It was past 3pm by the time we had finished doing some last minute things around Midland
We ummed and arrred about leaving the next day because it was getting so late, but eventually we just did it.
Didn’t get far though. By the time we got to York it was starting to get dark so we pulled in to our first official stop, York Caravan Park
But it was still nice to be there. We rolled out our awning, set up our outdoor table, chairs, canvas etc. that night and were feeling good that everything was running smoothly. Cooked up some delicious late night hotdogs and slept well for our first night on the road.
The plan had been to head to Kalgoorlie
Hyden - 2 nights - 18/19 nov
Its hot. Real hot. The caravan park was deserted, the whole town was deserted. And it was stinking hot. Summer is not the ideal time to visit Wave Rock.
But we did have our pick of van sites and managed to park under what little shade there was. Our conversations started to centre around things like AC, our AC less caravan, big fans, and other methods of cooling. The park did have an icy cold pool which was a relief.
It didn’t cool down much over night and we were starting to struggle a little bit.
The next day I was reading through some brochures and saw that there was a place nearby called Lake Magic Lake Magic
A short drive and we arrived. It was magic. Someone had magically transformed the massive body of water in to a rocky, dry salt lake and the resort turned in to a few empty villas. Summer is not the ideal time to visit Wave Rock.
It was not all bad though. We visited
There are lots of placards about the rock formations and their history. I found these really interesting and it triggered my new found interest in history etc.
Did you know? If the age of planet Earth was squashed down to 1 year, then humans would have only showed up a few hours ago and dinosaurs came and went just a few days ago. Or something like that. So much has happened and we know so little.
Anyway, enough about dinosaurs, back to the trip.
We stuck it out for 2 night at Hyden. It was so hot that we changed our plan again and headed straight for the coast. Hopetoun, here we come.
Hopetoun - 3 nights - 20-22 nov
This is a beautiful little town and it was the first time we felt like we could settle for a few days. It was heaps cooler here and the van park was really nice. It’s a massive park set in the bushlands behind the sand dunes. We drove right to the end of the park to a section called Queensland Corner. It’s a less developed part of the park but we had it to ourselves and it was like bush camping, except we had power, water, toilets and showers.
Our van fitted perfectly under a canopy of trees. We felt at home here and stayed for 3 nights. Apart from short walks to the beach, we didn’t do much sight seeing. Just chilled in the van and started relaxing into our new mobile home. Lots of eating and sleeping.
Esperance - 1night - 23 nov
Finally, we saw what everyone was talking about. The colours on the beaches are like nowhere else.
Spent 1 night at a van park in Esperance and it was like being in Midland again. Way too busy and suburban. Too early to be seeing McDoanlds and Coles and we were starting to feel the effects of paying $30 - $40 per night to park in unimpressive little patches of dirt.
So it was decided, we would have a go at free or cheap camping. We drove east towards Cape Le Grand National Park, only to arrive at the entrance and asked to pay $12 entry fee plus $9 per person per night. WHAT THE ? Fair enough, they had all facilities in the park but it was not what we were after.
So, on we drove to Dunn Rocks, our first attempt at self sufficient camping and starting to feel a little anxious.
Dunn Rocks - 2 nights- 24/25 nov
We had been towing the van along some corrugated gravel tracks for a few kms. Everthing was holding together so we were feeling fairly calm. Then all of a sudden the gravel changes to soft white sand and we are dragging the van along a huge deserted beach. Starting to shit ourselves a bit now.
I had always hoped we would get to do the free camp thing, and the offroad thing, and the beach camping thing. But I didn’t expect to be doing them all on our first night out of a van park. We were excited but also shitting ourselves.
We didn’t go too far along the beach, jumped out and assessed our situation.
Waves smashing just metres in front of us, cliff faces to the right, endless white sand dunes to the left and thankfully, a camper trailer and 2 people hidden away in the dunes.
Instantly felt better and went to have a chat with the campers.
We told them we were virgin free campers and a little concerned about getting bogged, swept away by the ocean etc. They didn’t really help at first, telling us that the tide had been lapping at their tent door, and they had to get up in the middle of the night with a shovel and channel the ocean away from their little canvas tent. But, they didn’t seem to phased and said they were there to help if things went pear shaped.
So we drove a bit further up the beach and found a little gap in the dunes.
We stayed there for 2 nights and tried to enjoy the fact that we were ‘doing it.’
But, honestly, looking back, I was really shitting myself.
Starting to have withdrawals from the Big Smoke, asking myself if we’ve made the right decision, sitting on a beach wandering if we have enough fresh water, enough battery power, constantly watching the waves and the weather.
We survived, and I know, I’m a worry wart, but that’s just me. We've been on the road for over 5 weeks and I'm only just starting to not be a nutcase. Thank goodness for Terri, she has been holding the shit together, mostly.
So, we left Dunn Rocks after 2 nights of fine, survivable weather. Just as we started driving off, black clouds rolled in and rain started pelting down. Good timing !
Next stop? We didn’t know. Just heading for the border.
Fraser Range Station - 1 night - 26 nov
We drove for ages today. We were getting tired and looking for somewhere to stay, but the options get pretty sparse after Norseman. Eventually we came to small sign saying ‘Fraser Range Caravan Park – Oasis in the middle of nowhere.’ Or something like that.
We followed the signs down a gravel track with fairly low expectations. Eventually, we pulled in to one of the nicest parks we have been to. Truly an oasis.
It’s a small, simple park set in a tiny little valley which is part of a massive sheep station, which is part of an even more massive eucalypt forest. The biggest on the planet apparently.
There was kangaroos, wallabies, emus. Didn’t see any sheep though.
We only spent one night because we were keen to get over the border and across the nullabor.
Cocklebiddy - 1 night - 27 nov
Cocklebiddy is more of a roadhouse/petrol station/gravel patch than a town but there is not much to pick from out that way. We pulled in late and left early. Terri cooked and froze all of our veges in preparation for crossing the border, but we later realized that we could drive straight across the border without being checked. Its not for another 500kms, Ceduna, that anyone checks for fruit and veg, and even then it was a pretty half assed inspection. No worries though, we eat like kings no matter what the situation, thanks to Terri. I am the man and I take care of the man business, as you will see in the next section.
Eucla - 1 night - 28 nov
We were glad to be finally crossing this section of the country but there really isn’t much going on out there. Some beautiful countryside and an awful lot of green and trees for an area called ‘treeless plain.’ These few days consisted of driving, eating and attempting to sleep. We seemed to be taking turns a t having a decent sleep as we adjust to sleeping in our ‘smaller than average’ bed.
The sleep deprivation was starting to take its toll as it became obvious that I had no brains.
We pulled in to Eucla, another Roadhouse with an expensive gravel patch. Soon after arriving, Terri tells me that there is no water coming out of the pump tap from our water tanks. Shit ! There is no water out this way, apart from what you bring with you.
I immediately think the worst. The bloody water tanks have leaked. Great ! So I'm tapping the tanks and they sound hollow. I'm sure the tanks are empty. So I get under the van and start removing the brackets that hold the tanks under the van, so I can find the leak and fix it.
I'm unscrewing and then BANG! 60kgs of water tank slams to the ground, just cm’s from my face and 60 Litres of precious water start pissing out of the overflow hole.
Oh, the tanks aren’t empty, they are totally full and now emptying on to the gravel below. SHIT !
To cut a long, angry hour short – I rolled around in gravel mud trying save the water and get the tank back on – I cut up my hands on bracket and gravel – Terri is giving me a look of worry/confusion/anger/amazement - I lost most of those 60 Litres but managed to save the 60 Liters in the second tank – I wandered why there was no water at the tap - I went in to the van, unscrewed the tap, looked at it, screwed it back on and it worked – I realised that I should have done that bit first – I realized that I am an idiot and I shouldn’t touch or do anything until I get my shit together.
Apart from that little diddly, Eucla was pretty uneventful. We headed off in the morning, crossed the border, and ended up in Fowlers Bay for some rest and recovery.
Fowlers Bay - 3 nights - 29 nov - 1 dec
This was our first stop in SA. It was recommended to us by the folk at Fraser Range. It is at the end of 20kms of rough dirt track. Before we turned off the bitumen, we stopped in an aboriginal community, Nundroo, for some fuel and to see if they had any mince and bread, which we were craving.
In the middle of nowhere, diesel is still cheaper than Perth. They had a small freezer with some meat packs and some old looking French bread sticks. The meat didn’t look to inviting and on closer inspection, the old, frozen French sticks were actually kangaroo tails, hair and all.
After 20km of bouncing along rough gravel, and wandering where the hell we were going, we pulled in to Fowlers Bay. A tiny little shanty town, which exists because of the whaling industry back in the day.
Back in the day, a guy, named Eyre, left Fowlers Bay and started heading north in search of a massive sea in the middle of the continent. He soon started struggling with the harsh landscape and encountered lots of aboriginals who told him he was crazy and there was no such sea, just sand. So back to Fowlers he went.
Then he decided to grab a couple of aboriginals and ride camels all the way to Albany. And that was what started transport routes between the west and the east. Or something like that. Crazy MoFo.
We did manage to do some 4wding through the massive dunes which tower over the town. I enjoyed it, but Terri was not so enthusiastic. It was her first proper sand dune experience and her faith in my ability to do anything was dwindling after Eucla. The Patrol got through pretty easily and has certainly redeemed itself since Coral Bay 2009. It hasn’t missed a beat all the way. I hug it regularly.
then, we were starting to run low on veges and craving some red meat, so off we went towards civilization. We passed through the fruit and vege inspection in Ceduna and headed straight for the supermarket. I think it was a Foodland, and it was the cheapest shop we have done since 1986. Not really, but it was cheap, real cheap. And the quality of fresh food was above anything in Perth supermarkets. We were excited.
Streaky Bay - 4 nights - 2 - 5 dec
This town had been recommended to us by lots of people. We stayed at the Foreshore Tourist Park and scored a really good site. Under a few trees, and about 10 metres from the water. Streaky is a massive bay and the waters are very calm, mostly. We had a family of pelicans which hung around, waiting for someone to clean their fish. We had one attempt at fishing off the pier nearby, but no luck. We hadn’t actually bought any real bait yet, we were using plastic bait which just doesn’t cut it. Before we got any real bait, the weather turned sour and stayed that way for ages.
Streaky is a good sized town. It has all the basics but is not too big or busy. There is a restaurant, called M’ocean which we treated ourselves to on the Saturday night. As we were getting ready, the weather was eerily calm. Then as we are all dressed up and ready to walk to the restaurant, this massive wall of wind came out of nowhere and started smashing the van park. Dust and things were flying everywhere. We had to pack all our outside stuff up, and shove it in to the van or car, whilst getting whipped by hi speed beach sand and gravel.
The rain started too, so we drove instead. By the time we were in the restaurant, looking over the bay, it was a full on storm. The food was pretty good, oysters, scallops, fish, prawns, stingray, abalone. Yum ! This was a treat. We cant afford to dine out like that too often, but luckily Terri has been knocking up dishes of equal quality (and better) in our van kitchen every night. There is an abundance of fresh seafood around this area. Lucky!
The bad weather continued, the next night we had hail. And for the next 3 days it was constant rain, thunder and lightning. We spent most our time in beautiful Streaky Bay sitting in our van, watching True Blood and getting a bit of cabin fever.
Sherlinga Beach - 2 nights - 6/7 dec
The crappy weather paused for a few hours so we packed up and continued on our way down the west coast of the Eyre Peninsula. Sherlinga is at the end of about 10kms of gravel. A pretty simple campground with no facilities except some smelly long drop toilets, and bins. There is a long beach and cliffs just over the dunes, but once again, we didn’t spend much time out there because the weather was still terrible. More thunder and lightning for 2 more days. And it was real close and loud.
We hit the road after 2 wet nights and headed south towards Port Lincoln. While we were driving, we decided to flip a coin. Heads- we stay at Coffin Bay van park, Tails- we stay at Farm Beach campground (less facilities but probably cheaper.)
Terri flipped and it was Tails-Farm Beach. Terri wasn’t happy with this result and changed it to best out of 3. Heads and Heads again. Coffin Bay wins, or does it. We decided to revolt against to coin flip and go to Farm Beach. That’s just how we roll.
Farm Beach - 9 dec till now
Well, the coin flip revolt was well worth it. We drove along 10kms of gravel, pulled in to an almost empty campground, and we have called this place home for the last 3 weeks.
Below is a bit that I wrote a couple of days after arriving
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Been staying at a place called Farm Beach for last couple of days. Simple little camp ground about 100 metres back from the ocean.
Its got a dirty, unmaintained toilet block with dunny and shower. Terri has been holding herself back from going to it with a bottle of bleach.
The shower isn’t cold, its icy! And there are crabs in the urinal. (the crustaceans, not the STI. )
But despite all of that, and the asshole who runs his generator 7am till 10pm, its actually still really nice. Surrounded by little beaches, bays, and fish (apparently)
There is no power here so we are giving the car batteries a good run.
We drove to Port Lincoln today, to charge the batteries and for a little sight seeing.
It’s the biggest town we have seen since Esperence and we ended up finding it a bit stressful. Tight and busy roads full of angry, funny looking people. I think we saw the old lady out of Goonies.
A memorable moment for me was when I heard part of a conversation between an old man and his reluctant female friend, “Yep, if you’ve got any sores or anything, just rub some vegemite in to it………” How strange.
So we were pretty keen to get back to our little campground away from everyone. We are preferring these little isolated places more than the built up towns. They are much more peaceful and heaps cheaper. $5 per night, instead of $30+ for a busy park full of grey nomads.
Its raining again, as it has been for the last week. We have spent a lot of time in the van, hiding away from the thunder and lightning. Thankfully, we had three seasons of True Blood (Terri is obsessed and wants to work at Merlottes), lots of good food to eat, and a decent supply of wine and Bacardi.
We plan on catching many large fish tomorrow. We now have some real bait and some helpful advice from the locals. That is about as far as our plan goes at the moment.
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So, weve been here for a couple of weeks now, and we are comfortable and at home. Decided to stay for Christmas and New Years. We have phone, internet reception here, and a large shopping town, port Lincoln, 30 mins away.
There are so many beautiful places to visit nearby, the other campers have been really nice and the locals are kind and helpful.
There is a free range pig farm/antiqueshop/café up the road. So we had oysters Kilpatrick all grown from within 5kms from our van.
Judy and Ken are an older couple, doing the big lap, who adopted us for a few days, gave us lots of advice and assured us that we were doing the right thing. They have left now but occasionally ring us with reports of good camps further along.
Kevin and Denise are another couple who live in Lincoln but camp here 2 months per year. They have had to go back to Lincoln for business and have left their van and boat here at Farm Beach. They have asked us to watch their van while they are gone and have been so helpful in return. We are using their waeco as a spare fridge, drinking their home brew beer /ginger beer. They have lent us their $2000 honda generator and battery charger. All this and we only met them for a couple of days. I've learnt the value of introducing myself with a big smile, patting peoples dogs and having a little chat. They have even invited us to Lincoln for Christmas.
Another couple is Dan and Mel. Newly weds, about our age, doing the big lap for their honey moon. We all get along well and enjoy each other as drinking partners. Hopefully, they will stay for the festive season too.
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So ,we are still here at Farm Beach. Our newly wed friends didn’t hang around but we have met some more amazing people.
On Monday we went fishing, but once again, having no luck. A couple of guys showed up for a chat, introduced themselves (Craig and Softy), and took us on a Coffin Bay adventure for the next 3 days.
To begin with, they told us we were fishing in a very strange spot and offered to show us some local fishing spots. Next thing we know, we are following their patrol down dirt tracks and getting a guided tour via our UHF radio. (Craig works as a tour guide and is a natural.) Still, no fish caught but Craig gave us a beautiful snapper out of his freezer, which we promptly thawed out and baked . YUM!
Tuesday we joined them in a 5 car 4wd convoy through Coffin Bay National Park. Driving through massive sand dunes, cruising along endless beaches and fishing all day. Craig and I ended up in the water, up to our necks, casting into a massive school of salmon. No success, just bent hooks, but what an experience!!
Wednesday we ended up at Frenchmans Bay for some snorkelling with Craig, Softy and family. This was no ordinary snorkel. We had to scale a steep cliff face to get to the beach and take chisels/screwdrivers with us in to the water. We were abalone hunting! And they were everywhere. 30 minutes later, we had our bag limit.
Thursday and Friday was spent catching up on washing, cleaning etc and limping around with sore legs from all the beach walking and cockle finding. ( stand on the beach and do the twist till you sink and hit cockles – good bait!)
Saturday was Christmas and today is Boxing Day. Still eating like kings ( thanks Terri) and loving life.
I know, most these stories focus on mishaps and my occasional stupidity. Its not all like that, but I figure these stories are more entertaining than telling you about how beautiful a sunset was. We are actually coping really well. constantly laughing at ourselves, and getting through all of our challenges.
We are loving life. Improving our bodies, expanding our minds and getting in touch with our souls.
Living the cliché. But it’s a good cliché.
Merry Christmas everyone, and a happy 2011.
Love Paul n Terri.
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