Australia - Western Australia Day 150 ( 14,188 miles)

During our time in Southern and Western Oz many people had said we should visit the area of Esperance and the surrounding National parks. We found a nice campsite and explored the local area for a few days. The coastline was stunning loads of pure white sand beaches, crystal clear water and very few people.



The Richardson family, Peter, Rachel, Grace, Theo and Hannah, Aussie/Kiwi's who are on a 2 year exploration of Australia. With their 4 wheel drive and trailer tent they have managed to may a comfortable and mobile home for the family whilst educating the children along the way. A lovely family, great company with a spirit of adventure to be admired.

Above and below are photo's of the Cape Le Grande NP, we last time we saw sea this colour was in the Maldives.







In between Denmark (no not that one) and Walpole there are big areas of forest containing huge Karri and Tingle trees, both are types of Eucalyptus. It was interesting to see and the wibbly, wobbly walkway was fun and a whole lot sturdier than ones we will encounter in Asia!

John being a hobbit!

The Margaret River area of West Australia has some pretty towns and is a well know wine region. We didn't linger as we cannot buy much and John is always the designated driver! We had dinner in a village called Pemberton they had really gone overboard with the spray snow and cotton wool Christmas decs!

We came across this bush fire and were just about the rush in with the 6 litres of water we were carrying when we saw a man either commiting arson or purposely spreading the fire. Turned out to be the latter he was burning the low growing bushes between the trees. Quite a job to get it right in the very dry conditions.


This lighthouse is in Augusta at the point where the Southern and Indian Ocean's meet, we could of got better photo's if we had been closer but being frugal travellers we saved the $1o entrance fee!

A random piper in a carpark in Margaret River, he played a tune, those of us around applauded and he got in his car and drove away! Think he may have been warming up for a wedding or something.

John crating the Tenere for it's 3rd flight of the trip. Big thanks to Richard and all the staff we met at Worldlink (our shipper in Perth) they were efficient, friendly and nothing was too much trouble.



Our last week in Oz was spent in the Perth area with Sharon and Craig, friends that Vic and Stew met when they moved to Sydney. They all share a love for the Moto GP and although Sharon and Craig are now living on the west coast they all meet up for this event.

Even though they had never met us and had no idea what nasty habits we might have Sharon and Craig shared their home, food, wine and local knowledge with us (hence the picture above restocking at the winery!).

Thank you so much we had a great time with you both.

Close to Perth is the small city of Freemantle which has a nice harbour and historical buildings (old by Aussie standards). The town was name after a Captain Freemantle who landed a ship here in 1829 to begin preparation for the Swan River Colony. There is a big Maritime and shipwreck museum that John loved.

Freemantle town, reminded us of New Orleans.

Although we were here for a week we hadn't actually managed to get into Perth city centre! On our last day Sharon and Craig drove us around the wine region for a few tastings and then into Perth to view the city from Kings Park.

The DNA tower in Kings Park.

So it's sadly goodbye to Oz but excitingly hello to SE Asia, first stop Kuala Lumpar!

Australia - From Southern Australia and across the Nullaboor. Day 136 ( 12,993 miles)

Boxing roos, although they look more like they are dancing in this photo.

At Coffin Bay we met an Aussie couple driving this huge bus from Brisbane to Perth to start a new life. This bus is not only their home but also carries a 4 x 4 jeep, 2 dirt bikes, 2 mountain bikes and a boat!

Coffin Bay is a small resort famous for Oyster fishing, we were advised to stop there for fish and chips (thanks for the tip Dell, you were absolutely right!). The Beachcomber fish and chips were fantastic.

Luckily we weren’t going this way.

The Gawler Ranges National Park, many miles of dirt roads. We managed about 60 miles but the soft sand was a bit much for the Tenere with both of us on board. We stayed upright just about!

Mmmmm………..

The start of the infamous Nullabor Plain, a stretch of road approximately 1100 km long. Some people call it the Nullaboring and some enjoy the trip, we definitely enjoyed it! You can’t get lost there is only one road and no towns, just a roadhouse every few hundred kilometres to fill up on fuel, food and sleep.
This photo is from the Nullabor Links, the longest golf course in the world, total length 1365 km. Obviously it’s not a course completed on foot or by golf buggy! These guys were on a 3 week trip combining a round of golf and fishing.

One of those photo’s taken by most tourists crossing the Nullabor.

And another one……….

Luxury accommodation! It was too windy to put up our tent in this flat and dusty place so we stayed in what is known as a Donga (or metal container!).

In places the Nullaboor runs close to some dramatic coastline.



What is left of the first telegraph station in Western Australia at a place called Eucla. The first message was sent to Perth in 1877.

There are no doctors surgeries in these parts, markings on the road denote landing strips for the flying doctor.

As we said, there’s no chance of taking a wrong turning.



There are trees decorated by passing travellers with all kinds of stuff.



This is Jin, a hardy cyclist travelling across the Southern states of Australia. We met up with him later that evening and camped at the same site.

We spent the night at the Fraser Ranges Station a sheep station that also has camping and accommodation. This is Baaarbara, her Mum deserted her the day before so now Bob the farmer is her new Mum.

More views of the sheep station.





Dramatic salt lakes, it’s hard to imagine how anything grows in this environment.

Australia - North of Adelaide. Day 128 ( 11,610 miles)

Before Vic and Stew headed back home from Adelaide we visited Bjoern and Sigrid who bought Stew’s last bike (a Suzuki DR650) in preparation for their own ‘Big Trip’ planned for 2012. John and I ended up staying with them for 3 days! They are lovely people who made us feel incredibly welcome.

 

Sigrid, Bjoern and us at their local Thai restaurant (very nice!)

 

From Adelaide we headed north through the Clare Valley which is another wine region. No time for tastings unfortunately! Auburn was a quaint little place we stopped for a bum break.



There must be many small churches in Australia with tiny congregations (unless they let the sheep in) we have seen many in areas with absolutely no houses.

Off road in the Flinders Ranges National Park.

Our first emu sighting! They ran along in front of us for sometime before heading off.




We camped in the Flinders for a couple of days, our first evening we walked to a spot that had been a farmers homestead 150 years ago, the building was derelict but has been rebuilt as a monument to the farmers. Their story was a constant battle against drought, flood and plagues of locusts!



The carving is at a spot that has spiritual significance for the Aboriginal people.





We watched the sunset with a glass of wine, then back to camp for………..

Fine dining!

The next day we hiked to a high point to view part of the Wilpena Pound, this is a continuous ring of hills that form a circle. To get the best views you need to take a scenic flight but our budget wouldn’t stretch to this.

We did however see lots of lizards and this bendy Yucca that John liked. We met two girls who were surveying the lizard population hence the number 42. Although it would be no surprise if lizard racing was another thing that Aussies bet on!





We walked down in rain, thunder and lightening.

Flinders Ranges NP, Camp McComb.