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Published: October 12th 2007
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Well it feels like a lifetime ago since I've been online...nearly forgetting my passwords!!
The last few weeks have blurred into one big roadtrip so will try not bore you as I unravel it in my head. Not to worry though....we've made it safely to Darwin & are handing over the keys to Buddy to his rightful ownwers in the morning.....he's been great......seen us through the outback without too many hiccups!!
So after Fremantle, in the south near Perth & the cold weather.....which now seems like a dream in this stifling heat & humidity that robs your sleep & sanity every night!!.......we moved up the coast to a place called Kalbarri....it was a 2 night stop....nice beach where we went on one of those cyclo-boats.....but the main reason we stopped there was to go to a resort called Monkey Mia nearby.....relatively in Australian terms.....where we saw the dolphins. It was so fantastic......arrive early in the morning & the dolphins swim right up to the shore to be fed.....not to worry they only feed a few....but they hang around for most of the morning so you can get really lovely photos as they play around in the shallows......& they even smile
at you!! It's a nice thought anyway.
From Kalbarri we motored on to a place called Coral Bay......I've never seen so many children at one time in the one place.....think they started their own little outbreak of conjunctivitis so glad I didn't go near the pool!!! We were there for their spring break.....campsites loaded with 4 wheel drives, boats, caravans, tents & hoards of children......apparently the Australian government are trying to encourage people to start having families earlier but you'd never think it from looking around Coral Bay!!! Grace & I felt a bit out of place......all we a had was a van....thankfully!!
Anyway we had a nice few relaxed days there....Ningaloo Reef is there so you just have to walk a few meters out into the water & you are surrounded by a beautiful reef.......coral & fish of all types!!! I loved it but there was a downside....perhaps if I'd come straight from home I would have been fine but after about 20 minutes in the water ....21*C I might add......well you'd be hard pushed not to get hypothermia!!! Took me at least an hour to warm up after being in the water. I went snorkelling and
Florence Falls
After a night baking in Buddy, was nice to have a dip. diving there too......in Thailand the water was 29/30*C & all you need was a shortie wetsuit.....at Ningaloo I had 2 wetsuits on & I was still freezing......however those days are long gone!!!
From Coral Bay we moved on to Carnavron......an overnight & food stock- up only....it was great because there were plantations all around so you could pleasure the bellly as much as you pleased.....the only limitation was the heat & poor old Buddy could only stock so much!!! Nonetheless local planters couldn't complain....Also we started to notice a larger Aboriginal presence as we moved North....not always the most welcoming either....in that you are happy to leave once you've gone about your business!!
Broome was the next stop......requiring an overnighter in South Hedland......again one of those places that you wouldn't stay voluntarily apart from needing to get off the highway before sundown.... but the caravan park was ok.....a little bit like Hicksville but did the job.
Broome was such a strange town....when we arrived it was like a ghost-town...so so quiet......it was there we discovered that Buddy needed a little bit of TLC.....yes the van was getting a bit hot under the collar.....piping hot so roadside assist
Litchfield
Nice to see trees again came to visit us out on Cable Beach....& very efficient they were. Off to the garage with Buddy to have a radiator hose tightened up somewhere.....turned out our radiator was empty cause we had a slow leak......& it wasn't our fault!!! We were so lucky that it didn't run dry the previous day cause between places there is absolutely nothing for hundreds of kms....including no phone signal so we would have been screwed......anyway after a squeeze here & there Buddy was ready for action again.
We went to Cable Beach in Broome while we were there......massive 20km or so of beach......tried my hand at a bit of surfing....got completely washed -up.....decked....cleaned -up....whatever they call it.....belly-burn, thigh-burn from the surfboard but had fun trying.....kind of!! How those fellas make it look so easy is beyond me.....I could hardly get beyond the breaking waves. Maybe they have a wave-machine somewhere that only makes small waves......think it'll be lessons for me & a lot of practise before I'm cruising the swell with the big boys!!
Oh nearly forgot to mention the outdoor cinema we went to.....out on deckchairs in the oldest one in the world....Sun Pictures.....we saw a film called Ratatouille.....animated
film about a rat who becomes a chef...good but about half way through the film this thunderous noice nearly pulls you out of the seat.....as a massive plane hurtles to the runway practically next door.....it is seriously close......it happened twice during the film & got me both times. It is worth going to just to experience the plane as it lands just overhead.
So we set aside 3 days for the voyage up to Darwin.....a meagre 1900 kms......the Northern Territory is very different from Western Australia.....a tropical climate....much greener & very few dead kangaroos on the road too!!! Must be too hot for them or else they are more street-wise...I don't know!!! We stayed overnight in a place called Kununurra after 1100km.....was a full day of driving but it was worth it to break the back of the journey....then another 700 or so km to Litchfield National Park. We stayed there last night & it was there that we got our authentic outback experience......it was a site with basic toilets only out in the bush. Thankfully there were 2 other vans there but you'd never know it once it got dark. Basically we spent the whole night exterminating the
Coral Bay
Reef Sharks creatures that had foolishly ventured into our home......as we moved from campsite to campsite we had accumulated a nice stash of magazines which came in handy as swats.....& there were so many. We were tormented by the insects & couldn't sleep with the humidity....we were too scared to go take a shower before bed cause it was so dark & there were no lights & the creatures of the night make a lot of noice so it was a night of stale sweat & more sweat I'm afraid. That done....let's move on.
Today we went to Florence waterfalls & Buley waterhole in Litchfield National Park. It was so nice to cool down. There are no crocodiles in these swimming spots apparently because the crocs can't climb the falls.....thank goodness for that. It was there we discovered that we were in a different time-zone too....happened to ask a child the time & he was an hour & a half ahead of our time.....it was lucky we discovered that or else we could have been missing flights, etc......& it could very easily happen.....has happened to us!!
So think I've brought you up to speed. In Darwin now....seems like a lovely
Coral Bay
Birds at play spot.....a fully functioning town.....not like some of the towns we've been through with just groups of people loitering...... We're staying here for the weekend & early Monday morning flying to Uluru....where we plan to pick up a trip to the Rock & King's canyon for the day......& then it is on to Cairns. The last few weeks have really flown....it has been enjoyable.....took a long time to settle in to this new continent & definitely think that some of the spots we hit a long the way are very strange & unsettling.......glad we did it...managed not to gas ourselves or get stranded in the middle-of-nowhere....but glad to be moving on too!! Middle-of-nowhere takes on a whole new meaning. It'll be tough handing Buddy back....the freedom was great but it really sucks the money out of you....6500km later & I think I should have a share in Shell. Oh back to the good old backpacking days.....every backpackers nighmare I think.....packing again & hauling it around on your back. Roll on the east coast.....lets hope someone will donate their car to us.....that'd be nice!
Love Alison 😊
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