Drokpa Journal

Dates Traveled: March-July 2001

The Road from Perth

We left Perth on March 5. The other half of ‘we’ is Harriet - an English woman who also quit her job and wanted to see Oz. We decided to pool our resources - she had a car, and I had the ability to drive a left-hand-drive car on the right side of the road, which isn’t of much use when Australians drive right-hand-drive cars on the left side of the road. Doh! In short, I once again brought nothing of value to the table. However, I have become frighteningly adequate at driving over here. For those of you back in the States I suggest you lock yourself in your homes when I return, as the streets could be mayhem with some idiot doing 110 m.p.h. (as opposed to k.p.h.) down the wrong side of the road!

Cape la Grande & Across the Nullarbor

Back to March 5 - we left Perth and only went a short distance that day - to Porongurup National Park. Did a short hike in the region to get into travel mode. From there we headed to Albany and Esperance. Esperance was nice down on the southern coast, but the real jewel down there was Cape La Grande Park outside of town. The park contains beautiful white sandy beaches, with water that reminds one of the Caribbean - in color, if not in temperature. We spent a few days in the area soaking up the sun and hiking. From there we were faced with the daunting task of crossing the Nullarbor….Null (no) arbor (trees)…..Null (nothing) arbor (a bore!) Really isn’t much along the way to hold one’s interest, so we simply drove…and drove…and drove. During one stretch a sign indicated that we would be traveling 150 kms (90 miles) of straight road. This was welcome news in a car lacking power steering, and would have been more welcome with cruise control. Only reason to stay conscious was to watch for the camels, emus, kangaroos, etc. that are listed on the roadside signs and wander free in the area. I was hoping to see camels, but never did see any in the wild. The ‘towns’ along the Nullarbor are typically just a gas station/caravan park/backpacker hotel/cafe/store. For instance - Balladonia…population 10. There were a few significant towns along the way, as we stayed in Eucla and Ceduna, but for two days our main focus was to simply get across the Nullarbor.

Port Augusta Area

We next visited Port Augusta, and it ended up becoming our ‘base’ in the area as we returned several times from various side trips. One of the side trips was a hike in the Remarkable National Park, which was basically a warmup for a subsequent hike. We next spent a few nights in Wilpena Pound in Flinders National Park. There were several hikes in the region, but we decided to tackle the highest point - St. Mary’s Peak. The hike was great, with some scrambling near the summit to a nice view. The hike took about 7 1/2 hours. While hiking I was intrigued by the large spider webs spanning the trails. Some webs were 15-20′ across - presumably for capturing low-flying aircraft or kangaroos! I could only picture the Far Side cartoon where the spiders are spinning a web across a child’s slide, with the caption, “If we pull this off, we’ll eat like kings”.

Unfortunately, the day of the hike preceded the evening where we encountered a kangaroo with suicidal tendencies. We were driving back to another little town when he decided he wanted to become our hood ornament…..we obliged. There was minimal damage to the car - a broken headlight, leak in the air conditioner, and structural damage to the bumper and front end which had to be bent back into shape before a new headlight would fit. The ‘roo wasn’t quite as lucky. Seems several people followed our lead that night, as there were more carcasses on the road when we returned to camp.

While in the Flinders we also visited a few of the aboriginal caves containing rock paintings, which were interesting.

Coober Pedy

We next took our most ambitious side trip - 1000+ kms (600 miles) round trip to Coober Pedy. The road seemed like one long all-you-can-eat buffet for the many magpies and wedge-tailed hawks, as there was plenty of road-kill to go around. Coober Pedy itself has to be seen to be believed. It is an opal mining community, with no greenery in the area. Seems nothing grows in this dry, dusty area, but the flies seem to find a way to survive - we counted 30+ on a person at any one time. The heat is also quite oppressive, which is why most of the people have taken to living and working in shops below the ground in ‘buildings’ they hollow out of the earth. Some can be quite elaborate, while others are pretty basic. We camped in an underground campground one night just for the experience. We also drove out to an area used in the Mad Max movies, as well as visiting the Dog Fence. The Dog Fence is a wire fence 5600 kms (about 3400 miles) in length built to keep the dingos north and out of sheep country. Pretty ambitious undertaking. I think the Great Wall of China is simply a dog fence on a more grand scale……

Burra, Tanunda, & Angaston

From Coober Pedy it was back to Port Augusta for a few nights before moving to Burra - an old copper mining town. Was interesting to walk through the historic buildings and to see the mine workings, and the Cornish pasties tasted great! Next stop was Tanunda - a German village in the Barossa Valley. Barossa Valley is known for it’s wine, but I was more pleased because I finally found a decent beer - a Schofferhofer from Germany. Mmmmmmmm. We next stopped in Angaston to visit Lego Man. Yes, those Legos. This guy has every Lego building block kit ever produced - working trains, cars, etc. He was quite a character.

Adelaide, Hahndorf, & Murray Bridge

Adelaide was our first stop in a decent sized city since leaving Perth. We wandered town quite a bit and checked out the museum, markets, coastal town of Glenelg, etc. However, much of our time in Adelaide was spent in downpours of rain, so we were happy to get back on the road. Just southeast of Adelaide was another great little German town - Hahndorf. We spent a day drinking beer, eating brats, visiting German bakeries, playing mini-golf, and wandering through the many candy/jam/mustard/chutney shops before moving on. Really liked Hahndorf, though it’s extremely touristy. We were lucky enough to be there early in the morning before most of the buses arrived, so had it to ourselves for awhile. We next stopped in Murray Bridge where we were hoping to rent a houseboat for a night. Unfortunately, everything was booked, so we simply camped there a night, wandered the town, and then moved on to Mt. Gambier.

Mt. Gambier, Naracoorte, & Halls Gap

Mt. Gambier offered some nice hikes in/around the volcanic craters of the region, and was a nice little town near the southern coast. From Mt. Gambier we went to Naracoorte and some World Heritage Site caves. Believe we wandered through 3 caves. None were really spectacular as far as stalactites/stalagmites, but the Heritage listing was based on Fossil Cave - a cave in which many animals fell into and couldn’t escape. The bones found in the cave cover a wide variety of animals - some of which are now extinct. Halls Gap was the next stopover, a little town which provides access to the Grampians Range. There were some fantastic hikes in the area, so we wandered along a few of those, as well as visiting some of the aboriginal caves, waterfalls, etc. We had kangaroos wandering through our campsite, so hopefully I’ve got some decent pictures. I still find it strange to spook kangaroos, wallabies, and emus while hiking rather than deer, elk, etc. Grampians were quite impressive.

Great Ocean Road

We next headed south to Portland and then to Port Campbell and Lorne along Great Ocean Road. Scenery along the road is spectacular, with many rock formations out in the ocean - very picturesque. Did a fair number of short hikes in the region to various lookouts, blow holes, arches, etc.

Melbourne

Melbourne was the next stop and big city along the way. Again, we simply wandered about a bit and enjoyed the many green parks, museum, river, etc. Highlight was probably a ‘footy’ game at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. I’d seen Australian Rules Football on t.v. and enjoyed the sport, so thought it would be perfect to see at the MCG. We were there with about 46000 people. Definitely enjoyed it, though wish I knew more about the game. Looks like a game I’d have enjoyed playing growing up.

Tasmania - Ulverstone

From Melbourne we caught the rather expensive ferry across to Tasmania, where we spent the next month. I had been looking forward to Tasmania and was not disappointed in the least. It is a place I could return to quite easily, as it has much to offer - history, mountains, rivers/coast/lakes, etc. The ferry landed in Devonport, but we drove immediately to Ulverstone. I was able to catch up with a guy I’d met in Mexico last year, so it was nice to exchange stories over a few beers. I was able to do the same - as well as go on a midnight boat ride, with another guy when I reached Hobart. It was good to see them both again.

Wynyard, Stanley, Strahan, & Queenstown

From Ulverstone we went to Wynyard and Stanley - both up on the north coast, before tackling the winding roads down the West coast to Strahan. In Strahan we took a boat cruise on the river, visited an old island penal colony, and wandered briefly through the rainforest. From Strahan we climbed around some huge sand dunes, hiked to the highest waterfall in Tasmania (Montezuma Falls), and drove some scenic roads to town of Queenstown - which can’t be described as scenic. It was a huge open-pit copper mining community, so there is very little left growing in the region. However, having gone to college in Butte with it’s open-pit copper mine I felt right at home. Queenstown had a unique charm to it - even if it was hard on the eyes.

Hobart & Overland Track Hike

From Queenstown we made our way south to Hobart - at 200,000 people the largest city on the island. It has a great feel to it, and we enjoyed relaxing in the city. Next, Harriet drove me north to Cradle Mountain so I could begin a hike of the Overland Track. I had been looking forward to the hike for quite awhile, and wasn’t disappointed. I was able to summit some of the main peaks in the region (Cradle Mountain, and Mt. Ossa - the highest in Tasmania at 1617 meters [around 5200′]), hiked the fantastic and varied trail during the day, and camped/talked with others at night. There were several people at the camps - sometimes 30+, as I did the hike over Easter. However, during the day one could pace themself so as to avoid everyone. The trail is very well maintained - though still quite muddy. It’s definitely a hike I would recommend, as the scenery is magnificent. With some of the side trips I ended up covering about 75 kms (45 miles) from Friday to Monday, and was fortunate with dry weather the entire time (it snowed the day before I started and after I finished). In all it was a fantastic trip. I hope to return to Tasmania and do some of the other, more remote, hikes in the future.

Port Arthur

After the hike Harriet picked me up in Lake St. Clair and we returned to Hobart for a few more days, seeing some of the sites in the area. On our way out of town we drove up Mt. Wellington - the mountain overlooking Hobart. View was superb in 360 degrees. Next stop was Port Arthur - the penal colony on the peninsula. The history of the place was interesting, as was wandering through the restored buildings. I visited a week before the 5 year anniversary of the shooting that occurred at Port Arthur, where a lone gunman simply walked into the cafe and grounds and started shooting people - eventually killing 35 innocent people. Events like that make you think when you travel - wrong place, wrong time….

Wineglass Bay

On the peninsula we also visited a place where they were feeding a few Tasmanian devils, and took a short hike along the coast to view arches, etc. Driving north we next visited Coles Bay in Freycinet Park. We took a nice 4 hour hike along one beach, through the middle to the impressive Wineglass Bay, and then up to a lookout overseeing the area. Wineglass Bay is postcard perfect, with white sand and beautiful water.

Bicheno & St. Helens

Bicheno was the next stop on the East coast, with St. Helens to follow. East coast of Tasi with it’s beautiful beaches is completely different from the more rugged West. From St. Helens we hiked around an old tin mining area with it’s abandoned town, checked out a local waterfall, and visited the beautiful beaches at the Bay of Fires. Another highlight was the ‘pub in the paddock’, where we were able to feed the local pig a beer. Rumor has it the most beer the pig drank in one day was 79 full-strength bottles. I felt cheap only buying it 2 watered-down bottles. Just a tip - if you thought some dogs drool quite a bit, you haven’t seen anything until you’ve fed a pig a bottle of beer! I needed a bath.

Derby & Launceston

From St. Helens it was a beautiful drive to Derby and it’s mining museum, and then on to Launceston. We spent a few days in the area wandering the town and Cataract Gorge, which is a gorge with some easy hiking trails just outside of the town center. Like most Tasmanian towns, Launceston had a good feel to it. Since we couldn’t get the return ferry to Melbourne on the day we wanted, we returned to the north coast to spend nights in Ulverstone, Stanley, and then Port Sorell.

I really enjoyed Tasmania, with her friendly people, the accessibility of everything on the small island, the variety of water/mountainous activities, and the feel of the cities. I could easily live there.

Back on the Mainland - Wilson’s Promontory

After catching the ferry back to Melbourne, we headed to Wilson’s Promontory in the southern part of Victoria. Really enjoyed Wilson’s Prom, as there were some beautiful beaches and some nice hikes in the region. Spent a few days doing hikes around Tidal River, and then did an overnight hike to Sealers Cove. Time spent in the area was a nice reintroduction to the mainland.

Bairnsdale & Bright

We then progressed to Bairnsdale and along Great Alpine Road, through the alps and ski resorts, to the small town of Bright. The population of Bright is only about 2000, but it was a fantastic little place - well situated to take advantage of the beautiful alpine region. We were there during the Fall Festival when all the leaves were changing, so it was pretty spectacular. While in the area we did some horse riding, bike riding, hiking, and I took a flight in a Microlight - essentially a hang glider with a motor. It was fantastic, and something I’m going to look into in more detail when I get back to the States permanently, as I’d love to become qualified to fly one. One other thing that Bright had in better quality than anywhere else we visited was homemade gelato - especially the amaretto flavor. We felt it our duty to test the ice-cream everywhere - and I do mean everywhere, so trust me when I say that Bright is the place to go!

Canberra

Next stop, the capital of Oz - Canberra. Dominant feature of the city is Lake Burley Griffin, a man-made lake with trails all around for walking, running, and biking. We spent one day visiting the Australian War Memorial, which was incredible - the best I’ve seen anywhere. There were several floors devoted to all things relating to the various wars - pictures, dioramas, videos, models, etc., and was extremely well presented - not to mention free. While in Canberra we also toured the new parliament house, which has one unique feature - the roof was actually grassed over to preserve the shape of the original hill into which the building was built. Therefore, you can walk up a grassy slope to the top and ‘walk’ on the politicians - a nice change.

Sydney

From the true capital it was onto the city most think of as the capital - Sydney. I really enjoyed Sydney, with it’s many large parks/gardens, and beautiful setting on the harbor. I found the city clean and vibrant, and there is always something magical about seeing in person an icon of a country…something you see in video or pictures that is immediately recognizable - in this case the opera house. I’ll admit to taking far too many pictures of the opera house and harbor bridge. I did a lot of wandering around Sydney - the botanical gardens, circular quay, the ‘rocks’, harbor bridge, Chinese gardens, museum, Darling Harbor, and ferry to Manly. Had to laugh at what was painted on the roads near the curbs in the CBD - ‘look right’ or ‘look left’, depending on the location. Must have been so as to minimize the number of Olympic visitors that experienced the outback road encounter from the kangaroo’s perspective!

Blue Mountains

We next headed into the Blue Mountains west of Sydney and the town of Katoomba. The namesake bluish haze is a result of the fine mist of oil given off by the eucalyptus trees. We did some short hikes in the region - both along the top and down into the gorge, to see falls and the Three Sisters rock formation. We also spent a few nights in Blackheath and enjoyed the lookout from Govetts Leap, but the highlights of the area were the Jenolan caves. To begin with the drive in was fun, as it is a very narrow, winding road which makes you question whether or not you’re on the correct road. Just when you decide that you’re hopelessly lost you reach the valley floor and drive through the Grand Archway (essentially a natural arch through the mountain) and into a small community of a few buildings. There are 9 ’show’ caves in the area - all branching off the Grand Archway. We took a tour of one of the caves and found it quite spectacular, though there were far too many people in the group. The following day I returned to the caves to do some ‘adventure’ caving. We donned coveralls, hard hats, battery packs, and climbing harness’ before heading out. We rapelled into a sink hole, removed our harness, and then entered the cave proper. The next 2 hours were spent crawling over, under, and around cave formations, and through spaces that appeared far too small to accept my aforementioned ice-cream girth. In fact, I became momentarily stuck in the first obstacle, but was finally able to wriggle myself free and continue. It was great fun, and something I’d love to do more of in the future.

Surfers Paradise

Surfers Paradise was next, via Port Macquarie and a brief stop in Byron Bay. Surfers Paradise sounds like a peaceful, isolated, idyllic hamlet that is a secret to all but a select few……wrong! The Gold Coast is a 35 km (21 mile) stretch of beach that contains many small communities - of which Surfers is one. The entire area is nothing but high rise buildings, souvenir shops, and other outlets to cater to tourists. Pretty tacky. We spent some time wandering the town, and relaxing on the beach, but decided that most of our time in the area would be spent doing rides…..amusement park rides. We spent quite a bit of time at Dreamworld, a Disneyland-style amusement park that had a couple rides of note. One had you seated with about 10 others in a car on a flat track. The car then shot horizontally along the track before abruptly going vertical to a height of 35+ stories and reaching speeds of 160 kph (just under 100 mph), before reversing back to the starting point. Evidently the force against the body was 4 G’s. Next was a 39 story freefall - again reaching great speeds and a force of 4.5 G’s. While at Dreamworld we also checked out the tiger area, which was impressive - 6 or 8 Bengal tigers of all colors, including white, performing various tasks. Dreamworld was also the location for Big Brother, Australia, so we watched some of the numerous cameras and editing of the show. In fact, we also saw one of the housemates - Gordon, who had been voted out the previous night. He was being shown the scope of the show and was receiving the VIP treatment at Dreamworld. The last ride we took - and by far the best, was actually taken back in Surfers Paradise….the Slingshot. Two people are strapped into seats within a metal sphere, which is attached to two vertical towers - one on each side. You are facing skyward, and then shot into the air - just like a slingshot. The cage rockets skyward, reaches its apex, and then freefalls back towards earth, before once again bouncing skyward. This up and down ride continues for several minutes, while at the same time the cage is free to rotate, meaning that sometimes you are facing skyward, other times you are looking directly at the ground. The maximum height was about 25 stories, the speed was 160 kph (100 mph), and the force was 6 G’s……excellent. Had to do that one a few times.

Brisbane & Rainbow Beach

From Surfers we headed to the capital of Queensland - Brisbane, where we spent a few days wandering around and taking in the sites. Next stop was Rainbow Beach, a small community of 1000 from which we could access Fraser Island. Rainbow Beach was much quieter than the traditional jumping-off point of Hervey Bay, with it’s population of 40,000, and was very enjoyable. We spent one morning on a canoe trip in the area, and also spent time exploring a huge sand blow on the outskirts of town.

Fraser Island

After pricing everything, we decided to simply take a two day tour to Fraser Island, as it was about the same price as renting a four-wheel drive for a few days, and much less hassle. Therefore, the following day we jumped on a big bus with oversized tires, caught a ferry across to the island, and then cruised the sites in comfort. As Fraser Island is the world’s largest sand island, all driving is done on sand - either along the main ‘highway’ (the East coast beach) or along a confusing network of roads in the interior that are holdovers from the days of logging. Fraser Island is a World Heritage Site and quite enjoyable. There are impressive forests and some beautiful freshwater lakes. Now, even those of you in the States are probably familiar with the line, ‘A dingo ate my baby’. Well, it actually happens. A few weeks before we arrived a 9 year old boy was killed by dingoes on Fraser Island, so you can understand why the topic was on everyone’s lips. We were relaxing at one of the lakes - Lake Wabby, one afternoon when a lone dingo nonchalantly wandered out of the woods. Though it wasn’t really looking our direction, it continually moved closer and closer to one guy who happened to be seated - evidently mistaking the guy for a child. It was only when the dingo approached within 10-15 feet that the man stood, causing the dingo to flinch and wander off in a different direction in search of smaller prey.

The Car Goes Flambe in Townsville

From Fraser Island we spent one more night in Rainbow Beach before heading to Townsville, via Rockhampton and Mackay. As always, we found the caravan park and quickly pitched our tent and put sleeping pads and bags inside, while leaving most of our gear in the locked car. We then ate a quick lunch of sandwiches before walking across the road to the beach. We were only gone for about 1 1/2 hours, but we returned to a car which had the hood opened and the drivers side window smashed. Now a person from Louisiana would say the engine was done Cajun style - blackened. Anybody else in the world would call it burnt to a crisp! A quick chat with the guys in the adjacent site provided the story. Evidently the car started smoking 5-10 minutes after we left. A small fire ensued, which the guys tried to control with a hand extinguisher - to no avail. It was time for the big guns, so they called the fire department and two trucks arrived to hose everything down. After the window was smashed to open the hood, the guys took most of our belongings from the car and threw them in the tent. There was some smoke/water damage, but things weren’t nearly as bad as they could have been. From the sounds of it we missed quite a show, as the entire caravan park turned out to watch the engine go flambe! Needless to say, our self-sufficient days of wandering aimlessly around Australia had come to an end. The final odometer reading was 298,642 kms (we were looking forward to the car turning 300,000 kms), which meant we had driven 16,378 kms (10,177 miles). Rest of trip would be covered via long bus journeys, with one flight to the center of the country.

Cairns & Great Barrier Reef

Our first taste of bus travel was up the coast to Cairns. As with most people in town, we were there for the Great Barrier Reef, and there was no shortage of tours on offer. We finally decided on a snorkeling trip, so boarded a boat with 16 others for a day of fun. The first stop was a small, sandy island which was a bird refuge. We did some snorkeling of the reef just off the island, and it was amazing. The colors of both the coral and marine life were incredible - highly recommended. From there we progressed farther offshore - about 55 kms (33 miles) to the true outer reef for some more snorkeling. Again, it was unbelievable. We unfortunately had some rough seas with which to contend, so we were tossed around a bit while snorkeling, but the sun poked through enough times to truly illuminate the coral. The water was incredibly clear, so it was easy to distinguish features of the reef and it’s inhabitants - even at considerable depth. As I mentioned, the seas were a bit rough, so heading back to Cairns we were tossed around quite a bit on the boat - getting a ride that would have cost a fair bit of money at an amusement park. In all, it was an amazing day - one not to be missed if you’re in the area.

Atherton Tablelands & Uluru (Ayers Rock)

After spending a couple of days west of Cairns on the Atherton tablelands sightseeing, canoeing, biking, and hiking (and removing numerous tiny leeches from our bodies), we caught our only flights of the trip. It turned out to be cheaper to fly to the center than it was to take a bus - and far less boring, so we hit the air. I flew to Yulara, the small community near Ayers Rock (Uluru to the aborigines), while Harriet - who had seen the rock previously, flew to Alice Springs, where I would catch up with her. Though I had been looking forward to the rock - another icon of the country, I was even more impressed than I imagined I’d be. To first see it from the air was impressive, as the surrounding area was completely flat for miles in all directions, except for one other outcrop of rocks in the area - the Olgas (Kata Tjuta). Then, to see it up close was even more impressive - it had character. Rather than a smooth, consistent surface, the rock had many small ridges, pock marks, erosional channels, pools, overhangs, caves, and aboriginal art. It was truly magical. I spent the following day climbing to the summit, as well as walking the 10 kms (6 miles) around the base. It was spectacular. After investigating Uluru I drove the 55 kms (33 miles) to Kata Tjuta and did a few of the hikes through there - covering about 10 kms (6 miles). Again, it was amazing - highly recommended. Though there were several tourists in the Uluru/Kata Tjuta area, I was always able to hike at a pace so as to avoid others, and it was an incredible feeling to be among the two sets of outcrops. It is no wonder that the area is sacred to the aborigines, as it does touch a person.

Kings Canyon & Alice Springs

From the rock I took the bus to Kings Canyon and spent the following morning hiking the area. It was nice, but not quite what I’d expected, so I was a bit disappointed. The next stop on the bus journey was Alice Springs, where I’d rejoin with Harriet. We spent a day bumming around town before catching the 15 hour overnight bus to Katherine.

Katherine Gorge

From the town of Katherine we caught a bus out to Katherine Gorge - which is actually a system of 13 gorges. We opted to rent single canoes for a half day, which meant we’d be able to paddle through two of the gorges. It was a beautiful day for a paddle, and quite relaxing - aside from the ‘portage’ of the set of rapids between the two gorges. It wasn’t pretty, but we got the canoes up into the second gorge. With the knowledge gained (basically how NOT to attempt the portage) the return journey was much easier.

Darwin, Adelaide River Jumping Crocs, & Litchfield Park

Next stop on the Greyhound express - Darwin, the capital of the Northern Territory. We spent our second night in town at the market (held every Thursday and Sunday) down by the beach. There were many booths selling food, drink, souvenirs, and there was live entertainment and a beautiful sunset. A nice way to spend the evening. We next opted for a day tour out to Litchfield park, with a morning stop for the ‘jumping crocodiles’ of Adelaide River. We boarded a boat and cruised the river. When a croc was spotted - which was often, a woman would bait a long pole with some pork. She’d then slap the water with the treat, enticing the croc to approach the boat, and then to elevate itself out of the water to snatch the food. Let me tell you, it’s impressive to look down the open mouth of a crocodile. Litchfield park offered some beautiful waterfalls and ample opportunity to swim in their plunge pools. The other big attraction was the termite mounds - some of them up to 15 feet tall.

Kakadu Park

The next side trip from Darwin was into Kakadu National Park, where we stayed at the small community of Cooinda for a couple of nights. We checked out the wonderful aboriginal art sites at Ubirr and Nourlangie Rock, and visited the Warradjan Aboriginal Cultural Center, which was the best we’d seen in Australia. We took a 2 hour sunset boat trip on the Yellow Waters wetland, which provided fantastic views of birds, crocodiles, and the surrounding vegetation - a trip well worth the money. We also spent a day on a 4WD tour to Jim Jim and Twin Falls. From the parking area, Jim Jim is accessible via a 1 km walking trail, but Twin Falls can only be reached via the river. Therefore, we were provided with boogie boards and swim fins to aid our trip to/from the Falls. We were told that the waters contain ‘freshies’ - freshwater crocodiles, which generally avoid humans. However, there have been ’salties’ - the more ferocious saltwater crocodiles, removed from the area in the past. Certainly puts a person’s senses on full alert.

Kununurra & Bungle Bungles

After Darwin we made our way to Kununurra in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. We spent a few days in the area, relaxing and doing some hikes just outside of town. We then jumped in a 5 passenger plane for a flight over Lake Argyle and into the Bungle Bungle National Park, where we traded our plane for a two-passenger helicopter - sans doors, for a flight over the actual Bungle Bungle rock formations. The area has several canyons, but the main attractions are the beehive-shaped formations of rock, which are layered in alternating colors of orange and black. It was a fantastic way to experience these unique formations, though a bit expensive, as we also returned to Kununurra via the small plane.

Broome & Coral Bay

From Kununurra it was a 14 1/2 hour bus journey to Broome, where we relaxed for a day on the beautiful Cable Beach. One of the best beaches we’d seen in Australia, with it’s turquoise water and classic white sand. Next, it was an 11 hour trip to Karratha, where we stopped simply to break the journey. We then made a brief stop in Exmouth before heading south to stay in Coral Bay. We jumped on a boat for a whale watching trip and were rewarded with the sight of 10 humpback whales - usually in groups of two, and within 20-50 meters/yards of the boat. They were impressive to watch. We also snorkeled the outer part of Ningaloo Reef from the boat, and then snorkeled from the beaches at Coral Bay after the boat returned.

Monkey Mia

Enjoyed Coral Bay, but it was time to jump back on the bus and head 8 hours to Monkey Mia. The main drawcard is a ‘feeding’ in the morning, when everybody troops down to the water’s edge, hoping a few dolphins will come into the beach. While we were there, a couple females arrived, and they were hand-fed fish by some of the tourists. However, the dolphins were more fun to watch late in the day when fewer tourists were around, and they were simply playing in the bay. From Monkey Mia we took a day tour to Shell Beach, which is a beach composed entirely of tiny seashells - no sand, and was 5-10 meters/yards deep in places. In other places the shells have been compacted/cemented together, so in the past blocks were cut for use as building material.

Kalbarri

If it’s Thursday, then this must be Kalbarri, the next-to-last stop on the trip. Kalbarri was a small town with a great feel - really enjoyed the place. We checked out a parrot-breeding center just outside of town, which was impressive. The next day we did some hiking and canoeing, and the following day we were on horses. Kalbarri has a little something for everybody.

Pinnacles

From Kalbarri it was on to Cervantes - the gateway to the Pinnacles. These pillars of various shapes/sizes - some of them 15 feet in height, were left standing after the surrounding sand was blown away. To walk through this landscape - this forest of pillars, is a bizarre, somewhat surreal experience unlike any other.

Back to Perth

After checking out the Pinnacles it was a short bus ride back to our starting point - Perth. Perth is a fantastic city - one of my favorites in Australia, as it is large enough (approximately 1.2 million people), but still maintains a small-town feel. Our arrival back in the capital of Western Australia signaled the completion of our Australian adventure. I don’t think one can ever say they’ve ‘done’ Australia - certainly not in 4 1/2 months. What we can say is that, by completing the entire loop - and seeing Tasmania, we were in each of the States and have an idea what each region of the country has to offer. As expected in such an immense country, the diversity is amazing. Traveling by car was good in that it gave us an appreciation for the vast distances involved in Australia. However, to do the country justice one really needs a 4WD vehicle in order to explore the true outback…..maybe next time.

As for general observations, Australian cities have many beautiful, green parks, with numerous picnic tables and benches. Each of the larger cities seems to have the same ingredients - the river, botanical gardens, pedestrian-only malls in the city center, etc. The roads are more like a State/County road back in the States. Most roads are two-lane roads - very rarely becoming 4 lane, and only near the major cities. It can be a bit nerve-wracking to be on a ‘major’ road - one lane of traffic going each way, and encounter some of the large road trains (semi trucks). Definitely best to give them a wide berth, as they have a hard time staying within the narrow lanes at times.

We primarily camped in caravan parks (campgrounds), as that was the cheapest option. The price for the site - for two people, ranged from US$5-US$10 a night, or only $2.50-$5 per person. Definitely cheaper than I expected.

Australia Photos

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