Trip stats starting June 1st (Start of Grey Nomad Season).
Ballarat - Port Augusta - Katherine - Broome - Jurien Bay - Kalgoorlie - Port Augusta - Ballarat
73 days / 72 nights. Original plan was 100 days adding going via Albany & S/W from Jurien Bay to Kalgoorlie. Bad weather caused shortened trip.
Total travelled 14,500kms as per original plan but we did a lot more side trips. Van covered 10,500kms.
Fuel estimate was $4,000. Actual $3,200. Erldunda was $2.019 Only place over $1.90. Very surprised / pleased with fuel costs. We also travelled a bit slower hence economy better too. Roads were brilliant which helps.
Budgetted for average of $36 / night for accomodation. Actual $32. Five nights at Broome at $55 / night was most expensive and wrecked our average.
Nine free camping, 2 at $3.30 / person in NT parks, 1 at $5 and 1 at $10 helped keep costs down.
WA has some brilliant free roadside stops.
We should have woken up to the weather when just about everyone we met from Broome to Geraldton was from Albany, Esperance or Mandura and was heading north. Would appear that Kalbarri is the start of the better weather, Similar to Coffs / Ballina for East Coasters.
Highlights / Surprises / Bucket List Items
Lake Argyle - Afternoon (sunset) boat trip
Wyndham - Five rivers lookout
Derby - High & low tides
Coral Bay - Afternoon (sunset) Quad Bike ride over the sand dunes
Head of Bight - Whale Watching
Exmouth - Lighthouse Lookout
Cable Beach - Driving on beach to see sunset
80 Mile Beach - Driving on beach to see sunset and have a great picnic whilst fishing
Monkey Mia - Dolphins
Kalbarri
Windjana George
Ivanhoe Crossing
Lowlights / Dont Bother:
Road into The Bungle Bungles (unless your vehicle has THRIFTY emblazoned on the side).
El Questro. Baulked at paying to a private enterprise given there was better in National Parks.
Some interesting Stats there LLD. I don't bother with that sort of thing cos I reckon I might get scared of how many KM's I put up and how much I spend Still, you provided good reading, thanks.
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LLD, How did you get conned into driving into the Bungles?
We were in that area two-three years ago (how time flies). We flew over the Bungles from Timber Creek but Pat suggested since reports were "good" about Cathedral Cave, we should drive in!! What a "lovely track" & owned by AAPT (the way their buses drove). NEVER, NEVER again! And Cathedral Cave? I've seen better on the Nullarbor!
We only went as far as Broome but most of our highlights were yours too. Lounging in that "freezing" never ending borderless swimming pool at Lake Argyle, had to be up there amongst them. We had done the trip from NE Victoria to Albany, the year before - yes the whales at HOB & other places to the west were spectacular. I had not seen Southern Right whales jump, broach before!
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Warren
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If you don't get it done today, there's always tomorrow!
Penny should have dropped when so many were taking bus or air tours to the Bungles. A fellow traveller with a new Land Cruiser and all the kit for inflating and deflating tyres reckon it would be OK. He regretted it as another traveller had his 2nd battery short out and was seconds away from igniting his ute. He was alerted by the burning smell. Got it fixed at Halls Creek. Great Auto-elec there but we had to stand guard at three vans and two tugs whilst the wiring was redone on the damaged tug.
I reckon a truck load of ice was dumped into the Lake Argyle pool every morning before dawn. Also, Im sure there staff watched and laughed on a CCTV at all the tourists painfully entering the pool for a picture.
-- Edited by LLD on Thursday 30th of August 2018 11:44:32 PM
We were in Purnululu NP this year for 3 nights. The first 15 km of the road is corrugated. We seemed to be the only car bothered to let the tyres down, 3 passed us on the way in, 4 on the way out. One car on the way out asked us if we were ok while pumping up and cleaning which was nice but didn't understand the issue of letting tyres down. 2/3 of cars are hired & quite a few tour bused which are confronting on the tight blind corners. Almost should have put up our sand flag.
The scenery is great but everyone drives around there at 70-80 kph when asked to stick to 50kph for safety & keeping the dust down. We spoke to a ranger and he said cars regularly overtook him! The ranger said a lot of people race in and out for a day trip.
In Echidna Chasm people rushed in, did the first half and raced out. Luckily for most of the 3 hours in the morning we were the only ones there and enjoyed the serenity and changing light.
Still, you provided good reading, thanks.
