Visiting Australia: Some hints, tips and general observations

After 11 weeks travelling around Australia we do not claim to be experts but we have gleaned some knowledge that will be useful to those planning a trip, particularly if you are planning on camping / campervanning. The below are our observations, hints and tips as they came to us, so there is no particular …

A whistle-stop tour of Tasmania

We arrived at tiny Hobart airport in the early evening and we were waiting patiently for our bags to make the 30 metre journey from plane to belt when, suddenly, we had a very cute dog sat attentively next to us. Tasmania has very strict quarantine regulations and you cannot bring fruit or vegetables over …

Braving the elements in Melbourne

We left Perth at lunchtime and landed in Melbourne at night due to the time zone change. It was absolutely pouring with rain. Prior warning for those travelling to Melbourne; you have to buy a AUD6 myki card to use any public transport outside the free tram area and you don’t get refunded if you …

Fremantle, Perth and saying beidi

We were still feeling the after effects of our wine tour combined with post-surfing aches and pains as we packed up our Margaret River campsite. We said goodbye to our wine tour friends, and made our way north towards Fremantle and our last two nights in Heidi. We made a couple of quick stops on …

Wine, wine, wine, surf, sleep – Pemberton, Hamlin Bay and Margaret River

Our night in Pemberton brought more rain and we found ourselves longing for the unbearable heat of the Northern Territory again. Fortunately, after a morning of drizzle, the weather broke and we started to see some patches of blue sky in amongst the cloud as we left the campsite. This was lucky for Caro, as …

Walking amongst giants in the land of cheese and honey

From Albany, we made our way to Denmark and pitched up at Ocean Beach Caravan Park before addressing the very pressing issue of laundry. We were camped about 500m from all of the facilities and we clocked a fair few steps just going back and forth to re-hang all of our clothes on the line …

6 National Parks in 3 days (Part 2)

Our journey to Albany took us winding through the wheatbelt and was therefore accompanied by many road trains hauling grain and James continuing to dominate at spot the combine. By opting for a slightly longer route we also took in Stirling Range and Porongurup National Parks. This turned out to be an excellent decision as …

6 National Parks in 3 days (Part 1)

The sun was shining when we woke up in Esperance, perfectly suited to our plans to visit Cape Le Grand National Park and its exquisite beaches. Caro ran over a bird in Heidi on the way there and felt terrible for the next few hours, especially with James reminding her at regular intervals. The route …

This post is largely a celebration of James’s cracking facial hair – Cervantes to Esperance

We were due to finish our Australian road trip in Perth and, as we had a few days to spare, we decided to skirt around the city and head down to the south coast and cover the south western corner as best we could. After a couple of fairly short days of driving it was …

Alpacas, jellyfish and coffeegate – Greenough to Cervantes

Our very enthusiastic friend Deb, from the Visitor Centre in Gero, had given us a comprehensive list of activities to do on our journey south, along with free places to camp. After the impressive Northampton we were eager to see another historic village and pulled in to the National Trust owned village of Greenough. It …