Caravan Capers, WA

april - september 2017
Een 158-daags avontuur van Graham n Rosie Meer informatie
  • 38Footprints
  • 1landen
  • 158dagen
  • 257foto’s
  • 1video’s
  • 9,1kkilometer
  • Dag 44

    Windjana Gorge & Tunnel Creek

    5 juni 2017, Australië ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    Windjana Gorge is part of the Kimberley "barrier reef", limestone deposits left behind after the great inland sea departed a few millennia ago. One picture includes the fossilised remains of a crustacean left behind from the Devonian Period (about 350million years ago). The Gorge walk is glorious- sandy and shaded, giving a sub-tropical feel with the beauty of massive limestone cliffs and River views on either side. Freshwater crocs are literally everywhere but are so shy there is no way you could get near enough for them to be a problem.

    Tunnel Creek, an amazing underground water system. Once home to Jandamurra, an aboriginal warrior who defied white settler's incursions into his country in the late 1800's. A walk through Tunnel Creek requires a torch, the dexterity to wade through chilling water up to waist deep (in Rosie's case), and to accept that you are sharing the waterway with freshwater crocodiles and a cave ceiling pock- a-dotted with bats. Not to mention a 1.5km return trip underground. Something special!
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  • Dag 53

    Broome

    14 juni 2017, Australië ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    Had a great time here - it's an interesting town, industrial yet reliant on tourism for sure. Of course Cable Beach packs them in, so the shire doesn't actually need to try too hard to attract visitors. This is reflected in their exhorbitant park fees! Luckily we'd heard on the grapevine of a cheap place in the industrial area and spent a week on a worksite in a huge shed. Absolutely perfect, not pretty but very clean with power, shower and toilet. A sociable setting with the other campers there and run by a really nice bloke who couldn't do enough for us including providing us with frozen mango from his own orchard. Unfortunately the council shut him down while we were there; not surprising of course but annoying just the same. Again, luckily we were on our last day anyway when told the news.

    Broome held a number of attractions for us. We caught up with Murray & Ron who are travelling the same road albeit much faster, so it was great timing to be meeting in Broome where we shared a few beers, dinners and sunsets!

    We spent a great deal of time choosing Rosie's pearl, an exercise in fast footwork, research and dedication to the mission that was truly rewarded when she found "the one". They say that the pearl finds you and that is so accurate it's spooky; also expensive. It was an incredibly special journey that included a trip to a pearl farm to learn a bit more before committing. Worth every moment! ❤️

    Cable Beach was an entirely awesome sight - the powdery white sand is devastatingly beautiful when paired with THAT water. Apparently it's the limestone in the area that gives this stretch of Indian Ocean its glorious azure tone. The coconuts, the sunsets, the camels, the hippies and the surprisingly freezing water all create a mood peculiar to this wonderful piece of heaven - you just need to tilt your face to the sun, breathe in deep and smile.

    Witnessing the natural phenomenon known as
    "Staircase to the Moon" was our other highlight. 🌝Sadly we didn't have the tripod so no photos of our own except what the smartphone could produce but to watch this huge orange moon slowly emerge over Roebuck Bay was just a magical thing. As the moon rises, the beams hit the sand flats left behind from the outgoing tide, creating a "staircase" effect. I've never seen anything so serenely beautiful. Shame about having to share it with five hundred randoms all jabbering and flashing away.

    Thank you Broome for some wonderful memories. We now prepare to leave The Kimberley region, an area we absolutely love. Onto The Pilbara region for a whole new set of adventures!
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  • Dag 56

    Eighty Mile Beach and other spots

    17 juni 2017, Australië ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    A couple of days to relax with a rod on this wide, seemingly endless shell beach. The catch of choice up here his King Threadfin Salmon - we both managed a pan size keeper each so won't complain.

    We detoured to Dampier because no way were we going to miss paying our respects to Red Dog at the memorial erected by locals in his memory. A wonderful outback legend that warms the heart...

    We spend two nights at Whim Creek Hotel, a great little pub in the middle of nowhere that comes up it hits own pool, beer garden and cocky/peacock residents. Upmarket pub grub for such an out if the way place too! Sadly during the night the van took on a very definite 'lean' to one side. Confused were we until venturing out in daylight to discover a seriously flat tire. Still, if that's the worst thing to happen on this trip we'll be pretty happy.
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  • Dag 63

    Ningaloo Coast

    24 juni 2017, Australië ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    We arrived at Osprey Bay campground and got ourselves ready for two weeks of sun, snorkelling and sand. Picture perfection every day with the temperature a nice 26-27 degrees. Our camp spot gave us fabulous views over the bay, with happy hour sunsets 🌅 over the water becoming a habit that will be hard to give up! Of course nothing's perfect - the wind was annoying at times, especially those "beastly easterlies" - so we were grateful for the annexe at least. We also managed to pick a time when the tides were a bit dodgy so the fishing wasn't as promising as it might have been. I did manage some decent squid and Graham pulled up a few octopuses 🐙, gar, leather jackets, dart, silver whiting and an impressive puffer fish as well. Only the squid made it to the plate.

    The snorkelling was amazing fun, despite the odd shark or two hanging around. There are a few different spots along this coast that are just stunning, Turquoise Bay and The Oyster Stacks in particular. Proximity to shore means even kids or less able swimmers can get out there and have a look. Words can't really do justice to the experience of getting close to an amazing array of corals, colour-drenched tropical 🐟, turtles, giant lobsters (not to be confused with the giant prawn at Exmouth), stingrays and even the odd shark.

    The Ningaloo ticked a box and we're so glad we did it. It also means that from now on we head South, leaving the last of the tropics (and thongs/tshirt days) behind us. 😖
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  • Dag 78

    Carnarvon Space and Technology Station

    9 juli 2017, Australië ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    Carnarvon as a township gained prominence in the sixties and it has an interesting history. The tracking station was a vital cog for the Apollo space missions, culminating with the 1969 Apollo 11 mission which captured the attention of the whole world. It was only one small step for us to redirect our itinerary and drop in to the space centre - the satellite dish dominates the skyline so it's kind of difficult to miss.

    The memories certainly come flooding back as we revisit that moment in time, courtesy of the television broadcast of that historic day which was beamed around the world. There was much to see and do over the two hours we spent there, including experiencing the confines of a simulated Mercury space capsule. Enclosed in such a small space you are taken through the 7 minute launch sequence. On this occasion the vibration special effects were faulty so I guess we failed to launch and maybe just as well. We did have fun in the kids section, playing old school space invaders and having a go at other cool stuff like the "how steady is your hand electric wire " game. 😀👾
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  • Dag 85

    Monkey Mia

    16 juli 2017, Australië ⋅ 🌙 20 °C

    What a fabulous place! Beautiful Shark Bay, sheltered and serene with wonderful dolphins who've been coming here for freebie fish for forty years. Their feeds are strictly controlled these days as is access to them which is great. Everyone gets close enough to see these guys without too much interaction. We did a couple of cruises on a huge catamaran, the skipper a direct descendant of Dirk Hartog and clearly passionate about the area.

    We were lucky enough to spot more dolphins , a loggerhead turtle and a dugong as well as a great sunset. Being a resort there was Foxtel so Graham got to see a Crows game and We both enjoyed the luxury of power in the van and a restaurant meal or two. Bucket list item ✅!
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  • Dag 96

    Oakabella

    27 juli 2017, Australië ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    We came for a night and stayed for a week. It's fair to say that we felt completely at home in the grounds of this remarkable place. The gorgeous homestead, barn and outbuildings whitewashed against the stunning landscape really took our breath away. Having the opportunity to help out as temporary camp hosts was a lot of fun and definitely a role we think we are well suited to!

    The importance of the property in terms of local history is significant and the tour of the homestead was especially insightful thanks to the passion and knowledge of our guide, Loretta. She is one of life's true characters and a pleasure to have met. We could easily have stayed on, however need to continue our journey. Still, who knows - perhaps we will be back one day. ❤️
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  • Dag 100

    The Pinnacles, Nambung National Park

    31 juli 2017, Australië ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    The Pinnacles began life as marine-rich seashells that, over time, were broken down into lime-rich sands and blown inland to create these amazing domes. It was a seriously stormy morning but we were lucky to arrive with a few sun breaks. The area is vast and quite mind blowing to see these towering sentinels stretched across the landscape. Beautiful.Meer informatie

  • Dag 101

    New Norcia

    1 augustus 2017, Australië ⋅ 🌧 27 °C

    We spent a wonderful day here, wandering amongst the many heritage listed buildings that make up New Norcia. Established by Spanish Benedictine monks, NN is the only remaining working monastery in Australia. They continue to live, study and work here, following Benedictine traditions established in 600AD. (We did learn that this hasn't stoped them owning mobile phones though 😀).

    The community was involved in religious conversions as a mission as well as education, with a particular emphasis on music. These days tourism plays a major role as well as providing facilities for retreats, school camps etc. And still those monks continue to crank out the most delicious bread you'll ever taste!
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  • Dag 107

    Swan Valley-Freo-Perth

    7 augustus 2017, Australië ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    Very nice having power to fire up the heater and electric blanket - the weather has been abysmally cold! Never ones to let Mother Nature get in the way of a bit of wine tasting, we still managed to visit a few. We especially enjoyed getting to know the delicious old school Chardonnay at Sandalfords as well as the obligatory cheese platters that are all part of the experience.

    We managed a day trip to Fremantle where we spent some time at the WA Shipwrecks Museum before revisiting our chill crab experience from 15 years ago (minus the allergic reaction -WINNING!). After this achievement the only thing left to do was stroll next door for a super beer flight at Little Creatures.

    One place we missed out on during our last visit was King's Park, so we made a beeline there this time. Luckily the skies were kind and we were able to have a good look around before rain came down. It's an amazing spot with gorgeous views; so glad we finally got there.
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