Back in Australia

At the moment of writing we have been back in Australia for a week. Unlike south east Asia, Australia does not have wireless internet on offer everywhere. At this point in time we’re camping at a deserted beach under a clear sky of bright, sparkling stars, after watching another beautiful deep red sunset in Western Australia. Within the last week, we’ve driven over 4000 km. We’re headed for Perth, another 1000 km away. We’ve crossed climate zones, the tropic of Capricorn (once again) and even a time zone. We’ve come across wet, green areas with tropical growth and big trees and are back in dry, arid, dusty land where the kangaroos, dingoes and emus live. We’re very happy to continue our trip and we love being back in Australia!

The last few days in south east Asia were a bit of a waste. As soon as we sold our scooter we would have liked to leave, but we just had to wait five more days. Back in Bangkok we made the mistake to stay in Bangkok’s most horrible tourist corner; the Kao San Road. It’s very lively there with loads of tourists, which isn’t so bad, but it’s all a bit too much and you can really notice the Thai people getting fed up with the foreigners. The Kao San Road does not represent the rest of Bangkok, let alone Thailand, at all. The Thais are grumpy, the streets dirty, the food bland. But as soon as we took a stroll away from the area, the real Bangkok with its nice people and beautiful food reappeared. Our day of departure arrived and we flew back to Darwin via Singapore.

We arrived at some funny hour in the morning in Darwin and we had to get to our car that we stored at a friend’s house in Batchelor. Thanks to sticking out our thumbs we got from the airport to Batchelor within four hours by three different cars. The car had been sitting in the same spot in the tropics (in the Wet), so you can imagine how much the grass had grown underneath; it was starting to grow through the car! We also found an abundance of spider webs inside (and some spiders to go with them), but other than that the car was fine. We got it up and running in no time and off we went on another adventure!

It seemed a bit surreal to be back in the Top End. We’d just come back from an amazing trip in south east Asia and our car was waiting for us to return, ready to go, including a tank full of fuel! What a luxury to be back in our car with all our stuff. Jenny couldn’t get over the amount of clothes she’s got (now she’s over it, and remembers the wardrobe she left behind in Melbourne as well). We went from a little scooter and a bag back to our own bedsheets, a fridge, a bag full of books, etc. We had to get used to being in the car again. We couldn’t get over how comfortable it was to be driving around, compared to the scooter. And we had to get used to the distances. We thought we couldn’t possibly drive more than 400 km a day! We quickly got over that one, 400 km a day brings you close to nowhere in Western Australia.

Driving from Batchelor to Katherine we noticed how green everything was. The landscape transforms enormously in the Wet and is so different from the Dry. The rivers were overflowing, it was really nice to see. In Katherine we stayed at this caravan park where we had stayed before in July. Back then the park could also be accessed via a low bridge over the river. This bridge was completely under water now and the river was flowing very rapidly. We were the only ones staying at that park this time. Last time, we had to ask if there was space for our tent as outside the park they had a ‘park full’ sign up. We were wondering why no one goes there in the Wet, it’s gorgeous and lush and above all; quiet!

We found out soon enough why there are no tourists in the Top End at the moment; all national parks there are closed! And besides that, the place is full of sticky flies that never leave you alone, it’s very hot with temperatures rising easily to 38 degrees and it is so humid! We were keen to go to Western Australia, the only state left on our journey, so we quickly made our way to Kununurra. There was nothing to do there, and certainly not a place for us to find some work, so we continued on south. The Gibb River Road is currently closed as well, so we couldn’t see any of the Kimberley region either. However, the scenery from Kununurra to Derby (via Halls Creek) was amazing. There were so many rocks and hills and mountain ridges. It was like the MacDonnell ranges and the Devil’s Marbles in the NT all together, but then bigger and all around us. The landscape kept the long drive very interesting and we can’t wait to get back into that area once the roads open again.

Our next stop was Broome, probably the most overrated destination in Australia. What a disappointing little town. Cable beach is nice, but the town is dull and there’s nothing interesting to see or do, other than visiting the Kimberley region. We were planning on finding work in Broome, but the town not feeling very inviting and the fact that it is low season made us change our minds. We decided to head a lot further south where there is no wet season and where it is currently summer and bustling with activity. We’ve changed our minds quite a few times, but decided Perth is probably the best place for us.

We drove a long way from Broome, straight into the Pilbara’s gorgeous Karijini National Park. It took a while, 13,5 hours, but we made it there around 10 pm! The clouds had started to disappear, along with the green scenery. The drive from Broome to Port Hedland was extremely boring, but driving into the Pilbara region was wonderful. And we got to see a magnificent show of lightning. We spent the next day in the park exploring gorges and canyons. This place was so spectacular with all it rock walls and pools, it is hard to explain. The only unfortunate thing in the park was the sticky flies. It must be a Western Australian thing, nowhere have we ever seen so many stupid, annoying flies. Just a ten second walk from the tent to the toilet collected over 50 flies all around our heads and backs. They fly in your ears, your nostrils and your eye balls. As soon as we noticed them in the morning we packed up the tent and left. The good thing about our way of traveling is, is that you always have your house with you. We would find another spot to spend the night. We found one on the side of a dirt road on our way to Exmouth, our next stop. Not yet away from the flies, but at least the mozzies left us alone.

You can see on the map that Western Australia is a big place, but it’s not until you’re actually driving from A to B that you realize how huge the distances are. And there’s absolutely nothing in between. There are these huge insects on the road that we haven’t seen elsewhere, we’re not sure what they are, but we have dead ones all over our car now. We find bodies, decapitated heads and legs everywhere around the front of the car! The termite mounts are also very different here. Unlike the ones in the NT, the ones in WA are not five meters tall and fairly skinny, they’re fat like a huge dinosaur’s poo. You can almost tell from the shape of the termite mount which state you are in.
We made it to the Cape Range National Park near Exmouth in excellent time, so we actually had some time to relax in the afternoon.

The Ningaloo Reef Marine Park is part of this national park and the waters are just stunning, beautifully turquoise, very inviting! It was very windy so the flies kept at bay. The next morning we went swimming at Coral Bay.These waters are some of the most beautiful we’ve ever seen. However the water was a little chilly, so we didn’t actually go out onto the reef, which is said to be far more diverse and beautiful than the Great Barrier Reef (which we find easy to believe, we weren’t blown away by it a few years back). After a lot more boring scenery and some more kilometers, we found ourselves a nice spot at the beach where we’ll stay overnight. From here, it’s 100 km to Monkey Mia, a place where wild dolphins are hand fed daily to keep the tourists entertained. We certainly want to be part of that encounter! So hopefully we’ll swim with dolphins tomorrow and then we should get serious and start looking for work in Perth, before continuing exploring the rest of Western Australia.