Darwin to Perth Via The Kimberleys – July & August 2019

DAY 0 22 July 2019 – Welcome back! As I mentioned a year ago when I closed out the Darwin to Adelaide trip Blog, we were thinking of doing a similar trip to Perth from Darwin via the Kimberleys. We start tomorrow. We have spent three weeks with the family and today we are driving up to Brisbane for our early flight to Darwin Tuesday Morning. We will pick up our Britz Frontier Campervan right after we land and start out towards the Kimberleys. First night will be in Noonnamah just a short ways from Darwin.

Britz Frontier Motorhome

We upgraded to the Frontier for more personal space. We are flying directly back to the States from Perth and we are dragging all our luggage with us all the way. Additionally, we found the Smaller Campervan to be more work than what we wanted to do. With the Frontier we will have more space, less work … perfect combo for a relaxing vacation.

Route With Major Points Along the Way

The plans for the ~3000 mile/5000 kilometer trip are to go South to Katherine, then West and South on Highway 1 all the way to Perth, turn in the Camper, rent a car, drive down to Margret River for a couple nights, then back to Perth for our flight back to the States. Lake Argyle, The Bungle-Bungles, Wolf Creek Crater, Camping at several Outback Cattle Stations (they don’t call them ranches here), Derby, a fastboat ride through the Horizontal Falls, Broome, Port Hedland, Monkey Mia, Coral Bay, Hamelin Bay, Shell Beach, Margret River and Perth. You can look, them up on the internet or wait to read about the, here … or both.

We are in the middle of Winter here so the weather is cool (60f/20c) much like Tampa in the Winter. As we go North it will be much Warmer ( Mid 80’s f to low 90s/30-35c) from Darwin to Port Hedland I expect to wear shorts, t-shirt and flip flops. Once we get down to Perth it will again be cooler, and even more so in Margret River (more luggage)!

Nancy has the route all planned out, research done on each area we go to, and ready to guide me along.

DAY 1 – 23 July 2019 – We made it out of Brisbane and into Darwin just fine … a 4.5 hour flight that was nearly on time. Took a taxi to the Britz Camper Rental place, picked up our camper and we were on our way. Noonamah is just under 20 miles/ 35 Kilometers South of Darwin so we had a short drive. We stopped along the way at a Woolworth’s Grocery store and bought some provisions to get us started. We got to the Campground, set up the camper … a little, and proceeded over to the Noonamah Road House Tavern for dinner. We got back early, did a little more arranging, and are calling it a day. Noonamah is just a very small community near the A1 (Stuart Highway) that the road house is named after. Road Houses are like truck stops in the U.S. Some have Taverns and Restaurants, some just have convenience stores … I’m just glad they have them. All Good so far. Traveled so far 35 Kilometers/20 Miles.

DAY 224 July 2019 … Got an early start and proceeded South to Katherine. We had covered much of this area last year when we did the Darwin to Adelaide trip so we zoomed right along. Only thing that changed was that the highway department was burning the brush along the road. I believe they do this every year to keep the underbrush from taking over. Anyhow, there were some areas where you had to slow to a very slow speed due to poor visibility. The result is a Smokey the Bear Nightmare view!

We made it to Katherine in good time and decided to press all the way to Kununurra and stay there two nights vice staying at a road side camp half way there. It turned out to be an excellent idea as there is a 1.5 hour difference between the time in The Northern Territory where Darwin is and Western Australia, the State that covers most of the western half of Australia. I explained the states and territories in my Darwin to Adelaide post so if you want a civics lesson on Australia you can consult that.

The drive from Katherine to Kununurra was, at first, quite mundane. Trees, brush, trees, dirt roads .. did I mention trees? However we soon started to notice things were changing. There are many large Cattle Stations in this area and in amongst the trees we started spotting herds of cattle. Big herds, little herds, some walking, some just hanging around … but definitely many cattle.

Another interesting feature we noticed were the different kinds of trees. There are always the scrubby small trees that grow all over the Outback but there were also tall bushes with pretty yellow flowers, Eucalyptus trees, palms, and the unusual Boab tree that looks like a tree growing in a vase or pot. We have seen them no where else but here in Australia and in Africa in the Serengeti and Masa Mara. Some must be quite old as they appear to have been here since the dirt was new.

We passed through a very large National Park called Judbarra/Gregory National Park. The terrain became more dramatic, large sections of granite and Basalt, huge Mesa’s, and stunning scenery. Then to top everything off, the Victoria River runs right through it. In the later Winter most streams, rivers, waterfalls, etc dry up in Australia and they are just dry beds and rock faces. However, the Victoria was still going strong which provided a very impressive scene to those passing over and along it.

When we stopped at the Victoria River it was at a Roadhouse/Campground that sat right next to the road and bridge that spanned the River. So we parked at the Roadhouse and walked out onto the bridge to get the pictures of the River you see above. A Road Train passed us, this one was hauling cattle. These Road trains consist of up to four trailers (Max Length of 183 Feet) and can have as many as 60 tires. They move right along and I doubt they could stop very quickly. Very common on most roads in Australia. I also took a snapshot of the campground to give you a feel for how they look. There were also some interesting trees with white bark as we walked out so I have included them.

Then we finally made it to Kununurra, found the campsite, checked in, set up camp, and walked to a nearby restaurant for dinner. There is a very large lake here called Lake Argyle. It is the largest Man made lake in Australia. Next to our campsite and by the place we had dinner is Lake Kununurra. We enjoyed a beautiful sunset during dinner.

Sunset on Lake Kununurra

In closing for today I’m including a couple pictures of some unique Australian campers we saw today as well as a shot of some of the Bougainvilleas that are growing here in our campground. The camper is working out well. We had a very long day driving today but will be able to enjoy two days here instead of one. Tomorrow we are touring Lake Argyle and driving up to Wyndham, a small mining town farther North. Traveled today 780 Kilometers/470 miles … total so far 815 Km/490 miles.

DAY 3 – 25 July 2019 – What was supposed to be an easy day turned into quiet the day! Slept in a bit … had some coffee. tidied up the camper, broke camp (problem with a Campervan … you take your camp with you every day!) and started out for Lake Argyle. Driving along the camper felt a bit sluggish … checked the emergency brake, tried to shift up manually, watched the wind … nothing seemed to help. So I pulled over and checked my tires. Sure enough, the inner dual in back had no air 🙁 I checked all the equipment they gave me and I had everything I needed to change it; checked the spare and it was full of air. Getting ready to jack it up, I thought I would loosen the lug nuts while the wheel was still held fast by the earth. Some toad had tightened them with an air wrench so tight that the little tools I had wouldn’t touch’em. So we headed back into town. We were about 20Km/12Mi from town so I limped in. Finally got the help line lady on once we were back into cell service (not much available in the Outback) and she told me to take it to a specific tire shop and get it fixed … so I did. Even after they got me changed quickly, we had already lost over an hour so it was back on the road (without a spare till they could get it fixed) and back to Lake Argyle.

Lake Argyle was very impressive. Built in the 1970’s to help irrigate agriculture it is huge. It is also nestled into tall craggy ridges of rock, trees, and various plants making for a picturesque view. We were only able to see a small part of it near the dam, but as you can see it extends way out into the hills. At the top of the map is where we camped and had dinner.

We are doing a lot of doubling back today. First drive part way to Lake Argyle, then back to town to fix the flat, then back out to Lake Argyle, then back to town on the way to Wyndham which is 100 kilometers (60 miles) from Kununurra. Wyndham is supposed to be a mining town that has lost it’s mining and is just kind of left there. So we drive out to see it. It is located close to the Timor Sea and is a port. It actually is a bit inland at the convergence of five different rivers. One of the main rivers is the Ord which feels Lake Argyle.

Wyndham was a bust. Really not very much left there but a small community trying to survive but really has little to hope for. The town’s historical society has a small museum, there is a port with some old trains to see, and some left over construction equipment. It’s not a bad place, just in the wrong place. There are some interesting Tidal Flats as you come into town, and the city has built an impressive pier that you can fish from or launch your yacht from. Also an old cemetery and the largest crocodile I have ever seen. There was a huge Boab Tree in the city center that Nancy took a Photo of. Anyhow, here’s some shots we took while we were there.

So back to Kununurra, pick up our new spare tire, fill up with fuel, get some dinner, and back to our campsite for the evening. 410Km/246Miles today. Total traveled 1225Km/736Miles.

DAY 426 July 2010 – Slept in a bit, had some coffee, emptied the waste water and refilled the fresh water. Heading out into the Kimberleys and expect less Cell coverage, less internet, less water, and lesser accommodations. Today’s destination is the Bungle Bungles Caravan Park which is just off of the Great Northern Highway on the way out to the Purnalulu National Park that hosts the Bungle Bungle Mountains. Not too long of a drive, about 250 Km or 150 miles. We have booked two nights there, tonight and tomorrow night. Early tomorrow we take a tour (bus and hiking) through the Bungle Bungles. More on that after the tour tomorrow.

The trip was interesting yet pretty much the same. Lots of small trees, bare ground, rocky hills, although the rocks seem to be getting larger. Stopped at The Doom Doom Road House and had a sandwich for lunch. Took a picture of another road train, then rolled into the campground. I can describe the campground with one word … Dirt … not dirty but lots of dirt. Ran by nice people and offering all the camping amenities it is a good place to stay cuz the National Park Campground is another 50Km in on a washboard dirt road … no thanks. They serve dinner in a large tent next to an open bonfire. Very congenial atmosphere. Had a friendly Bull stop by … just checking out the campers. Here are some shots of the campground. Traveled today 250Km/150 Miles … Total traveled this trip 1475 Km/886miles.

DAY 5 – 27 July 2019 – The day for the Bungle Bungles … But first, after I closed last night we heard a great racket overhead and took a look and there were hundreds of white Cockatoos flying over the campground and landing in a nearby field. We walked over to watch them and it was a sight to behold. Then, just as the sun was setting they started to flight up into the nearby trees to roost for the night.

This morning was an early up for us because we were catching a 06:15 bus tour of the Bungle Bungles. We were up a bit before that for a coffee and again the Cockatoos started up with their screeching and noise. Looking out we found them settling in a tree right by our camper. Right behind them was a very impressive Australian Sunrise.

Okay!!! Time for the Bungle Bungles. Our tour starts with a 90 minute ride in a four wheel drive, heavy duty bus over 50 kilometers of rocky, dusty, narrow, winding cow track. The first 30 Kilometers is over private property, then into the Pernululu National Park. The Private property is part of a very large Station that basically surrounds the National Park. The Molly Downs Station. Consequently we see small and large bunches of cows and bulls along the way. The terrain goes from flat and bushy to hilly, hillier, and rugged and bushy. Then you begin seeing outcrops of dome like formations of sandstone in red and black layers. The unique shape and size of them is what makes them the Bungle Bungles and they cover several thousand acres of land. We stop briefly at the reception center for a fresher upper then press on.

The Park’s Drives and Walks

The only people you see in many of these parks are people who own four wheel drive pickups (Utes), or off road vehicles. The roads are rugged and most rental companies won’t let you go off of the paved roads. Our first stop after the reception area is at the Elephant rocks.

Pretty clever how these Australians name things! We pressed on to The Piccaninny Picnic Area where we had morning tea and set off on a five kilometer walk through the Bungle Bungles. The destination was the Cathedral Gorge but we saw several others along the way.

When we returned from the Cathedral Gorge Death March we had lunch. The back end of the bus has shelves and refers so we had a nice lunch. Wraps, watermelon, orange and apple slices, water, or juice … and a rest.

Lunch

This concluded our tour of this side and end of the park. We now drove all the way to the bottom and then to near the top on the other side to the Echidna.

This turned out to be the most difficult walk even though it was just about a Kilometer in and another back out. What made it so difficult was that most of it was following a dry creek bed that was filled with rocks … all round, some like baseballs, some like soft balls, and some like bowling balls. Very insecure footing that required you to constantly stare at your new step. If you wanted to view something or take a picture you had to stop, stand in place, and look around. Walking without looking where your feet were going was extremely hazardous. Towards the end were several narrow passages, steep steps, and boulders. All just to say you made it to the end. The views were astounding.

So we made it in and all the way out … very few broken bones and most of us got back. Back into the bus for one last stop to view the Osmand Range from the Kungkalanayi Lookout (try to say that after a couple beers!)

So that ended our Tour of the Bungle Bungles … except for the 50 kilometer ride back which was a “90 minute ride in a four wheel drive, heavy duty bus over 50 kilometers of rocky, dusty, narrow, winding cow track!” It was nearly dark when we got back to the campground. We had been gone for 11 hours. Everyone had a good time, almost everyone survived, and we were all treated to a delicious beef stew dinner with an apple crisp with ice cream desert … it just does not get any better than that. We saw the only live kangaroos we have seen so far on the trip back. It was late afternoon and the sun was setting and that is when they usually come out. We saw eight. We slept well that night. As I mentioned, the campground has a big bond fire and everyone sits round chatting. As always we met many interesting people. For being billed as a remote area, this, as was the Alice Springs area, is packed with campers, hikers, old folks escaping the cold in the South, young folks taking a year off with their family to see Australia, and even once in a while, a stray American. Haven’t seen Crocodile Dundee yet! No Driving today and still at total traveled this trip 1475 Km/886miles.

DAY 6 – 28 July 2019 – Today was a drive day and we were going to drive to Halls Creek and pick up a flight over the Wolfe Creek Crater. This crater was created long before any of us were born and was discovered long before any of us were born. However, it is a very large crater that was the result of a meteor strike. Pictures of it look like a big eye but it is really just a large crater in the red dirt and rocks with trees growing in the middle.

Wolfe Creek Crater

We are not going to take the flight because the charter outfit we were booked with changed the times making it impossible for us to both go on the flight and get to where we are supposed to be by evening. We cancelled the flight and and our reservation at Larwana Station campsite and are driving to Derby some 630 kilometers East and North. The drive is interesting as the terrain changes to quite remote then back to bushes and trees. We passed through and stopped at both Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing for gas and a break. Both are cited in tour books as interesting settlements with beautiful terrain, hiking trails, and rich history. You need to go there to be the judge of that. We found a couple gas stations, some generator sites, a few homes, and a bunch of campers. Of course there is the ever present Termite mounds standing guard along the road. The sentinels of the highway. Following is a series of pictures taken along the way. We drove 650 Kilometers to day or 390 miles. Total traveled this trip 2125 Km/1275 miles.

DAY 7 – 29 July 2019 – A down day for the weary. Did some cleanup at the camper, did a little wash, did some shopping, tried to do some internet work, etc. The camp is quite nice but no internet to speak of. Meeting many interesting people. It is amazing how and why some of them are traveling. Again, many retirees seeing Australia with their campers and motorhomes … They are called the “Grey Nomads”. They don’t go very far each day but spend a lot of time socializing. They are often on the road for months. Anyhow, we had a good day. No pictures. Total traveled this trip 2125 Km/1275 miles.

DAY 8 – 30 July 2019 – Today is our trip to the Horizontal Waterfalls. They aren’t really a waterfalls abut rather a rush of water created by the large tides in this area. Second only to Nova Scotia, the tides here can exceed 14 feet in a couple hours. In the Horizontal Waterfalls area, the water passed through two narrow passages which cannot handle the volume of water the tide presents or pulls back. Consequently a difference in level occurs on each side of the gap creating a wall of water on one side that “Falls” to the lower level on the other side. The difference in level changes with the Moon’s position and we caught it kind of in the middle so the change was not overly dramatic. None the less, it was exciting to see the Falls and run them in a powerful speedboat. The skipper would make several runs through the gaps ensuring everyone enjoyed them. The tour was exceptionally well done and organized. We were picked up at eight and separated into different buses based on which airplane we were assigned to. Driven to the airport, we were briefed, weighed, and boarded. The flights took about 45 minutes and were low enough to enjoy the mudflats, streams, and mangroves along the edges of the peninsula. We landed in the water next to a transfer barge that was our “Home Base’ for the day. Once briefed on the boats, we were taken for our first ride to the falls. The tide was going in. Shot the two narrows several times, got some pictures, listened to some stories about the narrows. Then back to the home base for morning tea. After Tea we fed the sharks, had a chance to swim with them (not me), and took a cruise up one of the main tributaries, Cyclone Creek. Then back to view the Falls in a high tide state with no movement. Back to the Base for lunch and a rest. Our last event was back to the Falls for the tide coming out. I tried to capture the falling flow at the edges of the gaps. Guess you had to be there but it was exciting and the skipper handled the boat perfectly making it an exciting adventure. Some of the younger folks put their hands in the air like they were riding a Roller Coaster. (I couldn’t, I was taking pictures). Finally back to the base, transfer to planes, and fly back to Derby. Exceptionally well done. Very interesting … a very good day.

Once we were dropped off at the campsite Nancy and I walked to a nearby restaurant for dinner and took a picture by an old Boab tree and of some Gayla Birds.

No Driving today. Total traveled this trip 2125 Km/1275 miles.

DAY 9 – 31 July 2019 – Another day on the road … but not too far. We kicked the dust of Derby from our shoes and left fairly early in the morning. Derby was an interesting place but again, struggling to survive. There is a large prison there which I would assume to be one of the major employers for the area.

One of the places we stopped at on the way out of town was the Prison Boab tree. History has it that local colonials known as Blackbirds would go out in the bush and capture young Aboriginal men and bring them to Derby to be sold for labor in the Pearl Industry. One of the stops was the Boab tree where the captives were held. They were put in through the small gap and remained there through the night.

Sorry if you can’t read the posters very well. They were very faded. I’m sure Google can provide more background. Boabs are found in Australia and Africa and six of them in Madagascar. Some are estimated to be over 1500 years old.

There are some words about Derby and Broome (Today’s destination) in yesterday’s post by the map.

Derby has a very high population of Aboriginal people and many have no employment. You often hear local Australian’s advising to avoid the area due to troublesome locals. This applied to Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing as well. We had no problems and Nancy bought a hand carved Boab seed pod from a couple that were carving and selling them. The Pods are quite large!

We left town and drove out on the Gibbs River Road a ways just to see what it was like. Because we are driving a rental camper we are prohibited from driving on anything but paved roads. The Gibbs River Road runs kinda parallel to The Great Northern Highway but is not paved. It is the place where young Australian men take their goochie rigged 4 WD Utes to prove their manlyhood. Its 600 miles of washboard roads interrupted by washouts and other Utes. An amazing number of people drag their pop-up trailers and caravans across the Gibbs River Road just to see it. Me, I’m okay with the motorhome and a paved highway.

Again, the road from Derby to Broome was filled with scenery of trees, termite mounds, buttes, ridges, rocks, and a couple of creeks. We stopped at Cockatoo Creek and took some pictures because it had some cattle and some Sand Hill Cranes hang’en out.

The rest of the trip was good. Stopped at a couple Roadhouses for coffee, gas, and snacks. Made it to Broome just after noon, spend some time at a local information office getting ads and flyers. Then checked into our campground … right by the Pacific Ocean.

Termite Mounds

Tomorrow is touring Broome and what it has to offer. China Town, Whale watching, Beaches, Camel Rides … we will see what happens. Traveled today 280 Kilometers or 170 miles. Travel so far 2405 kilometers/ 1440 Miles.

DAY 10 – 1 August 2019 – Happy August!! Spent the better part of the day enjoying Broome. Got up and had a cup of coffee and decided to walk to a nearby Cafe, which is also next to the ocean, and have a Latte and a sweetie. Saw a couple dolphins playing near the shore and enjoyed a high tide. Then packed up and drove to several local sites. A large pier where we saw some interesting shore rocks, went to Cable Beach which is THE place to go in Broome (very nice but the Camel rides were not there) and then over to China town for some shopping. Had a good day so far.

Broome is a more modern city (It even has a McDonalds) with varied businesses and activities. Founded by the Pearl industry it continues to be one of the more successful municipalities in the Northwest of Australia. Tonight we are attending an outdoor City Market that sets up every Thursday evening. It is right next to our campgrounds so we intend to check it out.

It was fun. The market attracted locals and tourist, young and old. Families, singles, and pets. We went over about 45 minutes after it opened and the crowd was building. Foods from many different countries. ***I tell people that the U.S. was the melting pot for Europe and Australia has become the melting pot for Asia*** Art, jewelry, crafts, slicers and dicers (Yes they have them here too), clothes, equipment for picnicking, and food … all kinds of food. Everyone seemed to be having fun and enjoying the evening. It had cooled some and there was a pleasant breeze. Nancy and I had several small helpings from different booths and shared them … and topped it all off with some Ice Cream. Tomorrow is whale watching. Just drove around town a little today so no big increase in milage. Travel so far 2405 kilometers/ 1440 Miles.

DAY 11 – 02 August 2019 – So today we are off on a whale watching cruise that we found information about at the Information Center. A bit about that … Most Bigger towns and larger have Information Centers that are manned by very helpful, smart, wonderful people. They know a great deal about, not only the town they are in, but the entire area around it. Plus they have racks and racks of maps, advertisements, helpful information about nearly anything to do with the area. We never miss one coming into an area we are interested in, and have never been disappointed. Smaller town have “Information Bays” which are usually a pull off just outside of town that has a big map of the city and most of the major activities highlighted on it … just no helpful people. We discovered the information centers early in our Australian travels when we needed a map. Here was a place call the information center so I stopped. There was a delightful gentlemen there who not only provided a map but entertained us with stories of the area for as long as we would listen. We have rarely missed one since … they are marked wit a big blue sign with a small italicized “i’ on it. So, back to today … got up, had a cup in the camper then mosied over to the Cafe for a Latte. Saw some wind surfers there … they were very good and entertained us through our latte’s.

Then we we walked out to the from of the camp and were picked up and taken to our Whale Watching Boat. A 42′ Catamaran that was skippered by a very knowledgeable man and hosted by two lovely ladies who ensured we always had something to drink, eat, or whatever. We drove out to the Cat in a strange three wheeled boat (pictured later) climbed on board, and set sail for the whale playgrounds. We sailed from a beach called Gantheaume Point and sailed about three miles out to see. We soon started seeing spouts of spray into the air and knew the whales were about.

Some were far away and some were close to the boat. You never knew when they would surface or roll over, or spray so you had to be on your toes. We saw maybe ten or twelve different whales, some pairs of young males, some mothers and calves. Some were shy and swam away, some kinda played around. Two things you can count on when photographing whales 1). They will always be somewhere you are not looking, and 2). They only show up when you cater goes to sleep or is turned off.

So, The day got late so we headed in and watched a beautiful sunset as well came back in. A very nice day.

Our Day ended, we got back to camp quite late, ate some stuff in the camper and called it a day. Still no driving today so we are still at … Travel so far 2405 kilometers/ 1440 Miles.

DAY 12 – 03 August 2019 – Up early, take the camper down, have a coffee, drop off the keys to the bathroom, and off we go from Broome to Port Hedland. This will be the most desolate part of our trip as there is NOTHING for a little over 600 kilometers or 360 miles. That’s not entirely true as there are two little Roadhouses along the way … Sandfire at 310 kilometers from Broome and Pardoo which is another 160 kilometers from Sandfire. We have filled up with gas, have plenty of water, the tires are all inflated, and we are off.

That’s what nothing looks like folks. Brush, small trees, grass, a few rocks … not even a lot of Termite Mounds. The road follows along the coastline anywhere from 2 to ten kilometers away from the water. Most of the area we traveled was once a sea bed but the Pacific has pulled back and thousands of years ago plants started to grow here …part of that Global Warming thing I guess. Many sections had been burned in some years past so you could see the different phases of recovery the plantlike was going through. Several Stations, quite few cows, saw one Wallaby. Sandfire was a very small place with a lot of gas pumps … no one wanted to run low on fuel .. didn’t have much else to offer. Pardoo was a little better but still small. We got to Port Hedland which, 10 years ago was a thriving industrial Port but today is struggling to survive. The iron mines keep it useful but not like before. Many vacant housing areas where workers used to live. Salt, Iron Ore, shipping, etc. Traveled today, 630 Kilometers/380 miles. Travel so far 3035 kilometers/ 1821 Miles.

DAY 13 – 04 August 2019 – We are leaving the coastal area this morning and heading straight south to a National Park that has some gorgeous Gorges. The coast continues much like yesterday and we will pick it up again in a couple days. Here’s a map of where we are in Australia, going South from Port Hedland to Karijini National Park … That’s the orange line on the map. From Tom Price (where we are staying tonite), and yes, that is the name of the town. We will be heading west back out towards the coast and staying at Nanutarra Roadhouse tomorrow night (The green line). Our plan is to spend a couple days in the Exmouth/Coral Bay area.

The trip to the park was very interesting for a number of reasons. First of all, the road was loaded with Road Trains hauling ore, petroleum, machinery, and supplies to support all the mines in the area. They haul the ore up to Port Hedland to be loaded up on freighter and shipped to Japan or China for processing into steel. Secondly, the terrain changed from flat scrub brush to rocks, then hills, then good sized mountains … which the mining people were tearing open and ripping out the ore. Lastly, we gained in altitude above sea level. Tonight, at Tom Price, we are at about 3000′ above sea level, the temps are in the 60’s and it feels great!

Karijini National Park is very nice. Even tough there were very large areas that had been burned, the terrain and trees were beautiful. There were two different Gorges; Dales Gorge which had a waterfall and a pool and Joffe Gorge which had a big Falls. We went to both of them and were not disappointed.

It is difficult to capture huge natural scenes with a camera. The eye takes in so much more. Next was Coffee Gorge and Falls and the way there. The first Gorge was on the East side of the park, this one is on the North West side of the park..

We went to our campsite and set up. We were sitting outside and were visited by a bunch of birds that looked like pidgins and anther bunch that are called Galah Birds … they are a kind of parrot. Very pretty.

So that’s it for today. Everything went well. Met some interesting people … then we do almost every day. Easy day tomorrow. Traveled 530 Kilometers today, 318 miles. Travel so far 3565 kilometers/ 2193 Miles.

DAY 14 – 05 August 2019 – As I mentioned and as the map shows today we were to drive from Tom Price to Nanutarra. So we did. An interesting drive as the terrain went from the upper hills back down to the coastal plains. Many changes in the land, vegetation, and temperature. It was 8c this morning when we woke up that’s about 46f. Fired up the heat pump for a few minutes so we could enjoy our coffee without shivering. Anyway … got off to a good start and had a good trip … about 360 Kilometers or 216 miles. I will put up some terrain pictures but they are like so many of the others. We did come across a couple of interesting displays of mining equipment. First in Tom Price was a dump truck they used in the iron mines.

We drove for a couple hundred kilometers and stopped in a town named Paraburdoo. Had some lunch there and on the way out of town found another dump truck.

Something I wanted to clarify here before I get too many complaints. Since we were in Broome we have been on the Indian Ocean. Before that we were on the Timor Sea and over by Cairns was the Coral Sea. The Pacific is on the East coast of Australia, some call it the South Pacific. Where were these people during the Geography Conventioned that named all this stuff!! Anyway, one last thing … flooding. Australia has two seasons … Flooding and dry. During the dry season it does not pay to walk out to a scenic lookout to see a falls cuz there is not one there. In the rainy season you can’t get to it because its all flooded. Very common throughout the country are signs warning of flooding and measuring sticks along the road showing you how deep the water is. You can try to drive through if you like. The amazing thing is that these signs are in big flat areas so the flood must cover hundreds of acres. Many roads have signs indicating if they re open or not and if they are not it is most likely because of flooding. Another hazard is cows and livestock. You see many signs warning of loose livestock and you see quite a few dead cows along the road that didn’t make it.

I mentioned trees earlier. Two kinds of bushy trees tend to grow in these coastal areas. Both look like pinion or scrub brush but I am not sure what they are called. And then there is the Eucalyptus that seems to grow everywhere.

Here’s some scenery from long the way. Enjoy. Travel today 360 Kilometers. Travel so far 3925 kilometers/ 2193 Miles.

DAY 15 – 06 August 2010 – Shame on me but I missed posting today … actually we were out in the country at a Station Stay and although they did have some cell service, I could not get enough bandwidth to update the blog. Not to say we didn’t’t have a good time because we did! I’ll tell you all about it in a second. First, the trip from Nanutarra Road House to Bullara Station. Pretty boring, mostly coastal plains with intermittent brush etc. I will not post any more pictures of the brush unless I think it is somehow different. We climbed out of Nanutarra and the landscape was mostly grass and brush but everything was a bit greener so was more pleasant to look at. Did not see many Termite Mounds, which was unusual but they are still out there. Towards the end of the trip (we actually drove pst the entrance to Bullara) we drove up a Peninsula to a town called Exmouth.

Not many people know how it got it’s name but I do and I will tell you. As you will see in the pictures, Exmouth was actually settled by the U.S. Navy. During the height of the Cold war the U.S. had a big fleet of Nuclear Submarines that ranged all over the world and would remain underwater for months at a time. Well, the Navy needed to talk to them so they established Very Low Frequency (VLF) transmitter sites in strategic spots around the world and these radios would put sound waves into the water that would carry vast distances to the subs. I, digress, back to Exmouth. Anyhow, when the town was first being built to house the Naval personal that ran the radio site, the commanding officer, at a staff meeting (the Navy has a lot of those) one day, announced they needed to name this town they were building. They pondered and discussed for some time and finally, in Navel tradition, decided to table the issue for further action at a later date. Everyone complained that they needed to refer to the town in some manner so the CO said we’ll just put an X in front of the name the Navy uses most and call it Mouth. The Navy never did get round to coming up with a name and the Aussies felt XMouth was a little raw so they put an E in front of it … thus … EXMOUTH. The Royal Australian Air Force has since opened a base on the peninsula and, not having problems with decisions, immediately named it Learmouth RAAF Base. Now you know too!

Exmouth was built by and for the U.S. Navy personnel who cared for and ran the transmitter site as well as the Australians who supported them. The town is now a big tourist area with the Ningaloo Reef running down along side the peninsula and Cape Range National Park occupying much of it.

On the other side of the Peninsula there was a lighthouse with a story and more beaches. There are also commercial tours available here like diving, snorkeling, boating, etc. The temps were low and the wind was up so we decided to forgo the tours.

The beach one the other side was especially nice. We drove down to the wreck site and went for a walk … looked at some beach objects, etc.

Leaving Exmouth we returned to Bullara Station where they offered overnight stays (camping). The place turned out to be a great experience. We checked in, got settled and took a little walk and met one of the local sheep, toured a couple buildings, and just kinda got oriented. We returned to the camper for a few minutes and then took our lawn chairs (they come with the camper) over to the fire pit where they had started a bonfire. There was a gentleman there who was getting ready to give a little talk about the Station and he had just made Damper (fire baked bread in big Loaves) for everyone. He cut the Damper up and it was passed out while he spoke about the station, it’s size, number of cattle, etc. Very interesting, and the Damper was good too. Nancy talked some other people out of some jelly for hers … mine was fine just plain (I got a piece of the crust!). Then we mingled with the other folks around the bonfire for a while and soon it was time to go to the cookhouse for dinner. The ad we saw for the Stay indicated they served dinner sometimes so I asked when I made the reservations if the night we were staying had dinner available … they said it did so we signed up for it. Turns out it’s dinner with the staff. What a delightful crew and dinner. Colleen, the chef, made an excellent dinner, the company was awesome, and we had a great evening. Many service type businesses here hire young people who come to Australia on work VISA’s. They work for a certain number of months then they are allowed to stay and travel for a time. With us, at dinner, were two young ladies from Chili, one from Canada, one from New Zealand, one from Germany, and a lady who helped out at the station, one of the “Cowboys” from the Station, and of course, Colleen. We had a hoot! the food was very good and the evening went by all too fast. On the way home we stopped by to say “G’Night” to the local Roo who was hanging around the camp. She is about a year old and they tell us they stay around until they get about two, then some Handsome, mature Roo hops by and they are off into the bush never to be seen again. Anyhow … A great evening and stay. Travel today 389 Kilometers. Travel so far 4313 kilometers/ 2588 Miles.

DAY 16 – 07 August 2019 – Our Day started of really well. The girls from dinner last night were bragging about their Barista Coffee and Scones they serve at breakfast … so we decided to try them out. They were right … truly good Latte’s and awesome Scones. Biscuit with Strawberry jam and clotted cream on top … mmmmmmM. SO we finally left and drove, across the tidal planes again, to Coral Bay. A Small but very nice little village high on the water. The Reef extends down this far so it was very nice with the multicolored water, white sand, and big sky. We stopped and walked around … very pretty.

Then we pressed on to our destination for the day, Carnarvon. A little seacoast town … bigger than some, with a nice harbor and seaside presence. Carnarvon is famous for it’s production of vegetables. We saw corn, tomatoes, bananas, kale, bay choi, and a bunch (really large fields) of other ones. Had a Latte and a sweetie for mid afternoon snack, toured around a bit, and checked in to our campsite. The campsite is okay and will do for the night. Went back downtown for dinner and ate at the local hotel … met a nice old man who had immigrated to Australia when he was 20 from Germany … 64 years ago. Interesting stories. Here’s some pics from the town.

Crossed the Trop[ic of Capricorn today …southbound. Getting ready to turn Base to Final with about 900 Kilometers left to go to get to Perth. Couple more days after that but the end is in sight. Travel today 449 Kilometers. Travel so far 4762 kilometers/ 2857 Miles.

DAY 17 – 08 August 2019 – Interesting day, crossed the 26th Parallel twice today; once leaving the Northwest and the second time going North entering the Northwest. The Northwestern part of Australia is filled with little peninsulas that stick out into the Indian ocean pointing Northwest. Consequently we have made several “loops out to the mainland then back uo onto the peninsula to reach our destination. The result is very rewarding as each of them offer tremendous views, sandy beaches, a lot of wildlife, and interesting glimpses of the ocean with little towns sprinkled along the way. Today we left Carnarvan and headed South onto the mainland for about 150 kilometers. Then we turned west and Northwest to track up into the Shark Bay area.

We made three interesting stops. The first was in Hamlin bay where the oldest living Coral in the world is still growing. Call Stromatolites, they are a “Rainforest of Bacteria” that grow in big ugly bumps along the beach. Very interesting;

Next we went to Shell Beach. This relatively large area is made up of nothing but millions of little shells, all white. They are up to 15 feet deep and even formed “Shell Dunes”.

Lastly, we went to Eagle’s Bluff. A Walkway had been built along the steep bank of the shore allowing people to walk along the top edge and take in the views. Incredible water.

So we finally pulled into Denham where we will be spending the night. Nice little beachside town. Have our campsite and will walk downtown for dinner. Here’s some shots of downtown.

Couple of things … we are out of the Outback … I think since we left Tom Price. The area is becoming more and more populated. We noticed there seemed to be many older people traveling so Nancy did a little research. She found that since 2016 people over 58 have flooded the campgrounds with caravans, tents, trailers, and motorhomes due to the cost of living going up. They travel for months at a time, many of them know many of the others so every stay is like old home week. They are called “The Gray Nomads” and are quite like our “Snowbirds”! Most stay in one spot for 3 to 5 nights then press on … some stay in the same place for months. We have met many of them and they all have interesting stories and want to know what we are doing “out here” so we always have a good conversation. Traveled today, 350 Kilometers. Travel so far 5112 kilometers/ 3067 Miles.

DAY 18 – 09 August 2019 – Very Good Day Today. We got up early to be in Monkey Mia by 7:30. Monkey Mia is a little point on the end of the peninsula North of Denham that is a National Preserve for Dolphins. (Pink Route)

They come in from the Ocean, on their own, starting at about 7:45, several times during each morning and kind of play around eating fish and playing … then they leave. Laws have been passed in Western Australia (The State we are in) prohibiting anyone from directly approaching or trying to touch a wild Dolphin. Consequently, Rangers from the preserve come out early and tell all the people who are gathered there above the beach what will happen and what they can and cannot do. The Dolphins came in, at least a couple of them, and we watched them from a pier. Many people stood right next to the water and the Dolphins swam by very close. It was colder than snot with a stiff wind so, having seen Dolphins many times before, Nancy and I left and hit the road.

After we watched the Dolphins we went back to Denham and had a coffee and a sweetie to get our bones warm again and headed South for Geraldton, destination for the day. Nancy was studying her maps and books and suggested we do a little diversion to the West and go through a National Park called Kalbarri National Park, then to a town named Kalbarri, then down along the coast to Geraldton. It was a little out of the way but we had time, nothing else on the menu for the day, so … Why Not. The Black line on the map above.

Meanwhile, as we were driving South, back again on Hwy 1 the landscape suddenly changed. There is a plain that runs along the coast that is about 50 miles wide. From Denham to Hwy 1 and South it was quite lush with lots of green bushes that were thick. After we got on one they dried up and the terrain was again the dry scrub brush and red clay. About 75 Kilometers from the turnoff to Kalbarri we started seeing large green fields that were worked by farmers. Others were large and worked but looked like they had been harvested sometime last year. The fields continued to increase in sized frequency and suddenly we were in farmland with sheep and crops. WoW!! It was good to see trees and grass and fat animals.

We were very pleased we did cuz Kalbarri National Park is kinda small but big in vistas. We pulled into one place, Ross Graham Lookout and walked out. Truly impressive. The Murchison River flows through a deep gorge and continues down to the coast. So we did too.

We arrived in the Village of Kalbarri and were pleasantly surprised. Kalbarri was a tidy little coastal village that hosted surfing on the Indian Ocean, resorts, camps, horseback riding, and beautiful views … not to mention cute cottages and impressive homes.

Last on Nancy’s list of things to see on her diversion was a Pink Lake. Colored by Algi and sea shells it is truly Red. It is called the Hutt Lagoon.

What a sight! That was our last stop on our way into Geraldton and we soon were in town, got our campsite and found somewhere to eat dinner. I forgot to mention that leaving Denham we saw several Emu’s along the road … Wild ones. One stopped to pose for his picture to be taken.

With that I will close for the day. Tomorrow we are heading straight east out into the Coal Mining areas to see the wildflowers that are supposed to be growing in abundance e out there. Then back to here and down the road to Cervantes and the Pinnacels. Traveled today, 590 Kilometers. Travel so far 5702 kilometers/ 3421 Miles.

DAY 19 – 10 August 2010 – A different day today than I expected but very pleasant. As planned we got up, had coffee, did our chores, and started out for Pindar. Our Daughter-in-law Candy, mentioned to her sister Astin, that we were taking a trip across the NorthWest and sent her the address for our blog. Astin read it and sent me a Text recommending that, if it was not too far out of the way, we should go to the mining areas and see the wildflowers that are growing there. She added that she had a good friend who was an artist that had a “Pop-up” studio in Pindar, a very small community East of Geraldton. A ‘Pop-up” studio is a short term effort to sell or market something that stands up and closes in a month or two. They are common here in Australia and are basically seasonal. We decided to give it a try thinking the wildflowers would be pretty and meeting Astin’s friend would be a good experience. So we drove out to Pindar. We were very pleasantly surprised at all the wildflowers that we saw as we got into the inland areas and how pretty the countryside was. rather than harsh desert with burned out brush there were fertile farmlands, hers of sheep, rows of trees along the roads, hedgerows between the fields and the rivers actually had water in them.

We made it to Pindar and found Astin’s friend. It was not really too hard as her studio is in the hotel which is the only building in the town. In addition to her studio there was also a quaint little coffee shop and, if you wanted, you could stay in the hotel. Anyhow, the artists name was HELEN ANSELL, and her art is mostly of flowers … but VERY nice. A different yet very pleasing presentation of the nature and relationships of flowers. I was completely impressed. We spent about an hour with Helen talking about her art, her studio, and her family. All very interesting. You can visit her website at helenansell.com to learn more about her. To give you an idea of her work she allowed me to take some pictures on it which I will include here.

The Coffee Shop in Helen’s Studio

As you can see by the bag in Nancy’s hand in the above picture, we did not leave the studio empty handed … such interesting work. Helen’s Pop-up Studio will remain open through the wildflower season which is until the end of September. I highly recommend if you are on the West coast of Australia to head on out to Pindar and have a look. You will not regret it. After that, just check out Helen’s website and I’m sure there will be something there regarding where she is or will be.

We left the studio with some hints from Helen where to find the best wildflowers. It is very early in the season so they are not out in full strength but we did find many of them. Here they are … Enjoy:

Helen told us that there were over 300 varieties of wildflowers in West Australia and nearly 150 of them grow right there in the wildflower region. The trip we took back is indicated with the pink line. We had intended to go back to Geraldton and follow the coastal highway South but Helen’s recommendation proved very interesting … Thank You Helen!!

So we drove the rest of the way to Cervantes following the Coastal Highway once we reached it at Dongara. You can’t complain about driving if the Indian Ocean is off to your right side. Very picturesque. Tonight we will spend the night here in Cervantes, which is just a small coastal village that kinda is the gateway to the pinnacels … which I will talk about tomorrow. Don’t forget to check out Helen’s website. Traveled today 440 Kilometers. Travel so far 6142 kilometers/ 3685 Miles.

AN INTERESTOID: On many Australian Vehicles, especially the Utes, or utility pickups that are “Muscled Up” you see pipes that come out of the hood area, run up along side the front window, then, at the top of the window form an air scoop pointing forward. Many believe this is to enable them to go through deep water without sucking air into their fuel system. However, if you think about today’s cars you soon realize that they cannot operate in water much above their floor boards, or bottom of their doors, or they will short out, fill up, drift away. So what are the scoops for? The thinking in Australia is that the air is better at rooftop height than at front bumper height. And I agree. Normally you are scooping up the hot air from the pavement that is filled with asphalt fumes, car exhaust fumes, diesel fumes, dust, blowing debris, and kangaroos. The air, just a few feet higher has so much less of this that it would certainly enhance the burning of your fuel and the efficiency of your vehicle … Pretty Smart Eh? The scoop actually connects directly into the air cleaner so your engine gets only the clean air the scoop gets at five or six feet above the road.

Air Scoop coming out of hood, up the window, and scooping fresh Air

DAY 20 – 11 August 2019 – Easy Day today but we did get a lot done. Got up and had a cup of coffee in the camper … this does not really count as a coffee because it is instant and we just drink it pretending it is real coffee .. the caffeine does find its way to our brain. We stopped bye a little cafe they had at the front office and had a couple Flat Whites and a couple muffins .. they count!! (Flat whites for you non-Australians are a Latte with out the frothy milk … it is just barista coffee with hot milk added. If you don’t want the milk you ask for a Long Black)

After coffee we headed down the road towards Nambung National Park which hosts the Pinnacles. These “Pillars”on the beach of the Indian ocean are a bit of a mystery how they came to be. They are believed to be a bout 35000 years old. If you ask wikipedia about them you will get three theories. I will not repeat them here as they are long and confusing. I think the theory that says roots from plants soaked up the calcium from devolved sea shells and calcified after they died, then stayed there as the sand eroded is what caused them. Your guess is as good as mine. Anyhow, they cover a large area and, to me, they look like tomb stones for all the dinosaurs that died there a long time ago. Pretty neat to walk out among them. We spent a couple hours there walking around and looking at them. The car path atet goes through the park is closed to motorhomes so we walked all the way through … good exercise. Here they are:

The rest of the drive was fairly routine … if you can call driving along the ocean routine … it fascinates me. Along the way there were huge sand dunes of pure white sand. I’ve seen sand this white only in Ft Walton and Panama City Florida.

Then we made it to Swan Valley. Swan Valley is an area north of Perth along the Swan River that hosts abundant vineyards and wine tasting opportunities. Since we were here last 13 years ago they have added Boutique Breweries to the mix. My favorite is the Margaret River Chocolate Company where you get free chocolate as you roam around the store deciding what to buy

So that got us to our final Campsite and our final night in the Camper. Tomorrow we spend cleaning it up and putting everything back together, turning it in, picking up a rental car, and starting out towards Margaret River. Margaret River is another famous wine regain about 200 kilometers South of Perth. The Blog will continue until we get back to Perth later this week for our departure back to the U.S. I have booked two nights there in a resort to allow Nancy an opportunity to spend some time in a Bathtub, which she loves to do but has had nothing but showers since we left Florida in late June, and tour around a bit. That’s it for tonight. Traveled today 236 Kilometers. Travel so far 6378 kilometers/ 3826 Miles.

DAY 21 – 12 August 2019 – Today was an adjustment day. We got up, reconfigured everything in the camper back to the way it was supposed to be and drove off to find the Britz Camper Rental Place. The place is close to the airport so the plan was to turn in the camper, take a cab to the airport and pick up a rental car, then drive to a hotel nearby so we can repack our bags and get some leisure time before we leave for Margaret River tomorrow. Guess what … it all worked as we had planned … even better actually. The Britz people were exceptionally accommodating and even agreed to reimburse me for the tire I had to buy at the beginning of our trip. They were not obligated to as I had not taken out the insurance reduction package which reduces my liability in the case of an accident or breakdown. However, as the tire appeared to have been damaged before I got the camper, they agreed to pay for the tire. The checkin went very quickly and efficiently, the people were professional and helpful. We were very pleased with our Britz experience and would definitely rent from them again. The next step was a little more difficult as very few people take a cab to an airport to rent a car. The cabbie was lost as to where he should take us but I called Avis and they got us kinda close. After paying our cab fare and a bit of a walk we got our car. We then drove to the International on the Water Hotel in Ascot near the airport, checked in, and spent the rest of the afternoon reconfiguring our luggage, relaxing in the sun, and having dinner. The water the name refers to is the Swan River which runs out of the East, through Perth, and into the ocean.

That’s was it for today … final milage on the Camper was 6400 Kilometers or 3840 miles … but we are still traveling. Tomorrow we go South to The Margaret River Area South of Perth.

DAY 22 – 13 August 2019 – Had a nice drive from East of Perth to the area where Margaret River is famous. We are staying at the top end of a bump in the West Coast of Australia that is an exceptional wine region.

It was about a five hour drive after we had breakfast and tonight and tomorrow night we will be staying at the Pullman Bunker Bay Resort Margaret River at the very tip of the prominence and right on the ocean.

We had a good trip down, stopped in a couple of the smaller towns along the way. Quite rural yet fairly built up. Everyone wants to live on the water! Tomorrow we are exploring the Margaret River area. Here’s our plan:

Our Plan for Wednesday

More on that tomorrow. So today, in the car, we traveled 290 Kilometers or 175 miles.

DAY 23 – 14 August 2019 –It’s a Rainy Day in Margaret River …. it rained a little the other evening in Perth while we were sleeping but today, it started early this morning and has rained most of the day. This is the first rain we have seen since the first week we were in Coomera in mid June. Don’t like being in the rain but it is good for the planet so all is good .. except the temperature hung right around 10c all day (trying to decide if it preferred the high 40’s or low 50’sf). We had a nice breakfast and drove out to Margaret River. There are about 40 Jillion wineries and Open Cellars in the area so we drove to the town of Margaret River, found a Dome Coffee Shop (they are the best in this area), sat down with a map, a pen, and a Flat White and picked three or four wineries we thought would be nice to visit. The drive down was nice, everything is super green with the rain. The local flowers that look like Calla lillies were out in force, even saw a big family of large sized Kangaroos who were out feeding.

The town of Margaret River is like most tourist towns … store after store selling things you didn’t realize you needed until you saw what they had. The town was neat and tidy, as is most Australian towns. The people take a lot of pride in them and even the smallest or oldest towns are well kept … except in the far North.

The wineries we stopped at were all very nice. They were not crowded but there were more people out than we thought would be. Guess they are like us … see stuff the day you are there or miss it … so you go! Most have impressive Cellar Doors, entrance drives lined with huge ancient Gum trees, and friendly helpful help to ensure your visit is enjoyed. We visited four different wineries and one combo brewery, distillery, winery and enjoyed them all.

So that ends our adventure in Australia. I am packing up my Mac so no more Blog. Tomorrow we drive back to Perth, have dinner with Candy’s Mom and her Mom’s husband, then go to the airport and depart for the U.S. vis Sydney, L.A., and Tampa. Will be home Friday evening. We have decided it was a successful trip, we had a good time, saw and experienced many new and different things, and most of all, met and befriended many new people. I hope you have enjoyed the Blog and the pictures. Drove today, 160 Kilometers, tomorrow 350 kilometers, yesterday 290 kilometers for 800 kilometers since we turned in the Camper or 480 miles. That makes our milage for the entire trip 7200 Kilometers or 4320 miles. Thanks for sharing our trip with us.

2023 & 2019 – K’Gari – 4 Wheeling Australia’s Fraser Island

22 August 2023 – This is the new update from our August 2023 trip to Fraser. I’m adding pictures from this trip to the trip posted below that we took in 2019, four years ago.

This trip was just a nothing special, low key, relaxing three days off to do some touring and relaxing. We did a sunset cruise, a 4-wheeling adventure, and a whale watching cruise. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the show.

Getting there:

Our Ferry

Our first day there we did a sunset cruise. It was the first of three events we had scheduled. Tomorrow is a 4 wheel drive and Thursday is the Whale watching cruise.

The 4 Wheeling was again a lot of fun. Saw mostly the same places but had a good time.

Our last day there we did a whale watching tour. Saw a great deal of activity and had a great morning. We sailed up along the west side of the island all the way to the top and Platypus bay. Humpback whales come here in the winter, which is quite warm, for the Mom’s to fatten up their new calves. By spring they migrate down to Antarctica to enjoy the cool waters down there. We saw males, females and babies. Great show.

That was our whale watching cruise … great fun, lots a whales. …. was also the end of our week in K’Gari. Great time, great place. 2019 Visit below.

19 Feb 2019 – Nancy and I are in Australia visiting the family and staying at “The Folly” once more. The 21st is our Anniversary so we have decided to motor North from the Gold Coast to the Sun Coast and take a ferry over to Fraser Island. Just a little back ground: Fraser Island is the biggest sand Island in the world. It has miles of beaches, fresh water lakes, a rain forest, and a bunch of interesting wildlife. Just Google it if you want to learn more about it. It’s about a four hour drive for us to get to the ferry, a 45 minute ride across and we are staying at The Kings Bay Resort on Fraser Island. The plan is to rent a 4Wheel Drive vehicle on the 21st and explore the Island, bottom to top and side to side.

20 Feb 2019 – Ok … So we took the M1 from the Gold Coast, through Brisbane, up past the Sun Coastand made it to Hervey Bay. Hervey Bay is a quaint, older town across from Fraser Island, right where the mainland takes a skip to the West. A fairly big town that features a beautiful beach the runs across the Northern edge of the town. The beach is long and narrow and features sandy areas, natural areas with walkways and hiking trails, restaurants, tennis courts, camp grounds, and sundry other facilities. Across the street are many apartment houses, hotels, motels, bars, and restaurants. Bike rentals, jeep rentals, souvenier shops and many other beach associated commercial venrures. All that seemed to be missing was the hustle and bustle of the chaotic beach scene like Surfers Paradise. Everyone seems relaxed and not in a big hurry. Kinda nice!! Leaving Hervey Bay we drove a little ways South to River Leads where the mainland reception center for Kingfish Bay Resorts is located. They checked us in, booked us on the bus and ferry, and I parked the car in their secure parking facility. Soon we boarded the bus and were taken to the Kingfish Bay resort ferry.

Kingfish Bay Resort Bus

Kingfish Bay Resort Ferry

A short 45 minutes later we were docking at Fraser Island’s west side. A Disney type shuttle was waiting to take us to the reception desk, our rooms, and our vacation. Following is a number of pictures from our adventure … summary at the end.

The Dock from the Ferry to the Island

It’s Good to be Welcomed

Nancy with our Rental Jimney (Great fun!)

Nancy with our Rental Jimney (Great fun!)

Places to Go and Things to See (It’s a BIG Place!)

Crystal Clear Fresh Water Lakes – Fed Only by Rainwater

Miles of Beaches to Drive or Walk

The Rain Forest – Note the “Air Ferns” that live in the trees

4WD trails all about the Island
(Don’t Bring Your wife’s Subaru! … It will get scratched!))

Historic Logging Company Headquarters

Where we used to Live in Colorado
(Not on Fraser Island … Just checking to see if you are paying attention!)

Trails to Hike on … as far as you like

The Walkway to Our Room at the KingFish Bay Resort

We had a great time. Getting there was as easy as stopping at the mainland registration site and walking up to the two pleasant ladies at the reception counter. From there on everything was taken care of. The ferry ride over was interesting and not too long. A Shuttle took us from the Ferry to the Hotel. We had an excellent Anniversary Dinner at the SeaBelles restaurant in the resort. Gracious Service, delicious food, friendly setting. The Jimney we rented on the Island was a Hoot. Easy to drive, easy on the gas, fit on all the trails, and was fun to drive … and I didn’t have to worry about getting it scratched on some of the trails. The resort was a bit pricey but offered a great deal of comfort, relaxation, several restaurants, a bar by the dock that was a great place to stop for a cold one. There are other, less formal places to eat so there is something for whatever your taste or preference is. As you could see from the map, there are a great many things to do on Fraser Island, many places to stay, and endless things to do. If you don’t want to go it alone, there are a number of “Safari” type 4WD outfitters that lead adventures around the island. We did not use one so I cannot speak to the value of them … I just know some people are less adventurous and would prefer to have a guide. Nancy and I went it alone, there are ample signs pointing the way, cell service does not exist but GPS does work. We thoroughly enjoyed our day in the Little Jimney, saw much of the island, and had a fun time.

A Revisit to Germany – September 2018

I am posting this Blog from Germany.  We are on our way to visit the family in Australia and decided to travel Westward for a change and spend a week or so in Germany.  We picked this time because of the Wine Fest, Beer Fest, and village Fall celebrations called Kerwe (sounds like KAVA when pronounced in the Phalz).  It is also a great time to visit friends from our past.  Nancy and I lived in Germany for a total of 14 years over our adult working life.  The last six years I worked was in Germany.  Consequently we were able to discover much of Germany that the casual visitor never gets time to do.  This Blog shares some of our favorite times or activities during our time in Europe.  They include just a few events, some of which we enjoyed annually.  We are here for about ten days and our plan was to arrive on Friday, rent a car and drive to the village of Mehlingen where we lived many of our years in Germany.  We spent the afternoon with our dearest friends who have shared much of their life, both family and personal, with us.  It was great to see them again after some catch-up talk, a couple beers, and a quick Schnapps. they gave us time to check into our hotel, freshen up a bit, then meet for dinner at their favorite Gastehaus.  One of our favorite things about Germany is the food … and the wine … and the beer.  Lovely evening, got to bed early after a VERY LONG day and got a good night’s sleep.

Saturday we traveled to St Martin on the German Wine Strasse.  This lovely little village is a popular place on weekends for the city folks from Mannheim, Ludwighaven, Heidelberg, and even Frankfurt.  They walk a little, have a coffee or wine, visit, walk a little more, or perhaps, eat.  A long leisurly weekend.  We go there because our favorite Vintor is there.  Schneider Alte Schlosschen, is a small vineyard that is family owned and operated.  They have excellent wines to buy or are fun just to stop by at and do some wine probing.  From St Martin we drove to Diedesheim and checked into our hotel.  The Bad Durkheim WurstFest is most commonly known as the Bad Durkheim Wine Fest … it is the Wurstfest but everyone goes there for the wine.  Some call it the “Octoberfest of Wine” and the crowds, rides, food, and wine stands make that pretty accurate.  We stay in Deidesheim and take a short train ride into Bad Durkheim.  Parking, traffic, and enjoying wine while driving are all nearly impossible during this fest.  We have a short walk to the train, at both ends and no worries about traffic, parking or the politzei.  We spent late afternoon and the early evening stopping at the different wine tents where local growers sell their best wines.  Had many familiar foods that we miss in The U.S., met many great people, and had a super time.

The Ferris Wheel

The Crowd

The Wine

The High Swing at Night

Sunday we were invited back to Mehlingen to enjoy a Church Social following services.  The social turned out to be a turnout for the entire Village and people sat around all afternoon soaking upon the sun, enjoying wursts, cakes donated by the ladies, and beer.  We were surprised by a close group of friends from the village whom we had spent many special occasions with.  They all showed up at the social and it was a wonderful time.  I mentioned Kerwes earlier.  Mehlingen had just had theirs a couple of weeks ago so we missed it.  Kerwes are Fall Celebrations that each of the local communities have to celebrate Fall.  I guess it relates back to the finishing of harvest and the Fall crops.  Even though there are few small farmers left, the tradition remains and is always enjoyed by all.  Beer tents, food stands, bands, and entertainment for the children.  Over the years, we have been to many in many nearby small towns and we never had a bad time. Day to Day, Germans are considered to be stoic and standoffish.  However, when they decide to celebrate they are warm welcoming people who will talk, laugh, dance, and party with anyone … and once you establish a friendship with them, you have a good friend forever.

We are leaving the Mehlingen area and driving over to the Mosel River at BernKastel-Keus.  A lovely City to start our trip up the Mosel to a small village called Senheim.  We have good friends that live there and own a Gastehaus … we will stay with them a couple days to enjoy the area.  A few years back we were invited to join them at their annual grape harvest … we accepted and truly enjoyed the adventure.  Hard work but loads of fun … and all the grapes you could eat.  One evening while we were there they had their annual village Bonfire.  Starts with a parade and ends in a big fire … just enough reason to celebrate.

A Load of Grapes

The Team

A View Don the Hill to The Mosel

Packing Them Down

Everything is on a Steep Slope

Here’s Where You Find Them!

Here’s What They Look Like

Goes Back a Long Time!

High Water Marks on Old Buildings along the Mosel

The Village Bonfire Celebration

The Village Bonfire Celebration

The Village Bonfire Celebration

Early Morning Grape Picking (It was Chilly!)

Early Morning Cold and Fog

Grapes on The Mountainside

Little Tractor on a Track that hauls grapes and equipment up and down hill

While at Senheim we took a day a drove down the Mosel to a City named Cocheim.  A very old city, established in 892 as a stable to stay at before crossing the river.  Now it is one of the biggest attractions on the Mosel.  A large Castle stands over the city.  We were lucky enough to be invited and attend a wedding at this Castle … Very impressive.

Castle at Cocheim

After leaving Senheim we traveled cross-country to reach the Rhine River.  Another scenic river in Germany … much bigger and more industrial but surrounded by castles, villages, vineyards and fun people.  We are spending the night in Saint Goar, then slowly making our way upriver (Yes, the Rhine flows North) to Rudesheim for a little shopping, then on to Frankfurt.  We having Dinner in a “Very German” restaurant with some good friends that live in the Frankfurt area.  They chose the place to eat and “Very German” was their description.  We both look forward to that experience.  Saturday we will spend in Frankfurt at their weekly Market.  Loads of interesting foods, beers, wines, and people.  Something we try never to miss if we are in the area.

Riding Bikes Along The Rhine (Once a year they close the highway all day and you can ride for miles right along the river)

That’s Not the House Number … It is the Year This Building was Erected

Castles Along The Rhine

Castles Along The Rhine

Having A Wine at The Frankfurt Market

Streets Leading to The Market

Balloon Vendor in Frankfurt

Then Sunday we turn in the car and we are off to see the family in Australia.  So many good memories from our time in Germany.  I will post more pictures of other good times later.  Hope you enjoyed Germany as much as we have.

Iceland For Four – In A Car – May 2016

The Fearless Four Peaking Through An IceBerg

Going to Iceland was not our idea. Actually, we had never considered going there. Then, some friends of our’s, Zack and Sharol Wittke from Wisconsin, asked us if we would like to travel somewhere with them. Zack was a classmate of Nancy and mine and we have known him and Sharol for many years so … of course we would like to travel somewhere with you!! We discussed places that might be interesting and they proposed Iceland … Really … Iceland? So off we go getting ready to go to Iceland. We were a little constrained for time as they only had a week off so we decided to drive the road that goes all the way around Iceland … they call it “Ring Road” … how original is that? We read a great deal about what there is to see along the way and decided to give it a go.

Yellow Line is the “Ring Road” around Iceland … The Route We Followed.

We divided the days up based on how far we wanted to travel each day (determined by how much we wanted to see in that area).  We started in Reykjavik, went counter clockwise across the South, up the East side, then West across the top and South back to Reykjavik along the Western side … 1333 Kilometers or 828 miles.  We actually ended up going much farther than that as we often took deviations to sites that were along the way either on the coast or up into the mountains.

There are not many roads that go inland because most of the inland is either mountain, glacier, or volcano.  There are roads but open only parts of the year and not real automobile friendly … so we just stuck to the main roads.  We drove a Hyundai I30 Combi that proved to be quite sufficient in space, power, efficiency, and comfort.

So now we had the things we wanted to see, our route, proposed stopping points, and all we needed were airplane tickets and hotel reservations.

Icelandic Air had some great deals from New York to Iceland and connected to Tampa and Minneapolis so we went with them.  Hotels were another matter. More on that in a bit.

We got to Reykjavik, got the car, our luggage, and found our way to our hotel. We checked in and were all ready to go exploring … so off we went. We were a short walk from down town and the harbor so we walked around taking in the sites.

Of particular interest was a fish market we found by the harbor … actually what was interesting was the fish they had on display that had been caught in the local waters.

Once you leave Reykjavik, none of the towns or cities along the route have a great choice of accommodations.  Most are old, few offer private baths, and all were expensive.  We did find a few but what really saved us were campgrounds and private enterprises that set up small, completely furnished cabins that were mostly all new.  Apparently someone saw the need for lodging tourists so many people put up, what appeared to be kits, that included a kitchen, small living room, one or two bedrooms, and a bath.  All were neat and clean, very comfortable, and well furnished … and available at reasonable rates.  So, we stayed at two different hotels in Reykjavik (one when we arrived and one when we were leaving)

A City Hotel

and the rest of the time stayed in the little cabins.  We found them all on Booking.com.  I can’t say there were no hotels available but for the price, these cabins could not be beat … and the were all conveniently located.  They were also mostly located on the outskirts of the towns they were by so you could take walks from them without city traffic, two were by rivers.  

One night, we could not find a place to eat that we liked so we went to a local grocery store and bought “Dinner”.  All the foods were labeled in Icelandic so we kinda had to go by the pictures on the packages and what we could get from other shoppers who spoke english.  We went home and prepared a very nice dinner that included wine and desert. …. Never Go Hungry!!

Speaking of hunger … Many ships carrying U.S. Soldiers to and from WWII in Europe stopped in Iceland for refueling and resupply. The Americans left their mark in the form of Hot Dogs. Made famous during the the U.S. Soldiers visits, the Hot Dog can be found everywhere and is a favorite lunchtime staple. Zack was determined to have a different one each day and he succeeded … Who would’ve thought!

Back to our arrival: We found a little restaurant in the early evening and had some dinner, walked back to the hotel, and hit the sack!!! It was a long but interesting day.

Okay … So I mentioned I was going to write about the geological features of Iceland … I am … in a minute.  But first, something not Geologic but both interesting and cute.  The Icelandic Pony.  You see these little guys most places you go.  They are in pastures, farm yards, even some more generous residential areas.  The pony is unique to Iceland and is a product of having been the only breed of horse on the Island for the past two centuries.  They are unique in that they are the only breed of horse in the world that has five different gaits.  Most horses have three gaits; walk, trot, gallop.  Some add a fourth gait known as a canter.  The Icelandic pony has five; Walk, trot, Canter, Tolt, and Flying Pace.  The Tolt and Flying Pace are a gait only these ponies have.  The Tolt is special in that one hoof is always on the ground and is exceptionally smooth … even at high speeds.  The Flying Pace, as the name implies, is the fastest where both feet on one side are on the ground at one time and is likened to a fast gallop, and at one part of the gait, all four legs are in the air at the same time.  If you are into horses or gaits, there is ample info on the internet.  It’s just what makes these ponies special.  I think it’s their extra long and bushy bangs that makes them special, but that’s just me.

Enough about horses!

The next morning we had a nice breakfast that came with the room (we love European breakfasts), loaded up the car, and headed out of town.  In this Post, rather than describe our trip day by day, I am going to describe areas or features.  I’ve shown you where we drove, and told you where we stayed so now I will just focus on the things in Iceland that we found most interesting.  They will not be listed by preference, just as they come to mind.

Here are some photos of the terrain in SouthEastern Iceland as we drove from Reykjavik East then North along the coast. One of the photos is a sign that describes the area. Most of the terrain along the coast has to do with Lava Flows. Some old and grown over with a spongy moss, others washed out by water, some look like they just cooled yesterday. There was a huge volcanic eruption in Iceland in 2010 that put so much ash in the air it shut down transoceanic air routes.

The Farm that was covered with Ash

This photo is of a farm that is nestled against the mountains on the East side of Iceland. The people that live there documented the volcano I just described with films, narratives, and anecdotes regarding their experience as they lived through it. Right aside of the road, across from this farm, they have set up a little museum that has pictures of the volcano and features a movie they show that captures the entire event … from them motorbiking up next to it to their having to evacuate as it erupts. An incredibly interesting story, well worth the few dollars it costs to see. They ended up hauling tons of ash away as they cleaned up their farm buildings and roads leading to it. Some of the actual family members work in the museum and you see them in the film! That eruption placed layers of ash over many of the glaciers which now appears as a layer of dirt on the ice. Some of it is thin, other areas very thick … all nasty and black. You will see it when I post the pictures of the glaciers and icebergs.

Here are some of the Waterfalls we saw. They are in no particular order and I won’t try to replicate the names. Just enjoy them and if you really like them a great deal and want to see or have more to do with them, have a go to Iceland. Some of these groups of pictures include signs or names of the site we were at … you can Google that name and get more info if you are curious. Following is one of the grandest. It is a long dusty drive out to it but very well worth it.

Following the Grand Ones are a series of tall ones. This tall one is unique in that you can hike to the top of it from the side, or you can walk behind it … which we did. Some of the end photos are from behind the falls or coming out on the other end. The noise is deafening!

Enough waterfalls for now … How about some Glaciers? … Glaciers Calving, and Ice Bergs? As I mentioned, volcanic ash covers most of the glaciers and snowy areas giving them a black look. However, when they split or change the white and blue of the ice is exposed. One early morning we walked out to a large glacier and hiked around on it. Here are some of what we saw.

Driving North along the East side we came across a large lake that had a glacier running down into it. As nature has it, the glacier was calving icebergs into the lake. The lake is several miles long and at the end runs through a narrow channel that runs under a bridge and into the sea. The Icebergs follow that flow and can be seen floating along the lake, rushing down the narrow flow, and drifting out to sea. Some wash ashore after the bridge and slowly melt creating beautiful ice sculptures.

There were people all around the lake watching the Bergs float by. There was even a Couple Taking Wedding Pictures along the shore with the Ice Bergs as background.

Iceland is known as “The Land of Fire and Ice” … you have seen some of the ice, and I’ve mentioned the fire … so, as you know, when you have fire and ice, you get a lot of hot water!! There are thermal pools, vents, geysers, and hot mud fields all around Iceland. Most municipalities have a community pool that is heated by underground water sources that are hot. Many of the ares reminded us of Yellowstone and the thermal activity there.

One place even had a volcano you could climb to the top of and peek into the center. Long dormant the center is cool and a little filled in, there is a worn path to the top … however, the view from the top is great, there are little flowers growing on the volcanic rock, and its a cool experience.

Another area that we found to be very interesting was near the volcano we climbed and was a huge area of lava that apparently had flowed from the volcano at one time … there are now roads through it and vegetation growing but it is clear what come first.

The first settlers of Iceland came from the Scandinavian countries. As such they were accustomed to building with wood as there are a lot of trees in Eastern Europe. Consequently, they built their early structures using the trees they found in Iceland. Whether due to neglect, forgetfulness, or naivety they used up all the trees and didn’t have any growing to replace them. As a result of the lack of wood and the critical need for shelter they turned to using sod. In Northwestern Iceland is a restored village where the sod homes are able to be toured. They are very well presented and in addition to the structures, all of the furnishings, tools, storage facilities, and personal items are there for the visitor to see. Very impressive. In the village, there is a very old church … made of wood. Of interest was the organ that had pipes made of wood.

In the Northern part of Iceland were rolling pastures that were punctuated with crater like holes. There is a picture of the explanation. This are was populated with sheep and infested with flies. Note on the pictures from inside the car all the black spots on the window … they were flies. So first the Lava flow:

Then the craters, sheep, and flies!

To follow the Ring Road around Iceland is experiencing nearly every kind of terrain, environment, and feature of the country. The Sea is always on one side and the mountains on the other. Regardless of which way you travel you will pass over the mountains in the North.

As you can imagine, fishing is a big industry in Iceland. It follows that fish farming would also be a big deal. Here are a couple of Photos of a ship with food lines running back to “Fish Corrals where the fish are raised and harvested. We saw many of these in the various protected inlets.

Then we got to the very top of Iceland. Just South of the Arctic Circle. Couldn’t get real close but we were there!

Following is a collection of photos taken by myself and Sharol. Some more water falls, some mountains, some lakes, a little of everything. All of us found the country very interesting. The only thing we did not do, and will if we go back, is to spend more time with the locals. The bars, coffee houses, markets, etc all offer anyone a chance to rub elbows with someone interesting and, as we find nearly anywhere, people, for the most part, are kind, friendly, and helpful. They love to talk about their families, their country, and their lives, as well hear about yours. Enjoy the rest of the photos.

Middle East Adventure …….. Jordan & Israel by Car

ABOUT THIS TRIP:  13 – 28 October, 2017 –
Nancy had Petra near the top of her “Must See” list so it was kind of the cornerstone for our trip.  We felt as long as we were so close by, we should go and visit Israel and the Holy Land.  We checked a number of tours and found they went some of the places we wanted to go and many more we had no interest in.  I did some research on driving in Jordan and Israel, VISA requirements, and traveling alone and found it was not all that difficult to do.  We could rent cars in both countries but could not take one across the border so we rented one in each country.  Both Jordan and Israel allowed us, as U.S. citizens, to buy visitor’s Visa’s at the entry point to the country.  There is an exception to that at the Allenby bridge but we didn’t go that way so it was not a problem.  We made our plane reservations, worked out a travel plan, booked hotels where we planned to stay, rented cars in each country and we were set.

– Air Travel:  We did not want to backtrack so we booked a Multiple city ticket flying into Amman, and departing Tel Aviv to go back to the states.  There were a number of selections available so we just picked out the times we wanted to arrive and depart.  We usually use an on-line search and booking system like KAYAK to find and buy our tickets, or will book directly with the airline we want to use.
 
– Visa’s:  We flew into Amman and purchased Visitor’s Visa’s at the airport Immigration site.  They accept only Jordanian currency or Credit cards so be prepared to either exchange some money right as you get there or use a credit card.
 
– CARS, Guidance, and Communications:  We had booked a rental car through a U.S. rental company. **If you are making a long trip make sure you get unlimited mileage.  As we could not take our Jordanian rental across the border we planned to turn it in at our last destination in Jordan, Aqaba.  There were rental car counters in both Aqaba and Eilat, Israel so we dropped off the Jordanian car, took a taxi to the border, walked across at the Wadi Araba Border Crossing, brought our Israeli Visa’s at the Israeli immigration point, caught a taxi into Eilat and our rental car company.  We picked up our rental in Eilat and drove it for the rest of the trip, leaving it at the airport in Tel Aviv.  Be aware there is not a great deal of GPS maps available in Israel so we used a WiFi Hotspot and our iPads for guidance.  We were able to purchase a Garman map for our NUVI for Jordan and it worked fine.  As always with maps, there is a mix of languages so don’t get confused.  We did download a generic map for our NUVI that did work in the GPS for Israel but it was spotty so we backed everything up with the hotspot and google maps.  We did not have a telephone during this trip.  We relied on WiFi signals along the way in restaurants, coffee shops, malls, and hotels as well as using our rental car Hotspotfor updating our email, making adjustments to reservations, etc. … worked well.
 
**A note about driving.  When we rent cars they are usually small compacts that are maneuverable, fuel efficient, and don’t stand out.  We very seldom have troubles with local people.  On this trip, in Jordan, there were groups of single males, mostly young, that would hang out on corners and watch, or make comments.  Once they attempted to stop us by stepping out in front of us.  I tried my best but was unable to run any of them over … they are quick little buggers.  Bottom line, stay alert, avoid crowds, don’t draw attention to yourself.
Hotels:  We try to stay in 4 star type hotels.  When we can’t find chains brand hotels we know and like we use Booking.com to find the rest of them.  We prefer booking.com as you do not pay until you are eye to eye with the hotel management and you can negotiate problems directly.  We seldom have significant problems with hotels as English is spoken in nearly every hotel in the world and by staying with the better brands have avoided unpleasantness.
 
THE TRIP:  This was our initial itinerary:
 
13 & 14 October, 2017 – We departed Tampa enroute to Amman, Jordan via Frankfurt, Germany.  We picked an 8 hour layover in Frankfurt and took a train from the airport downtown to the city center.  Saturday is market day in Frankfurt and the down town area is delightful to visit.  Having lived in Germany for many years we enjoyed rediscovering the firsts, wine, beer and atmosphere.  We took the train back to the airport and caught a late night flight to Amman.  The stop also broke up the many hours spent in an airplane making the trip.
 
15 Oct – We arrived in Amman at 2 A.M., got our Visa’s, picked up our luggage, cleared customs, and picked up our car.  We got to our Hotel in downtown Amman in an hour or so, checked in and bagged five or six hours of much needed sleep.h
 
We got up in late morning, had some coffee and set off for our first destination; Jerash.  Jerash is located about 30 miles north of Amman.  We drove there experiencing the local traffic, scenery, and environment … WOW, we were in Jordan.  Jerash is a very well presented ruin of an ancient civilization established around 100 BCE and destroyed around 800 CE by several earthquakes.  Most of the ruins are left from the Roman culture that lived there last.  There still is a Jerash, Jordan but it is a regular city, the remain or ruins is what you want to see … very interesting and a great deal of visible history.  Back to Amman late in the day, dinner, and a good night’s sleep.
Entrance to Jerash
Mosaics From Roman Times
 
16 Oct: – Checked out of our hotel in Amman and started South, destination Petra.  Before getting seriously on our way to Petra we did a side trip to Mt Nebo where Moses is buried and is the sight of the location where Moses and the Israelites first saw the promised land.  There were a couple interesting churches and museums in nearby Madaba that we stopped in at.  If you want to know more details about these places I recommend Googling them and reading about them.  That has to be more interesting and much more accurate than what I can write about.  If we didn’t find them interesting, I usually don’t mention them.
 
 
Monastery on Mt Nebo
Site of First view of Holy Land .. across the Dead Sea
 
View of Israel from top of Mt Nebo … Dead Sea in background
Mosaics in the Monastery Museum
 
 
**There are two major ways to get from Amman to Petra.  The Kings Highway and Highway 15.  Highway 15 is fast and cuts through the desert, has many trucks, passes a number of towns and cities.  The Kings Highway passes through many small towns, meanders through market places, residential areas, and city centers.  The Kings Highway is definitely more interesting but also more frustrating to drive but, in my opinion, worth the effort.  Along the way you will encounter the Grand canyon of Jordan (quite impressive).
 
Grand Canyon of Jordan
 
The Grand Canyon
Medieval fortress
 
Many medieval fortresses left from the Crusades, numerous towns, and lots of people and local color.  In spite of all the activity and things to see we still made it to Petra by late afternoon.  Whew!!  Driving is okay but requires close attention as the locals do not hesitate to walk into the rode, right of way rules are loosely interpreted, and road signs are sometimes obscure and often in a foreign language.  I should clear up that it is safe and a little patience and a good GPS coupled with an expert navigator will get you where ever you want to go.  Nancy is awesome with maps and frequently argues with the GPS. 😋 … and she is usually right!  We arrived early enough in the afternoon to do some reconnoitering around Petra and found they had a special lighting ceremony in Petra that evening.  We bought tickets, then went to our hotel, had dinner, and caught a taxi back to Petra (I wasn’t ready to do nighttime navigation yet!)  If you get a chance to see the lighting ceremony I would recommend it.  Any time you go into Petra you can walk or hire a horse, horse cart, or camel to ride in on.  We walked … got the kinks out of our legs from driving all day.  Great walk, wonderful show.
 
17 Oct: Had a good breakfast and went to Petra.  Petra is a very interesting place.  An ancient civilization came out of the desert and carved many very impressive stone fronts to rooms, tops, temps, and government buildings into the face of sheer rock cliffs that formed a narrow canyon.  The red rock, the depth and width of the canyon, and the size of the buildings are incredible.
 
Lighting Ceremony in front of the Treasur
 
The Treasury
The Monastery
 
Local Transportation
View from the approach to the monastery
The canyon entrance
The Monastery ..Check out Bill on the left Peak!

We spent the entire day at Petra and walked our tootsies off but had a great time.  If you can, I recommend walking (make sure you have good hiking shoes) but anytime you get tired there is a dude near by ready to sell you a ride on a camel, cart, donkey, or horse.  We made it all the way up to the Monastery which is a healthy climb, lots of steps and great views.  Recommend the Philadelphia Beer at the rest center in the middle of Petra.   Petra is a truly amazing place to see and spend some time at.  If you are ever passing through Jordan, don’t pass it by.  Get more details and pictures on Google.

18 OCT: Left Petra and headed Southeast toward Wadi Rum.  Wadi Rum is a large National Park in the desert that features huge rock outcrops, long stretches of desert, blowing sand dunes, camels, sheep, and history.  It is quite large and you cannot drive around in it.  We stopped at the entrance visitors center and book a 2 to 3 hour guided tour in a four wheel drive pick-up truck driven by a local guide.  Our guide was friendly, knowledgeable, and spoke very good English.  We even got him to display a little sense of humor before we finished.  Another “Don’t Miss’ and defiantly do a tour.  We found the three hours was sufficiently long and had a great time.  Longer, and shorter, tours are offered as well as groupies.
Tribute to the real Lawrence of Arabia who campaigned here
 
Our Pick-up … it DID have A/C!
 
 
Bill & Nancy by the Mushroom Rock
Nancy & our guide
Sheer Rock Wall … over 500 Ft Tall !
“The Martian” with Matt Damen was filmed here
An exciting place to see.  Caravans used to stop here on the way to Petra hundreds and hundreds of years ago.  The colors, sand, rocks, and cliffs are astounding to see.
 
We left Wadi Rum and continued South to Aquba where we checked into our hotel and turned in our rental.  Our hotel was on the Red Sea so we spent the evening at the hotel having dinner and enjoying the evening watch the people on the beach, the sun setting, and people enjoying themselves.
Green line is where we drove in Israel
19 OCT: This was a big day for us.  I had studied this maneuver carefully and while I was sure it would work, you never know.  So, we got up early, had breakfast, checked out of the hotel, and grabbed a cab to the Wadi Araba Border Crossing about 15 miles north of our Hotel.  We got out of the cab and walked with our suitcases in tow to the Jordanian border where we were processed out.  We then walked, by ourselves, about a 150 yards across an empty “No Man’s Land” to reach the Israeli border station.  The signs were clear and we followed the directions they provided.  We went through Israeli immigration and got our visitor’s VISA (Israel provides a little slip of paper to carry in your passport vice stamping it), went through Israeli customs and walked out to the exit gate.  A pleasant young lady there checked our paperwork, said we were good to go, and asked if she could call a cab for us.  We said “yes”, she did, and 5 minutes later we were in a cab heading to Eilat. Israel where our rental car was waiting for us.  It went smooth as silk.  No problems, no misunderstandings, both the Jordanian and Israeli officials were professional and courteous. … Whew!!
 
We got our car, Nancy got some Shekels from a bank ATM, we figured out how to navigate with a hotspot, phone, and iPad, and we were on our way North into Israel.  Israel is a dramatic change from Jordan.  Jordan is mostly desert with towns and cities.  Israel is Farms, Co-ops, industries, towns, stops, cities, and a lot more.  You don’t find anyone standing around, everyone is busy doing something, going somewhere, whatever … no loitering …. and the country shows it.

We went North to the Dead Sea.  An amazing body of water that is the lowest spot on earth, 400 plus meters below sea level.  It is so salty there are chunks of salt floating in it.  There are a number of resorts on the Israeli side of the Dead Sea that are quite nice … we drove through them but did not spend any time there.

View Across the dead Sea Toward Jordan .. Salt chunks in the  front
Nancy playing with Salt Chunks at the Dead Sea
We left the Dead sea and drove South and West of Masada to a town named Arad.  We stayed there overnight because we wanted to climb Masada from the West side where the Roman Ramp was built the next morning on the shady side of the mountain.  (Google the very interesting story story of Masada).  There is a lift and path on the East side but that’s where all the tourists go so we went to the west side.  Masada is a story of Israeli heroes who stood off the Romans for years.  The walk up the ramp is steep but not too difficult.  Walking around on the top is extremely interesting.  There are information points throughout the top identifying what you are looking at, showing pictures of what things would have looked like when Masada was there.  A DO NOT MISS.
 
A Roman Breaching Machine
 
The Roman Ramp up the West Side … This is where we went up … It got little steeper with some steps towards the top.
 
Ancient Walls … Cute Tourists
 
View of the Dead Sea from Masada
 
Remains of Caesar’s Summer Home – Masada at top
Masada From Afar
We spent the remainder of the day in Arad, found a place to have dinner, drove around a little.  Interesting place.
 **A caution when visiting Israel, especially in the country.  Saturday is the Sabath (Holy Day, Day of Rest), they don’t play around … they shut down from sunset Friday night to sunset Saturday.  Make sure you ask about this regarding your hotel and where you plan to eat.
After Dinner we met a very nice couple from Paris who were occupying the room next to ours.  They were both Surgeons and on a holiday.  We sat in the evening cool, looking out over the desert, talked about where we had been in Israel and where we were going, had some wine … a great way to end the big day.
 
20 Oct:  Up and at’em again.  Off we went heading East to Jerusalem.  Many more people, more traffic, bigger roads but we got to Jerusalem in early afternoon, checked into our hotel, and walked to the Old Walled City of Jerusalem.  We walked around a bit, found a place that had great pizza and cold beer, had dinner and went back to the hotel.  We booked a tour to Bethlehem and Jericho in the Palestinian region before we went to bed through our hotel.  We were not able to drive in the Palestinian region so tours were the only way to get there.
 
** A personal note regarding the Old Walled City of Jerusalem.  It is located in the near middle of Jerusalem (the modern city) and is surrounded by a large wall (duh) but is dramatically different from the modern city.  Within the walls Jerusalem is a vast network of alleys, shops, streets, churches, places to eat and drink, steps, gates, and tunnels.  It is divided into four quarters but has no boundaries within, just different gates for entry.  It is crowded with people of many different faiths, ethnic backgrounds and races, as well as vendors and tour guides.  If you go there looking for a religious experience you must really focus on what is motivating your search.  The crowds, the vendors, the cars … all detract from the religious setting one might expect.  I do not refute the religious events that have occurred in this city, only caution a traveler that it is easily seen as more commercial than religious.
 
21 Oct:  We went back to spend the day in Old Jerusalem.  We did all four quarters, the Holy Sepulcher, the Wailing Wall, a thousand gift shops, several restaurants, the Via Dolorosa (The Way of the Cross) and spent some time in New Jerusalem on the Israeli side … great train system, modern, great restaurants, busy people.  We saw people praying and weeping on the Holy Sepulcher, eating nearly any type food you can name, people praying at the Wailing Wall, tour guides leading bus loads of people, churches from at least four different faiths, church groups, student groups, and a lot of worn out people.  Definitely worth seeing, fighting the crowds, avoiding the vendors and leaving knowing you have been to Old Jerusalem.
 
A Corner of the Wall
The Wailing Wall (Far back side)
 
People Praying at the Wailing Wall
 
Dome of the Rock
 
Gethsemane (Where the Garden was)
 
 
The Way of The Cross
 
One of the Stations on the Way of the Cross
 
 
An Alley in the Old City
 
The Marble Slab Upon Which Jesus’ Body Was Prepared for Burial
 
People lined up entering the Tomb
 
Aahh .. A Well Earned Break!!
 
Part of The Wall … The Damascus Gate
The Light Rail in Jerusalem ( Great way to get around)
The City Market
 
Great Humus

There are countless things to see in Jerusalem.  One thing not to miss is the Holocaust Museum … extremely well done, informative, and moving.  Jerusalem itself is a Vibrant city with many interesting places and things to see.  It is a great place to stay that is in the center of most of the things to see in Israel.  We stayed at a small boutique hotel just a couple blocks from Old Jerusalem, a couple blocks from the light rail, and a block from a main street that had oodles of restaurants, souvenir shops, ethnic foods, art shops, …  The Hotel Malka, Great place, nice people.

 
22 Oct:  Having wore our legs off up to the knees yesterday, today is a good day to take a bus tour.  As I mentioned, we could not drive into Palestine so the bus tour seemed to be a good option.  When you book tours you must be aware that many tour operators combine their tour with others and essentially “Sell” you to a larger tour operator.  Also when you book tours you should be aware that tours take you where they want to take you, on their schedule.  So it was with this tour.  What started out as a tour with “about a dozen people” we ended up on a large bus with maybe 40 or 50 people.  We booked a tour to Bethlehem and Jericho and that is what we got.  We were picked up at O’dark thirty in a small van that went to 4 or 5 other pick up points.  Then we went to this area that had big buses, little buses, vans, and taxis.  We were told to be at a certain station point at 9 O’clock, where we could get something to eat or drink, and where the bathrooms were.  As it was still well before 8 we just hung out.  Buses, vans, and taxis were dropping people off from all over the place.  When we finally boarded the bus at 9 our reason for not taking bug tours was justified when one of the group on the bus asked where the bathroom was and would everyone please wait till they got back. … Then a dozen other people had to use the bathroom so waited an additional 30 minutes till that was all taken care of.  Finally we were on our way to Bethlehem to see where Jesus was born and later to Jericho where some really bad horns torn down walls.  First stop, was at a church that was out in the hills where shepherds tended their flocks.  The church was built over a cave that was supposed to be like the one that the Shepard’s who saw the star were in while tending their sheep when Jesus was born.  Interesting.  Next stop, and most important to the tour operator, was at a large souvenir shop that offered “exceptional deals”.  Hmmm.  The goods sold at this store were the same goods you could buy nearly anywhere in the Jerusalem area.  Consequently, everyone got off the bus, did a quick walk about, and got back on the bus.  However, a handful of people continued to shop, chat with the owners, and generally waste every one’s time for the next 45 minutes … and everyone else just wanted to go see where Jesus was born.  Finally we started again.  We were on our way to the Church of the Nativity … The church was originally commissioned in 327 CE by Constantine the Great and his mother Helena on the site that was traditionally considered to be the birthplace of Jesus.
 
 
 
Chapel of the Shepard’s
 
Inside of the Church of the Nativity (Restoration
has been ongoing for a number of years.)
 
Fresco’s being restored on Pillars in the church
 
An Icon in the Church
 
 
 
Long line waiting to enter Tunnel
Entrance to the tunnel that goes under the Alter
and to the cave where Jesus was born
 
Actual place where Jesus was born .. A Silver Star on the Spot
 
 
 
The Road to Jericho
 
A Shepard tending his flocking the desert
Looking East to Jordan … Mt Nebo (Jordan) in the
background Dead Sea in the middle
 
Digs in Jericho
 
Jericho (No Walls … They all tumbled down a long time ago!)
 
This is the sycamore tree Zachaeus ran ahead and climbed along Jesus’ path … Really, It is!
Entrance to Jericho
 
Okay … So we left Jericho and rode back to Jerusalem, mostly in the dark.  A long day but interesting. I would not recommend a bus tour like this,  if at all possible keep the group as small as you can and make sure you understand the itinerary and schedule BEFORE you buy it.  But wait!!  The trip was not over.  Our bus driver started getting phone calls on the way back and our guide go off the bus before we got back to Jerusalem … said it was where he had parked his car.  As we approached the city the driver pulled into a large parking lot and announced everyone would have to get off the bus and find their own way back to their hotels!!  It seems there were some demonstrations in Jerusalem and the police had shut off all highways into the city.  The driver was not able to help much as he spoke little English but pointed to a light rail station across the way and indicated we should catch that back to the city.  Guess what??? Yup, when we got to the station, the rail too had been shut down.  We know the light rail went near our hotel so we just started following the light rail tracks … we didn’t really know where we were or how far we had to go, just that walking was the only way we were going to get there.  Turned out it was only a couple miles … in the dark … and ironically, through the area with the demonstrations … Hmmm.  Anyhow, that was the end of a long day, a lousy tour, but we got to see what we wanted to see in Palestine.  Had a great Pizza for dinner and got a good night’s sleep.
 
If I sound skeptical, it is not because I was not impressed with the opportunity to visit the Holy Land and to see the actual places where Christianity was born.  The disappointing part of the entire place is how over commercialized it is.  You really loose the opportunity to “feel” the region.  However, it is the only place on earth where these sites are so ….
 

23 Oct:  We spent the day exploring the Current City of Jerusalem.  Beautiful  place.  Decorated streets, murals, busy pleasant people.  Had a great time … Visited the Holocaust Museum by taking the light rail out to it, the city market, half way back to the hotel, and some restaurants.  Great day to recover and enjoy ourselves.

24 Oct: Got up early, recovered our car, and left Jerusalem.  We are off to the region of Galilee.  Driving out of Jerusalem towards the Sea of Galilee is like going back in time.  The roads narrow, the villages become more “Rural” and everything kind of slows down.  We reached the Sea and drove south the very tip of it where the River Jordan flows from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea.  It is at the very start that John the Baptist baptized Jesus.

Entrance to Site on the Jordan River where Jesus was Baptized
 
 
 
 A Church Group Doing Baptisms in The Jordan

We then drove north along the Sea, through Tiberius to the town of Caparnaum where the Apostle Peter came from.  There is a lovely church there in a very pleasant setting.  Traveling along the shore we went past the site where Jesus performed the miracle of the Fishes and Loaves, preached the beatitudes, and spent most of his ministry years.  The West side of the Sea of Galilee is very picturesque, with trees, flowers, and sea side parks.  A pleasant change from the crowded streets of Jerusalem.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
St Peter
 
Looking Down onto The Sea of Galilee

We spent the night in a small boutique hotel, The Way Inn, in Tsfat.  Tsfat is a artsy kind of town located in the mountains.  The Way Inn was a pleasant place to stay with easy walking to restaurants, galleries, and shopping.

 
25 Oct:  After an excellent breakfast at The Way Inn we continued our journey West … destination Acre, headquarters for a number of Christian Crusades.  Acre is right on the Mediterranean Sea, and served a a harbor and port for sailing ships bringing Ccrusaders and supplies to the holy land.  It hosts a very well cared for and interesting museum and an impressive fortress that has been there for centuries.  For a small fee you can wander through the entire complex visualizing life must have been like in the 14th century
 
A Model of the Fortress
 
Inside the Museum
 
Steps Desending to a Secret Tunnel to the Sea
 
Inside The Fortress
 
A Map Showing the City, Fortress, and Harbor
From Acre we drove South along the Med to get to Haifa.  Haifa is Israel’s biggest port and and is an impressive city set between the Mediterranean Sea and Mt Carmel.  Haifa is great to look at but is just a big, busy city.  I’m sure there are museums and other things to look at but we had not found anything in our research that we wanted to see.  We stayed at a hotel in Mt Carmel and spend the afternoon walking around Mt Carmel.  Many shops, restaurants, bars, etc.  Not many pictures as it is just a nice city to see.

26 Oct:  We left Mt Carmel and continued South.  We were on our way to our final destination, Tel Aviv, but wanted to stop in Caesarea first. Caesarea was a small Roman resort town on the Mediterranean Sea.  One can tell by the types of buildings that remain, their layout, and location that it was an enviable place to go.  Definitely a good stop to see some history on the drive between Haifa and Tel Aviv.

 

From Caesarea we continued on our way to Tel Aviv.  Tel Aviv is a large metropolitan city bustling with commerce, tourism, government, and religion.  We checked into our hotel and took the car out to the airport to turn it in.  This was the end of our Automobile experience and looking back, it was quite successful with no serious problems either with the car or driving.  If we were to go back to either Israel or Jordan, we would indeed again rent a car.  Best way to get around, not hassles, no schedule, no sales pitch by guides and drivers.  We took a cab back to our hotel and made arrangements for the same driver to return on the 28th to take us out to the airport for our return trip home.

27 Oct:  Spent the day exploring Tel Aviv.  Walked South along the beach to Old Jaffa.  Old Jaffa was once the port city for Tel Aviv but now just sports a marina that supports local fishing and tourism.  Walking around Old Jaffa was again a walk through history.  Old churches, museums, restaurants, etc.  It took the better part of the day to walk don and back and spend several hours exploring.  It is not that far but it was Saturday (The Sabbath) so everyone was out relaxing and enjoying their day off.  We did discover a wonderful Irish Pub in Tel Aviv, The Molly Bloom.  We had dinner there and were treated to a local group of musicians who gather and play Irish music every week.  According to a grade school teacher we met there, it is the best Irish Pub in Israel.

28 Oct:  Up early, check out, and our cabby was back to take us to the airport.  Uneventful trip home in spite of the airlines messing with everyone’s schedule and flights.  We did make it back and we are happy we went.

** A repeated last note.  I encourage you to google to do a web search on any of the places I have mentioned.  There are many, many pictures and history of each … all better than mine and my descriptions.  We just wanted to share our trip with you and our driving experience.  Thanks for reading.

Australia Outback – Darwin to Adelaide in a Camper

ABOUT THIS TRIP:  Our Son, daughter-in-law, and their three children live South of Brisbane in Coomera, Australia.  As such we have good reasons to travel there as often as we can.  Several years ago, as a Christmas stocking stuffer for Nancy, I bought SPIRITS OF THE GHAN, written by an Australian lady named Judy Nunn.  We both enjoyed the book immensely and have since wanted to explore the Outback and the Ghan.  Our initial intent was to book a passage on The Ghan (a railroad that runs from Adelaide to Darwin) but decided against it as we wanted to spend more time exploring the Outback which the train trip did not allow for. A while back, while we were visiting our family, we made a road trip from Gold Coast, North along the Eastern shores of Australia to Rockhampton, then due West out to an interesting town called Longreach.  As it is beyond the Black Stump in Queensland, we were in the Outback.  We liked it and decided we wanted to see more.  About a year ago we decided to travel from Darwin to Adelaide via the Stuart Highway.  The highway is paved all the way and hosts sufficient life support along the way to allow for a comfortable journey.  We checked hotels and road houses along tour route and decided we would try a small camper van instead.  The camper is a van that includes a small shower, toilet, fridge, stove, micro, and a table that converts into a full-sized bed.
We decided to travel from Darwin to Adelaide thinking things would get more interesting as we traveled South and our interest would stay peaked.  Actually, it really makes no difference which way you travel … North to South was just our choice.  We read a bunch of blogs, travel books, and internet articles  regarding the trip and decide we could do it in two weeks.  We like to see a lot of things but don’t usually dwell too long in any one place or thing.  Spending a couple of days exploring a small town or hiking out into the boonies is not our routine so we felt we could cover the roughly 3600 Kilometers in two weeks.  It’s only about 3000 Kms from Darwin to Adelaide but Ayers Rock (Uluru) is about 300 Km west of the Stuart Highway and is a “MUST SEE” if you travel the outback.  We selected the small camper van rather than a larger one because it is easier to drive, uses less gas, and pretty well provides everything we need.  For those who have not used Australian campgrounds they are well equipped with showers and cooking facilities so we didn’t feel the need to have a large camper.  We stopped using tents a few years back.
We are flying to Darwin from Tampa via Los Angeles and Sydney so we are taking a day in Darwin to rest a bit, get some provisions, and see a few local sights before picking up the camper and heading out.  I’m using my Garmin NUVI GPS with an Australian chip, buying a local phone service SIM card for my iPhone in Darwin, and relying on either local WiFi or using my iPhone as a hotspot.  Of course, we also have paper maps, books, and references.  So our trip starts in a few weeks and I will make daily entries regarding how we are doing and what we have seen and done.  Please feel free to comment or question and I will try to reply as soon as I am able.

Our Trip … Red is Camper Route, Blue lines are flights

OUTBACK ITINERARY

As I mentioned, we develop a time line and a “soft” schedule so here it is.  Nothing is locked in other than the rental contract, our hotels in Darwin and Adelaide which brackets our trip.
Sunday, 10 June Depart Tampa – Depart LA
We are on our way … checked in at Tampa getting ready to fly to LA, then to Sydney, then to Darwin.  It will be Tuesday afternoon when we get to Darwin … my butt hurts just thinking about it.  I added the map of Australia above for reference.  By the way … please feel free to share this blog with anyone that is interested.  Thanks … Enjoy.
Tuesday, 12 Jun- Depart Sydney – Arrive Darwin ~ 14:00- Check into Hotel
While in Darwin, in addition to doing some touring we will be getting Comms, provisions, cash, etc.
Okay … we made it to Darwin at 2:30 P.M. Tuesday afternoon.  Really tired but knew better than go to bed at three.  Picked up our luggage, picked up the rental car, set up the GPS, and drove down town to find our hotel.
Darwin is an isolated kind of city located in the far Northern, nearly tropical part of Australia.  The temps have been getting into the 90’s and is quite humid due to being right on the ocean.  Many people don’t know this but Darwin was attacked by the Japanese from four aircraft carriers and sustained heavy damage to the city.  The city recovered from that only to be nearly totally demolished in 1975 by a fierce hurricane that destroyed all but 400 of the 11,000 homes that were there at the time.  Needless to say, the town does not have many really old structures.  Nancy and I walked down to the waterfront from our hotel, had dinner, came back to the hotel and seven PM found us sound asleep.

View Towards the Ocean

City Skyline

Wave Pool and Sport Stadium

Waterfront Park

Mural of Herons in Darwin

13 Jun – Exploring Darwin
Spent the day looking around Darwin (named after Charles Darwin), got a Telstra (phone service provider in Australia) SIM card for my iphone, bought some groceries to provision the camper, went out to the Camper rental place to check out how much space we would have, get some instructions on setting it up etc, and walked around taking some pictures of the city.


14 Jun- Check Out of Hotel- Pick up camper 

We got the rental back to the airport, and checked out the camper, were on the road by 9:45.  The Camper is quite comfy. sho wer, toilet, stove, micro, and a full-sized bed.

The Camper … A  Winnebago Camper on a Mercedes Sprinter Chassis

Drove South to Litchfield National Park.  Four very impressive waterfalls and some mind-boggling Termite mounds.  The Falls were in good flow as we are just leaving the rainy season so they were quite spectacular … just wait till you see the pictures.  The Termite mounds were everywhere and some were 12 – 15 feet tall and 5-8 feet across the bottom.  Lots of work for all those little fellers!  We have returned back, part ways to the North and are camping just South of Humpy Doo in a Town call Noonama.  Really its just a truck stop with a campground behind it.  Mostly what we expect to find most of the way South.  Tomorrow we head east into Kakadu National Park.  Looking forward to seeing a lot of wildlife.  So, after our first day on the road everything is looking good.  The camper is easy to handle, gets around pretty good and is quite comfortable with a shower, toilet, and stove.

One of Three tall Waterfalls

A Tall Skinny Waterfall

An Enjoyable Series of Rapids

Nancy by A VERY BIG Termite Mound

Termite Field

Day 1 … 350 Kilometers … Total to date 350 Km

15 Jun- Kakadu NP- Katherine
Early up … That’s what happens when you are 14 hours out of sync … good thing though cuz it gave Nancy and I time to have a couple of cups of Joe and discuss the plan of attack for the day.
Northern Territory is not one of Australia’s six states.  Australia has six states and two territories.  Northern Territory is one of them and the Capitol Territory (Australia’s National Capitol like Washington D.C.) is the other.  Northern Territory (NT) encompasses a large area of North Central Australia.  Darwin is the capital.  Enough Social Studies!
We launched out of Noonama just after day break, around 7 AM.  You must recall Australia is just going into Winter so we are approaching the shortest day of the year in the Southern Hemisphere … June 21st, the beginning of Winter.  It is much too hot in Summer to travel in the Outback.   However, as I mentioned earlier, Darwin is as close to the equator from the South as Venezuela is North, which makes it quite tropical.  Palm trees, hot weather, etc.  Today was our 4th day of 90 degree weather.
Kakadu National Park is huge.  I think the largest in Australia.  It has huge Billabong’s (swamps) teaming with birds and other wildlife.  Long granite mountain ranges that host Aboriginal drawing from long ago, and vast forests of trees of every type.  We saw many Wallaby’s (small Kangaroos), thousands of birds, and many other exciting features of the park.  It took us all day to go across it from Noonama to Jabiru, then South to Pine Creek.  We made it to Katherine where we will be spending the night and getting ready to go on a boat tour of the Katherine Gorges.
Large Billabong
Bird in the Billabong
Bird with a Chick in a Bird Billabong
Ancient Aboriginal Art
Massive Fissure in Granite
Stone Face
Bill Pointing the way
So far all has gone well.
Day 2 … 550 kilometers … Total so far 900 km
 
16 Jun- Daly Waters
WOW !!! What a day!!!  Up early, couple cups of coffee … made a few reservations for the upcoming days, and drove up Katherine Gorge for our Katherine Gorge, Two Gorge, two hour cultural Boat ride.  Katherine Gorge is actually 13 different lakes or gorges that extend down through the Katherine Gorge.  Each is at a slightly higher elevation than the one before and each separated by rocks or narrows other than during flood time.  During flood time its one big bad river that rushes down to the Katherine River, sometimes 40 feet higher than normal.  At the end of the dry season, there is hardly any water left.  We are there at mid-season so we have 13 gorges.  But as the old saying goes .. “Once you’ve seen one gorge, you’ve seen them all”!!  Regardless, just to make sure we did two gorges.  We went up the first and largest (they get smaller as they go up) to the head where we disembarked and climbed over a rocky path to the landing and boat for the second gorge … about a half mile, and boarded the second boat.  We heard the second gorge was the best and, as far as we could see it was.  The gorges are gorgeous.  Massive rock walls that were created by huge granite separations that created the gorges.  We saw five Crocodiles and a bunch of awesome sites.  Definitely worth the time and trip to see.
Katherine Gorge Tour Boat
Katherine Gorge at Sunrise
Crock on a Bank
OUCH!!! I got in a fight and the other guy bit my nose off!!
Sailing up Katherine Gorge
Second Gorge
Rapids separating 1st and 2nd Gorge
Crock on a Rock
From Katherine we headed South towards Daly Waters … a little spot that time has passed by.  Daly waters was the first international airport in the Northern Territory.  It was used as a delivery point for mail and other cargo going North in the 1930’s and early 40’s.  The field was taken over by the military during WWII and never reopened as a civilian field.  That has not stopped the 9 residents of Daly Waters from trying and keep it alive.
Along the way we stopped at a small area that had thermal waters flowing through it.  They advertised it as Hot Springs but they were really just warm.  However, they were incredibly clear and had a lot of people swimming in them.  Very nice.
Thermal Pool

We finally got to Daly Waters and checked into the “Daly Waters Historic Tavern” that seems to be the only thing left.  It’s a tavern, camp ground, filling station, restaurant, and general store.  This place is an Icon in this part of Australia and people come from all over just to spend a night here.  We had dinner and an entertaining evening at the tavern.  Nice folks.  Saw a couple of very interesting shows with our dinner.  The Pitts Family were the highlight.  An Acrobatic family that does near slapstick acrobatics … truly entertaining.

The Pitts
The Pitts “Family Tree”
The ICONIC Daly Waters Historic Tavern
Now we are tucked into our camper and settled in for the night.
Day 3 … 350 kilometers … Total so far 1250 km
 
17 Jun- Devils Marbles
Not much other than driving today.  Drove the 510 Kilometers from Daly Waters to The Devil’s Marbles Reserve Area.  An interesting Granite formation left after a bazillion years.  Just walked through and enjoyed them.  Then went to our campsite where the tavern has a wifi so I could upload all these pictures!!!

Rocks is Rocks … no matter where you find them.  The temperature has dropped substantially as we drove South.  Only got to the very low 70’s today.  Looking for increasingly cooler weather as we drive South.

Day 4 … 310 Kilometers …Total so far .. 1560 km

18/19 Jun- Alice Springs

Wow … Here we are in Alice Springs … (looking for Alice’s restaurant but haven’t found it … yet)  Woke up this morning to a refreshing 35 degrees … quite the change from two days ago.  Good thing I read the instruction book and found the Air Conditioner unit also works as a heat pump.  So … Nancy had me jump out of bed and run the heat up before we both got up and had coffee.  The drive down to Alice Springs was a whole lot of interesting nothing … just like driving across West Texas.  There were numerous signs cautioning drivers there were livestock and Kangaroos on the road … and sure enough we saw probably ten cows that had been hit by trucks and a couple of Kangaroos.  The trucks here travel far and fast at night with as many as four trailers on one truck.  They can’t and don’t stop for anything.  They have these cow catchers (really Kangaroo catchers) on the front to protect the vehicle from damage.  We didn’t see any live Kangaroos today … just dead ones.  Did see one small herd of cows ambling down the road.

Road Train
Cow Catcher

The Way Ahead

Cows & Sheep On Road!!
This is what interesting nothing looks like
Interesting Picture
Barrow Creek Telegraph Station
Crossing the Tropic of Capricorn
This is the other side of Nothing
Welcome to Alice Springs (In the middle of nothing)

Day 5 …. 400 Kilometers …Total so far .. 1960 km

19 Jun – Alice Springs ….

Here we are … Traveled 380 kilometers today and we are still in Alice Springs … Nope, we are not lost.  We woke up to a 30 degree morning and gave the ole heat pump a work out.  Then, we took the day and drove out to the McDonnel Range.  It is interesting as Nancy and I see these places … many of them remind us of other places on earth that are nearly identical.  The McDonnel Range looks just like the western US, especially Big Bend National Park in South Texas .. The land, the rocks, the plants, everything but the animals … very similar.  When we first talked about coming out here to the Outback we kinda expected vast areas of nothing but red dirt or rock.  Not true! .. There are trees, grass, and shrubs everywhere.  Only place where the land is bare is where they have burned off all the grass and underbrush.  This is done every so many years … not sure why, but it takes the desert maybe 10 to fifteen years to grow back.  Don’t take me wrong … The McDonnel Range was interesting with it’s protruding ridges of rock, the pronounced divide between the ridges that man where the plates collided, it’s water ways or rivers (mostly dried up now till rainy season), and it’s gorges.  We went to Standley Gorge near Alice Springs and were surprised by an incredibly impressive cut between two vast mountains of granite.  We walked out to Glen Helen Resort to see where the Finke River had cut through a ridge of rock, and finally out to Tyler’s Pass that took you out of the Range and onto the plains that lead to Ayers Rock some 500 kilometers away.  All Good stuff … interesting and unforgettable.  Of particular interest was the Ochre Pits.  Here, native Aboriginals mined minerals of different shades to color weapons, pottery, and themselves.  An interesting variety of colors caused by layers of sediment settling then being pushed up into mountains.

Glen Helen “Resort”
Grass that grows n the desert, looks like tumble weed
Walls of the Range
Ochre Pitts
The View Towards Ayers Rock
Standley Gorge
Train Station for the Ghan Railroad
Downtown Alice Springs
Glen Helen Cut

So, it was a good day.  Did some touring, Nancy got to do some shopping, had a pizza at a local tavern … getting ready to head out tomorrow morning for Ayers Rock.

Day 6 … 380 Kilometers … Total so far …. 2340 km

20/21 Jun- Uluru (Ayers Rock)

Long drive today but we made it to Uluru as the Aboriginals call it.  Terrain still has a lot of vegetation, much more than we expected, but very dry … It is so dry the Kangaroos carry canteens!  We didn’t see many animals today, one kangaroo tried to commit suicide by jumping in front of us … we missed him.  Saw a wild camel in the park when we got to Uluru National Park … They do have wild camels here … the English brought them long ago to pack goods over the long barren streets of the outback.  Naturally, some got loose and one thing let to another and Wa La … wild Camels.  Saw a few small herds of cattle … domestic.  Bunches of birds.  Came across a Camel Farm so Nancy got some pictures.  They cater to tourists who want to ride a Camel.  Also came across an Emu farm … don’t know what they do with them, my guess is they are food  … but we took some pictures of them anyhow.

Tourist Camel
Mystery Emu
Nancy Making Lunch

120 Miles straight South of Alice Springs, then turn right for a 150 miles and you are at Ayers Rock.  Pretty cool resort here  … several hotels (one to suit each budget, a campground, and many activities,  including a Blimp ride.  Kinda like Yellowstone National Park.  Odd thing … about 3/4 of the way to Uluru we saw what we thought was Ayers Rock … looks a lot like it … especially if you haven’t seen Ayers Rock in the Rock before.  Turns out many people make that mistake and the mountain we saw was Mt Conner, billed as the most photographed Red Herring along this road.   Anyhow, once we got here we drove out to another big set of rocks called The Olga’s.  Instead of one big rock like Uluru, the Olgas are made up of a number of big rocks right next to each other (most likely one rock that broke up) … the biggest is higher than Uluru but not as big.  We hiked around the Olgas, took some pictures and came back to the camp.

Mt Conner and arid Desert
Blimp
Desert Grass
The Olgas
The Olgas Close Up
Uluru (Ayres Rock)

Tomorrow we plan to watch the sun rise over Ayers Rock and then have rented bicycles and we are going to cycle all the way around it … bout 7 miles … thank goodness its flat!  More about that tomorrow.

Sunset Over Ayers Rock

Day 7 …. 540 kilometers …. Total so far … 2880 km.

21 Jun … Happy Summer … or Winter …

Just finished up with Uluru … Watched the Sun Rise behind it, rode a bike around it, walked into several of its chasms, drove around it, took a bunch of pictures.  A true fascinating piece of rock… and it is really BIG!

Sunrise behind Uluru
Uluru from the South
People Climbing Uluru .. we did not
A Pocket in the side of Ayers Rock
Vegetation around Ayers Rock
A Large slab of rock pealing off
(Left Side)
Uluru from the back … He eats people!
Nancy on her bike .. it was chilly!
A Croc in Rock?
North east side
A Brain
Front of Pealing Slab
Run Off (The Black streak)
An Overhang (Outside)
Inside the overhang
Nancy in the Overhang
This is Uluru .. Ayers Rock
Info
Bike Route
Another view from the back

Taking the rest of the day off … only drove 55 Kilometers today.  Tomorrow we leave heading east to the Start Highway, then South to Marlay.

Day 8 …. 55 Kilometers …. Total so far … 2935 km.

P.S.  If you click or double click on the pictures they will come up full screen … or at least bigger.

22 Jun- Marlay

Ok … We went right past Marlay and ended up in Coober Pedy … why? … cuz we got an early start, traffic was light and driving good, there is absolutely nothing at Marlay but an old filling station and a tavern, and we figured getting all day tomorrow to explore Coober Pedy is better than a half day after staying at Marlay … see, I told you we adjust as we find convenient.

Coober Pedy is a “one of A Kind of Place”.  Most of it is underground, there are holes and mounds for miles all around it, and people from all over the world live here.  The life of Coober Pedy is Opals … they were formed by volcanic action, sea rise, steam, and pressure a long, long time ago … now everyone comes here to mine them.  The story of the town is pretty cool so I would recommend Googling it and getting the entire story from someone who knows what they are talking about.  It has an interesting story and is an interesting place.  More about it tomorrow after we spend a day there.

Close Up
Red Earth
Opal Mining Mounds

Meanwhile, the day was long and boring but, that’s what the outback is like.  Saw several kangaroos and three Emus running around.  The terrain has become more sparse with fewer trees and just grass and brush.  It is still an exciting place to travel through and a wonderful place to see.

Lots of Nothing on a Red Road

Kangaroo Crossing

Interesting note.  When we left Darwin there were thousands of termite mounds along the way … everywhere.  Not as big as in Litchfield but maybe 3 to 5 feet all and a foot across. The landscape looked like a graveyard in many places.  Once we left Alice Springs the quit.  Haven’t seen any since.

More Mounds

Day 9 …. 725 Kilometers …. Total so far … 3660 km.

23 Jun- Coober Pedy

OMG!! … What a place!  Boring and plain on the surface, this town is an endless wonder.  Churches, homes, hotels, campgrounds … underground.  Vast complex tunnels of excavations hunting the elusive Opal.
Nancy and I went into town around 10 hoping to visit some of the exciting places.  This weekend is the Coober Pedy opal Festival.  We watched the fireworks from our camper last night and today, at noon, there was a parade.  Ever been to a real small town parade?  Well, that’s what this one was like … lots of local flavor and very involved citizens.  Nice but brief.  We were about to give up on seeing anything exciting until we walked into this Opal Shop that also advertised tours.  A gentleman who emigrated here from the Ukraine 18 years ago told us about the tour he would give us.  Four hours and we would see everything of interest in and around Coober Pedy … and we did.  He was right … we saw mines, underground homes, churches, bores, the Dog fence (Which is a 5000 Km fence that runs from Surfers Paradise on the west side of Australia, East all the way into Western Australia.  The Breakaway and an old Mad Max movie set.  I cannot begin to tell you all about it and encourage you once again to Google Coober Pedy.

Oh, did I mention yesterday we passed from The Northern Territory into one of Australia’s six states, South Australia.  Not much change .. just a different state.

Here are some of my favorite pictures of what we saw today.  Enjoy.

Inside an underground Catholic Church
Stained Glass window looking out from underground church
Festival Activities in Coober Pedy
Huge piling mound used for observation
Living Room in Underground Home
Bedroom
Coober Pedy .. above ground
Left over movie set from “Mad Max”
A Blower .. used to separate aggregate
Inside home of “Crocodile Harry”
An Opal Dig
Holes along the drillings (people fall in them frequently)
Salt & Pepper along the “Break Away”
The Dog Fence … runs 5000+ Kilometers
Bill & Nancy by the Dog Fence
A Drilling Rig
Inside The Lobby of an Underground Hotel
The “Green” on the fifth hole of the Coober Pety Golf Course that brags .. “Not a Blade of Grass”  The Green is oiled sand

There is so much more to Coober Pedy.  Our Guide was very knowledgeable and helpful.  As a miner he knew a lot of inside info regarding finding Opals and life in Coober Pedy.  A thoroughly enjoyable day.  Met several sets of traveling couples from Australia.  They have “Snow Birds” too but they travel North to escape the cold in the South!

Tomorrow we travel to Port Augusta on the Southern Ocean.  Never heard of it?  Check your geography!!

Day 10 …. 5 Kilometers …. Total so far … 3665 km.

24 Jun- Port Augusta

Port Augusta … End of the Stuart Highway … Southern edge of the Outback … beginning of the end.  Today we finished the last long leg of our journey and now we will spend the next three days going Northeast into the Flinders Range and then South to the Barossa Valley, then to Adelaide.  The Stuart Highway is 2834 kilometers long reaching from Darwin to Port Augusta.  A long, lonesome highway.  Although, Nancy and I were both surprised by how much traffic there is on it.  This time of the year its mostly Northbound carrying people from the cold South to the warm North.  Anyhow, this highway was one of the objectives of our trip and we made it.  The trip today from Coober Pedy was long and very unexciting.  The variation in the terrain was from some bushes to no bushes, to some bushes with a few trees, and back again.  We saw at least 30 Kangaroos that were killed along the road, Five or six Wallaby’s that were dead, a couple dead cows, about fifty herds of live sheep, and five or six live Emus.  As the sign at one roadhouse along the way said … Welcome to Pom Pom, Population; 25,00 sheep, 2,000,000,000 flies (approx), and 30 humans.  The flies in Australia are really bothersome, especially when it gets warm.  They swam all over you, won’t fly away when you wave at them, and are a general pain to live with.  Most of the dead Kangaroos, Wallaby’s, and cows are from the Truck Trains that run at night.  They only go about 60 miles per hour but don’t stop for anything and couldn’t avoid hitting an animal that jumps out in front of it.

Anyhow, here we are in Port Augusta, getting ready for bed after a long day of road travel.  No pictures today .. nothing particularly unique to photograph.  Port Augusta a scenic small city located on a Bay that protrudes up into the mainland from the Southern Ocean.  A very nice port town with boats and fishing etc.

Day 11 …. 560 Kilometers …. Total so far … 4225 km.

25 Jun- Flinders Range National Park

Ok … It’s the 25th of June but we are not in the Barossa Valley.  We have decided to change our last few days and more or less skip Adelaide and spend more time in the Flinders and the Barossa Valley.  We do want to see Adelaide but not in the Winter and not in a camper so we are going to save Adelaide for a future trip and only drive into town to turn in the camper, spend the night in the Airport Hotel, and fly out the morning of the 29th to Brisbane.

Today we slept in a little … till 7, had a couple of cups of coffee, and headed out for the Flinders Range and Flinders National Park and Wilpena Pound Campground in the park.  Wilpena Pound is a large bowl like area surrounded by mountains.  While it looks like a huge crater, it isn’t.  I think it looks more like a caldera from a volcano but they say it is not that either … it is just a very large natural bowl up in the mountains … and we are camping in it.  It is good to be out of the outback amongst trees, green, and mountains … but the  outback is interesting as well.

Anyhow, we had a great day here in the Flinders.  Took a hike out into the “Pound” following a stream then up a long climb to an overlook … about 8 kilometers all together.  Very interesting, very good exercise, and very beautiful.  Call a lot of huge Gum trees, lots of birds, and tonight, right by our campsite we had a couple of Kangaroos hanging out having supper.  Cool way to end the day.  The trail we walked had some pictures of wildlife that talked about them so I took pictures of them as well and will include them below.

Saw many Emus … some domestic, some wild.  They raise them for food.
Flinders Range
Didn’t see these .. they are nocturnal
Here we Are!!
Happy Hikers
Nancy’s favorite Gum tree … she is standing in front of it.
Some artists idea of what the Aboriginals looked like
Trail up to the upper viewing level
Bill’s favorite Gum Tree .. He is standing beside it!
A real Live kookaburra we saw sitting “In the Old Gum Tree”
Picture from a poster of a small marsupial called a  Dunnart
Dead trees washed in by floods
Picture from a poster of a “yellow Footed, ring tailed Wallaby”
Very Old Gum Tree
Picture from a Poster of a Galah Bird
Nancy Bonding with a different Kangaroo

Another Kangaroo

Picture from a poster of a “Golden Orb Weaver Spider” … Glad I never saw one!!

Day 12 …. 160 Kilometers today …. Total so far … 4385 km.

26 Jun – Barossa Valley

We awoke very early this morning to our little heat pump/Air Conditioner working overtime to heat the camper.  It was 25 degrees and the morning frost was upon us.  So we got up a little earlier than normal, had a couple of cups of coffee, cleaned up, dressed, and hit the road.  We were surprised to see groups of Kangaroos standing in fields along the road.  They had come out of the bush and the shade to stand in the open and be warmed by the sun.  An amazing sight as we saw more live Kangaroos this morning than all the rest of the trip to this point  There were also big groups of Emus.  I think it was partly because we were just a little earlier and the sun was nice and warm on such a chilly morning.  Anyway, we drove from Flinders Range National Park, Wilpina Campground and drove South to the Barossa Valley in South Australia.  The Barossa Valley is the states top wine producing region and one of the best in all of Australia.  Next time you look at wines thank S.A. is really South Australia, not South Africa.  Anyhow, the trip down was fairly uneventful but we did travel through some very impressive farmland.  Huge fields (500 – 1000 acres of Winter wheat now sprouting up.  Looked like huge lawns … much better than most of the golf courses we have seen.  Huge flocks of sheep and a few cattle.  The sheep are the Merino breed which produces the Merino wool that is sooo nice.  We got to the valley and found our campsite, took long hot showers, straightened up our gear, and relaxed for a while.  Tonight we had dinner downtown and are getting ready to tour the wine country tomorrow.  The vineyards are a familiar site after living in Germany and seeing all the vineyards there.

A Large truck hauling Sheep – four decks of sheep (puweee)
Kangaroos standing out in the field
A Kangaroo in the sun
A Bunch of Emu
A Green road with mountains on the horizon
A Herd of Sheep
Farm land with windmills in on the ridges

Day 13 …. 430 Kilometers today …. Total so far … 4815 km

27 Jun- Barossa Valley

We had a wonderful day exploring the Barossa Vally, visiting Open Cellars (Places where Vintors sell wine and provide sampling) out amongst all the vineyards and small towns.  Beautiful place with rolling hills, pastures, vineyards, and quaint old towns that have been here since 1840 or so and were settled by British and German immigrants trying to escape religious persecution.  Of course they brought their grape twigs and fruit tree seeds with them and that’s how all this got here.  Stopped a several Open Cellars.  Some are very impressively restored from the old “Grand” times and other new and modern.  We met a gentleman at dinner last night who turned out to be the owner of one of the more impressive vineyards.  He told us to stop by for lunch today so we did.  We shared a Cheeseboard with a couple glasses of his wine that we preferred. Very pleasant.  Later went to Jacobs Creek Winery (one of our favorite wines in the U.S.).  They have a very large, modern “Cellar” where you can sample, eat, or just stroll around.  Finished the day at a German bakery and had a Poppy Seed Strudel and a couple Lattes.

This was our last “Vacation” day of our adventure.  Tomorrow we will drive into Adelaide, turn in the camper, and take a taxi to our hotel to catch an early Friday morning flight from Adelaide to Brisbane.  There we will rent a car and drive South to Coomera to spend the next three weeks with our family.  We are staying at a nice little place in the country that we found on Airbnb.  I will add a couple pictures of it to the end of this blog when we get there.

Meanwhile, here are some pictures from the Barossa Valley … But before that.  Several people have asked if we ever see Koala.  Koalas are very hard to see and live only where there are Eucalyptus trees.  That is all they eat.  As we have been around mostly desert and Gum trees, no Koalas.  We have seen them on other trips and they are every bit as cute as you would think.  There is an Island on The Brisbane River that is a Koala refuge.  You can take a boat there and walk around amongst them, Kangaroos, Wallaby’s, and many other Australian animals.  Then of course there is the Australian Zoo located North of Brisbane.  It was made famous by Steve Irwin, the wild animal guy who tragically died of a string ray strike.  Crackie!!! Bet that Hurt.

Ancient Grape Vines
Inscription on a Memorial to the early Settlers
Green pastures, Old Trees, Green Grass
An Impressive Cellar
The Front
Nancy and Our Cheese Board
Jacobs Creek Cellar
Jacobs Creek … All dried up this time of year
Grapes as far as you can see
Another Old/Modern Cellar

Day 14 …. 85 Kilometers today …. Total so far … 4900 km

28/29 Jun- Depart Adelaide

Day 15 … Got up to a frosty morning, repacked all our clothes, cleaned up the camper, made sure everything was where it was supposed to be, and left The Barossa Valley going to Adelaide.  In Adelaide we first went to the hotel we would spend the night at and dropped off our baggage, then back to where we turned in the camper, then a taxi ride back to the hotel where we spent the rest of the day and evening.  We had a pleasant dinner at the hotel and reminisced about the past two weeks; what our favorite events were, would we do something like this again, etc, etc.  Our flight was scheduled to depart Adelaide for Brisbane at 6:10 A.M. so we had to get up again at O’Dark thirty to catch the shuttle to the airport.  As Murphy would have it, Brisbane was fogged in so we didn’t leave Adelaide until 9:00 A.M.  Consequently, we had a very long day for no good reason.  We made it to Brisbane, checked out our rental car and drove to Coomera on the Gold Coast where our family lives.  We checked into our rental home for the next three weeks … a very pleasant place out of the city.  Quiet, nice host and hostess, friendly dogs, and a wonderful view. (pictures below)

The Galley
Rest of the Galley
The Bedroom
The View
Patio/Entrance
Living Room
Our resident Kookaburra

That’s the rest of the story.  Thanks for traveling with us for these past couple weeks and I hope you enjoyed the blog.

Day 14 …. 208 Kilometers today …. Total  … 5108 km

Some final thoughts about the trip.  Using the camper we did cost us a little more than renting a car and staying in Hotels etc.  However, we always had a comfortable place to stay, we could fix lunch or cook dinner whenever we wished, we had the convenience of our own toilet and shower if we wanted it, and did not need to worry about reservations.  If we couldn’t get a spot in a campground there were many other palces we could just park … and many people did.  We found having the store, showers, toilets, and power at the campsites to be very handy and having them enhanced our experience.  Camping can be fun without being rugged or spartan … it depends what you are looking for.  I don’t think the cost of the camper greatly exceeded other ways of doing this trip, it did make it a unique experience.  I didn’t find the camper to be a bother due to its size and while I was not supposed to take it off road, we really didn’t need to … we saw most everything we wanted.  Like I stated on my cover page, this is the way we like to travel.

A Post Script on this Blog … we have decided “To do it again” and this time we will be camping from Darwin to Perth via Broome and other Northern points along Australia’s Northeast coast in May or June 2019.  Keep and eye out for it and we will see you then.