I have been told that from Geraldton north the Optus internet connection will be hard to access so I am posting to say that I will make my posts in text and save them for posting later as access comes available. All the info will be gathered as usual so bear with me if there is no posting for a while. There is the Easter period coming up fast and as of now have no idea where I will be spending it, currently in Maccas Geraldton and even here the internet wifi is suspect so I will tether the new phone when I leave and make this post. As I pass a township I will pull over into a parking area and hope for a connection but have been told that it will be unlikely, apparently Telstra have sewn up the area a bit like the stretch from Ravensthorpe and Mt. Barker.
John
wendyv said
12:49 AM Apr 5, 2012
John,
is there any way - without being too much out of pocket - that you can switch to Telstra 3G network service. Unless you can do that, you are going to keep having hassles with phone and internet service.
milo said
09:40 PM Apr 5, 2012
yeah telstra's the only way to go, which is what i did with my ipad i got, got it with the 3g +wifi , and works fine
justjo said
12:33 AM Apr 6, 2012
I have Telstra but still no signal between Geraldton and Carnarvon unless you pull into Kalbarri or maybe another couple of places along route. I think I then had a long stint between Carnarvon and Karratha without pulling into Exmouth etc. then up the coast to Broome and from Broome to Kununarra its very spotty between towns. Most people in the west realise this but it's hard to get others to understand there really is no signal from any carrier.
Just kept my fingers crossed I didn't break down! Got the radio as well which helped my feeling of security. I did tell John this when I saw him but there are little pockets around so hopefully will hear from him as he meanders up the coast.
Happy Easter all
Jo
yeoeleven said
03:51 AM Apr 6, 2012
it was good to catch up with Jo again, was last October when we last met up at Cape Le Grand National Park.
Made it as far as Oakabella Homestead after leaving Ellendale Pool. The amenities are good here with hot showers drinking water and flushing toilets. $8 per person per night is good.
Very intermittant Optus internet reception due to the antenna plugging into the Optus dongle, without which there would be none at all.
Very quiet here the campground is just a paddock. There is a heritage tour organised from the office and a restaurant on site. Camps6 #438 I expected to stay until Tuesday but was the only person here all day and with no other campers showing up so I will chance the Easter rush and move on Friday morning.
Very windy here too, I put up the annex thinking that I would be here for a few days but the wind got the better of it and blew it down, got it back into the bag on the van but it was a task.
So you can gather that I am not excited about Oakabella hence the moving on quickly.
John
Elle on Wheels said
05:04 PM Apr 6, 2012
Bummer John, guess you have to experience one not so great camping spot...... then again given some of the ones you have lucked on, you have been very fortunate indeed. Hope the next one is better.
scotia59 said
05:28 PM Apr 6, 2012
sadly its know for its strong winds round that area.
Where did you get your annex John? Is it a drive away one?
yeoeleven said
06:55 PM Apr 6, 2012
scotia59 wrote:
sadly its know for its strong winds round that area.
Where did you get your annex John? Is it a drive away one?
I bought it on Ebay it is listed as a horsefloat annex and attaches via a C channel.
It is not damaged and can be still used (after I leave W A the windy state)
Just got internet at a parking stop enroute to Kalbarri visitors centre where they may have emergency camping available.
John
justjo said
08:29 PM Apr 6, 2012
LOL at windy state :) you are in luck John, the forecast for the next few days is calm from this afternoon :) hope you managed to get a place in Kalbarri, I'm sure they used to open the town oval years ago, so hopefully still the same.
Jo
Cruising Granny said
01:29 AM Apr 7, 2012
Ooh, John, you're heading into the dry season and the busy toursist season up north. I stayed at Nanga Bay on the way into Monkey Mia and Denham. It's an old homestead and well set up for all levels of accommodation from motel to unpowered camping sites. It's a bit sheltered from the wind, and about 45 mins from Monkey Mia. I actually was disappointed with the dolphins. You have to pay for a 24hr pass to get to the beach, in the hope the dolphins turn up for a feed. There is quite a bit of national park to check out in that region as well. Denham is a nice little village with shops for the necessities. Be careful with the roadhouses as you go north. Some of them give a wounded bull a good run for his money, with the emphasis on money - YOURS!. Safe and happy travels to you.
yeoeleven said
02:03 AM Apr 8, 2012
Thanks for the comments CG and Jo, will take notice as I travel further north.
Left Oakabella Homestead and phoned Wagoe Chalets when my phone showed some reception only to find that they were booked out, but the receptionist said to go to Kalbari Information Centre where they may have overflow facilities.
Just leaving Northampton where I picked up a hitch hiker who was heading generally north so we travelled to Kalbarri where we both booked into the overflow centre for 3 nights, Steven has a one man tent. We visited Port Gregory and the Kalbarri National Park enroute to see the Pink Lake, Grandstand, Island Rock and Natural Arch. John
yeoeleven said
02:12 AM Apr 8, 2012
Second day at Kalbarri.
Got the tourist brochure from the Information Centre and Steven planned out an interesting morning visiting all the sights that we missed yesterday when we were more preoccuppied with finding accomodation. The location where we have booked in is very good with hot showers, flush toilets and power outlets for charging up, it is the PCYC Club grounds and they are happy to allow campers for $15 per night per person. We started at Eagle Gorge, Pot Alley, Mushroom Rock, Red Bluff then swam at Red Bluff beach. All in all an excellent day, especially when I was able to regain internet on my personal wifi hotspot connection which had been unavailable over the past couple of days, a call to Amaysim was very productive. John
Happywanderer said
02:47 AM Apr 8, 2012
You are certainly taking some beautiful photos John. Keep it up and enjoy your trip.
justjo said
02:45 PM Apr 8, 2012
Beautiful Kalbarri, glad you managed to get somewhere to stay and the weather is stunning! I lived at Red Bluff caravan park for a year in the early 80's, waking up to that view everymorning never got old. Hope your wi fi continues to give you some coverage.
Jo
yeoeleven said
03:08 AM Apr 9, 2012
Steven planned out another day and we went to the Kalbarri National Park t
o see the impressive gorges there for the viewing. We had to travel 35kms of rutted gravel roads each way. I have been told that the faster you go the better the ride and I was going at 25kph and bouncing round watching others going by much faster, their wheels were going up and down but the chassis seemed to be more stable. I decided to try out 60kph and even got up to 80kph and whilst there was a lot of shaking going on the ride seemed better. The highlight of the driving came when we were coming back and I overtook 3 vehicles slowed down by a late model 4WD going about 25kph. A brilliant experience, I am sure that the drivers wondered what was going on when a 1979 Hi Ace went past at speed. We got there at 8am so that we could do the 8km loop before it got too hot, magic photo opportunities but not an easy walk but we found time to swim in a couple of places and took about 4 hours. All up it was around 10kms because it took a km just to get to the start of the loop at Nature's Window.
We then went to Z Bend another spectaculat place for photos and swimming and back to Kalbarri beach for another dip.
John
Sheba said
05:14 AM Apr 9, 2012
Great shots again John. I'm sure every-one else is enjoying following your journey as much as I am.
Keep it up .
Cheers,
Sheba.
Cruising Granny said
12:26 AM Apr 10, 2012
You got that corrugation driving down pat John. Driving at about 80 KPH you skip over the top of the bumps. What are you going to do with all those speccy pics? I'm enjoying your posts.
I have been told that from Geraldton north the Optus internet connection will be hard to access so I am posting to say that I will make my posts in text and save them for posting later as access comes available. All the info will be gathered as usual so bear with me if there is no posting for a while.
There is the Easter period coming up fast and as of now have no idea where I will be spending it, currently in Maccas Geraldton and even here the internet wifi is suspect so I will tether the new phone when I leave and make this post.
As I pass a township I will pull over into a parking area and hope for a connection but have been told that it will be unlikely, apparently Telstra have sewn up the area a bit like the stretch from Ravensthorpe and Mt. Barker.
John
is there any way - without being too much out of pocket - that you can switch to Telstra 3G network service. Unless you can do that, you are going to keep having hassles with phone and internet service.
and works fine
Just kept my fingers crossed I didn't break down! Got the radio as well which helped my feeling of security. I did tell John this when I saw him but there are little pockets around so hopefully will hear from him as he meanders up the coast.
Happy Easter all
Jo
it was good to catch up with Jo again, was last October when we last met up at Cape Le Grand National Park.
Made it as far as Oakabella Homestead after leaving Ellendale Pool. The amenities are good here with hot showers drinking water and flushing toilets. $8 per person per night is good.
Very intermittant Optus internet reception due to the antenna plugging into the Optus dongle, without which there would be none at all.
Very quiet here the campground is just a paddock. There is a heritage tour organised from the office and a restaurant on site. Camps6 #438 I expected to stay until Tuesday but was the only person here all day and with no other campers showing up so I will chance the Easter rush and move on Friday morning.
Very windy here too, I put up the annex thinking that I would be here for a few days but the wind got the better of it and blew it down, got it back into the bag on the van but it was a task.
So you can gather that I am not excited about Oakabella hence the moving on quickly.
John
Where did you get your annex John? Is it a drive away one?
I bought it on Ebay it is listed as a horsefloat annex and attaches via a C channel.
It is not damaged and can be still used (after I leave W A the windy state)
Just got internet at a parking stop enroute to Kalbarri visitors centre where they may have emergency camping available.
John
Jo
I stayed at Nanga Bay on the way into Monkey Mia and Denham. It's an old homestead and well set up for all levels of accommodation from motel to unpowered camping sites. It's a bit sheltered from the wind, and about 45 mins from Monkey Mia.
I actually was disappointed with the dolphins. You have to pay for a 24hr pass to get to the beach, in the hope the dolphins turn up for a feed. There is quite a bit of national park to check out in that region as well.
Denham is a nice little village with shops for the necessities. Be careful with the roadhouses as you go north. Some of them give a wounded bull a good run for his money, with the emphasis on money - YOURS!.
Safe and happy travels to you.
Thanks for the comments CG and Jo, will take notice as I travel further north.
Left Oakabella Homestead and phoned Wagoe Chalets when my phone showed some reception only to find that they were booked out, but the receptionist said to go to Kalbari Information Centre where they may have overflow facilities.
Just leaving Northampton where I picked up a hitch hiker who was heading generally north so we travelled to Kalbarri where we both booked into the overflow centre for 3 nights, Steven has a one man tent. We visited Port Gregory and the Kalbarri National
Park enroute to see the Pink Lake, Grandstand, Island Rock and Natural Arch. John
Second day at Kalbarri.
Got the tourist brochure from the Information Centre and Steven planned out an interesting morning visiting all the sights that we missed yesterday when we were more preoccuppied with finding accomodation. The location where we have booked in is very good with hot showers, flush toilets and power outlets for charging up, it is the PCYC Club grounds and they are happy to allow campers for $15 per night per person.
We started at Eagle Gorge, Pot Alley, Mushroom Rock, Red Bluff then swam at Red Bluff beach. All in all an excellent day, especially when I was able to regain internet on my personal wifi hotspot connection which had been unavailable over the past couple of days, a call to Amaysim was very productive. John
Jo
Steven planned out another day and we went to the Kalbarri National Park t
We got there at 8am so that we could do the 8km loop before it got too hot, magic photo opportunities but not an easy walk but we found time to swim in a couple of places and took about 4 hours. All up it was around 10kms because it took a km just to get to the start of the loop at Nature's Window.
We then went to Z Bend another spectaculat place for photos and swimming and back to Kalbarri beach for another dip.
John
Great shots again John. I'm sure every-one else is enjoying following your journey as much as I am.
Keep it up .
Cheers,
Sheba.
What are you going to do with all those speccy pics?
I'm enjoying your posts.