Finishing Up

Our journey around Oz is drawing to a close now with the final few days on the road spent dodging some stormy weather around the Capes of Leeuwin and Naturaliste and watching dolphins, whales and seals enjoying the dramatic conditions. The breaking waves at Conto were spectacular - understandably rock fishermen are advised to rope up to anchorage points as rogue king waves have claimed many lives.

We spent our first night for many months in a motel room at Augusta as a cold front brought in chilly winds and heavy rain but things then settled down as we headed north.

At Rockingham we spent time at a car wash getting the van as clean as possible and then giving it a good polish whilst enjoying the hot sun on a campsite and clearing out various obsolete items of kit and clothing. We travelled via Mandurah with its million dollar houses - each with a private jetty and large boat to Fremantle for a meeting with the shipping company. All seemed in hand although we were informed that payment would need to be in cash entailing a run on the ATMs over the next few days that we feared would trigger a security alert. A quick look round Freo itself gave us a chance to wander round the large and vibrant markets before heading in to Perth.

A night at the vintage Melbourne Hotel gave us a chance to experience the buzz of Perth on a Friday night and a good Indian meal before arriving at friends in Kallaroo who had very kindly offered to put us up for the last few days. After a final clean out the van looked as good as new - surprisingly so after 2 years and 40 thousand miles so with everything packed away and cupboards labelled we delivered it to a large warehouse in North Freo where dozens of businesses were dealing with thousands of containers heading to and from the enormous vessels moored nearby.

We took the train back in to Perth for a look round once more before returning to Kallaroo feeling very relieved that there had been no last minute hiccups.

Yesterday we returned to Freo for a pleasant day visiting the extensive prison complex, a tall ship captained by a friend's daughter from Pembrokeshire and arranging to cruise the Swan back from Perth at the start of our final chapter - a two day visit to the island of Rottnest.

A few pics appear here but now we are in civilisation we have suspended the use of our SPOT device.

The slides look back at our time in the Red Centre.

Deja View

Albany sprang a surprise on us with the excellent Fort complex that had provided military oversight during the port's heyday and has been sympathetically restored in recent years to provide a thorough insight in to much of Australia's 20th century involvement in conflict around the world.

Twenty miles west the stunning camping at Shelley Beach on West Cape Howe provided a prime spot from which to observe dolphins and whales just offshore and a good walk round to pristine Dunsky Beach.

Another short journey west brought us to the small Parry Beach campsite which had hot showers and a sheltered valley location - welcome as strong winds had been blowing all day.

These had eased the following day giving us a chance to get the bikes off and cycle parts of the rail trail either side of tranquil Denmark before a night at Fernhook Falls with the bush site to ourselves after revisiting the tree top walkway nearby.

After a day exploring the coast and more of the tall tree country we have stopped at Pemberton as the forecast heavy rain has arrived - strong winds made a re ascent of the climbing trees foolhardy and we are now enjoying the fire courtesy of hook up and giving our batteries a good charge as they will sit idle for six weeks during shipment.

It has been a different visit to this area for me as there are far less people around than at Easter, spring growth is blooming with an array of wild flowers and blossoming shrubs and the fields are bright green. Lambs and calves dot the fields in an area that could be mistaken for SW England or south Pembrokeshire at first glance.

Our goal is Fremantle by the end of the week via the Capes of Leeuwin and Naturaliste with our food and gas stores being run down, shabby clothing being dispatched and cupboards tidied as we go.

A few photos here catch the highlights of the last week and their locations appear here

Slides top right return us to the further reaches of WA.

Across the Nullarbor 2

South of Alice we enjoyed a night tucked away off the Stuart highway with a camp fire before stopping in the bizarre dusty and pock marked town of Coober Pedy where the hundreds of small opal mines looked like steroidal rabbit burrowings and even the locals lived underground.
Another quiet night in the bush preceded a return to civilisation at Port Augusta where we stocked up on food before heading across the Eyre peninsula to enjoy the limestone coastal scenery of Venus and Streaky Bay. From Coodlie Station's private coastal strip we watched 50 or so dolphins feeding just off shore and then idyllic Steep Point provided a close encounter with a pair of large pelicans and a silent sunset.
The highlights of our long (700 mile) haul across the Nullarbor were the dozens of whales and calves seen from Head of Bight and a thought provoking night alongside a small abandoned cottage where a family had once tried to survive on the arid and treeless plain - a pack of dingoes seemed to be the sole inhabitants these days.
Crossing in to WA we were again checked for fruit and veg. before another night tucked away off the Eyre highway put us in reach of Norseman and then Esperance. We stayed at Cape le Grand on a wild and squally night but things had settled down the following day enabling us to ascend the Frenchman's Cap for its panoramic views.
Two nights in the Stirling Ranges enabled us to walk on the tops again with a visit to the Pongarirups to enjoy the Castle Rock aerial walkway - now officially open.
Here in Albany we have visited the various coastal features that dominate the granite coast and have online access for the first time in almost a fortnight - hence the delay in posting.
Things seem to be in hand for our return with some treats booked in Perth for the last week once we have handed the van over - we are already sorting out various cupboards and throwing stuff out that has accumulated over the last two years. Most of our belongings will stay in the van for the 5 week journey home but we will still bring valuables home in our baggage allowances in case of a mishap - check out container ship accidents on you tube !!
So the last ten days will be a gentle meander round the green and verdant SW coasts once more with Spring in the air.

Photos here and locations here.

Slides revisit WA at the start of what will have been a 12000 mile circuit of an area twice the size of western Europe.

Penultimate Perambulations

After the varied attractions of Alice a day's drive south saw us settling for the night in a roadside free camping area before continuing on and then heading west to Kings Creek Station en route to the eponymous Canyon. 800,000 acres of barren land are used to raise cattle and camels although the accommodation now provided to travellers is the more lucrative enterprise. Friendly staff welcomed us and a Canadian guy on a quad took a lot of trouble to find us a quiet pitch in the thoughtfully laid out and spacious camp area. We walked up at sunset to watch the camels collect at a waterhole and enjoyed a peaceful night with hook up courtesy of the station generator.

King's Canyon was a geological marvel and was enjoyed over a four hour walk which enabled us to see its finer features from both close up and across the dramatic chasm.

We lingered an extra day to enjoy the surroundings before another journey through the arid but far from barren landscape brought us to Yulara the central settlement for visiting Uluru and Kata Tjuta - known to most as Ayers Rock and the Olgas.

The camping was not as busy as we had expected and we decided to delay our entry in to the Park itself to get the full benefit of the 3 day ticket validity so walked in to the resort to nose at the accommodation, shops and galleries - amazing to think that all this relates solely to the existence of a large rock.

Our first proper views were under a cloudy sky which failed to reveal the true splendour of the monolith so we decided to visit the cultural centre during which time the winter sun broke through. A walk up to the Mutitjulu waterhole gave us a chance to experience the rock itself close up and the perimeter road took us round to the starting point for the ascent. I decided to tackle the steep climb as it may be closed indefinitely in the future and arrived with bursting lungs on the rolling summit rocks to eventually arrive at a plaque giving distances to the various mountains visible way out on the horizons - I felt that seeing the land laid out below in such an awe inspiring way justified the climb as it really hammered home the generations of skill and knowledge required by indigenous people to live in such a harsh landscape.

The Olgas are an equally fascinating feature with 36 large domes (once thought to comprise a monolith 10 times larger then present day Uluru) providing more unforgettable views, two good walks and a photographer's dream.

The chance to watch Uluru change colour and character as the sun set provided the perfect ending to a remarkable few weeks in the Red Centre which we have found far more diverse and captivating than we had expected - whilst it must be challenging in the heat of summer the almost endless blue skies, warm days and comfortably cold nights of winter have suited us well.

The SA border is a few hours drive away after which Coober Pedy beckons and then we turn west once more to complete the final chapter of what has been a wonderful trip.

Photos of this remarkable area lie here and our locations here - the recent glitch may have been down to user error although I am not fully convinced.

Slides top right look back at our first visit to Perth

East and West of Alice

After the spectacle of the camel races we headed in to the East Macdonnell Ranges which stretch seemingly for ever towards Queensland. Trephina Gorge provided good bush camping from which to enjoy excellent walks in the area with the long Ridge walk a particular favourite.

Arltunga further on was a short lived gold town where the extremes of climate and its isolation made the extraction of gold at a rate of 1oz per ton seem a particularly poor return. The lonely graves, abandoned buildings and harsh landscape made for a thought provoking visit with even today the rough access track making it a bit of an epic to get there.

Back in Alice an unusual spell of cloudy grey weather with some light rain put Ozzie campers in to the camp site chalets and cabins whilst we enjoyed the Ghan and Road Transport Museums.

The West Macdonnell Ranges provided a number of highlights with deep chasms and gorges scything through the dramatic ridges. Serpentine and Ormiston Gorges were particularly good and at Red Bank Gorge we found excellent bush camping at the Woodlands. From here with the weather back to sunny days and clear chilly nights we climbed Mt. Sonders in perfect conditions to enjoy the dramatic desert landscape spread out below us.

Back towards Alice the bush camping at Serpentine Chalet provided three memorably starry nights with solar showers, meals cooked on a fire and a good walk to Counts Point for some of the best views we have seen in the area across rocky ranges, dry desert valleys and endless red plains.

Returning to Alice we visited the impressive Desert Park conservation project which imaginatively described and displayed many of the habitats and creatures we have seen over the last couple of weeks.

We now head south to rather more touristy attractions and have attended to a few of the tasks related to our return home in little over a month.

Some pictures lie here and SPOT locations here - although a temporary glitch has meant that some check ins have not been transmitted, watch this space.

Slides are from NSW and the Alps late last year.

Red Centre

Following our long loop out to the coast we headed south through Tennants Creek towards Alice Springs. The Devil's Marbles provided an interesting break before we crossed the Tropic of Capricorn and arrived in the town of Alice Springs. With a population of around 30,000 it provides a central services hub for a vast area of the outback and also acts as a Flying Doctor base and the centre for the School of the Air which provides education to the 120 children spread across 1.2m square kilometres that cannot access conventional schooling.
The logistics facing these two facilities really brought home to us the reality of living in central Australia. More locally the problems faced or self inflicted by indigenous people were reflected by the large numbers hanging listlessly around town and the large amount of alcohol related debris strewn across the parks, Todd river bed and other public spaces. Civic and tribal leaders face a huge task in bridging the gulf between the two Australia's and recently introduced curbs on the sale of booze may be the start of a better future.
The old gaol housed the informative Pioneer Women's Hall of Fame in buildings used until recent times for their original purpose and down at the station the famous Ghan was in town for the day breaking its multi day journey from Darwin to Adelaide.
We enjoyed using the bikes to get around and celebrated Sarah's birthday with a meal out and some light retail therapy leaving the van to rest at the quiet campsite which one evening provided an excellent slideshow by a local expert on the flora and fauna of the area's various habitats.
We return to Alice in a couple of days after heading in to the McDonnell Ranges - the days are still warm but night time temepratures fall to around zero which suits us fine!

Pictorial highlights here and positions here


Back to NZ and the top of South Island for the slideshow

Kakadu Done - Alice Next

The Kakadu National Park provided a few days of memorable walking in hot sunshine and very warm nights mostly in basic bush campsites. At Cahill's Crossing the road led in to Arnhemland a vast (91,000 square kilometre) Aboriginal reserve that extends out to the coast with some 12,000 people carrying on a largely traditional lifestyle. We enjoyed the rock paintings nearby at Ubirr and further on at Nourlangie - the latter incorporated in to a long walk through remarkable sandstone formations.

Returning to Katherine for Territory Day gave us an evening of fireworks and a chance to restock before the long drive south through the Red Centre.

The Daly Waters pub provided a memorable stop over with a T-shirt donated to their multinational display : the now disused aerodrome used to provide refuelling facilities for Qantas flights to Singapore. We headed east out to Cape Crawford on a virtually deserted road eventually reaching the King Bay Fishing Club camp site which amazingly had several hundred campers in residence mostly intent on catching the famous barramundi from the maze of waterways that led out to the Gulf of Carpentaria.

Back at Cape Crawford the even more deserted Tablelands Highway took us over 240 miles south with not a sign of habitation as we passed through a dry flat landscape most notable for a wide variety of birds. An hour was spent helping a couple with a live in bus suffering from water in the tank after a river crossing after which we joined them in a roadside rest area for the evening for a drink and a yarn.

The Barkly Highway returned us to the Stuart Highway where we are now spending the night in Tennants Creek after visiting the excellent museum and mineral display. Perth is some 2500 miles away so we have a bit to do over the remaining six weeks and our list of pre home coming jobs grows daily - Alice beckons and should be much cooler which will be welcome.

The people we meet are very often the highlight of the day - many are also on long trips and are tuned in to our way of thinking with lots of helpful advice and friendly tips.

Photos and locations lie at these links and for slides its down to WA the first time round some 12000 miles but only 3 months ago - the loop round has been a very long but enjoyable way.