Well this a big occasion.  This is the 100th blog update since we started back in 2015.  After doing the first couple of blogs I never thought we would get to five, let alone 100.  I still remember all the hassles doing the first couple and cursing myself for ever starting.  But like everything we do it does get easier and after a while its just motivating yourself to do an update.  Anyway we have done it so will be popping the champagne corks tonight.

From Hopetoun we headed a bit further around the coast to Munglinup Beach for a few nights.  What a beautiful spot this is.  You are only about 40 metres from the beach and protected behind sand dunes from the wind.  The weather was perfect while we were there and we also managed to get some fishing done.  Didn’t catch much though.  Munglinup is a lagoon that is protected by a reef and even if the sea is rough you can swim and snorkel in nice calm waters.  At only $15 a night we thought it was pretty good.  It was also very popular and was full every night, there are only 15 sites so it didn’t take long to fill up each day.  Definitely putting this on the “must visit again list”.

It was very hard to leave Munglinup.  With perfect weather and such a pretty spot you could stay here for a lot longer and watch the days slip by.  But leave we did and our next stop was at Stokes National Park for a couple of days.  This was a well set up camp area alongside the inlet.  This area was settled many years ago by the Moir family but now is mostly National Park.  The drive and visit to the old Moir Homestead was well worth a visit though the signage to get there was virtually non existent.  We did wonder if they were trying to discourage visitors to the area as the road in was also very rough and quite narrow.  The homestead still has some buildings standing, though only just and there is a magnificent Moreton Bay Fig near the house that was worth seeing on its own.

Esperance was our next destination.  Our plan was to go to Cape Le Grand National Park from Esperance.  There were fires in the park when we arrived so we booked into the caravan park for a week and hoped that the fires would be under control.  We had our booking arranged for Lucky Bay at Cape Le Grand so had our fingers crossed.  Esperance has some lovely coastline and the drive along it takes in some great scenery.  We even had a couple of days warm enough to go for a swim at Twilight Beach.  Just out of town is a full size replica of Stonehenge as it would have looked when it was first built.  This was originally planned to be erected in Margaret River but the project went broke so a couple from Esperance purchased it and put it up on their property.  Its well worth a visit and very impressive to see.

As luck would have it the fires at Cape Le Grand didn’t affect the Lucky Bay camp area, must be in the name.  So after a pleasant week in Esperance we headed off to Lucky Bay.  We hadn’t been out this way for many years and the change to the camping areas was very impressive.  The Lucky Bay camp has around 60 sites and it was full every day.  Lots of us grey nomads as well as families travelling around.  Very common now to see young families on the road all the time.   We were lucky to get a camp site close to the water but also protected by trees from the wind.  The facilities at Lucky Bay are excellent with flushing toilets and hot showers if you need them.  At Cape Le Grand we did a few coastal walks in different areas to some bays and also climbed Frenchman Peak, quite steep in some sections but not to bad a climb.  Also looked at Thistle Cove, Hellfire Bay and Rossiter Bay.  Of course Lucky Bay is also well known for kangaroos on the beach and we weren’t disappointed, they were there.  We only had one little bit of rain and this was at night so didn’t stop us from getting out and about.  Lucky Bay is definitely more popular than Cape Le Grand itself.  When we visited Cape Le Grand beach there was virtually no-one there compared to Lucky Bay.

Five days was a good length of time to stay at Lucky Bay.  From here it was back to Esperance for a couple of days.  Time was up to update the blog and also get a few groceries and then head off towards Norseman and then across the Nullarbor.  Our trip to get this far has been great and we have certainly seen some very impressive WA highlights.  Hopefully the rest of our trip will keep being just as good.

After our goodbyes to all in Bremer Bay our next stop was not that far away to the Quaalup Wilderness Retreat.  This was a massive 46km trip for us, though a very dusty gravel road into it.  This is just an open campground with no power or water but they do have flushing toilets and hot showers if you need them.  The retreat has an old historic homestead on it that was originally built by the Wellstead family and is now owned by a young German couple who have created a wilderness retreat.  Its pretty basic but at the same time quite unique.  I just hope they can continue to build it up as it does need some work done to it, especially the facilities as they are starting to look a bit run down.

There was quite a bit to see and do around Quaalup as it is on the edge of the western side of the Fitzgerald River National Park and Quaalup is quite a good base from which to see this side as well as some of the coastline in the area.  Our biggest walk we did in this area was climbing West Mount Barren.  This wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.  The National Park is also home to a plant called the Royal Hakea that was quite stunning in its appearance and had a very stiff hard leaf structure.  Also the difference between this plant from the west side of the park to the east was very noticeable.  We also managed to get the car stuck in sand again but now that we know about Toyota’s function to get out of these situations it wasn’t a problem.  Another great thing was that on most of the beaches we visited we were the only ones there.  A great feeling.  Also in the National Park at Point Ann was the start of the No2 Rabbit Proof Fence that still has a small part that you can still see.

After a nice stay at Quaalup for three days we travelled off to Hopetoun for a few nights.  This also gave us a chance to have a look at the eastern side of the Fitzgerald River National Park and also climb East Mount Barren.  We booked into the Wavecrest Village which was very good. They also have a tavern at the village which was a good excuse for another pub meal.   We had been in Hopetoun previously in May a couple of years ago and it was interesting to see the contrast in the flora and the amount of flowers around in the bush.  There were some nice ocean drives around Hopetoun that gave you nice panoramic views.  This was also where we saw the big difference between the Royal Hakea to that on the western side of this park.

Hopetoun was a great little stopover and next it was off towards Esperance but with a couple of short stays on the way there.  We were looking forward to this part of the trip as we had heard that some of the areas to stay at were very stunning.  Its a pity we don’t have a coastal road down this part of the state as some of the beaches and bays are truly stunning and an ocean drive would rival anywhere in the world.  Maybe one day this might be a reality.

From the Porongurup’s we headed off to Albany for a few nights.  This was another short 37km trip for the day.  Love these short drives.  My Bunnings list was quite long so that made the trip even more necessary.  Albany also has a Dan Murphy’s so that was also high on our list of places to visit.  We really enjoyed our last week in the Stirling’s and Porongurup’s and definitely would like to come back one time.  We checked into the Happy Days Caravan Park and were very lucky to get in.  They gave us the last powered site they had left.   Apparently there was a big croquet weekend coming up and Albany was booked out.  I didn’t realise that croquet still had such a large pull of players, good to see.  I think we ended up with the best site of all, our space was huge and no neighbours.

It had also been a long time since we had been in Albany so we were both looking forward to seeing what new sights there were to see.  We had heard quite a bit about the Field of Light display and also the new National Anzac Centre so we were looking forward to visiting both of them.  We weren’t disappointed.  The Field of Light display was very popular with many visitors there on the night we went.  We also did a great walk while in Albany called the Point Possession Heritage Trail.  This was on the southern side of Albany around past the Whaling Station Museum.  A nice easy 3km walk that took you along some coastline and beaches and through some nice coastal bushland.  It also provided some great views back towards Albany harbour.

We had a nice stopover in Albany but was on the road again and next stop Bremer Bay.  Bremer Bay was the only commitment we had made so far on this trip.  We were meeting Steve and Carol, our next door neighbours from Perth and also my sister Jan plus Chris and Ellie the dog.  Steve and Carol had already been in Bremer for a few days and Jan and Chris were arriving the same day as us.  We had booked in for 8 days so it time to chill out for a while and slip into Bremer time.  We were all in the Bremer Bay Caravan Park and boy was it busy.  Now all the kids are back at school it’s time for the grey nomads to travel and enjoy themselves.  The caravan park had the “sorry we are full” sign most days.

We were very lucky weather wise for our time in Bremer with fine days for most of our stay.  The wind seemed to pick up a bit each day but died down at night where the nights did get a bit chilly sometimes.  It was good to see Steve and Carol again and they both seemed to be enjoying there stay down in the south.  Jan and Chris arrived a couple of hours after us and once set up it was time for start of many sundowners. 

Chris and myself did try fishing off the rocks not far from the caravan park.  I had got a new rod for Christmas and was keen to see if it worked.  There definitely is a difference between fishermen on what you class as a big fish.  I threw most of mine back as I thought they were too small to keep while Chris thought all his were “big” and kept most of them.  It was all good fun and we did have a couple of good feeds of fresh fish.

The Wellstead Museum is also well worth a visit.  The displays are excellent and well presented that shows a good history of the early pioneer days around the area.  The displays of vintage cars, motor bikes and tractors is as good as you will see anywhere.  The café at the museum also does great pizza’s.    Chris also had his birthday while in Bremer Bay so that was a good excuse to celebrate and go out to the local pub.

Well our eight days were up quicker than we wanted but it was time to go.  Steve and Carol were staying on for a few more days, lucky them, Jan and Chris were meandering slowly back to Mandurah and we were continuing on towards Esperance.  We all said or goodbyes and it was on the road again.

We were keen to visit the Stirling Ranges and in particular climb Bluff Knoll, so from Walpole we drove to Moingup Springs Campground which is inside the Stirling Range National Park.  It is a well set out campground not far off the road and has gas bbq’s and flushing toilets, a real bonus.

The day after setting up camp and just relaxing a bit we got up early and prepared ourselves for the climb to the top of Bluff Knoll.  The climb is a Class 4, so hopefully wasn’t going to be to bad.  The start of the climb was quite easy then it started to get a bit harder and after about an hour we were starting to feel every step.  It is only a 3km walk to the top but by halfway we were really starting to see how much we were out of condition.  We ended up having quite a few “rest stops” on the way up and the view was worth the effort.  We had a clear sunny day that ended up getting fairly warm so we felt we earnt our long rest at the top.

The following day after climbing Bluff Knoll was quite warm so we just did an easy day drive along Stirling Range Drive that took you past a few lookouts.  The road also took you along a few high points that let you take in the nice vistas.  I think the best time to visit the Stirling Ranges would be in spring when there would be a lot more flowers out, might be a bit cold though so bring your thermals.

From the Stirling Ranges we travelled down to the Porongurup’s for a couple of days so that we could do a few walks around the area.  This was a massive 40km drive for the day.  We stayed at the Porongurup Range Tourist Park, a small little park but well run with good facilities.  It was also raining when we got there so our planned walks for the afternoon were looking grim.  As luck would have it the weather cleared by about 1:30pm so it was on with the walking shoes and off.

Our first walk took us past the Tree In The Rock, up to Hayward Peak then around to Nancy Peak and Morgan’s View.  It was listed as a Class 4,  5.5km walk but seemed a lot easier than a Class 4.  One thing that really stood out was the difference in landscape between the Stirling Ranges and the Porongurup’s.  From a distance of only 40km between the two the change in flora was very striking.  The Stirling Ranges were a lot drier with low greenery and the Porongurup’s were quite lush, almost tropical with moss on rocks and tall trees. As we got closer to the top of this walk the clouds were coming over again and at the top we did get a little wet as well as on the way down.

Day two in the Porongurup’s and we were going to do the Granite Skywalk.  Apparently at the top of this walk/climb there was a skywalk that you could climb up to.  This was also listed as a Class 5, 4km return walk so we were preparing ourselves for something similar to Bluff Knoll.  If you compare the two walks we both felt that the Bluff Knoll walk was a lot more strenuous with more rock climbing compared to this one.  We weren’t complaining mind you.  The only bit that we thought could have been classed as difficult was the last bit of access to get to the skywalk.  We felt that this last bit was what made it a Class 5.  The Skywalk is very impressive when you get to it and a very clever piece of engineering.  The views are worthwhile to.

Both the Stirling Ranges and Porongurup’s were great trips and we really enjoyed our time at both places. The difference between the both of them when they are only about 40 kilometres apart is amazing.  The Porongurup’s must get a lot more rain that the Stirling’s.  Would definitely come back here again, I think spring would be a good time.

Well its 2019, Christmas and New Year are behind us and its time to head off on our next trip away.  The plan at this stage is to head down to the south west of WA for the summer, then across to the Eyre Peninsular and then onto Queensland with no real time frame.  Hopefully all goes well.  We seemed to survive our last update with the changed format for the blog. The photos seem to download differently, slightly bigger and the caption also slightly different.

The caravan has been sitting idle for a few months so hopefully everything will still work when we head off.  Our first stop when leaving Perth was down to Australind for a week.  We were planning to catch up with Robyn Garwood, but when we got here Robyn was away on a cruise, lucky her,  and wasn’t coming back until after we had left.  We booked into the Australind Tourist Park which is on the Old Coast Road into Bunbury.  We were very surprised how busy the road was all day and night.  Its a nice park though we wouldn’t stay there again because of the noise.  It is very constant.  A big surprise to us as well was that after we had been there for a couple of days our new neighbour pulled in next to us and it was my Aunty Judy.  Judy and Ray had come down for their annual golf get together and always stay at this park.  It is a small world at times.

We had some excellent weather while in Australind and even managed to go to the beach a couple of times for a swim.  That was interesting learning how to body surf again.  We did a couple of drives and walks that included Crooked Brook Forest, Leschenault Peninsular Conservation Park, Wellington Dam and the Collie River.  Kaye has slowly got me back into walking lots and keeps telling how good it is for me.  Unfortunately for me she doesn’t have the same aches and pains that I do.

Our week seemed to go quite quickly in Australind and before we realised we were on the road again heading a bit further south. We stayed at a small camp site called Karri Gully Picnic Site. This is not far off the road but road noise was virtually zero after about 6pm. You can walk a small section of the Bibbulmun Track, which we did of course. This was a very neat little camp site that you can very easily miss if your not aware of where it is.

Our next stop was a camp site called Sid’s Campground.  What a gem of a place.  No power or water to hook up to,  but there are hot showers and flushing toilets.  The sites are huge and clean.  While camped here we were very lucky to see a Splendid Blue Wren that was as blue as blue.  Absolutely magnificent and we both felt very lucky to have seen it.  We did one of the small walks around the property that showed some of the diversity of the place.  Would definitely recommend a stay here if ever passing by.  At only $10 a night very good value.

Walpole was our next stop and this was for a week.  We had been to Walpole with our previous van so this time we decided to stay in the other caravan park, the Walpole Rest Point Caravan Park.  We arrived a couple of days before Australia Day and it was probably a good thing we had booked.  Generally we don’t book ahead but for some reason we did.  Lucky because over the Australia day weekend it was jammed packed. 

There are quite a few things to do and see around Walpole with probably the most well known is the Tree Top Walk in the Valley of The Giants.  There are some nice drives that include Mandalay Beach, Conspicuous Cliff, Peaceful Bay plus a few walks that included Mt Clare and Mt Burnett.  Mt Clare also gave us another opportunity to walk a small section of the Bibbulmun Track.  This was also where we saw our first people walking sections of the track, a couple and a girl on her own.  By now I was starting to get my walking feet back in the groove and Kaye was having trouble keeping pace with me.

After a week at Walpole we seemed to pack quite a bit into it.  It was great to be able to do some short sections of the Bibbulmun Track, who knows maybe one day we might get inspired to do a longer section of it one day.

What a long time it has been between posts.  Have been very lazy and fallen way behind in all posts.  With my memory the way it is now it will be interesting to see how much I can remember and how much I have to make up.  They have also changed the blog home page format so we have no idea how this first one will turn out.

We had arranged with Jan and Chris to go to the Kulin Bush Races as they had just purchased a new caravan and were keen to try it out.  What better way than to go to Kulin and free camp in a farmers paddock.  We decided that we would leave Perth a bit before the race weekend and do a bit of a slow travel towards Kulin and meet up with Jan and Chris in Kulin a couple of days before the races.  As the weather was still quite cool we also decided that after the races we would head a bit further north and go to Steep Point for a bit warmer weather and also tick off going to the most western point of the Australian mainland.

Our first stop on leaving Perth was at the Oak Park and Gnamma Holes at Walyomouring.  This was a nice easy 150km trip from Perth and being in September the area was still nice and green.  We had stayed here once before a few years ago with Rob and Vicki Riebe and the contrast between each stay was very different.  With Rob and Vicki is was very dry and this time lush and green.  There was even some water around in the gnamma holes as well.  Lovely spot to stay in September.

The next day when we left Oak Park we had quite a bit of rain so our plans for some more bush camping were put on the back burner.  We did look at the place we wanted to camp at but the road in was covered in water so we decided then to go to Nungarin and stay at the Sports Complex Caravan Park.  This is a very neat little park and the facilities at the sports ground are excellent.

Next stop was a small camp on the Bruce Rock – Quairading Road called Kwolyin Camp.  Kwolyin is a old abandoned town that the Bruce Rock Shire has turned into a camp ground.  They have done an excellent job of setting it up.  Not far from the campground is Kokerbin Rock that has a couple of walks around it.  Kokerbin Rock is also the third largest monolith in Australia.

Our next stopover was at Tressies Caravan Park just out of Hyden.  This is on a farm and they have a nice big area with power and water set up for caravans.  This was a one night stopover before catching up with Jan and Chris at Kulin.  There were a few of us staying at Tressies, it was more popular than I thought it would be. 

Next day it was a short drive to Kulin only 60km away.  On our way there we called into a place called Buckley’s Breakaway for a look and morning tea.  After all 60km is a long way and fatigue management is an important factor when caravanning.  Buckley’s Breakaway is a small area of country that is quite stunning in its colour and formations.  It was interesting to walk around and be able to see it up close.

We arrived in Kulin and it was a little bit wet.  There was a steady rain falling and it didn’t auger well for our bush camping in the paddock at the race track.  We waited in Kulin for Jan and Chris to arrive as they were travelling from Mandurah.  Luckily when they did arrive the rain had stopped and things were looking better.  The race track is about 15km out of Kulin and the road into the camp area was quite muddy.  When we did arrive at the camp area we were surprised at the amount of vans already there.  Probably over 500 and it was only the Thursday before the races on Saturday.  We managed to get a pretty good spot not far from the toilets so the girls were happy.  We pulled in about 2 0’clock in the afternoon and vans were still pulling in at around 7pm.  A lot more even came in on the Friday and Saturday morning, but the camping area is huge so there was plenty of room for everyone.  This year apparently was a record crowd for the event and they did say there was over 1000 caravans at the event.

Although we didn’t win anything on the day at least the weather held off and we ended up with fine weather for the days we were there.   It was a great few days and the organisers really do put on a good show.  The Friday night they have entertainment and on race day there is heaps happening.  We would definitely go again and probably do the same and get there on the Thursday at least.  When we first read the “do’s and don’t” list we did think it was going to be a bit boring.  The list says you cant have fires, bring alcohol or have gen sets.  When you get there and set up there are people drinking around their vans. everyone has fires going and there would be enough gen sets going to power half the state.  It was a well run and organised event and a credit to the people involved in the weekend.

After our goodbyes at Kulin it was off on our trip further north to get a bit of warmer weather at Shark Bay.  Our first stop over after Kulin was Wongan Hills Caravan park for a couple of days for some washing and shopping.  They also do quite a good pub meal there as well.  Its always good to sometimes sit with the locals and chat.  From Wongan Hills it was a couple of one night stops at Tenindewa Pioneer Well near Yuna and Nerren Nerren Rest Area before arriving on Tamala Station near Useless Loop for a week.  Tamala Station has a few camp areas you can stay at and we chose Prickly Point.  There were a few campsites close by and we were glad we chose Prickly Point.  We were a bit better protected from the wind and able to be a bit closer to the water.

We did a couple of short drives from our camp area and one thing that did stand out was the amount of goats in the area.  When we booked into the camp ground one of the signs you read is to stay on the marked roads and paths so that you minimise your impact on the environment.  I think they need to assess how much damage is being done by the goats, they are completely eating and wrecking everything.  A lot more than what people are doing to the area.  The drives took you to some bays and islands around where we were staying but quite windy.

We decided to do an overnight trip to Steep Point and leave the caravan at Prickly Point.  We hadn’t used the roof top tent for a while and our van was to big and heavy to get into the Steep point camp grounds anyway.  As luck has it the night before we left to drive into Steep Point we had quite a bit of rain so the road from our camp to the main road was very wet and also out to the Edel Land National Park where Steep Point is.

The roads in the national park are all sand and some sections were very corrugated so low tyre pressures, around 25psi was the go.  It wasn’t to busy while we were there so traffic on the narrow sand tracks wasn’t a big problem.  We had booked the night at Blackie’s.  There were only two spots at this camp so we weren’t going to be bothered by too many neighbours.  We were well protected by the wind as well which was a bonus.  

There are a few things to see here besides Steep Point.  Dirk Hartog Island is only a few kilometres across the bay and there are a few lookouts and blowholes you can drive around to.  All the tracks are easy to drive around on, though most a single lane.  School holidays would be interesting with all the extra traffic.  While at Steep Point we were lucky enough to see a whale and her calf and as we travelled south along the coast she was also heading south.  Great to see.

After a great week at Tamala Station and Steep Point we packed up and headed into Denham and the Shark Bay Caravan Park for a few days.  It was time for some washing, fresh food and a pub meal.  We still had a bit of wind around but at least it was sunny.  We did a day trip out to the Francois Peron National Park.  This takes you to Point Peron at the tip of Shark Bay.  This had some very soft sand and we actually got our vehicle bogged.  It was all my fault as I didn’t let enough air out of the tyres.  Our car has this function in it that you set while in low 4wd, so we set this and waited to see if it worked.  It basically takes over control of the vehicle with wheel acceleration and all you do is just steer.  What a great feature, the car just literally pulled itself out of the sand. We then set the tyre pressures a bit lower and carried onwards determined to reach our goal.

Well it was time to start heading south again.  The weather was warming up enough for us to brave the elements further south.  We stayed our first night at a camp site called Galena Bridge North.  Heaps of room and not close to anyone on the north side.  The south side was more set up but was also a lot more crowded.  Good for a night stopover.  Next day it was into Kalbarri.  We hadn’t been to Kalbarri for many years and were looking forward to see how much it had changed.  It hadn’t changed much at all really.  The big thing in Kalbarri is the national park and some of the coastal views.

From Kalbarri we drove down to Geraldton hoping to catch up with some friends from our days in Wickham.  We stayed at the Geraldton Caravan Park and had one of the biggest sites we have ever had. It was good see Debra again and we also caught up with Demetri and Fiona who came up from Dongara for the night.  Our next stopover ended up being in the vacant block next to Demetri and Fiona in Dongara for a few nights.  Great thing about a caravan, you can nearly pull up anywhere.  It was good to see that all were doing so well

Well our short trip was just about over.  From Dongara we stayed one night at Nambung Station Stay then it was back into suburbia and home to Bayswater.  We had a great little trip away and will now spend Christmas and New Year with family and friends before heading off again in January 2019 for another adventure, though a bit further this time hopefully.

A long time between any updates on our travels back to Perth.  From Kununurra we are planning to travel to Port Headland then take the inland road via Newman, then down towards Mount Magnet then across to Canna and finish up back in Perth in time for the couple of engagements we are planning on attending.

From Kununurra we did a big days travel, for us anyway and made it 460 kilometres down the road and camped the night at Mary Pool Overnight Camp.  Good for a one night stop and not to much traffic noise.  Next morning it was down the road a bit further for a nights stop over at the Boab Tree Rest Area.  As the name suggests this rest area has a Boab tree in the area and it is a very big one at that.  The rest area is bituminised and is dominated by a huge Boab tree.  Its close to the road but after about 9pm there isn’t much traffic anyway so you still get a goods night sleep.

 

Our next stop for a few days was Barn Hill Station.  We have been here before,  it is a nice area and right on the beach.  We stay in the unpowered section as you can still hook up to water and if your self sufficient for power then we feel it is the better option.  The beach at Barn Hill is pretty awesome to walk along and swim in at this time of the year and we did quite a bit of both.  Sunsets are quite magic every night as well.  They bake there own bread at the station as well but you have to get to the shop early each morning to get a loaf as it sells out very quick with only a few loaves made available for sale.  Our last two days at Barn Hill were spoiled though as the wind came up and turned a lovely spot into a sand blown landscape.  Al least our first few days there were perfect.

After finishing off getting blown out of Barn Hill we drove next down to Eighty Mile Beach Caravan Park for a couple of nights.  This is a very well appointed park but a little on the expensive side if only staying short term.  We chose a powered site as we had quite a bit of washing to do.  The unpowered sites were $35 a night which is quite expensive.  It was a nice stay though and the wind was a lot less which was nice.  There were lots fishing off the beach but not many actually catching anything and talking to some in the caravan park it had been that way for quite a while.  That was a good enough reason for me to leave my fishing rod neatly packed in the van.

From Eighty Mile Beach we were planning on stopping at Pardoo for a few days but they had no vacancies.  This made our next decision easy and it was down to Port Headland for a few days.  Anika was also in Port  Headland for work so it gave us a chance to catch up with her as well.  We stayed at the Landing Resort and Port Tourist Park just opposite the airport.  We were pleasantly surprised by this place and would definitely stay here again.  Very little noise from the airport or trains.  We did look at the short stay at the race course in town but weren’t very impressed by this at all.  You are packed in very close to each other, down off the road where everyone can see in and staying on dirt.  Didn’t look inviting to us at all.  Have stayed in a lot nicer places in the bush.

While in Port Headland we drove around and looked at where we used to work in the LIA and also the company houses we stayed in as well.  They are trying hard to make Port Headland a more attractive place but still have a lot of work to make it more appealing.  The town centre of Port Headland still has a lot of dust coverage from the BHP loading facilities and I don’t see this changing much in the future.  Everything has this dirty brown look about it.  A nice couple of days though and good to see everything again.

When we left Port Headland we decided to do a short trip for the day and go to Indee Station for a night.  This was only a short 65km trip so we were there before lunch.  Its about a 12 km drive in off the highway on a pretty good gravel road.  The camp ground is quite well laid out with lots of room and the toilet/shower facilities were very good.  We packed a picnic lunch and went for a drive out to Red Rock.  There were supposed to be some aboriginal petroglyphs to look at on the rock as well as rock pools and some water in the river.  They give you a mud map to follow at the station when you leave and you really cant get lost as its pretty much following one track out to the rock.  The trip was really worth the effort, the petroglyphs are easy to spot and quite visible and with the rock pools around it was very picturesque.  With the bit of water in the river we had a very enjoyable afternoon.  Later in the afternoon the station owners invite you over to there house for sundowners and nibbles.  Great way to have a chat with others campers and relax at the same time.

Even though we only stayed one night we really enjoyed our stay at Indee station and would definitely stay there again if passing and it suited us.  We travelled as far as the Albert Tognolini Rest Area today which is just south of the Munjina Roadhouse.  This is an awesome free camp area with plenty of room with some absolutely amazing views.  As with most things though there was something to spoil it a bit – THOSE BLOODY FLIES.  This was our second time staying at this spot and we probably will stay again in the future.

Next stop was just down the road and Newman.  We had got in touch with John Riebe and were going to park on his front lawn for the weekend.  It was also the Fortescue Festival weekend in Newman as well.  We hadn’t been to one of these for many years so were looking forward to both catching up with John and going to the festival.  John has a huge lawn at the front of his house and after we had set the van up it was as good as any caravan parks we had stayed in.  John was a great host and drove us around Newman and pointed out all the changes that had happened since we left all those years ago, and there were many.  The Fortescue Festival though seemed a lot different.  When we lived in Newman there were a lot more community groups involved in the festival.  Now it seemed to be just people who came up for the weekend selling there stuff and not leaving anything in the town.  A pity though I suppose it’s a sign of the times we now live in.  On the Saturday night John and I went to the speedway for a look but unfortunately we didn’t stay for the whole meeting.  Some races only had three competitors so it really wasn’t much of a spectacle.  A pity because the venue is very good and well catered for.  On Sunday John took me out clay target shooting.  I had never done this before and was very nervous about embarrassing myself badly.  To my surprise I actually hit a few targets.  This was a lot of fun and a sport you could easily get yourself into.  We had a great time in Newman and it was good to catch up with John.

We would have liked to stay longer in Newman but time was telling us to keep heading south towards Perth.  We were heading south to Mount Magnet then  heading west towards Canna to look at the wild flowers. Apparently they were out in full this year and everyone was saying how wonderful the year was.

We had two one night stops on the way down to Canna, at the Gascoyne River South Branch Rest Area and then Old Wynyangoo Parking Area.  The latter was an excellent area to stop at, heaps of room and lots of firewood around.  You could drive quite a way off the road as well so it was nice and quiet.  As this was going to be our last chance to have a camp fire for a while we took advantage of the wood available.

We got to Canna and set up camp at Chris and Jan’s farm about 2 kilometres from Canna itself.  Jody was there on her break so we crashed her time off as well while we were there.  The wildflowers on display in the district was very impressive indeed with large areas covered in all colours.  One of the best displays around we thought was actually on the farm itself in the old rams paddock.  This was literally covered in a thick carpet of wildflowers  and you couldn’t help but walk on them as there was no room to walk around.  At Canna itself there were orchids out as well.  These were Donkey Orchids, Spider Orchids and Cowslip Orchids.  We also went for a drive over to Coalseam Conservation Park to look at the flowers as well. These were impressive as well though still not as good as what was at the farm.  A late lunch at the Mingenew Hotel finished that day off very nicely.

After a great week at the farm we reluctantly had to leave and keep heading south towards the big smoke.  From Canna we travelled to Dalwallinu for the night before arriving in Perth.  We were told the local hotel in Dalwallinu did a pretty good meal so we decided to check it out.  They were right, it was a good country pub meal.  The only downside to the night was that it was raining and cold and they didn’t have the fire going in the lounge.  Pity as it would have added a nice atmosphere.

Once back in Perth we have a few commitments to do and some travel to get in as well.  We are off to Hyden for a wedding then after that off to the Kulin Bush Races for the weekend, then we are going north again up to Shark Bay and Steep Point then back to Perth and down to Mandurah for a couple of weeks house/dog sitting.  After we have completed all that it will be Christmas.  We will need to go away on a holiday again to rest up.

 

 

After some nice R&R at Katherine it was west bound towards WA.  Our first stop for the night was at Victoria River Roadhouse for one night.  It is one of those stopovers where you drive in and select your own site.  If you are lucky and beat most of the crowd you can end up with a pretty good spot to camp, as we did.  This would also be a good place to base yourself for a few days if you wanted to look at the Judburra/Gregory National Park nearby.  We had a look at this park a couple of years ago when we left on our first trip away and were heading east,  not west and really found it interesting.  That time we stayed at Timber Creek and drove into the national park from there and had a good look.  If we do it again we might do it from Victoria River Roadhouse next time, it seems quieter and seemed to suit us better.

From Victoria River we decided to stop over at Zebras Rock again for a couple nights.  We also stopped here a couple of years ago as well.  The turn off into Zebra Rock is only about 14 kilometres from the WA border and just over 10 kilometres in from the highway on a very dusty road.  When we were in Katherine, the caravan we stayed at allowed you to wash your vans, which we did.  After the 10 kilometre gravel road drive into Zebra Rock it looked like we hadn’t even thought about washing the van.  The joys of caravanning and gravel roads I suppose.

There is no power or water at Zebra Rock so you have to be all full up when you arrive there.  They do have showers and toilets though the showers don’t have hot water if you are thinking of using them.  They have there own mine at Zebra Rock where they mine Zebra Rock.  These are quite a nice looking rock and according to the owners extremely rare and worth lots.  Not really being into rocks in a big way they didn’t do much for me and I also thought the value being placed on them was a bit exorbitant.   They have a few different tours from here operating and we booked ourselves onto the sunset cruise tour of Lake Argyle.  Lake Argyle being so large actually crosses over into the Northern Territory and is about a half hour drive from Zebra Rock to where they moor their cruise boat.  The cruise goes for four hours and includes nibbles and drinks.  The price had gone up a bit since we did the last one but is still reasonably priced.  The area they take you is mainly wetland type country and there are plenty of different birds to see as well as lots of fresh water crocodiles. The fish and chips after the cruise weren’t bad either.

Leaving Zebra rock it was a quick trip over the border and back into WA.  We are staying in Kununurra for a week and have booked into the Lakeside Resort to really lap it up.  We were given an excellent caravan site right next to the pool with some views out over the lake.  Feeling very spoiled we are at the moment.  We did a little bit of touring while here in Kununurra.  As we saw a fair bit last time we felt not much pressure to really go out and do to much.  We did a day drive from Kununurra towards Wyndham and turned off to look at Marlgu Billabong.  This billabong had heaps of birdlife on it and we sat there for ages just looking at all the different varieties there was to see.  There was also a large saltwater crocodile around 4 metre long there, though he was a fair distance away and you needed the binoculars to see him clearly.  Also near the billabong is the Old Wyndham Telegraph Station that has a few old ruins you can walk around and look at.  From this billabong we took Parry Creek Road back to Kununurra.  This is referred to as the back road by locals and follows the Lower Ord River part of the way and provides access to Valentine Springs, Middle Springs and Black Rock Falls.  Being the dry season the falls weren’t running and the springs were low in water, but still worth the drive to look at.  Arriving back in Kununurra we were able to come across Ivanhoe Crossing which is open at the moment.  Last time we were here it was closed off to all traffic so it was a novelty to be able to drive across this time around.

 

After a week of lapping it up in Kununurra we start heading south and towards a bit more reality and home for a while.  We still have a few tings to see on the way, so it will be a steady three weeks or so until we get there.

 

 

What an epic stay it was in and around Alice Springs.  I was beginning to feel like one of those people that you read about that visit a place for one week and end up staying 20 years.  With my back the way it was we had to make a decision on what way we would come back to WA.  Our original plan was to take the gravel from Alice Springs through to Laverton.  After speaking to a few people that had just come through that way and hearing reasonably consistent comments on the road condition we decided that we would stick to the bitumen and come the longer way back to WA.  Also this hopefully would reduce any issues with my back should something happen to either car or caravan.

With this in mind we decided on a date to leave Alice Springs which I was looking forward to.  The cold weather was also starting to get us both down as well and the thought of heading a bit further north to warmer days and nights sounded very enticing.  The night before we left Alice we packed and readied ourselves as much as possible so that in the morning we wouldn’t have as much to do.  I was finding it very hard in the mornings to actually get out on bed and do much for quite a while.  It was time for Kaye to step up and take on some of the tasks she had been hiding from for all this time.  With some expert tuition and extreme patience she soon got the hang of how everything was stored and packed and we were off .

Our first stop north wasn’t to far away.  We stopped over night at Ti Tree Roadhouse.  This was around a 200 kilometre drive up the Stuart Highway from Alice Springs and was to really see how my back went.  I did find it easier to sit in the car and driving was actually quite easy on my back.  Just being a couple of hundred kilometres north of Alice you could feel the difference in the weather.  We were both also happy to be on the road again.

The next day was an easy drive off as we were able to stay hooked up for the night.  Devils Marbles was our destination for the day.  This was a pretty short drive and we arrived around midday and were able to get a pretty good camp site.  We were lucky we didn’t arrive after about 2.30 pm as by then the camp ground was virtually full.  That is one of the problems with travelling now and visiting some of the popular places on main highways, with so many people travelling now days everyone gets to places early to get a good spot.  Devils Marbles is pretty much how the name sounds, its a lot of big round rocks scattered around with some short walks.  I was definitely starting to feel a lot better and by taking it easy was able to do a couple of the short walks.  Devils Marbles are also known as Karlu Karlu in the local aboriginal language and the reserve now protects one of the oldest religious sites in the world.  Karlu Karlu translates as round boulders.

Next stop was Banka Banka Outstation for the night.  We got here around 2.30 pm and sure enough the place was packed.  We were placed in the overflow area which actually ended up being a lot less crowded than those squashed in around the centre.  We hadn’t been there very long and others were also being put with us in the overflow section.  By the end of the day there would have been around 60 plus caravans and campers here.  It was still the school holidays which did add to the numbers.  We still had a good night and Kaye did say I must be getting better because I whinged about some of the people who seem to think that traveling is all about them and nobody else.

From Banka Banka it was then onto Newcastle Waters Rest Area for the night.  This was a bit confusing when we got to the camping spot as it was only a side pull in off the main highway on the road into Newcastle Waters.  Newcastle Waters is a small settlement that is now virtually uninhabited but has a few old buildings that you can look in.  It now sits inside Newcastle Waters Station and it looks as though the station has been buying up all the buildings as they became available.  This would be a great place to have some camping made available if the station owners were ever interested having a go and setting something up.

From Newcastle Waters we decided to stop for the night at Daly Waters Hi-Way Inn.  This was a pretty short drive for the day and we were there pretty early.  We were also going quite well with not unhitching the van so far and this was the same for here as well.  So far at every stop we have been able to leave the car hitched up which was really helping with my back and making us ready to go in the mornings a lot quicker that we usually are.  Last time when we came through this way we actually went into Daly Waters itself and stayed the night but this time we weren’t so keen.  This was a lot nicer with grass, power and water for the same price.  They even had some wild life to look at right behind us with a couple of bison in the paddock.

Our next stop I was really looking forward to.  Mataranka was our destination and sitting in the hot springs was what I was hoping was going to make me move a bit easier.  We were really enjoying the warmer weather by now and at Mataranka the weather was ideal for sitting in the springs and hopefully letting the warm water do its stuff.  We stayed in the same caravan park we did on our previous visit here out at Bitter Springs.  We actually prefer these springs to swim in as they are still very natural and even with the large crowds you are still able to get away a bit.  We had a great relaxing 5 days here and I felt that it did do me some good as I was moving a lot easier when we left.  We also had to sample the Mataranka Pies again while we were here.  They are very nice and moorish.

What a great five days it was at Mataranka/Bitter Springs.  The water is such a nice temperature you just don’t want to get out.  Katherine was next on our stopovers and is only a quick drive up the highway.  As I was still having some issues with my back, mainly at night while trying to get to sleep we booked into a chiropractor for some follow up checks.  We stayed again at Manbulloo Homestead Caravan Park.  This is about 20 kilometres out of town and has nice big grassy shady sites.  It is also feels very relaxing for us so it was easy to stay here again.  While in Katherine we also went for a couple of swims in the springs here.  They are quite good though nothing like at Mataranka.

I feel we have been very lucky with both the chiropractors we have used so far in Alice Springs and Katherine.  After treatments from both of them I feel that they have definitely aided my recovery a lot and enabled our trip to progress a lot easier.  Also I think the sympathy from one certain travelling partner is starting to diminish and it is now becoming a case of “toughen up a bit or else”.

We definitely made the right decision to come back to WA via the bitumen.  Would not like to have been on some outback roads if something happened and my back was still playing up.  Hopefully as we keep travelling west and then south I get back to my fun loving self and am able to keep spoiling Kaye the way she has become accustomed to…………..

 

 

Well this has been a big break between writing.  We got to Alice Springs with no hassles then Kaye flew out to Canberra for three weeks to spend some time with Jade and the boys leaving yours truly behind to fend for himself.  Maybe in hindsight not the best decision for me as I have somehow done my back in and have got some pretty bad mobility issues at present.  Not sure how I did it but I have pinched a nerve in my lower left and it is also making my left leg ache very badly as well.

Anyway enough of my sad tales of woe.  While Kaye was in Canberra being more cold than I was in Alice Springs I did manage to get out and do a few things around the town.  The first weekend there was the Finke Desert Race.  This leaves from Alice Springs on the Saturday and follows the Old Ghan Railway to Finke and then returns on the same course the next day.  I decided to go on the Sunday and look at the competitors returning.  I miss timed my arrival at the finish line by about ten minutes as the winner had just finished when I got there.  I saw the second place getter come in and lots of others after that.  It is a very well run event with heaps of viewing areas around the finish area.  The only thing I found was that it isn’t the most exciting racing to watch as it is a time trial and you only see competitors finishing solo every 10 to 20 minutes.  So unless you knew someone in the race or were a competitor I found it a bit boring to watch.  As a result I didn’t hang around and wait until the bikes started coming back to Alice as they were still about 2 hours away from arriving when I left.

The National Road Transport Hall of Fame was well worth a visit and one of the best transport museums you will see.  The displays there are extensive and very well maintained.  The Kenworth  display is pretty special with the amount of trucks on display and the condition they are in.  A real credit to the committee and Kenworth Australia for the upkeep and donations made.  A must do on your visit to Alice Springs.

The Alice Springs Desert Park was a place worth a visit.  The walk around the complex is pretty interesting and varied with plenty of information to read as you enjoy the easy walk.  Not all of the displays were operating but what was there to see was good.  The nocturnal display was excellent and very large.  They had a huge display of animals from lizards, snakes to bilbies and lots in between.  They also put on a bird display with a variety of birds that was a very entertaining 30 minutes.

A day trip out to Chambers Pillar was a great day out as well.  The drive to Chambers Pillar is around 140 kilometres each way.  The road wasn’t to bad though it was chopped up a bit from the spectators driving out to watch the previous weekends Finke Desert Race.  You basically drive south from Alice Springs and follow the Old Ghan Railway down to Maryvale and then turn right and go just over 40 kilometres in from there.  This part of the road had lots of large and long bull dust holes along it so the car go a nice dust bath.  You are able to see Chambers Pillar well before you get there.  In the early days of explorers crossing our continent it was used as a landmark by them.  They have also carved there initials into soft rock formation that go back to around 1870.  It has been spoiled a bit by others carving their initials into the rock over the years but this seems to have lessened now that a walkway was installed to keep you away from the rock face a bit.  Next to Chambers Pillar is Castle Rock which has some great weathered formations in the soft sandstone.   A great drive for the day and also saw a dingo as well on the drive out that was very close to the car and stayed around for some photos.

We did a couple of day trips out to the East Macdonnell Ranges to look at a few gorges and rocks as well as do a couple of walks.  At this stage my back was still ok and we weren’t aware of what was to come.  We didn’t travel all that far out to the east.  Stopped off at Emily and Jessie Gaps, Corroboree Rock and Trephina Gorge where we did a really good walk along the top of the gorge and then down into it.  As with most of the Macdonnell Ranges around Alice Springs the scenery is pretty special wherever you look.  Driving out of Trephina Gorge we did a short detour and drove into John Hayes Rockhole for a look.  It was a good track until the last 200 metre’s then turned to rubbish so a little adventure for the day.

Just to the west of Alice Springs were some other sites worth the short drive to see.  These were Simpsons Gap and Standley Chasm.  These are at the start of the West Macdonnell Ranges and are arguably the better part of the Macdonnell Ranges to see.  At Standley Chasm you have to pay an entry fee to visit which we were surprised to see.  The best time to see Standley Chasm is an hour either side of noon on a sunny day as the suns glow reflects off the walls.  The walk into both these sites follow a creek to get to them and offer some good sites along the way.

To continue seeing more of the West Macdonnell Ranges and we thought that we would leave Alice Springs and go and stay out at Glen Helen and use this as a base to do some day trips from.  Glen Helen is around 130 kilometres from Alice so a nice short drive down the road.  As with most of the camp areas around here the back drop at Glen Helen was pretty spectacular and they had a great waterhole just a short walk from the campground.   Also being the school holidays at the moment everywhere was crowded with families camping.  This was good to see and the kids all seemed to be enjoying themselves a lot with no TV or internet.  From here we went and looked at Redbank Gorge, Ormiston Gorge, The Ochre Pits and Serpentine Gorge.  Ormiston Gorge had some great walks while we thought the Ochre Pits were a little disappointing.  It is also on this part of our trip that I did my back in.  Not sure what did it but after three days I was in agony and we had to return to Alice Springs. At least we were able to get some sights in before all this drama, will just have to come back again maybe one day and look at the rest of the West Macdonnell Ranges.

After our third day in the West Macdonnell Ranges it was time to pack up and head back into Alice Springs.  The pain in my back was getting worse and we decided that I should go and see someone about it.  Trying to describe to Kaye about what man pain was like was very hard because as we all know it is something that can only be experienced.  After arriving in Alice I booked into the doctor and also found an excellent Chiropractor who was a lot of help.  Basically though it is going to take a long time to get over so we now are making different plans for our trip back to WA.  One thing we did notice on our return to Alice was that the nights are definitely getting colder.  The hoses for our water to the van were freezing up every morning which delayed princess getting her cup of tea in bed each morning.  Yes even with a sore back I still have to get up and make it, no sympathy in this caravan.

After a week in Alice Springs we decided to pack up and head a bit further north to some warmer weather.  The cold weather in Alice was starting to get us down a bit so we decided we would chase the warmth a bit and head up towards Mataranka and the warm springs.  Might even help my back a bit as well.  Hopefully by the next update all has improved a lot and we are travelling a lot easier.  Its not a easy life all this caravanning and holidaying.