ON THE WALLABY WITH RON & WENDY HOLLAND MAY 24TH TO AUGUST 25TH 2000 A summary of our big trip with Denis "DJ" & Pam "Buggalugs"McGurgan towing our caravans "around the block". SHEPPARTON -MILDURA - PORT AUGUSTA - THE RED CENTRE - KATHERINE - THE KIMBERLEY & THE GIBB RIVER ROAD - BROOME - CAPE LEVEQUE - THE PILBARA - EXMOUTH - MONKEY MIA - CORAL BAY - CARNARVON - KALBARRI - GERALDTON - THE PINNACLES - PERTH - KALGOOLIE - THE NULLABOR - STREAKY BAY- PORT PIRIE - CLARE VALLEY & THE RIVERLAND. The following summary of our trip has been prepared from notes made both before and after our trip. Please don't take the comments as infallible - things change and people are different. Prices and comments relate to those things that we actually experienced and may have changed since our return. As everyone has different ideas on what they like please treat these notes as indicators of what you might expect. It is meant to be a summary which will provide other travellers with an information source or if you like " a rough plan of attack" Please feel free to contact us. We hope you have as much fun as we did. Ron & Wendy Holland 28 Leithen St Shepparton Victoria 3630 Australia Mobile 0419 213508 +61 3 0582 1508 home Note: All petrol and LPG prices in $ per litre and all prices pre-GST up to July 1, 2000. Day 1 Departing 10 am from Shepparton we travelled via Echuca to Kerang for lunch. Swan Hill was our first fuel stop. Arrived at Merbein 4 pm for overnight with relatives just west of Merbein. Prices on departure from Shepparton LPG 38.5c/litre Petrol 78.9/litre Day 2 Departed Merbein 8 am - leave fruit, vegetables and honey as there is a fruit fly road block at Yamba about 10 km east from Renmark. Refuelled at Renmark, LPG 45.9c. Nice spot for a stopover - three caravan parks on the river, so take your pick or go on to Berri (20 km). Continued on to Morgan and lunch by the river, ferry and caravan park. Struck swarms of locusts about 5 km east of Morgan but being pre-warned we had shade cloth to put over the radiators. Made a helluva mess but came off easily when softened by overnight dew. Refuelled at Burra, an old mining town with lots of old buildings. Camped on roadside in parking bay about 20 km east of Oororoo. Day 3 Short trip into Port August via Wilmington and Horrocks Pass into howling wind and driving rain - turned out to be the worst fuel economy of the whole trip - just 173 km on full tank of gas. Stayed at Big 4 just before the Sturt Highway junction. Advised to lock everything as the local indigenous causing trouble by reclaiming anything not tied down. No trouble though and is a good clean park with everything spot on. DJ had to get 12-volt system to van wired - can't trust new car salesmen. Do a tour of the Outback Information centre - it's very informative. Day 4/5 422 km to Coober Pedy and the Oasis Big 4. Side tracked to have a look at Woomera and its rocket/bomb display, only a few kms off the main drag. Refuelled at Pimba, one of the most expensive for fuel and food - petrol $1.18, LPG 59.2c (and that's before GST!). Otherwise there is sweet bugger-all to see but saltbush and rocks for most of this stretch. Spent the next day doing the sights - certainly different - check out the underground church, golf course and take a trip out to the Dog Fence and The Breakaways at dusk. Go in your own vehicle as the bus cost $28/head is not worth the tea and scones and you can see it just as easy yourself. The colours are magnificent. The Mad Max movies and Pricilla, Queen of the Dessert, were filmed here. Day 6 Not much to see or stop for over next 400 km. Refuelled at Marla at lunch and then on to wayside stop right for overnight camp right on the SA/NT border. Plenty of spots and lots of camps. You need to collect a bit of wood along the way, as there is none here. Day 7 Refuelled at Eridunda which has a its own park, then headed west to Ayers Rock. Stayed at Yatala CP - dearest park on the entire trip at $26/night. Facilities just average. Sites either dust or mud depending on recent weather - we got plasticine mud. Showers cool due to broken tap using all hot water otherwise ok and clean. Fuel cost $1.25, LPG 62.5c. "Elder's permit for Uluru NP $15 each. The big yonnie (Ayres Rock) is big and red but didn't grab me much but you have to see it. We couldn't climb the rock as the track was closed due to wind. The Olgas about 45 km from park entrance were more interesting in both colour and the fact that you can do a walk through them. Valley of the Winds (well-named) walk was invigorating and the rock colours change from red to mauve at dusk. Keep your eye out for dingos - we saw one at the Olgas. Give thought to staying at Curtain Springs about 85 km east of Uluru - much cheaper and if you intend to go to Kings Canyon it could save you a bit of time and fuel. Day 8 208 km to Kings Creek Station ($10/head) good campsite with own fire and wood supplied - showers a bit rural but clean. 35 km to Kings Canyon and a better option than the Kings Canyon resort at $26/night. Fuel at Kings Canyon $1.25 but its 250 km back to Eridunda so you need to top up at least. The canyon walk is well worth the effort - easy walk on he canyon floor or about 3-4 hours around the rim. Take the anti-clockwise route up top as the climb up is easier. Still pretty good climb but lots of very young kids make it. Beautiful spot - leaves the big yonnie for dead. Day 9/12 Left early - 418 km to Alice Springs and the McDonnell Ranges Big 4 by 1.30 pm - one of the very best we have stayed at anywhere. 4 nights $68.80. The place is spotless, sites big and green, entertainment laid on - bloody good spot. Stayed here 6 days. Very cold at night - 2-3 frosty degrees first few mornings rising to 22 degrees by mid arvo. Alice is a good spot to take day trips from. We did the Stanley Chasm and all West McDonnell gorges - took a full day and needed all of it to see them. You must be at Stanley Chasm at noon for best effect - this was the only one they charged to get in to ($6 head). Colours of the rocks are captivating. Serpentine Gorge and Ellery Big Hole where the rocks are brilliant reds is worth a photo or two. Devote a full day for a visit to Desert Park. Take all the lecture tours - about every half hour and take your camera for the Birds of Prey. Bloody amazing and the talks are very informative. Don't miss the theatrette show. There's a fair bit to see and the shopping centre mall is pretty good. Lots of souvenir shops. Top fish and chips feed opposite (north side) the Tourist Info Centre. Visit to the Casino and "Knob Hill" golf course drive worth an hour or two. Day 13 Hit the road north with stops at Wycliffe Wells - the UFO capital of the world. Big 4 caravan park here looked ok. Fuel $1.19, LPG 52c. 26 km to Devils Marbles. Need to be early for a camping spot there - at least 3 pm. Not much there - rocks, wind and rubbish in parking area. We stayed on the side of the road about 25 km south of Tennant Creek. Just a fireplace and one tree, blew a gale all night but it was cheap! Again collect wood along the way. Had a dingo spent part of night by our fire. Day 14 Smoko at Renner Springs and lunch at Elliot which looks like the locals have just about reclaimed it. Not a place to stay long in and we kept trucking to Daly Waters pub and the cheapest caravan park of the trip at $10/night. That's about fair value for the facilities but the pub and feed were good - showers hot. Certainly different - a really unique outback museum. Check out the rocking chairs and watch out for horses at the bar. A pleasant stopover! Day 15 Depart 9.15 am. Called in to the Larimah pub for a beer and breakfast - another icon of the north with its Pink Panther and unique wall paper - the highest bar in NT - worth an hour or so. Short day as Mataranka is just 168 km from Daly Waters arriving 11.30 am. Stay at the Mataranka Homestead park and enjoy a swim in the hot pool. Crystal clean and about 20 degrees C - very relaxing. Good park $19/night but the washing machine sounds like it will take off. Very friendly mob around us so we had a good break from the road. Day 16/18 Short trip (112 km) to Katherine and the Low Level Big 4 park. $17/night - Another bloody good park - plenty of grass and lawns, clean facilities and a yippy I-O-Ki-a called Tommy Maxwell providing the nightly entertainment. Very friendly mob who enjoyed "Catholic hours" particularly those that went for five hours! Visited Katherine Gorge and did the boat tour at $37/head - bit steep but again you have to do it to see the gorges. Day trip to Nitmiluk NP and another to Edith Falls was a good day out - easy walk to the falls - a good bludge day. Day 19 Headed southwest towards WA. Trip goes through Gregory National Park with spectacular ramparts of red and black rock. Quite a few spots to camp. We stayed at the Victoria River boat ramp at Big Horse Creek about 20 km west of Timber Creek. Plenty of big "Crocagators" and a bloody huge muddy river. Fresh water tank and honesty box $4/night. Probably worth some extra time at Timber Creek and do some 4WDing into the Gregory National Park. Timber Creek petrol $1.18, LPG 62.1c. Day 20/24 About 330 km trip into Kununurra. Road block at border - no honey, nuts, fruit, spuds, old fruit containers/bags, but pumpkin ok. Move clocks back 1 « hours - takes a while to get used to so switch to NT time - "not today, not tomorrow, not Tuesday, not Thursday, not t'ever!" Stayed at Ivanhoe Village Big 4 - another top park - clean and plenty of shade - $16.40/night. They encourage you to wash your car on site - It keeps the grass green. We stayed here about a week with day trips to Wyndham (100 km), Argyle Dam (about 80 km) and a two-hour flight over the Bungles Bungles, Lake Argyle and the Argyle Diamond mine ($170/head). Mirrima NP on the outskirts and the Zebra Rock shop worth a look. Good feed at the main pub and fair shopping centre. The Melon Farm has good cheap fresh vegies and melons 3 for $2 were delicious. Gibb River Road to El Questro is rough as guts. Day 25/26 On the road again westwards - camped at wayside stop at Spring Creek then on via Halls Creek staying at Mary Pool 106 km west of Halls Creek where over 80 vans were camped - good, clean, refreshing water. Wall of China just south of Hall Gap is different. Day 27/8 About 100 km to Fitzroy Crossing - stay at Fitzroy Lodge CP $19/night - just before the bridge - good park behind resort. They reckon the meal at the Crossing Inn is the best in the Kimberley. Day/boat trip to Geike Gorge is a must. Very spectacular at look out for the freshies and the brolgas. Day 29/30 About three hours to Derby. Now in real Boab country - massive one at roadside stop on right about 70 km out. Stayed at the only park in town $19/night - pretty reasonable without being anything special. Huge tides (13-15m) here - good fishing off the wharf for fish and mud crabs. We took a flight over Buccaneer Archipelago, Cockatoo Island Resort and the Horizontal Waterfall. Worth every penny of the $120 each cost - about two hours - brilliant sights. Day 31/34 The Gibb River Road a must see on any trip through the Kimberley. We left Derby 8 am for Tunnel Creek NP. Walk through Tunnel Creek in water up to three feet deep in near darkness (flat torch) was an experience. Make sure you have good batteries and a change of clothes - about 800 metres underground. Tough climb over rocks at the entrance. Stayed overnight at Windjana Gorge camping area $6/head The gorge is spectacular and teeming with freshwater crocs. Definitely no swimming! Have a stubby for the ranger and you'll get a good load of firewood. Next day headed out Gibb River Road as far as Mt Barnett Station, about 350 km from Derby. Petrol $1.25. We decided not to stay at Mt Barnett Station as it was very crowded and you had long swim across river to get to Manning Falls due to high river level. Camped overnight at March Fly Creek. Leonard River is another good camping spot just near the turnoff to Windjana and Tunnel Creek. We were lucky to strike the Gibb River Road just behind the graders. Road was as smooth as a baby's bum - first 140 km are bitumen out from Derby. From the Kunnunurra end the Durack and Pentecost Rivers were both in flood and too deep for us. Road north to Bells Gorge was closed to all traffic - reopened about a month later. Tracks into Adcock Gorge and Leonard Gorge were both very rough and rocky. We turned back on both due to flood water and condition of the road. Galvin Gorge just west of Mt Barnett Roadhouse was a beautiful spot with an easy walk to the falls. Small picnic area but camping no longer allowed due to past abuse. Day 35/43 Left Derby 7.45 am arriving Broome 11.30 am. Booked into Broome CP - $18/night about 4 km north of main town. Best of an ordinary lot as far as shade/site size. Dogs allowed under control. Cable Beach parks like deserts - shady sites reserved for locals/advanced bookings. Roebuck Bay CP looked the best of the in-town parks but very small crowed sites. Cable Beach is beautiful - sunsets spectacular - resort first class. Visit the wharf (about 1.5 km long and 20 m high). Fair bit to see and do. Fishing good to patchy. Visited Dinosaur's Footprints, Malcolm Douglas's Croc Farm, Willy Creek Pearl Farm, Bar Creek, Coconut Wells, and Quondong. Go to the Footy on Saturdays - the whole league plays on the same oval day and night every week. Visit the Broome Markets on nominated Sundays - there's a wide range of crafts etc. Take a drive along Cable Beach and check out the "white pointers' - awesome! Great sunsets here too - no wonder they designed that flag red, yellow, and black! Day 44/46 Booked two nights $13/head/night for camp site at Middle Lagoon near Cape Leveque - about 6 hours on very rough 4WD road, very sandy and many washaways. Beautiful clear water - fishing ok but lots of small stuff. Need to book about a week in advance. Limited facilities - but that's the attraction. Must have the most remote public phone box in Australia. Back to Broome and clean up for next stanza. Day 46/49 Left Broome 8.15 am arrived Eighty Mile Beach CP 1.30 pm after stop at Sandfire Roadhouse. Real oasis with palm trees, shade and a huge beach with millions of shells. Good fishing and shell collecting gets everyone in. Very relaxing place and well worth a few days "R & R". A huge range of coloured and different types of shells to collect. Many visitors make annual trips and travel up to 30 km each way on 4W bikes collecting them. Lots of crafty people sell their wares. Video packed it in and had to wait until Perth for repairs. Very friendly mob here. Big tides go out 150 yards here. Day 50/51 About 4 hours into Port Hedland - need to book ahead for Big 4 park. We missed out and stayed at South Hedland CP $19.50/night. Park was ok and located near the shopping centre. Port Hedland is a really old, dirty mining town - trip through BHP ore crushing/port is only just worth doing. ($8 a head but you can't get out of the bus). Day 52/58 Another 3 « hour drive to Karratha - 2 Big 4's both good - we stayed at Pilbura CP $108/week on the south side of the hill. No TV reception as hill blocks signal. Don't waste time staying at Roebourne or Port Samson - little joints with glossy brochures that don't tell the real story. Great feed of fresh fish & chips at Moby Dicks at Port Samson though. Roeburn museum worth an hours visit on the way home. Great fishing around here. Dampier wharf is very good. Hearson's Cove good spot to witness "Staircase to the moon" and fair whiting fishing. Good spot for bait on low tide - crabs, whitebait, and "hardiheads". Plenty of mud crabs in the river north of the town and plenty of fish. Need to watch the tides on the mudflats or you can get stranded. DJ & Pam went on long rough trip along the development road out to Tom Price and Karajini NP which they reckoned was beautiful. Returned covered in red dirt - a bloody mess but worth the experience - about 600 km round trip and a permit is required to use the road - check locally for times/location of permit office. We went fishing with a couple who were on the site next to us. Good people those friendly Poms - Bruce & Judith. Day 59/63 About 4 hour drive to Exmouth staying at Lighthouse CP $22/night about 15 km northwest of town. Best of the parks. Sandy sites right below historic lighthouse. Start of Ningaloo Reef that is magnificent, pristine and colourful. Only a few yards off the beach - spend the day snorkelling, fishing, bludging. Very interesting place - old air force base - great fishing off local wharfs, particularly Learmouth. Make sure you visit Shothole Canyon and do both drives (around the canyon rim and though canyon floor) - simply amazing that you can't find either Ningaloo or Shothole in the brochures - both superb, unspoilt places. Torquoise Beach is another beautiful spot with the reef just 10 feet off the beach. Make sure you spend some time here. We didn't get out to Yardi Creek about 30 km south on the reef side but is reputed to be great spot for fishing and camping. The Exmouth area was one of my favourite spots on the entire trip - the scenery is amazing, beaches pristine, and reef simply amazing. Day 64/65 Two and a half hour drive to Coral Bay $22/ night- very touristy spot with brilliant reef snorkelling, charter fishing very cheap and productive, and a wide range of fish. The whole town is a big caravan park/pub/shopping centre - very few houses. Charter tours/flights everywhere. Worth a couple of days if only for the beach/reef. Day 64/65 Two and a half hour drive to Carnarvon. Plenty of good parks here. Absolutely poured down on our arrival - about 2 inches in just over half an hour! Stayed at Big 4 ($16.30/night) on right next to Caltex 24 hour servo. Ok but roads flooded quickly. Lots of good fresh fruit and veggie stalls at orchard gates north of town along the Gasgoyne. Bananas everywhere. Visit 1 mile wharf/train museum. Town old but fair shopping centre, nice gardens on foreshore. DJ got real cheap fresh fish at the wharf - 3-4 kg snapper - $10 - beautiful! Day 68/69 Long drive to Denham took about 7 hours with stops at Wooramel and Overlander Roadhouses. There are a few places to camp along the way. Top Tourist park is the pick here (near the marina but booked out) but the other park, Shark Bay at $16.50 night, is very clean, huge sandy sites, and has good facilities including great pool/BBQ area. Monkey Mia is about 30 km away and you need an elders permit to get in here. You can spend the day doing the walks, boat trips, dolphin feed and info centre. We took a trip on the big Cat - a 66- foot catamaran which takes you on Dolphin or Dugong tours. Cost us $38 head for just over an hour - was reasonable. There was no camping at Monkey Mia or at least we didn't see it! Bought more cheap fresh fish at Denham wharf. There's not much in Denham - a quite fishing village that is the base for trips around the Shark Bay World Heritage National Park area. Electric power comes from three huge 100-foot high wind generators. Worth a few days R&R. Day 70/73 Arrived Kalbarri about 1.30 after about 4-hour drive. Several good parks - we stayed Tudor Big 4 park just north of the pub - $70/4 nights. One of the best spots we struck - great beach - good fishing or so they told us! Must sees are Z Gorge, Murchison River NP, Natures Window, Rainbow Jungle Parrot Breeding centre (terrific) and the coastal gorges. Allow a good week here if you can - a really top spot. Day 74/76 Two hour drive to Geraldton. Beautiful big city of about 25000. Centre of very rich area. Hundreds of $1 million boats, as it is the Cray fishing capital of WA. Major sea terminal for wheat, minerals, and tourism. Many old heritage buildings and museums. Old Gaol crafts, coastal history/maritime museum is a must. Extensive shopping centre, good parks, big port area and plenty of interesting drives. Big 4 ($15.15 night) near the Lighthouse south of town - very small, tight sites. Plenty of shade though. Average toilet block - go for the ensuite sites. Rain/showers here dampened our enthusiasm for what is otherwise good place with lots to see and do. Day 77 Three and a half hour drive to Cervantes CP $17.20/night. Stopped at Jurien Bay on the way - new (6months old) car battery packed up and waited an hour for RAC. Looked like good wharf fishing on wharf with outfall from fish co-op. Both Cervantes and Jurien are little villages with CP's on beach. Half-hour drive out to The Pinnacles - sandstone carved by wind leaves rocks like headstones in sandy desert. Thousands of them from 6" to 10' high - you must see these amazing rock formations. Day 78/82 Three hours drive to Perth International Big 4 on the east side about 15 km from the city in Forestville. Bus at front gate and public transport in Perth is first class - rail, bus or ferry. Big shopping centre short walk 1 km east. As good as any park we have ever stayed in. Spotless amenities, big grassy sites, wide roads, manicured gardens - highly recommend. The more time you have the more you'll see in Perth. We spent only 5 days and will return. Kings Park is a beautiful spot. Underwater World at Hilary's Harbour is a must. Very easy place to get around - good freeway system. Day 83 Left Perth 8.45 am arrived Merridin by lunchtime. Not much here to see - old country town. Park here is right on road/rail so truck and train noise is horrendous at night. Might be worth putting in a real big day (another 4 « hours to make Kalgoorlie). Only stopped to catch up with my niece who works in Walcatchem, about 60 km away. Day 84/85 Arrived Kalgoorlie Big 4 ($18). Serviced car and toured town, Two Up school, Hay Street sights, big shopping area and many old historic buildings. Museum and Joe Gutnick's Open Cut mine for the 1 pm blast is a must. Biggest hole in the ground I've ever seen. Head out next day for Norseman and visit a nephew and family for an hour. Day 86/87/89 Start the Nullabor trip - miles of sweet buggar-all except for trees, saltbush, straight roads and crows. Stopped overnight rest area about 60 km west of Caiguna. The cheapest Petrol is at Mundrabilla and Penong at $1.17 - rest around $1.25 plus. Camped again 80 km east of Eucla. Make sure you pick up wood along the way as the rest area is barren of firewood but have plenty of shady tea tree. Spent a few pleasant nights with a Canberra couple we first met in Perth. Good people Bruce & Nancy! After miles of very tedious driving - there is S.B.A. to see but mulga, straight roads and saltbush. We visited Head of the Bight and caught up with the whale watching - dozens of them in close to walkways and viewing areas. Yet another "elders" permit required - $8 each - but at least they are putting the money back into the area. Finally arrived Streaky Bay late on third day of our trip across the Nullabor. Day 90 Lay day at Streaky Bay - could catch fish but very windy - good community pub for a feed at night. Met the father of the winning 2000 Melbourne Cup jockey Kevin McEvoy and won dough on his tip next day. Very friendly mob here. Day 91 Left DJ & Pam as time running out for us. They headed south to Port Lincoln while we head to Port Pirie. Long day at the wheel with 75 km wind straight up the clacker. 550 km - used just 12 litres/100 km or almost 23 mpg - amazing towing the van. Made good time. Widespread gales throughout the state caused havoc in places. Day 92 Wind stronger again - gale warnings but wind is right behind us. Took hilly route to Clare to check out some family history. Beautiful town - wineries everywhere - must go back again, but in better weather. Kept on trucking with the wind to Renmark via Berri - got over 480 km on 64 litres with about 100 km through hills - blow Bertha blow! I'd hate to have been travelling west. Stayed at Top Tourist park right on the Paringa Bridge - average park - plenty of shade - pick your own site. OK for overnight though but the Berri CP is a better option for a longer stay. Day 93/94 Arrive Len & Rae's place (Wendy's sister) at lunchtime after late start. Stock up on vino from local winery and settle in for big night. Girls don't handle the pace - raining - put another log on the fire! Girls pretty seedy next morning - go shopping. More vino at night. Could handle a bit more of this. Day 95 On the road by 9 am. Bought a dozen good cheap wines at $3.85 at Irymple - Kidman Way Chardonnay one-litre bottles. Easy drive home with a few stops at Nyah, Swan Hill, and Cohuna. Home in Shepparton by 4 pm. Deo gratius! SUMMARY We travelled 18,234 km including all the side day trips (about 6,000 km) averaging around 130 km/day with the van in tow. Park fees $1,424. fuel $2,490, car service/repairs $245. Grog, ice, "Elders" permits, boat tours, photos/films, air flights, phone, tucker, presents, bait, fishing charters, video repair ($230) and other assorted miscellaneous expenses cost a total of $3,988. Would have been much less if we had an Engel freezer as ice was as high as $4.50 a small block. A chainsaw would have saved some blisters but she who must be obeyed said we wouldn't need one (Bullenschiesenhiser!). Take one if you can, particularly if you intend bush camping. All up we spent a total $8,147 or about $86 per day for everything. We expected it would be about $100 a day before we left so we did well without scrimping on anything. We saw just about everything we set out to before we left and discovered many other things we had not planned. If we had to do it again we would leave four weeks earlier to allow sufficient time to go south of Perth and to Darwin whilst you are that close to both as it is a hell of a long way to go back again - but we will!