Sunday 23rd October 2011

Hi Everyone,

Well we have new additions to the travelling family, but I will tell you more about that later.

Day 55 Exmouth
Day 56 Lake McLeod
Day 57 Whalebone Bay (Denham)
Days 58 to 61 Geraldton
Days 62 to 64 Perth
Days 65 to 66 Margaret River
Day 67 Walpole
Days 68 to 69 Albany


We tried to set off early, but Paul does regular checks on the van and car and saw that a nut was missing off the van suspension.  Well off he went to find some of these nuts, then when he finally found them, the computers were down and he had to give another customer some money so he could put them on his account when the computers came back up.  After about 4 hours we finally got on our way....

It is amazing the amount of bicycle riders we see on the road, mad tourists, who must think that Australia is the size of England, but we did see one man who was walking with a trolley towards Karratha and he was raising money for charity ozonfoot.com.

On the way to Exmouth, which is on a peninsular we say Emus, sheep and then when we got close to the water we could see humpback whales, which was quite amazing, they were really close to the shoreline that we could see them while we were driving!

We stayed at a caravan park as there wasn't any free camping sites nearby and forgot that it was school holidays.  We couldn't believe that they were charging $45 for a powered site and $30 for unpowered (guess which option we chose?)  It felt so noisy, as we had been used to our own company and there were people laughing and children playing, it felt very strange. there must have been over a 100 vans at the park, good thing we were leaving next morning!!! ha ha

We got up and went to walk down to the markets, thinking that they would start at 8am, they didn't start until 9am!! What do you do in a a little coastal town, with 1 pub, 1 fisho and not much else, luckily we found a place that sold coffee so we managed to waste an hour and then the markets were about 6 tables and not much else. Luckily for us, they had 1 fridge van which sold fresh caught prawns, so dinner was sorted for that night and they were delicious!

We drove to Denham which is close to Monkey Mia and again was a long drive to a small town, but felt we needed to visit, but basically drove in (found the local bakery) and drove out to a free camp which was right on the beach at Whalebone Bay, it was 20 steps from the van to the beach...heaven! But the weather is finally changing and the jumper finally needs to be put on .

We stopped to see the stromalites which is a living bacteria in the rock and dates back 3.5 billion years. To me they were rocks under water, but obviously a lot more important if they are heritage listed!

Also stopped at Shell beach, which is made up of cockle shells up to 10m deep. It was quite unusual to walk off a beach and not have your feet covered in sand

We notice as we get closer to Geraldton that a few things are changing...more traffic on the road,started to rain (very foreign to us) more rubbish and heaps of lovely wildflowers.  It was a definite change about 100ks out when the landscape changed from scrub to wheatfields and we thought that's it, we have left the top end!(Don't you love the bent sign on my random click out the car window!)

It seems that the car had a bit of a coolant leak, so luckily there was a landrover mechanic, who could have a look at the car first thing in the morning. They very nicely dropped us into town, so we could have a look around.  We were having a lovely time looking around the shops until we got the phone call, I have good news and bad news..oh oh. The good news is, it was a $39 part that needs replacing, bad news, there is none in Australia and the part eeds to come from America...WHAT..you must be joking??   Oh well, we could be in a really awful place, but we both like Geraldton, so Paul rang up RACQ as we had upgraded our cover to the Platinum service and they organised 2 nights payment for the Caravan park and 2 days car hire (until we got the car back) so all wasn't lost. We finally got the car back on Friday afternoon and they also did a full service on the car and you wouldn't believe that it cost the same amount as money as when it was fixed in Alice Springs. I am sure that it is all a fixed rate!!

Finally on our way to Perth and we stop at the Pinnacles, which are shafts of limestone generated from root fossils and then the sand around has eroded and left the pinnacles.  The visit was a quick one as we were inundated by flies (it seems that this is normal for this time of the year and it was all because of the dung beetle not doing such a great job??)

We have been to Perth and the southern part of the state 2 years ago, so wasn't too interested in doing the touristy things, so we drove up to the Perth Hills to the Kalamundra markets, which we got some beautiful fresh veges, so dinner that night was a combination of smoked trout, fresh rocket, goats cheese and fresh snow peas (it was lovely) We also had to have a drive around the Swan valley region as it gets missed as everyone goes to Margaret River for their wines. It was a lovely afternoon sampling wines, chocolates & nougat and of course we had to buy some!!

Our furkids Barney and Floyd had outstayed their welcome at Mum and Dad's so we made the decision to fly them over and carry on our journey with us.  We had been lucky enough to have 2 months and we had seen all the wonderful places at the National Parks that we wanted to see and now the second part of the journey will be a little bit different but fun all the same. They had been on a plane for hours and we finally got them 8.30pm that night and they were very excited to see us.  The next day they were still a bit out of sorts, but by the afternoon had settled right in and you could see that they were happy and relaxed.



We found a great place at Margaret River called Big Valley which was a working sheep farm on 680 hectares which was dog friendly. They loved the run around and Paul loved helping out sorting the fleece after it was sheared.

Of course, we found the chocolate shops and the wineries, so we had to sample and of course bring some back to the van!  One of the wineries that we had bought from before Cape Naturaliste is dog friendly, so they were quite happy for us to let the dogs out and run around with their dogs, it was quite funny to see Barney behind the bar!  Otherwise we would leave them in the van for 10 minutes while we went in to the wineries and I must admit they beahved themselves. It has worked out well as I think they think we are going to leave them  and they follow us around all the time and never go to far!

The weather has changed and it is about a maximum of 15 degrees so the jumpers have started to come out, but it is nice, just as long as it doesn't get too cold!

Paul had to drive to Busselton the next morning (100k return) as one of the car's back wheels was wearing excessively and we had to replace it with the one on the roof, so the wheel's needed a realignment, so were a bit late heading off and ended up staying at a free campsite at Walpole.

We had been to Denmark before and it is so relaxing. A little country town that has a loop road of wineries. We left the van at the local information centre and headed out for the day. Of course I remembered where they serve the best ice cream,  it is huge. They mix ice cream and your choice (mine was raspberries, Paul's was cherries) then the machine combines them together...happy days!!

On our way to Albany and we have decided to stay at a free campite next to the beach about 20ks out. We were lucky to get one of the last spots as it wasn't a big site. We decided to stay 2 nights as we could take the dogs on the beach and they had a good run. We went into Albany for the markets, but couldn't take the dogs in, so it was a quick wander through but again got some lovely fresh veges.  A storm was brewing in the afternoon, so everyone in the campsite was putting stuff away, herding the dogs into the vans and then it hit about 6.30pm. I think we were lucky as we were just behind the dune and covered by the trees, but it was still raining when we left in the morning, but it was all good as it wasn't too cold

Driving with the dogs makes you stop every couple of hours to give them a stretch, whereas before we would have kept on driving and so we are finding that the trip is a bit more relaxing, plus we have someone else (dog) to talk to!Here are some pictures of the boys in the car, I think they look quite relaxed!

Friday 7th October 2011

Hi Everyone,

After a week in Broome and a week inland, we have a very slow internet reception at Dampier (it has only taken an hour to finally get on to the website...the joys of being rural)

Days 42 to 46  Broome
Days 47 & 48 Eighty Mile Beach
Days 49 to 51 Karajini National Park
Day 52 House Creek Bridge (outside Parabadoo)
Days 53 to 54 Dampier

A week at Broome, I thought it was a bit along the same lines as Noosa.  It had one main street of shops and cafes and a beach that everyone raved about!

We played tourist and enjoyed the Courthouse markets, drove to Willie Creek Pearl Farm for a tour (which was a nice way to spend a couple of hours)

We enjoyed Fish n Chips on Cable Beach and watched the camels stroll past and watched the sun go down, which was most pleasant

For a rare night out we went to the Sun Cinema and it is an open air theatre and sat in deck chairs and watched Red Dog (i cried the whole movie). It was great fun until I jumped two metres into the air as the Qantas flight went right over head and I thought it was going to crash into us...yes you guessed it the airport, was right next to the town. I swear I could see the passengers faces looking down and watching the movie also!

We drove to Cape Leveque which was a 400k round trip, so it took us most of the day as it was on a corrugated road, so it was slow going in parts.  We visited Beagle Bay which has a lovely shell alter at the local Catholic Church (we made a small donation of course), the Cygnet Bay Pearl Farm (to look at some more lovely pearls) and to One Arm point, which is where the local aboriginal community lives. If we wanted to have a look around and where they farmed the trocus shells you needed to buy a permit...we decided not to, but we did by a Trocus shell pendant which one of the local kids made and the proceeds went to the school, which is now hanging from the rear mirror in the car and probably annoying Paul!

On the way back we stopped at Koolijman, which is a 'resort'' which is owned by the local aboriginal community. It is where the beautiful red cliffs meet the white sands of the beach. We needed to purchase a $10 day pass to go on the beach and have a look around, but it was very lovely.

We did have a quick passing thought to may be a bit healthy on our travels and decided to go to an organic cafe a few km's from town. It only opened a couple of days a week, but I enjoyed my sandwich and Paul followed a Tofts tradition of having breakfast at lunchtime (I wonder where he get's that from...)

When we left Broome it was a long boring drive to 80 mile beach.  It is the worst part of being the passenger if you are driving for about 5 hours if there is nothing to look at other than scrub at the immediate side of the road, we usually end of getting a bit crabby at each other by the time we get out of the car.

It was a hot day 37deg and when you got out of the car the wind was even hot! We pulled into the one and only service station at Sandfire and petrol was priced at $1.81 so we thought we would use the cheaper fuel in the Jerry can.  But then I thought I need an icecream, it was $10 for an ice cream and an ice coffee...they saw us coming!

When we got to 80 mile beach, they had a few vans there. It is very popular with the grey nomads as they come here for 4-5 months at a time for the fishing as the caravan park is right behind the dune and the beach is 220km long.

Paul tried his hand at fishing a couple of times...but to no avail (it was too windy).  We celebrated that night on the beach with our dip and biccies with Donna's bottle of Moet and watched the sun go down. It was lovely and one we thoroughly enjoyed and Paul didn't have to drive anywhere.

At night we like to look up and see the many stars. Well we were very lucky this night to see 3 satellites and two of them crossed paths, which I have never seen before, it was a good thing they didn't collide!

We left 80 mile Beach to start heading inland to Karajini National Park and there are many trucks on the road as we are now getting into the Pilbara, which is mining country for Iron Ore. We stayed at the best free campsite (i thought) as it was look over a gorge and we were camped on top of a range wo it was beautiful (pity we had to share it with other vans)

We stayed at Karajini National Park for 2 nights and we were just surrounded by fantastic scenery.  They had camp hosts (who collect your fees on the way in) and and give you a handout on the walks.  Even though it gives you the grading we were very surprised by the lack of signage on the tracks and handrails & fencing.

We went walking through Weano Gorge the next day and it was a bit of an adventure as the trail could have gone a couple of ways. I was scrambling over rocks and ledges and poor Paul ever the hero husband and to keep stop and helping me over the rocks, but I eventually made it until I saw the steps back up out of the Gorge.  Well let's just say I had to stop a couple of times! They were steep and eneven and the rock was very slippery.  It amazed me that we came across a German couple with 3 young toddlers. I must admit that I was very tempted to say how irresponsible I thought they were bringing children on the track, but when you here the next bit to my story it makes you even madder!

That afternoon Paul decided to head down to Fortescue Falls for an afternoon swim and I stayed back at the van to read. He was gone for hours and I thought he had got chatting to someone, but he came back a bit of a mess and had been helping the rescuers as a man had fallen 14m over a cliff top as his 7 year old son slipped on the track and went under a bit of wire, which they called a fence.  He had to go back and help the police, so he took the car and took off. I thought I can't wait here, so Iwalked to the car park and waited a couple of hours for him to come back, but it was about 6pm and unfortunately it was when he was helping retrieve the body, so it was a sad end to the stay at Karijini. The little boy is critical in a Perth Hospital.

We drove to Tom Price to start heading back to the Coastline, but as things go astray as they do, the sole fuel stop had fuel but no bowsers working. How can this happen twice to us in our trip..unbelievable. But we have learnt our lesson this time, we have jerry cans of fuel on the roof, so that enabled us to detour to Paraburdoo.


Stayed the night at a free campsite at House Creek bridge then drove to Karratha then Dampier.  Karratha is a huge mining town and every one is in their safety gear and driving around in utes/4wd with orange flags and lights!

We checked the local paper and the rents here for a basic house start from $2,500pw can you believe it and none of the houses have gutters and they are all made from Colourbond...it is very strange!  We stopped at the Information centre to ask about Caravan Parks as we want to stay for 2 nights and if we want to stay at Karratha it is $54pn or if we drove a further 15ks towards the coast to Dampier there is a transient caravan park which you can only stay for 3 nights and it is $24pn.  That will do us fine thanks!

Not much at Karratha/Dampier. There is a shopping centre which we had a quick look around, a pub and about 5 sports grounds.  We drove out of Dampier to the Burrup Peninsula and had a look at the Information centre which overlooks the Liquefied Natural Gas Plant, which was quite informative and a quick drive to some aboriginal carvings, which were quite spectacular.  We had to take a picture of the Red Dog statue as this is where he was from.

Saturday 24th September

Hi Everyone,

We have just got to lovely Broome and I am typing away looking at the beautiful view of Roebuck Bay...heaven!

Day 32 to 34  Kunanurra
Day 35 to 36  Bungle Bungles
Day 37 Mary River
Day 38 to 39  Windjana Gorge
Day 41  Broome

The drive across to Kunanurra was spectacular. Coming through Victoria River really gave me the WOW moment

We drove past Coolibah which I think is the property that Keeping up with the Jones' was filmed at.

As you couldn't take any fruit, seeds, vegetables into Western Australia, we were sitting like two Criminals at the rest area to the side of the Quarantine station having our last salad sandwich to use up the salad items we had left. It felt like we were trying to eat the evidence!

We ended up at Lake Kunanurra Caravan Park which has a magnificent view over the lake aand also its own resident crocodiles that come to the waters edge!

Next day we drove up to Wyndham which is about 100 ks away as it is the most northerly town in WA. Not much there, but it did have a good lookout that would be spectacular after the wet season as you can see where 5 rivers leave from the outlet

That evening we went on a Sunset Cruise on Lake Argyle, which is just huge and it is man made.  The scenery was magnificent as the ragged ranges changed colour as the sun went down.  At sunset, we had drinks and nibblies and you could go in for a swim.  I will let the pictures speak for themselves!

The next day was our day of luxury, this was our "bucket list" item for the trip, flying to the Bungle Bungles, then a helicopter ride, then flying to the Argyle Diamond Mine, a tour around the mine then flown back to Kunanurra.

We got picked up and taken to Kunanurra Airport. There was another couple from France and a lady from Perth and the pilot and we all fit into this tiny plane, a Cessna 206. this plane was tiny and we squeezed in like sardines, 3 rows of 2 people.

It was bumpy over the ranges and I don't think I let go of Paul's knee most of the time! The best bit was landing as I could see over the Pilot's shoulder

The helicopter flight over the Bungles was awesome as there wasn't any doors to the helicopter. I don't know how many times I pulled on my seat belt to make sure it was secure!

We then got back into the plane to fly to the Argyle diamond mine. They manage to collect about 12 kilos of diamonds each day, which is amazing. The only way you can get into the mine is by this tour as the public are not allowed into the mine. We had lunch at the Workers Mess area and had a fantastic buffet lunch

Then a flight back to the Airport and we were all a bit tired. I think it was from the lack of oxygen in the little plane.  But without fail, on every holiday Paul manages to bump his head, and yes he walked into the Plane's wing, it is a good thing his head is as tough as a coconut!

Next day we drive to the Bungle Bungles and the temperature is starting to rise to about 36 degrees. We ended up at a free campsite across from the road into the Bungles and stayed 2 nights and met Brian & Rosemarie from Perth who have been on the road for 2 years and Olivier and Sandra from France who travelling around Australia in a little van.

As you needed a 4 wd to get into the Bungles as it is very rough and slow going (it took us 2hrs each way to complete 77ks), Olivier and Sandra came with us

We stayed the next night at Mary river which is a great free campsite. About a dozen of us ended up chatting around a campfire and exchanging stories.It is just so friendly as everyone has the same thing in common, life on the road and where should you stay and what should you see next! 

The next morning we awoke to a lost dog which wouldn't leave the toilet block. Paul went up to see if it was waiting for it's owner, but it was on it's own.  Every one was worried as it looked like someone's pet. A lady walked around the campsite and asked if anyone was going to Fitzroy Crossing as they had just come from there and there were posters around town about a lost black and white Kelpie called Meg. I went to put a rope around her neck and lead her to the car and she was so scared of other cars that she had to stop walking and nearly knocked my leg over leaning into me, but a couple of cuddles later we got to the car and Paul lifted her into the car as her back legs were very shaky...poor girl.

 We drove the 200ks to Kitzroy Crossing and pulled into the Caravan Park and I was just about to ring the owner, when the owner of the Caravan Park came running out, have you found Meg?  It seems that her owners were on their way to Kunanurra and stopped with their other dog for a pitstop (about 30ks from our campsite) and a car drove in and scared Meg into the Bush. They tried to find her for 3 hours without avail. She had been in the bush for 5 days, it was lucky that she survived! Anyway I spoke to the owner and he was eternally grateful and wouldn't let Linda the Caravan Park Owner let us leave without something, so Paul scored a carton of Beer.  Linda took her home and she finally relaxed and started drinking water and came and found us at the Information Centre to let us know, so we were very happy.

We then drove to Windjana Gorge on a very corrugated road, it took us 4 hours to complete about 100k road, because about 5 ks in the caravan decided to separate itself from the car when we went through a slight floodway. It seems the spring in the locking coupling on the towhitch had gone weak and the vibrations of the corrugations unlocked the towhitch. A 2 tonne caravan digging itself into the ground stopped us pretty quickly, it was a good thing that we were driving slowly out of the floodway

Luckliy no damage was done and Paul was quite calm about it (he is my mr fixit) and we were back on the road within half an hour, although doing it slowly. It was mind numbing, that I fell asleep twice!

Windjana Gorge is spectacular!  Next morning we left about 8am to walk the 7km track which took us about 2.5 hours.  We walked through the sandy riverbed and through trees, but it was great to see all the Freshwater Crocodiles on the riverbed, the noisy Corellas & the Fruit Bats

We got back about 10.30am and it was already 36 degrees. It was so hot. As they had lovely bush showers,which were lovely and clean and when you had your shower you had a view of the Gorge and a lovely breeze!

That afternoon we just laid on the bed and had a wet teatowel on the window and spraying each other with a water bottle, to try and keep cool as the temperature got up to 40 degrees. the evaporation technique worked wonders!

We then drove to Broome and we are going to stay here for the next week. We have a beautiful campsite right on the waters edge. Not bad for $34 a night!