Leg 1 - Perth to Broome

Apologies for the delay in putting-up the first real post of our trip, though this has been the first opportunity since leaving Perth to gain access to the internet. Broadband coverage in the areas visited to date has been non-existent.

I see that the ‘vehicle tracking’ via satellite has been working ok, though this is the first opportunity I’ve had to see if it works.

Wednesday 6^th June, 2012 – Loading-up

Just after my last post entitled ‘Preparation’, Julie and I headed over to Osborne Park to collect the Toyota 76 Series 4wd and Camprite TL8s Off-road Camper Trailer from Crikey Camper Hire and then complete the final checks before heading back to my father’s place to load-up. All went to plan with a little huffing and puffing, though there was plenty of room for all our gear to sustain us for a couple of months. Everything was set for an early get-away first thing in the morning.

Loading-up Wednesday 6th June 2012 – Dads Place

Thursday 7^th June, 2012 – Perth to Nannine

Early start this morning and we are on the road by 6.30am. The original plan was to travel the 780km and camp just north of Meekatharra, though as this was our first night away decided to make camp early and get a little practice in with setting-up the trailer. They always make it look so easy in the demonstration and brochure, though we had it all sorted by the time it was dark…..it only took us 1 hour and the brochure says 15 minutes…..Practice….Practice.

We camped near Nannine, which was originally a gold mining town, though is now a ghost town around 45km south of our original goal, so we didn’t do too badly for day 1 of the trip. After recovering from setting up our trailer, we spent the evening sitting around the camp fire telling stories and eating our barbecued meal on our laps.

8m Wide load – Gt Northern Hwy, Meekatharra

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Friday 8^th June, 2012 – Nannine to Newman

Having been tucked-up in bed at 9.00pm the previous evening, everyone was raring to go early and we were on the road again just after 7.00am. We found the camper trailer was easier to pack-up and we had everything in place in around 30 minutes.

It was a brief stop in Meekatharra to refuel, before heading north. Looking over the fuel used, the current average was around 16mpg with the 4wd and trailer combination, though based on the weight and a 4.5litre V8 diesel to feed, I was relatively happy with the result.

The Great Northern Hwy took us further north, travelling a total of 505km for the day. We made camp around 100km north of Newman, giving us an easy reach for Karijini National Park the following morning.

Stopping for lunch – South of Newman

Saturday 9^th – Sunday 10^th June, 2012 – Newman to Karijini National Park

It was a relatively short hop to Karijini, arriving at the campground at around 10.00am. We spent a few minutes setting up the camping arrangements and I unhooked the trailer to make it easier to travel around the park as we visited the different gorges…….lots to see.

I’ve included the following pics to give you an idea of what there is to see at Karijini, though there are other gorges that we didn’t have the time to visit. What a beautiful place it is……

Having a rest at Dale Gorge, Karijini Greg and his Dad

Fortescue Falls, Karijini National Park

 

Joffre Falls, Karijini National Park

Oxer Lookout, Karijini National Park

Julie and Greg’s Dad – Stopping for a cuppa

 

Monday 11^th June, 2012

Plan A today was to travel to Millstream National Park from Karijini, though due to unseasonal weather, which included heavy rain and damage to some of the unsealed roads, we decided to make our way North via Port Hedland to Pardoo. Distance covered today was 470km.

Millstream will definitely be on the bucket list for the next trip.

Tuesday 12^th June, 2012

We had a comfortable (and dry) night staying in motel accommodation at Pardoo and had a hearty Aussie breakfast at the Roadhouse before setting off for Broome. The 452km drive had us in Broome at just after lunch, so we made our way to the Mercure Hotel, where we are staying for the next 3 days while we have a good look around.

I’ll try to place a few more pics on the blog before we move on, as it will probably be a few days before the next opportunity to have any sort of broadband coverage.

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