Our Australia trip

After an okay night (the road here is quite busy and with a raised bridge over the river traffic noise travels far) we wake to the neighbour (you know, the one with the generator and sports channel) starting his diesel. Not like we did at 10 am some weeks ago, but before 7 am. You would think that he did it to warm his engine but after half an hour or so he turns it off. We take a good look at the car and caravan to ensure that we won’t be neighbours again. Ever.

We leave after eating breakfast (no egg), packing up, doping Nossi and dumping the cassette. The road from here goes south, then west when we eventually turn to Exmouth.

Also here we find that the devil lost some of his marbles.

We stop to get fuel at Nanutarra but they realize their monopoly position and charge over $2 per liter. We decide to keep going and hope that Exmouth has more realistic prices.

I’m sure that some Swiss engineer has taken it up himself to design this part of the roads of Western Australia. Over the 200 km from the Robe river to the turn off for Exmouth they designed the road like a Swiss grated cheese. On that little stretch there are 12 (yes twelve) grates. By the third we had a Nossi on steroids. Hyper. We made several stops to calm him down but in the end gave up and kept going. Only after we turned off towards Exmouth did he calm down a little.

At one of the stops Marjo found a solution for Joran’s grass problem. With the grass on the side of the road here you won’t have any problems with draughts (it is dry here for 4-5 months on a stretch), no problems with too much rain (during summer the grass gets flooded here, and no dog will want to ruin it or he will turn into a porcupine.

A bit further down the road I kept looking concerned up in the sky all the time. When Marjo asked me what the problem was, I told her I noticed that this piece of road was an emergency landing strip for aircrafts.

We then decided to stop early and turned off towards Giralla with a promising bay.

The joke was on us, a dusty place with very basic facilities but they were working and clean. We both had a second shower, washed the bus (inside out), clipped the dogs nails and did the laundry. Then time for a beer.

The temperature is dropping to an attractive level. After sunset it gets too cold to sit bare chested but during the day it is nice to be in shorts only. Marjo luckily disagrees and wears a decent top 🙂

The dogs lie under the bus and dig a hole to stay cool.

All in all a fruitful day.

Posted from Exmouth Gulf, Western Australia, Australia.

We again have a feeling of dustiness. We want something fresh and clean, a shower, a spring clean of the bus. After much reading, Internet, folders, etc. we decided to go to the Coral Cove at Samson Point. Everyone raved about this camping.

So we drive the 40 odd kilometer and come to the new town of Samson Point, all mining related, very new houses all corrugated steel and hose grown gardens and a pristine camping. We looked at the beach which looked not too bad and decided to go to the caravan park. I tried to pay but got reprimanded that I hadn’t booked through the booking service. Then the lady took a look at our bus and said to the guy serving us “tell them it’s $49 a night”. I’m not sure if that was the real cost or that they decided our bus would lower the image of the caravan park but we decided to move on.

First we had a swim and a shower and watched whales frolic in the little bay.

Then we bought some forgotten essentials.

Stopped at Dampier for Dotti to meet her great grand uncle.

And have a nice lunch in grass, luscious grass…….

Then we wait till 240 rail carriages pass in front of us.

Everything in this part of Australia is done in mega scale.

And then we go to a rest stop called Robe river.
It’s a bit of a weird stop. There are two French girls of which one has a heat stroke and she goes off to the hospital in Dampier. There is a couple with an older son who watch sports television outside with a smelly and noisy generator. When, close to 9 I ask him if he stops soon he’s not too pleased but moves his generator so that we don’t die from carbon monoxide poisoning. Then at 9.30 pm the welsh army arrives. Well, two welsh guys and a welsh girl who start a fire, cooking, and setting up all very noisy, as close as possible to our bus. The joys of camping 🙂

Posted from Fortescue, Western Australia, Australia.

Dotti and ‘Red’

And Nossi started barking and giving “Red” the sniff over as if he was real. So gullible.

We leave crossing the bridge and see that the river is hardly a river if we look at the water it carries.

In Western Australia they seem to recognise that as they only put “De Grey R” on signs. This seems a standard here. Of course it could also be a state wide saving program to minimize sign space.

Some bored miners personalized ant hills with their safety helmets.

And we came to the hustle and bustle of Port Hedland.
Mining traffic rules the world here.

We decide to take fuel, stock up on groceries and have a beach stop. The beach is mining style with dumped sand and bits making the beach. The dogs don’t care.

We pass the Port Hedland yacht club with three sorry boats stuck in a little water. I’m sure that boats are not a necessity to be part of the club.

On the way to Cleaverville we pass the historic town of Roeburne.

Then we follow 14 km of dirt road to arrive at a very dusty campground. The campground is mainly a strip of dirt along the coast with mainly people that stay three months of the winter season. There is not much attraction to us. No shower, no toilet, no water, barely beach (mostly rock) and mucky water. The sea breeze is nice though and we sleep well 🙂

Posted from Fortescue, Western Australia, Australia.

The Western Australians have an odd way of planning. Somehow they seem to not have realized that there is an ocean out west with scenic views, refreshing winds, cool waves. So they build the only road about 15 to 150 km inland from the coast. Ok, I get it that a main road not necessarily is constructed close to the beach, but at least at other parts of Australia (and the rest of the world) they construct some tourist road that provides access to the beach. Not here. The only access is over a long corrugated dirt road and that only where the local proprietor decided to rent out part of their property such as Barn Hill. These places are spread far apart. There’s a lot to grab for the smart town that develops themselves as a coastal place with easy access, places to stay, food to eat and beer to drink. Mmmmm, Axel Beach? Marjo Downs? Smagtville?

Enough pondering. Meanwhile we drive on, over monotone roads with quite a bit of mining traffic. Every second or third car is a road train with some mining equipment or something they dug up. This area has a lot of salt mining.

We both do a bit of driving and a little more till we are too hot and reach the nice rest area.

The dogs meet a friend while bathing and we prepare the shower.

For some a bath and a shower don’t help in getting clean.

Apart from cows, bats and flies we get a visit from a small gecko duo.

All in all a nice stay.

Posted from Cleaverville, Western Australia, Australia.

Escaping the heat and flies we leave early from this giant tree. The bus can smell the ocean and we continue west. We decide not to go to Derby but head straight for Broome and turn left at the if Boab tree.

When we get closer to Broome the air starts getting dense and before we know it we pass a large bush fire.

Lucky for us this truck passed us just before.

In Broome we find the ocean and the only beach where dogs are allowed looks like a parking lot.

We decide to go off to the other side with nicer views and dip in the cool sea. Ahhhhhhhh, nice.

Back at the car though we notice the stifling heat and the many flies. And the only camping in Broome that reluctantly accepts dogs is far from the ocean. I get a panic mode and feel stifled, claustrophobic. In a dash we get fuel, fill up with water see a little bit of Broome and then escape. In the rush we forget to do any grocery shopping but we can always live on lollies and dog food 🙂

We then pass the bush fire again and head south towards Port Hedland. In about 120 km there should be a seaside caravan park. We get a little tired and Marjo still feels that I rushed our Broome visit (which I did) but I need fresh air and water.

The scenery along the drive south changes with endless fields and snow? It works out to be white sand and also the ant hills that look like snow cones are pure white.

When we come to the turnoff for Barn Hill station, we are greeted by a fence and a 9 km corrugated dirt road.

The bus doesn’t like corrugation which means we don’t like it either and with 18 kph it takes exactly half an hour to reach the camping. It’s all worth it and we have a view, a breeze, bearable flies and a fabulous beach. Marjo’s in heaven.

The beach combines rock and ocean with sand, stones, and a plethora of shells. We will leave many kilos heavier I’m sure.

We decide to stay three nights and enjoy sunsets and the sound of the waves (which is here a bit different as with every new wave a kaleidoscope of new pebbles, shells and other beautiful things wash ashore.

The dogs love the freedom of the beach and frolic in the water, cool down in pools and sleep in the shade.

We love the layout of the amenities. The warm water for the showers depends on the sun heating up the black pipes, so an early morning or evening shower is a frightening cold affair. And before you go to the loo you need to look up to make sure no passing bird poops on you while you’re busy yourself 🙂 You also get interesting results peeing at night and gazing at the stars…..nobody likes wet feet.

Then we really run out of food and move on.

Posted from Roebuck, Western Australia, Australia.

The scenery is becoming less hilly and more plain. That’s a pity as many kilometers with shrubs and termite mounds gets boring pretty fast.

Then we see a viewpoint and stop for a dog pee and scenery.

Our next stop is at Fitzroy Crossing for some fuel and then Marjo sees a sign for Geiki Gorge, the only attraction in the Kimberley’s that is accessible without 4WD. It is not bad but we are quite a bit disappointed about what there is to see from the Kimberley’s through the Great Northern Highway. If you ever decide to “do the Kimberley’s” make sure you can see it via the Gibb River road (dirt).

Looking at these pictures there seems to be an “ebony and ivory” effect.

We follow the endless road.

And Nossi enjoys the view from the back.

Then we come to a rest area where people sit with fly nets over their head and where there is no shade. We do a short tour and decide to move on, another 90 km to the Boab rest area. This better be good. And it was!

The tree must have been formed over years from a circle of trunks and then grown together. Now it’s hollow and Nossi is curious.

And then wants to run when he sees me there.

Marjo is more interested to join me.

Posted from Roebuck, Western Australia, Australia.

We woke at 5.30 am which in NT time is only 7 am. The sun clearly hasn’t changed it’s clock because at 5.30 am you can already feel the heat increasing. So we have early breakfast and before 8 am we’re on the road.

We stop to check for some suspect sound but find everything in order and the alternator is still with us. You can’t be careful enough though.

Then we stop for some nice views and take some more photos of termite mounds. They are pieces of art!

We stop for fuel at Halls Creek and get dazzled by the fierce redness of the soil.

At the Information booth we ask if we can swim at Mary Pool.The answer is “if there’s any water there then you might”. The question “Are there no crocs” is answered with “well there could be”. So we decide to drive on to Mary pool anyway.

The rest stop is nicely positioned off the road with plenty of shade. Not much water though, so the question of swimming is premature. We do some drawing (Marjo), fixing (Axel) and rolling in the dust (Dotti) and making funny noises at passing cows (Nossi). The wind is nice and refreshing and we are happy.

Posted from Mueller Ranges, Western Australia, Australia.

With a disturbed sleep at night, I can’t wake up very well in the morning and Marjo is so sweet to make breakfast. We lazy a little and then pack up to do shopping, take in fuel and look around in Kununurra.
We stop at a zebra stone gallery and Marjo decides she doesn’t like that unique Kununurra stone but instead she gets a piece of Liesengang Weatherrock, with warm red and yellow colours. Meanwhile we enjoy the animal life around the gallery.

Then we go to a swimming beach in the Kununurra lake that forms an extension of Lake Argyle. Some Japanese tourists that happen to float there too are smitten by the dogs and have photo sessions whilst continuously repeating their names “Dotti”, “Dotti”, “Dotti”, and “Nossi”, “Nossi”, “Nossi”. Having endured that, we refused to give them our names 🙂

At the campground we forgot to fill up with fresh water so we tour town to look for a tap. We follow the two signs for “free coffee for driver” until they stop putting them up and see no free coffee or tap. Then at the sports grounds some builder is using water and we borrow his hose to fill up (his water hose).

Then we are on our way west again.

We are planning to camp near the Orb river but see a spot before that with a little water and some shade. We pull into the stop at an old river crossing and park on the road. Sooooo many flies though.

It being only 100 km south west of Kununurra the temperature is distinctly better. At night it drops to 15! degrees. Nice! At some point it is cool enough to go inside and watch some Bones on our iPads.

Oh, no turkeys in the creek though.

Posted from Mueller Ranges, Western Australia, Australia.

Also this one got wiped by our great blog app……so take 2:

After packing up and making sure the alternator is where it’s supposed to be we leave without a hitch and take the winding road between mountains and passing more Boab trees.

Then at 10.45 am we reach the border between Northern Territory (NT) and Western Australia (WA) which for the first time is a real controlled border.

We have to pull over and declare some potatoes as we couldn’t decide whether they were veggies or fruit. The guy didn’t care and we had to throw it out as well as the carrots and cauliflower we were planning to eat during the morning trip. After some inspection of the bus and trailer we were through. Marjo let out a sigh of relief as she was afraid they would confiscate her seed pots (no seeds), her rocks (no bugs) or red sand (nothing but sand).

I hear you ask: “so, what’s different in WA?” and we are prepared for just such a question:
– it feels like we’re thrown back in time. Not only is road repair here by the bucket as we saw in QLD.

But also the clock is turned back 1 hour and thirty minutes. So suddenly it’s 9.15 am!
– the cattle here seems to like to highway better than their paddocks

– people are better off than in NT or there’s better security as the roadside solar panels are still in place

Then we take the turnoff to Lake Argyle, a man made land sea the size of 18 times Sydney Harbour (which seems to be a generally accepted means of measure of water bodies in Australia). The drive to the lake and the lake itself are stunning.

Then we stop for lunch on a field with real grass. I can’t describe how nice it feels to have real juicy grass under your toes, the green lush leaves tickling your foot soles, the smell of the moist, the green colour. Ah well, you get the picture.

Nossi and Dotti drink some water and Marjo shoots some interesting tree which seems to have orchids growing in them.

Then we find some water for the dogs to cool down in and they gladly accept.

And it becomes time to go onto Kununurra for some shower, washing and shopping.
We stop to see if the river is nice, but it works out that the water has inaccessible high edges and weed cover where unpleasant animals could be lurking. It is lunchtime after all.

Then after some more views we come to Kununurra, go to the Hidden Valley camping and find a spot between many many tent campers. It seems that this is the camping where the French go when they leave their country as all we hear is cackling French young man and women. And it never stops 🙂 On the drive, Dotti feels all rested and happy.

While Marjo takes up the vibe, I do some well needed laundry and soak in the pool (very nice cold and shady). Then it’s Marjo’s turn.

Later on she goes for a wander around the Merima National Park that starts at the camping back fence.

That night we did not get a lot of rest. The French keep at it, keeping Marjo listening and I get woken up by some animal in a tree that seems to imitate an alarm, 15 second beeps on, 3 seconds off. 15 seconds on, 3 seconds off, 15 seconds on, 3 seconds on, ………

Posted from Kununurra, Western Australia, Australia.