Author: drewandgab

6th October

This pretty little nature reserve, 150km north of Port Headland has a series of turquoise bays, with mangroves on the west side and 80 Mile Beach stretching as far as the eye can see on the east side.

 

 

Camping is right on the beach.

 

There is a lot of wildlife here!! When the sun goes down at night the sand beneath our chairs came alive with hermit crabs of every shape and size.

The birdlife is abundant. There are lovely flocks of seabirds. But also, these little fiches. We woke up one morning to what sounded like rain on the roof of the van, but it was actually dozens of the finches tapping as they drank the dew off the roof.

Unfortunately, the sand-flies are also prolific!!

Of interest is that Cape Keraudren marks the end of what was once the Rabbit Proof Fence, which was once the longest unbroken fence in the world.

 

The tides here vary dramatically, particularly at full moon, which is when we were there. The water was within a few metres of our campsite at high tide and about 300 metres out at low tide.

The beauty of the tides at this time of the month is that the full moon rising over the sand at low tide creates an illusion of a “staircase to the moon”. It can only be seen in a few places on the west coast and only a few days a month at certain times of the year, so were lucky to see it.

 

4th October

We have just spent 5 wonderful days at this picturesque little beach 150km south of Broome.

 

We were camped on the edge of the cliff, with beautiful views of the beach and ocean from the van.

 

The northern beach was just a minute walk from the van – almost deserted and perfect for long beach walks, swimming, and touch footy games.

 

The beach was littered with pretty shells and rocks, which Matt and I spent hours sifting through. The shoreline had plenty to distract me as I walked every day.

 

And the boys tried a little fishing.

 

The two beaches were broken up with some lovely rock pools. Colourful rocks were exposed at low tide on the southern beach and there were some cool rock formations at the end.

 

Sunsets were stunning, whether sitting on the beach or up at the caravan.

 

It’s been the perfect place for some quiet, relaxing family time.

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.

*****

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.

 

 

29^th September

We have been back in Broome the past 4 nights exploring the area, having some beach time and getting some jobs done.

We went to Cable Beach every day for swimming or sunsets. The boys were thrilled that the swell was big enough on a couple of days to have a surf. I did some nice long beach walks. And we met up with friends again a few times for sunsets.

We also spent a day up at a couple Broome’s northern beaches, reached by a dirt road, about 50km up the Dampier Peninsula. Very different to Cable Beach, they are very rugged and rocky. It was quite windy the day we went. The water colour was amazing, but would be more so on a calm day with flat ocean.

Quondong had some nice white sandy beaches and I found these cool pictures in the sand made by the outgoing tide.

 

James Price Point had higher cliffs and more dramatic scenery.

 

We headed to Gantheaume Point one afternoon to look for the Dinosaur footprints. Not sure if we found any, but loved the interesting rock formations and got a beautiful sunset.

 

We had dinner one night at Broome’s famous Matso’s Brewery. We sampled a few of the beers. They were ok, but it was the curry that was the stand-out.

 

While having some down time, as always when we are in a town, there are jobs to do, like catching up on washing, stocking up on groceries, filling gas bottles etc. As we are now about half way through the trip we also got the car serviced, had a wheel alignment done and got a chassis service on the van.

We have really enjoyed Broome and have found it to be a really friendly town. I am guessing that might not necessarily be the case in the busy season when caravan parks and beaches are packed to the brim and everyone is busy.

The owner of our caravan park was very accommodating. She only charged us $10 a night to store our van when we went to Cape Leveque. We were able to keep it on our site so when we came back it was just a case of plugging in and we were ready to go. She even stored our frozen stuff in her freezer for us. The mechanics were friendly and helpful, particularly the guy who did our caravan. We had major problems with our brakes and he spent his Friday afternoon chasing around parts and working late to get us back on the road.

Time now to head south and start exploring the rest of the W.A coatline.

 

 

We have just had 3 nights at Cape Leveque on the tip of the Dampier Peninsula, 200km north of Broome. What a truly beautiful place!! The contrast of the red cliffs. white sand and blue ocean and sky is just stunning.

The scenery around the dunes is also quite dramatic.

We have spent our days swimming and lazing on the beach. The water is so warm you can swim for hours on end. There are 2 swimming beaches. One that is a short walk down the hill from the campsite. The other you can drive onto – and pretty much have to yourself.

 

The sunsets are stunning each afternoon watching the cliffs become redder in the western light and the sun drop like a ball into the ocean. We also caught up with our friends from the Gibb.

 

No caravans allowed here, so we had to leave it in Broome and bring our tent.

We stopped at this beautiful church at Beagle Bay on the way back. The alter and all the walls, paintings and even the floor are decorated with mother of pearl.

 

Wow!! The white sand and blue ocean are such a contrast to the red dirt we have become accustomed to over the past few months.

 

We arrived in Broome yesterday, and after checking into the caravan park, headed into Cable Beach. We were all amazed at sight of the beach and the water!! Once we hit the sand, the boys pretty much dropped everything and ran into the water – they were so excited to be back at the beach!

We have spent the last 2 days in Broome having a bit of down time after the Gibb – swimming in the day and sunsets in the afternoon.

 

We are staying at a caravan park a few km out of town. We can’t believe how quiet it is. In the peak season (which finished a few weeks ago) every caravan park in town is full and they open overflow camping throughout the town. Our park would not even be 10% full at the moment, which means it’s nice and peaceful, with lots of room and open grassland full of wallabies

We are leaving our van here for a few days as we head off with the tent to Cape Leveque tomorrow. We are so used to having everything on hand, it’s been a bit of a mission to pack everything for a camping trip. And the car is full to the brim!

20th September

We have finished the Gibb – and what a great experience!!

In the 13 days we were on the Gibb, we covered 1150km – 650km on the Gibb itself and 500km of side trips to gorges etc. More than 1000km were on dirt roads!!! The driving was slow going and challenging at times, but worth it for the beautiful scenery along the way.

Yesterday we did the last stint of the Gibb, from Windjana Gorge to Derby. It was supposed to be mainly tar, but the Gibb kept giving. Due to roadworks, instead of 100km or tar, we only had about 30km. Nonetheless, dirty, dusty and muddy, we made it to Derby and finished the Gibb!!

 

 

I don’t really think the Gibb is as tough as its reputation makes it out to be. For us, however, with our set-up, travelling the Gibb was definitely an achievement. It was only on the last day, when I took a photo at Tunnel Creek (see below left), that I realised that our car was one of the only cars travelling the Gibb without any sort of modification. Most have higher clearance, after-market suspension and other extras. On top of that, we are running on highway tires (not off-road tires) and were carrying one spare instead of the recommended two. Lucky we got through without a single puncture!! To add to that, apart from the friends we met in El Questro and ended up travelling with, ours was one of the only full size vans we saw travelling the Gibb. But, slow and steady – we were definitely the slowest vehicle on the road – we made it!!

 

 

 

From Kununurra to Derby, the Gibb changed from blue shale to red dust and everything in between, all with varying degrees of corrugations.

 

We drove through and past many of the beautiful ranges that make up the Kimberley. The passing scenery changed from ridges, to flat plains, to rivers – and back again. The gorges and waterholes we visited and swam in were stunning!! I have done a post for each of our stops along the way, with lots of pics. The link to each is at the bottom of this post.

 

 

The other great thing about the Gibb, was the people we met along the way. It was nice to gather together in Derby last night, with new friends, for sunset drinks and a celebratory dinner together!!

 

 

Click on the links below to see our Gibb River Road highlights….

Heading off on the Gibb River Road

El Questro (Gibb River Road)

Home Valley (Gibb River Road)

Ellenbrae (Gibb River Road)

The changing faces of the Gibb

Manning Gorge

Bell Gorge and King Leopold Range

Windjana Gorge

Tunnel Creek

 

19th September

Tunnel creek, about 40km down the road from Windjana, is a cave that you can walk through for 2km. The beauty is you don’t need to do a guided tour, just wander through at your own leisure. I thought I would get claustrophobia, as the only light, apart from a hole in the roof at the half way point, is torch light. And you have to wade through the water as you get deeper in the cave. There are freshwater crocs in there but we only saw one!

 

The cave formation, particularly the stalactites were impressive and really interesting.

It was a really cool walk!!

 

 

Click on the link to go to Gibb River Road – it’s a wrap!!

19th September

Windjana Gorge was our last overnight stop on the Gibb – and an impressive backdrop!!

 

The gorge itself was very different to the others along the Gibb due the colour and type of rock, but mainly the steep sides rising up close to 100 metres tall.

 

The lower part of the gorge walls had really cool rock formations and were filled with fossils of shells and sea-life.

 

The river had the biggest concentration of freshwater crocs we have seen on the trip so far, and you could get quite close on foot, but no swimming here!!

 

Click on the link to go to Gibb River Road – it’s a wrap!!

 

18th September

Our next stop was Bell Gorge. It was a really pretty gorge, with a cascading waterfall.

 

 

Our friends that we have been travelling with since the start of the Gibb travel much faster than us so we were surprised to find them at the roadhouse before the Bell Gorge turnoff when we got there yesterday. It turned out that they had been heading into the campsite and came across a mudhole that they didn’t think was a good idea to take the caravans through. After driving through it today, we agree it was a good decision.

 

Anyway, we sat and tossed up options for a while about where to stay before we decided to head to a free camp down the road. Fortunately, they missed the turn on the way and by the time we caught up to them had discovered a lookout further up the road that was just stunning!! And so, we found ourselves parked up for the night with this stunning view over the Leopold Ranges – one of the best campsites we have had!!

 

Click on the link to go to Gibb River Road – it’s a wrap!!