sanantone

Staying at Cititel Hotel, Georgetown, lovely hotel in central location. People are very friendly and helpful. the free shuttle called CAT {central area transit} stops opposite our hotel , its stop 7 and there are 19 stops scattered around the area including the Unesco World Heritage area where there are lots of buildings dating back to british colonial times alomgside temples, mosques and churches. all the buses start from the jetty, they're all very clean and air conditioned including the ones that operate outside the free area. Because we're here for over a week we bought a smartpass which gives us unlimited access on any bus 24/7 for one week at a cost of 30 ringgitts, about $10 AUD. We've been up to the National Park which also goes past the beach area of Batu Ferringhi. ... read more

From Perth we headed for Margaret River overnighting at Pinjarra, a small town about an hour south east of Perth. Stayed at a nice freecamp till 1.30am when the irrigation sprayers pelted the van with pressure lasting one hour!!!! Think we should have moved down to where the other vans were parked.!!!! Arrived at Big Valley farmstay about ten minutes from Margaret River, nice rustic setting with a few farm animals to interest the kids. We used Big Valley as a base to visit Busselton, great beach, very safe for littlies, did a train ride the 1.8 klms to the end of the jetty. There's an underwater observatory there. Next day went south to Augusta and on to Cape Leeuwin where the Southern and Indian Oceans meet. The lighthouse has magnificent views which we did'nt get ... read more

After spending over 2 weeks at Carnarvon while we waited for brake pads to arrive from Gympie in Qld!!!! back on the road headed towards Perth. Spent a few days at Kalbarri which is lovely, got a yearly pass for WA national parks which cost $42 with our seniors discount. As it costs $12 for your car to go into a national park we've already got our money back and in front. Natures Window is quite spectacular. Kalbarri is very pretty but windy. Headed to Geraldton next via Dongera, very pleasant drive along the coast. The convict settlement at Lynton has some great memorabilia. The Pink Lake just down the road at Port Gregory is a very pretty colour caused by beta carotene in the water. The memorial to HMAS Sydney 11 in Geraldton is very ... read more

After leaving Cairns we hit the Savannah Highway heading eventually for Broome. First night stayed at van park in Mt Surprise, very small town with usual pub and store. Nice park Was surprised how dry the Atherton Tablelands were, usually very green but now the grass is yellow and crunchy. . Next day Croydon which is a very interesting place but as we'd been there before we just stayed overnight. Passed through Normanton also worth a visit from previous trips and then spent 3 days in Mt Isa catching up with friends. Headed out along the Barkly Highway and overnighted at Barkly Homestead bit of an oasis along the dry and dusty Barkly Tablelands. As the temperature climbed towards 40C we were glad to stay at Dunmara Wayside Inn on the Stuart Highway, just a roadhouse ... read more

Left Victor Harbor for a week in Adelaide, beautiful city, lovely buildings, good public transport and the people are very friendly and helpful.We stayed in Adelaide Caravan Park, 2klms from city centre. It was over 40C for the first two days but it's a dry heat so not too bad. Then we got torrential rain for 2 days and the River Torrens which was a small stream behind the park became a raging torrent. It was right behind our van but down a steep ravine so we had great views. Unfortunately quite a lot of the city was flooded as the rain was the heaviest in 40 years. The next fe days were very pleasant and we got to see the city. We got a bus just down the road and did the 5 minute trip ... read more