Half-way Checkpoint

29th September

As we head south from Broome today, it seems timely that I stop and reflect on our trip so far, since we are probably about half way through our trip in terms of both time and distance.

We have been on the road 3 months today and have about 3 more months to travel before we will need to start bee-lining home to be back by mid-January in time to go back to school and work. At this stage, we think we will get as far as Adelaide before we need to head home.

So far we have travelled 11000km – 8000-9000km towing the van and 2000-3000km in daytrips, side-trips and sightseeing. In a straight line, we are almost as far from home as we can be without leaving the country.

I’ll give you a quick rundown of where the first part of our trip has taken us, then some stats on fuel use etc., an update on the car and caravan, and finish off with some general thoughts.

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The start of our trip saw us head quite quickly up the coast to Cairns. We were keen to get to some warm weather and get to parts of the country that we can’t easily drive to in a shorter trip another time.

After exploring the Cairns and Cape Tribulation area, we headed inland and west across the Savanah Way. We were now in the outback – and red dirt country. We had a stop on the gulf at Karumba, then down to beautiful Lawn Hill National Park.

The Savannah Way from here to the N.T border was some of the worst road we have travelled on – but scenic and remote. When we hit the Stuart Highway in the Northern Territory we were officially back on the tourist track, with every second car sporting a roof-top tent or towing a caravan. From here, we headed north to Katherine and onto Darwin, via Kakadu National Park, with some great stops along the way.

We had a week in Darwin with family and then snuck off for a nice relaxing week in Bali. It was then back to Darwin and the caravan and time to head toward Western Australia. We went south to Katherine via Litchfield National Park. Heading west from Katherine, we stopped at Keep River National Park and Lake Argyle, one on each side of the NT/WA border.

We decided to take the scenic route through the Kimberley and tackle the infamous Gibb River Road. It was 2 weeks of tough roads, beautiful scenery and a great adventure. And then we hit the coast again! The blue ocean and white sand is a welcome relief from the red dirt!! We have spent a week or so exploring around Broome, either side of a 3-day trip up the Dampier Peninsula to stunning Cape Leveque.

From here we will spend some time on the coast south of here, before popping back inland to Karijini National Park. We’ll then head back to the coast at Exmouth and pretty much will follow the coast down Western Australia and into South Australia till our time runs out.

The weather has been great the whole trip so far. Yes, it’s hot!! We have had temps averaging mid to high 30’s for the past few months. For the most part, it is surprisingly bearable, enough so to be out in the midday sun most days. There are 2 main benefits of the high temperatures; water temps are great for swimming and we are behind the main tourist season, so crowds are at a minimum.

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Our car and caravan have done us proud so far – so we felt they deserved a service. The car seems to be travelling along well and the mechanic didn’t find anything wrong with the motor. We knew, however, that the steering was out so we took it in for a wheel alignment and it’s now driving much better.

We hadn’t noticed anything wrong with the caravan and just expected the chassis service to be a bit of routine maintenance, so we were surprised when the mechanic called to say that both our brakes were stuffed. The magnet on one side had fallen off and looked like it had never worked. That’s a bit scary when we have driven it over 8000km in the past few months! On the other brake, the front pad had completely worn away, while the back pad looked almost new. We were very lucky the mechanic was able to chase up the parts in town, so didn’t have to order them in, and got us back on the road the same day.

The caravan even got a wash, so rather than the pale shade of red it has been for the past few months, it looks almost new again!

 

Here’s a few stats…

• We have averaged 15L of diesel per 100km for the trip so far.

We average about 16 to 17L per 100km when we are towing and around 9 or 10L per 100km without the van on.

• We average about $200 a week on fuel, with diesel prices averaging $1.38.

The cheapest was $1.09 in Cairns and the most expensive was $2.05 on the Gibb River Road.

• Camping costs have averaged just under $40 a night.

This is more than we had anticipated. The two main reasons being that we have done a lot less free camping than we thought we would. While some of the most scenic campsites we’ve had have been free camps, most of the time they are not central to where we want to be. So, we tend to use them mainly for overnight stays when travelling long distances. The second reason is the amount that some places charge extra for kids – as much as $9 per child for an unpowered site!

• I have no idea what we spend on a day-to-day basis on general living.

I guess it’s pretty similar to when we are at home. We eat out less, but occasionally have to pay more for groceries if we need to stock up somewhere remote.

 

What do we do all day??

Well, of course, having done 11000km, we have had lots of travel days. But mostly, our days have been spent hiking through the numerous National Parks we have visited. And we have spent lots of time swimming, mainly in waterholes at the multitude of beautiful gorges and waterfalls we have visited. The kids write their journal every day and very occasionally do a bit of maths. They read a lot and play their guitars, and kick a ball around or find other kids to play with. Drew and I don’t seem to have as much free time as they do!! But we do finish most days sitting down with a drink and watching another stunning sunset. Most nights after dinner we sit outside watching the night sky – and have a campfire if they are allowed.

Don’t get me wrong – not every day is perfect. Living all together in a van is not always easy. When one of the 4 of us is grumpy or having a bad day – or the kids are fighting – the effect it would normally have on the rest of the family is magnified due to the confined space of the car or van. But luckily the bad days are far, far, outweighed by the good ones.

Travelling around Australia as a family is definitely an awesome experience!! And we are very lucky to be doing this trip now. We are still fit and agile enough to be able to do all the hiking that is involved to get in and fully explore a lot of the places we’ve been. At the same time, the boys are old enough now to be enjoying it with us – and hopefully remembering most of it.

This country of ours certainly has some amazing places – and we have only just touched the surface. We have loved everywhere we have been and find it hard to name a favourite. We have also met some great people as we’ve travelled around. It’s surprising to see how many other families with young children are doing the same thing.

The first part of our trip has been awesome and we are looking forward to all the other wonderful places we will visit over the next 3 months.

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If you are keen to see pics or read about any of the places we have visited, or have missed any posts click here or on the “Our Aussie Lap” tab at the top, and scroll down through the posts.