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Published: June 14th 2010
My journey onward then from Melbourne was the short flight to Adelaide early on Tuesday morning - the planned 6.30 am departure though turned into a 9.00 am one as the JetStar plane had a fault which couldn't be fixed necesitating a change of plane. With just an hour's flight though and with South Australia being a half hour earlier than Victoria meant that I still arrived in this next Australian city early - a good thing as I have just one day to explore, with an early start the following morning to join my next trip - a six day road trip to Alice Springs with Adventure Tours Australia.
I'm staying at the YHA hostel in the centre of Adelaide and opt for a cheap dorm bed as its only the one short night here - lovely clean modern hostel but soon regret not going for the private room as I normally do, as one of my fellow dorm residents has two pretty major unsocial issues - he absolutely stinks and he snores very loudly .. neither conducive to a restfull night for anyone else in his immediate vicinity..
I spend a very pleasant day in Adelaide anyway
- the morning pottering around the huge central market, taking in all the sights and smells and sampling some excellent coffee and pastries and a nutritous lunch from a market deli. The city has a free daily bike hire service so my afternoon is spent cycling along the course of the city river, a winding 12 km path to the beach..sunny but rather chilly, then a further ride along the beach front to find a decent cafe at Henley beach for a nice afternoon cup of tea before the cycle back through the beach side suburbs and back into the CBD, a quick tour of some of the central sights including a rather impressive and very English cathedral before returning the bike. Adelaide is no Melbourne however and evening eating options prove pretty basic by comparison, making do with a quick Thai meal in a deserted small restuarant, before returning to the hostel to catch up on emails and blog before my departure for the outback the following morning. The odourous snorer kept up a fine job on both counts all night so it was in fact quite a relief for the alarm to go off at 5.50am, grab a
quick shower and then to rendezvous with my latest travelling group just a block down the road for a prompt 6.30 am departure.
Our bus duly arrives and our group of 15 are met by Aran - Aza - and with luggage stored in the trailer we are soon heading out of the city, and northbound for the first leg of this journey to the very centre of this vast continent - Alice Springs. Introductions are first on the agenda to break the ice and get everyone talking - we are a mixed group .. 3 English girls, 2 couples and a solo german, 1 swiss boy, 1 Aussie girl, 1 Yank and a Canadian, and 2 sisters from Tawain and one girl from Japan. Also to the good is that I am not the only one over 40.. there are two others in fact - Manu and Dorinda. We are soon all chatting away and decorating balloons with our names on - well it passes the time. Pretty soon we are well away from the populated coastline of South Australia and into wide open countryside and rolling farmland. Ahead of us are a range of wooded hills called
the Flinders Rangers, named after the Dutch navigator who first sighted them, and after a lunch stop and a team effort to produce burgers and salad we embark on our first real excercise of the trip - a 3 hour walk up hill in the clear afternoon sunshine. We have plenty of kangaroos for company and are rewarded with the most stunning views of the surrounding hills from the summit. We travel on to a gorge in the last of the afternoon sun to spot the elusive and very beautiful yellow footed rock wallaby, who oblige with an appearance - extraordinarily beautiful markings.. my camera does not oblige though so only have a very fuzzy image which I haven't included here. We drive on to the small town of Quorn which is to be our base for the first two nights.
We are allowed a 'lie in' until 7am on day two and after breakfast are off to discover more of the Flinders Ranges region with a visit to a long abandoned sheep rearing homestead, then on to a series of dramatic red cliffs featuring aboriginal drawings, before a lunch stop and then a further walk into a huge
enclosed valley know as Wilpena Pound. A walk up to the view point once inside rewards us with some stunning views of the surrounding red rock mountains with the landscape stretching for miles in all directions. One further outlook with similarly stunning view follows before a return to Quorn, supper and a very early night as the following morning we are up at 4am for the long drive north to Cooper Pedy.
Cooper Pedy is the centre of Australia's opal mining industry, although its most unusual feature is the fact that most of its residents live below ground as well as work beneath it .. the summer temperatures often reaching over 50 degrees celsius, so underground living is by far the most sensible option, it staying constantly cool beneath the ground. Aza has us noodling for opal.. that is scratching at the surface in the hope of discovering a fragment of shiny rock .. not much fun to be honest, we also visit an opal mine and underground house, followed by group dinner in the local pizza restaurant and then back underground to our hostel to sleep as the locals do.. a little claustrophobic perhaps but nice and cool
for sure..!
It's another 4am start the following morning to travel further north up the Stuart Highway and to our first sight of what is the undoubted highlight of this particular trip - that big red rock in the centre (almost) of Australia - Uluru to give its Aboriginal name - otherwise known as Ayers Rock. This vast central region of Australia is home to a whole range of mysterious rock formations in fact, and Aza has us spotting various Uluru pretenders before the outline of that most famous of rocks is finally spotted on the horizon. We are camping a short distance from the rock itself and just outside the national park which protects it, giving us two photo opportunities - to capture the sun setting and the sun rising, turning the red rock into a warm glowing red rock for a few magical minutes at the start and end of each day - that is when clouds are not obscuring the sun of course, which in fact they are doing the late afternoon we arrive.
We duly join the hundreds assembled anyway in the sunset viewing area complete with sparking wine, and a camera apiece to
capture the moment - the clouds to not budge though and in fact deliver us a sharp shower at the appointed time. Undaunted we return to camp and prepare for another early rise for our second opportunity of sunrise the following morning. There are still clouds though lots of clear pre-dawn sky too, and our patience is finally rewarded with a few precious rays of rising sun which just catch the rock and produce that much anticipated red glow .. absolutely worth the wait anyway. The rising sun then quickly dispenses with the remaining cloud cover in fact and we are treated to a crystal clear blue sky for our base walk - a 12km walk to complete one circuit of Uluru.
Uluru has been a sacred site to the aborigines for many thousands of years and it is not hard to see why when gazing up at its sheer red slopes which seem to erupt from a dry and otherwise flat and featureless landscape of bush. The erosion of the sandstone of many thousands of years has produced an array of caves which the aboriginal communities have incorporated into their own 'Dreamtime' creation belief culture while painting symbols
within the overhanging protected areas. The erosion of the rock at much higer levels than the aborigines could have ever accessed has also produced an array of strange figures and shapes which seems to be nature's own contribution to the rather mystical and special nature of this, the largest single rock structure on the planet (I think?).
A further outcrop of red rocks, Kata Tjuta, a collection of dome like shapes, is visible from Uluru, and we visit these next - the again, sacred aboriginal sights with their own very special sense of place and time, these enormous red cliffs and boulders producing a breathtaking chasm to walk through.
The awe and majesty of these sacred sights is surely appreciated by all who come to visit them - a respect for them as sacred places to the aborigines seems to be lost on quite a few however. All visitors to Ulura are made fully aware of the special significance of the rock to aboriginal culture and are respectfully asked not to climb the rock. A walking path however is clearly outlined on one steeply rising slope, up and down which is a steady stream of tourists.. all therefore
disrespecting the wishes of the traditional owners of the land, and the custodians of the rock for thousands of years.. This is apparently though a transitional arrangement and in a few years time the request to respect aboriginal wishes will be forcably honoured with the removal of the path together with the right to climb the rock - not before time.
Our journey northwards continues from Uluru to another spectacular sight of central Australia - Kings Canyon .. Australia's version of the Grand Canyon. With a break to collect wood from the roadside bush for our last night's camp fire we arrive at camp just after dark - after supper we sit around the fire for a real taste of the Aussie outdoor life style .. an attempt to get a decent sound out of a digeridoo (total failure there) followed by sleeping under the stars in swags - a large canvas mat which unrolls on the ground into which you place a sleeping bag and then yourself. While the night is cold the swag is surpisingly warm and comfortable and staring up and the star filled sky before drifting off to sleep is one memory that will stay
with me forever .. magic!
It's around now, quite a few weeks into my time in Australia that the WOW factor really kicks in .. as it did in New Zealand, almost from day one there, the red centre of this enormous mass of land called Australia is beginning to really wow me on a daily basis, with audible gasps and wows now flowing freely.. none more so than on our three hour morning walk around the rim of King's Canyon - an incredibly beautiful and dramatic deep gorge of red red sandstone, contrasting with vivid green vegetation, the white of the gum tree bark and the deep blue of the clear sky. Aza our guide comes into his own on this walk - his self confessed favourite of the trip, explaining in detail the geology of the landscape, the effects of the climate and the wide range of both plant and animal life which call the gorge home.
This is the last walk and highlight of this little trip so after lunch we take our familiar seats on the little bus which has been home for the last six days for the final afternoon drive to our
last destination , and the mid point of the nation of course - Alice Springs. This is a long five hour drive so Aza keeps us amused with games such as being creative with balloons (!) and waving at on-coming motorists, gaining more points for the more waves back we accumulate. All good fun which helps the hours to pass and by early evening we arrive in The Alice as it is locally known. The centre of Australia is incredibly arrid and despite more than respectable amounts of rainfall this wet season which is now just ending the river which runs through the centre of town is bone dry. The town still manages to host its own annual boat race though - entrants designing their crafts so they can pick them up and run the length of the course along the waterless river bed - all very Flintstones..
Aza, who has driven us over 3,000 k's from Adelaide to Alice then insists on us all having a last meal together in town followed by drinks at the local pub. We are under strict instructions though to take cabs everywhere after dark - advice which we all heed. I forget
to do so the following evening when I am meeting two of the girls from the trip for dinner - I am staying at the YHA in the centre of town and head out for what I assume is just a short walk to the restaurant - except that I go in the wrong direction and get lost..! What is there to fear though surely in this small rural town of a few thousand inhabitants when I survived the mega danger cities of South America such as Rio and Sao Paolo without fear or incident..?! It's sad to report though that the streets of Alice Springs just do not feel safe to walk in alone at night (the girls came to my rescue in the taxi which they had sensibly ordered from their hostel in the end). While many aboriginal homelands are now dry, there is unfortunately a sizeable community of loud and drunk locals in the town centre which creates the feeling of insecurity in, no doubt rather timid tourists here for just a day or so.
While many of my travelling companions from Adelaide to Alice are continuing on a further Adventure Tours trip from Alice up
to Darwin, I decided to break my group travel experience there, planning to then take the Ghan train to Darwin - a journey of 24 hours. This however is the start of the dry season up north and so the train, which only runs once every three days anyway, is fully booked for the next week - so I have no option but to resort to the dreaded Greyhound bus. This is also a journey of 24 hours, although if the bus decided to travel directly and expressly from Alice to Darwin it could be done in half the time. Greyhound Australia though have no competition on this route and it clearly shows - the passenger service doubles up as a freight service, so as well as the many passenger pick ups and drop offs throughout the interminably boring journey there are at least as many stops and starts to unload and pick up freight. More unforgiveable though was the unexplained stop at Tenenat Creek at 1am for two whole hours, capped only by a further long stop at the town of Katherine, some twenty hours into the journey and so four hours from Darwin, now in the sweltering mid-day
heat and humidity of the tropical north dry season where the driver orders everyone off the bus, with a clear order to be back at the pick up point one hour later - which everyone duly is, only to then wait a further 30 minutes for the bus to re-appear. On questioning the driver where he has been all this time I am treated to a mouthful of obscenities ... NEVER AGAIN will I travel on Greyhound Australia that much is certain - their service is just appallingly awful and the worst by a mile of any public bus service I've encountered anywhere in the world ..!
It does finally deliver me to Darwin anyway and so completing my latest little Aussie milestone - the journey up the middle from the South Coast to the North Coast. My base in Darwin is once again the trusty YHA hostel, this one boasting a pool which is a relief in this now unrelenting heat and humidity. Darwin is the capital of the Northern Territory and has been flattened twice in its short life time - firstly by the Japs in WW2 and then by a cyclone in the 1970's, so the
city centre comprises a lot of rather drab modern architecture - a lot of which is aimed clearly at the backpacker market - large hostels, bars and travel shops catering solely to them right the way down the main street..all leaving the impression of chav, cheap and cheery I'm afraid.
From Darwin it is one very long road journey west around the coast, all the way to Perth. This is a journey I have always planned to take though would not contemplate driving the entire distance of some 6,000 k's alone .. luckily help is at hand in the form of Glenn, who I met back in Melbourne.. he has gallantly decided to take some time out from his busy job and caring for his sick mum to accompany me on the first big leg of this epic road trip - from Darwin in the centre of the North Coast to Broome , towards the top of the West Coast, where it turns out we have a mutual friend - Russell - a small world it indeed being! I will then drive on solo to my final Australian destination, Perth.
I duly then book the required vehicle for
such an endeavour - a Britz Nomad campervan - basically a high top Toyota van with the storage area configured into a small kitchen area complete with microwave, gas hotplates, fridge and kitchen sink, with the seating area behind which converts into a double bed, with a further bed space available in the roof area. I collect Glenn from Darwin airport as he has flown up from Melbourne and after a night in Darwin involving a bit of a culinary disaster (we walked out of the one 'posh' restaurant in town before we even ordered as the service was so lamentable and ended up digesting a pretty dire attempt at Indian cusine nearby) we are more than ready to leave this town to the clutches of the backpackers and commence our road trip, which takes us first to the most famous of this areas many national parks - Kakadu.
It's no surprise given the vast expanse of Australia that its national parks are vast too - and Kakadu is one of the biggest of all. This is no place for a day trip, the sheer scale of the place is impossible to register in one day, so the Campervan
and some very well located and appointed camp sites within the park provide the ideal solution. Our first two days then on the road are fully taken up marvelling at the natural wonders of Kakadu National Park, together with the wonders of Australian camp sites..the former containing unending contrasts of woodlands, wetlands, rock formations of staggering beauty with incredible Aboriginal rock art, wildlife galore - none more so than on a dawn cruise of the yellow river with native birds and crocodiles in abundance, and the latter - all landscape grounds, bistros and swimming pools no less, with shady allocated plots with power and water connections - who knew camping could be so civilised...?! Kakadu is truly an awe inspring place and a must visit I would suggest on anyone's tour schedule for Australia - it delivers a tantalising glimpse into what is really one of the oldest landscapes on earth, of its plant and animal life and of the Aboriginal tribes who knew this landscape as their home for literally thousands of years (up to 12,000 in fact).
There is a second national park nearby - Litchfield, however alas there is not time to see everything and we
head south instead, partly retracing my steps taken to arrive in Darwin, as we must travel through the town of Katherine to pick up the road West to Broome. Katherine is famous for its gorge, and we also discover the most amazing place to swim and cool off from the oppressive humidity in the form of Edith Falls - both the Falls and the Gorge which we visit the following day are features of yet a futher adjoining National Park to Kakadu, to the South - Nitmiluk Eva Valley National Park. Both spots are sublime - Edith Falls in particular as it was so unexpected, and swimming in a natural pool of cool water surrounded by cascading waterfalls, safe from the crocodiles which inhabit all the local rivers was a real joy.
Moving on from Katherine, we start heading due West for the first time, and it is the first very long drive along endlessly straight roads through Timber Creek and on to Kununurra, at the start of the enormous and remote region of this part of North West Australia known as the Kimberley. We arrive in town late afternoon and I make a beeline for the YHA hostel
here - not as a place to stay as we have the trusty campervan, but as a good reliable source of local information, especially as the vast majority of the Kimberley's sights lie well beyond the boundaries of sealed roads so inaccessable to our 2WD vehicle, necessitating booking some local tours - the friendly girls at reception are only too pleased to talk us through the options available and we leave to find our camp site for the night with a mound of reading material.
With the van powered and watered for the night ahead we opt to do likewise at the local Tavern where a major Aussie rugby match between New South Wales and Queensland is playing on every availabe screen. We manage to work out an itinerary anyway to see what we can of this vast region in the time available and return to the YHA in the morning to book two trips, one on the water and one in the air, while having our first day free for our own exploring on the land. This takes us 100k's futher north to the northern most settlement of Western Austraila in fact - the small remote town of
Wyndham, which has very little to it except some much needed fuel (my first under-estimate of several of the distance involved in getting anywhere here in the Australian outback and the amount of fuel our campervan guzzles). Wyndham also marks the confluence of no less than five rivers which form an enormous estuary just to the north of the town before flowing into the Timor sea. The one hill in the area serves as a very useful five rivers lookout and the view from the top is quite amazing - especially in this stormy afternoon light with the sun just breaking through a whole series of black and storm laden clouds.
Our trip on the water is the following day - somehow we have been talked into doing a full day of kayaking (I should have learnt my lesson from my kayaking ordeal back in Brazil..post 5?). This trip with local outfit Eco-canoeing and the larger than life Macca who runs it involves us being collected at 7am, driven in a bus an hour downstream to where the river Ord emerges from the vast dammed Lake Argyl, then paddling for four hours upstream until Macca comes to meet us
in his motorised boat. Glenn and I are in a two man Canadian style canoe and I'm in the back steering as I've done it before - it does always take a while for me to orientate my sense of waterborn direction though, causing no end of tensions in the boat between us. Macca's assistant is in the second boat with an Australian girl who is travelling solo. Once I've got the hang of steering again, the current propels us along nicely - the only concern is the strength of the sun beating down on our backs.. this isn't a concern for long however as soon enough the sun is hidden behind some very large black clouds and within an hour into the trip it starts to pour down.. once soaked though it actually makes for easier rowing conditions - my only concern then being how much rain water is being accumulated in the canoe itself - requiring several stops for bailing out. Our lunch stop on a sand spit in the middle of the river is rather a wash out, quite literally, though we soldier on and make the appointed rendezvous point with Macca in good time. Despite the
continuing heavy rain, Macca then takes us for a walk, up a to local water hole filled from a wonderfully high, and of course very full waterfall.. a second unexpected swimming treat then of our trip from Darwin so far. By the time we return to the river though and the motorised boat trip back up the remaining stretch of river to town, we are all cold and tired and shiver our way home.. it was all worth it though and a great day out.
Our trip in the air is the day following this, involving a predawn get up to rendezvous at the local airport for a 6am flight over the mysterious and rather wonderful landscape known as the Bungle Bungles. This is in fact a vast area and only accessible by 4WD so a 2 hour dawn flight over them seems like the most practical option. The Bungle Bungles are a whole series of dome shaped sandstone hills sculpted by the forces of nature of many thousands of years. The individual domes, of which there must be thousands in total, consist of different layers of rock, which after rain show their contrasting colours as quite vivid stripes
- they being particularly stripey when we fly over them due to all the recent heavy rain. They really are quite awe inspiring, and all the more remarkable to learn that the modern nation of Australia only discovered their existance in the 1980's, their secret beauty previously only known to local farmers and of course to the aborigines for many thousands of years, who have long revered them and made sacred burial sights in their shadow .. at least these are respected.
On our return we pack up the camper and head down to the Powerhouse on the lake side - a former powerstation which is now a rather good restaurant where we had dinner the previous evening.. it being so good we were enticed back for breakfast and a daytime view of the thousands of catfish filling the immediate area of the lake on which the restaurant sits - being on to a good thing as scraps of diners food gets fought over furiously and makes quite a sight from the terrace above.
We have a long drive ahead of us now to reach our next, and Glenn's final destination of this trip, the north west coast
resort of Broome. The endlessly long straight roads seem to become just ever longer and straighter and not wishing to drive after night fall we decide to break the journey at one of many free road side campsites. We come across one on the banks of a waterless river (as most rivers are here), though it still makes a nice enough spot for the night, and find a good spot for our camper amoungst the hordes of Grey Nomads already in residence.. the Grey Nomads are the name given to the army of retired Australians who spend a good part of their retirement touring around their country in enormous caravans and trailers - many spending six months of every year doing so in fact. These free road side camping sights are on the basic side of basic - a (clean) drop toilet being the only ammenity provided - our camper has sufficent battery power though for plenty of light and gas to cook with, so we have all we need for a good night's rest.
The following morning we are up and on the road again by around 8am, with Fitzroy Crossing our next break and fuel stop.. this
time though I have seriously underestimated the fuel consumption of our trusty camper and the petrol guage is registering zero when there is still around 90 k's of long straight road to go. I am absolutely convinced we will not make it, and with no mobile phone reception between us, map out the only option being to pull off the road and hitch a ride the remaining distance to to buy fuel and then hitch a further ride back to the abandoned vehicle. At one stage I actually pull off the road in anticipation of this, though continue to drive on, and somehow, very mercifuly, we make it through to Fitzroy Crossing and its gas station.. there is just a loud hiss of petrol air which escapes the tank when I unscrew the petrol cap lid which is all that was keeping the thing moving I reckon for the last 20k or so..
We explore the river gorge here and I take a dip in the river too (only fresh water crocs inhabit these waters I am re-assured who are more afraid of us than we should be of them.. it is the saltwater ones to be VERY afraid
of...! With less than an hour before sunset we finally drive into Broome and find a campsite close the renowned Cable Beach - voted as one of Australia's finest. We arive in Broome on Sunday evening having left Darwin the previous Saturday morning, so eight days in total, which has rather taken its toll on harmonious relations between myself and Glenn .. I take myself off for a swim in the campsite pool and when I return to the camper Glenn has jumped ship.. to a nearby Motel - wise man..! So my first night and following day in Broome I'm back doing my solo thing, probably no bad thing as it gives me some much needed organsing time and general time out from driving. I discover Cable Beach properly the following morning at around 8am when the vast expanse of white sand has a handful of local joggers and dog walkers. I then explore the town, find a decent internet cafe for email catching up, and am back on the beach for the afternoon - having it almost to myself in fact.
The following day follows a similar pattern - early morning beach stroll followed by 2 hours
in the internet cafe, by then Glenn and I are friends again and we go off to a different part of Cable Beach for the afternoon, a beach shared by 4WD vehicles and camels bizarrely enough..it has become a Broome custom for camel train rides along the beach - especially at sunset, and the three long trains of differently atired camels make for a magnificent site slowly parading up the vast explanse of sand in the fading light. That evening we meet up with our mutual friend Russell who lives in Broome, and with his partner Nick we all go out for dinner to a local fish restaurant. I was planning to head out of Broome the following day to start my long solo onward journey to Perth, though get persuaded to stay an extra day and night - Broome boasts a very quaint and old open air cinema right at its heart - the Sun Picture House - it claims to be the oldest in the world in fact. Bang up to date with its programming though it is hosting an opening night 'do' for the new chic-flick Sex In the City 2, complete with DJ on the lawn
and bar serving champagne and Cosmopolitans no less.. While the film itself is nowhere close to being on my list of films to see I hasten to add, the occasion does create a nice opportunity to be with friends on my last evening in Broome, so together with Russell's cousin Jade and some of her girlfriends we buy a deckchair row of tickets.. The evening was certainly fun and the Cosmopolitans and the champagne were lovely - as for the film.. dire beyond belief...!!
The following day I have a late farewell breakfast with Glenn and then its back on the road - this time just me my trusty campervan, for a reasonably short (just 3 hour) drive south west from Broome, to Eighty Mile Beach.. a remote campsite on a very remote beach which I guess is eighty miles long, and absolutely covered in the most amazing array of sea shells I have ever seen.
After my night's stop over at Eighty Mile beach I continue heading west on the main coast highway - an alternative route beckons to the south to take in Kadjini national park which I have heard is remote and very beautiful -
but with both my Lonely Planet guide and a few wise locals advising that the park roads are only accessible in a 4WD I decide not to test the limits of my Toyota 2WD campervan and risk a 200 k detour for nothing, so stay on the main road, knowing that I need to pass through Australia's largest mining area, Port Hedland. The town appears as just another small dot on the map, similar I think to other small outback towns - normally consisting of a roadhouse, a few tin houses and not much else .. so I wasn't really prepared for the industrial armeggedon which confronts me as I approach the town .. road trains (enormous trucks pulling 3 or 4 huge containers a piece) are hurtling in all directions together with a vast array of white vans carrying workers too and fro - all very bewildering after the calm of the endlessly straight two lane roads I've become so used to with just the occasional caravan and road train once every hour or so to navigate past. I hurtle through the area then as fast as I can, only to realise that it extends far to the west
with a whole series of mines and liquid gas plants dotting the horizon in all directions. At least I'm back on the familiar two lane highway, though having missed the petrol station at Port Hedland now know my petrol guage well enough to estimate I can just make it the 160 or so km's to the next available refuelling stop at Roebourne.
This is still the heart of mining and gas plant country, though needing to break my journey I'm intrigued to read in my Lonely Planet of one of Western Australia's main attractions being just a few miles away, so point my campervan northwards to the isolated small industrial town of Dampier, finding a small campsite on the shoreline here with a charming view over the town's reason for existing at all - the iron ore shipping terminal. The park owner allocates me a space anyway and with an hour to go before sundown tells me I must visit the town library before it closes for the day. Suitably intrigued I head off down the road and enter the small building, which seems to me a close resemblance to the village library in Hartley, Kent which was the
last local libray I visited with any regularity when I was about twelve.. even the librarian looks the same - all charming smiles anyway and big glasses.. I explain how I come to be there and am escorted to a visitors table with a number of publications extolling local attractions, myths and legends. They all in fact prove to be fascinating and so I quite easily wyle away the hour before closing time reading about the history of the town, the difficulties of establishing the mines etc, together with the charming stories of an immigrant East European who set up life for himself on a small island just off the shore here, and the lovely story of Red Dog - a stray dog who befriended the entire local community throghout the 1970's, who had his own seat on the local bus and to whom a fine statue was erected at the entrance to the town after his sad demise.. a feature film portraying the life of Red Dog has just finished shooting in town in fact so look out for it cinemas in a few months time - the title being Red Dog, no less.
The most fascinating local
story of all though is the discovery on the adjacent Burrup Peninsula of the largest collection of petroglyphs (rock paintings) ever found on earth - many dating back more than 6,000 years, with the earliest being as old as 12,000 years old which seems extraordinary, including what is believed by geologists to be the first ever carving of a human head. This is the essence of what I find so captivating about Australia - the youngest nation on earth which only now is slowly beginning to uncover its real origins as the most ancient land of all, with records of human existance significantly predating anything recorded elsewhere. Anyway, a very large coffee table book containing hundreds of photographs of these ancient local rock carvings is at my disposal in the library, though I only have time to absorb a fraction of the detail, I decide to visit the peninsula for myself first thing in the morning to see what can be seen.
The road onto the Burrup peninsula is basically a service road for the enormous liquid gas container plant at the far head and I feel rather conspicious driving my little Britz campervan amoungst all the many service
vehicles and yet more road trains servicing this huge industrial area. My local tourist map indicates more or less where the most accessible sight for viewing the rock carvings is - half way along a gravel road which leads to a local (and rather stunning) beach - it takes me a while to find as there are no road signs whatsoever indicating what treasures lie all around - just numerous signs for all the related industry service vehicles. I finally find what I am sure must be the place anyway, leaving the camper on the road and walking towards an outcrop of red red rocks, of which the entire landscape in this region comprises. I get close and start peering at the rocks in detail but am not seeing anything - it is only because I have seem so many images in the book in the library the evening before that I persevere in fact - after a few more minutes of looking, and dismissing the occasional shape which could have been made by man though which could also be just natural weathering, I suddenly find myself seeing the clearest and most beautiful carving of a kangaroo I have ever
seen in my life - and then an emu, and then another kangaroo, and then a bird, and then a man with a spear .. and slowly the whole landscape of rocks begins to reveal its secrets - ancient rock carvings, thousands of years old - a single one of which a major metropolitan museum would be proud to display to queuing hords, are all around me. I spent an hour exploring further, discovering numerous beautiful carvings on rocks scattered in all directions. The whole experience is quite surreal - this enormous area of incredibly ancient and priceless rock art seemingly left abandoned and uncared for in what is an industrial landscape. On returning up the rough track to where left the campervan I stumble across an old and rusting half bent over sign which must have been put up and forgotten about many years ago which simply states 'Aboriginal Site, please help us conserve it'.
I can't help but think this whole experience is a rather sad reflection on how the modern nation of Australia just hasn't quite come to grasp the significance of its own land and the cultural importance of its orginal owners. Just further up
the road from this totaly unmarked and seemingly uncared for sight of such huge significance is a shiny new visitor centre for the liquid gas plant with plaques featuring the logos of the mega wealthy international oil and mining companies who have completely desecrated this landscape (geologists estimating in doing so they have detsroyed around 20% of these ancient carvings already) together with plaques unveiling the opening of the latest plant extensions from the governor of Western Australia etc etc - and yet, literally a stones through down the road is this site of international cultural significance which doesn't even have a sign directing those interested to visit as to where to go .. crassness beyond belief in my humble opinion, and surely a golden opportunity for Rio Tinto, BP and all the other involved multinationals to invest in some real Corporate Social Responsibility and contribute significant funds to conserving the rock art already discovered and committing firmly to not damaging any more of it ... As I doubt they will be reading my blog though that is an action for later then ..!
I have many marathan drives still ahead of me anyway, so packing away the soap
box for now, I point my trusty camper in a further westerly direction and set off for the day's four hours or so of driving, yet again on endlessly straight and increasingly empty roads as I now mercifully pass the furthest reach of the gas plants and mineral mines. I'm heading now for the much more tourist focussed region of the Coral Coast, at the very top end of which is the resort town of Exmouth. With brief stops at some pretty dreary and remote road houses to refuel Croc the camper (just decided he has to have a name..) and myself, I'm confident I can reach Exmouth in plenty of time for another glorious west coast sunset (around 5.30 pm this being winter), but what's this .. all of a sudden a thick bank of cloud begins to obscure the hot sun and bright blue sky which we have seen nothing but since starting this road trip some two weeks ago.. Not only that but there are thick black clouds ahead, and sure enough, as I approach the coast line and the town of Exmouth, cruising past some magnifcent landscapes of giant termite mounds and grazing sheep and cattle,
it starts to rain.. By the time I reach the town it is completely overcast although the terrential downpour does at least abate until I have found my caravan park of choice (another spacious Big 4 site), paid for my powered site and manoevered Croc onto his designated patch of grass and plugged him in. And then it pours down .. for hours.. I'm just thankful I'm not in a tent anyway, and Croc keeps me cosy and dry inside with a table to tap away on for hours updating the blog (partly why this one is so long ... sorry - blame the tempramental Ozzie weather) and to cook some comforting penne with basil and tuna, washed down with a bottle of my favourite local Coopers Pale Ale and a glass of Hawkes Bay Merlot.. yum yum. The rain just gets heavier and heavier so it starts to feel a bit claustrophobic incarcerated in Croc's living quarters - I'm also still readjusting to travelling solo again of course - having got rather used to the company of my travelling companion Glenn, together with the wider gang in Broome .. all still enjoying the tropical northern sun no doubt..!
Torrential downpours continue throughout the night and I wake up to a grey sky for the first time in ages.. no press ups on the beach this morning then.. a hearty cooked breakfast instead,, fairly efficently prepared in Croc's kitchenette.. a quick tour of Exmouth town follows to find an internet connection which works and a phone signal too .. both remarkably difficult in outback Australia in fact. I then take a drive around the rugged and remote peninsula which Exmouth sits at the top of, the coastal side being the Cape Range National Park with the coast line being the Ningaloo Marine Park - the coral reef on this side of Australia may not be as large or well known as The Great Barrier Reef on the Eastern seaboard, but it is much much closer to shore and so much more accessible - you can clearly see the waves crashing over the outer reef in fact, creating a shallow lagoon of beautiful turquoise water where it is very easy to snorkel and see the reef and all its associated life - that is if you have a mask, snorkel and flippers with you, which I do not..! The clouds
disperse by lunchtime anyway and a lovely warm sunny Sunday afternoon follows - I don't settle in one spot but drive slowly through the park, visiting various beaches along the way. As I do so I discover many very small camping sites close to each of the beaches, though each with a Full sign - I then find out that you are required to queue at the park entrance at the start of each day when all these precious and much sought after spaces are allocated.
I decide to move on then further south to the small town of Coral Bay, though hadn't reckoned on the road I was travelling on coming to a dead end and being replaced with a sand track, passable strictly only by 4WD which of course Croc is not. This then means a detour back the 80 k's I have come, back up to Exmouth and then down the same distance the other side of the peninsula.. and it's now 4pm on a gloriously sunny afternoon with what looks like an amazing west coast sunset brewing.. all I really want to do is to pull off the road, find a nice spot on the
beach and watch the sunset with a cold beer in my hand - this being a national park however, a designated camping spot must be found.. There is one last small camp site I haven't tried so muster all my best English charm and ignorance of the dawn queueing system etc, only to find that this site is also full - though hang on, they have an overflow site which has one last empty space.. within minutes Croc is occupying said space and I am off to the nearby beach with towel and a cold beer .. a better spot I could not have wished for in fact - completely secluded - just me, a few local kangaroos and lizards, a white sandy beach and a glorious setting sun .. a quick skinny dip, some great sunset pictures and cold beer downed and the world is looking a very fine place indeed once again. A simple evening supper cooked under the stars follows and in bed well before 9pm. The star filled sky here is quite incredible - the Southern Cross which has now become so familiar shines down brightly with the myriad softer lights of the milky way as
its own backdrop - simply stunning - I will really miss both the southern hemisphere configuration of stars and the sheer scale and brightness of the Australian outback night sky for sure.
Knowing I need to retrace my steps back to Exmouth I'm up early, breakfasted and on the road by around 8.30 am - it is an absolutely gorgeously clear warm morning and the many white sand beaches back up the 80k stretch of road prove just too tempting to ignore. I opt for one and find I have the entire beach to myself, so indulge in my morning beach workout and swim in complete and glorious solitude, followed by some early morning sunbathing and book reading (a Melbourne author Cristos Tsiolkas novel The Slap with his portrayl of modern Melbourne immigrant life has been gripping me since Glenn recommended it and gave it me to read back in Melbourne in fact) - some three hours later I tear myself away from this idyllic spot for the drive back to Exmouth for lunch and then a further 150k south to the tiny community of Coral Bay. I arrive here in the early afternoon and know I can rent
snorkelling gear here so quickly find a great, if pricey, camping spot for Croc - literally one minute from the beach - and within 15 minutes of arriving am strolling over to the beach hut which rents a mask, snorkel and fins for half a day for $7 - it is then straight into the water, mask and flippers on, and literally within two minutes from there I am snorkelling over the most incredibly beautiful array of coral I have ever seen.. Coral Bay is a large bay - still protected by the outer reef, forming a giant lagoon just bursting at the seems with coral. I spend the best part of an hour snorkelling out into the bay, only returning then because I am thirsty really..this is then the magic and real attraction of the coral coast - and it only takes a mask and to focus your eyes on the incredible underwater wonder world of coral and fish just beneath the surface of the water to see why..
My prime located camping site is an unpowered one here so and with food stocks low anyway, decide to splash out on a local restaurant meal of seafood risotto,
accompanyed by my new read, having finished The Slap earlier on the beach after my snorkel. I'm now reading an old Peter Carey novel,so at least keeping the Australian theme going, Illywhacker - the first I've read of his since 'Oscar and Lucinda' many years ago which I always remember made me laugh out loud while reading it on a train to Brighton, provoking comment from fellow passengers. This new novel provokes comment from fellow diners - a group of rather elderly ladies who seem fascinated by the thickness of the book itself..
Well if Monday afternoon at Coral beach was all about the coral, then Tuesday morning is all about the fish.. another glorious day beckons and knowing that the weather will become cooler as I head further south decide to stay the morning at Coral Bay and take an escorted kayaking and snorkelling trip to the far edge of the reef where the fish are in much greater abundance.. so it is back into a kayak again - at least the steering is much easier this time as I still remember the technique from the Kimberley river kayak just a week earlier. A group of 8 of
us are then led out across the bay.. as soon as our masks and flippers are on and we are in the water it is just an amazing experience - the clearest possible water, and an ocean full of fish of ever shape and size are all around us - we are then led out through a channel in the reef to the ocean side and as soon as we are there, I look down and there are a school of grey reef sharks ... AAAmazing - seven in total, circling around so gracefully below us with lots of much smaller fish swimming along side - such a thrill to see and I'm so thrilled as this was what I wanted to see when snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef some weeks ago and didn't.. Now here I am on the West coast of Australia snorkelling with reef sharks ... and a turtle too ... just incredible...!
I leave Coral Bay behind at 2 in the afternoon, for the next main stop off point on the road now directly south towards Perth - the World Heritage protected area of Shark Bay and Monkey Mia, famous for its dolphins. This
is some 400+k down the coast so it will be dark well before I reach there. Firstly, its a 90 minute drive down more of those endlessly straight roads with an unending landscape of bush on both sides stretching just as far as the horizon in a completely unbroken line .. Western Australia is just mind bogglingly enormous and so empty,it still amazes me anew each day..! The town of Canarvan breaks the monotony, especially with its abundant fields of fruit and vegetables all around. This is clearly a major Grey Nomad stopping off point as there are well appointed caravan sites in all directions in the town - I am keen to press on however so stock up Crocs little fridge with supplies and his tank with petrol and drive on, through yet another glorious west coast sunset and into the darkness of the evening for the first time .. it almost feels like I'm doing something illegal, driving in the dark, and the volume of other traffic on the road very quickly diminishes from the one oncoming vehicle every 3/4 minutes to about one every 20 minutes...the obstacles on the road now are the grazing cattle and the
kangaroos of course who are most active at this time of day.. luckily only one skips out across the road in front of me which I'm in no danger of hitting - a little bunny rabbit may not have been so lucky though.. nor are the thousands of midges and moths which stream into the headlights like falling snow - Croc's front end becomes a place of insect carnage I'm afraid. I start looking for a place to stop for the night soon after complete darkness in fact, though knowing that most campsite receptions close at 6pm so am thinking I may have to rough it by the side of the road somewhere.. just short of my final destination though I chance across a small site with plenty of spaces and a reception which is still (just) open at 7.30 pm can you believe, and gratefully take up a powered site (Croc's first for 3 days) so I can recharge batteries etc..
An early start the following morning and I complete the drive up to Denham and on to Monkey Mia just in time to catch the last morning feeding session (at 9am) of the local dolphins.. with no
net, cage or aquarium in site, the wonder of this place is that for many years now the local wild dolphins make a daily morning pilgrimage to the beach to be fed a plentiful supply of fish - all now strictly monitored and controlled and with no touching of the dolphins allowed, the small crowd line up on the shore line for this daily spectacle.. and I actually get to give a fish to one of the dolphins .. ahhhhh...! There are also some rather enormous pelicans who reside on the beach and do their best to look put out that all the attention of the crowd is on the dolphins in the water and not on them.. This is all classified as eco-tourism, and is clearly well intentioned, and in fact the most successful and established programme of interaction between dolphins in the wild and humans anywhere in the world. My only concern is that the road to Monkey Mia is a 200 k round trip from the coastal highway and I would guess around 2-500 cars, campervans and buses are making that round trip journey every single day - that is an awful lot of petrol consumption a
year for the privilege of seeing some dolphins accepting food from humans.. perhaps they should instigate a high speed rail link from the main road and gain some more eco credentials..? Not likely as the Aussie's are as attached to their own vehicles as the Americans I think - and showing worrying signs of being just as obese too .. no doubt as a direct result.
There are other sites to see on this particular peninsula so I wend my way back to the coastal highway taking in the views, boardwalks and beaches along the way, and then its a straight 3 hour drive of 350k to my last main stopping off point before reaching Perth - the town of Geraldton. The first two hours of this drive are the same experience of the last few days - so yet more of those unending straght roads, unending bush on both sides and a friendly wave to the occasional passing campervan heading the other way. Just when I am beginning to go a little stir crazy though and think I'm actually a hamster running endlessly around the same wheel, about 100 k north of Geraldton the landscape begins to change
- to farmed agricultural land, with farm buildings and enormous grain silos in view - this is actually quite a starting contrast to that unending line of outback bush landscape and a welcome relief in fact - the roads begin to widen and get busier too with local traffic so suddenly waving at every passing motorist is not the thing to do any more..! Into town and with campsite located all I can muster the energy to do is prepare some food and update the blog - while the town is worthy of further exploration I am just too tired - it can wait until the morning..
I wake up to the cold of an early South Australian winter morning - my first since leaving Melbourne quite some time ago so its quite a shock to the system and takes me longer than usual to brave the elements and the camp site shower block. At least it remains sunny .. I'm in Geraldton centre by 9am anyway to find an internet cafe and a decent coffee and then it is on the road again - this time heading more slowly down to Perth - I've decided against driving down
to Perth and then the same distance the other side to visit the wine producing region of Margaret River - I've had enough of driving now (of Croc at least.. sorry Croc..) so take the scenic coastal route south from Geraldton. The coast road offers tantalising glimpses of this still remote part of the West Coast, though with very few access opportunities to the white sandy beaches which just occasionally come into full view from the road. I'm determined to have my lunch on the beach though, and finally I find a small gravel track heading in the right direction .. this meanders on for some distance in fact and then eventually joins a much wider gravel track which leads on to a remote camp site and the rather wonderful Sandy Cove - a very remote pure white sand beach with stunningly clear turquoise water, making an ideal lunch spot.
I then find the my ideal last night's stop over, just a further 100 k down the coast - the small town of Cervantes which has a spacious and cheap campsite right on the beach, and is the ideal base point to explore the local attraction known as the
Pinnacles, which I've only just read about in a tourist guide. These are yet another wierd and wonderful natural phenonenum of the Australian landscape - the most peculiar collection of thousands of natually formed limestone pillars which rise vertically from a small surrounding desert landscape. The best light to record these structures on film is sunset so I get there in the late afternoon and follow the sandy track which loops around the site twice, finding my favourite part, and then fire off around 50 shots through the changing light of yet another perfect West Coast sunset.. all very dramatic..
It is then back to camp, via the fish and chip shop and an evening of getting organised and beginning to pack up as tomorrow I complete my marathon road trip and return Croc to his rightful owners at the Britz depot in downtown Perth.
And so the following day my tour of Australia and in particular this marathon drive, totally 6,300 kilometres, from Darwin to Perth is completed as I drive Croc out of the outback and into the heart of the city.. so strange to be confronted with traffic lights and pedestrians again...! I duly return
Croc to the Britz depot and take myself and luggage back into the city, to my final YHA hostel, and a private room this time, for a well earned rest, regroup and brief exploration of this my final Australian city, which doesn't take long anyway.. A sunny Sunday morning beckons so I take a boat trip down the rather majestic Swan river to the port city of Freemantle.. (Freo) for a lazy day of cafe sitting, park strolling and fish and chips by the habour.
My final day in Oz is spent getting organised for my third and final leg of my Round the World trip - South East Asia... I book my first few nights accomodation in Singapore and visit the travel clinic for the required supply of malarials, then its washing, blog writing and repacking which takes up my last afternoon.
So that concludes post 10, and my third from this far side of the world which has totally entranced and captivated me throughout. Forever onwards, post 11 will be of my first travels and encounters in South East Asia - from Singapore, through Malaysia and into Thailand ..
That's all for now folks and
a final sign off from the wonderful land of Oz, on this my final evening here, June 14, 2010.
LOL
Simon XX
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Heather
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Wow, I LOVED your post and photos from Australia! I didn't make it to Adelaide and that area when I was there, but I can't wait to go back and see more of that amazing country! I loved your photo of the "giant" tequila bottle, too! My blog is looking for travel photos, reviews, etc, to share. If you have the time, check it out at dirty-hippies.blogspot.com, or email me at dirtyhippiesblog@gmail.com. Continued fun on your travels! Heather :)