A Lap of Australia Part 2.
Darwin - Perth. 13th July -1st August 2023
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| Warming up |
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| A friendly croc |
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| Pink bushes |
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| Yellow flower trees |
no leaves. Also a pinkish tree that, combined with the yellow flowered tree really contrast with the green woodland all around. Crossed the big South Alligator river and suddenly we were in bare flat wetlands with very little vegetation at all, but probably teeming with bird life in the wet season. (Note - Why “Alligator” river and not crocodile river - No alligators in Australia ?). Then, as we entered the Kakadu Nat Park, the tree life suddenly changed to small palms and fresh water pandanus. Always a land of contrast, Australia, but you often have to search carefully for it. Arrived in Jabiru at 2 pm and was very hot, so checked into first campsite I came to, found a shady spot, and set upcamp. This was not the one that I had stayed in previously with Janet, and was not as nice as I remembered, but was OK. I had found some bread rolls in Woolworths in Darwin this morning that were sold individually instead of the usual 6 packs, so had one of these with ham, cheese and tomato (and a hard boiled egg) for lunch, washed down with a cold beer. Perfect after a hot days drive. Very poor telephone signal again - not sure if I will be able to post……again. The telephone service here is really atrocious.
Day 12. Friday 14th July. 494 kms. Jabiru to Victoria River
Woke up early and it was cool so got up in the dark and packed up by torch. Managed to get to the showers JUST before the large bunch of rowdy kids on a coach tour got there - Thank goodness. They really were quite out of control and obnoxious both last night and this morning. Last night I had syphoned out a little bit of oil using a length of plastic hose I carry, and the oil level this morning was just slightly over max, so all ok. I left the camp at 7.30 am and it was already hot so I decided to head south back to Katherine rather than go the extra 35 kms or so to Cahill’s crossing to see the crocodiles fishing over the road ! I had seen that before, and in this heat, with no air-conditioning, exploring and doing extra miles is not really any fun, and also not really the object of this particular trip. This one is to do a Lap - stay on the black top, and enjoy the drive. So the crocs can wait !
Filled up with fuel in Jabiru before heading out, and quite an interesting drive after Katherine. I stopped in a lay-by for lunch and a couple were already there having their lunch - Bill and Sue Patterson. Started chatting and it turned out they were from Hay, and reckoned they remembered our good friends Jos and Tony who used to live up there. Small world ! Anyway, as they packed up to leave, they donated $10 to the charities - Thanks Bill & Sue.
I was planning to get to Timber Creek to camp, but Bill & Sue told me that Victoria River was supposed to be good, and by the time I reached there, I had had enough for the day and pulled in at about 3 pm. Right in the middle on nowhere, a big property with servo, bar, restaurant, and cabins - And wide open fields by the river. Given all the croc warnings, I decided to stay well away from the river in my tent, and camped up in the main area, under the shade of a big tree. As usual, while driving I had seen lots of whistling kites who were searching for road kill along the road, and even a couple of big eagles who are much less timid than the kites, and usually on take off when you are right upon them. Wonderful to see them, but very hard to photograph, especially while driving ! There are also a lot of cattle loose on the road out here, but fortunately with the long straight roads, it is fairly easy to spot them and avoid them.
Day 13. Sat 15th July. 528 kms. Victoria River to Doon Doon Roadhouse.
Woke up to a lovely cool morning at 6 am, showered, packed up, and was on the road by 7.45 am. Immediately I was driving though amazing red cliffs that were all around me - A great way to start the day !! Saw an eagle sitting on a branch at the top of a tree by the road, but he flew away before I could stop and get the camera sorted. Refueled at Timber Creek and in a while we crossed the Northern Territory / Western Australia state line
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later when I saw the turn off to Lake Argyle I thought I would go down there and see if I could get in for a night or two as it is a beautiful spot. 35 kms in, and when I got near the campground there was a queue of caravans and motorhomes as far as you could see, all waiting to get in. Apparently the checkin desk didn’t open till 11 o’clock, but with all those vans lined up, I decided I didn’t want to wait an hour or more in the hot sun with the likelihood that they wouldn’t have any space anyway. Not important enough for me to fight crowds like that……. So I drove the 35 kms back out to the main road and continued to Kununurra where I refuelled again.
I then carried on until I found Doon Doon Roadhouse which was a great spot, and with good showers at the end of another hot day on the road,
2 Tropes parked next to me - One was a Swiss couple in a Cruisinator that I had looked at a couple of years ago…..Very similar pop top set up as mine but with a larger roof which gives a lot more space inside. Not cheap though….They were in Aus for 6 months and going to sell their van at the end - I told them to think about shipping it back to Switzerland as it really is the camper of choice in that part of the world ! I wonder if they will. The other couple were Flora and her boyfriend - Its her Troopie with the numberplate Flora ! When they heard about my S America trip their eyes lit up and they are going to think about it. Told them to contact me if they needed any more information. Fun chatting to them all.
Then to bed !
Day 14. Sun 16th July. 443 kms. Doon Doon Roadhouse to Ngumban Lookout
First day in Western Australia and the sun was up at 6 am - Forgot that we had put the clocks back 1 1/2 hours when I entered WA yesterday !! Got to Warmun Roadhouse and decided to fill up with fuel, but it was a bit crazy. They have a 24 hr fuel system there where you pay via a machine, and when I paid at the machine, no fuel cam out of the pump. Tried again, and then started worrying that it might take money but not give me fuel ! Some of the locals tried to help, but that didn’t work, and meanwhile some ladies off a tour bus were asking if they could take my photo with thecae !! Eventually the owner came out and we used a different pump, and it ill seemed to work OK, but I shall be keeping my eye on my credit card account for a few days to make sure no unsolicited payments go through !
Saw several eagles on or beside the road, and just SO many caravans on the road - Its almost like driving through Sydney ! Everyone seems to be on the move ! At one creek the water was still flowing over the road and we had a 6 inch deep water splash !! Some very varied vegetation too, while there were some truly massive bomb trees out there - Biggest I’ve ever seen At times it was really rocky out there with some quite big hills beside the road, and was it my imagination, or was it getting slightly cooler ?? I have to say that I find that while driving along with windows open and at a slower speed than usual, I find I am much more connected to the countryside out there. At this time of year the air is quite cool - It is just the direct sun that is hot. So with the wind blowing in your face it is not hot - although the interior of the car gets hot, and it is hot when you stop.
Pulled into Halls Creek for fuel - Always a delight ! The one gas station was crowded, but most of them are after diesel, so frequently the line for regular petrol is empty and I just cruise in, fill up, and leave quite quickly. Saw Bill & Sue briefly, who I had met at lunch a couple of days ago, and then met Richard and Sue who had been following me for the last 100 kms so we had a chat. They were in a medium sized 4WD truck and were going to all sorts of off road places ! Then, as I walked across the car park, a car pulls up and the lady hands me $100 !! She didn’t really want to talk - I asked her name and she said it was Neezh (with a z h she said) and just drove off. Thank you !!
The gas station in Halls Creek is a Coles Express with quite a large shop inside, and the shelves are jus t packed with big bottles of soft drink, instant frozen eals, and canned food. Nothing fresh here at all.No wonder the health problems are so bad up here. Very sad.
But despite that, I was really enjoying today.
Lots of big rocky outcrops beside the road about 40-55 kms outside Halls Creek - Really quite impressive, some of them, with caverns scoured out of the sides by the weather over years and years. I wonder if people could live in some of those caves - Must be a bit cooler in summer ??
About 120 kms past Halls Creek I came to a roadie rest area that was up on a cliff top overlooking miles of country side. I did not want to drive on into Fitzroy Crossing in the evening, nor did I want to camp there, so these cliffs, called Ngumban Lookout, were perfect. Quite a lot of ther vans were already set up for the night there, but I found a relatively secluded places and set up camp. A neighbour John from Adelaide was nearby and travelling on hois own and soon came over to chat - But I could see why he travelled on his own - He was rather boring !! Everything was better in South Australia - The sunsets, the people, the roads. I started to wonder why he even left SA t come up here - Yet apparently he does it every year !! Ho hum.
Noodles for dinner, then bed !!
Day 15. Monday 17th July. 520 kms. Ngumban Lookout to Broome
Cool morning - And windy. In fact had to get up in the middle of the night and take down the awning and roll it up as it was flapping so badly and shaking the tent. It is odd in the tent when the wind blows even a little, because the trailer is so light, that it shakes a little as if some one is shaking the trailer ! Quite disconcerting initially and I had to look outside to see if anyone was there, but now I just ignore it !!
By the time I had packed up and breakfasted it was starting to warm up, and before I had gone very far down the road I found two big Jabirus (like storks), dancing round and round in circles with each other, and obviously having lots of fun doing it. It all happened so quickly that I couldn't get my camera out, but was a great sight. As I drove on towards Fitzroy Crossing there were lots more tall cliffs and rocky outcrops, and several eagles hanging around looking for some breakfast from the overnight road kill. Finally, just coming in to Fitzroy Crossing, and in need of fuel, there’s a man standing in the middle of the road in a hi- vis jacket, waving me off on a detour. On a very dusty dirt road that had just been graded through the bush ! I was in the lead of about half a dozen caravans, and there was traffic, including trucks and trailers, coming the other way. I tried to wind the windows up to keep the dust out, but it was so hot with them closed that I had to quickly open them again. Dirt roads are no fun when you don’t have air conditioning !! After about 4 kms of this came to another man in a hi vis jacket sitting beside the road on a chair, with a STOP sign. While waiting there, I realised that he actually had a set of temporary traffic lights in front of him, but someone had obviously crashed into them and destroyed them - So the man was now in control ! About 10 minutes wait, he got on his two-way, leisurely got up from his chair and walked over to flip the STOP sign round, and we were off again ! This time we twisted around a bit and then dropped down onto a temporary causeway they had built across the still very full Fitzroy River. Lots of flood debris both up and down river, so I started to realise they must have had some really major damage here a couple of weeks ago in the rains. The dirt detour road continued for about another 4-5 kms until we suddenly arrived in Fitzroy Crossing from the back side, and all headed to the one fuel bowser. It turned out that the floods had basically washed away the main bridge over the river and made it impassable, which had left a lot of travellers, and trucks, stranded in Fitzroy Crossing for the past two weeks until they were able to construct this temporary causeway that we had just crossed. I have to admit that FC is not the best of places to be stuck in for a week or two !! Anyway, all is getting back to normal now, so after filling up from the caged fuel pump, I headed on my way out of town.
Driving along it was noticeably greener on this side of the Fitzroy River, and all the boab trees, which had just naked branches to the east, were now in full bloom and covered in bright green leaves. Quite a difference. I carried on to Willard Roadhouse where I refuelled and as it was lunch time I bought a Mrs Mac’s meat pie that cost $7.50 !!! Although that did include sauce. Its a good job it was a tasty pie at that price !! While I was filling up with fuel 2 ladies, Lyn and Christine, came over and started chatting about my chosen charities, and ended up giving me $30. They were on an APT tour bus that was stopped at the roadhouse and had seen me on the road earlier and wanted to contribute. Thank you, ladies. While I ate my pie in the parking area. I decided I might as well carry on to Broome, because there are some great campsites there, and Cable Beach to see as well as other sights, so I headed off again.
When I arrived in Broome it was only about 3 pm, and I had passed several campsites 25 kms out on the highway and wondered why people would stay so far out of town. I went in to town and went to a couple of campsites - Full, and not even taking bookings for 2-3 weeks !! They all told me to go to Broome Gateway as they had space. So I went to Broome Gateway - It is 25 kms outside town and one of the sites I had seen and wondered why people stayed so far out - Now I knew ! Broome is absolutely chocker - and not only that, apparently the campsites in town are charging up to $90 a night for a camp site ! Just ridiculous. So I will be staying at the Gateway for the next week until son Damien’s flight comes in from his rig next Tuesday, and paying just $18 a night, with a free night if you book for a week !! Facilities aren’t so flash here - No powered sites, although the showers etc are fine, and I figured if I drove into town every couple of days it would charge my auxiliary battery and keep my fridge running - The only power I really need. All good.
Day 16. Tues 18th July Broome
My first night not having to get up and hit the road - And a friend calls me from Queensland forgetting he is now two hours ahead of me ! 6 am my time !! Morning !!
Lots of people came over to chat while I was getting my breakfast. Fairly dusty camp site, and totally without power - Some sites have water. But showers and laundry etc are all good - And its all that is available in Broome, so it will have to do.
Lazy morning doing a few things, then I headed 30 kms into Broome. Found Cable Beach with lots of people sunning themselves and swimming in the blue blue ocean. Then I went on further round to where the restaurant Zanders overlooks the beach, and there is a road down on to the beach where, at low tide only, you can drive further north along the beach. This is also where they set up the camel rides at sunset. Unfortunately there is a sign saying “4WD’s only” on the beach, which rules Clementine out, but as it was high tide, no one was around, so we went down for a quick photo shoot ! I then went up to Zanders restaurant and had delicious fish tacos and an Elsie beer (available only in WA). Very pleasant lunch. After that it was off to Woolies and BWS and a camping store to stock up on groceries, beer, gas for my stove, and petrol before heading back to the camp site. The run into town gives the auxiliary battery (that runs the fridge) a chance to charge. I had bought a cooked chook as well, so chicken, mash, peas and gravy for supper tonight, along with a cold beer.
Still hot in the sun but supposed to cool down in the next few days. Plan to stay here till next Tuesday so I can meet D off the rig when he flies in. Cold at night - Needed my sleeping back liner !
Day 17. Wed 19th July. Broome
Woke up and breakfasted at 6.30 - No wifi, not even a phone signal, and no power to charge things so fridge is draining the battery faster than I expected, and a drive into town each day is not sufficient to top it up. ! Luckily I have fitted an auxiliary battery with an isolator switch between it and the main battery so that any draw (like the fridge) doesn’t drain the main battery and I can always start the car. But I was going to need more charging power. I could hire a little generator for a week, but that needs petrol and is hard to carry in the VW. So after considering all options, I went back to the same camping store that I had gone to 3-4 years ago and bought a fold up portable 120 amp solar panel set. Ironically I had bought exactly the same unit from them 3-4 years ago for Troopie, but unfortunately it is sitting inside Troopie in Qld !! It was a bit cheaper 3-4 years ago too !
Red and white tailed black cockatoos flying around the site - they must nest around here. Great to see.
After buying the solar panels I then spent the day in the public library. I remembered overnight that when I was in Alaska and Canada, everyone always went to the library for wifi because it was also warm ! Sure enough, Broome is the same - Cool (in the heat), wifi, and phone and computer chargers ! The library was packed with people all doing the same as me. So I managed to catch up on the banking and send a few emails and charge stuff.
By the time I got back to camp at 3pm there was a bit of cloud and I didn’t get much of a charge into the battery, so the fridge wasn’t working too well. Bit concerned, and slept on the issue. I ate no supper as I was just not hungry, as I had eaten a bread roll for a late lunch.
Cold again, but managed to keep warm with sleeping bag liner and socks - Good sleep !
Day 18. Thursday 20th July. Broome
Woke up early and set up the solar panels to catch the first rays of sunshine. I have to slide the fridge over in order to clips the wires on to the battery terminals (I can easily make the connection more accessible once I get home) but otherwise it is a really easy set up. Even made toast for breakfast (with Vegemite, of course !) and then did a load of laundry and hung it out to dry - Which it did in the warm breeze in about 20 minutes ! By noon the auxiliary battery was over 12V, and the fridge down to 6 deg C, while I was also charging my phone as well, so it looks like my charging issues while I am stationary in Broome are resolved 👍 - Unless it turns cloudy !!
Met a nice couple from Armadale - Gavin and Narelle.
Days 19 - 22. 21st - 24th July. Broome
Solar panels working really well - Everything fully charged. But still absolutely zero phone service, so I can't even make a phone call - Apparently Telstra is doing repairs, but this is ridiculous. So the only way to do anything is to drive the 30 kms into Broome and go to the public library.
Tim & MaryAnn Monteath, old friends from Perth, are up here currently and drove over to my site and we arranged to meet for dinner at the Roadhouse next to their camp site. I then drove into Broome and was at the library for a while, but it closes at noon on a Friday so went to Woolies and did a shop for supplies. Trying to arrange to call Sarah for Olivia's birthday, but it is almost impossible !
Had a great night with Tim & MaryAnn, and their travel friends Ross & Felicity, who also donated to my charities. Ate and had a few beers at the Roebuck Plains Roadhouse.
Next morning I chatted with camp neighbour Tony who runs a charity for the Prostrate Cancer Foundation, so we had a long chat about some of the issues with fund raising. Otherwise a lazy day, cooking some spaghetti sauce for later, and also negotiating with the campground over costs - ended up being refunded $126 ! Finally got through to Olivia on the phone for her birthday.
Sunday was very windy, and I was worried about my tent blowing around so I pegged out a couple more guy ropes before I headed into Broome. I made sure I knew where the heliport was so I could meet Damien on time on Tuesday, and then went to Matso's Craft Brewery and restaurant and had an excellent meal of mushroom vol-au-vent and creme brûlée, together with their mango beer, which was surprisingly acceptable with desert on a warm day.
On Sunday, most stores are closed up here, but I got a few supplies from Woolies - Came out into the car park to find a family in a really nice Troopy parked next to me, and as I said "Nice Troopy", the husband was saying "Nice Type 3 VW" !! Had a good laugh over that one. They are headed to Townsville.
Monday was again very windy so kept the extra guy roped in place just in case, and then drove into town. I pulled over to answer the phone at one point and a lovely lady (Helen) came over and handed me all she had in her purse - $14.50. She was an oncology nurse who lives in Broome and was just out for a walk - Lovely lady.
Filled up with fuel in preparation for tomorrow, dumped the porta potty, and headed back to camp. Tried to clean up the passenger seat and footwell so Damien could get in there tomorrow ! I had also noticed that as the weather cooled down, the stretcher style camp bed I was using was quite cold at night, seemingly with the cold seeping through from underneath. So I put a thin foam sleeping mattress I was carrying underneath my sleeping bag and it was noticeably warmer - Shall use that from now on as I head south and the weather gets cooler.
Day 23. Tuesday 25th July. Broome to Goldwire Rest Area. 272 kms
Well I am back on the road after a week in Broome, but still suffering from a lack of phone signal so I can’t post. Get an occasional signal during the day when I am driving, but because I tend to camp in remote spots, nothing at night when I want to post. Anyway, 7 days of doing little in Broome - So crowded in town that the only camp spot was 30 kms out of town. So I would go in to town for supplies or to use the library wifi for banking etc, but otherwise just had a lazy time in the warm sunny days but cold nights. Son Damien came in to town from his rig by helicopter this morning (Tuesday) so I went to meet him (reason I have stayed in Broome). When he was little, Janet use to bring him down to the helipad when I came in from my rig in Dubai, so a bit of history there…..Lovely to see him come in on the chopper, then we went for a quick lunch down at Matso’s craft beer pub before I dropped him back at the airport so he could fly home to Perth, while I set off on the road again, getting about 150 kms down the road towards Port Hedland before I stopped at Goldwire rest area and free camped there. Boring yet amazing scenery - short scrubby bush for miles, then suddenly just no vegetation at all for about 20 kms, like a massive flood plain. Then suddenly, in a straight line, the scrubby bush started again, except where it had burnt out. Fascinating to see.
Day 24. Wednesday 26th July. Goldwire to Peawah River Rest Area. 547 kms
Hit the road by 8 am and boring … Bush, plain, bush, plain etc etc ! But lots of eagles and kites to watch as they take off as late as possible before I arrive ! “Just one more bite ? Please mum ?” !! Then I got to Sandfire roadhouse to refuel and when I arrived it was almost empty, but by the time I came out from paying the place was a madhouse of camper vans and and motor homes - All fighting over 2 diesel pumps !! Sometimes it pays to use unleaded ! And amidst it all a peacock walked serenely between the pumps ! (see arrow on photo ). Excellent chilli chicken bites btw. 80 kms further on drove past the almost totally destroyed Pardoo Roadhouse that was devastated by Cyclone Ilsa earlier this year and has remained closed ever since. Hoping to reopen before too long. Massive rocky outcrops started to build up as I neared Port Hedland, but otherwise not overly exciting. Boy, has Port Hedland grown ! It’s all salt and iron ore - as it was 15 years ago when I worked this area out of Perth, but now 10 times the size. And those iron ore trains ? 2.4 kms long, and up to 40 a day. Making money while the sun shines !! And on the roads all the trucks have 4 trailers not 3, while the piles of evaporative salt (and the salt lakes they farm from) just seem to have all got so much bigger. After driving around I set off towards Karratha, (a road I have driven so many times before !) and it is still just as boring ! Good to see again though - it may be boring but it is amazing in its immensity and variation. The Pilbara is amazing.
Got as far as the Peawah River rest area - excellent spot for the night. All good, despite hundreds of cockatoos in the trees.
Day 25. Thursday 27th July. Peawah River to Robe River Rest Area. 349 kms
Warm night for a change - No extra clothing required !!
25 kms after getting on the road I arrived at Whim Creek. When I used to drive between Hedland and Karratha for work always used to stop here for lunch. But another roadhouse destroyed in the recent cyclones. This one more so than Pardoo as local people keep breaking in and stealing stuff. I spoke to a guy who is now the caretaker. Ironically the place is actually owned by the locals !!! Unbelievable. But Ross (caretaker) says hopefully they will be up and running in 8-12 months. So sad as it is such an iconic place.
And Ross donated to the charities. What a legend.
Then on to Karatha and Dampier - Like Port Hedland, just grown exponentially, and of course all the places you used to be able to just drive to are now all sealed off with gate passes required due to regulations, and Health & Safety etc. So while it was interesting to drive around and see how it has grown, visitors can now see very little of interest.
Leaving Karratha I came to a level crossing - boom gates down and lights flashing as one of those 2.4 km long trains went across. Then the train stopped - blocking the road crossing - and we couldn’t see the engine or the tail !! Got chatting to the truckie of a big triple behind me and he said these trains are now DRIVERLESS - All driven by computers ! (Eat your heart out Elon Musk). And apparently they have computer glitches sometimes and the trains automatically then stop - apparently it is not infrequent. And if they are in the middle of a level crossing, tough !!! Luckily this one only took about half an hour to unglitch itself, and we were off again.
INCREDIBLE drive from Karatha to Robe river camp spot 100 kms down the road. The Pilbara was stunning in the afternoon sunlight - this is another new piece of road for me and I rate it up there with the best I have seen. This part of the world has some bleak and barren scenery, but in the right light it suddenly shows you something that knocks you for six. At Fortescue River bridge the sudden view was so stunning I parked and tried to walk down to the river to recapture it, but couldn’t. So I drove back over the bridge and came back again - But some traffic came and messed it up so I had to drive back and do it a 3rd time to try and get the pic I wanted. (You can’t walk on the bridge.). I then stopped overnight just down the road at Robe River free camp, right beside the river. And if you thought there were a lot of cockatoos last night, tonight there were 10 times more - unbelievable racket. And some people were camping right underneath them !!! Noise is one thing, but 1000’s of cockatoos also go to the loo all night - can’t wait to see those vans in the morning . And as for the noise ? No problem for me - hearing aids out and I have blissful silence.
Excellent day. Lots of people came up to chat in the camp site. Ken really keen to know more about tuning VW's - He lives in Shailer Park and will call me once he gets home, along with his son in law Hayden. Also chatted with a great couple from Wantirna - Geoff and Sandy. Interesting evening. Tomorrow off to see another old M-I workmate just retired so looking forward to that.
Clementine continues to fire on all 4 cylinders but I am not sure if she still has all 54 horsepower that she started off with - I think a couple may have fallen by the wayside.
Day 26. Friday 28 July. Robe River to Bullara Station. 302 kms.
Fascinating day. Easy warm pack up in the morning and a fairly straightforward drive to Nanutarra Roadhouse where I fueled up and stopped for a while while I had some phone reception. Passed a sign to a Station (farm/property etc) “80 kms to homestead”, and all dirt road. Some isolated places out here - imagine if all you needed was a pint of milk. And the country side today was so flat in places I swear you could see the curvature of the earth quite plainly ! And the frequent floodways are signed with depth markers - 2 metres is enough to sink me, but 4 metres ?? Just imagine the volumes of water involved in this wide open country !!
Scenery-wise a lot of flat open country, with occasional rock mounds and mesas just to make you wonder at the geological age of some of this country 😳
I had been in contact with another ex work mate from Perth who is up here on holiday, and he was staying at Bullara Station, a farm stay campsite a little out of my way up the Exmouth Peninsula in the extreme NW of this land, so I detoured because the timing was so perfect. What a place ! A working property with sheep and donkeys and horses all wandering around, but with a superb camp ground organized so you are not all packed in like sardines but spaced out among the trees. And you have to see the open air toilets and showers - absolutely brilliant !! At 6pm it was food and party time down at the woodshed cafe where they mass cooked hamburgers on a massive open fire pit (a bbq would be the wrong word !) for about 200 people ! BYO chairs and drinks and sit around listening to the live music while chowing down on some great burgers. What a great night, even more so being able to catch up with good friends James and Iris and James’s brother Chris.
What a great day and evening. Have to come back to this place !!
Day 27. Saturday 29th July. Bullara Station to Edaggee Rest Area. 363 kms.
A late start at Bullara Station. Delicious coffee down at the Wool Shed cafe with James, and then he totally spoiled me by cooking bacon and eggs on his bbq, as well as some kind of black pudding which I have never tasted before, but was actually rather nice !!
James & Iris were heading N to Exmouth so I got out about 10 am (including another coffee to go from the cafe !!) and headed out on the dirt track. Clementine definitely does not like corrugations ! Luckily it is only about 1 1/2 kms out to the sealed main road, so we both survived at about 5 kmh !
Had a lovely chat with a couple as I left - Bethel and Ray. He actually has early macular disease so is getting it treated early which is SO important.
Out on the road heading south of the Exmouth Peninsula it is SO flat. And lots of termite mounds that looked more like tents in a camping site than termite houses. Crossed the Tropic of Capricorn but there were 3 or 4 caravans trying to overtake me just when I needed to slam on the anchors to turn into the rest area, so never got the chance to stop and take a photo. By the time all the vans were off my tail I was 3 kms past ! Did I mention how flat it was ??? Anyway, no longer in the tropics.
Stopped for fuel in Minilya and then again in Carnarvon, where I did a detour into town just to look around. Saturday so everything closed and no one around, but it seemed a nice little place around the big ocean inlet there. The surprise in Carnarvon was the extensive agriculture - Bananas growing everywhere, fruit trees ( mangoes ?), and quite a lot of vegetables and tomatoes. I never knew the ag business was so big around Carnarvon. 🤔
I only drove another 60 kms S of Carnarvon (a bit less flat than before !) and stopped in a big rest area / free camp at Edaggee. Great spot and only half a dozen vans there. I am learning that most vans like to go into camp sites so they can have water and power to run their heaters and washing machines, and all their other comforts that they forgot to leave at home etc etc !! That leaves the free camping areas available for people like me who enjoy the true “camping” experience !
Spag with Parmesan etc for supper, and a cool night so a good sleep
Day 28. Sunday 30th July. Edaggee Rest Area to Denham.
Not too cold this morning but a very heavy dew. The outside of the tent was quite wet - No leaks but the roof inside sure collects condensation from my warmth inside !! Car was also absolutely soaking. But sun came out and soon warmed everything up.
Headed down the road towards The Overlander Roadhouse and the turn off to Shark Bay and Monkey Mia. Hundreds of feral goats beside the road this morning - They are everywhere and starting to climb the trees for fresh leaves like the ones in Morocco that climb trees to eat the Argan nuts !! Also a lot of fresh dead Roos this morning which meant hundreds of crows and quite a few big eagles enjoying breakfast. It becomes quite a “dodge the body” exercise because I don’t have the ground clearance to straddle them like the big 4wd’s do, so you have to time your avoidance swerve to also miss oncoming traffic. Keeps you awake. And actually saw a live skippy today - first in quite a long time. Which raises an interesting point (to me, anyway !). All these goats all along the road, and not one dead one. But loads of dead Roos. Does that mean goats are smarter than Roos ? Or just more fleet of foot ?? Hmmm.
Then I came round a corner and there was a big cliff, and I could see some people at the top. So I found the turn off and went up and it was a crater that was SO big you couldn’t see the other side !! To be exact it is 360 million years old, and being 120 kms across is the 4th biggest in the world !! Makes Wolfe crater look puny !! And the diameter of the meteorite that caused it was between 6-12 kms !!! I am sure glad I wasn’t driving down this road 360 million years ago cos it really would have given me a helluva fright !!!
Bit of excitement even today.
I fueled up at the Overlander Roadhouse and then turned off the main road to Perth and headed up towards Shark Bay, Denham, and Monkey Mia. Been 30+ years since I have been up this way. The road is pretty Ho hum - Just low scrub as far as you can see, while the mostly straight road itself undulates endlessly. But glimpses of blue blue sea on either side of the peninsula keeps you enthused. Trouble is that up here this really is 4wd country. All the campsites and beaches were down sandy tracks so I was getting a bit concerned. Then I arrived in Denham and the first camp site had a vacancy and overlooks the Bay. Even better, when the owner saw I was raising funds, he waved the $35 fee for me ! So I told him I would put the $35 into the charities anyway. Thank you Jason at the Blue Dolphin Caravan Park.
Set up then went for a wander through the sleepy little town - Bit really fun and relaxing. All fishing up here - Boats everywhere. I only eat fish, not catch it, so I will just watch !!
Another fascinating day - Uou never know what you are going to see in this country.
Two more days to Perth ? And Clementine keeps purring along, raising lots of smiles and comments everywhere she goes !!
Day 29. Monday 31st July. Denham to The Billabong Roadhouse
Another very heavy dew with everything wet - how to stop condensation on roof inside tent ? Yes, windows are open !!
While packing up a lady came over and said “You know my son in law James Cobb” (the guy I visited 2 nights ago.). Perplexed, she then told she was Iris’s mother, Inneke, and was camping just 50 metres from me ! Small world !! After I had picked up and showered I went over to their van and had a long chat - his name is Jos, they are originally from Holland, and I told him my daughter in law’s father was also called Jos ! 🤣
I then went down to the bakery and bought a bun for my lunch - and also bought an apple turnover because it looked SO good.
It was 😋
Had a chat with a John in a Troopie who is also battling cancer, and then set off to Monkey Mia where I arrived at 11 am and you can supposedly feed the dolphins - at 7.45 am !! Also, as was the case when I was here 30 years ago, only a select few get to go on the water with the dolphins - The rest of you have to stand behind a rope fence 5 metres back from the water. Hmmm. Also very developed since I was last here - all apartments and restaurants and T shirt shops. And $10 entry fee - even after the dolphins have gone !
Had an ice cream and left.
Met Geoff & Lorraine from Castlemaine who are also MG Car Club members, so had a long chat with them and a couple of others.
Then drove all the way back, through Denham again and back to the main road and the Overlander Roadhouse again, where I refueled, again. Just before wrong to the Overlander I turned up Useless Loop Road, which leads to Steep Point, the westernmost point of the Australian mainland. Unfortunately the track is only for high grind clearance 4wd vehicles, so Clementine and her trailer didn’t qualify !! So now I have nearly been to the northern most point, and also almost to the westernmost point. Now I just have to almost find the most southern and most eastern points to complete my collection. 🤣
Managed to get another 50 kms down the road to the Billabong Roadhouse which has free camping out the back plus a couple of showers and toilets. Top spot !! Set up camp and chatted with Christine and Ken from Bunbury, who also donated to the charities - Thank you guys 👍
2 more days to Perth ! Looking forward to a rest !!
👋
Day 30. Tuesday 1st August. Billabong Roadhouse to Dongara.
Woken up at 6 am by my dear sister in the US ! I asked her to call back later !!
Breakfasted and packed up and then had an excellent shower at the Roadhouse, so I set off down the road all squeaky clean ! After speaking to my sister !!
As I got closer to Geraldton, the scenery started to become much more agricultural - We left behind the scrub and bush that has been my constant companion for some 2 weeks or more. Then I saw a turn off to Kalbarri signed as a Scenic Alternate route, so I took it. And was immediately back into the native scrub and brush of Kalbarri National Park. Fairly long and boring and undulating drive all the way to Kalbarri, but once there, it really is a rather pleasant little seaside town with open areas and walkways, with cafes and campsites beside the road. The town is around a bay and there is a very rough coastal bar for boats to negotiate if they want to come into the calm Harbour. I watched one boat come in and it is quite a complicated procedure. I then walked up onto a hill that commemorates the wreck of the Dutch vessel Zytdorp in 1712, unfortunately with the loss of all hands. Seeing the big waves and rocks all along this coastline, I am not surprised. A little further on I came to a bay where the rocks go right out past where the waves break, so one can stand on the rocks and watch surfers surf right past you as they head in on the wave. I remembered that from 30 years ago once I saw it.
After several detours down to inlets with clear blue water, and later on passing picturesque pink lakes (caused by algae), I eventually came back to the main Highway south at Northampton, which is a beautiful old town with some great historic buildings. From there it was on through the now fairly major port and town of Geraldton, and I only got another 50 kms down the road to Dongara where I am spending the night on the city oval, along with a number of other campers. A very interesting and scenic day.
Perth tomorrow !!!! 😊. I worked out that by the time I reach Perth I will have done 6078 miles, or 9725 kms ! And I still have to get home !!! 😳
Day 31. Wednesday 2nd August. Dongara to Perth.
It was clear when I went to bed, but overcast and raining when I woke up - first rain since I left Qld ! Good rainbow though, and I managed to pack up without rain, although the tent had to be packed away wet.
It ended up being overcast and rainy all day, so I pressed on to Perth, arriving at about 1 pm, and I will stay here for 2-3 weeks with my son Damien and his family.
So I will stop daily posting for now, get the car serviced and checked over and oil changed, and then be back when I continue my adventure and head back to east across the Nullarbor.
FOOTNOTE : For some reason I am currently unable to link my photos into the body of my blog. I am trying to work out the problem. In the meantime all I can do it provide a link to my photos that you can see separately.
The photos are here :- https://photos.app.goo.gl/fpGUcebuX62Wn5zP6
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