We've done it!!

Well we made it back to Noosa and successfully drove around Australia. So many amazing things to remember and reflect upon its going to take some time to sink in so the best way we can summarise at the moment is as follows:

22,816km, 62 caravan parks, 3820 litres of diesel, 30 mozi coils, 135 postcards, 22 National Parks, 54 bottles of wine, 1 helicopter flight, 23 colouring books, 6 time zones, 8 bottles of bundy rum, 110 wee stops, 5 pairs of thongs, 6 sun hats, 8 rash vests, 3 snorkelling trips, 5 outback pubs, 4,297 photos taken to date, 6 boat trips, 1 bike ride, 2 birthday cakes, 12 cartons beer, 9 species of fish caught, 2 tree top walks, 6 botanic gardens ,1 cave, 6 aboriginal rock arts, 18 gorges, 12 water falls, 5 Wiggles and 1 lazytown albums (listened to almost every day),1 tiger shark, 2 thefts, 32 loads of washing, 36 colouring pens, Finding Nemo and Toy Story 3  watched 10 times, 1 koala bear, hundreds of kangaroos and emus, 1 dingo, thousands of cockatoos, corellas, galahs and budgies, 2846 hits on the blog (so far), 14 books, 88 icy poles, 1 swim with whale shark, 1 dolphin fed, 1 afternoon of rain, 2 distillery visits, 2 dinosaur footprint sites, 76 shells collected, 4 cable car/chair lifts, 2 crocodiles in the wild, 48 feathers collected, 3 train rides, 12 apostles, 1 white tip reef shark, 1 fish bite, 1 possum bite, 1 lung infection, 6kg gained, 3 glass saucepan lids smashed, approx 300 driving hours, 37 fuel stops and 1 bloody brilliant time!

Now some time to reflect and relax in Noosa before we head back!

The Coral and Capricorn Coast and The Whitsundays Islands

Well we made it to Townsville in time for Jo’s Birthday enjoying a couple of nights along the beach front although we were unable to swim in the ocean due to the presence of stingers and crocs. The girls had a great time playing in the best water park to date before we enjoyed fish and chips and champagne to celebrate Jo’s Birthday before heading back to base for cake and candles. We also  drove to the top of Castle Hill to get great views over Townsville, The Harbour and nearby Magnetic Island. We enjoyed Townsville but it seemed strange being back in a big town after our time in the outback and away from traffic lights and road works!

Next day we headed to the backpacker equivalent of mecca, Airlie Beach.  Again we found ourselves in a beautiful caravan park surrounded by dozens of friendly cockatoos and curlews before booking onto a boat trip round the Whitsunday Islands and having a swim in the huge man made lagoon on the front. In the morning we got picked up and taken to our boat with its friendly staff and set off to our first destination, Hill Inlet, where we walked through the rainforest to an outlook with its postcard view of the inlet and Whitehaven Beach further down the coast. This was our next destination when we got back to the boat. As it was nearing the end of the stinger season we were still all encouraged to wear stinger suits which we wore much to our amusement. We swam from the boat to Whitehaven Beach, another famous landmark with its white silica beach, and relaxed for a couple of hours before being enjoying a great beach bbq. The girls found a friend and had a great time watching the goannas and playing on the beach. Back on the boat we passed an island with nesting sea eagles which the crew summoned with a whistle and threw raw meat for them to catch from the boat before we anchored off Mantaray Bay for a snorkel over the fringing island reef (part of the great barrier reef) The girls went in the glass bottomed boat to view the coral and fish whilst we went for a snorkel to view the thousands of fish around us including a very large wrasse and giant trevally which the girls fed from the boat. Holly decided to get in the water to view the reef through a glass bottomed boogie board and ended up with a fish mistaking her toe for something to eat and got a small nip! Another great day and as we headed back to base Holly fell asleep in Jo’s arms. We loved the Whitsundays and vowed to return on a sailing boat one day when the girls are a bit bigger.

Next stop Mackay where we stayed to the north of the town at Bucasia and another small caravan park right on the beach. In the morning we walked for an hour before visiting an old school friend of Jo’s (sarah) and her husband (Ian) for an amazing lunch and great hospitality with the girls loving the pool and picking fresh bananas.

Then onto Yeppoon and Jo’s old university town of Rockhampton. We stayed at Kinka Beach one of the south beaches out from Yeppoon before driving into Emu Park and then onto Rockhampton to look around. We also viewed a new mosaic war memorial  in memory of a VC recipient before driving back through the university and back to the caravan park for a fish on the river. We caught our usual undersized bream and a flathead which wasn’t quite big enough to keep!

We then headed back into the west country stopping just outside Biloela to stay with another school friend of Jo’s (kaylene) and her family. On arrival Michael  returned from work mustering cattle in his Robinson R22 helicopter, and offered to take Tom up and off to another small Job. This 4 cylinder, 145hp helicopter took them a few miles to a farm of about 800 acres where Tom met the local farmer and watched as a mob of about 150 Belmont Red cattle were rounded up in about 15 mins. A great experience and the girls had great fun putting the helicopter away when they returned. The next morning Tom was picked up by another local farmer and given a great tour of his farm learning about the difference breeds of cattle and the grasses and shrubs that have been introduced into the bush to ensure sufficient food is available. The girls all joined Tom up at the farm and had a lovely time playing (all 6 of them) before we returned and once again hit the road.

That afternoon we called in to see another school friend in Gladstone (Jo) before heading to Tannum Sands for a night.

The next day we headed for the towns of 1770 (first place captain cook landed in Queensland) and Agnes Waters. We were going to stay the night but as we got there early we decided after our usual morning break to head for Bagara the other side of Bundaberg as the weather had cooled off an was cloudy for the first time in months! On the way we stopped at the Bundy Rum factory for a look and ended up with a bottle and a couple of souvenirs.

Bagara is another beach resort town and we had a good walk and a good scoot along the front before enjoying a rum and coke on what, after 4 months on the road, was to be our last night in the caravan before we headed back to the place where we started, Noosa! Our amazing adventure has almost come to an end…..

9.05.12

The Outback..... its pubs and dinosaurs!

From Katherine we headed south stopping at Mataranka famous for its thermal pools and being the capital of the ‘never never’. We first stopped at Bitter Springs, a palm fringed thermal pool with amazingly clear water and a temperature of over 30 degrees for a good swim in the beautiful surroundings. We then headed to the Thermal Pool the other side of town which was much the same. The waters start life as far away as Queensland and filter underground for several thousand km before reappearing, crystal clear and at a perfect temperature.

Tom had also read Jeannie Gunns famous 1908 book about life as a pioneering women, ‘We of the Never Never’, about life at a nearby cattle station The Elsey. The book has since been made into a film and we visited the replica Elsey Station Homestead built for the film as well as the family cemetery nearby. Another inspiring family trying to carve out a living in the Northern Territory, scary to think what they went through and it wasn’t that long ago.

From Mataranka we headed to Daly Waters first stopping in at Larrimah and its famous pub, first of many  in the outback! We were surprised to find a large collection of animals out the back including the friendliest Wallaby which Holly wanted to take home and a large salt water croc. Although we liked this pub our destination for the night was the Daly Waters Pub another forty minutes down the road. The pub is decorated with all sorts of memorabilia, shirts, business cards, bras, hats, you name it it’s on the walls somewhere! It claims to be the oldest pub in the Northern Territory having had a license since 1893 and used to be a stop of for the Drovers in days gone by. Daly Waters itself was discovered by John McDouall Stuart on the 28 May 1862 (leaving his initial in a nearby tree) and  was also home to Australia’s first international airport! The Pub is the centrepiece of this town and we had a great afternoon soaking up the atmosphere with a few beers. Daisy also got her thongs/flipflops put on the thong tree (again Australia’s first!)

Next day we headed off, spotting our first Brolgas on the way and the mass migration of grey nomads heading north. After stopping just north of Tennant Creek to refuel we finally turned east towards Queensland. Before we got to the border we stopped at Barkly Homestead, a former cattle station, for the night before getting to Mt Isa the next day. A couple of long days in the car but we were finally back in Queensland. Having half expected the outback to be dust we have been surprised in all our travels to date how green the country had been so far, the rains from this year and last helping the cause, not that we have seen any rain to talk of to date!

We left Mt Isa and its mines behind and stopped after lunch for a beer in the ‘Walkabout Creek Hotel’ made famous by Crocodile Dundee! The pub was covered in props and photos and we were amazed by the number of people who just dropped in for a beer and a quick look round. Having decided that the outback was only made for pubs we stopped the night in the equally famous ‘Blue Heeler Hotel’.

The Hotel has its own story as well. For it was here that ‘Banjo’ Patterson saw the Macphersons of Dagworth pass champagne through a window to those shearers who had burnt their woolshed, wool and 143 young ‘jumbucks’. This event ended the great shearers strike of 1894 and began the legend of ‘Waltzing Matilda’. The song was baptised in the pub in 1895 and thus the actions of the above created a turning point in Australia’s History. The pub also invites people to write on the walls in return for donation to the Royal Flying Doctors; Daisy and Holly left their mark! Having sunk a couple of cold ones we returned to the caravan park out the back of the pub (now lined with white Toyota Prado’s, similar to ours) to find a pair of dancing Brolgas. The girls stayed up later than usual playing with glow sticks and some new friends they met next door.  Great end to another great day in the middle of nowhere.

Next day, having clocked over 20,000km, we travelled to Winton and then on the dirt roads to a cattle station and set up camp next to the converted shearing shed. The farm was 50,000 acres but could only support 800 head of cattle. We were the only people staying that night and enjoyed the beautiful surroundings and starlit sky all to ourselves. We really did feel on our own in the middle of nowhere! At Winton earlier we visited the Waltzing Matilda centre, a museum dedicated to the song, and enjoyed the story in an indoor billabong complete with holograms and songs and stories bursting with Australian Nationalism! Qantas was also founded in Winton so we stopped near the old airfield for lunch whilst the girls played on the musical fence, made up of old junk and the like before heading to our cattle station for the night.

Another 150km on dirt roads took us to Lark Quarry, the home of Dinosaur track ways which show a stampede in some 3300 fossilised footprints. The girls were very excited and watched an animation of a huge dinosaur going to drink at the waters edge where hundreds of smaller dinosaurs were also drinking resulting in a smaller one being caught before we were given a tour of almost every footstep!

From the footprints we headed for three hours through open grass country to the outback town of Hughenden for the night before heading onto the east coast and Townsville.

We have loved the outback, its bush pubs and its pioneering history but the coast road beckons once again! Don’t forget to look at our photo link to flickr on the blog to view a selection of our photos taken to date!

26.04.12

The Northern Territory

Soon after leaving the beauty of lake Argyle we crossed the border into the Northern Territory and headed straight to Katherine for a couple of nights to visit the Nitmulik (Katherine Gorge) National Park.  The only way to appreciate the gorge is to travel up it by boat so we booked on a 2 hour trip that took us up gorges 1 and 2. Our tour guide, from the Jawoyn Tribe, explained the significance of the gorge and its history and flora and fauna. No crocs spotted yet! Back at the pool and having splashed out buying Holly a noodle she started jumping into the pool and growing in confidence whilst Daisy now only seems to swim under water!

Next stop was Litchfield National Park on the way to Darwin. We stayed a couple of nights and visited the giant termite mounds (5 metres high) and magnetic termite mounds, which align themselves north/south before visiting the impressive Wongi Falls. We walked the 1.2km around the top of the falls seeing flying foxes and rainforest  as well as lots of mozzies. Due to the wet season we were unable to swim in the falls as there still may be crocs. Next stop the beautiful Tolmer Falls and then Florence Falls where we walked down the 170 steps to swim in the crystal clear waters amongst the rocks and the fish with the noise of the massive waterfall in the background. The girls were a little apprehensive to start with but soon got in the water and loved it, so much so we stopped at Buley  waterhole on the way back for another swim in the cascading waters that formed rockpools. Back at the camp site we enjoyed a local Barra and Buffalo burger for dinner before heading north the next day to Darwin.

A short drive to Darwin (1.5 hours) we parked up and headed into the city (more like a large town) before heading to the museum to look at their great display of shells, fish and reptiles (one of which was ‘ Sweetheart’ a 5m long 780kg saltwater croc which became famous for attacking fishing boats in the top end) as well as a cyclone Tracey exhibition. The cyclone completely destroyed Darwin in December 1974.

Next day in Darwin and we visited Crocosaurus Cove to look at the crocs and other reptiles. The girls had a swim in a pool with a Perspex wall between them and some less frightening juvenile crocs that looked like they were swimming together. afterwards they held a baby saltwater croc and had their photo taken. After lunch we headed down to the waterfront, a redeveloped part of town with a safe beach to swim in and a massive wave pool where the girls had a great time in the chlorinated artificial surf. A long day but a great one!

Good Friday and we hit the road again into the Kakadu national park (same size as Wales) stopping for lunch at Jabiru before heading south to Cooinda on the Yellow Water. Next day we headed for Nourlange to view the collection of rock art and the impressive views of Arnhem Land and the escarpment. We took the 2km walk past Anbangbang shelter, used for 20,000 years as a shelter and canvas on which to paint. The Anbangbang gallery depicts dreaming characters as well as ‘lightening man’ which the girls liked. Finally a walk up to Gunwarddeehwarde  and Nawurlandja lookouts for amazing views over the bush and the billabongs. We returned to camp and inspired by the rock art decorated some eggs for Easter in Aborigional colours. We also made wind chimes from sticks, leaves, beads and shells collected over the past few months.  The girls made friends with some girls the same age next door and had a lovely time running around and playing with glo-sticks till way past their bedtime.

Easter Sunday started early as the easter bunny had arrived and deposited eggs inside and out of the caravan. The girls went on a hunting frenzy and seemed to find them all within seconds! Eggs collected we took to the river again for a boat cruise along the yellow billabong and into the river system. Being the end of the wet season the area was abundant with wildlife and some amazing lilly’s. The scenery was breath taking and the highlight was seeing a pair of nesting Jabirus and of course a couple of salt water crocs within a metre of the boat. Fantastic boat trip and one we won’t forget.

With Easter behind us we headed south back to Katherine for a night to stock up and collect some post. We now head south into the outback and back towards Queensland hopefully via some famous bush pubs!

10 April 2012

The Pilbara and The Kimberley

Leaving Exmouth we planned to head up the coast road towards Broome but decided when on the road to head inland to The Pilbara and the mining town of Tom Price, named after an American mining employee who convinced his company to mine Iron Ore in the region. The open cast mine is now one of the biggest in the world.

Our 6.5hr journey (on tarmac and dirt roads) wasn’t to see a mining town but to visit the Karijini National Park. Recent rains had turned the country green and driving along the red dirt roads we saw thousands of Budgies, Parrots and Finches of all colours and sizes. Our trip into the National Park saw us visit the beautiful Oxer lookout where 3 deep gorges meet. We visited Knox  and Joffre lookout before we all set off for a 3km walk up Kalamina Gorge where the girls loved jumping on the rocks and crossing the fresh water streams and waterfalls. The rock formations were beautiful and for those of you who have read the previous blog it was the Stromatolites at Hamlin Pool who are responsible for the rich Iron Ore deposits (and ultimately the strong economy Australia is now experiencing due to mining) as it was the oxygen that they produced which combined with the iron rich sea at the time. After an amazing day we headed back and decided to drive up Western Australia’s highest mountain, Mount Nameless where we got a great view of Rio Tintos Iron Ore Mine.

We stopped off for a night in the mining Town of Port Headland to stock up on supplies and our first real taste of humidity and mosquitos! We stayed at the aptly named Cooke Point Caravan Park  (some of the caravans still chained to the ground from the cyclone threat the week before) and had a brief look around the port and the hundreds of ships waiting to be loaded with ore from the huge trains (some which can be up to 600 carriages long).  It was here onwards that we noticed the indigenous population starting to increase and along with it fabulous aboriginal art, digeridoos and boomerangs.   

Our first tropical thunderstorm in the morning and we hit the road again for 80 Mile Beach. We stopped at Pardoo Roadhouse, the centre of the cyclone and home to a great sausage roll, before turning off the road and up 10km of dirt to the caravan park right on the beach. We weren’t ready for what we found; shells and thousands of them as far as the eye could see and not just small ones but all shapes and sizes! It goes without saying the girls had an amazing afternoon collecting simply beautiful big shells!

Broome was our next stop and we stayed just out of town on Cable Beach for a relaxing couple of days. We invested in a pair of goggles for Daisy who now seems to spend more time under water than above and trolled through the many Pearl shops as this area remains famous mostly for its Pearl diving history as well as its beach. After a busy morning looking round and as the humidity level had started to increase the girls cooled of at a great waterpark next to Town Beach.

One evening we took fish and chips down to Gantheaume Point to watch the sunset and search the shore line for one of the worlds most varied collections of dinosaur footprints some 135 million years old.

Our next stop on the way to Kununurra was an overnighter in the small town of Fitzroy Crossing in The Kimberley and we spotted our first Boab tree and many more followed. The Kimberley region itself is bigger than 75% of the world’s countries and the next day we drove 7 hours to Kununurra arriving just in time to set up before it went dark mainly due to the fact that both of the campsites we went to along the way were closed for one reason or another.Luckily the girls coped quite well considering the long day. The landscape in the Kimberley is stunning and really is one of the last unexplored outposts of this vast country.

We had hoped to visit El Questro and stay at Home Valley Homestead ( location for filming the movie Australia) but with the Penticost River still in flood and the National Park opening up later the next week we visited the local Mirima National Park (often refered to as the mini Bungle Bungles) to walk through the Gorges and drove up Kelly’s knob for a view of the area. In the afternoon we visited Valentine Springs after negotiating a creek in flood and visited a nearby rock gallery which has a license to mine the Zebra rock siltstone which is only found in this area. We ended the day at a local rum distillery and Aborigional Art Gallery.

A short trip the next day up the road to Lake Argyle to a caravan park with an amazing infinity pool overlooking the lake and the Kimberley. Lake Argyle, Australia’s second largest was created in 1972 and is big enough to hold 18 Sydney Harbours and provides much needed water to the surrounding area. After crossing the dam and having a look around, noticing that both fresh and Salt water Crocs live in the area Tom went off fishing on the river and caught a small fish; no Barramundi yet!

On our way out the next morning we stopped at Argyle Downs (we were the first visitors for the new season) the homestead of the famous pastoral/pioneering Durack family. The family came out from Ireland in 1853 to avoid starvation and with an inspiring pioneering spirit pushed out from their holding near Sydney and settled in Queensland where no white people had been before farming over 13,000,000 acres between the family before, after a number of droughts, speculated on this distance land in the Kimberley. They set out in 1883 on a journey of over 3000 miles with 7500 head of cattle and reached the River Ord in 1885 with less than half their stock! They settled/claimed a holding of 2,500,000 acres.  A truly inspiring family of its time and would urge anyone to pick a copy of ‘Kings in Grass Castles’ by Mary Durack  for further reading!

Northern Territory Next stop!

01.04.2012

The Coral Coast....Nambung to Ningaloo.

Our first destination after Perth was the small crayfishing town of Cervantes, established in 1960’s, and  forming our base for a couple of nights to explore the Pinnacles Desert in the Nambung National Park and a visit to Kangaroo Point and the Stromatolites (more about them later) at Lake Thetis.  The Pinnacles Desert is home to thousands of limestone pillars rising up out of the desert floor and we were able to drive through them and enjoyed it so much returned at sunset to get some more amazing views  of these strange formations.

We then stopped in Geraldton for a night to get supplies and restock on everything before prices increase as we head north.

As the temperature had remained in the low 40’s since Perth our trip to Kalbarri probably saw the thermometer reach nearer 50 degrees in places! We first took a visit to the Parrot breeding centre, the largest in Australia, to get up to speed on our Parrot identification before the next day heading into the Kalbarri National Park to view the stunning Gorges and the famous Natures Window. We left for the national park at 8.45am and by 9.30 the temperature had reached 40 degrees. We parked the car and walked into the Gorge where the temperature can increase by 10 degrees…and it did! As well as the temperature we got our first experience of flies and lots of them but the view was simply stunning and well worth the pain in places. We have now invested in some fly nets to cover our faces!

From Kalbarri we went to Denham on Shark Bay stopping of on the way at the Stromatolites at Hamelin Pool. These Coral like formations are the oldest living thing on the planet existing 3500 million years ago and responsible for putting oxygen into the atmosphere and thus allowing air breathing  creatures to evolve from the ocean onto land . This is one of the few places on earth they still exist and although they don’t look like much without them I’m sure the world might have been very different.  After considering ‘what if’ we stopped at Shell Beach where the bright white compacted shells, 8m deep in places, flowed into a warm shallow sea and we cooled off in the crystal clear waters.

Denham was our base for a trip to Monkey Mia. Although we had heard mixed things from other travellers, mainly the grey nomads, we had an amazing day! We got there at 7.45am and by 8.30 we were paddling in the waters with the Dolphins who visit most mornings. As we all retreated out of the water for the feeding to take place Holly, together with Tom, was selected to feed one of the Dolphins! Amazing morning only got better as we spotted a Dugong in the water and snorkelled with a Turtle. Holly and Daisy also tried snorkelling and got the hang of it straight away. We stopped at little lagoon for lunch (another warm clear sea lagoon) before driving up to Eagle Bluff and walked along an elevated boardwalk above the ocean looking down to spot more Dugongs, Rays and numerous lemon and reef sharks swimming below. Having sighted the marine life we decided to get a little educated as to what lurks in these tropical waters and so visited the Ocean Park to view the many reef and sea fish and to feed the sharks! When we thought we had seen enough wildlife for one day a tiger snake crossed the road in front of us. The day was complete with a great sunset from the caravan which perched on the cliff top above the Indian Ocean…..very windy though.

Heading north again we stopped for one night in Carnarvon for supplies. The area suffered badly from floods last year and this season 820,000ha have been destroyed by bush fires with 60,000ha being destroyed nearby in less than two weeks!  

Coral Bay on the Ningaloo Reef was our next stop for the night and we arrived as the Coral started to spawn, an annual event which brings in the largest fish on planet , the whaleshark. We tried to cool off in the warm water and had a peaceful day on the beach.

Exmouth was our next stop and probably our last few days in one place before we head for Broome, although a cyclone has formed and due to hit south of Broome in the next couple of days so we may yet have to head inland before we head north. The first afternoon we booked on a glass bottom boat reef and snorkel tour and headed up the coast for a fish, catching Bream and Emperor, none of them big enough for eating though. Next day we headed into the national park and stopped at Turquoise Bay for a swim and a snorkel. The Ningaloo reef is the largest fringe reef in the world and in places you can swim out to the coral only a few meters from shore. We spotted shovel nosed rays, parrot fish, all the usual reef fish and a huge barracuda went past Jo. We drove further down the coast stopping at Sandy Bay for lunch before heading back and exploring a few more beaches and the reef on the way.

Exmouth was another town built in the 1960’s by the Americans who built massive low frequency radio masts to communicate with subs. The town was devastated by a cyclone in the 1990’s (recording wind speeds of over 275km/h before the meter broke) and has rebuilt itself as a base to view the reef and for game fishing. We got to our glass bottom boat and enjoyed a great morning snorkelling and learning about the reef, parts of which are over 1000 years old. We saw a huge range of fish, turtles and rays and Jo was lucky enough to swim over a reef shark. Even the girls got in the water for a float round. On the way back we stopped at the turtle centre to learn about how the turtles come to this stretch of coast every year to lay their eggs. Another great trip and Holly and Daisy’s day was completed with a round of mini golf and ice creams!

Our last full day in the area and Tom spent the day swimming with the largest fish in the sea, the whaleshark.  The trip started in the morning with another snorkel where he spotted a white tipped reef shark. He spotted more Dugong, Dolphin and Turtle before the spotter plane located the first of three whalesharks. An amazing experience swimming alongside these huge fish which can grow to 18m in length. So little is known about these fish and swimming alongside them for over an hour was a totally unforgettable experience.  On the way back he stopped at another reef for a snorkel and a Tiger shark swam by!

Back at base the girls had a great day chilling out by the pool with Daisy gaining in confidence and  now swimming under water.

We will be sorry to leave the marine life behind but with the cyclone passed we now head north once again!

19.03.12

The South West and Perth….and a rainy day!!

Arrived in Albany to rain!! First grey and cool afternoon we have had whilst being on the road and it came as a bit of a shock however it didn’t last long and the next day we took a drive to the National park to view the famous coastal blow holes, natural bridge and gap.  We stopped for lunch at the oldest hotel in WA before a long walk along the beach to Emu point, recently voted the cleanest beach in WA.

We then headed to Pemberton and the famous wine regions via Denmark and Walpole where we stopped to walk in the ‘Tree Tops’ of the huge Karri and Tingle trees, some reaching 60m in height and 12 metres round. A walking suspension bridge passed through the tree tops (40m at the highest point) for amazing views of the tree canopy and forest floor. We stopped at Northcliffe for lunch where we clocked up 10,000km and decided to continue through Pemberton to Hamelin Bay and our first view of the Indian Ocean and sunsets over water.

 Hamelin Bay provided yet another spectacular beach with the campground right on the beach under the shade of the gum trees. The old wooden jetty now provides a home to numerous types of ray and you could walk into the water and watch them swim next to you and feed them.

Our first morning we drove down to Augusta to view the Cape Llewin  Lighthouse which marks the spot where the Southern ocean meets the Indian Ocean  before Daisy and Tom visited the ‘Jewel Cave’ (one of many in the region) 40m underground and 500 steps to view amazing stalactites and stalagmites and many formations. Back on the beach we saw dolphins swimming  10m away from us and later returned with the girls to watch the sunset with a few cold drinks! One of our favourite places so far!

Next day we took a short drive up the coast to Margaret River, staying near the river mouth at Prevelly Beach, via a 14km off road track through Karri forest. These trees truly are magnificent  giants!!! The afternoon was spent collecting cowrie shells on the beach  and the girls trying to catch a fish in the many  rockpools. The area suffered a bush fire before Christmas with over 40 houses destroyed.

We headed for Freemantle in Perth via Canal Rocks, Yallingup, Bussleton and Bunbury before we stumbled across a great lunch stop on the beach. The girls seem to be enjoying painting all the shells they collect and playing with them in made up ‘dens’ and continue to adapt to travelling on the road without any issue.  In Freemantle we visited the old Goal, Cottesloe beach to the north and stocked up with fresh food from the many markets before booking out day to Rottnest Island.

We took the fast ferry to ‘Rotto’ the next morning and hired some bikes to explore the island. Holly had the luxury off sitting behind Tom whilst Daisy had her own bike with stabilisers. In the 38 degree heat she managed so well and must have covered a good distance via crystal clear beaches and of course past the famous Quokas which can only be described as a cross between a large rat and a small kangaroo. We cooled off in the water as we needed to and returned on the ferry, after a well-earned drink; a great day out!

We then headed to North Perth visiting friends who live at Claremont on the swan river and took a stroll down for a paddle in the River. The amazing pool and spa at the caravan park was most welcome as Perth continued to experience its hottest summer on record. Total fire bans are in place and no agricultural was to be operated in some regions due to risk of starting a bush fire.

We couldn’t visit Perth without a visit to the botanical gardens with its great views over the city and  river but as the temperature touched 40 degree we headed back to the pool. Tom went for a final check up and got the all clear and whilst dealing with maintenance we took the 4wd in for a service and oil change before we set up north along the coral coast towards Broome and eventually the Northern Territory!

06.03.12

The Longest Straight Roads and the Whitest Beaches …..and Holly’s Birthday!!!!

Well we made it! We left Port Augusta in good time and drove 5 hours via Poochera (home of some prehistoric rare ant) to arrive in the 40 degree heat of Ceduna and a much needed swim in the warmest water  we have been in to date. On the way back we recognised a campervan belonging to an old school friend of Jo’s, Bruce Levick, parked right across from our own caravan. Great to catch up with Bruce and look at his amazing photos and get a copy of his children’s book, Drop Bear Roy, for Holly’s birthday!

Another long drive to the Western Australian border town of Eucla saw us passing the dog fence on the way. This fence is the longest continuous vermin fence in the world running 5614km from Queensland to South Australia. We passed through the famous flat and treeless Nullarbor Plain covering 200,000sqkm and took in the views from the cliffs of The Great Australian Bight. Tom played a hole on the longest Golf course in the world which also starts in Port Augusta and finishes in Kalgoolie! Before we arrived at WA we drove the famous 90 miles straight, Australia’s longest straight road which seemed to go on for ever! At the WA border we had a quarantine inspection before setting up for the night at Eucla.

Holly’s birthday was spent driving from Eucla to Balladonia stopping at Midura in the middle of nowhere for pink birthday cake with candles as well as balloons and party hats! We stopped at Cocklebiddy for lunch before arriving at Balladonia 6 hours later for more cake and Strawberry Jelly. Holly had a great day and had some great presents including the Muppets Treasure Island on DVD, clothes and books.

The last leg of the big crossing saw us arrive back in civilisation and to beautiful Esperance via Norseman for a lunch stop. We stayed across the road from the beach where Sammy the sealion still frequents 18 years after Tom last saw him!  The girls loved seeing him each day whilst scooting along the foreshore.

We have visited so many beautiful beaches all with white sand and clear blue waters and our first day was spent exploring Twilight Cove where we all enjoyed the cool water and the girls played in the surf and went for a long walk through the limestone rocks collecting fossils and shells!

Next day we visited Cape Le Grande National Park which boasts Australia’s whitest beach at Lucky Bay. The water was so clear and the sand squeaked under foot.  Other bays we visited included Hellfire Bay (just as the temperature reached 40 degrees) and Thistle Cove. We stopped at Le Grande Beach near Frenchman’s peak before heading back to Twilight Cove where the temperature topped 45 degrees, we have never enjoyed cool water so much! At Twilight Cove we were all pulled out of the water as a 7ft shark was spotted in the bay! A great few days in Esperance after crossing the Nullarbor and now onto Albany and south west corner of WA!

24.02.12

Great Ocean Road, The Grampians, Adelaide Hills and The Flinders Rangers……on the road again!!

Having left Melbourne as planned we headed for the Great Ocean Road and first stop for a break was Bells Beach just outside Torquay before stopping in Anglesea (where else!) for lunch. We stopped for the night in beautiful Apollo Bay heading to the hotel to try the local beer. An early start the next day taking in the sights of the famous coastline; firstly the Twelve Apostles, where we all went down the cliff face to walk along the beach, London Bridge, The Arch and The Grotto rock formations. Amazing views and drive and we ended the Day in Port Fairy before heading back inland to The Grampians National Park.

Our arrival to Halls Gap in The Grampians coincided with the annual jazz festival so we headed out of town to a caravan park on Lake Fyans with lovely views over the lake back to the mountains. The next day we headed into the mountains with the girls managing to walk about 5km in total to take in the views from Reid Lookout and The Balconies and Boroka lookout stopping at Mckenzie falls for lunch. Tom and Daisy went to look at some rock art nearby at Bunjils cave while Holly had a well earned sleep.

Back on the road and after a 5 hour journey through open farmland stopping at Keith(!) for lunch we ended up in the leafy and attractive village of Hahndorf in the Adelaide Hills where the girls had an amazing time visiting fairy caves and gardens and making friends with Josie and Jackson from Perth who were staying in the same caravan park. Hahndorf is an old settlement with a German influence and we decided to stay an extra day so we could explore the pretty local towns of Stirling and Bridgewater. We even spotted a Koala in a pine tree of all places!! We also drove through Adelaide taking in The Adelaide Oval and the central market where we stocked up on some amazing food and fresh fruit and veg. We stopped at Glenelg Beach for lunch and we all had a swim to cool off in the 36 degree heat.

Another 5 hour drive took us north through open country to the stunning Flinders Ranges. We drove via the town of Laura for lunch and stopped at Orroroo and saw the 500 year old gum tree with a 10m diameter. RM Williams way then took us on to the Flinders, passing Rankine Road and countless Kangaroos and Emus. We arrived at 4pm with the temperature still a cool 38 degrees and the girls swam in the pool after playing in the red dirt while we had a cold beer or three!

The next day, marking our 10 year anniversary since we met, we drove through  countless dry gorges and lookouts spotting more kangaroos, emus, yellow footed rock wallabies, wedge tail eagles and just taking in the stunning landscape and surroundings. The temperature reached 39 degress as we sat under the twisted red river gums and tried to cool down. The colours of the rocks changed throughout the day and we ended the day with ice creams and a swim after a visit to the sacred canyon to look at the Aboriginal rock engravings.

We are now in Port Augusta preparing ourselves for the short trip of some 1850km across the Nullarbor desert to Esperance where we hope to be in 4 days time! So far the girls have entertained themselves with only the Wiggles via headphones and lots of stickers and colouring, as well as the odd snack…..let’s hope it continues!

18.02.12