"..and back again" Broome-Perth-Sydney

"I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read on the train" - Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)

Back on the road, Im heading South from Broome to Perth overland and then (once again) flying back to Sydney.

15 December

Didj by the sea in Port Hedland

This morning we sadly departed Broome, a fantastic place to get lost in the beach and sun and let life drift happily along. I have managed to accomplish a few things in Broome, the most major of those accomplishments is circular breathing - and therefore I have a beginning in my quest to learn to play the Digeridoo. Other accomplishments include watching the sun set over Cable beach five days in a row. Last night Mel and I did head out for a meal in a local cafe and it was possibly some of the nicest food Ive ever had! The local produce is Mango, and The Old Zoo cafe where we ate manages to incorporate it into most dishes fantastically well. (If you're ever there, I recommend the scallops) Having now arrived in Port Hedland, a mining town and a very stark contrast to Broome. The most interesting thing about the drive South today was that there is, bar two roadhouses, absolutly nothing on either side of the road during the distance of around 650km! I am now getting ready to head out on a three day tour to the Karajini National Park. Many other travellers have said this was the highlight of the West Coast trip, so I have high hopes of a fun and interesting time.

Another Broome Sunset

Friday 19th December

Im now relaxing in Exmouth (pronnounced Ex-mouth, as opposed to the English version, "Ex-muth") after a long hot and draining drive from Port Hedland. The trip to the Karajini National Park was very interesting, the scenery was fantastic and over the three day trip our group explored the four gorges that comprise the main highlights of the park. We managed some great jumps off ledges from around 12m above some of the swimming holes in the gorges and climbed up and down some of the rock walls out of the water. At night we camped in swags under mosquito nets (that helped keep the flys off rather than mosquitos, that I didnt actually see any of), the first time Ive actually slept out in one.

Campsite in the Karajini

The gorges exist in some incredible rock formations and the Hammersly Gorge in particular had some incredible layered rock formations with many different colours throughout the layers. It was very beautiful, peaceful and tranquil.

The Hammersly Gorge

Aside from the scenery, the next most interesting part of the tour, was the guide - a real (self confessed) dink-di Aussie. He was also a self confessed racist, bigot and homophobe. You can probably guess that the evenings around the camp-fire contained some interesting discussions. Ive encountered this type of person before but never anyone who is actually PROUD of these beliefs. It was a bit of a shock to say the least. The unfortunate thing was that he also wasnt much chop as a guide, in so far as he didnt know much about the area and aside from the fact that the itinerary was well thought out and provided some decent views and opportunities for things to do, there wasnt much information for those of us sitting in the back of the bus. In summary, if you're ever in Port Hedland do yourself a favour and ** DON'T *** go on the Pilbara Adventure Safaris tour. Rant over.

Exmouth is one gateway to the Ningaloo Reef (another is Coral Bay where we will head to down the track), so tomorrow we are going to try and get out to Torquoise Bay for some snorkelling on it. We've decided to rent our own gear and drive ourselves as a break from tours, I think will be a welcome relief.

Sunday 21st December

Up close with a Turtle

Im now at Coral Bay on the Ningaloo reef, having just returned from a short walk along the beach where from the comfort of the sandy beach, I got to watch a couple of schools of Reef Sharks swimming around. There are lots of young sharks around so you are not allowed to go into the water, but it was a pretty cool experience.

Yesterday we were quite alot further north on the same reef out of Exmouth and managed to get out to Turquoise Bay where there are two snorkelling opportunities, the first is a drift dive which involves walking a few hundred metres down the beach, getting in and letting the current (and yesterday, a very strong wind!) take you back down to where you started. We did this one three times. After seeing a lot of coral and colourful reef fish it was time to take a break so we got out of the wind and did a short hike up the Mandu Mandu gorge, which was interesting without being spectacular. After some lunch we returned to Turquoise Bay and did the Bay dive, which was a lot more murky and involved a lot more energy, as there was no current to push us along. We had decided to head back in after about 15 minutes, when Mel spotted a Loggerhead Turtle, which provided much excitement and we swam with it for a bit before realising that we were now much further out. On the way back in we managed to see a pretty wide variety of sea life and got back to shore pretty happy and contented at a decent days swimming. Unfortunately, our lack of attention to detail whilst applying sun block had left the back of four legs very lobster-like.

Turquoise Bay

From there, we continued down the road to Coral Bay about 2 hours drive from Turquoise Bay via Exmouth, and found a hostel there to nurse our sunburn. A couple of beers last night at the local pub were very welcome.

Tuesday 23rd December

After leaving Coral bay, we headed south to Denham, a small town on the edge of the Shark Bay World Heritage Park. During the trip we finally left the tropics, so we are now in what Im guessing are supposed to be cooler climes. Not so far! From there we went out to Monkey Mia to see the Bottlenose Dolphins that frequent a spot on the waters edge, but they had decided to not visit that day, so poor old me had to sit in the sun, swim and play didg' for the afternoon. Damn it all!

Friendly Dolpin at Monkey Mia

Retiring to Denham, I had a pint in the Shark Bay hotel, the most westerly pub in Australia and eased into the night with a few more beers at the hostel. It was that way again this morning with a nice easy start, heading out to Monkey Mia again to see the dolphins, who decided to actually turn up this time. It was a bit of a cat fight as its school holidays and lots of children splashing, crying and yelling tends to discourage the dolphins from getting too close - but it was still quite cool and after visiting the Stromatolites (possibly the earliest form of living organism) on the Park's fringes we headed south again to Kalbarri which sits on the border of the National Park of the same name. There isnt a whole lot of time left to explore the area, but we will try and have a look at what there is tomrrow before continuing south.

Wednesday 24th December

A Pelican at Monkey Mia

Today we had a look around Kalbarri, which was very nice and included a talk by a woman on the sea front who volunteers to feed Pelicans every morning. She fed the birds, then gave us some interesting information about them and the local area. Then it was back into the car to continue further south, stopping at a few coastal points of interest along the way as well as a pink lake. Caused by algae, the view over the water of the lake whose name escapes me was quite amazing. We arrived in Cervantes late afternoon and got some things for an Xmas Eve bbq before heading out to see the Pinnacles. I wasnt quite sure what to expect at the Pinnacles, but what I did see was quite weird but at the same time spectacular. The obelisks of rock sticking out of sand for miles was most bizarre. Tomorrow we head to Freemantle, civilisation, mobile phone coverage (finally!!) and alcohol on the Beach. Bring it on!

Saturday 27th December

*** Merry Christmas All ***

We are now in the wine and surfing town of Margret River, about 280kms south of Perth. Xmas day was a great day, with a three hour drive in the morning to Freemantle where we met Karen and Lindsay who I seem to have been running into all the way along the track since Darwin. After that the details are a little sketchy, though I am assured a good time was had by all. Something about beer, vodka, red wine and Eminem.. hmmm. Also a valuable lesson should have been learnt about going near water after drinking. I will try to remember that next year in the northern hemisphere winter.

Boxing Day was started reasonably early, as I had to get "For Sale" notices for the Ghost put up all around town. We walked around Freemantle and then drove into Perth to visit a few hostels and put up ad's. [To date there have been no responses.. D'oh!] We finished the day by heading to Cottesloe Beach and going for a swim in the very refreshing water followed by some fish n chips, a beer at the Little Creatures brewery and a DVD at Lindsay's friend, Svens's house. (no relation to the English football teams coach, but this didnt stop me singing the "Sven song" all day)

Today has just been a lazy afternoon around Margret River, only venturing out of town 6kms to see the surf, and booking a winery tour for tomorrow. After the last couple of days I feel it is a much deserved rest.

Tuesday 29th December

The Margret River wine tour is certainly a great day out! Yesterday we tried around 40 wines at 5 different vinyards and got a few good pointers on appreciation of the varieties that we encountered. It also lead to a great nights sleep and a number of beers with the tour group (not in that order).

The Miracle Mile in the Karajini

Today we drove from Margret River to Pemberton, where the giant Karri, Marrie and Jarrah trees line the highway south. The main attraction in Pemberton is climbing the fire lookout trees. There are two, the Glouster Tree at 60m and the Bicentennial Tree at 75m high. I climbed up both, and I can safely say that with the reasonable wind that was blowing, it was a very interesting experience. Apparently only 1 in every three people make it to the top, and I can divulge that today in the ghost, the ratio was one in two. We also went for a wander around the Cascades, a local river and a local wood gallery containing items of expensive furniture and souviners made from the local wood products.

Still no one has called about the car, so when we get back to Perth tomorrow the (very) hard sell will begin.

Thursday 1 January 2004

Happy New Year! Today is the last day in Western Australia and this morning I bade farewell to the Grey Ghost as it departed into the distance with its new owner Darryll at the helm. I had met Darryll at the pub two nights previously and if it weren't for that I would have been left with a car in Perth after I departed for the other side of Australia. No one at all replied to any of the Ads I put up around town!

Yesterday I went into the Swan Bells tower, a building containg (not surprisingly) 16 bells. The bells have actually been taken from the St Martins-in-the-Field church tower in London, and the largest one is around 1.5 tons. I had a go at ringing one, and it was surprisingly easy. The tower is right on the banks of the swan river and provides great views of the city as well as the river.

The Grey Ghost - "Not a Toyota"

Perth has been a relaxing time, the One World backpackers hostel where we're staying is nice and clean and new, so has been a good base to get out and about from. New Years Eve was a good celebration and I managed to crawl into bed around 3:30am after a decent effort at seeing in 2004. Back off to Sydney early doors tomorrow, so today will be spent trying to fit everything into the few bags that I have in order to get my belongings onto the plane!

Tuesday 6th January

The CBD of Perth

Back in Sydney, it was time to get things sorted for my onward journey, but first I had to catch up with my (old!) mate Su who I met in my tour of the Kakadu National Park. We had a great couple of days going out, sweltering at the cricket in the members watching Australia v India in Steve Waugh's farewell test match after arriving two hours early and still not being able to get a seat in the shade. This is a problem especially beacuse you have to wear long trousers in the members stand. For someone Ive known such a short time she has been amazingly kind and generous over the past couple of days.

I managed to wander around the foreshore of the inner harbour for a bit to get one last reminder of the city that has been my home for the past year and a half and also catch up with Rach, Al (who I stayed with), Daz and Heids over the couple of days as well as keep the local alchol industry ticking over. Many thanks to the publicans of the Angel and the Commodore in particular.

Today I am busy packing tea-chests for their transport to either NZ or the UK depending on the immediate needs of the contents. I still wonder where all this stuff comes from! Its incredible how much stuff one person can accumulate.

Click here to continue to follow my trip to NZ and Fiji..

Any comments, innaccuracies or abuse, send to: ryananglem@hotmail.com