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Published: February 9th 2009
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After 2 years away we are back in Australia! Last time we were here we did most of the East Coast so this time we wanted to travel along the West Coast.
We flew from New Zealand to Sydney and spent a couple days there. Even though we had seen them before the Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge still inspire! We went out to the Blue Mountains, just west of Sydney, where we went on a few walks/hikes including one that was our hardest to date. We also returned to Bondi Beach for an afternoon of relaxing.
From Sydney we headed west and flew to Broome, where we saw the sunset at Cable Beach, as well as celebrated Australia day with a beach party and some fireworks. This was also our starting point for our campervan adventure. Our plan was to drive the 2,600km from Broome to Perth in just over 2 weeks in a wicked camper. We were a little skeptical about the campervan that we were given (I must make it clear that we did not have any choice in the campervan selection). Please refer to photos, and you will understand what I am talking about.
We have gotten a LOT of looks, some find it funny while others give us a disgusted look. But besides the paint job it has been a lot of fun living out of the campervan and it has given us a much needed break from the hostels.
We left Broome and headed along the coast, stopping overnight in Port Hedland on our first night. We had planned to go all the way to Exmouth the following day, but some of the roads were flooded and we had to stay over night at a roadhouse in the middle of nowhere, which looked like something out of "Wolf Creek"! On our third day we made it to Exmouth and after travelling through miles and miles of desert we were relieved to be by the ocean again. In Exmouth Joe was able to attempt some surfing and we bought some snorkel gear so that we could check out the Ningaloo Reef. We found some really good snorkeling at Turquoise Bay and it had a beautiful white sand beach. We then went down to Coral Bay, which has been one of our favorite spots so far. It had the best snorkeling yet with
heaps and heaps of fish and colourful coral that you swam out to from the beach.
From Coral Bay we headed further south to Monkey Mia, which is famous for its dolphins. I think what I will most remember about Monkey Mia is the sweltering heat! It got to a high of 47 degrees and a low of 26 degrees. We both looked at our campervan and knew that we wouldn't be able to sleep in it that night so we had to shell out the money to get an over-priced room with a fan. But the dolphins were worth it. Every morning they come right up to the beach to get fed. There was about 10-15 dolphins playing in the waters and both of us got a chance to feed the mother dolphins. We also went on a cruise in Shark Bay and spotted dolphins, sharks, sting-rays as well as a bizzare animal called a dugong. The cruise also took us out to a pearl farm, where we were shown how they harvest pearls.
Our next stop along the West Coast was Kalbarri, where the weather finally cooled down a little, going from swealtering heat to an
uncomfortable hot. We did a short hike through some of the river georges in the area, which may not have been the best idea due to the heat. From there we went to Cervantes, which is known for the Pinnacle Desert. We drove through the rock columns and got some nice views as the sun went down.
We are now just south of Perth in beautiful Mandurah, where we have been taken in by some very kind Australians who are friends of friends. It had definitely been a giant step up from our campervan lifestyle! We were taken on a river cruise up the Murray River, with plenty of beverages in the esky! We also got up at the crack of dawn to try our hand at crayfishing, we didn't catch anything but learned how to bait up the traps. Now it is back in the campervan for a few more days and heading furthur south to the Margeret River area, known for the great surf, wine and chocolate, can't wait!
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John Brown
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Nice van
Classy van! I see you guys aren't sparing any expenses.