “Ningaloo Caravan & Holiday Resort” and it is a joy to at
last have a nice shower to use (other than 
the one in our caravan). We had several recommendations for other
caravan parks but we got it right this time. Located in the middle of town and
walking distance to lots. Off to the post office and we picked up our first lot
of mail as “care of” clients. In the afternoon we went as a group to the
“Charles Knife Gorge” (picture at left) and “Shothole Canyon” both of which
were spectacular. Thursday (I only know the day name because Mary told it to
me) it was decided that we would go our own ways so Mary & I made our way
north then down the western side of the peninsular to eventually arrive at
“Turquoise Bay” where Mary went snorkeling whilst I planned our next trip,
sitting in the car park. After she was finished Mary made a snacky lunch of
“camembert cheese on rice thins” and we enjoyed a couple of “piccolo”
Champagnes (photo at right) given to us by Cathryn & Bruce Cann before we
departed on the trip.
Nanutarra, Paraburdoo, TomPrice,
Karijini National Park & Port Hedland
Off to tom Price and the Karijini National Park is done via the Nantarra
Roadhouse and on to Paraburdoo. The drive is too 
long to be enjoyable as a “big drive”
so we elected to do our first ever outback, self-sufficient stop at a
little stopover near “Mount Stuart” on the Nanuturra Wittenoom Road. We were
incredibly brave and pulled our caravans up in a “Wagon Train” configuration.
After a short walk to check for boogiemen and a few drinks (we still have some
of the 100 odd bottles we are carrying between us left) we all felt confident
to spend the night. Of course shortly after we had settled in to it being OK
several other campers arrived and we were no longer alone anyway. We are
pictured in our campers in the before mentioned 
configuration in amongst the wilds of the area. The second picture is of
Mary counting the number of drops you can get out of an empty Gin Bottle (17) –
which is very interesting as you get 23 drops out of an empty SSB bottle. Next
morning we are off early to Paraburdoo (where we did some shopping) and then
off to Tom Price. Tom Price turns out to be an oasis so we booked into the
caravan park for one night so we could do the mine tour the next day before
heading into Karajini National Park. The mine tour is the highlight of the stay
for Mary & myself (The Pecks decided to go their own way for a couple of
days and would be catching up with us in Karajini) as it (the open cut mine) is
the biggest gorge we have seen so far. Mary & I are pictured at right next
to one of their trucks. After the tour we proceeded to Karijini which is self
contained camping in a controlled by CALM environment. They provide a site of
red dirt surrounded by steel posts, drop dunnies and gas barbeques all for just
$6.50 per person per night. Once again we were very please to have our caravan
with its own shower etc and were able to live a somewhat civilized life even in
this trying environment. It is amazing how quickly you adapt to conserving
water when you only have 94 litres for three days but we were so good at it
that we only used about 40 litres during our stay. Karijini National Park is
nice but quite a disappointment 
after what we have already seen in our travels. The gorges are OK but
nothing like the photos in the books they sell. This could be either because of
the inaccessibility of the places depicted or maybe there is lighting,
airbrushing or manipulation involved??? We did not see any bright blue rocks
etc but we did see some pretty spots. Oh and by the way if you aren’t good with
heights most of the walks will terrify you and may even cause you to need
councilling by “Jack” (with coke or on ice) on arrival back at home base. At
the bottom of one of the gorges there was a pool 
that even I swam in and in addition we forded our first ever, raging
torrent in the park – photographed at left. Best gorge so far “Exmouth”! Off to
Port Hedland next - Port Hedland – Yuk Yuk Yuk – We stayed here just one night
and then left for Broome. Due to the distance involved on this trek we had to
do an overnighter on our own again but we are good at it now so we just picked
a spot and rolled into place claiming our space. The picture above shows our
setup and brings to mind a short story. David is wearing his fly net which has
become almost normal practice in the outback but what makes it interesting if
not just bl##*dy funny is that I once witnessed him blow his nose right through
the net – Whoops!
Broome, Derby, Fitzroy Crossing & Halls
Creek
Civilisation at Last! We arrived and immediately booked a week at the
“Cable Beach Caravan Park” They even have showers that you can swing a cat in
(with a little boomp on each side) and there is a resort style swimming pool to
enjoy. This place is a joy after some of our recent stays and we will be here
for at least a week. We spent the first couple of days unwinding and then
became adventurous again. Off to see the Dinosaur footprints where most
tourists settle for the casts at the top of the cliff and avoid tempting fate
to try to wash them (the viewers) off the rocks whilst viewing the real thing.
Nope not Mary so down we go to view them and after nearly an hour we found two
of the four prints. By now we had 10 minutes before the sun would be fully set
so we had to scurry back up before we couldn’t see our way back and when you
consider that you can only see the prints at low tide and that the tide rises
some 8 metres the only option to a quick exit is a long swim which in my case
would equal drowning. Other highlights of Broome were going to the local
football match where we watched the “Emu’s” annihilate the “Saints” (both teams
of which were all but the one token white player) in a truly entertaining
display by mostly fearless players in extreme competition. The only complaint
with the “Cable Beach Caravan Park” is with their wireless internet service
where they charge by time ($10.00 per two hours) but in fact your connection is
intermittent and you do NOT get two hours of connection. In one case we
achieved less then 10 minutes of actual connection time (I have logs available)
for our two hour allocation so eventually after spending $40.00 with them frustration
set in and we gave up trying to do anything other than basic email. By the way
they also charge $5.00 for a one page fax so we found this exorbitant but think
their wireless Internet service should probably be investigated further.
As we
extended our stay in Broome for three extra days and did not depart until
Wednesday morning (23rd of May) 
when we were off to Derby.
In Derby we
checked in to the “Kimberley Entrance Caravan Park” where we 
met Ian McKay who is the most jovial and helpful park owner/manager we
have met to date. He found us a site each and suggested a layout, which gave us
a very cosy situation to enjoy for the two nights that we were booked in for.
Derby has a lot more to offer than 
expected. We investigated the town in the afternoon and then booked a
flight to the horizontal falls for the following day. On the way to the airport
we visited the “Boab Tree Goal” then off to the airport where you tend to find
tourists wandering around not quite sure where they should be as the main terminal
is not manned and many other buildings simply have signs saying “please go to
the main terminal”. We found “Eagle Airlines” and they took us on an excellent
sightseeing flight with a landing that was probably the most exciting part of
the experience. On arrival back in Derby we visited the aboriginal art gallery
where we discovered we could no longer afford the art on offer and then we
proceeded back to the caravan park. After we had dinner we were visited by Ian
(the park manager) who offered us his uneaten lunch (he had become too busy to
enjoy it) as a snack. YES PLEASE! Two fine looking Mud Crabs cooked and ready
to enjoy – Thanks Ian!!!
The 25th of May and we leave for Fitzroy Crossing where after
two hundred and fifty or so kilometers 
we arrived at “The Lodge” caravan park and resort where 
we booked in for two days. This too is a very fine establishment but we
felt a little sorry for those that did not find it as the other options did not
appear to be anywhere near as nice. Mary and myself decided to try the old
concrete Fitzroy River Crossing and were lucky enough as to be able to make it.
All of us visited the Geikie Gorge where we took a CALM boat trip and saw our
first fresh water crocodiles. They are not very big and they won’t eat you
(they eat mainly insects until they get really big at a couple of metres or so
when they will take on birds and small animals) so I am still looking forward t
seeing my first salt water crocodile. From Fitzroy Crossing on the 28th
of May we will be accompanying the Pecks to Turkey Creek where they are
stopping for a bus tour (We have been told not to even slow down for Halls
Creek” with some suggesting that it may be best to speed up to go through it)
and we are driving on with planning to stop on the road (in a camp site) as
close to Kununurra as is comfortably possible.
Kununurra, Lake Argyle and off to
Northern Territory
In fact we
arrived in Kununurra on the 28th after our longest ever drive, at
6PM. Booking into Ivanhoe Resort Caravan Park (which claims to be a 5 star
park) at such a late hour was made easy by their people but it is not a
practice to be recommended as it is too late to be setting up.
On waking
the next morning we booked a flight over the Bungle Bungles with “Alligator
Airlines” for 2:30PM and then off shopping to replenish our supplies. Booking
our tours through the park has one big advantage in that we are picked up from
our accommodation so at 2PM we are collected by the airline. Luck is with us
again as our aircraft is empty other than ourselves so we have the run of the
aircraft to view the Bungle Bungles (huge and immediately apparent that this is
the best way to see them), the Argyle Dam, two station homesteads, a community,
The Argyle Diamond Mine, etc. Tuesday morning and it is time to do some
housework as this caravan park is our first to encourage washing of cars,
caravans, etc to water their lawns for them. Mary is dispatched to wash the caravan
roof which generates a lot of interest in the park as most caravans will not
carry any weight on the roof whereas the European models have to withstand a
snow tolerance (this should be great if we make Bathurst – second story
viewing). Of course I was the one cleaning the car but we did work together on
the 
caravan. Next we received a surprise visit from the Pecks who have
finally arrived in Kununurra and booked into a different caravan park out by
the lake. 3:35PM and the BBQ bus picks us up for a river cruise barbeque, which
proves to be great fun. Thursday and we are picking David & Merrilyn up to
take them to “Hidden Valley National Park”. This national park didn’t take long
so we went to town to buy Merrilyn a new pair of shoes where of course Mary
found a bargain pair for herself. She left the shop after paying for them but
didn’t notice that the girl had not removed the security thingy from them. Half
way through putting them on she discovered the problem so off she goes to have
it removed but without realisng that she didn’t look that good with odd shoes
on! Next, we then visited “Hoochery” (a rum manufacturer), “Zebra Rock
Gallery”, “Middle Springs” & “Black Rock Falls”. The latter spots tested
our vehicle which surprised us all with getting through what David called a
real four wheel drive track! Friday and we are taking a cruise up the Argyle
where we are lunched and then after some sightseeing, bussed back to our
caravan park where it is time to immerse myself into bookwork for the end of month
accounts. This trip was done through “Triple J Tours” and was the best tour we
have experienced to date. The brochure they put out doesn’t show off their
equipment – a boat that brags two 300 Hp motors and cruises with 40 or so
people on board at 50 something Kmh – a commentary over four plus hours that
keeps everyone entertained and then a luxury bus to return us back to our
accommodation. Forgot to mention lunch in a company nook etc.
Saturday and we are picking David & Merrilyn up to take them on a
day trip to Wyndam before returning in time for Mary & Myself to go to the
Kununurra Moon muster featuring artists such as Marcia Hines & James
Blundell, Etc, Etc. A good show to be sure.
Sunday and
David picked us up for a trip into El-Questro. Lots more gorges (even though I
am all gorged out – “not more ##2**# gorges) but admittedly they were amongst
the better ones yet. We had our soak in the hot spa and did all the other
tourist stuff. Monday is a day of rest and preparation for our penetration of the
Western Australian border and off into the Northern Territory.
Last
revised: Date Tuesday, December 16, 2008