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Big Lap
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  • Amanda Jones
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  • Amanda Jones

Big Lap

One year off to travel this big sun burnt land Read more
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    Sunday in Fremantle

    December 7, 2025 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    Awesome day exploring Fremantle. 1pm canon at the Roundhouse, yummy lunch at Bathers Beach house, cool bands at The Fremantle Buffalo Club and delicious gelato at Cho Chi.

    Loving it here so far.

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    The first few weeks of Fremantle

    Nov 3–Dec 1, 2025 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    It’s been a busy first month here in Fremantle. I’ve started back at work and getting used to the office commute to Subiaco.
    Andrew has found a casual ‘holiday job’ at a local pub’s bottle shop.
    We’ve been exploring Perth, Fremantle and the surrounds. Went to Kings Park for a visit which was really nice. The park is huge and looks over the Swan River to the city. It was a hot day so we only saw a small portion of it as it was too hot for the puppies. Will visit again early in the morning.
    Had a look at the Chinese Warrior lanterns which are moving around Perth at the moment. We’ve tried a few of the local pubs and craft breweries, found an amazing pie shop in East Fremantle and taken the puppies to a few nice dog beaches. We’ve been fortunate to catch up with Andrew’s friend who live here, Sacha, Glen, Clare, Andrew and Shirley.
    Yesterday we went to Mandurah and saw couple of the famous ‘Giants of Mandurah’
    All in all we’re really enjoying our time here.    Read more

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    Busselton Jetty (1.8km long)
    This was a really nice cafe we had breakfast atBusselton beachShelter brewing BusseltonThe Fire Station bar and restaurant

    Busselton

    Oct 30–Nov 2, 2025 in Australia ⋅ 🌬 19 °C

    This was the last of our stops before we settle in Fremantle for 4-5 months.
    Busselton is beautiful when the sun is shining. Great beaches. We had a lovely time here.
    The weather was a bit patchy with cold and rain for half of it but we enjoyed ourselves.
    We did heaps of walking along the water side. Enjoyed a great Thai dinner then drinks at The Fire Station and The Pavillion.
    Busselton has taxis and Uber so we could go out and have a few drinks. First place in months.
    Dunsborough is a really cool little beach side town about 20 mins from Busselton which we took a drive around.
    Would love to come back here again. Maybe one weekend before Easter.    Read more

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    1Margaret River farmers market
    Freshly made pestoCool coffee truck at the marketsFabulous vineyard HipCampBest bakery in Margaret RiverDelicious cinnamon bun with caramel sauceMargaret River bakeryAmazing croissantsCBCo brewery. Only a short wal from campWalking home from the breweryPeach loved our camp....so did PabloCanal rocks boardwalk YallingupCanal rocksVasse Felix vineyardCape Natraliste lighthouse.

    Margaret River

    Oct 25–30, 2025 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    Five lovely days spent enjoying all Margaret River and the surrounding area has to offer.
    We found another spectacular Hipcamp at Jarvis Estate Vineyard. This vineyard was well located and easy to drive to any where in Margaret River and they had us come for a tasting. We bought a few of their wines to have during our visit.
    We started with the Saturday farmers market to pick up some great produce for our stay.
    Vineyards we visited for tastings - Leeuwin Estate, Evan’s and Tate and Vasse Felix.
    We enjoyed the Margaret River Bakery, CBCo brewing, Margaret River Brewing and the gelato/cannoli shop.
    Did some great drives to Yallingup and Canal Rocks, Prevally Beach and Surfers point, and Cape Natraliste and the light house.
    We both loved the area and would love to come back.    Read more

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    Gorgeous Chirch in Nannup
    121The water wheelThe water wheel1Jewel CaveJewel CaveJewel CaveJewel CaveJewel CaveCape Mentelle2Cape Mentelle

    Augusta

    Oct 21–25, 2025 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    We spent a lovely four days in Augusta. Super small seaside town where the Southern Ocean meets the Indian Ocean with so much around to explore.
    It was very cold and a bit rainy.
    On the drive to Augusta we stopped in for lunch in Nannup which was very pretty, quite alternative and had cute little church and beautiful gardens.
    While in Augusta we visited Cape Leewin lighthouse at the most South Westerly point of Australia.
    Visited the water wheel which was constructed to provide water to the men who built the lighthouse.
    Had an awesome time testing wine and abalone at Subsea wines. Such a unique concept to stir and develop the wine under water. The abalone strips were pan fried in either garlic butter or chilli ginger and it was my first time to try it. I really liked it.
    We took a tour of Jewel Cave which is the largest cave in the south west. The cave has boardwalks and beautiful lighting to show the crystal formations. Stunning place and a good rainy day activity.
    Had a great tasting of Cape Mentelle wines in Margaret River.
    (Next stop five days in Margaret River)    Read more

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    Off grid camp at Rockcliffe vineyard
    Beautiful birds.After dinner pool at the Denmark HotelImpressive tree top walkwayOff grid Hipcamp near PembertonSouthern Roasting Co Manjimup. Best coffeeBeedelup fallsBeedelup fallsSuspension bridgeVery wobbly suspension bridgeGorgeous spider orchid.Post bush walk beer at the Pemberton HotelVery happy Pups running freeWobbly suspension bridge

    Denmark, Pemberton and surrounds

    Oct 13–21, 2025 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    We’ve slowed the pace down and have spent time relaxing as well as exploring.
    Had two really lovely campsites in Denmark. One off grid at Rockcliffe vineyard and the other a peaceful caravan park by the river. The second had some beautiful birds and a little duck family.
    Denmark is a cute little town on a river. Nice pub nice coffee and wine.
    In our journey to our Hipcamp near Pemberton we stopped at the Valley of the Giants to do the tree top walk around the tingle forest. Impressive walkway 40 metres above the ground among the tree tops.
    The next few days rained a lot and we did some drives around Pemberton and Manjimup, visited Beedelup Falls and chilled in front of some nice fires.
    The puppies loved our last camp as they could run free around the property.    Read more

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    Chainsaw sculpturesChainsaw sculpturesWhaling shipProcessing deck of whaling stationOldest church in AlbanyMisery beachMisery beachThe GapNatural ArchThe gap lookout1

    Albany

    Oct 8–13, 2025 in Australia ⋅ 🌬 16 °C

    Albany is an awesome place. It was the first town settled in WA with beautiful old buildings.
    A lot colder and windier than expected. Throw some rain in.
    We had an awesome time exploring.
    Visited the Whaling museum which was interesting. It was the last Whale processing station to operate in Australia and it closed in 1978.
    The Gap, the natural arch and the wind farm were great. The puppies came along to most of but not all sights. National parks don’t allow puppies.
    We had the best long lunch catch
    up with Sharon at The Barrel Farm. Such a good day catch up.
    I really enjoyed the vibe of Albany. Must come again.    Read more

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    Mt Barker and Porongurup

    Oct 5–8, 2025 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    It’s been chilly here the past few days. Single digits in the morning, windy with a few showers.
    It hasn’t dampened our enthusiasm to explore.
    Most people only think of Margaret Rover for WA wines. Mt Barker is part of WA’s Great Southern Wine region and are know for Riesling and Shiraz
    We went to a few local vineyards tried and bought some lovely wines.
    We found an awesome Hipcamp on a property next to a vineyard and had the place to ourselves.
    One of our days we visited Porongurup National Park and did the Castle Rock granite skywalk. It was a really tough walk with a constant steep incline and some rock climbing at the end to make it up to the skywalk. Amazing engineering. We had to climb up and ladder to the skywalk platform. OMG the wind was ferocious and freezing at the top. I tried to capture it in a video.    Read more

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    West beachTwilight beachTwilight beachLucky BayThistle bayThistle BayFrenchman peakFrenchman peakLucky Bay BreweryEsperance foreshore walkGreat coffeeLamb navarin at Louis bistroChicken and tarragon pie at LouisWest beachPuppies love the beaches here1Lucky Bay heaving with people and cars

    Esperance

    Sep 29–Oct 4, 2025 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    Esperance is all about the beaches. Stunning fine white sand and beautiful turquoise blue water. Weather is much cooler and windy.
    We did have a couple of warm days at the end.
    Dogs loved the beaches and the off leash time.
    Very relaxed place with a good brewery, nice coffee and a lovely French bistro.    Read more

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    Wave Rock - Hyden (o/night Lake King)

    Sep 28–29, 2025 in Australia ⋅ 🌬 21 °C

    Stopped in Hyden for lunch and drove to Wave Rock. Couldn’t stay overnight as all camping was booked out. Some folk festival.
    Drove onto Lake King and stopped overnight in the Tavern caravan park.
    Not a bad little place. Some interesting locals and cool cars.    Read more

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    Sandy Cape/Cervantes/Pinnacles

    Sep 23–27, 2025 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    Camped off grid for four nights at Sandy Cape campground just north of Jurien Bay. Stunning spot.
    Great spot to do day trips to Jurien Bay, the Pinnacles desert and Cervantes.
    Awesome lobster lunch at The Lobster Shack in Cervantes. We bought a couple of large lobsters to have in the van with a very successful Lobster Mornay attempt for dinner one night.Read more

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    Beautiful wildflowers Kalbarri NP3Wildflowers Kalbarri NPNatures window Kalbarri NPNatures windowSide view of skywalkSkywalkKalbarri Skywalk in the National ParkView from z bend lookout Kalbarri NPGreat local craft brewery - Finlay'sNatural bridgeCoastal walking track Kalbarri NP1Whale mum and her calf off coastHutt Lagoon (pink lake) Port GregoryNatural bridge Kalbarri NPCoastal Cliff walk Kalbarri NP

    Kalbarri

    Sep 16–21, 2025 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    We spent a lovely five days in Kalbarri. A lovely coastal surf town.
    It’s surrounded by both an inland and coastal National Park with a spectacular skywalk and coastal cliffs.
    The surf is awesome and we loved watching the very skilled surfers in action.
    Kalbarri has a nice vibe, great bakery cafe and craft brewery.
    We did some spectacular walks along the coastal cliffs and walked to Natures Window and the Skywalk.
    The wildflowers are abundant at the moment and beautiful.
    While there we drove about 30 minutes south to see Hutt Lagoon. It’s a really stunning shade of pink. This is caused by high saline levels and microscopic algae.
    The caravan was pretty special right near Red Bluff and each site had an ensuite.
    It was a welcome change to have some more space.    Read more

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    The Old Pearler built with cockle shell blocksA sculpture on the foreshore in DenhamEagle BluffGorgeous shell beachShell from Shell beachDenham sunsetShark Bay viewInteresting visitor at the Shark Bay Hotel (the old pub)Peron Station where the artesian bath wasCape PeronCape PeronSlip Jack PointSea birds at Slip Jack PointAnother stunning sunset DenhamAnd anotherShark bay boatsLion fish at the Ocean Park Aquarium2Cape Peron

    Shark Bay (Denham) / Francois Peron NP

    Sep 6–14, 2025 in Australia ⋅ 🌬 20 °C

    What an awesome area!! We loved Shark Bay and Denham. Very chilled place. Andrew likened it to the town in the TV show “Sea Change”.
    We’re loving the WA Coast. Stunning red cliffs with white shell or fine white sand beaches. Many Emu sightings.
    We visited the Ocean Park aquarium which had a really great open air facility with a huge variety of tropical fish local to Shark Bay Area. They also did daily shark feeding AND it was dog friendly. The dogs loved it!
    Cape Peron was pristine with stunning red cliffs above pure white beach looking out to the vivid blue Indian Ocean.
    Great 4WD drive track to get there as well.
    The park also has a 40 degree artesian hot tub which was really nice.
    We loved Old Pearler Restaurant, and Shark Bay Hotel (old pub) where we had a few sunset drinks.
    Andrew tried catching squid with no luck but it was fun. Dogs loved the beaches
    Great place to pass the time while we waited for a caravan part.    Read more

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    Monkey Mia

    Sep 3–6, 2025 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    We had a lovely time at Monkey Mia. Lovely resort with very spacious sites.
    First day we were up early for the Dolphin feeding. The little buggers didn’t show.
    Never mind we had a great day swimming in the pool heated by artesian springs.
    Saw an Emu father with his chicks wandering the campground (the mother takes off once the babies have hatched leaving dad to raise them). We ended the day with a drink at the Monkey bar and watched an AFL game.
    Next day the winds came up and the rain came down. Needless to say the dolphins didn’t visit that day either. Nice chill day spent reading with a few dog walks through the day.
    Our last day the dolphins came for a visit. We saw four of them swimming and playing very close to shore.    Read more

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    Coral Bay
    Coral BayCoral BayStreet art CarnarvonCarnarvon Facine2Cool food truckCoral BayQuobba Blow Holes

    Coral Bay / Carnarvon / Quobba

    Sep 1–3, 2025 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    On our way to Carnarvon we stopped in at Coral Bay for some lunch. Stunning beach.
    We spent two nights in Carnarvon as our Caravan suspension was having trouble.
    It’s a really cute little town with a nice waterfront area where we found a great coffee shop.
    While the van was being assessed we spent some time driving around the local farms as Carnarvon is WA food bowl. They grow so many bananas and we had the best banana smoothie at a local shop. We also drove up to Quobba blow holes. The coast line is around this area is stunning.    Read more

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    Pablo loved the sand floorVlamingh lighthouseStunning sunsetsCharles Knife CanyonCharles Knofe Canyon2Shot hole CanyonShothole Canyon2

    Exmouth and Ningaloo Reef

    Aug 28–Sep 1, 2025 in Australia ⋅ 🌬 22 °C

    What a fabulous four days in Exmouth. Such a chill place we loved the vibe.
    Favourite venue is Whalebone brewery which has such a good atmosphere with great beer, sand floor, live music, nice pizzas and puppy friendly. We went there a few times. Some other great places we ate at were all dog friendly. Mutts cafe, The Sociel society and we enjoyed a great tapas meal at Exhale.
    While there we drove to Shothole Canyon, Charles Knife Canyon and Vlamingh head lighthouse.
    Snorkelling through the Ningaloo reef was stunning and so accessible from the beach.
    We enjoyed drift snorkeling in Turquoise Bay and snorkeled in the Lakeside area. Water was lovely and so many fish.
    In hindsight we wished we planned to stay longer.
    A must see place in our opinion.    Read more

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    Home Creek free camp
    Home Creek free campBullara Station campGoat just chillin111First fire in ages1

    Bullara Station

    Aug 25–27, 2025 in Australia ⋅ 🌬 21 °C

    Awesome stay here at Bullara Station.
    We left Tom Price and had one night of free camping at Home Creek.
    Fabulous two nights at Bullara Station. It’s a working station with beef cattle.
    Unfortunately the special set dinner “At our Table” dinner was booked out three months ago🙁
    We were able to enjoy some amazing scones and pies from the cafe.
    Lovely property with heaps of animals roaming free, nice walks and a really nice bar and beer garden. Pretty dog friendly place too!! 🐶🐾
    They have sheep, goats, horses, Guinea fowl and cattle.    Read more

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    Tom Price & Karijini NP

    Aug 21–25, 2025 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C

    We’ve had a relaxing time in Tom Price and enjoyed a visit to Karijini NP.
    On the way to Tom Price we stopped for a coffee at Cheela Plains Station. Beautiful place which offers campsites and a really nice cafe.
    Tom Price was an interesting Mining town which services Rio Tinto staff. Mine spec vehicles and Hi vis everywhere.
    We had dinner at Windawarra Lodge where all the Rio staff eat. It was ok but very reminiscent of hospital fare. We didn’t get to do the mining tour due to rain. 🙁
    Karijini NP is beautiful and we did the Dales Gorge walk where we walked along the gorge edge then descended into the gorge and saw Fortescue falls and feel pool. It was interesting to see seams of blue asbestos naturally occurring in the gorge rocks (safe in its natural form).
    The rain and wind came (first rain we’ve seen in 3 months) which meant any walks and roads were closed.
    Spent our down time reading and watching AFL.    Read more

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    Point Samson

    August 19, 2025 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    Drove from Cape Keraudren to Point Samson via Port Hedland today.
    Day started with a flat tyre so changed and head to Port Hedland to have tyre checked.
    They found out our alloy rims had heaps of cracks.
    Drove to Point Samson for a night after organising some steel rims to be fitted in Karratha.
    Point Samson was interesting. Caravan park like a carpark with caravans jammed in every space (yuk). Lots of rules.
    No car washing. None of the beaches allowed dogs.
    We had dinner at Samson Beach pub which was average. My meal was nice Andrew’s was awful.
    The port there is used for Fortescue and BHP to load iron ore loaders.
    Beaches were lovely.    Read more

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    Port smith low tidePort smith lagoonRed pawed puppies after lagoon funPort smith campsiteCape Keraudren view from campThe rig setup and off gridDoggy go proSunset Cape Keraudren.Cape Keraudren night skyEighty mile beachEighty mile beach - so hard to capturePuppy fun11Wildflowers

    Port Smith Lagrange and Cape Keraudren

    Aug 13–19, 2025 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    We’ve combined these two locations. After many days of driving and free camping to make it back to the WA coast, we’ve allowed right down.
    We spent four nights in Port Smith Lagrange about and hour and a half south of Perth. Here we just chilled and rested. Andrew has been sick so this was a great place to recuperate. Not much here except a lovely tidal lagoon and mangroves. The dogs loved it. Loads of sand flies as well. The owners fogged the campground each night to minimise the flies.

    Next stop two nights at Cape Keraudren nature reserve and off grid camping. Gorgeous spot on the southern point of eighty mile beach. Our camp looked over the Indian Ocean and eighty mile beach. It’s also the most northern point for the rabbit proof fence number 1 (there are a few).
    Another favourite with the puppies. Heaps of pretty wildflowers as well.    Read more

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    Kakadu - day 3

    Aug 6–7, 2025 in Australia ⋅ 🌙 23 °C

    Another great day here in Kakadu.
    It was an early start today along up at 6am. Andrew found this a bit hard.
    We started the day with a rock art
    walk at Burrunggai and Anbangbang shelter and art gallery which was stunning. The rock art documents 20000 years of culture up to interaction with Europeans. We also walked to the top of the rocky area to Kunwarddewardde lookout which looked over to Arnhem land escarpment.
    We then drove to the infamous Cahills Crossing which goes across the East Alligator river to Arnhem Land. This area is famous for seeing heaps of big crocs and it didn’t disappoint.
    Andrew drove across the river
    Crossing as well.
    We also walked around Ubirr and saw many areas with impressive rock art. Fish, turtles, people hunting etc.
    this walk took us up to a lookout where we could take in a 360 view of Kakadu wetlands and landscape as well as over to Arnhem Land.
    On our way back to camp we dropped into the Warradjan Aboriginal Cutural centre. Learned a lot about the local aboriginals for this area and more
    about their culture, local foods, weaving, art and hunting.
    So much to do here we really could have spent another couple of days.    Read more

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