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Here is our Newsletter #23!
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Things went almost smoothly after our last newsletter.
Read all about the past weeks of our trip here.
As usual, you will find one of our favorite photos as a full resolution download below.
Have fun!
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The Big Rock
We were able to pick up Willie with a fixed axle after two days in Alice Springs. We drove back the 300 km we had driven before and took the road towards one of (or the one?) Australia's greatest sights - Uluru (Ayers Rock). It is a big, red rock. But it is so much more. It is so beautiful, impressive, mysterious. And we could have spent hours just watching it from the distance. Luckily, we had found a pretty nice camp spot to do so for a few days.
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The Great Central Road
The Great Central Road, an unpaved but mostly well maintained road through the outback, brought us towards Perth, Western Australia's capital. So we crossed another state border in the middle of nowhere and arrived back in civilization. We had planned to buy new tires for Willie in Perth, anyway. And as luck would have it, one tire burst during the drive on the Great Central Road...
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Out of the Outback
We liked Perth from the first moment. Not only did we find new tires for a reasonable price but the atmosphere was very relaxed, everywhere. We explored the city center and the beach area. One day, we spent in Fremantle. A lively harbor town close to Perth with a lot of cafes, bars and colonial buildings.
During our time in the area, we met Bernd, a German from near our hometown who has lived in Australia for many years. And Rolanda and Marc, fellow overlanders from New Zealand. It was great to share stories and a cup of coffee.
We visited an Aussie Rules Football match in the Optus Stadium in Perth. It was quite some fun, and the atmosphere was great when the West Coast Eagles (Perth's team) won. We have to say, that we liked it better than the Cricket match we had watched in Sydney. But maybe just because we hadn't really gotten the Cricket rules.
Before we left, we tested Perth's nightlife. We had a short night and needed a big pizza the next day. Enough said... :)
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Along the West Coast
When we had left Perth, we followed the West Coast. We stopped at some interesting sights along the road. The Pinnacles are sandstone pillars. Thousands of them appear just in the middle of the dessert.
Another place worth stopping was the Pink Lake. Algae in the salt water produce beta carotene. And probably every girl likes to have a picture there.
The Hamelin Pool, close to the small town of Denham, inhabits stromatolites. A million year old form of living that produces oxygen which is said to be co-responsible for our world as it is today. It was quite impressive there.
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The westernmost point, and the most private beach
Although, we are not hunting these places like other do (we forgot to take a proper picture in Tasmania on Australia's southernmost point...), we took the sandy 4x4 track to Steep Point. This marks mainland Australia's westernmost point. We camped there for one night. It was one of the best coincidences that we met a station (farm) manager the next day when we camped (in fact illegally) on his ground. But he was just worried that we might shoot his goats and invited us to stay "as long as we like" on the other side of his property where there are nicer beaches.
We found probably one of the best camp spots on our trip so far. We had a beach in a small bay just for us. There were no people around. The weather was perfect, the waters crystal clear with nice fishes, and some dolphins in the distance from time to time. We extended our stay from one to seven nights and just did what you do on a lonely beach. Reading books, practicing the ukulele, going for a swim or a paddle with the surf board, having a camp fire, and sleeping in.
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Exploring the marine life
Just offshore in northern Western Australia lies the "Ningaloo Reef". It is a bigass reef and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It can be seen just from the shore. So we took the opportunity to discover the marine life. We hired snorkeling gear twice, first in Coral Bay, second time in the Cape Range National Park at the amazing Turquoise Bay. The highlight was the day out in the reef, though. We had booked a double dive and spent a great day on the boat with nice people, and of course under water. We saw many fishes, big, colorful ones and swarms of little ones. A shark swam by but wasn't interested in us.
The night after the dives, we camped with Günther and Rashida. A Swiss couple who has driven from Switzerland to Australia for the past two years. It was a fun evening with tasty surprise steaks, good wine and stories shared around a camp fire.
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Overlanding costs analyzed: A full break down!
One of the fundamental questions during your overland journey planning stages is budget. It all comes down to money and time, in the... Read more>>
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Overlanding costs analyzed: The cheapest countries!
In the first part of this post series, we have revealed our average daily expenses and on what we usually spend it. In this post we... Read more>>
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Amazing Karijini National Park
We had heard a lot about the Karijini National Park, some 600 km inland from the Ningaloo Reef. And we can confirm: It is amazing! There are gorges to explore, water holes to swim in, hiking trails with views and narrow paths along the clear streams. It is popular but not overcrowded. It really was another highlight!
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Back to the coast
On the way back to the coast, this time in the Northwest, we stopped in Port Hedland. Alicia had found our Facebook page. She and her family (husband and three great kids) had just come back from an overlanding trip through the Americas. She offered us to stay at their place - and use the hot shower and washing machine. We had another great night with all of them!
Now, we are camping close to Broome. We will relax at the beach for a couple of days and stock up our fridge, fuel and water tank. The next two weeks will be quite remote. We will take the Gibb River Road through the the Kimberleys. It is a mostly unpaved (but still popular) road with many opportunities to stop at gorges, creeks and aboriginal sites. We are looking forward to exploring this area!
But right now, we are even more excited about our visitors who will arrive in Darwin in two weeks!!
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FOR YOU
Here it is! Our regular gift! The best picture, made by us, for you! One of the most impressive sunsets we've ever seen. In Fremantle. Just click HERE!
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See you on the road!
Anna and Heiner
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