Magnetic North

Farewell, and Hello

2010-08-17T11:11:00.002+09:30

I'm sitting here watching the sun play over the surface of Uluru. A fitting end to my four month trip around WA and NT. Now I head south, back to Adelaide and home.

Uluru - Kata Tjuta National Park, NT

I've driven just over 20,000km, spending $4,500 on petrol. More importantly, I've walked over 600km on a dozen or more trails, spending five weeks - over a quarter of my holiday - on walking trails. I've been to many special places and met some cool people. Maybe I've learnt a thing or two as well. Australia is much vaster than I imagined, it is full of life, there doesn't seem to be any emptiness out there.

Thanks for all your comments and emails along the way, I'm glad you've enjoyed reading my blog as much as I have writing it.

Uluru - Kata Tjuta National Park

2010-08-17T11:04:00.005+09:30

It's an image every Australian has been overexposed to. Uluru. The Rock. I didn't have high expectations, but when I first saw it on the horizon, I was still left breathless. It really is awe insprining.

Uluru - Kata Tjuta National Park, NT

The rock climb. I'd be interested to know, how many Australians who visit the park do the climb. Is it mostly internationals? The climb is not noted on the map amongst the other walks, the distances and times are not mentioned. There is no information on how to access the walk, only a request not to climb it, and safety advice should you wish to, including listing the symptoms of a heart attack.

The national park was created in the 1950s, the land excised from the adjoining Aboriginal reserves created in the early 1920s. In 1983 the federal government agreed to close the climb. In 1985 the park was returned to the local indig people, on the condition the land be leased to the government - to be jointly managed as a national park - and they reneged on the climb - it was to remain open. There is no longer any real discussion as to whether the climb should be open or not, it now a matter of when it will be permanently closed. Last year, in a draft of the next 10 year management plan, it was recommended that the climb should be permanently closed.

Uluru or Ayers Rock? Well, since dual naming was officially adopted in Australia in 1993, either, both. So in December 1993 Ayers Rock was renamed Ayers Rock / Uluru. Then, in 2002, the order was reversed, Uluru / Ayers Rock. Most Australians though simply refer to it as Uluru. The road signs are a real mixture, near Alice, Uluru or the dual name. Closer to the rock, they revert to using Ayers Rock. In the national park, exclusively Uluru.

Then there is Yulara, the town created in 1984 some 20 kilometres from the rock. When it opened, all the existing motels, airstrip and other buildings at the base of the rock were demolished and the land remediated. The road signs point to Yulara, but when you get there, you are left wondering if you are about to turn off into the town or not. There is no mention of the Yulara name, it is called Ayers Rock Resort. The town was created by the NT government - hotels, motels, caravan park, supermarket, all the hallmarks of a designer town. When the town in it's enterity was divested of by the government to a private company in 1997, that company adpoted the name Ayers Rock Resort. No Uluru, no Yulara.

Modelling the socks and sandals look, my feet were too injured for those hiking boots, I hiked the short circuits of Kings Canyon, Kata Tjuta / The Olgas, and a walk I was particularly looking forward to, the base walk around Uluru.

The Valley of the Winds walk, through Kata Tjuta / The Olgas, is pretty special. We are not overexposed to images of the Kata Tjuta, so it is all a pleasant surprise. Just 30 kilometres from Uluru, each visible from the other, they are similar, yet very distinct from each other. Uluru is an inselberg, the term monolith now frowned upon. Contrary to popular belief, it is not Australia's largest inselberg. Just down the road, it number three, Mt Cromer. Think western movie, Utah, the granite plug look. Over in WA, Mt Augustus claims the first prize. 1,000 kilometres inland from the coast, it looks every part a mountain, covered in trees and plants, and nothing like a single rock. Uluru, the second biggest, but every bit rock. Kata Tjuta is a different type of rock to Uluru, Uluru being granite, Kata Tjuta being conglomerate. It is a a series of 36 steep-sided domes, plenty of trees and grasses spread throughout it. Pretty special walking.

I saved the best till last for my four month holiday. I had been looking forward to this, the 10 kilometre base walk around Uluru. To see it close up, to see the waterfalls and vegetation that benefits from the rainfall running off the steep sides.

Uluru Base Walk map
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The Valley of the Winds Walk, Kata Tjuta
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Ten very stupid things

2010-08-17T11:03:00.001+09:30

What would a travel blog be without a list of the ten most stupid things I have seen people do in these last four months? Well, here she is, in no particular order.

Two lovely, albeit stupid, Canadians cooking sausages over the fire, one sausage at once, neatly skewed on a 25cm wooden skewer - too short to be able to hold close to the fire. Result: burnt outside of snag, uncooked inside, hot fingers. They were lovely people but.

A backpacker provoking a snake with a stick. "It's safe," he tells me, "the stick is longer than the snake." It was, or so he thought, a rare yellow taipan snake, very poisonous, prior to the introduction of anitvenom in 1984 there were no known bite survivors.

Driving a 2WD car - not the stupid bit - wait for it, on the wrong side of a dirt road - the driver had found the so-called Sweet Spot on the road. Problem? Two relatively fast travelling 4WD's approach each other, the 2WD is lost in a cloud of road dust, head on collision between the oncoming 4WD and the 2WD. Bloody dangerous, bloody stupid.

Driving a 4WD vehicle on a 4WD track, 4WD mode not engaged - to save fuel - tyres at full bitumen pressure - too lazy to deflate - and with a very inexperienced dirt road driver - second time on a dirt road. Result? Vehicle roll-over, a 3,000km emergency medical airlift for a fractured vertebrae victim, uninsured car a write off, a true holiday-ruiner (I didn't see this, a friend of a friend.)

The Top End. Asking at a roadhouse for the weather report. Reply? "Look outside, same tomorrow as today. Same next day too." To be honest, I almost fell for this one too, but I goofed out on asking, I had an instinct if I might be ridiculed.

Hiking 12km in thongs along a rocky path in Katherine Gorge. Maybe this one is undeserved, I've spent the last three days walking in sandals due to my injured feet. Maybe he was just a very tough guy, or just stupid, dunno.

Driving with a broken windscreen. Not a problem if you do it right, I saw a few cases. This one though, exceptionally stupid. Shattered but intact windscreen, 20cm hole punched through driver's main field of view, covered in a clear - well, clear-ish - plastic bag. Vehicle seen driving out of a major town in the NT, one where I know there was a windscreen replacement workshop.

Driving a 4WD with over-inflated tyres on a sandy track. Common advice, let the tyres down to 20psi. They were very clearly struggling to drive the vehicle, I followed them for many kilometres. They had reduced their tyre pressure by 10psi, to 35psi, the recommended tyre pressure for the rear wheels on a bitumen road. Same car model as mine, so I was quite familiar with the recommended tyre pressures. Even when they asked me, they decided to disregard the manufacturer's label on the car concerning tyre pressure, and 20psi, that's absurd, or so they thought. Keep battling mate, and damaging every track you drive on.

Dropping stones off a cliff into the Katherine River, to test the water depth - as if they could even hear the rock in the water - so they could jump the eight or so metres. Incidentally, a saltie was found in the river a few weeks later.

Free camping in Kakadu National Park, on Aboriginal land. Stupid, but it gets better. Lighting a campfire, which was easily seen from the nearby official campsite with the ranger in attendance. There is a $5,500 fine per person for leaving the road and being in an unauthorised area, including free camping. And this before we even mention the respect thing, it is, after all, the local indig folk's land they are letting us cross.

Fuel economy of a 1997 Mitsubishi NJ Pajero

2010-08-17T10:59:00.004+09:30

This is, without doubt, the most boring blog post ever. I include it here, tucked between some more interesting posts, not for my friends to read, but so the great Google can gobble it up and spit it out to fellow travellers who might, like myself some six months ago, want to know these details.

The fuel economy for city driving for a 1997 NJ Mitsubishi Pajero is 15.0L/100km, for country driving 14.9L/100km. I include that statement for Google's benefit, the detail to explain that is below. I don't have the foggiest idea what it uses in city driving.

FUEL ECONOMY	4WD TRACK		CITY	DIRT ROAD	OPEN BITUMEN ROAD
FUEL ECONOMY	20km/h	40km/h	60km/h	80km/h	90km/h	100km/h	110km/h	130km/h
No roof rack		22.5L				13.4L **	14.9L	18.2L
Roof rack*				15.0L	14.1L	14.6L	17.4L
Roof rack loaded only with additional spare tyre *Out of interest, with a fierce tailwind, this dropped to 11.8L/100km (100km/h). The 18.2L/100km for the 130km/h was into a headwind, so might be lower in normal driving conditions.

And also useful, is a table of tyre pressures. These are useful for when you need to deflate the tyres for a 4WD track, or to reinflate them to bitumen road pressure after leaving a 4WD track or dirt road. The pressure reading will be different depending on tyre temperature, so reinflating the tyres after leaving a dirt road or 4WD track can be a little troublesome.

TYRE PRESSURES	NORMAL LOAD				HEAVY LOAD
	FRONT		REAR		FRONT		REAR
	COLD	HOT	COLD	HOT	COLD	HOT	COLD	HOT
BITUMEN	26psi		29psi		30psi	31-34psi	35psi	36-41psi
					11 seconds 2		15 seconds 2
DIRT ROAD 1 80km/h & 4WD high-gear mode					26psi	30psi	30psi	35psi
4WD TRACK 4WD mode					17psi	20psi	17psi	20psi
1. The dirt road pressure is 10% below bitumen road pressure. This helps to keep tyres intact on dirt roads with sharp rocks and improves grip on the slippery surface. On worse roads, deflate by a further 10% or more to suit. 2. Time in seconds of how long to deflate tyre from bitumen to road pressure to reach dirt road pressure. As a guide, every 30 seconds 9psi is let out of the tyre.

These pressures are as per the manufacturer's recommendations.

An abrupt end at Ellery Creek

2010-08-15T17:44:00.001+09:30

Like I said, my hike of the Larapinta Trail (see earlier blog post) came to rather an abrupt end midway along it, at Ellery Creek. I'm at pains to describe exactly what happened, but one moment I was excitingly opening my food drop package, and moments later it seemed to game over.

Larapinta Trail, West Macdonnell Ranges, Alice Springs

I didn't want to taint my previous post about the Larapinta Trail with this ending. It was with great reluctance and disappointment that I decided to exit the trail here, at Ellery Creek. I had hiked five days and 100 kilometres, six days and 120 kilometres remained.

At the campsite, the open food drop box beside me, I removed all my various foot bandages, some merely for protection, others for injuries. What I saw had me a little gob smacked, for I knew this could only mean the end of my hike. As some of you know, my immune system conspires against me. One author of a novel I read when talking of a similar condition, described the double edged sword that medication treatment held, "it was not so much pain relief with side effects, but effects with side relief."

Ellery Creek was a good spot to exit the trail, the main bitumen road lay just one and half kilometres to the south. The following morning, I bid farewell to my new trail friends, as they continued on eastwards. I plugged in my iPod, I hate it when I see hikers walking with iPods, but my hike was over and I needed cheering up. If anything, it helped me remove myself from the natural world, an attempt to pull me back to our world of cars and cold supermarkets. I walked slowly, hiking boots carefully attached to my pack, crocs on my feet, out to the bitumen road. I stopped by the emergency phone, checking out the criteria for it's use. On the road I hitched a ride into Alice Springs with a local retired butcher doing some plumbing work for his son. He had spent almost his whole life in Alice, he had seen it transformed from a town of 1,500 people with an unreliable railway to the south, and a hastily constructed world war two single lane bitumen road to the north, to a town with 25,000 people. He recalled from his childhood how the train came almost to the main street, how there was just one house on the other side of the Todd River, now there is urban sprawl.

In Alice I phoned each of the four medical clinics in town. None could fit me in for a further five days. One rather hopefully offered me an appointment on August 26, some 14 days away. In terms of infections, five days was an eternity, 14, well, at least four times an eternity. So I had no choice but to wait four hours in Emergency, simply to get some antibiotics.

The following day I decided I would pay a little visit to the Old Telegraph Station, which is where I would have finished hiking the Larapinta Trail. The trailhead stood some distance from, and well out of sight, of the Old Telegraph Station. Shunned to a obscure corner of the carpark, the trail's presence was left unmentioned amongst the short walks trailhead in the Old Telegraph Station's grounds.

On that sunny afternoon I gave up the idea of completing the trail. When I exited the trail, I thought I would spend a week recovering, checking out some Alice sights and the distant Uluru and Kings Canyon, but having partook of the convenience of the supermarket with it's boundless food choices, and realistically assessing the health of my feet, I realised returning to the trail in seven days time was impossible. I tallied up my time spent on hiking trails in the previous four months of travel, and it rather neatly totalled 600 kilometres. It had been, in anyone's book, an excellent hiking season.

Hopefully a few kilometres remain in my feet, I want to walk around Uluru and Kings Canyon, but we shall see. What else could anyone do. The Larapinta Trail will wait for me.

The Larapinta Trail

2010-08-15T17:33:00.006+09:30

This is my first trip to the Red Centre Green Centre. Yup, very green Centre. This has been an excellent season for rainfall in central Australia, the infamously dry Todd River in Alice Springs has flowed five times already. Everywhere is green, and desert wildflowers are in bloom.

Larapinta Trail, West Macdonnell Ranges, Alice Springs

On the second day of the Larapinta Trail hike I met two girls from Alice. They were hiking the Trail because it had been such an excellent season. They assured me the landscape was covered in green plants, normally it was dominated by dry spinifex and red rock. One had lived in Alice for 20 years and knew her flowers well, some of the ones we were seeing are so rare she did not know what they were. They only flower after consistent rains, and that hasn't happened in twenty years. In the first four months of this year, it rained 372mm, last year only 116mm of rain fell, 302mm the year before that.

Almost every day I saw flowers I did not recall seeing previously. Some on mountain tops - many, some in open country, some only in sheltered gorges. They came in every colour: red, purple, yellow, pink, blue.

The Larapinta Trail took me somewhat by surprise, not least because of how green it was and the flowers, but also how magnificent the landscape was. It struck me as a kind of mixture between the Flinders Ranges and New Zealand. Dramatic red parallel mountain ranges, rocky outcrops, gum lined creeks - some with large pools of water, some dry. New Zealand? The mountain tops, vast windswept valleys with small, almost alpine like plants.

The weather in the desert winter is perfect for hiking. Warm, sunny days, between 18 and 20 degrees. Cold nights, about zero to five degrees. Nice for a small campfire, although, of course, we didn't have any, the collection of firewood is not permitted in national parks.

There are a few curiosities along the trail. Firstly, the debacle of Mt Sonder. All the literature and signage suggests you climb to the summit, when you do not. The cairn, marking the alleged summit, even states it is Mt Sonder summit, 1380m above sea level. You can't miss the Mt Sonder proper summit, laying immediately in front of you, across a small gully some 750m or so to the north east. The false summit is about 30 metres lower than the proper summit. This theme is continued, between Serpentine Gorge and Ellery Creek lies a trig, with a somewhat homemade look about it, which it would have, since it doesn't even mark the highest point of the low rocky outcrop, surrounded by larger mountains.

One website describes this section as "This is arguably the most boring section of the entire trail." Going further, "prepare to tear your hair out in frustration," referring to the constant hills and ridges the track follows, when there is a seemingly good route a few hundred metres to the south over flat land. "If you are a bird watcher or bushwalker this section may not be too bad," they state. Too right. Didn't mind a bit.

The trail regularly went up to the top of a hill or mountain, providing wonderfully scenic spots for breaks. From many of these Mt Sonder, and further beyond it, Mt Zeil, Northern Territory's highest peak, dominated the distant west.

I started from the western end of the trail, the alleged end of the trail. The trail starts just four kilometres north of Alice Springs at the Old Telegraph Station, running 223km westwards along the West Macdonnell Ranges to Mt Sonder. It made more logistical sense for me to start from the western end. I paid Alice Wanderer, a local bus company, $400 to transfer me from Alice Springs to the western end, which included two food drops along the way. The food drops are securely stowed in locked rooms, and they provided me with a plastic tub for each drop. If I hiked the trail out from Alice Springs, I would have to pay for the food drops to be driven out, and pay to be collected from the end. This would have cost something like $580, and I would have a schedule to meet.

I met several parties of hikers on the first day and night. The Mt Sonder summit (read false summit) hike is popular amongst day hikers. As it is a return hike, the campsite near the trailhead often has more people camping there: those starting out on the trail and about to undertake the summit hike, those just completed the summit hike, and those completing the trail and waiting for a lift back to Alice Springs. The campsite is not marked on the 2006 map edition, but is located just 200 metres from the trailhead, on the banks of Redbank Creek.

On the second night, at the excellent Finke River campsite, I was enjoying the free gas hotplates in the evening light, the sun having set just moments before, when a solitary hiker stumbled in. Cutting it fine, he had only left Redbank Gorge to hike the 26 kilometres at 11am. He had to catch up with his son, who had started out three days previously. I met the son the following day as i passed through a campsite, and the pair of them stumbled into a my campsite further down the trail just moments after the sun sunk over the horizon. We had similar hiking schedules, so hiked and camped together for the following days.

The trail is well marked with blue arrows, and generally well formed. Only on the rocky mountain tops did I ever stray from the trail, and usually it was just a matter of looking for the rocks crushed underfoot, or the white dust from within the crushed rocks.

Trail facilities are generally good. The shelter at Finke River was particularly impressive, of a similar standard to the Bibblimun Track and Munda Biddi Tracks in Western Australia. It included ample roofing, sleeping platforms, a vermin proof cupboard for food, multiple water tanks, a picnic table and benches, and, yes wait for it, a couple of gas hotplates. This shelter isn't shown on the 2006 edition maps, so a little research pays off. A good website for that would be the larapintatrail.com website, look at the Sections page for details of camp facilities and an honest, if not brutal, appraisal of the trail terrain. A little overwhelming perhaps to sort through before hiking any of the trail, but regardless a good supplement to the maps.

Water seems readily available at water tanks, and we had to drink none of the bore water that was about. Naturally, with so much rain, there was ample flowing water in the creeks. Many of the larger rivers required detours of several hundred metres to skirt around the widest, muddiest sections of the large pools.

I wasn't sure how long the trail would take me. The trail is divided into 12 sections, but some of these are defined as two day sections, with campsite options midway. That said, they didn't seem to be uncheckable far apart for a hiker like myself, so I used that as my template. So the trail could be hiked in as little as 11 or 12 days, but many hikers take their time, using up to 19 or 20 days. I had food for 16 days, and a few options to spread that food further, and there was kiosk near the end with a few basic supplies.

That said, my hike came to rather an abrupt end at Ellery Creek. I had hiked five days and 100 kilometres, six days and 120 kilometres remained.

There are two albums this time, one general album, and one devoted to all the desert wildflowers I saw.

General album:

Desert wildflowers album:

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Tracks and waypoints sourced from two sources. Source 1: Sections 7 through to 11 (excluding the last 6km of Section 11) - handheld GPS device. Source 2:- sections 1 through to 6 and Section 12 - from www.larapintatrail.com

Stats	The Larapinta Trail
	Saturday	Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday
	07/08/2010	08/08/2010	09/08/2010	10/08/2010	11/08/2010
	Redbank Gorge to Mt Sonder and return	Redbank Gorge to Finke River	Finke River to Waterfall Gorge	Waterfall Gorge to Counts Point	Counts Point to Ellery Creek
Distance	14.55km	25.91km	22.86km	17.68km	18.97km
Start Time	10.36am	7.41am	7.51am	8.11am	7.10am
End Time	3.15pm	3.27pm	3.56pm	5.46pm	2.57pm
Moving Duration	3h14m	5h21m	5h35m	5h38m	5h24m
Stationary Duration	1h25m	2h27m	2h38m	3h57m	2h23m
Moving Average	4.5km/h	4.8km/h	4.1km/h	3.1km/h	3.5km/h
Overall Average	3.1km/h	3.3km/h	2.8km/h	1.8km/h	2.4km/h
Oodometer	14.5km	40.5km	63.3km	81.0km	100.0km
Overnight Low	-0.2C	1.1C	0.9C	2.6C	-0.4C

Um...

2010-08-12T11:02:00.002+09:30

It is with great relunctance and dissapointment that I have been forced to exit the Larapinta Trail early. I have walked five days and 100km, six days and 120km remain.

Larapinta Trail, West Macdonnell Ranges, Alice Springs

A blog post of those five days to come...

The Poles Have Shifted

2010-08-06T15:01:00.004+09:30

The magnetic polarity of the planet has gone nuts. This is very clear to me. The Artic Circle has moved, it is now centered over Alice Springs.

It all started back on Wednesday, in Katherine, when the sky fell in. This weird, wet, and cold substance fell from the sky. I don't know what it was, but I high-tailed it outta there. I drove south, as fast as I legally could, 130km/h, until it eased a little and a more economical speed could be sustained.

Emerging from my car some 800 kilometres south, it was sudden and absolute. It was cold. Bloody cold.

Last night in Alice, it was -4.6 degrees at 5.30am. Ok ok, that was the Apparent Temperature Reading - which is always useful to make a temperature sound colder or hotter than it was, nevertheless, it's a real measurement of how the temperature feels. The real one was -0.6. It was cold. The days are nice though, sunny, 18-20 degrees. The nights, 1 or 2 degrees, for the next week anyway.

I have spent the last couple of days organising my next hike, on the Larapinta Trail. I will be walking the 223km trail over the next 12 or so days. Just imagine all the election banter I will miss. Mind you, I've pretty much missed it all anyway. I voted today at an early voting centre in Alice, still not avoiding the leaflets being shoved in my face. Enthusiastic mob.

I spent three hours sorting and packing my stuff, which included organising two food drops. An old man sat in the sun reading his paper, occasionally looking up to peruse my busyness, still marvelling at how I survived last night in a tent.

I saw my first sign pointing to Adelaide yesterday. There was a handwritten one below a big sign north of Alice. Someone had spray-painted "Adelaide ??" at the bottom of the roadside destination sign.

Here's a nice photo from my drive down from Katherine into the Artic Circle. It is the Devil's Marbles. Each rock is a person was frozen to death in the last couple of nights. Truly. Forget the geology.

The Jatbula Trail

2010-08-03T20:44:00.004+09:30

"It's a tough track ya know." The ranger was scrutinizing my walking plan for the 58 kilometre Jatbula Trail. Four days seemed reasonable to me, but the Jatbula Trail is a trail that demands that you take your time. This is what I, like many others who have walked it, have learnt on the trail.

Jatbula Trail, Nitmiluk National Park (Katherine Gorge), Northern Territory

The comments book at the kiosk at the end of the walk reads the same, again and again - "It took a couple of days before we worked it out." Rising early - before first light, walking - preferably slowly - in the morning, swimming and relaxing in the shade of a tree in the afternoons. I even got up at 6am once or twice, Graham you would be proud. The terrain is not difficult, it is the tropical heat that beats you into submission. Venturing into the sun, away from the water's edge, you suddenly realise just how hot the afternoon has become.

The Jatbula Trail starts from the Katherine River in the Nitmiluk (Katherine Gorge) National Park, 30 kilometres east of Katherine, in the Northern Territory. It follows the escarpment across the park to Leliyn (Edith Falls). The campsites are ideally spread about 10 kilometres apart, each beside a picturesque waterfall, creek or rockhole.

In the queue for the ferry at Katherine Gorge, I met two fellow walkers, two women who had escaped their partners and children in Melbourne for a week walking. We looked around for the other seven hikers who would be beginning on the same day, only to see none of them. How odd, we thought. The trail, or so we thought, was limited to 10 hikers starting out per day. We soon learnt though, that this was not the case. We saw no-one else on the trail until the fifth and final night, at Sweetwater Pool, where anyone can hike the four kilometres in from the end of the trail at Leliyn. Perhaps it was limited to 10 hikers on the trail. We had both had trouble booking a place on the trail months beforehand, it certainly seemed to be fully booked.

My four day hike turned into a six day hike. It was so relaxing just to take it easy and relax each afternoon. I spent six days - six hilarious days - with Kris and Kristen, who I had met on that first day, hiking, swimming, relaxing and playing cards on our makeshift picnic rug. We exchanged tales of our hiking adventures, all of us becoming converts to hiking in the previous five to ten years.

Our first campsite, at Biddlecombe Cascades, was the entree of what the Jatbula Trail held in store for us. Water flowed from the escarpment over the terraces into large rock pools. Being swamp fed the water was deliciously cool, warmer than other nearby pools.

Crystal Falls is on a river, seemingly unnamed, so much water is there. Flowing over rocks creating eddies in the many rock pools. The shady trees on the bank offered numerous choices to set-up camp. Glorious riverside camping, the afternoon spent dipping ourselves in the rockpools or relaxing in the shade, as we pleased. The Crystal Falls themselves remained hidden down the valley, the following day we saw the falls plunging far off the escarpment into a narrow chasm below.

The falls weren't hidden at our third campsite, 17 Mile Falls. Walking in, we were treated to a clifftop view of the falls, the water dropping into a large plunge pool below. The campsite was bright and overpowering in the midday sun, but relaxed into the afternoon as the shade crept across it. We spent the afternoon, once again, at the water's edge.

The photos do no justice to Sandy Pool camp. The shaded campsite, set on the sandy banks of a large, deep pool. The Edith River enters over rocks upstream, dissapearing into reeds at the other. The edge, with it's lily pads, hiding the near vertical rocky sides.

It's not all picturesque creeks and falls though. The Amphitheatre is a little oasis on the escarpment edge. A narrow track leads down into the deep, steep sided valley. The sheer cliffs on the three sides, adorned with the ancient of the Jawoyn People. A stream, seemingly emerging from no-where, meanders through the landscape. If it were not for the tropical humidity, cool as the Amphitheatre was, one could mistake this for Tasmania - the tall myrtle trees dropping their leaves to cover the forest floor, dappled sunlight coming through the thick canopy.

The landscape is diverse: savannah, swamps, melaleuca stands, rocky escarpment outcrops. The wind whips through the trees on the turbulent escarpment edge, providing welcome relief to the tropical heat. At 17 Mile Falls, rain and lightning rolled around us, lighting the night sky. It did not rain on us, much to the relief of Kris and Kristen with their mosquito net, their Forcefield against the night's bugs but somewhat ineffective against rainfall.

Now, how much do you think such an exclusive hike would cost. Well, there's the six dollar ferry fare. Then, the three dollar nightly camping fee. Seriously, there are limited options on how to return from the end of the trail at Leliyn (Edith Falls) to Katherine, or to Katherine Gorge. The only services provided are by the several taxi services from Katherine, putting the cost at about $150 to Katherine. There are some rumours that as of 2010 Dysons buses are providing a service for about $100 but I haven't been able to confirm this. Nitmiluk Tours, via Dysons buses, provide an affordable shuttle service between Katherine and Katherine Gorge.

The Jatbula Trail, a unique and seemingly exclusive trail. I have two pieces of for you. Take it easy, get up early, walk slowly. And to ensure you can enjoy what this trail offers, book early.

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Stats	Jatbula Trail
	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday	Monday	Tuesday
	29/7/2010	30/7/2010	31/7/2010	1/8/2010	2/8/2010	3/8/2010
	Nitmiluk Visitor Centre to Biddlecombe Cascades	Biddlecombe Cascades to Crystal Falls	Crystal Falls to 17 Mile Falls	17 Mile Falls to Sandy Camp Pool	Sandy Camp Pool to Sweetwater Pool	Sweetwater Pool to Leliyn (Edith Falls)
Distance	7.9km	10.5km	9.8km	16.8km	11.2km	4.1km
Start Time	9.08am	7.49am	7.19am	7.20am	7.57am	6.41am
End Time	12.18pm	11.39am	10.48am	12.00pm	10.19am	8.05am
Moving Duration	2h04m	2h45m	2h16m	3h31m	2h11m	1h03m
Stationary Duration	1h13m	1h04m	1h12m	1h04m	10m	21m
Moving Average	3.8km/h	3.8km/h	4.3km/h	4.8km/h	5.1km/h	3.9km/h
Overall Average	2.4km/h	2.7km/h	2.8km/h	3.7km/h	4.8km/h	2.9km/h
Oodometer	7.9km	18.5km	28.3km	45.3km	56.6km	60.7km

Nitmiluk National Park (Katherine Gorge)

2010-07-28T17:24:00.004+09:30

Occasionally, although thankfully, rarely, things can go horribly wrong on a hike. No, not an injury, getting lost, or even the much feared snake bite or croc encounter. One can run out of reading material. Even those who have meticulously packed for their hike, including not one, but two books, can be caught short. I completed both my books during the long, lazy afternoons at each campsite.

Nitmiluk National Park (Katherine Gorge), Northern Territory

Maybe not horribly wrong, but as those of you who are fellow book lovers, this isn't a situation one wants to find oneself in. I had tried to fill my days with hiking, picking the furthest campsites with the most difficult trail ratings. As you might know, I waste no time in walking. I completed each day's hiking within four hours. The first day, this wasn't so much of a problem as I only started out at 10am. The second day though, I was eating an early lunch atop the cliff's edge overlooking Katherine Gorge and my night's campsite.

I could have done all the walking in two, not three, days, but I wanted to give my ever-injured feet a break, and to enjoy each of the spectacularly placed campsites on the Katherine River.

The day before my hike the Katherine River was closed to swimmers and canoeists due to a saltie sighting. A canoeist had seen what they thought looked awfully like a saltie, and not a freshie. Two days later, the rangers confirmed it. As is their way, the saltie had moved up the river undetected. It was only a little fella, only two metres in length, but still, it wouldn't pass up the opportunity to have a bit of a nibble on a German or Japanese tourist. It had snuck past the main swimming and boating area near the visitor centre, over the first set of rapids and into the second gorge.

There was no danger to my planned hike, or so I was assured. The croc still had to cross a few more sets of rapids to reach my swimming and camping spots. Even so, the thought plays on one's mind as one swims in the river. These crocs can move about undetected, let's not forget that.

I walked first to the Eighth Gorge, not deviating down any of the side trips from the main east-west track. The network of walks here is referred to as the Southern Walks of the Nimiluk (Katherine Gorge) National Park. It presents many options - one main track leads end-to-end, many side tracks lead down to the gorge and river. Several weeks ago I had walked a day hike into Butterfly Gorge and Pat's Lookout with Beni - at the time we had been limited to day walks as we needed to check daily at the post office to see if the new radiator for the crippled car had arrived.

Butterfly Gorge is not so special. There are butterflies, true, but they aren't of particular interest. The monsoon forest here has been blackened by recent bushfires. The river's edge is somewhat inaccessible. Returning from out walk here, we diverted down another side track to Pat's Lookout and the Southern Rockhole. The lookout has panoramic views over the river from the cliff edge. We also enjoyed a nice swim in the river, not put off by the signs on the opposite side of the river stating, "Warning. Do not enter beach. Croc breeding ground." They were, of course, only harmless freshies.

Eighth Gorge is special. The campsite is beside a large plunge pool with waterfall. The river can be found by following the trickle of water leaving the pool's edge, growing to a creek, before it itself tumbles over the cliff edge to the Katherine River far below.

On the second day, I returned along some of the main track, but this time deviating into Jawoyn Valley. The indig rock art was hard to find, I suspect I found very little of it, but the views and surroundings were pleasant so the detour was well worth it.

Returning to the main track, I took another side track, this time to Smitt Rock where I would spend the afternoon and camp. Naming the place a rock is quite an understatement. The river is split in two by the huge rock formation, it as high as the surrounding cliffs. The campsite sits on the sand banks of the river. I had this campsite, like the previous night's, all to myself. There were no other hikers, and no-one was permitted to canoe up the river to join me. Pity, it was a wonderful place to spend a warm afternoon reading in the shade of a nice gum tree.

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Stats	Southern Walks of Nitmiluk (Katherine Gorge) National Park
	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday
	26/7/2010	27/7/2010	28/7/2010
	Nitmiluk Visitor Centre to Eighth Gorge	Eighth Gorge to Smitt Rock via Jawoyn Valley	Smitt Rock to Nitmiluk Visitor Centre
Distance	15.65km	15.5km	10.8km
Start Time	9.50am	8.10am	7.38am
End Time	2.10pm	12.40pm	10.06am
Moving Duration	2h55m	3h10m	2h08m
Stationary Duration	1h07m	1h23m	19m
Moving Average	5.4km/h	4.7km/h	5.0km/h
Overall Average	3.6km/h	3.3km/h	4.4km/h
Oodometer	15.65km	31.7km	42.1km

Assurances of Secrecy

2010-07-28T16:40:00.000+09:30

I've had a few requests for details of the secret camping location in Litchfield. Assurances of secrecy and loyalty. Want to know the details of the eight campsites, a short walk from the carpark, each with it's own private rock pool and waterfall?

Litchfield National Park, Northern Territory

Just forward me the 16-digit number that appears on the front of your credit card. Don't forget that little three digit security code on the back either.

I cant post it here, I simply cannot. I cannot put it somewhere like this, where the great Google in the Sky will spread the details far and wide. I just cannot risk it. As it is, the campsites are popular. I lucked it on the first night. When we returned to camp another night, even though we were early, all the campsites had been taken. You might need to allow for an extra night, one to camp out in the car park first, so you can be standing, ready at the chalkboard, for when the first person vacates their campsite in the morning.

Litchfield

2010-07-25T20:09:00.008+09:30

My main interest in Litchfield National Park was the 39 kilometre Tabletop Track. However the park was so good, and the offer of a friend to come down and join me for the weekend from Darwin was too good to refuse, so I stayed on for another three days.

Litchfield National Park, Northern Territory

The Tabletop Track is a loop walk, accessible from several different link walks that connect to car based campgrounds or natural attractions. So even though it is a 39 kilometre walk, one has to walk further to access the track, and further still to take in some of the side trips the natural attractions such as the rock holes and waterfalls. Well, if, and I mean IF, one can cope with walking during the day seeing almost no-one, then walking down a side track to a waterfall which has seemingly just been inundated with several tourist buses worth of people, each armed with an SLR camera and complaining about how tiring the three hundred metre walk from the carpark is.

Florence Falls is one of the more famous sites in Litchfield National Park, perhaps only Wangi Falls rivals it. I did the two kilometre side trip to Florence Falls, the link walk taking me through a humid monsoon tropical forest to the spectacular falls with a large, cool plunge pool. Somehow I quite accidentally managed to get a photo with no-one in it, how I don't know, as I swam another tourist bus load of people arrived.

The following day though, I couldn't bear to repeat the people inundation experience at Wangi Falls, so I skipped this side trip. I did return in the following days though with my friend from Darwin, and there were so, so many people, but it was still good, maybe helped by his tales of visiting Wangi during the Wet. No people there then, just lots of water and maybe lots of crocs lurking around too.

Much of what is easily accessible in Litchfield National Park, including the Tabletop Track, lies in the north of the park. The Tabletop Plateau dominates, the roads skirt around the plateau following the escarpment edge, frequent short roads in to the many waterfalls and water holes. The Tabletop Track likewise follows much of the escarpment, but on the plateau well away from the road and people. While most of the waterfalls are accessible by these short roads, some are only accessible from the Tabletop Track, which is what makes this track so special.

The walking in the savanna was hot, I really should have done the walk over more days and restrict my walking to the cooler mornings. The monsoon forests and many creeks and waterfalls though were so much cooler to walk through, always a nice place to sit and relax, maybe swim.

One campground was particularly special, only a very short walk from a link walk car park, each campsite with it's own private bit of creek, rock pool and waterfall. But if I tell you it's name I will have to kill you. So if you email me or leave a comment asking me, I will need to send a hit man around. And that wont be very pleasant, now will it? I would like to keep the Best Ever Campsite a secret as much as possible, although I shared it with my Darwin friend and I decided I would let him live (he was, after all, rather nice to talk to).

I lost my much loved and travelled hiking GPS unit, an insurance agent slammed into the back of my car on the highway, and I accidentally took too much of what I like to call my Deadly Drug (a medication), but these are all stories for another time...

Sorry, no map from the GPS for you this time. Too bad heh, you won't be able to find the secret campsite unless you come up here and explore it for yourself.

Updated 25/05/2011. There are GPS files available for this walk now. They come from http://en.travelnt.com/experience/walking-trekking/tabletop-track.aspx - I reconfigured the XML file as a GPX file and KML file. The path doesn't have a huge amount of points, but should be ample for navigating the trail should you wander off it (really only possible through burnt out areas of wide creek crossings.) I would place a caveat on the area around Walker Creek though, I'm not sure it looks correct, the trail goes from the main trail west to Walker Creek Campsite as a spur trail rather than the main trail passing through the carpark. If coming off the main trail you won't get lost, the spur meets to the carpark to campsites trail near the toilet, at about campsite 6 of 8. Turn left for sites 6-8, right for sites 1-5 and carpark.

Download GPX file - for use as a navigational aid in a GPS unit
Download KML file - view in Google Earth

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The above Google Map shows the official trail file from TravelNT.com
Download GPX file - for use as a navigational aid in a GPS unit
Download KML file - view in Google Earth

Farmers Union Territory

2010-07-25T20:08:00.001+09:30

Oh, half of Darwin is populated by people from Adelaide. Welcome back to Farmers Union territory Jeremy

Darwin

2010-07-19T10:43:00.004+09:30

Spent a couple of days chilling out in Darwin: the lagoon, Mindil Markets, some beaches. Meeting some locals.

Darwin, Northern Territory

Spent an afternoon at the Melbourne Docklands style wharf precinct - nice and warm though with a swimming lagoon and lawns. Also the sunset Mindil Markets, lots of asian food stalls and some good live bands. Emdee, contemporary didgeridoo music. I have seen them at the Fringe before and have an album of theirs, good stuff. The Fringe show was more intense, but hey, it's free market music. Also World Fly, a Darwin based trio recently signed to a German label. Enjoyed their chilled out sounds, cello, I love it.

Met some locals, caught up with some friends made on the road. Farewell to Beni, back to Germany. Cool city, hot people, warm climate. Tempting to stay a little longer. I've always thought Darwin could be a nice place to work for awhile, good to see it lives up to expectations.

The beaches though, keep a watch out for crocs and stingers, and undetonated hand grenades from the war: news story from this morning.

Kakadu

2010-07-19T10:41:00.002+09:30

"People need to come here and relax, sit on the country, feel the spirits of this country, and go home and feel the same way" -- Natasha Nadji, Bunidj Clan

Kakadu National Park, Northern Territory

There is a lot to see in Kakadu, and it will touch you in a special way. The park is divided by an escarpment ranging between 60 and 300 metres in height, on the top is the Arnhem Land Plateau, lower down, the billabongs, monsoon forests and flood plains. On the Plateau, Stone Country. Two rivers pass through the park, the water plunging over the escarpment making many waterfalls over it's length.

Lots of swimming holes, and of course salties, a plethora of bird life. Lots of hiking. And lots of Indig Rock Art, some 5,000 known sites. A further 10,000 sites are thought to exist in the park.

The best place to see the rock art is at Ubirr, in the park's north east. Here there is rock art of different styles and vastly different ages spread over a wide accessible area. There is a painting of a Thyracine, the Tasmanian Tiger which became extinct on the mainland some 2000-3000 years ago. There are paintings of white men from the 1880s, buffalo hunters. Clearly clothed, their hands in their pockets or smoking a pipe. Paintings of life size barramundi, they used to be so much larger than they are today. Perhaps we fish too much. Pocket Fish the local indig people now call them. They used to require two men to carry one. Stories of hunts. Stories of discipline. Stories of the spirits. Anatomical drawings of turtles to educate the younger folk as to the best bits to eat. Mimi paintings very high on the roof of an overhang, near impossible to access, the very tall Mimi spirits are said to have painted them. In one place the paintings are up to 14 painting layers deep. The age is difficult to determine, context is the key. Style, what it depicts. There is no organic matter in the paint used here, so carbon dating cannot be used as it is used in the south of the continent.

Archaeological digs at one shelter site suggest occupation for at least the last 20,000 years. Axes, stone tools, grinding stones and grinding holes, discarded food bones. The complexity of the artwork reflects the environment at the time. 20,000 years ago the land was very different, a sparse ice capped planet, not much food here. 6,000 years ago occupation increased, as did the painting complexity. A changing environment. Only in the last 2,000 to 3,000 years did the Wet and Dry Season cycle we are familiar with begin, seas rose, life was abundant, so indig populations flourished.

We did a few hikes, one to the top of Jim Jim Falls. Only 7km return, it was a tough climb up the escarpment during the hot afternoon, then a walk over the stone country, two swim in one of the upper pools. Another hike through monsoon forest to a swimming hole.

Crocs a plenty. In the billabongs, on the flood plains, in the rivers and pools. Twin Falls was closed due to a croc attack (it was a just a nibble), no, not really, just closed because the salties returned after being removed. They remove salties from the big tourist sites, otherwise tourists couldn't see these places.

Back on the Road

2010-07-12T11:00:00.002+09:30

My face lit up, yep, over there in amongst the hundreds of parcels awaiting collection was a large radiator sized box. Our seven day wait for a new radiator was over.

Katherine, Northern Territory

The car has been struggling since the second-to-last-day on the Gibb River Road. The radiator had a hole in it, we kept topping it up with water, a lot really. In Kununurra the mechanic could not source a new radiator, only 13 years old and no longer manufactured, they suggested the radiator be removed from the car, trucked to Darwin and repaired. Seven days to wait in Kununurra without a car. Mmm. We could drive to Darwin I thought, the radiator only needed topping up with water every 20-100km (depending on speed and road conditions). 4WD dirt roads were particularly bad, as was city driving.

Five minutes on Google and we had a new radiator, to be flown from Melbourne. Today, there it was in Katherine Post Office. Straight to the radiator repair place here in Katherine, fitted within the hour. Back on the road. To Kakadu we come!

We have spent the last week in the Bungle Bungle and Nitmiluk National Park (Katherine Gorge). I cant wait to get back here at the end of the month to walk the four day the Jatbula Trail, and also another three day hike we couldn't do now because we had to keep going to the post office to see if the parcel had arrived yet.

The Bungle Bungle

2010-07-10T23:10:00.002+09:30

Although known to local pastoralists and indigenous folk, the Bungle Bungle was unknown to the outside world until the mid 1980s. It did not appear on maps - not even topographical maps - nor was it photographed, not even named. A helicopter camera crew discovered it by accident, making it's dramatic scenery known to Australians and the rest of the world.

The Bungle Bungle, Purnululu National Park, WA

The local pastoralists saw it only as a source of a river, the business of cattle kept them occupied. Gold was discovered in nearby Halls Creek in the 1880s, but still the Kimberley held the secret of the Bungle Bungle. To the indigenous folk it had special meaning, but we know they like to keep their secrets sometimes, and why not?

If I share, too many white men will come all right, and they will go on doing this. Sticky beak all right, and look for something. If they find something goody goody, they'll take it.

-- source: interview on ABC's Stateline, 28/5/2010, concerning rockart in Kakadu (url http://www.abc.net.au/news/video/2010/05/28/2912636.htm)

Some stuff is still a well guarded secret by the indigenous folk. Their rock art, which includes depictions of crocodiles, and burial sites.

This is one of the iconic places I wanted to visit on my four month trip, I think you will see why in some of the photos. To enter Cathedral Gorge one is filled with awe. Walking through a narrow gorge, the shear cliffs towering 200 metres above on each side. The gorge floor is occupied by a flat creek. It feels like you are about to stumble upon an ancient city in the desert, Petra maybe. Not a noise can be heard, it's one of the places in the world that seems to call for silence. Walking several hundred metres through this narrow space, the gorge suddenly opens up, revealing a huge amphitheatre formation. The area, made round by rolling boulders as the water runs down the cliff above, open to the sky in a narrow opening. The middle occupied by a shallow pond, a reminder of how much water would be here during the wet season. The roof ceiling provides a perfect environment for your echo, the place calls for silence but at the same time wants sounds to reverberate around it's walls.

Naturally the Bungle Bungle has more to reveal than just this one special place. The drive from Kununurra down Highway One is spectacular in itself, but it is merely setting the scene for the Bungle Bungle. The 50km 4WD road in from the highway hints a little more, only very close to the park does one see for the first time the mountains of the Bungle Bungle. The orange cliffs rise abruptly from the plains. Dramatic as they are though, they are not the Bungle Bungle one sees in photos. It is only when you drive further in, or better still, walk further in, that one sees their iconic and true beauty -- the stripped beehive formations. These are the most exceptional examples of sandstone cone karsts anywhere in the world. Standing up to 250 metres tall, they create an intricate maze of twists and turns, almost a city of rock sky-rises (to borrow a phrase from the national park literature.)

The sandstone is an ancient riverbed, uplifted high above the surrounding plains. Weathering and erosion slowly formed the distinct shapes we know today, as new rivers were formed through the old riverbed. The sandstone is sedimentary, layers of gray or orange rock. The grey rock has a high clay and moisture content, allowing cyanobacteria to grow on the surface. The orange bands have a lower clay and hence moisture content, preventing the cyanobacteria from growing. This layer oxidises forming the distinct rusty orange colour. Occasionally recent landslides reveal the true colour of this band - a bright silver white colour.

It was through this that we undertook a two day hike. If we did not have a new radiator awaiting collection in Katherine, to be fitted to the crippled car, I think we would have spent three days on this hike. We spent a day hiking along the Piccaninny Gorge, camped beside a rock pool, then hiked back. Had we a third day, we could have explored some of the five side gorges that are present in the upper gorge beyond our campsite. Although only a 14 kilometre hike in, it is a difficult hike. Following the creekbed, it is either sandy, soft gravel, navigating eroded rocks or large boulders.

On the first day we had lunch at the distinct Elbow in the gorge, well, so we thought, until we came upon a more distinct Elbow further upstream. It really was slow walking.

We had the gorge almost to ourselves, beyond the tourist bus groups near the very start of the gorge we passed only two other parties. Both had chosen to hike in and out in a single day, both were jealous we would have so much time to explore and have such a magnificent campsite. The campsite we chose - we could camp anywhere we liked - was beside a rockpool. Cliffs soared high above us, the rockpool being in the corner of the gorge. During the Wet water would cascade down the cliff, filling the rockpool and overflowing into the main gorge creek.

During the day the gorge was filled with a cacophony of bird sounds, echoing up and down the gorge. As night fell, silence descended. Our voices could be heard echoing far up and down the gorge, in the silence we could finally appreciate how far the echo travelled. Our campsite was fitted with a security device, not that it was needed in this isolated place. The cliffs the other side of the rock pool amplified the sounds from the main gorge creek, we could easily have heard footsteps as they approached from either upstream or downstream.

After the hike, we visited nearby Echidna Chasm. We had missed the best time of day to visit, the narrow chasm, sometimes only shoulder width wide, was best seen at true noon, the only time the sun could shine down into the narrow space. The chasm is a fracture in the rock mountain, snaking it's way from the palm entry deep into the mountain, gradually narrowing until it's eventual abrupt end.

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Stats	Piccaninny Gorge, Bungle Bungle, Purnululu National Park
	Wednesday	Thursday
	7/7/2010	8/7/2010
	Carpark to Gorge 1	Gorge 1 to carpark
Distance	15.2km	13.1km
Start Time	9.27am	7.33am
End Time	2.52pm	11.27am
Moving Duration	3h33m	3h02m
Stationary Duration	1h56m	56m
Moving Average	4.3km/h	4.3km/h
Overall Average	2.8km/h	3.3km/h
Oodometer	15.2km	28.3km

Gibb River Road

2010-07-05T10:56:00.003+09:30

Ten days on the Gibb River Road, a 4WD dirt road stretching from Derby in the west, to Kununurra in the east. Stunning gorges, cascading waterfalls, and aside from a few crocs, beautiful cool afternoon swims.

The Gibb River Road, in the Kimberley

The Gibb River Road cuts through the heart of the Kimberley. It is a 4WD dirt road. True, it is possible to drive a 2WD on it, we saw two in ten days - countless 4WDs though. Thing is, the two wheel drivers, they will see almost nothing. The attraction is not the road, it is the various rough 4WD tracks that lead off to gorges, waterfalls and pools. These tracks are rough, but every one is worth travelling down. The track to Mitchell Falls is some 250km long and takes about five hours to drive. Walking a further 3.5 kilometres from the carpark one is struck by the immensity of the falls, cascading down from the river into three lower pools.

A few small sections of the Gibb River Road are sealed, sometimes in the conventional manner, sometimes just a lane width in the centre of the road. Most of the bad hills are sealed. There are frequent river or ford crossings, on only one is it not possible to walk out and check the depth. You might just loose a leg to a saltie.

The shy freshie crocs inhabit many of the waterholes, but they pose no problem to people. They don't eat us, not even a nibble. Well, as long as you don't go poking your fingers in their eyes or something. They're shy fellas, they keep their distance. In the huge Diment Gorge we paddled four kilometres up and back in a canoe, we saw just one croc. In the distance, the eyes and snout just above the waterline distinct, as soon as it saw us, it submerged.

The gorges are stunning, or, as Beni couldn't let go of his lamo play on words, just gorge-ous. Waterfalls fall down one side of an almost circular gorge, just one side leading to the downstream river. Boulders, lily pads, boab trees, gum trees, palms, line the sides. Refreshingly cool water, nothing better than an afternoon swim to get out of that 30 degree heat and wash away the bull dust of the dirt roads.

In Windjana National Park the devorian range stretches for many kilometres, just a narrow width, a remnant of an underwater ancient barrier reef. It stands in stark contrast to the countryside around it, rising some 100 metres above it. The Windjana Gorge cuts through it, a series of large rock pools and sandy beaches with freshies laying in the sun, waiting for a fruit bat to fall out of the tree above. Further down the range lies Tunnel Creek, a 750 metre tunnel through the range. A creek, inhabited by freshies, flows through the tunnel. Walking through, wading in ankle or waist deep water, the tunnel only broken by one roof collapse midway.

Adcock Gorge and Galvans Gorge, both stunning circular pools. Both beautiful, one the most visited, one hardly at all. One, the carpark on the Gibb River Road, a short walk in. The other, a rough eight kilometre drive in. Words and photos do neither justice. Luckily for us - read bad planning - we arrived at Galvans Gorge, the most popular, very late in the day. Sunset was just minutes away, the winter solstice not so long ago. But what a treat, the popular pool all to ourselves.

Manning Gorge, a couple of styrofoam boxes lying beside a creek. Chuck in your camera and clothes, thank goodness for bringing those hiking dry sack bags to protect the camera - the styrofoam boxes being well used. Swim across the river, walk a few kilometres to explore and swim the Manning Gorge. A large circular one, huge falls pummelling down. Swim under them, can you stand the water pressure? Jump from the top into the deep pool below. Climb to the cliff edges, witness it all. Try to take it in.

Diment Gorge, wide, lots of water. Steep narrow cliffs at one point, no wonder it has been the site of two plans to dam the gorge. What a travesty it would have been. The Australian Wildlife Conservancy's Mornington Wildlife Sanctuary occupies much of the land that would have been flooded. Destock of the Kimberley cattle in 2004, three threatened species have thrived. On a night time motion activated camera, rare footage of a bandicoot previously thought to be extinct in the Kimberley. A bar, inside or outside, the edges blurred. Green lawns, tables set out, a fire pit, a cold beer. Listen to the talk from the Australian Wildlife Conservancy ranger. Special work they do.

Spent a night with a couple of Polish Aussies. Fresh succulent beef care of the Aboriginal community they had been welcomed into the previous day. A camp fire, a few drinks. The all Star Hotel, as many stars as you like in the starry night. Stories from war torn Poland, a prisoner of war camp and an escape to Australia into the small hours of the morning.

Zebedee Springs, 32 degree springs, pool and creek. Moss covered rocks, tall palms, nestled in a steep gorge. Okay, jealous? Please note we had to get up at 4.30am to enjoy this one to ourselves, we heard a bus tour was starting at 5am here. By 12 the place closes up to the public, the fancy pants $400+ a night tour groups get the arvos.

Still dealing with that jealousy? Don't overlook the leaking door panels in the car, fine red bull dust entering the car and filling every crevice and hole, nothing is safe. Stone chips on the windscreen, thanks for speeding past with the camper trailers guys. A hole in the radiator, stopping every 20 kilometres to pour more water into the leaking radiator, limping into Kununurra. She'll be right, a helping hand anywhere on the road. Oh, and no mobile reception, not anywhere. Better coverage in more places, not up here. Watch for the cattle on the road. They don't respond to a car horn, they've heard too much of them. Petrol at 205.5c/L. Fill the jerry cans, do the fuel consumption calculations, this petrol beast has a long way between roadhouses. Diesel is king up here. Inmintji Roadhouse just sells diesel, no unleaded petrol for you city folk. Nice ice creams but. No tvs to watch the World Cup either for my German friend here. Germany is going into the semi-finals, pity the family weren't so good at commentating the match live from the tv in Germany. Not a skill we all possess I suppose.

The Gibb River Road, well worth the effort. So glad I bought the 4WD instead of a 2WD. It was this road that tipped the scales. 2WD? See nothing mate. We met a couple a few weeks ago in Broome, the kitted out 4WD. Gibb River Road, two days, rough. Saw nothing mate. This is the Kimberley, take your time. Enjoy the swims and sunsets.

Telstra: Better Coverage in More Places

2010-06-24T23:46:00.002+09:30

That's what Telstra advertises, isn't it? Better coverage in more places.

This is me getting reception so I can use my phone as a modem for my laptop. Yup. My phone is dangling from the gas light pole above my head.

Tomorrow we return to Broome for a quick supermarket re-stock before starting out on the Gibb River Road. Although the road can be traversed in two days, we met people today who had done that, it is better to spend a little time to see the sights. There is little to be seen from the road, most of the good stuff like the gorges and swimming holes are located a little way off the road. Four wheel drive country (and yes still Croc Country). We are planning ten days to two weeks, including a trip up to Mitchell Plateau and Mitchell Falls, said to be the most spectacular falls in Australia. This is also a period of no mobile reception, so no phone or email access.

Welcome to Croc Country

2010-06-24T22:43:00.003+09:30

"You can swim at the beach," said our campground host, "no crocs here." Ok, cool. But there are stories of salties swimming past in the sea beside the beaches. Harmless enough, moving from one creek to another. Just last week, Cable Beach at Broome was cleared after a croc sighting.

Dampier Peninsula, north of Broome

Beach swimming, maybe it is over now, I thought. North of Broome is Croc Country: beware the Saltie. The signs at the start of the Cape Leveque, Dampier Peninsula road confirmed it. At our first campsite though, "You can swim at the beach," said our campground host, "no crocs here." Just as well, Middle Lagoon was a spectacular beach. Three beaches, a small lagoon in the middle. Good snorkelling, swimming, beach chilling, the beaches interspersed with rocky reefs and cliffs. As the sun set, the yellow rock in the cliff face turned the brightest orange.

In Broome I met a German backpacker, Beni, who I had met online earlier in the week. He would be sharing the ride with me up to Cape Leveque, along the Gibb River Road and onto Darwin. A keen photographer and fisherman he has made good company. On the second night on Dampier Peninsula we brainstormed how he could watch or listen to the Germany vs Ghana football match for the World Cup. No tv here, but we had phone service. From this we could determine it would be also be broadcast on SBS radio from Broome, but alas, no reception. He could have listened to streaming radio on my iPhone, but it is my last day of the billing cycle and my data allocation was almost all used up. The final solution? Someone from home in Germany phoned his mobile and set the phone by a radio which was broadcasting the game. It didn't work too well, so in the end he got a running commentary from a cousin who was watching it live on tv.

This peninsula, a little strange. Entry is by permit, it is Aboriginal land. The road from Broome to the start of the Lands, about 100km, is a rough 4WD road. In the Lands though, the 100km main road to Cape Leveque is bitumen. Figure that one out. Tracks to many campsites though are still 4WD. I think in 10-20 years though this could be a very different place. It is not so hard to seal the gap between Broome and the Lands, seal a couple of side tracks and suddenly the place is 2WD accessible. Could change the whole vibe I think.

There are many Aboriginal communities here, offering various tours and accommodation options. Kooljaman is downright resort-like (too high-brow for us), visitors flying in and out, most others though quite basic and affordable camping or beach huts. Lots of entry fees, albeit small, to enter communities.

A trip to the peninsula couldn't be complete without a visit to James Price Point, the proposed site of the Kimberley gas plant processing offshore gas. Quite a controversial proposal, the WA Govt has been spruking the wonderful benefits to the local Aboriginal community - improved healthcare and education - apparently something not every Australian is automatically entitled to. Some local Aboriginal people though claim to have not been consulted in the deal, and are launching legal challenges. The development threatens the habitat at the point, said to be a unique habitat for turtles. Even while we were there, we could see a boat conducting seabed surveys - this I was reliably informed of by a gas plant worker from Darwin.

Driving to Broome

2010-06-19T23:10:00.005+09:30

Port Hedland is an ugly bastard - a convergence of huge power lines, mining railways, roads, gas pipelines, mixed in with industrial processing plants and slag heaps. All covered in a coat of thin red dust.

Driving from Port Hedland to Broome

I've met four people who say Pt Hedland is: a dump; a dive; a shit hole. It's uglier than Port Augusta which at least benefits from some history and a scenic backdrop. Pt Hedland is isolated, bloody ugly and coated with red dust.

Stop for a scenic photo of Pt Hedland's power lines, railway lines, industrial facilities or it's slag heaps? Anyone?

Eighty Mile Beach, on the other hand, is a welcome respite

Mt Meharry - WA's highest peak

2010-06-19T22:05:00.002+09:30

Mt Meharry is a relatively recent newcomer to the State 8 - the highest peak in each of Australia's states and territories. Mt Bruce was discovered by Europeans in 1861. Over a hundred years later, in 1967, detailed surveys were done of the area. A surveyor discovered a strange anomaly, 20 kilometres south east of Mt Bruce, the tallest mountain in Western Australia, lay an unnamed somewhat indistinct mountain which was 13 metres taller.

Mt Meharry, Karijini National Park

I have set myself the goal of climbing the State 8, although in no particular rush or timeline. So far the only peak I have climbed is Mt Ossa in Tasmania. South Australia's Mt Woodrooffe could arguably be the most logistically difficult, as I need to be Very Best Friends with Vicki, who in turn needs to be Very Best Friends with someone working in Ernabella, or that person being Very Best Friends with someone working there, and that person being Very Best Friends with a local, who is Very Best Friends with an elder. It quite isolated, some 300 kilometres off the bitumen road in a remote Aboriginal community in the state's north, near the border of the Northern Territory. From Uluru one can see Mt Woodroofe.

Mt Meharry is a strange one to access. Although in Karijini National Park, it can only be accessed from roads outside the park. I had read some magazine articles and online forums, it seemed an easy enough climb. Access was via some dirt roads off the Great Northern Highway. As a matter of courtesy, I asked at the national park visitor centre for the best way to access the peak. Contact the nearby pastoral station, they said, as you will need to cross their property. Armed with their phone number, but with limited phone reception, I managed to get their answering machine. At my chosen campsite, a rest area off the Great Northern Highway, I overhead some other campers talking about Mt Meharry. I sidled over to question them. They had already been up there today, having driven their 4WDs to the very top. They had asked no permission, they had followed the trip notes in a 4WD magazine. Having copied some of the details down, I could rest easy confident I was still able to do the climb the following day.

The road leading off the Great Northern Highway is a public road, but it is gated. There are no signs indicating Mt Meharry lies down this road. Hidden in the dry grass is a discarded sign stating that the road was only for access to the pastoral station, yet a sign beyond the gate had been erected by the local council warning of the road's poor condition. Deflating my tyres for dirt road driving, a mine worker pulled up. Yep, no worries, just don't get caught beyond the railway line. Rio Tinto's land, my advice, just don't get caught there.

Some 16 kilometres down this well made dirt road, shared by road trains and mine workers, is a simple sign indicating the track to Mt Meharry, to be tackled by 4WDs only. Carefully following the trip notes I had copied the previous night from the magazine, I proceeded down a series of roads. All 4WD but pretty easy going. I had no intention of driving to the summit, I am a bushwalker, not a four wheel driver. I drove to the base of the mountain, perhaps some two kilometres closer than what a 2WD vehicle could brave. I climbed the steep 4WD track, a 380 metre ascent, but an easy one. 45 minutes to the peak, a cairn marking the summit. Littered with trophies so easily brought here by 4WD, and a logbook buried in the stone cairn. Not much mention of people walking up here, but it was a lovely walk. The 4WD track immediately after the plain gets nasty quick, perhaps only negotiable by raised 4WDs.

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Karijini National Park

2010-06-19T22:04:00.001+09:30

Jaw dropping. Gob smacking. This park is simply stunning: it's deep gorges, it's cool permanent swimming holes, it's coloured shaped rock.

Karijini National Park

My introduction to Karijini National Park was Hammersley Gorge. "Going to a swim at the bottom, " asked a woman in the car park as I was getting ready for the short hike. Oh my goodness yes I am! The pools are refreshingly cool in the heat of the day, nestled in a gorge lined with the most beautiful rock.

The park really is a series of jaw dropping, gob smacking moments as one sets eyes on each gorge or it's cool swimming hole. Deep gorges, maybe over a hundred metres deep. The day I hiked up Mt Meharry, I was able to come into the park in the afternoon and have not one but two gorgeous swims in pools, each at opposite ends of a gorge. A short half hour walk along the gorge between them. A peak climb, a gorge walk and refreshingly cool swims! The best day ever!

Cape Rain

2010-06-19T21:55:00.004+09:30

Cape Rain National Park, oops, sorry, my mistake, Cape Range National Park, is spectacular. The rains fell endlessly. The range meets the reef in the rain.

Cape Range National Park

A sign at the Visitor Centre in Exmouth announced that all campsites in the national park were full for the night. How did they know that when you cant book campsites? I drove out to the park anyway, keen to see the sights, albeit in rain. At the entrance station I was told there were a couple of sites at one of the camp grounds, so I hurried set out to check the situation. Sure enough, there was one free. Delighted with my find, I busied myself setting up the tent. A thought passed through my head, Robin Ide wouldn't set up tent here, this is a shit camp site. Most of the site is rocky, the sandy bit is the lowest part - it will fill with water. Nah, she'll be right, I'm so pleased I can camp in the national park!

I ventured off into the wider park, doing some hikes in the rain and exploring some beaches. Returning to the campsite at dusk, I found the tent in a large pool of water. Oops. Lucky it was an empty tent. I moved it to higher ground, but immediately realised this would be no better, if the rain continued, this too would fill with water. Almost instantly after that thought, heavy rain fell again. Sitting in the car, I realised I would be spending a second night trapped in my car, although I could sleep in it's dryness and comfort.

The following morning, my tent and car were in a large pool of water. Much of the camp ground was in water. Mmm.

During a small break in the rain I managed to swim out into the warm ocean waters and view the fish of Ningaloo Reef.

When I had driven towards the peninsula town of Exmouth, I had wondered if this was a wise move. With all this rain the roads could close and I could be stuck out here. Driving back from the national park and Exmouth there was standing water everywhere. Rivers and creeks had flooded, water covered much of the road in many places, and sometimes the road was more of a causeway across an lake.

Poor Timing

2010-06-19T21:42:00.006+09:30

It was time for a rest up, restock, a visit to a local doctor, and a car service. Why, oh why, do I always seem to arrive in towns on the weekend and not a weekday?

Carnarvon

I stayed two nights in the caravan park, a rarity for me, a double night. Caravan parks are too much money. Regardless, I had things to do in town. It was here in the caravan park that I met the Dodgy Van People - Sarah and Mike. Having just emigrated to Australia from the UK (and Mike formerly the Netherlands) they were travelling around a bit before Sarah commenced her Perth job. Dodgy van? Yeah, they had lots of trouble starting it each morning, and no shortage of advice from other campers at the caravan park.

Carnarvon itself, an oasis in a desert thanks to the Gascoyne River, isn't much special. A jetty you need to pay to walk along, shit beaches and some overpriced rotten food (this from the alleged fruit & vegie food bowl of the state). The Gascoyne River is a dry riverbed, but the river flows deep below the sand. Lots of water is pumped out and used to irrigate the many market gardens in the region.

Nothing but Red Dirt

2010-06-13T18:00:00.003+09:30

"Mate, there is nothing but red dirt north of Perth. Trust me, I lived up there for 15 years. Nothing but red dirt and old farts driving around oversized caravans."

Perth to Carnarvon

Why does everyone want to go up there (north of Perth)? Nothing but red dirt. So I was told by a local I met in the Perth.

Well I guess they were right, as the following photos show:

Red cliffs

Red rocks

Red sand dunes

Shells cemented in red soil

Not to mention the red artesian bore fed spa I enjoyed at Francois Peron National Park homestead. Red water, but at 40 degrees so very nice!

As is my way, I am generally only updating my blog once a week when I go seek out a town with a caravan park for a shower, a proper meal with red meat, a laundry and cheap internet access. Soooo, this week there are seven different blog entries covering the last nine days, it seemed the best way to sort it:

The Dutchman Said (Geraldton)

The Shifting Sands have Revealed... (The Pinnacles)

Kalbarri National Park

Seaside Towns beside Pink Seas

Don't Feed the Wildlife (Monkey Mia)

Four Wheel Drive Tracks (Francois Peron National Park and Steep Point)

Four Wheel Drive Tracks

2010-06-13T17:48:00.007+09:30

It was time to put this 4WD to use. Since Memory Cove on SA's Eyre Peninsula, I could have undertaken much of this journey with a conventional 2WD vehicle. A national park and a private park, each accessible only by high-clearance conventional 4WD vehicles - not all-wheel-drive vehicles or caravans.

Francois Peron National Park and Steep Point, Shark Bay

Francios Peron National Park lies in Shark Bay. Project Eden has been established to take advantage of this peninsula's narrow isthmus. Just 3.5 kilometres wide, an electric fence has been constructed to isolate the peninsula so a comprehensive feral eradication program can be undertaken, and native species can be reintroduced.

Hamelin Pool, a shallow lagoon of hyper-saline water cut off from the main bay by a sand bank is home to some stromatolites.These stromatolites don't appear significant. Blue-green algae flourish in shallow waters trapping floating sediments and building these stromatolite rocks. These rocks though are thought to have been the very first bacteria on earth, forming extensive reefs and dominating all life forms on the planet for two billion years. They released oxygen raising the oxygen levels of our atmosphere to 20% which allowed other lifeforms to develop. As plants and animals evolved competition reduced stromatolite populations, today only a few areas remain. They are regarded as the oldest fossils (the dead rocks left behind when sea levels fell)) and the oldest living fossils (being some 3.5 billion years old). I had seen similar bacteria rocks - thormbolites - in Lake Clifton north of Bunbury, but they were of so little interest I they didn't make it to my blog. These stromatolites though have been signposted with much more informative and interesting display signs.

Just inside the electric fence marking the beginning of Project Eden is Shell Beach. Despite widespread occurrences of place names like Shell Beach, this is one of only two beaches in the world comprised entirely of shell fragments. Depending on which information board you choose to read or believe, the beach is up to five metres or up to ten metres deep.

The 4WD tracks in Francios Peron National Park are either sandy and sometimes deeply rutted, or solid claypan. There were plenty of travellers around in Francios Peron National Park to help out if I got stuck so I didn't need to worry too much. I thought that driving through the 120 kilometres or so in this park would be good confidence boasting training for what lay ahead at not-yet national park Steep Point. However, the opposite was true, although since I entered Steep Point after Francios Peron National Park I guess that cant be so. The tracks in Steep Point were much easier to negotiate and the speeds greater than those in Francios Peron National Park. The tracks in Francios Peron National Park were particularly bad in the north of the park.

In Francios Peron National Park I camped at Bottle Bay where the red sand dunes met the white beach sand. Easily the most picturesque of the campsites. Further north at Cape Peron there are red sand dunes and red cliffs which abruptly meet the white beach sand. The red sand and cliffs are quartz sandstone with an iron oxide content formed in ancient sand dunes. This red sandstone underlies much of Shark Bay but is only exposed here on Peron Peninsular and Faure Island. The white beach sand is Tamala Limestone, formed from shells and other marine skeletons. It younger than the Peron Sandstone but is far more common being widespread in Western Australia.

On the second night I camped at Big Lagoon, a picturesque lagoon. This lagoon is a gypsum claypan known as a birrdas. There are numerous birradas throughout the peninsula and most are landlocked saline lakes. Some, however, like the Big Lagoon, the sea has invaded to form a shallow inland bay.

#Google map feature not compatible with your browser or reader#Steep Point is now managed by government department responsible for national parks, the nearby station having recently relinquished their pastoral lease upon it. It is soon to be declared Edel Land National Park. The property is popular with fishers, it is claimed to be the best land fishing spot in Australia. I'm no fisherman but I have only heard that said here, so am not quite sure about their claim. Steep Point is also the most western point of the Australian mainland, the point plunging abruptly into the sea below due to the Zuytdorp cliffs. The other extreme points of the mainland are Byron Bay in the east, Wilsons Promontory in the south, the southern point only being accessible by walking in and out for two days, and the tip of Cape York in the north, accessible by ferry or a five day 4WD trek.

The Zuytdorp cliffs that stretch from here south to Kalbarri. Named after the Dutch ship the Zyutdorp which was last seen sailing from the Cape of Good Hope in 1712 headed for Java. There were no survivors to tell their story, the fate of the ship was a mystery until 1958 when parts of the wreckage were found at the base of these high cliffs. Objects found on the clifftop show that a number of people, possibly 30, survived here for some time. They had salvaged parts of the wreck to build tents and signal fires at the top of the cliffs, even trying to raise a cannon hoping to signal passing ships. It's possible survivors were absorbed by the local Aboriginal people, relics from the wreck have been found at Aboriginal campsites and wells in the regions to the north and inland of the wreck. Mysterious rock paintings have been found at Walga Rock which might indicate Dutch castaways.

I camped a night out on a beach near Steep Point between the fishie people. I could smell it, their fish cleaning. Mind you, I wouldn't be all roses to smell either since I haven't showered in a week. Behind me lay the highest sand dune, so I spent I night listening to people's strained conversations on their mobile phones, the high dune providing the best reception. "Hi there, it's mum. Yes, mum. I SAID IT'S MUM. MUUUUM. YEES. CALLING FROM STEEP POINT. WHAATT. MUUUM. STEEEEEP POOOINT. YEEESSS. HANG ON... (moving two steps) is that better? I SAID, ISS THAT BETTER?" The campsites all have intriguing names and are quite spread out, so the sound of the waves gently lapping on the shore drowned out the sound of distant generators.

Don't Feed the Wildlife

2010-06-13T17:42:00.002+09:30

"Wild dolphins have visited the beach at Monkey Mia since the early 1960s." This little statement sidesteps an important issue here. Why have the wild dolphins visited the beach here every morning at 7.30am for the benefit of tourists. Um, maybe cos someone is feeding them?

Monkey Mia

It's true, I really don't think wildlife should be fed. In a national park this is especially so, except here at Monkey Mia an exception seems to have been made, simply because of the tourists it brings in. Sure, someone started in the 1960s, they probably shouldn't have. What is certain though is they probably shouldn't continue to feed them, they could ween them off.

I know, I know, I here you say it. Party pooper. So what. Wildlife shouldn't be fed, they become dependent and it reduces their hunting skills. It's not a beautiful thing to wildlife dependent on being fed by humans.

So I missed Monkey Mia. I had swam with Dolphins in Port Craig in New Zealand. Perfectly wild and natural, I did not have to feed them for them to come over to play.

Speaking with some travellers later, they saw the pod of dolphins herding salmon into the beach so they could feed upon them, and the mother dolphins were teaching the calf dolphins how to do it. That, I think, is a truly special thing to see.

Seaside Towns beside Pink Seas

2010-06-13T17:37:00.002+09:30

Yep, a pink sea lagoon, caused by the naturally occurring beta-carotene bacteria, harvested to produce vitamin A and as a food colouring.

A lovely lunch stop at another seaside town. None of the beaches north of Perth seem particularly nice. Most are infested with seaweed or the water is hyper-saline.

I met some lovely people this week, from the three stranded backpackers with a broken- down van to a Dutch family who did know how to drive a 4WD vehicle. The backpackers I met at Greenough, I just had to ask why they were camping here, were they crazy? The locals wouldn't like them camping here in the park adjacent a museum town (for there is no current town, just a ghost town of sorts). Ah, their van had broken down, it was a long weekend in WA and yes, the shop keeper across the road was quite happy for the stranded backpackers to camp here. They asked me if I had any tools, yeah, one or two I said. I had done a quick trip to Bunnings to pick up some cheap tools I thought might be handy. I helped them replace a headlight assembly which they had been unable to do. Their serious oil leak though, that would need a mechanic. I camped with them, since the shop and museum town were closed for the day. Two Frenchies and an Italian, they had been on the road together for just three days, having met online in Perth.

Another group of backpackers I camped with had only met that morning, two of them placing an ad on Gumtree and when the third rang to enquire about their trip they replied they were leaving that day! That night they sliced some oranges and placed them into a pan with red goon and heated it until almost boiling point. Gotta say, gross wine, but not a bad way to have it.

The Dutch I came across - let's call them the Screaming Dutchies for reasons that became apparent later that night (oh my goodness - they have two small children in their tent!) - on a four-wheel-drive track, driving perilously slow. Trying to dodge the main ruts, it was clear they neither knew how to drive a 4WD nor how much to lower their tyre pressure. Talking with them they were running their tyre pressure for sand driving at higher than I run my tyre pressure for bitumen road driving! They had lowered their pressure to 35psi from 45psi. My tyres, at least, have a warning written on them in fine print that says "Do not exceed 40psi, risk of tyre blowout." A mere 20psi is often recommended for sand driving, and they can be dropped to 10psi to get you unbogged. No wonder they were having such trouble negotiating the track. Their car is also an old-model Pajero, the fully loaded tyre pressure ratings are 35psi at the rear and 29psi at the front - never a whopping 45psi.

Kalbarri National Park

2010-06-13T17:16:00.002+09:30

The Murchison River finishes it's long journey at Kalbarri. In the national park, the river winds it's way through deep gorges, seemingly in a series of straight lines.

Kalbarri National Park

The red Tumblagooda Sandstone that makes up much of this area has a series of straight fractures running through it. These straight, vertical joints allowed the Murchison River to deeply incise the rock layers and form straight river segments. At times the river is up to 170 metres below the cliff tops. Wherever the joints intersected the river could change it's course.

It was here that I could do a short 10 kilometre circuit hike, aptly named The Loop. The river here loops back on itself, separated by a narrow cliffline. The walk starts from a place called Natures Window, a high cliff featuring a prominent arch within the cliff, and follows the clifftop east before descending down into the sandy riverbed to loop back to Natures Window. The layers of rock within the cliffs form striking bands of stone in contrasting brownish reds, purples and whites.

I drove down the road to access The Loop and the Z Bend - a road to rival any of Kangaroo Island's dirt roads. I thought I had set out early, but when I arrived in the carpark I found half a dozen cars already there. Doh. When I completed the hike though, I discovered that it had been an early start, the day was getting hot by now but the carpark was full. This was no time to set out on a hike!

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The Shifting Sands have Revealed...

2010-06-13T17:11:00.004+09:30

Hidden from view for the past 6000 years, the shifting sands of the desert have revealed the remarkable limestone Pinnacles.

The Pinnacles, Nambung National Park

Exactly how they are formed is a bit of a mystery, one theory suggests they are the eroded remains of a sand dune layer thick with the roots, the other theory suggests they are a petrified forest.

Archaeological evidence suggests the Aboriginals were here around 6000 years ago, but there is no evidence of their presence since this time. Mapping the coast in the 17th century, the Dutch made no note of the Pinnacles, but did note the two low hill ranges either side of the Pinnacles desert. All this suggests they have been hidden and recently revealed again.

They are quite awe inspiring. Aside from the family of four Asian tourists, including two children, all armed with their own camera pointed at each other and arguing as to who was going to take the photo of the other three beside one of the Pinnacles, it is quite an interesting drive and walk. The rocks vary in height and some take on animalistic shapes.

The Dutchman Said

2010-06-13T17:01:00.002+09:30

"Strewth mate, this land is a bloody ripper. Bugger me, there's no water here, not even any grog," said the 17th century Dutchman.

Shipwreck Museum, Geraldton

I had to stifle some laughs and giggles, I could not take this museum documentary seriously. All the actors, playing Dutch sailors wrecked in 1629, are speaking with Australian accents. They are not even trying to disguise their accents. Nothing sounds right. They could have found some Dutch actors, surely.

I was in Geraldton, at the museum. This one, like the museum in Perth, has an exhibition on the 1629 Dutch East India Company wreck of the Batavia. They have a stone portico erected, part of the cargo on board bound for the castle at Java. Sound familiar? Yes, two museums, two porticos, but only one castle for the portico and only one wreck. Mmm. One of these is a replica. I think the Geraldton one might be the real thing, the Fremantle one the replica. Not that either museum seems keen to comment on that.

Rottnest Island

2010-06-04T21:21:00.002+09:30

Listen up class, repeat after me. "Tourists, where ever they may be, do not rise before nine, and do not leave their accommodation until after 10. Therefore, tourist crowds will only be seen sometime after 11."

Rottnest Island, 30km west of Fremantle port

I thought I had the island to myself, until after eleven when other tourists arrived on the beaches by bike or by bus. I, of course, as are my ways, had started cycling the 30 kilometre circuit around the island at eight am. In that time time I saw almost no-one, beach after beach was all mine.

Little Salmon Bay was the pick of the beaches, small, white sand, light blue water, contained by limestone headlands. Complete with a snorkeling trail. Perfect. As I pulled up on my bike, a guy rode in from the opposite direction, my first sighting of anyone else today. He had his snorkeling gear out in no time and was prepping up in the water. It was all the encouragement I needed, I'm not always the keenest to set out snorkeling. Thankful for my wetsuit, I headed out, the other guy still messing about in the shallows. Following the underwater snorkeling trail, I saw many different fish, including salmon of course. Lots of colours and stripes, this area of Western Australia attracts tropical fish due to the southerly currents. Glancing back at the shore, the guy was still messing around on the shore, next time I glanced back he was back on his bike, the water must have been too cold for him. Having talked to him on the beach he seemed pretty keen, perhaps in him encouraging me into the water I discouraged him out of it.

Sitting back on the beach in the warm sun, the bikes and busloads soon turned up. Alas, it had been all mine for awhile there. Later in the day I found myself another deserted beach to call my own, up near the World War II ruins.

Rottnest Island is a curious one. For one thing, it must have little less than 1,000 holiday units, most seemingly identical built over a couple of generations. Almost all empty, indeed, the island is pretty deserted overall. It's not tourist season here anymore, in the unpredictable winter weather. For me though it was nothing but three days of beautiful clear sunny skies.

In amongst the holiday units are some much older buildings, some from the time of either of the prisons built here, others from later tourist development or war use. Many fascinating historical buildings. The general store and mall form part of the original prison. Much of the complex has been destroyed by fire or demolished so it is hardly recognisable as one. The second prison remains, although is a hotel now so cant be toured.

The original cottages are fascinating. Built of local limestone, they were rendered in the early 1900s and painted a cream colour to reduce the sun glare. The colour and building material theme has been maintained throughout the two major accommodation areas. The cottages originally had near-flat roofs, limestone supported by timber trusses. The timber trusses were each made from a single piece of timber, ingenious. Tiles were too expensive to bring in from Fremantle, but in time corrugated iron replaced the roofs as they were difficult to keep watertight.

The museum was interesting, detailing the many shipwrecks and the dark history of the island. The two prisons were built by and detained Aboriginal people, many of whom were sent here for the European laws that had been imposed upon them. Many prisoners came from the far north of the state, the cold weather must have been quite a shock. The conditions were cramped and the inmates mistreated. One prison governor though allowed them to leave the prison each Sunday between nine am and four pm. They were provided with no lunch or dinner, but instead could roam the island and catch their dinner, quokkas, snakes or whatever.

After my cycling tour of the island it occurred to me that this island was missing a cemetery. I found a reference to one on the map, but could find little sign of it in reality. The cemetery was only used for the Aboriginal prisoners, and none of the graves is marked. Buildings and houses have been built over some of it, worse still, some of the cemetery has been used as the main camping ground. I had wondered why the camping ground, often called a Tent City, could only consist of 20 marked sites. No tent city that one. But it isn't the original camping ground, but a new one constructed in the last few years. I found the original sprawling camping ground, much of it on the cemetery. The only sign it is a burial ground is two signs near the township end, noting the site's importance and the future plans for removing all buildings and creating a memorial garden and marking the known burial areas.

Around the turn of the century the island started being used for tourism, with a few interludes during war time. During the Second World War several artillery guns were installed, and monitoring towers. 2,500 soldiers were housed here, protecting Fremantle Harbour from invasion by the Japanese.

I cant finish this entry about Rottnest Island though without mentioning the quokkas. I saw my first ones within a two of minutes of landing, and by the end of the third minute I had seen some copulating. Cute as they are they don't seem to sleep, constantly poking around my tent despite my food all being well sealed and isolated.

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Stats	Rottnest Island circuit
	Thursday
	3/6/2010
Distance	31km
Moving Duration	2h30m

On this day 381 years ago...

2010-06-04T21:20:00.002+09:30

I was especially keen to visit the Shipwrecks Museum for they had part of the wreck of Dutch Batavia ship from 1629. It was closed one day a week, today, Wednesday. I returned again on Friday, the 4th of June, coincidentally 381 years to the day that the Batavia ran aground off the Western Australia shore.

Fremantle

I was in awe when I walked into the Batavia Gallery at the Shipwrecks Museum, towering over me was the reconstructed lower stern of this sailing ship. Wrecked in shallow waters upon a reef, some of it had been preserved by shifting sands. The Dutch East India Company returned sometime after the wrecking to salvage some of the gold bullion, but it was not until the 1970s that the wreck was rediscovered.

It's a sorry story. The Batavia, a magnificent ship of the VOC (Dutch East India Company) was on it's maiden voyage to Batavia, present day Jakarta in Java. Things went awry early though, a mutiny was planned. Before the mutiny was carried out, the ship ran aground, coming too close to Australian shores. In the very early 1600s the VOC had adopted a new route to Java, utilizing the Roaring 40s from the bottom of Africa, the ships sailed west until almost the Australian mainland before turning north. Their distance measurements were crude though, establishing longitude was unreliable, so there were many Dutch ships wrecked along the western Australia coast.

When the Batavia ran aground, it broke up quickly. Little water or food could be salvaged, of the 381 on board 40 drowned, the rest making it to close by islands. With little water to be found, the captain took his senior crew in a small boat and made the perilous journey north to Java, to return some three months later with a ship to collect the survivors. What they found though was very much not what they expected. The mutineers had gruesomely massacred the sick, women and children in order to reduce the numbers from 300 plus to a mere 40 people, in order to survive on the limited water and food resources. A small group had escaped to another island, and where able to warn the captain as he approached with the rescue ship.

Trials were held on the island, some six men had their hands amputated and were hung. Two others were given a small dinghy and limited supplies and exiled to the mainland, never to be heard of again. The remaining mutineers were tried and executed in Java upon their return.

A rare genetic condition affecting children, that was common in the Netherlands in the 1600s has been found in the genetic code of some north western Aboriginal people. There are several words and names in the local dialect which sound remarkably similar to dutch words. I saw a documentary a few months ago, they were searching for more clues in the local Aboriginal population's DNA to link them to the Dutch. There were many shipwrecks along the coast. In one, over two hundred survivors are known to have made it to shore. Remains of extensive fires have been found at the scene, perhaps lit to attract the attention of other passing Dutch ships. But no other trace has ever been found of these people.

Back in the museum, the stone portico that was part of the cargo bound for Java has been constructed. Gruesomely, perhaps, there is a skeleton, recovered from a shallow grave from one of the islands. The victim, a man in his mid 30s, is missing his right foot, has a broken collarbone and suffered a severe head injury.

On Wednesday, on my first visit to Freo, I wandered around the port town, looking at the various historical buildings and sites. The reconstructed beach, the modern apartments, the blended new-old buildings. Old port towns are always fascinating don't you think.

There was however, something underlying all these chic apartments and cafes. I had tried to take photos that somehow captured Freo, until I saw this anyway. Poverty. Alcohol and drug abuse. Homelessness.

Australia's deep dark past

2010-05-31T19:11:00.003+09:30

If you think Australia can deal with it's deep dark past, think again. Whilst in Pinjarra today, I visited the site of the Pinjarra Massacre - a massacre of 60 to 80 indigenous Australians in 1834. There was almost nothing to mark the site.

Pinjarra, 90km south of Perth

There was a memorial of sorts, a large boulder placed in a paved circle surrounded by four mosiacs. No sign on the street, no sign on the park, no car park, no sign near the memorial, indeed, not even a plaque on the memorial. Indeed, nothing at all to indicate what the memorial is there for. Simply four signs - found in most parks country wide - forbidding camping in the reserve.

The massacre is a tragedy of our past, these people were attacked and killed by government soldiers. All those who escaped were chased down and killed, all the wounded were killed.

Every town has memorials to local Australians who lost their lives in the world wars. Even across the road from the site is the town cemetery, clearly signposted and with a nice grand entrance.

The absence of signs, plaques and a list of known names is very telling, don't you think?

Pinjarra Massacre Site
West Australia Vista

Riding - no, pushing - my bike along the Munda Biddi Trail

2010-05-31T19:01:00.004+09:30

I rode three days along WA's renowned Munda Biddi Trail. No, not really, much of it I had to push my bike.

Munda Biddi Trail

The Munda Biddi Trail stretches from Mundaring in the north, in the Perth Hills, down to Collie and Nannup. Some 500 kilometres south, it is planned that the trail will reach the 800 kilometres to Albany sometime next year. I chose to ride four days from the northern trailhead at Mundaring. Wrong choice.

The riding was tough, this was immediately clear on the day I set out. Within the first two kilometres I fell off my bike twice. What was to become a familiar pattern, the rutted gravelled track was no friend of the bike trailer, or for that matter a bike with panniers.

I had planned to ride from the northern trailhead, itself in the town of Mundaring, but due to the lack of accommodation options (the caravan park was a no-show) I drove some seven kilometres down the trail to Mundaring Weir, staying the Perth Hills YHA. Here I could safely leave my car, and would be able to catch two trains and a bus back to Mundaring, but would have to walk the seven kilometres down the Trail back to the YHA, there being no public transport to the weir, despite the parks and picnic areas.

I discovered later from others that the section from Mundaring to the first campsite, Carinyah, is notoriously difficult. Indeed, this whole section from Mundaring to Dwellingup is glorious, but tough. I really should have done more (or for that matter, some) research. A guy with a similar bike trailer rode from Mundaring to Collie in 13 days, although he was ill-prepared and carrying too much weight.

The first 12 kilometres of the first day took me over two and half hours, plus the time it took me to replace a blown tyre and repair a puncture. Thank you to Graham for giving me that habit of carrying a spare tyre, my tyre was unrepairable! This section was labelled as challenging, indeed it was a ripper. It was very difficult to push the bike and trailer along, riding was out of the question. Even pushing the bike my feet would slip on the narrow, gravelled, rutted path. Only two or three kilometres into the Challenging section I came across an alternative route option for touring bikes. There was no question in my mind as to what route I would be taking!

From here on whenever I came upon a section labelled challenging, I would seek out the alternative touring route, or where none was available, seek out dirt roads that I could get around the area. It was very well worth it, as proven on the third day's ride when I rode a section labelled challenging, but this time without the trailer, and with two boys instead. It was hard work to push the bike up those river valley sides, it would have been impossible to push the bike and loaded trailer.

I met and rode with some great people along the trail. On the first day I didn't meet anyone, and camped alone at Carinyah campsite. Carinyah in the local indigenous language means Happy Home and indeed it was a fanastic campsite. A very spacious hut with park benches, sleeping platforms, bike racks and even a bike fixing rack. Very nice! I wish the Department for Environment and Heritage in South Australia would take note and build similar standard huts, the Bibbilmun Track huts were of a similar high standard. It was easily the coldest night - a mere 3 degrees - I have spent in Western Australia, even colder than the night spent on the Nullabor.

On the second day I met Reg, as I was parking the bike for a moment's rest, he rode up behind me. We discussed bikes and plans for the day, he was impressed with my bike trailer and wondered how it performed. He followed me up a hill to witness it's performance. With a trailer one is forced to travel slow uphill - it's hard work - and going slow downhill is advised. With a rutted, gravelled track one wrong move and the trailer could bounce into the rut, bringing the bike and you into the rut with it, and most likely you off the bike. At the top of the hill, he took off past me down a ridiculous hill at an adventurous speed. Indeed, this trailer was certainly slowing me down. At the bottom of the hill though Reg was nursing his bike, he had just broken a wheel spoke on the downhill run.

We lunched at Wungong campsite together. Another excellent campsite, but I was there by 12.30pm and Jarrahdale was only 26 kilometres away, the section of track being labelled as easy. We rode into town together, some of the ride following an old logging railway. The ride was indeed very easy, it would have been interesting to have noted the different average speed for this after lunch section compared to the morning's section, I think it would have been vastly different.

Reg assured me he had heard of cyclists staying at affordable accommodation in town, and although a free campsite was my preference, dividing the track up in this way made much more sense. At the General Store and Cafe I asked about nearby hostels and campgrounds, there are none I was told. Well shit me. I sauntered off down the pub to ask there, and they told me of an option just out of town. I returned to the Store to tell Reg and grab my bike. He had been busy on this iPhone looking up options, probably concerned about him misleading me. An assistant at the Store overheard our conversation and returned with a leaflet with many options, but mostly B&Bs. Too expensive for me, no worries though she said, you could stay next door. It is set up like a hostel, only $30 a night, we administer the bookings. What! This is perfect, why did the other girl tell me there was nothing around here! The community run hostel is in the former Nurses Home for the now demolished hospital. Called the Environment Centre, it is also a community centre of sorts. The facilities are excellent, good beds, hot showers, fully stocked kitchen and heating! Perfect for passing cyclists, if you want to use it remember to insist it exists if you are told at the General Store and Cafe that there is nothing around here!

On the third day I saw a mother with a couple of kids riding. The husband, Nick, was meeting them with the car at regular intervals, and at once such interval I stayed to share some lunch - such a great lunch spot it was. Jane was riding with her two boys, Cameron (11ish) and Lachlan (9ish) to North Dandalup Reservoir today, this would complete their ride from the trailhead and Mundaring to Collie, some 300 kilometres to the south. They had originally set out during school holidays to ride the whole distance, with home-made panniers and their camping gear but the weather got the better of them after eight days on the track. They planned to continue their ride over coming weekends, completing the trail south of Collie down to the present southern trailhead at Nannup. They had previously completed walking the 1,000 kilometre Bibblimun Track, and are hoping to publish a children's book later this year.

I took up Nick's offer to put the bike trailer in the car trailer, and ride with Jane, Cameron and Lachlan to the dam. Oh my goodness, it was glorious indeed riding trailerless - it's like moonwalking. Jane soon recognised her boys had met a match, and took a ride in the car, leaving me to ride with the two boys along a section labelled challenging to the reservoir. The boys make an excellent team, looking out for each other and planning not one step but two steps ahead with their map reading.

At the reservoir I took up Nick and Jane's offer to drop me in town down on the plains. I had already decided that morning that I would camp just past the reservoir at the Dandalup Campsite, and get up at 5am the next morning and ride downhill, out of the ranges to meet the 7am train to Perth. My knees were sore and would only get worse, I don't think I had another day in me.

At the Pinjarra Caravan Park I booked my train ticket for the following morning. I had always intended to finish here, but after riding a fourth day to Dwellingup and then down from the range to this plains town.

Sorry, not many photos this time, cycling a hard trail and caring to take photos at the same time was too much. Anyone who has cycled before will know that photography and cycling arent a good mix anyway.

#Google map feature not compatible with your browser or reader#

Download Google Earth KML file of the first three days south from the northern trailhead of the Munda Biddi Trail

Download kml file to view in Google Earth or adapt to use as a navigational aid in a GPS unit

Stats	Munda Biddi Trail (Mundaring to Dandalup)
	Friday	Saturday	Sunday	Monday
	28/5/2010	29/5/2010	30/5/2010	31/5/2010
	Mundaring Weir (YHA) to Carinyah campsite	Carinyah campsite TOI Jarrahvale	Jarrahvale to North Dandulup Reservoir	Mundaring to Mundaring Weir (YHA)
Distance	32.7km	59.0km	29.1km	7.5km
Start Time	9.30am	8.15am	8.15am	-
End Time	4.00pm	3.45pm	2.00pm	-
Moving Duration	3h58m	5h29m	3h33m	-
Stationary Duration	2h35m	1h58m	2h15m	-
Moving Average	8.2km/h	10.8km/h	8.2km/h	-
Overall Average	5.0km/h	7.9km/h	5.0km/h	-
Oodometer	32.7km	91.8km	121km	128km

The Cape to Cape Track

2010-05-23T23:00:00.003+09:30

Stretching 135 kilometres from Cape Naturaliste to Cape Leeuwin, the Cape to Cape Track follows the coast between the two lighthouses that mark the start and finishing posts. Wild isolated surf beaches, limestone cliffs and karri forest, all contained within the Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park.

The Cape to Cape Track, Leeuwin-Naturliste National Park: 150km over 6 days

Leaving my car in Augusta, the closest town to Cape Leeuwin in the south, I caught a bus north to Dunsborough, near Cape Naturaliste. From here I could have hired a taxi for the 13 kilometre ride out to the lighthouse, but instead opted to walk the distance, in part because of a trail that went most of the distance, the Meelup Trail, and also because I saw a few stunning photos taken along this stretch. Setting out from Dunsborough early Tuesday morning, I walked along the coastal pathway through the lush green lawns, past the nice beachfront homes and people walking their dogs and those doing their early morning run.

Upon entering the Meelup Reserve, the trail commenced and the people all dissappeared, from here on it was only the occasional person fishing. The 13 kilometres turned out to be 16.5, but I was at the lighthouse for an icecream and an early lunch by 12.

At the Three Bears beach I sat at the lookout by the carpark, overlooking the surf and the many surfers. Clearly to be a surfer here, one needed a 4WD ute, and preferably a dog to keep you company, to access the sandy tracks to the remote beaches. The waves were huge, so it was with some awe that I watched the guys riding them in. Chatting with a local surfie, he didn't seem to think the waves were that special today and he probably wouldn't bother going out there.

My six day walk could easily be mistaken for a tour of the best surf beaches, so abundant were the beaches with enormous waves. It wasn't at all uncommon for me to be walking along an isolated beach and to see a car approach, the driver carefully selecting an area with good waves and heading out into the surf with his board.
Many beaches had names obviously influenced by the surfing conditions: Guillotine, Gallows, Left Handers, Suicides, and of course the Three Bears - Papa Bear, Momma Bear and Baby Bear.

At one beach I was gobsmacked to see the size of the waves. It was difficult to see if the surfers were out there for recreational surfing or were being pumpelled to death. Someone had scratced into the handrail on the beach staircase the words "This is Heaven." I think for a surfer without a high skillset though, it would probably be hell.

The limestone and granite rocks along the Cape to Cape Track made for some stunning scenery, from the potholes of Cape Hamelin, the cliff of Joeys Nose, the grottoes of Redgate Beach and the many submerged reefs or rocks that created large waves both close and far from the shore.

The long, isolated walks were punctuated, almost daily, by small coastal towns set by idyllic beaches. Some were calm swimming bays, others rough surf beaches. At Yalingup, the submerged reef invites tropical fish to their southernmost location.

The hike could also be a walk through history. There is the discovery history, the geographical French names by Baudin and the English names by Flinders in 1802-3. Due to the many headlands and submerged rocks the coast has laid claim to many shipwrecks. In one ten year period there were 80 ships wrecked. The larger ships coming from across the world dropped anchor in Albany, and the many smaller ships carried the loads north to Perth, around the two capes. Names like Gracetown comemorate the efforts of a small girl and her brother who saved so many people from the surf after they had been shipwrecked. In Hamelin Bay just a few pylons remain of the jetty that once loaded much local felled karri timber, the jetty a victim of rough storms. In a single storm four ships had been wrecked in this harbour, many lives being lost. The telegraph line to the north to Bunbury was out, with no less than 351 trees having fallen across it. Shipwrecks aside, there was not one, but two rusty, calcified waterwheels to be seen along the way - one at Ellensbrook Homestead and another at the very end of the walk at Cape Leeuwin.

A small section of the trail heads inland to pass through karri forest. Heralded as the western most karri forest in the world, I think this is one of those absurd statements people make to draw attention to something's uniqueness. Statements like "the tallest main-made free-standing structure in the southern hemisphere" - there are a lot of sub-clauses there. So too with this western most karri forest. Endimic to the south west of Australia, of course the karri forest has an extreme at each corner of the compass. The forest could hardly have been growing any further west since it had run out of continent on which to grow itself upon.

That said though, it was still a very special day to walk through the forest. The deeper I went in, the narrower and more overgrown the track became, but also, the louder and broader the number of bird calls.

The weather, so much a part of the traveller's life, was for the most part superb. The first three days were in stunning sunshine - hot days marked by a cool breeze and refreshing ocean swims. My choice to walk from north to south was in large part incidental, but I came to realise my good fortune as the sun was always behind me. The fourth day things began to turn, locals warned me of storms coming. Nothing much but grey cloud showed, and it wasn't until dusk that the first rain fell and thunder could be heard in the distant west. It was a slow moving thunderstorm, it wasn't until three am that the thunder reached me. The following day, the fifth day, was downright miserable. The surfers were gone, and the fishermen packed up their gear at the first sign of rain. The towns and beaches were empty, but I battled on, anticipating finer weather for the last day. Finer it wasn't, overnight the wind picked up, which left me walking into a headwind along an eight kilometre beach.

The campsites weren't outstanding, compared to those on the Bibblumun Track or Victoria's Great Ocean Walk they were downright miserable. I think the settlers and surfers got in first to choose all the best sites, most of the campsites seemed to me to be poorly sited. They had difficult or no beach access, and were often viewless. The facilities were minimal: flat ground - well mostly, a park bench, a toilet and some rainwater. These are all good, indeed very much needed, but what was glaringly lacking was a shelter of some sort, somewhere to retreat to in the rain and meet other walkers. Well, okay, there wasn't much in the way of other walkers, but in the rain it certainly would have been nice to have that focus point of a good campsite. The campsites were good in that they were hiker dedicated, you could only walk in, there was no vehicle access, so rubbish and nuisance campers are kept to a minimum.

It is possible to avoid the campsites altogether, instead opting to stay in caravan parks along the way. Literature suggests most people do this hike between five and eight days, and the many accommodation options along the way allow for lots of possibilities. I hiked some long days, usually between 24 and 29 kilometres a day. Faced with a short 20 kilometre day, followed later by a 30 kilometre day - in an effort to avoid paying caravan park fees - I decided to even out three days, converting from 20-27-30 kilometres to 26-26-28 kilometres. I did this by camping in a nice spot near Kilcarnup Beach, a distinctive place called Joeys Nose. Surfies had made vehicle tracks every which way here, and many campsites too.

The days may be long in kilometres, but not so long in duration. There is never much gain in elevation or climbing, so long kilometres are easily possible. I usually walked 16-18 kilometres before lunch, and finished hiking around 3.30pm. Sunset was just after five, the winter solstice being just weeks away.

The track is marked, good topo strip maps are available from the Cape to Cape website and Lonely Planet's Walking in Australia guide. The Lonely Planet guide was immensely helpful, not for the maps but for the track notes. The trail markers have no arrows, so often they will guide you into a carpark or town, but you are left there scratching your head. It isn't until you have walked a few metres down the correct track, that you see another trail marker confirming your choice. Often there was no confirmation, which is where instinct and the Lonely Planet guide was so helpful. The guide would mention things like "take the second - not the first - staircase off the beach," or, "at the Y-junction take the right fork" and so forth. The towns weren't such a problem, or matterred that much if you take a wrong turn, as you can figure out how where to exit the town from the detailed town maps inset on the topo strip map. Beach exits were particularly troublesome, often there would be a large sign reading "Cape to Cape Track", but sometimes not. Following the footprints in the sand seemed to be the key, except in cases of tracks between carparks and beaches where the footprints could lead you astray.

In towns I kept detouring the local general store in a bid to find some duct tape, my Thermarest Neoair, or should I just say neo, air mattress wasn't lasting the night. Generous use of some duct tape should remedy the problem until I can fix it at the end of the trip. No-one seemed to sell it, after a 1.2 kilometre walk to a store and back on the third day, I gave up.

Incidentally, if anyone is interested in purchasing a state-of-the art piece of plastic, drop me an email. Upon reaching camp you consume all remaining energy blowing into it to inflate it, topping it up just before bed time as your warmed air has now cooled and condensed, and you have a very comfortable bed for at least two hours, and some air in it for at least six. Extra light and compact, thin bits of plastic to sleep on were never so comfortable. Upon finishing my six day hike, I spent twenty minutes searching everywhere for the source of the leak. This aint no finding-a-puncture-in-a-bike-tyre experience let me tell you, the holes seem to perform only under a wriggling body, I could find no sign whatsoever of a leak.
My Exped Vela I Extreme tent went very well. I have only used it briefly in New Zealand, and on two nights of the Bibblumun Track last week. I was able to test both packing up and setting up in the rain, as well as cooking in the vestibule - it excelled at each task and I was most comfortable in the spacious tent and vestibule - and importantly - me and my gear remained dry.

I had planned to walk from Cape Leeuwin into Augusta to my car, but decided, in part due to some hip pain (oh goodness here's a new one), to call a cab. Having done so, it allowed me to get to the supermarket to restock with food before it closed for the day at 1pm (it was a Sunday), if I walked into town I would be buying some foodstuffs at a servo and/or eating out for dinner. My car seems to be mouse free, the mousetraps untouched in the last seven days. The car does smell rather though, as I read somewhere that mice hate mothballs, so I had bought some and placed them in the cabin and engine bay before catching the bus north, having removed them now smell still lingers somewhat...

My photos, for the first time, I have geotagged them using some fancy software that matches my GPS unit's track times with when the photo was taken, so in Picasa each photo includes a map which shows exactly where it was taken.

#Google map feature not compatible with your browser or reader#

Download Google Earth KML file of Western Australia's Cape to Cape Track

Download kml file to view in Google Earth or adapt to use as a navigational aid in a GPS unit. The file has been modified from the one displayed in the map above, I removed my various detours and getting lost moments, so it should be quite an accurate record of the track (the path through some towns isnt quite right).

Stats	Cape to Cape Track, WA
	Tue	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun
	18/5/10	18/5/10	19/5/10	20/5/10	21/5/10	22/5/10	23/5/10
	Dunsborough to Cape Naturaliste	Cape Naturaliste to Mt Duckworth campsite	Mt Duckworth campsite to Moses Rock Campsite	Moses Rock Campsite to Joeys Nose	Joeys Nose to Point Road Campsite	Point Road Campsite to Deepdene Campsite	Deepdene Campsite to Cape Leeuwin
Distance	16.6km	10.2km	24.2km	26.6km	26.7km	29.1km	16.0km
Start Time	8.10am	12pm	8.10am	8.00am	7.45am	7.45am	7.45am
End Time	12pm	3.30pm	3.30pm	3.10pm	3.15pm	4.05pm	11.30am
Moving Duration	3h13m	2h7m	5h13m	5h25m	5h19m	6h13m	3h15m
Stationary Duration	56m	52m	2h8m	1h47m	2h8m	2h10m	30m
Moving Average	5.2km/h	5.2km/h	4.6km/h	4.9km/h	5.0km/h	4.7km/h	4.9km/h
Overall Average	4.0km/h	3.7km/h	3.3km/h	3.7km/h	3.6km/h	3.5km/h	4.2km/h
Oodometer	16.6km	27.8km	52.0km	78.6km	105.3km	134.4km	150.0km

Forests and a 150km hike

2010-05-16T23:00:00.002+09:30

This week is dominated by my hike along the 135 kilometre Cape-to-Cape Track (detailed in separate blog entry), however before undertaking the hike I spent a day driving from Walpole to Augusta, checking out the forest sights.

Week 3: Walpole to Augusta

Tree Towers: these are bizare things. Very tall trees are selected, then a spiral-like staircase is constructed around them all the way to a platform on top. Don't think of some kinda sturdy spiral staircase, this is simply peices of steel rod nailed into the trunk at semi-regular intervals.

The Tree Towers were built in the 1930s as a means of spotting fires. A network of eight towers were constructed around the area, each around 60 metres in height. I've included a photo from the 1930s which shows how they originally looked - the tree was stripped of all foliage and it's top. Also, in some photos the stair rungs are not shown as spiralling around the tree, but simply going straight up. No sign of the thin wire cage that surrounds the staircase now either.

I climbed the Bicentenial Tree,a giant at 75 metres. The rungs themselves weren't particularly difficult, it was the shaky ladders between the platforms at the top, not to mention the prospect of passing someone coming down while you were going up. I think going down was far worse than going up, but either way the views at the top were rewarding.

Driving Walpole to Augusta

View Magnetic North - Week 3 (part 1): Walpole to Augusta in a larger map

A Mouse in the House

2010-05-15T22:54:00.004+09:30

Not in the house but in the car, a traveller's worst nightmare. He might already be gone, but I'm conducting a seige in any case.

I picked him up on the mouse-riddled Eyre Peninsula, this much is certain. The other day I thought my snickers bar looked awfully mouse nibbled. I discarded it, it was too uncanny. I thought it was only my mind playing Mr Paranoid, the Germans had only just been telling me of a fellow traveller's campervan mice. Most of my food was in plastic boxes, all except the bag of food goodies I got as a gift, but from now on all will be in the plastic boxes. Damn freeloader.

When I leave my car for seven days to do the Cape to Cape I will set some mouse traps. That could be gross though in the hot sun. Mmm. Not sure what to do now.

You know French?

2010-05-15T20:49:00.013+09:30

Well, most definately not. Dorothee's name was pronounced D-oh-ro-tee, not the Anglicised Dorothy. This was the same with the French couple's names, not Andre by Anne-dray, not Janette but Sch-aah-nett. At Shelley Beach I met for the second time the French speaking Belgians - Vincent and Dorothee - who I had first met at Le Grand Beach a couple of days prior.

Week 2: Esperance to Walpole, Western Australia

Vincent and Dorothee were travelling around Australia in an orange Vee-dub camper van. Almost everything is original, so it is a beautiful specimen. Complete with pop-top, this is the original Sharee factory fit-out camper model made specifically for Australia. There's a stove, table, bed and second bed area in the pop-up. There is also a barometer and thermometer which confirmed that our fine weather was to end very soon.

In the first week I travelled some 2,900 kilometres from Adelaide to Esperance (2,220km direct), in this second week I slowed down covering only some 1,120 kilometres from Esperance (650km direct). I camped for two nights at Shelley Beach, it was here on the second night that Vincent and Dorothee and myself met up. This campsite was a Kate and Tim special, and it was certainly worth coming to. Accessed by a winding dirt road, the campsite is on a beach in a small bay, surrounded by high hills. On my first night here, when there was only one other camper, a hang-glider dropped in just as the sun was setting. As he walked past me with his glider rolled up he asked, "Is that champagne you are drinking? That was my first flight!"

#Google map feature not compatible with your browser or reader#I drove out to the Stirling Range National Park and hiked up southern WA's highest peak - Bluff Knoll. The relatively compact Stirling Range rises high above the surrounding plains. The path up Bluff Knoll is wide and well made, but it is still a 650 metre gain in elevation. The hike up took me under and hour, return was about 40 minutes. I quite like peak climbs and hiking, so this was quick, the official recommendation is 3-4 hours. It was a very clear day, and the views rewarding.

On Wednesday I drove over to Walpole, checking out some of the local beaches along the way. Leaving my car secure at the caravan park in Walpole, I rode my bike some 32 kilometres back down the road to Peaceful Bay. It was quite an enjoyable ride through the forest, and there was not much traffic around. I camped at Peaceful Bay and was treated to a nice sunset, followed by hours of intense rain. I was pretty thankful I had brought my four-season tent along with me. The following day the rain had eased, and I set out on a three day trek along a small section of the Bibbulmun Track.

The Track stretches some 1,000 kilometres from Albany in the south to near Perth in the north. I walked 60 kilometres, a mere three percent of the track. The section I covered was through the Walpole-Nornalup National Park and included some coastline consisting of beaches, dunes and clifftop walking and some forest walking. It reminded me, as many hikes somehow tend to remind one of another hike, of the beech forest walking of Victoria's Great Ocean Walk.

The second day I walked through the Valley of the Giants - the forest dense with tall red tingle trees and karri trees. It is not uncommon to see tingle trees with hollow bases, the centre of the trunk being burnt out by bushfire, but the outer living bark layers remaining. The trees are up to 60 metres tall and some hundreds of years old. It cant all be believed though, I pondered, as I walked past the site known as Douglas' Lookout with nothing but very dense forest to see. I skipped the Tree Top Walk as it sounds far too much like a scheme designed for me and my money to part ways. Much nicer to walk through the forest by oneself for three days.

The campsites are very well set up and I enjoyed staying in one at Frankland River, which included a pergola looking out over the river. This walk is detailed in Lonely Planet's Walking in Australia, but is included as a four day walk - 12km-18km-13km-18km. I walked 22km, 21km and 13km (the last day would have been longer only I miscalculated).

I didn't see or talk to anyone for these three days, which is quite an odd experience - especially in an eerie forest. A couple of times I was scared half to death by large, rapidly moving forest creatures, only to discover them as passing cars on nearby parallel roads. I would have liked to have someone else to walk with, if only to walk ahead of me thereby clearing all the spider webs.

On the final day I caught a few glimpses of patchie sun in the forest as the sun struggled to shine through the clouds. Walking into Walpole it finally shone brightly for the first time in three days.

Three days on the Bibblumun Track
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Driving Esperance to Walpole

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Good Things Come in Threes

2010-05-10T23:49:00.010+09:30

I met Andre and Jeanette on the Nullarbor at a roadside camp, we were admiring the sunset and anticipating the sunrise in such a fantastic spot. Andre and Jeanette were a couple of Germans (or Deutschers as they would prefer!) also travelling west. We were to travel together for the next three days.

Adelaide to Esperance via the Nullarbor - 7 days

I had stopped here early, I was overcome with the beauty of this desert meeting the sea just here. Whilst in South Australia the road follows the close to the sea, occassionally one catches a glimse or gets a better look at a rest area. At the Head of the Bight the white sand dunes suddenly give way to sharp cliffs.

Some things struck me about the Nullarbor, it is not treeless or featureless, the end-of-the-world abrupt meeting of the desert and sea is breathtaking, the road is not particularly straight, the plains not flat, and frankly, the drive not that boring. Every Australian should do it once (but maybe not twice?) Also, it is not one plain, but two. Beyond Eucla, at the WA/SA border, the road descends from the main plain to the lower coastal plain.

I started out from Adelaide on Monday, almost reaching Port Augusta. I slept in the car - which was hot and a little claustrophopbic - woken several times in the night by passing trains. Since then I have always slept in my tent which is so much more comfortable and, so far, well worth setting up.

On Tuesday I spent half a day in Port Augusta getting the transmission fixed, there was a minor fault which was causing some dramas, my car people in Adelaide thought it was fine but the Pt Augusta mechanic found and fixed the problem. As a result, I didn't have time to reach Port Lincoln by sunset, instead camping in a free campsite near Port Neil. Wednesday, after a morning swim and a chat with a local walking his dog, I set off into Lincoln and beyond to Memory Cove Wilderness Protection Area. After a 35 kilometre sandy 4WD track into the cove, I was presented with a magical cove. Scratched into a rock at the end of the beach is a sign made in the 1800s by whalers, they left messages here for each other - it was their post office. The offical parks brochure is interesting though, it notes the rock inscription as being "1.2m ^" rather than "4ft ^".

I decided not to spend further time on the Eyre Peninsula, eager to spend time instead in the south-west corner of WA, the Eyre Peninsula being relatively close to home. So on Thursday I skipped Coffin Bay National Park, stopping only at a few monuments (why not?) and a look-out over some cliffs - our very own Great Ocean Road coastline. I couldn't resist stopping by Locks Well, a favourite beach of mine.

Beyond Ceduna I camped in Point Bell Conservation Park, the drive out was a bit of a 4WD experience, not so keen on them I think. Beautiful beach, absolutely no-one there, although the mice kept me company all night long running over my tent (exactly what was so interesting about the tent to them?)

Friday was all new territory, I had only been as far west before as Ceduna. Fowlers Bay was interesting, I enjoyed reading all the history boards. Eyre made a four month expedition from Port Augusta to Albany droving sheep, the first crossing of the Nullarbor by Europeans. Can you imagine four months? There are monuments dotted along the way.

After the windmills of Penong - it was not art but function for all those windmills to be in one place - I succumbed to turning the iPod on. So far I had swapped between Triple J reception where possible, and silence, saving the tunes for the long Nullarbor drive.

The Head of the Bight was special, it is where the dramatic cliffs of the Nullarbor begin, ending the huge white dunes from Fowlers Bay. It was here I saw something I have not seen in a national park before. Someone saw a snake near the visitor centre, immediately the two ladies manning the counter ran out with a piece of polypipe and hit the snake. After several strikes, the lady asked the person if they minded her killing the snake. Not waiting for a response, she continued with, "hang on, let me finish the bugger off."

There were no whales to be seen yet. All the brochures say May to October is the whale season, but the sign on the road says June to September! Just to get you there...

My friend Kev has joined me for my four month trip. He was feeling a little deflated at first, but when he sat up front he perked right up. He was distraught at seeing so many of his friends on the side the road (roadkill), well to be frank, he is feeling a little let down by the whole experience. So he has retreated to his little pouch behind the front seat. I'm sure he will get back into shape soon and enjoy himself.

The price had petrol had been steadily rising from $1.23 per litre in Adelaide to $1.41 in Penong. The next roadhouse, at Nundroo was the same, but at the next one, Nullarbor Roadhouse, it was $1.71 per litre. The border was cheaper at around $1.61, but further west it rose again past $1.71, not falling to the $1.41 level again until Norseman. Ouch. But what can you do? None of them advertise their price on the roadside, why bother, where else are you to buy it? You just need the stuff. The Nullarbor provided ideal economy testing conditions, straight flat bitumen road with constant speed abilities.

Here I discovered that my car uses three litres per 100 kilometres less when driven at 100 km/h compared with 110 km/h. Upon leaving Adelaide I had resolved to limit my speed to 100 km/h, in four months what difference would 10 km/h faster make? None I'm sure, but the petrol bill will be smaller.

After spending the evening with Andre and Jeanette, we bid our farewells the following morning. Not for long though, I went off the main road at Eucla to check out the sand dune overrunning the telegraph station ruins whilst they ate their breakfast outside a nearby roadhouse. Here we met again. From here we were both going to be driving as far as we could, until almost sunset.

I reached Norseman, pushing a little further south to Esperence. I pulled over just before sunset at a rest area, the first one filled with other campers. After dinner who should pull up but my two German friends! We sat around and chatted and made plans for Sunday.

We rose early, driving south through the fog to Esperence. After a quick fruit and veg restocking - oh the grief of having it all confiscated at the SA/WA border - we drove out to Cape Le Grande National Park. Here we walked the 15 kilometre Coastal Track, well most of it. We walked from Le Grande Beach to Lucky Bay, maybe some three to four kilometres short of the full trail. Somehow we still managed to walk 14.8 kilometres though! The park is spectacular, it is mainly low lying but interspersed with huge granite mountains rising some 200-300 metres.

The beach sand is white, the water azure blue. I had seen photos in magazines, but in real life, with the sun shining, the sand is white and the water azure blue! We ate lunch sitting high above Hellfire Beach, watching four dolphins play in the surf.

We shared a bbq meal together that night, the following morning we parted ways again. So sad, but nice to meet such travellers!

Now I have done some 3000 kilometres of driving, it is time to slow down and enjoy the south west corner of Western Australia.

Coastal Track, Cape Le Grande National Park
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Drive from Adelaide to Esperance

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Magnetic North

2010-04-01T11:05:00.000+10:30

The north calls me, a four month trip from Adelaide following the coast west to Perth, then the north west coast to Darwin. Hiking, cycling, camping and sunsets. South Australia, Western Australia, Northern Territory.

From early May 2010 my plans include:

walk a week on the Bibbulmun Track, WA
walking the Cape-to-Cape Track, WA
cycling the Munda Biddi Trail, WA
snorkelling on the Ningaloo Reef, WA
walking the Jatbula Trail, NT
walking the Larapinta Trail, NT

The map above comes from the mid-1850s.

Source: www.icsm.gov.au/mapping/history.html
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Introducing Paj

2010-03-21T09:54:00.022+10:30

As a newcomer to 4WDs I thought I might undertake a training course to familiarise myself with my capabilites and my car's capablities.

4WD Training Day near Lyndoch, Adventure 4WD

Introducing Pajero on the "Oh Shit Hill" (this vid of my brother):

You can see why it is called the "Oh Shit Hill" (vid of Pat). The oh shit comes when diagonally opposite wheels have lost traction and gravity pulls the car along:

Again diagonally opposite wheels loose traction, mixture of hard and sandy surfaces, combined with a sharp corner with an embankment on one side and rocks on the other (vid of Daniel in Pajero - second car):

And back up again (again Daniel):

The training by Adventure 4WD was made up of a night theory session, and full day practical which included vehicle recovery. Excellent course, well recommended, trainer always relates all info to each vehicle (make/model/year, auto/manual, fuel type) and through a CB radio installed in each car talks every driver through each situation.

I for one looked at the so-called Kindy Track and thought there was no way in hell I would ever take a car down that ditch (sorry no video), I've seen many steep creek washaways like it hiking through the Flinders. Learning how to tackle it though has certainly given me confidence to get through situations I might encounter in my travels. Although I don't plan to find myself in such difficult situations.

Photos thanks to Pat

Download videos

For my fellow course peoples or those wanting to see a higher quality vid I provide the following links to download each video. Or, download all videos in one zip file (37MB).

Right click and select Save Link As to download, or click on the link to view in-browser (will only play if you have Apple's Quicktime plug-in installed). The .mov Quicktime videos are better quality than the Youtube vids:

Oh Shit Hill	Rock Dip Corner
Daniel (Pajero) (3MB) Dave (Range Rover) (2MB) George (Triton) (2MB) Joan and Carmel (Colorado) (1.5MB) Pat (Colorado) (3MB) Pauline (Prado) (3MB)	Down: Dave (Range Rover) and Daniel (Pajero) (4MB) Down: Rock Dip: Joan and Carmel (Colorado) (3MB) Down: Pauline (Prado) (3MB) Up: Daniel (Pajero) (2MB) Up: Dave (Range Rover) (1.5MB) Up: George (Triton) (1.5MB) Up: Joan and Carmel (Colorado) (2MB) Up: Pat (Colorado) (2MB) Up: Pauline (Prado) (3MB)

Big Ambitions

2010-02-02T16:51:00.000+10:30

Copied from a entry of a blog I have been following, this guy is riding South America.

I like it cos I have been planning mine for a few years and it's been good not to talk to too many people about my plans, cos I have just let it rattle around in my head for years (whilst saving $$) so now I just have to do it.

Tips for getting started on your Big Ambition

I have been asked on a few ocassions how I managed to be able to take a year off to go cycling. I think the general priciples are probably the same for whatever big ambition you have. Here are a few things that I think we're helpful.

Save money. Open a savings account (a tax free ISA is a good place to start). Most things in life require a little money to grease the wheels. Set up a standing order for at least 10% of your salary each month.

Write down your idea and decide what steps you can take today to make it happen.

Read. Books, websites, forums are a good place to start researching your plans. Then try something small (like a short cycle tour) to see if you like it...

Don't tell anyone. Let the idea build up inside you and grow to the extent that you have to do it. I told people I was getting into cycle touring but I waited several years before telling everyone the South America plan. Almost till I'd bought the ticket and quit my job.

Accept that you will need to make sacrifices but don't make comprimises on your dreams.

Don't rely on luck. Don't listen to the naysayers.

Don't wait till everything is absolutely perfect. It never will be. Just go!! Get on with it.

http://peterhubbard.blogspot.com/2009/12/tips-for-getting-started-on-your-big.html

Triple J - Hack - Travelling Around Australia

2010-01-25T17:30:00.006+10:30

An interesting radio segment from Triple J's Hack current affairs program on Australians travelling around Australia.

Australia Day 2010

Listen to the clip (30mins) on the player:

Full story: http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/hack/notes/s2800962.htm