Blogs from Western Australia, Australia, Oceania

Broome to Karijini We started off with a long drive from Broome to Port Hedland, where we stayed in a free camp at the turf club for the night and stocked up on more groceries. South of Port Hedland we stopped the night at one of the most magnificent free camps we have come across - Albert Tognolini Rest Area. We enjoyed the sensational sunset over the valley with a small campfire while the kids enjoyed a swing Lachie had made up. Not too far down the road we arrived at Dales campground in Karijini National Park where we camped for 4 nights. Dales Gorge was stunning with red rock contrasting with the white snow gums. We had a swim at Fern Pool and enjoyed sitting on the rocks by Fortescue falls. The following day ... read more

I have been quite slack in writing stuff down so a few things are out of order, but you'll get the gist. The drive back to Broome was moderately uneventful. Just wanted to get in and set up camp, grab some tucker and some food. Actually, I think this was the day that Amy, Suz, Jen and Phil did the camel ride on Cable Beach. By all reports it was quite scenic but there were sore butts and legs all round. Went for a drive on the (Cable) beach this morning. Wow! Great beach with the most blue water ever, but missing that darker blue channel we were looking for just off the beach that might hold something a bit fishy. From there we did a little sightseeing down to the port (closed due to a ... read more

Visiting Purnululu was one of the main stops that we were looking forward to on this trip. We drove on from Fitzroy Crossing, stopping briefly for fuel in Halls Creek. After much to-ing and fro-ing we decided to camp at a caravan park (Mabel Downs) rather than one of the free camps so we’d feel a little better leaving our gear when we headed down the 50km track into the NP. In the end, Di and Tony were again kind enough to look after the (now) four dogs - Bella and Bailey, Jack and Kimberley - while the rest of us went in for a look. In short, it was pretty damn cool. We did some walks in the South end first including the Domes, Cathedral and Piccininny lookout. They were as picturesque as the professional ... read more

30/7/19 After leaving Mandurah on Tuesday morning we took the Kwinana Freeway north towards Perth. Skirting the city was easy enough and then we turned east along the Roe and Eastern Highways through the W.A. wheatbelt. We had a few 24hr free camps mapped out to get us to Kalgoorlie at which point we turned south toward Norseman before embarking on the Nullarbor and eventually back into South Australia. York was our first stop. Such a picturesque main street with its heritage buildings; it was a shame there was car parking in front of them all – ruins what could be a good photo opportunity! Campsite was at the Avon Pioneer Park alongside the Avon River where several vans can park nose to tail in a service road behind the main street. 31/7/19 On to Merredin ... read more

Leliyn (Edith Falls) to Bungle Bungles Edith falls has been a beautiful place to rest, but we needed to start heading west from Katherine and ended up free camping at East Baines Rest Area for the night. Early the following morning we crossed the Northern Territory/Western Australia border, and continued on to a little free camp at Dead Horse Springs right near Lake Argyle. While we didn't have access to the lake, we did visit the picnic area below the dam wall which was a beautiful spot. It is amazing just how big the lake is, and so incredible that diamonds are mined from this region, with plenty of freshwater crocodiles around. Kununurra was our next stop, and we enjoyed two nights with friends Jenny and Shane. Once again we were spoilt with a roast ... read more