On the road again, different style

Well, since you are reading this, we have more than likely survived the campervan experience in the western parts of Australia. Let me give you the short scoop on the experience. Awesome!!! :).

Ok, seriously now. We have rented a pretty slick campervan from Britz for which we gave an arm and a leg, but it was worth it. It ran without problems the entire time and after 5000 km journey we have seen many stunning sights (some more than others :)). Our first stop was a city called Cervantes where there are famous limestone pinnacles sticking out of the sand. It seriously looks like one is walking on a different planet. The occasional Emus that were running wild amongst them gave it the proper touch.

The next destination was a Kabarri National Park where we really found out that 4WD rental would be much better for this type of journey (and probably not much more expensive). In Kalbarri, we have fully became aware of the serious fly problem (yes flies, not mosquitos). They are everywhere. It seems like their main goal in life in WA is to sit on your face and get into your mouth and nose. We had to start wearing cowboy bandanas around our faces, so we looked like most wanted outlaws (check out the gallery on the right). Neverthless, Kalbarri poses some spectacular views of the wild nature (very similar to the of Grand Canyon).

For Xmas, we have settled in Denham, city near the Monkey Mia area where they feed dolphins every morning right from the beach. So, of course, we went and saw the spectacle. I'd say, the more interesting part of the whole thing were the crazy pelicans who we caught drinking out of the local sprinkler. Around Denham are a few cool lookout areas, one is the Eagle bluff where you can overlook a picturesque bay and possibly spot marine animals (we saw some sharks from above). Other good trip is the Shell beach, totally made out of shells. Last, I'll mention the Hamelin pool, which has one of the world's largest population of stromatolites (the oldest living organisms on earth).

Our north journey ended in Coral Bay, where I took a snorkelling trip with Manta rays along with a couple of dives in a forests of corals. It was just amazing, however, I can imagine that some of the beginner snorklers/swimmers probably cursed the hell out of it since the Mantas can swim quite fast :). From Coral Bay we decided to make a quick sweep back to the south of Perth and visit the famous Wave Rock. Well, let me tell you, it is cool, but not sure if it is worth driving 800 km in one day :). However, on the way down, we stopped at the small campground, totally taken out of the movie Deliverance. It seems like it was in the middle of nowhere and we were the only van there. There was a pleasant surprise waiting for us there though. The local owners had some kangaroos that they took care of, so during the evening they came up to the campground and Jenni even petted a wild kangaroo. Wow! While we were in the south, we decide to do a Tree top walk, which suppsedly is 600m long and gets up to 40m above the ground in the conopy of the trees. Well, it was ok, but the thing is that 300 of the 600m are the incling leading up to the highest parts hehe. This was much better experience than Wave Rock, but probably not really worth the drive either. Our last stop before returning back to Perth was a city called Busselton (actually we stayed in Bunbury's campground as Busselton was full for New Year's). In Busselton though, there is a 2km long jetty leading out into the sea at which end is an underwater observatory. Now, this was the coolest thing we have seen from the south are of Perth.

Now, we are resting in Perth which is a very beautiful city, btw, and tomorrow are ready for a trip to Alice Springs.

1 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hello you both,

it's always so great to read your traveling stories, keep up with the blog, it's great!

I wanted to wish you a very happy new year, full of many other traveling adventures!

Hugs from "not so sunny" Dublin
Catherine