Cape Le Grand WA - Fowlers Bay SA

We left Esperance hoping that Lucky Bay and Cape Le Grand would bring us better weather, fools us as the wind just increased, we did not have it all bad as i was able to snorkel along a ridge of reef and saw many different species of fish, the majority of which i had no idea what they were called, certainly nothing that i would have considered eating had i caught them on a hook. The water depth dropped off considerably along the edge of the reef and i kept a wary eye out on any dark shadows lurking in the deep, why is it the music from Jaws always comes to mind when snorkeling.




This visit we stayed at Cape Le Grand beach camp site, we found this to be far nicer than Lucky Bay where we have camped previously. The sites are individual and spacious, the amenities were top notch, we are generally not fans of the CALM / DEC conservation camping but we were both pleasantly surprised with Cape Grand.


We fished & drove around to the different bays & fished but nothing eventuated but it was all good fun. We had intended staying 5 nights but after the 3rd night we gave in to the winds and decided to break camp and head back to Esperance for a restock and try and find out where Vickie's Aunt June lives. We stayed at the beach front Van park and bumped into Mark & Jac Bushtracker owners whom we had 1st met back at Kununurra last year, they were leaving to head to the same place we had just come from so i wished them luck.

I found Aunt Junes contact details via the Internet and we phoned and she was delighted we were in town and could come and visit. It was a nice time chatting & talking about the 'old days' and Vickie's relatives, I know Vickie enjoyed it and I'm sure Aunt June was pleased we dropped in. After that it was refuel, replenish the water tanks, restock with the food used, i purchased a external aerial for the Internet 3g network and it was out of Esperance again.

Refueled at Norseman and continued on making our nights stop along the road at a roadside camp beside a no longer used Telstra phone tower, there was a converted bus parked there but the owners stayed to themselves which was fine by us, they ran their noisy generator all night but again we didn't care as we were down wind and could hardly hear it, the night was lovely with a cooling breeze coming through the windows and we slept well.






We awoke and the bus and it's occupants had gone, we had breakfast and hit the road ourselves, our next night stop was along the Great Australian Bight where we had a lovely sunset end the day. Now that brings us to where we are now, Fowler's Bay S.A. we have been here before on an overnight stop but this time we will stay 4-5 days, it's a lovely quiet place with a great jetty, rolling sand dunes and apparently the fishing is good too! We have tried squidding along the jetty with no success and this afternoon we drove to Scott's Bay for a fish and had plenty of bites but only caught two King George Whiting, we will go back tomorrow for another attempt.





One surprise we had was the news that we would have the arrival of Clive and Claudia, they are relatives of Kimbo and Ned and are travelling West [quite quickly it appears] towing a Kedron Caravan with a Landrover Discovery. We cooked a lovely roast lamb and veggies in the Weber Baby Q for us all and chatted the night away. They are going to stay a couple of days before heading further on.

More photos here

Bremer Bay - Munglinup Beach

We left Bremer Bay and made our way to Ravensthorpe & down to Hopetoun, we had heard about some nice camp sites along the Springfield road that goes between Hopetoun and Stokes Inlet. The 1st site we stopped at was Mason Bay and it was full with a lot of campers who looked to be there for the long term, no one bothered saying hello in fact we felt it was a cold dreary place for more than the weather.



What a difference 7klms down the road can make, here we went into Starvation Bay and the outlook changed, people were friendly and the beach was far nicer. We stayed only one night though as had arrived early the day before we had explored the beaches & surrounds. Our closest neighbour was being a touch too friendly, suffering from a bit of Alzheimers it became a bit of a chore listening to the same stories over & over.



Our next stop over was Munglinup beach, there is a caravan park prior to the beach but that wasn't for us! it was around 3klms away from the water for a start and the beach camp was more spacious, cheaper at $10 a night with clean amenities and fantastic coast line. Here we had a great surprise when an Oka turned up and driving it was a fishing friend who was down in the area with a few mates. We graciously allowed them to set up their tents and gear in our area and chatted the night away. They were down looking for the elusive salmon but so far they and us had failed to find any. We stayed 2 nights at Munglingup and can recommend the beach camp site.

Vickie fossicking along side the foreshore

Camp site at Munglinup Beach

We are now at Esperence, restocked with provisions and about to do some local site seeing before moving down to Lucky Bay in a couple of days time. Vickie's back has come good so she feels a lot happier, & when she is happy i am happy :-)

Safety Bay - Sth West WA

Finally we are on the road, have been for the past 6 days !! That's the good news, the bad news is Vickie has been laid up for most of that time with a crook back culminating in a trip to the Albany hospital for some professional help. The staff and Doctors there were great and gave Vickie some much needed TLC that only drugs can give, X-Rays showed she has a curvature of the spine and the recent heavy lifting and packing has not helped and she has muscle spasm's, two weeks rest and some anti inflammatory drugs should see her right.


I can say that the 3 nights we stayed at Cosy Corner was lovely, a delightful spot with ocean views and amenities such as free BBQ & toilet block. This evening will be spent at a van park in Albany and then we will move onto Bremer Bay & finally Lucky Bay east of Esperence and stay there for a fortnight or until Vickie feels better.


More photos can be found here



We are now at Bremer Bay, and Vickie has improved a lot so that is good news. In the caravan park we bumped into the people who bought our previous Van and Car, was nice to meet up but i don't miss the old rig one bit. Met 'our neighbours' David and Christine who have had a permanent camp set up at Bremer for many years, Went and chucked a few lures at a back beach, very scenic around here and looks very fishy country, No salmon but at least i caught something :-)

The F250 isn't a small vehicle, check out how its dwarfed by the wind generator

Photo's

Plenty more photos can be seen Here

Ningaloo and the Northwest 2008

We have been going to Ningaloo and camping along the coast at South Lefroy Bay for over 12 years now, we were taken there by friends, we in turn have shown other friends and even had our family & grand daughters stay for a weeks camping, it's that kind of place, nothing fancy just the pristine turquoise waters of the Indian Ocean and the fringing coral reef called Ningaloo. We love it, we have made good friends with other campers with whom we have met whilst also camping there, we all have something in common and it reaches across all ages & occupations.

So 2008 was going to be around one to two months at Ningaloo and then head further North revisiting many places like Broome, Derby, Gibb River Road, Kununurra etc for another four months. Well we lasted at Ningaloo for 6 weeks and the time flew, we had friends Mal & Lynn from Maldon stay with us in their Majestic Navigator caravan for a fortnight on their way up to Broome, and Vickie's sister Jo and hubby Dave also came up and stayed a fortnight with their Jayco Camper trailer. Both couples had met each previously and their stays overlapped a week each so it was great timing by all concerned.

Fishing was quite good of the beach to start with, i was doing well with the Spangled Emperor in the early hours of the mornings and was quite enjoying getting up at sun up to go tussle with the fish, once they went off the bite though it became a decision as to how comfortable the bed was compared to standing down on the beach, i must admit the bed won more times than not, but in my defence i knew that we had the tinny and could venture outside the reef on the good days and have some better luck there, which we did. A first for me was a double hookup on Spanish Mackerel, mine stayed connected whereas Dave's through the lure. It was an exciting catch with great strong runs but it was no match for the gear i was using and i soon had it inside the boat and humanely iki jimi & bled. Along with the Spaniard we caught our boat limit of Snapper so we were very pleased. Another day we ventured out we had much the same success but this time it was with the electrifying Mahi Mahi or Dolphin Fish as they are also known, these fish put on a spectacular display with jumps and twists as they tried to shake the lures, unfortunately for Dave he again lost the fish and luckily for me i didn't and once again i had a lovely large fish in the deck of the boat.

Apart from plenty of large squid around which Vickie & Dave caught the majority of, the rest of the fishing was quiet. We filled our days in by snorkelling or just watching the Ocean from our hill top vantage point. The Oceanic World seems to go past your eyes if you watch hard and long enough, we saw Dugongs, Sharks, Turtles, massive schools of bait fish, Dolphins and some shadows that we were not sure what they were but we wouldn't venture of the safety of our hill to find out.

Before we knew it our friends had been and gone and it was time for us to start thinking about leaving. We asked a few other friendly campers down to share a drink and some snacks and then surprised them by mentioning that we would be off in the morning, we had a great funny night, lots of laughs, jokes & wild antics by some, a good nights sleep and in the morning set about breaking camp. Our friends Alan & Joyce came down and gave us a hand because it looked like rain and it was appreciated even if it took we weeks to remember where i had packed everything.

So leaving Ningaloo behind us we moved North, we had never visited Onslow so why not we thought, so in we go the 80 odd Kilometers to pay the town a visit. Not much here but what there was is quaint and friendly, we stayed two nights at a van park in town to catch up on the washing and then moved out to Old Onslow and spent a night by the river, some very nice camp sites dotted along the banks. Further North we ventured and mainly we were just revisiting places that we had been many times before. Broome was very busy and we managed to book into a van park for 3 nights, Mal & Lyn were in town and it was catch up with them again time, They go to Broome each year and stay for 4 months or more, they love it but we don't mind admitting that it's not our scene and we would soon get bored of the caravan park lifestyle, we prefer to be in the bush or some nice quiet section of coast.

Another place we had been before was Middle Lagoon but we enjoyed it the previous times so why not visit it again. Nothing had changed and the sun still set in the same place, a week stayed there was lovely but maybe because it was familiar that i just didn't like it as much as before. Back into Broome to restock and then on up the Gibb River Road, another journey we have done 4 times before but each time in a different vehicle towing a different trailer so there has to be something different .. right?? Well actually no, the GRR is the same, the Gorges are the same and I'm sure the same tourists are driving the same Britz Troopys at the same speed showering us with the same rocks as previous years gone by. Yes it's the Kimberly and they are lovely but we felt we were just travelling the road for the sake of it, we spent 10 days on the GRR and it was very nice but nothing we hadn't seen before, and i know we would appreciate the area more if we were to visit at different time of the year such as after the wet or the build up prior if we could handle the humidity at those times.

Off the GRR and no problems with Van or Truck, the rig performs extremely well on the dirt & corrugations which is a comforting feeling. Into Wyndham for a visit and refuel, check out the jetty and the massive tides, it's worth driving up for a look at the Look Out, the views give you a great understanding of the massive tidal movements up these parts with 12mt tides. The Wyndham Bakery is also worth a visit with free tea & coffee's whilst you gorge yourself.

Onto Kununurra, one of our most liked towns in West Australia, we don't really know why it is, it's a combination of it's location the natural layout of the town in between the surrounding hills and the large body of water that is Lake Kununurra and further on Lake Argyle, both of which run through damns and exiting down the lower Ord River. Lake Kununurra is safe to swim in with reportably only freshwater crocodiles inhabiting but below the diversion damn is a different matter with huge 5mt plus Saltwater Crocs lurking about in plentiful amounts. Of course that's where the good fish are too so, funny about that ! We spent a lovely week at Kununurra, caught up with some other Bushtracker owners and visited a local mate who kindly tried to get me onto some fish whilst we were there but he failed dismally, nothing to do with me of course it's all his fault!

We had intended to go and camp down by the lower Ord but a visit to check it out showed that the effort to get a decent level site started to sway our minds about going out to visit Lake Argyle instead, having previously camped along the river and never stayed at Argyle the Lake won out. Four nights at Lake Argyle was lovely but where we nearly came unstuck, we were out in the boat and enjoying the incredible size of the body of water out here, i was giving the boat it's head and we were skimming across the water when i had a brain fade, i let go of the tiller arm to adjust my seat and i was expecting the boat to continue straight for the few seconds but instead it spun around with such force it threw me out of the boat and Vickie out and back in! How it happened that she was soaked from head to knees and managed to stay in the boat amazed us. A very dangerous incident and a healthy reminder to not be complacent on the water and always wear the cut off safety Lanyard, IF we had of both been thrown out and the boat continually circling at speed then who knows how the ending may have been.

With that scare dampening our fishing enthusiasm we ventured back to camp and decided to make the move slowly south back home, there was no rush though and we again stopped at Broome and visited friends, then down to Port Smith where i got the fishing bug again and went and caught a mixed bag of fish including another Spanish Mackerel which was the only one i kept. Down to Karratha we stayed at Alan & Joyce's place, fortunately they have a corner bloke with space for our van so that was handy. A two day catch up, three days and visitors start to smell like fish so the saying goes and we decided to go pay Wittenoom another visit, our 3rd over the years. It's a shame that Asbestos is such a dreadful product because the area around Wittenoom is breathtaking in it's natural beauty, we noticed that the signs mentioning the name Wittenoom are no longer up and the roads have been dug up to restrict visitors having a sticky beak, our thoughts are if your that unlucky to get asbestosis from a fleeting visit then your going to die regardless. So with that thought in our minds we drove in and stayed a night down by the river surrounded by incredible scenery.

After Wittenoom it was just another journey down the bitumen of life, heading home with the horses head turned there is not much to stop it, especially as we had come to the realisation that Yes as much as we enjoy the Kimberley we want to see new and different places and to do that we need to head east which is why in 2009 we intend to let our married daughter and her family take over residency in our home and we will hit the roads full time for a couple of years minimum. Stay Tuned for that next adventure in our lives.

Gulf Savannah Trip 2007

Our dear mate Kimbo passed away 15 September 2020. He is hugely missed. R.I.P Bro 

Most trips involve a bit of planning, routes to be taken, and things to see and do, approximate costs need to be calculated and the time involved needs to be arranged to coincide with holidays. Not for Vickie and Myself and our good mates Kimbo & Nerida, this was all semi arranged over the mobile phone as we were camped along the coast at Ningaloo WA and they at home at Newcastle.

Us: “We are thinking of upgrading our van to an off road with ensuite”

Them: “We are thinking of doing the same”

Us: “Well we will have to catch up when we are over”

Them: “Sure, look forward to it.”

That was about as planned as we got,

Fast forward twelve months and we were at Kundra Park taking delivery of our 19’ Bushtracker Off Road van, Kimbo & Ned who had recently bought a 17’ Kedron Top Ender were already on the road out far Western Queensland way heading for King Ash Bay & Borroloola. Knowing that we would be pushed for time to meet them there we arranged to meet up around Lawn Hill in a few weeks' time, again nothing was planned as to the exact date, but it did not surprise us that just 30 minutes after setting up camp at Adel’s Grove that who should drive in but them. Happy hour started immediately, and tall tales were told of both our adventures so far.

Kimbo and Ned had come to Adel’s Grove via King Fisher Camp, part of the Bowthorn Station and we had travelled in via Camooweal, the dirt road we followed was dusty and corrugated and it sounded like the station tracks they travelled through were no different. Great! We both like getting off the bitumen, why else would you own Off Road vans and we both enjoy fishing and Kimbo had the tinny and King Fisher camp had the Nicholson River, so it was decided to head back and check it out properly.

The station track to King Fisher Camp was easy to navigate to, just follow the track and the KFC signs, who would have thought Kentucky Fried Chicken was way out here we joked. We travelled through open pasture with big fat cattle grazing to narrow sandy tracks lined with trees and river crossings, none of it was difficult. Kimbo tows his Top Ender with a well set up 100 series Landcruiser and we tow our Bushtracker with a Ford F250 with oodles of grunt, both vans have more than adequate clearance and strength to cope with any conditions, the only restriction with these rigs as to where we could go was the physical size.

KFC was a welcome sight, especially after staying at Adel’s Grove, which was a dust bowl in comparison. Green grass, shady trees and running water greeted us as we were directed to our camp spot. Both our vans are self-sufficient for power, with 4 solar panels on each roof we positioned ourselves so that we could get the sun for the better part of the day, awning’s out, fire lit, and drinks poured I thought to myself, good friends, great camp spot, it just doesn’t get any better than this. The boat came off the roof and we gave the river a good workout over the next four days, but to our disappointment there were no Barra apparently the water temp was too cold for them, but we still had fun catching many sooty grunter and big fat catfish.

We thought we were on a roll when pulling our nets revealed two large cherubim, the girls started salivating about dinner and encouraged us to put more nets in but alas they were the only two we caught. We did spot the largest freshwater croc we had ever seen but before I could take a photo it had spotted us and headed for the water.

Leaving KFC, we travelled out on the station tracks to meet up with the Gulf Savannah Highway and head for Burketown. The road wasn’t too bad, enough corrugations to keep us alert and hardly any other traffic, Just past Doomadgee we encounter a long stretch of bull dust, I was travelling in front and at times we were engulfed in the fine red dust as the wheels found the pot holes, I picked up the UHF hand piece and called Kimbo to hold up whilst I stopped and got the camera ready for some action shots. A couple of minutes later found me squatting down in the middle of the track with six and a half ton of rig heading towards me, looking through the 300mm lens and firing continuously on the shutter it appeared as if it was a war scene with bombs detonating around the Cruiser & Van, Kimbo found one hole that seemed to swallow up the whole rig, it was very impressive.

Burketown was very windy, we had intended to camp down by the Albert river, but having a chat with others it appeared the winds were set to howl for a week or more so we decided to stay in town for the night and catch up with some washing and shopping. Next day we headed for Normanton, we were in luck the Rodeo was on that weekend and we were all keen to experience that. The entrance fee which included camping at the Rodeo grounds for a very reasonable $5, if you ventured outside the grounds it cost you another $5 to get back in and if you stayed longer than three nights it was then $25 a night, a great incentive to get people to visit but then move on.

The rodeo was fantastic, the weather was hot and the riding was hotter. Everything from young children riding camp draft & poddy calf’s to a one armed elderly guy riding a wild buck jumper, we were charged by one wild bull that almost sent me tumbling backwards off my chair as I was looking at it through the camera lens and it appeared to be a lot closer. We had intended to take a trip on the Gulf Lander train but instead we spent the three days just taking in the action at the Rodeo and thoroughly enjoyed it. We know we will be back one day so the train can wait till then.

Leaving Normanton we took a look at Karumba, we were disappointed to find it so busy and what camp spots were left were small and uninviting, we treated ourselves to a lunch of barra & chips
and headed out of town to find an overnight camp spot The Gulf Development road took
us through to Georgetown, one of the best butcher shops is here and we took advantage of some lovely 1″ thick steaks. We travelled on down to Forsayth and Cobbold Gorge, which was all dirt, and gravel roads that were in dire need of a grader, in fact the grader was sitting on top the low loader being readied for the job. Camped at Cobbold Gorge we visited the Gorge itself on the tour, very nice but less people to a tinny would have been more comfortable, the rock formations due to the river flooding over thousands of years was spectacular. The 2nd night we were there it poured, 2″ of rain came down and it looked like the roads out would be closed to traffic, before that happened we decided to make the break and head out, we were immediately followed by a tour bus and 3 - 4 .  vehicles towing camper trailers. The drive out was interesting, luckily the F250 had some chunky mud tyres fitted and with it’s large wheel base it made light work of it, not so Kimbo who was sliding and having trouble getting traction with his more conventional AT tyres. By the time we got back out the rigs were looking very ‘used’ so we decided to keep on going and take the back track out through Einasleigh to Mt Surprise, more muddy black soil caked the underneath of the vans & vehicles.

We stayed at Mt Surprise Van Park initially but then moved out to O’Brien’s Creek, a Topaz fossicking area that allows camping. We had a great time there in between showers of rain, we were determined to find our fortune or the Mother of Big Topaz, the enthusiasm left after 3 days and finding out that topaz was inexpensive to buy and one 170ct uncut specimen we looked at could be purchased for $45, Kimbo and I decided it wasn’t worth busting our guts for. Onto Ravenshoe, the highest town in Australia, and we think the coldest, wettest, foggiest as well! But it was an interesting town and camping for a gold coin donation at the local railway yard, well you can’t beat that for value. It is also a good town to base yourself and explore the many waterfalls in the district; we never get tired of looking at beautiful scenery. On the Sunday the steam train takes tourists for a ride, we preferred to watch it rather than take the journey.

Through Atherton and onto Mareeba where we stayed at the Rodeo Grounds, an excellent venue that is well populated with the Motor Homers as it is not fancy but its cheap, Danny the caretaker is a likeable character and the grounds give security for leaving your rig and exploring the district. We were starting to travel to fast and needed to slow down so after giving the rigs a good wash and top soiling the show grounds with all the mud from underneath we decided to take a visit to Palm Cove just North of Cairns, of course none of us thought how busy it would be being peak tourist season, we managed to get in but only for an over night stop.

Cairns down to Townsville, we called in and visited many places, I was hoping to visit Tinaroo Dam but it wasn’t to be, next time with my own boat perhaps. We were heading to Burdekin where Peter & Noelene Shadforth were hosting a Kedron Caravan Gathering on their sugar cane farm, we were invited as we had once owned a Kedron and we were travelling with Kimbo so that was reason enough, It was going to funny being the only Bushtracker in amongst 40 Kedron vans and their owners, we were up for it though and don’t mind the stirring at all.The gathering was excellent, the hosts had thought of everything from marque’s to Porta loo’s, even going to the trouble and expense of erecting lights & power, 3 of the nights were catered for with a different theme each night, tours of the farm explaining how the sugar cane is grown & processed, even a longer day trip out to the Burdekin Dam which was overflowing at the time. The high light though was a helicopter ride, Peter’s nephew has an agricultural business and fly’s a Bell Jet Ranger, he took groups of 4 up for an overview of the farm and the camp area, the ride was very exciting to watch from the ground but once it was our turn Vickie asked for it to be WILD!! Well, he turned and looked in shock and said MILD? Vickie yelled back WILD, he powered it through every manoeuvre imaginable and whilst Vickie, Ned & Sam, [Neds daughter] screamed in the back seat I was in the front taking photo’s and just laughing myself silly, as we were dodging the tree’s I thought to myself Oh Well, it’s been a good life should it all end now! An absolute blast and thanks to the Shadforth’s & KOG group for having us.

It was getting close to the time when the girls were flying home for a few weeks to catch up with families so we headed to Townsville and readied for their flights. Kimbo and I were going to hang out the couple of weeks they were away and try and catch that elusive fish but that is another story.

P.S The nine month wait for our new Off Road BushTracker was worth it we love it, the F250 with it’s big 7.3lt V8 Diesel made an excellent touring tow vehicle, with 26,256klms travelled, 5453 litres diesel used at a cost of $7146, an average cost of $1.32 per litre and an average economy of 21 litres per hundred, it was not cheap but we travelled in comfort and safety with the big Ford F250 towing an estimated weight of 3.5 ton, we saw a lot of Australia and we think it was worth every cent.