Dylan the Dragon meets Winston the Wagon
We’re back! It’s been too long. This is Winston the Wagon, which has been home for the last three weeks. Winston has taken eight of us from Perth, all the way up the West Coast of Australia to Broome.
The eight of us met up to collect the van in the morning, having met each other a few days before over pizza. After getting acquainted with the van and the equipment, we set off, with me at the drivers wheel. As we were camping the whole way and needed to cook for ourselves, our first job was to do a grocery shop. Feeding eight people is a huge job, and it took a very long time to get the shopping done, but that’s all part of the experience. By the time the shopping was done, we headed to the slightly underwhelming Yanchep national park and then headed to our first camp. We decided to do as much “free camping” as possible (clue is in the name) to save on costs. The first camp was basically a roadside lay-by, which meant for an interesting time setting up the tent and getting the pegs into the solid ground. It was also very cold!
We awoke the next day with a general consensus that the previous night had been a bit cold. Everyone was discussing what extra stuff they could buy at the next town to warm up, but that wasn’t until tomorrow. We spent the morning sand boarding at the Lancelin sand dunes, which was very fun and also very tiring! After that we headed to the Pinaccles, basically lots of random rocks in a desert, and ended the day camping by the beach at Sandy Cape in which I experienced the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen.
After a slightly warmer night (we gathered that it was warmer by the coast), we were now getting into the swing of using all of the equipment and the van. Although, reversing the van proved problematic, and we managed to give it a new big dent at the back. As this journey is so long, and we have a long time to do it, there are days where you don’t do much because you are driving all day or you need to pick up more supplies. This was one of those days. We spent the morning driving and then the afternoon in Geraldton, stocking up on food and warmer clothing. We then spent the evening at a very charming ranch and had our first fire. Very outback style!
A lot was packed in to the next day. We drove to Kalbarri via a very pink looking lake and its national park, exploring the coastal section. There were huge dramatic cliffs to gaze at, which was all very impressive. After that we drove inland to find another free camp, however we left it a little late and it was dark by the time we got there, but we still managed to find a spot. Driving on the roads at dusk is not a good idea in these parts, and I had to do an emergency stop twice as to not hit kangaroos skipping across the road.
The night before was incredibly cold (our coldest of the trip), so everyone was a bit grumpy in the morning. It didn’t help that it was due to rain all afternoon, so we set off back into the Kalbarri national park to view some gorges and we also did a short, but felt like it went on forever, hike. The heavens opened in the afternoon, leaving us a bit clueless as to what to do about camp that night. The advice we were given at the start of the trip was to just keep driving until you get to somewhere that is dry, and that’s what we did, camping at a petrol station miles away from where we were.
We set off onto the Monkey Mia peninsula, which sadly has no monkeys. There’s lots of beaches to explore, which is what we spent most of the day doing. We camped that night on the beach, which turned out to be my favourite campsite of the entire trip.
It was a very early start the next day, as we wanted to go and see dolphins. It was an experience that has been going for years, where the dolphins come right up to the beach. It was a pretty special spectacle. After that we headed back off the peninsula to the main road and camped out at another lay-by, this time with better ground. We also had a special treat of a blood moon, with some amazing views of the Milky Way.
Another travel admin day was upon us, where we had a long drive and a big food shop to do. We camped on the beach again here, admiring another spectacular sunset.
We started the morning admiring the natural blowholes near the campsite, where the sea pushes water up through holes in the rock, and it was very entertaining. We then spent the afternoon snorkelling at Coral Bay, where we saw the clearest water I have ever seen, even though it was a tad cold. We then spent the night at another lay-by, but this one at least had toilets!
We spent the next day at Coral Bay again, snorkelling and just enjoying the beach life. I also got to use my first Aussie BBQ, which they have for free on most beaches throughout the country. We headed back to the same campsite as the previous night, as all other campsites were fully booked, given that it was the winter school holidays.
Today was a big day, my birthday, the big 31. We donned our party hats and filled the van with balloons, which proceeded to scare us on our journey up to Exmouth by popping with the heat. We decided to go to a proper campsite in Exmouth, as we were going to be there for three nights and we were getting a bit tired of not having showers and having to put the tents up and down everyday. Once we arrived at Exmouth, we immediately got on the beers, then headed to a country bar and brewery to celebrate.
With a sore head, we started exploring Cape Range, a national park near Exmouth. There was some spectacular scenery around here, with gorges and beautiful beaches.
We spent the next day exploring more of Cape Range, including seeing another gorge and doing a spot of snorkelling, this time in much warmer water. While there, we witnessed a whale jumping out of the water, what a sight! That evening, we went to another brewery and saw a dog in a pram, much to my amusement.
Another driving day was ahead of us, a mammoth 8 hour drive in fact. We got to camp just as it was getting dark, ready for our adventures in Karijini national park for the next few days.
After making a detour to relief ourselves in the nearest town, we headed to the second highest mountain in Western Australia, Mount Bruce. I can honestly say this was the best view I have ever had climbing a mountain. I found the scenery just breathtaking, it felt like we were in the western, with red sand and mines all in sight. Speaking of red sand, it gets everywhere, in the van, the tents, your clothes and into your skin. It’s like you are constantly wearing fake tan. We headed to a beautiful camp after having a shower, where we shared the space with some dingos.
We headed to Hamersley Gorge in the morning to do a spot of swimming in the water there. In order to get there, and out of there, we had to use unsealed roads, which there are a lot of in the national park. Sadly, we became a victim of the unsealed roads, and Winston’s back window was smashed by a rock. We decided to press on as there was no way of fixing it anytime soon. The incident put a bit of a damper on the afternoon, but we cheered up when we arrived at camp for the night which was nestled on top of a hill overlooking a gorge.
For our last day in Karijini, we made our way to a couple more gorges, Dales Gorge and Weano Gorge, both of which were stunning. We ended this busy day back at the same campsite from two days ago, sharing the space with the dingos again.
After a quick stop for a much needed shower, we had another mammoth driving day, which also included another food shop and laundry stop. Sadly, finding camp took a while and we didn’t end up setting up the tents until 9pm. We were now in crocodile country, so it was vital that we didn’t camp near any water. Luckily the app we had been using to find campsites had an option to filter out campsites with crocodiles, very handy!
The end of the trip was in sight. After a quick stop at eighty mile beach, which is in fact 140 miles long, we made the long trip to Broome and set up camp in a delightful rest area. The temperature was very different to what we had experienced earlier in the trip, and we struggled to sleep in the hot tents.
The next day we took Winston to A&E to get his back window fixed. While that was happening, we explored Broome a bit. Broome is a strange town, there isn’t that much to do, and there are lots of aboriginal people here causing trouble. We even saw a brawl outside of a petrol station, which we quickly exited back to the same campsite we were at the night before.
Today was the day to say goodbye to Winston. Before we took him to the car wash for a much needed clean, we headed to an area where there are dinosaur footprints embedded in the rocks. Unfortunately for us, the tide was quite high so we didn’t really see any and the ones we did see are apparently fake. After dropping Winston off, we headed off to our hostels for a much needed shower. Once we were all cleaned up, we went to a local brewery to reminisce about the trip, before heading to a much needed bed after 20 days of solid camping.
The day after, it was time to start the mammoth three day, five flight journey to Cappadocia in Turkey. I had a night layover in Perth, and to kill the time, I went to see Sam Fender in the local arena, which was incredibly fun.
I booked this trip a while back via a company in which you sign up as a solo traveller and you get bundled with a group of other solo travellers, and you get given a van with all the camping equipment you need to complete your journey. There were eight of us altogether, with of course an additional passenger, Dylan.
Here’s a day to day diary of our adventure up the West Coast of Australia.
Day 1 - Thursday 29 June
The eight of us met up to collect the van in the morning, having met each other a few days before over pizza. After getting acquainted with the van and the equipment, we set off, with me at the drivers wheel. As we were camping the whole way and needed to cook for ourselves, our first job was to do a grocery shop. Feeding eight people is a huge job, and it took a very long time to get the shopping done, but that’s all part of the experience. By the time the shopping was done, we headed to the slightly underwhelming Yanchep national park and then headed to our first camp. We decided to do as much “free camping” as possible (clue is in the name) to save on costs. The first camp was basically a roadside lay-by, which meant for an interesting time setting up the tent and getting the pegs into the solid ground. It was also very cold!
Day 2 - Friday 30 June
We awoke the next day with a general consensus that the previous night had been a bit cold. Everyone was discussing what extra stuff they could buy at the next town to warm up, but that wasn’t until tomorrow. We spent the morning sand boarding at the Lancelin sand dunes, which was very fun and also very tiring! After that we headed to the Pinaccles, basically lots of random rocks in a desert, and ended the day camping by the beach at Sandy Cape in which I experienced the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen.
Day 3 - Saturday 1 July
After a slightly warmer night (we gathered that it was warmer by the coast), we were now getting into the swing of using all of the equipment and the van. Although, reversing the van proved problematic, and we managed to give it a new big dent at the back. As this journey is so long, and we have a long time to do it, there are days where you don’t do much because you are driving all day or you need to pick up more supplies. This was one of those days. We spent the morning driving and then the afternoon in Geraldton, stocking up on food and warmer clothing. We then spent the evening at a very charming ranch and had our first fire. Very outback style!
Day 4 - Sunday 2 July
A lot was packed in to the next day. We drove to Kalbarri via a very pink looking lake and its national park, exploring the coastal section. There were huge dramatic cliffs to gaze at, which was all very impressive. After that we drove inland to find another free camp, however we left it a little late and it was dark by the time we got there, but we still managed to find a spot. Driving on the roads at dusk is not a good idea in these parts, and I had to do an emergency stop twice as to not hit kangaroos skipping across the road.
Day 5 - Monday 3 July
The night before was incredibly cold (our coldest of the trip), so everyone was a bit grumpy in the morning. It didn’t help that it was due to rain all afternoon, so we set off back into the Kalbarri national park to view some gorges and we also did a short, but felt like it went on forever, hike. The heavens opened in the afternoon, leaving us a bit clueless as to what to do about camp that night. The advice we were given at the start of the trip was to just keep driving until you get to somewhere that is dry, and that’s what we did, camping at a petrol station miles away from where we were.
Day 6 - Tuesday 4 July
We set off onto the Monkey Mia peninsula, which sadly has no monkeys. There’s lots of beaches to explore, which is what we spent most of the day doing. We camped that night on the beach, which turned out to be my favourite campsite of the entire trip.
Day 7 - Wednesday 5 July
It was a very early start the next day, as we wanted to go and see dolphins. It was an experience that has been going for years, where the dolphins come right up to the beach. It was a pretty special spectacle. After that we headed back off the peninsula to the main road and camped out at another lay-by, this time with better ground. We also had a special treat of a blood moon, with some amazing views of the Milky Way.
Day 8 - Thursday 6 July
Another travel admin day was upon us, where we had a long drive and a big food shop to do. We camped on the beach again here, admiring another spectacular sunset.
Day 9 - Friday 7 July
We started the morning admiring the natural blowholes near the campsite, where the sea pushes water up through holes in the rock, and it was very entertaining. We then spent the afternoon snorkelling at Coral Bay, where we saw the clearest water I have ever seen, even though it was a tad cold. We then spent the night at another lay-by, but this one at least had toilets!
Day 10 - Saturday 8 July
We spent the next day at Coral Bay again, snorkelling and just enjoying the beach life. I also got to use my first Aussie BBQ, which they have for free on most beaches throughout the country. We headed back to the same campsite as the previous night, as all other campsites were fully booked, given that it was the winter school holidays.
Day 11 - Sunday 9 July
Today was a big day, my birthday, the big 31. We donned our party hats and filled the van with balloons, which proceeded to scare us on our journey up to Exmouth by popping with the heat. We decided to go to a proper campsite in Exmouth, as we were going to be there for three nights and we were getting a bit tired of not having showers and having to put the tents up and down everyday. Once we arrived at Exmouth, we immediately got on the beers, then headed to a country bar and brewery to celebrate.
Day 12 - Monday 10 July
With a sore head, we started exploring Cape Range, a national park near Exmouth. There was some spectacular scenery around here, with gorges and beautiful beaches.
Day 13 - Tuesday 11 July
We spent the next day exploring more of Cape Range, including seeing another gorge and doing a spot of snorkelling, this time in much warmer water. While there, we witnessed a whale jumping out of the water, what a sight! That evening, we went to another brewery and saw a dog in a pram, much to my amusement.
Day 14 - Wednesday 12 July
Another driving day was ahead of us, a mammoth 8 hour drive in fact. We got to camp just as it was getting dark, ready for our adventures in Karijini national park for the next few days.
Day 15 - Thursday 13 July
After making a detour to relief ourselves in the nearest town, we headed to the second highest mountain in Western Australia, Mount Bruce. I can honestly say this was the best view I have ever had climbing a mountain. I found the scenery just breathtaking, it felt like we were in the western, with red sand and mines all in sight. Speaking of red sand, it gets everywhere, in the van, the tents, your clothes and into your skin. It’s like you are constantly wearing fake tan. We headed to a beautiful camp after having a shower, where we shared the space with some dingos.
Day 16 - Friday 14 July
We headed to Hamersley Gorge in the morning to do a spot of swimming in the water there. In order to get there, and out of there, we had to use unsealed roads, which there are a lot of in the national park. Sadly, we became a victim of the unsealed roads, and Winston’s back window was smashed by a rock. We decided to press on as there was no way of fixing it anytime soon. The incident put a bit of a damper on the afternoon, but we cheered up when we arrived at camp for the night which was nestled on top of a hill overlooking a gorge.
Day 17 - Saturday 15 July
For our last day in Karijini, we made our way to a couple more gorges, Dales Gorge and Weano Gorge, both of which were stunning. We ended this busy day back at the same campsite from two days ago, sharing the space with the dingos again.
Day 18 - Sunday 16 July
After a quick stop for a much needed shower, we had another mammoth driving day, which also included another food shop and laundry stop. Sadly, finding camp took a while and we didn’t end up setting up the tents until 9pm. We were now in crocodile country, so it was vital that we didn’t camp near any water. Luckily the app we had been using to find campsites had an option to filter out campsites with crocodiles, very handy!
Day 19 - Monday 17 July
The end of the trip was in sight. After a quick stop at eighty mile beach, which is in fact 140 miles long, we made the long trip to Broome and set up camp in a delightful rest area. The temperature was very different to what we had experienced earlier in the trip, and we struggled to sleep in the hot tents.
Day 20 - Tuesday 18 July
The next day we took Winston to A&E to get his back window fixed. While that was happening, we explored Broome a bit. Broome is a strange town, there isn’t that much to do, and there are lots of aboriginal people here causing trouble. We even saw a brawl outside of a petrol station, which we quickly exited back to the same campsite we were at the night before.
Day 21 - Wednesday 19 July
Today was the day to say goodbye to Winston. Before we took him to the car wash for a much needed clean, we headed to an area where there are dinosaur footprints embedded in the rocks. Unfortunately for us, the tide was quite high so we didn’t really see any and the ones we did see are apparently fake. After dropping Winston off, we headed off to our hostels for a much needed shower. Once we were all cleaned up, we went to a local brewery to reminisce about the trip, before heading to a much needed bed after 20 days of solid camping.
Day 22 - Thursday 20 July
The day after, it was time to start the mammoth three day, five flight journey to Cappadocia in Turkey. I had a night layover in Perth, and to kill the time, I went to see Sam Fender in the local arena, which was incredibly fun.
I am so glad I came back to Australia to explore the west coast. It’s very different to the east coast, with it being more like central Australia which I had been to previously. Having the freedom to drive at our pace was great, and I feel that the length of time we had was perfect for seeing everything that Western Australia has to offer. I would 100% recommend.
I write this blog in the departure lounge of Dubai airport, in the middle of the long old journey to Turkey. After this journey, plus having to camp for three weeks, I am in need of a much needed rest once I get to Turkey, although I can’t really see it happening!
Comments
Post a Comment