Author: Jude & Tui

After a long days travel from Coober Pedy to Port Augusta our progress has slowed down dramatically.  There is now heaps to see.  We stayed at Port Augusta for 3 nights.  The 1st two in a caravan park and the 3rd night in a park for self contained rigs at a footy club for $5 a night. It was good to recharge our batteries.

It was really nice to be near water again.  We then headed down the Eyre Peninsula.  Our shortest travel day ever!  We turned off to have a look at Port Lowly and it was so nice and a free camp spot that we stayed 2 nights. taking the Suzuki off to explore the area.

Next stop was Whyalla for another 2 nights.  Camping ground again. We managed to find a hairdresser that was staying at the camping ground so both had much needed hair cuts. Our Camp spot was again spectacular.

The day we left Whyalla it was blowing a gale, a very uncomfortable trip. Drove down to Port Neill and stayed at the Caravan Park for $18 a night.  Great value and lovely people.  Tea at the Bowling Club for $8 each. Tui decided to try his hand at fishing off the wharf so dug for worms for bait.

The weather has been really strange.  One day we are in shorts and TShirt the next we are in Track pants and jumpers! Went for a drive around the coast in Suzuki and had a look at Tumby Bay.

Our next stop Port Lincoln.  We decided to have a look at Boston Point on the way there and low and behold came to a dead end with nowhere to turn around.  Tested out Tui’s backing skills with 800+ metres to back before he had enough room to turn around, with a couple of corners to add to the mix.  He did an amazing job.

Caught up with 25 motorhomes that were on their way to the National Rally in Kalgoorlie.  They were staying at the Sports Ground and invited us to join them.  Free camping and a smorgasbord dinner for $15 each.

We are now at the Port Lincoln National Park but more about that in the next Blog.  Until then “Laugh more, live longer!!”

Coober Pedy is known as the “Opal Capital of the World”. Opal was first found in Coober Pedy on the 1st of February 1915 and since then has been supplying the world with the majority of gem quality opal. Fascinating place!!

We stayed at the Stuart Range Caravan Park, one of the best laid out Parks we have seen.  They also make scrumptious wood fired Pizzas. Whilst visiting the underground church Tui was talking to a local guy that was installing some Roller Doors in a shed.  He didn’t have any experience so the next day Tui went and gave him some pointers.

Took a drive in Suzi to the “Breakaways”. The Breakaways are a striking and unique example of arid scenery. remnants of millions of years provide a wealth of geological interests and breathtaking views, it is hard to believe that over 70 million years ago, a vast inland sea covered this area.

The drive through the Breakaways passes “The Dog Fence”, which is the longest continual construction in the world. At 5,300km, it begins east of Surfer’s Paradise in Queensland and ends up north of Ceduna in the Great Australian Bite.  It was originally built to protect the sheep country from the Dingo’s.

Crocodile Harry was one of Coober Pedy’s most infamous characters and lived in one of the most bizarre dugouts.

We visited The Old Timers Mine.  You all know how short we both are, well even we hit our heads on the ceiling! It has extensive examples of the old mining processes plus a typical home set up.

It was then off to Port Augusta.  A long day with not much to see on the way.  Until next time “Laugh more, live longer”.

As you can see from our “see where we are” link, we are still playing catch up with our Blogs, don’t want to miss out anything!  Left Alice Springs and headed to Stuart’s Well, which was only 97kms away. Cute little Pub, Roadhouse and camping area. That night while we were at the Bar, playing Pool, the owner Jim came in with his Dingo and next thing the Dingo was on the Piano tickling the ivories and howling as if he was singing.  Cool!  Unfortunately the camera was in Tiki Tourer so didn’t get any photos. next morning on the way to Uluru we stopped at Desert Oaks for Bacon & Eggs and to catch up on emails etc.

Drove straight to the entrance to Uluru and discovered that to get into the park was $25 each, so went back to the Caravan Park (4kms) got settled in, then took the Suzuki off the trailer to get ready to see the Rock at Sunset. Dearest Park we have stayed in so far @ $41 a night.

An awesome site!  Too may different colours to post all photos.  Next morning we packed up and headed back to Uluru in Tiki Tourer.  Tui was keen to climb the Rock!  Got to the entrance and the climb was closed because of high winds.  A very disappointed Tui, so decided to do a couple of walks and drive around it and see if it had opened by the time we got to the start of the climb.

Got to the start of the climb and it was open!! A very excited Tui set off while Jude prepared meat for the EcoPot for dinner that night.

See how small Tiki Tourer looks!

He made it!!!

We decided to stay at a free camp at Curtin Springs on the way back out.

Big decisions next morning on whether we would drive out to Kings Canyon which was over 500kms by the time we drove out and back.  We would have to top up with fuel and had no service so couldn’t check work emails etc.  Decision was made to give it a miss.  In hindsight we should have gone to see it as we probably won’t pass this way again.

Into another State, across the South Australian Border!

Stopped at a free camp on the way to Coober Pedy where we had service.  Just on dark Tui heard rustling noises and went to investigate. Wow, there were thousands of mice everywhere!!  As we have had experience with mice in Tiki Tourer before, Tui said “pack up we are out of here”  Bit scary driving in the dark with Cattle and Kangaroos on the road! Stopped at Cadney Homestead, arriving at 8.30pm.

Off to Coober Pedy in the morning but more about that in the next Blog.  Until then “Laugh more, live longer”.

As promised we are doing another Blog to catch up on where we have been, however it has been a start/stop process as we have been in and out of range. We left Katherine on the 6th September 2011 and set off towards Alice Springs.  We decided to bypass Darwin this time as it was getting really hot and humid, making the decision to head down the middle to South Australia, gradually making our way up the East Coast then do the top end properly early next season when the weather is better. Unless the plan changes again!

Our 1st stop was the oldest Pub in the Outback, Daly Waters. Really interesting place.  All sorts of stuff hanging off walls etc., Bras, nickers, thongs (Jandles) hats. This place is a MUST see!

At night they have a Beef and Barra meal where you can have Barramundy or Beef or 1/2 of each with a salad bar. Then Chilli sings, jokes and does Bush Poetry. Awesome.

It was pretty hot driving so Tui cooled off by keeping a wet towel in the Engel.  Next stop was Three Ways (roads to Queensland, down the middle & towards WA) meet. Tui had a swim but the water was a little chilly for me.

Drove through “Devils Marbles”.  It is a free camp site but it was too early in the day for us to stop.

All sorts of different rock formations.

As we said in the last post one day it was boiling hot the next day we were freezing.

Even had a sprinkling of rain at Ti Tree and stayed the night at a Rest Area 97kms from Alice Springs.  Out came my Swazi Jacket!! We have seen some interesting signs.  Speed limit here 130.

Some amazing statues at a little place named Aileron.

Spent most of the day in Alice Springs trying to fix a leaking Power Steering Hose on Tiki Tourer. The hose is fixed but the Steering Box is still leaking a little.  next major city we will have to get it looked at.

Decided not to stay in Alice Springs but headed further South to Stuarts Well.  More in the next Blog.  Until then “Laugh more, live longer”!!

As we have done quite a bit since our last Blog we will do two in the next couple of days. Firstly Kununurra to Katherine and then Katherine to Alice Springs as that is where we are now.  We ended up staying at Kununurra for 2 days to catch up on cleaning out all the red dust, well most of it, caught up on the washing and caught up with Hobohome who had just finished the Gibb River Road. From Kununarra went headed to Lake Argyle and treated ourselves by staying in the Camping Ground where we indulged in the Infinety Pool.

So many beautiful photos from Lake Argyle that it was hard to pick which ones.  Magic!!

We met up with Richard and Deb from Bullsbrook so decided to travel together for a bit.  First stop was Timber Creek, stayed in the Caravan Park and watched Crocodile feeding.

It was the across the border at long last yahoo and onto Katherine.

Next day we went to Katherine Gorge and the walk was a killer.  Not far but steep and a really hot day, but it was worth it!.

Visited the Cutta Cutta Caves. Photos don’t do it justice.

It was then time to say goodbye to Deb & Richard.  They headed to Darwin and we were off to Alice Springs. What a difference in temperatures!  From air con on to heater! Another chapter in a couple of days.  Until then “Laugh more, live longer”!

After 7 wonderful weeks in Broome we left last Friday to head North again.  A special thanks to Ed & Jason from Northwest Shedmasters, for a great camp site and the opportunity of work and of course Mate for being such a great guard dog.  Also thanks to Greg & Wendy from Blue Tongue Garage Doors for their hospitality.

We set off for Derby and decided to travel the Gibb River Road to Windjana Gorge.  What an experience that was! Tiki Tourer went pretty well on the Gibb River Road but when we turned into the Fairfield Leopold Downs Road the corrugations were really rough.

The photos above don’t show how bad it really was.

We finally arrived at Windjana Gorge.  What an amazing place! We are thinking we now should have bought a real high quality camera.  Far too many photos taken to post on the Blog.

Saw our first freshwater crocodile in the wild.  Everyone says they are ok and it’s just the Saltwater ones you worry about but I wasn’t taking and chances.

Next day we headed to Tunnel Creek in the Suzuki.  It is a must to have a torch to walk through and yes you guessed it we left the torches in Tiki Tourer!!  Back we went to Windjana.  We were going to stay there a few days but as we had planned to drive through the Fairfield Leopold Downs Road to the Great Northern Highway and Tunnel Creek was further down that road,  Tui said “buggar it lets just pack up and take Tiki Tourer”.  Plans change on a daily basis with us!

Tui figured that as we could only drive at about a speed of 20km per hour, Jude couldn’t do any damage, so behind the wheel I went. luckily it was a stretch of road that wasn’t too bad, as further down the road we had an extremely steep river crossing and lost the handle off our Jockey Wheel of the trailer.

Tunnel Creek was awesome. You walk through about 4 lots of water in the dark, some waist high.  Very exhilarating and well worth it!

After leaving Tunnel Creek it was the plan to stop somewhere further down for the night but we were so over driving on the rough road that Tui kept on driving.  Made it to the main highway just after dark and that is where we spent the night. Next morning we set off for Ngumban Cliff Lookout and spent a few hours on repairs and cleaning.  With the rough road we had a loose power steering hose, lost our 2 way radio aerial and Tui wanted to check out anything else that may have come loose.  Man oh man the red dust!!  Tiki Tourer definitely isn’t dust proof.  Our bedroom was the worst, had to take everything out of the top cupboards and shake the dust out and our bed, well it was in a bad state.  We have decided that all Gravel roads will be negated in the Suzuki from now on.

Headed on up the road to Mary Pool rest area to spend the night.  great spot.  We caught up with a couple of Kiwi’s from Christchurch touring in a Britz van and had a great night.

Next morning we were on the road again headed for Kununurra.  Got as  far as Dunham River rest area and Tui had enough of driving.  Pulled in next to another Bus and met Ned & Jenny.  Hit it off straight away. Ned brews his own too so that night we had a bit of a taste off.  Good night and ended up staying with them for two nights.

We only drove about 70km yesterday and are now at the Showgrounds in Kununurra.  Great spot!  Well guys it seems like a long Blog this time and we hope we haven’t bored you too much!  until next time “Laugh more, live longer”!!

We have just done a calculation and can’t believe we have been in Broome 6 weeks now!  We have had friends say that once you get to Broome it is hard to leave and they are right! Now what have we been up to since our last Blog. Well unfortunately Jude is another year older!!  We celebrated by going to the Mangrove Hotel.  Lovely spot and it is the place to go to watch “Staircase to the Moon”, which we saw the following Monday. Two great nights.

Staircase to the Moon was an amazing experience.  It appears that nothing is going to happen then they start playing the didgeridoos and up it comes.

Last Friday we headed up the Dampier Peninsula with Greg, Wendy, their kids and Jason.  The boys rode their bikes with Wendy, Jude & Kids in the 4 x 4.  The plan was to stay at Mercedes Cove and then on up to Cape Leveque for lunch Saturday.  However Mercedes Cove was so nice that we just stayed there and chilled out.

On the way up we stopped at Beagle Bay to see the Sacred Heart Church with its mother of pearl shell altar. The church was built entirely by hand by local Aborigines and the Pallotine monks who started the Catholic mission in the late 1800s.

We stayed in an Eco Tent, very comfy.  Check out the view from the bed!! Yep Tui’s feet in the foreground.

The rest of the crew stayed in a 2 bedroom cabin.   Saw lots of Whales, binoculars supplied in the gazebo.  Weather was great and Jude even went for a swim!!

Very well set up, with each place having their own Barbie as well as a Pizza oven and big barbie by the Gazebo.  Check out our outside shower!  There were inside ones as well!

On the way up Jason had some challenges with his BMW in the soft sand so the boys had a bit of a slow trip.  The girls decided to give them a head start on the way back but after making some adjustments on the BMW the trip back was much faster.

A very enjoyable weekend!!

Catch ya next time and remember “Laugh more, live longer”!!

It is really hard to believe that it is August already!  Time has just flown by.  As you can see we are still in Broome and have been for 3 weeks now.  Tui is working every day during the week but we have managed to do a few fun things.

After the fishing Competition, Kim had to ride his bike back to Perth.  His son, Sam, decided to fly up and join him on the ride back.

The following Saturday we went out on Greg’s boat and had a great day fishing.  Tui and Greg’s Mum caught a couple of good ones.  I had an exciting time with a Mackerel, a decent size by NZ standards but unfortunately under size here so I had to throw it back.

The Crew                                                                          Coming back in to Gantheaume Point

We have been to the Beach quite a few nights to watch the Sunset and every time it is different. We have so many photos of sunsets it is ridiculous!! So we may as well share another with you.

Yesterday we decided to go for a bit of a Tiki Tour around Broome.  Drove to the Port and as luck would have it there was a P & O cruiser in Port.

We had intended to just go to the Kimberley Camping and Outback Supplies but ended up at the Roebuck Hotel for lunch and a couple of Coronas.  It was nice too!

Got a phone call from Jason, Tui’s boss, asking if he could bring the chain saw around.  Kylie, Jason’s wife, rehabilitates Turtles and wild life and they were having a big clean up. Off we went with Chain Saw in hand.

Ofcourse Tui had to have a play in the Bobcat.

A big day and we ended up going back to Kylie & Jason’s for tea.  A friend of theirs, Janine, cooked us 2 different types of beautiful Pasta. Yummmm!!

We are now reconsidering our options of “where to next”! As it is rather late in the season, hot and humid by the time we get to Darwin, we feel that it may be wiser to head inland and head toward Kalgoorlie, then go East from there, doing the top end earlier next year. Things tend to change on a daily basis with us, but that is what traveling is all about.

Today has been a laid back day.  Tui has just been for a blat on his Motorbike.

Until next time “Laugh more, Live Longer”!!

We have now been in Broome for 8 days.  Man time flies!! As Tui is working we haven’t even scratched the surface of places to see here. The weather is perfect 30 to 31 degrees every day we have been here with not a cloud in the sky.  Our hearts go out to our NZ friends and family, who are freezing at the moment! The 2nd night we headed to Cable Beach to see the Sunset.  It was absolutely crowded, people everywhere, an amazing sight with all the 4 wheel drives on the Beach.  Cable Beach is 6kms out from Broome and very Touristy.

There are two access points to drive on the beach, one at Cable Beach where all the restaurants etc. are and the other is at Gantheaume Point, where we have been told the locals go. We went there the next night.

Tui had a cable tie to use as a lead so we took “Mate” for a drive.  He appeared to enjoy it, however wasn’t too sure about all the people and kept close to Tui.

Friday was Broome Racing Day.  Everyone finished work at lunchtime and then it was off to the Races.  Great fun day!  My first country meeting and really enjoyed it. Tui had a couple of small wins but I appeared to back real Donkeys.  Mind you I never bet more than $1 each way so if I had won, I wouldn’t have had a big collect! Amazing track, sea views each side.

When the horse racing ended they bought out the gaming tables and the Bands started.

Went back to Jason & Kylie’s for hamburgers for tea.  Thanks guys! Didn’t get to go sightseeing in the weekend as Tui caught up with his Mates.  Greg cooked us Lamb Shanks for tea, Yum,  and then the boys went in the fishing Competition on Sunday.  Tui had a hook up but unfortunately his line broke and he lost it so no fish!  I had cleaned out the Fridge and freezer in anticipation to no avail!

That’s about it for now.  Hopefully we will do a bit of exploring this weekend.  There is so much to explore in this area and we want to avoid the heat and the wet season. Looked on the Net this morning and it is still 4725kms from Broome to Cairns, including calling in to Darwin. Will keep you all posted.

Until next time “Laugh more. live longer”!!

Although it is only 4 days since we did our last Blog, we have traveled the greatest distance since leaving home so thought we had better bring you all up to date.  It was hard leaving Cleaverville, such an awesome place and we met a great bunch of people that stay for 3 months every year. However Tui received a phone call saying he had work in Broome and we need to boast the Bank Account.

The 2nd day we were at Cleaverville we took Suzuki for a run out to Cossack and then Point Samson.  Cossack is a quaint little Historical village.

We had lunch at the Tavern at Point Samson. If you ever get there, a meal at the Tavern is a must!  I ordered the small serve of Fish & Chips and struggled to eat it all and Tui had Fisherman’s Basket.  We were so full we didn’t have tea that night. Below is the view from the Tavern and a ship in dock.

On the trip heading North we were told that we had to call in and see Whim Creek Pub so we had Brunch there.  The sign says “Whim Creek Pub, a Must See”, and they are right. Front and back view below.

Drove through Port Hedland and watched a couple of ships come in.

Salt Mine

Stopped the night at De Grey River Rest Area.  Yet again another good spot.  Pulled in and low & behold our mates Topsy & Arie were there.  Hadn’t seen them for over 18months.  A very good Happy Hour!!

Topsy & Arie’s Rig and Arie relaxing.  Sorry no Happy hour Photos!

From there it was a long run to Broome by our standards.  Longest we have traveled in a day! We are now settled in the yard of Northwest Shedmasters where Tui is working.  We have power, toilet, shower, washing machine (Yipee), even a patch of lawn and our own guard dog called “Mate”, lovely dog! It is a bit noisy as we have Truck yards either side but I am sure we will get used to it.

Our Broome Camp and “Mate”.

That’s all for now! Until next time “Laugh more, live longer”.