Perth-Melbourne-Alice Springs-Perth (lots of pics)

[Nab]

After the idea to travel to Melbourne for a family do came into the missus’ head about 18 months ago, soon came the day to leave on our 6 week Perth-Melbourne-Alice Springs-Perth trip in the Pajero and Jayco Dove. The idea was to freecamp where we could and stay with relatives/friends in Melbourne and Adelaide.

Leaving Perth at 5:30am it was a long day for the 3 kids (3,5,7). The idea of going to the toilet while we were stopped (as opposed to stopping every 20mins…) took a while to get used to. We stopped at camp between Coolgardie and Norseman) just after 4pm after about 650km – this turned out to be the longest leg we did all trip).



The next couple of days everyone got into sync with the toilet stops but we ended up stopping more anyway to see the sites. Wombat holes, rock holes/hide and seek etc kept the kids entertained and they never wanted to leave every time we stopped!






Head of Bight had 172 whale sighting the morning we stopped in, we saw about 20 including an albino baby. It was an awesome feeling looking out onto the harsh rocks and sea, watching these almost carefree whales just playing around.







Once in SA we stayed in Streaky Bay, beautiful, clean, still water with lots of jellyfish. Stopped by Murphy’s Haystacks where the kids burnt heaps of energy. Some awesome coastline to check out too.







The weather threatened to turn bad so we headed inland and stopped at Yeldulkine Dam at Cleve. What a fantastic clean free camp, plenty of walks to do and the dam control room has been reconditioned and is open to everyone. The dead sheep/bore that was stuck in the dam right near the control room kept the kids quiet for a bit haha!



Then onto Melrose and Stockport for a couple relaxing nights.



We bypassed Adelaide and got to Kaniva at around 5 and the kids were on edge so we setup camp at the council run “caravan park”. Not really a caravan park, it looked like it was just an unfenced patch of grass with a small toilet block. But it was awesome, had the cleanest toilet block I’ve ever seen, laundry facilities, no rubbish, playground next door, fire pit with a little firewood. Well done Kaniva!!!

[Nab]

After 8 days in Melbourne and 4 days in Adelaide we were off again heading towards Alice Springs. I wanted to check out the Oodnadatta Track so headed towards the Flinders, stopping just north of Hawker. Another great clean camp spot.



Someone didn’t have much luck with their Anderson plug…



Got to Marree and the sign said Oodnadatta Track was closed. Hmmm. I had checked the SA road condition website the day before and it was open. Had a chat to the lady at the roadhouse and she said the signs were playing up so go by the website. The missus stopped giving me the look after that!



Stayed the first night at Coward Springs. Nice place, kids loved the hot spa. Great weather and beautiful sunsets.



The trailer brake controller was showing “short circuit” so I had a look and found the wires connecting the 2 brakes was dangling down on the ground. Seems like the gravel roads smashed my unfinished/forgotten cable tied brake wiring. Oooops…



On our way the next day we checked out a few sites, the middle child vomiting a couple of times – great. We got to Oodnadatta, not sure why but we got a bad feeling about the place so we had lunch and moved on, hoping to get to Marla as there was rain predicted over night. We got about 80km down the road when the youngest one started vomiting – fantastic. Then about a minute later the oldest one started vomiting – awesome. So we decided to stop for the night next to Kathleen Creek.



As were were putting the kids to bed a bloody huntsman crawled along the edge to the window. Thongs do a Shit job of killing huntsmans so after 2 swats he snuck out of the camper. I went searching but could not find the bugger, although I did manage to amputate one of his legs. Also noticed the trailer brakes weren’t working again – the gravels road had broken the wire ties I had in place. A job for the morning…

Woke up the next morning to rain. Not too heavy just consistent. Went to drain the lizard when I noticed the camper stabilisers had sunk slightly. Hmmm not good. After umming and ahhhing with the missus we decided to sit it out for a day or two as the track was no doubt closed and not sure how far we would get on the muddy roads. Then about lunch time the rain eased up and we saw 2 4x4s go past – the track must be open so we quickly packed up and hit the road, not before another 2 4x4s came through. The next 40kms were a bit hairy, at times the trailer was trying to overtake me but all was good in the end.





Made it to Marla to refuel then headed 90km up the road to another free camp. We got a nice fire going then I started to make dinner. That’s when the bloody 7 legged huntsman came out again making a beeline for the door. Sneakers do a much better job than thongs so that was the end of him.

After a night in Alice Springs to freshen up and restock we headed out to Ormiston Gorge, a beautiful place but the sites are bloody close together. Did the gorge walk carrying the 3yo most of the way but the view was worth it. Kids had an absolute blast trying to find the way through the creek bed as there was no path, just big rocks to clamber over.





Next day we day tripped to Ellery Spring, Serpentine Gap and the Ochre Pits. Great scenery here, great info on how they used to use the spring to attract the cattle to round them up. Lots of lizards to spot as well!









Packed up and headed to check out Redbank Gorge. Unfortunately a Jeep and a massive caravan were stuck on the short but steep hill on the way out. I wondered over to see if they needed a hand but there was already another 4x4 there tying their snatch strap to the nudge bar, time for us to go before this ended in tears.

Onto the Mereenie Loop Road to Kings Canyon where we were flagged down by a German cyclist. He had run out of water and had another 100km to go so we topped up his bottles and sent him on his way. Road was OK, I was feeling sick so the missus was driving but she wasn’t too keen on the dirt road driving but she soldiered on.

Set up camp at Kings Canyon CP, the cost of everything here was expensive ($20 for 10L water container, 25c/L more expensive fuel than Uluru, etc). Facilities were OK, $50/night for unpowered dirt is a bit rich (Uluru overflow camp was $20/night). Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy to pay but blatant gouging sucks arse. The dingos here were very friendly, walking into camp without a care that we were just meters away.









Did the short Kings Canyon walk and it was awesome. Also checked out Kathleen Springs and again such great scenery out there. We got back to camp just in time to see a dingo steal someone’s bread, the cheeky bastard! Funny how there is all the space in the world to camp there and someone parks about 3m away from your camper, then uses your camper to shade their chairs haha!! Lucky they were nice people, shame they were woken about 6:30 but the kids….

[Nab]

On the road again to Uluru, stopping at Mt Conner lookout. Quite an impressive site, almost table top flat. We stopped at Curtain Springs for lunch, it was like an oasis so we decided to stay the night. Great food and service, kids loved all the bird aviaries. Unpowered camping is free but showers are $3. But you get what you pay for, the toilets are a bit, um, interesting. Again we had another camper that camped right next to us even though there was lots of space. Wouldn’t be so bad except he had his genny running all night. While they are allowed there, maybe try camping away from others.



Into Ayers Rock Resort for a couple of nights. The amount of tourists coming and going was amazing. While we setup the first day about 30 tents were getting packed up and loaded into a coach. When we got back after checking out the “town” there were another 20 odd tents being setup out of another coach!!! We did the short walks around the base but not around the whole rock. Climbing was closed as we were there just after the recent tourist rescue. We watched the sunset on Uluru on the roof rack, the colour changes were beautiful.







Spent the morning checking out the art gallery/museum, it had about 6 glass displays with stuffed animals from the area. It was an awesome way to learn about the local wildlife, kids still aren’t sure if they were dead or alive! Off to Kata Tjuta and again did the short walks and checked out the cultural centre. We took our cooker with us as had sausages and salad on the roofrack, kids loved it up there!







After restocking we left for home via the Great Central Road. Stopped for lunch at Lassiters Cave, about 50km from the WA border. We were warned that the road was absolutely terrible and we were prepared for it but so far it had been good going, some roughish patches but generally an OK dirt road until we got to Docker River which was all bitumen. We had a look in the town and it was not a nice place to be so we kept going. From the border on it got much better, pretty much 80kph+ dirt road.





The rocks again took their toll on the trailer brakes and half of the stainless ties were gone. I repaired the cabling again then used about 30 stainless ties – this lasted the trip home with only a few broken ties. Even had “help” from the kids…





We stopped at Gill Pinnacles for the night which had an unbelievable camp with a breathtaking view. Unfortunately it was occupied ( so we found a clearing nearby to set up camp.







Off again we stopped at Warburton for fuel. Had an eerie feeling again so we pushed on after grabbing some hot chips – the best on the whole trip! Checked out some gnamma holes before stopping at Desert Breakaway. Again a fantastic camp spot with an abundance of firewood just a couple hundred metres down the road.











We pushed on again, stopping at Tjukayirla Roadhouse. The managers there were really nice and helpful and the food was surprisingly awesome! Carried on until we hit bitumen at Laverton and stopped for the night at Malcolm Dam, again another great overnighter.



Got to Kalgoorlie for lunch and spent an hour at the playground before heading to Karalee Rocks for our last night. Great history about the dam and the kids loved catching tadpoles. Cracking campspot, clean, spacious, plenty of exploring for the kids (and us adults too…).





Was a bit sad packing up for the last time, we took much longer than usual for some reason. Finally went to start the Paj but there was nothing, just a click – maybe it was a sign! The bloody starter battery lost a cell on the final night! Luckily it easily jump started off the aux battery and we were off on the 400km leg home.

The trip went pretty much without a hiccup. The Pajero ran flawlessly (apart from the dead battery), only a few small issues with the camper. Got a bit of dust in the camper but luckily not in the beds/food/clothes. A few people doing dodgy overtaking manoeuvres had us crapping our daks a few times but apart from that a pretty stress free trip.

Facts and Tips-
- Total km = 10,448km
- Fuel used = 1760.14L
- Fuel cost = $2405.36
- Average fuel consumption = 16.8L/100km
- Most expensive diesel = Warburton, 206c/L
- Left mid August, got home end of September. Definitely only skimmed the surface, plenty of tracks and places to stop and explore much more thoroughly.
- Don’t visit interstate relatives during your kid’s birthdays. We had to pack about a thousand toys into the camper which made our day to day living a bit too cramped for my liking.
- Kids only watched 5 DVDs whilst driving. Only came on if we needed to make some kms without stopping as they were glued to the screen and did not make a single peep! Mainly did I spy, counted trucks/red cars/windmills, every time you saw a bird you had to make the sound you thought the bird made, colouring in etc seemed to keep the kids entertained enough.
- Carry a bucket in the car. Caught 3 vomits in it, 2 at the same time… When not vomiting into it the kids shove their toys in it.
- Kids loved helping where they could, little things like winding the stabilizers down, passing the hammer/pegs etc. Even though I could setup/pack up quicker without their “help”, it took me a couple days to unwind from work mode and realise that having the kids helping is as good for me as it was them.
- WikiCamps is pretty good but don’t totally rely on it. Reading the comments soon gives you a vibe of the place.
- If you stick to the main tourist route there is no need to carry loads of water, fuel, food, spare tyres, lift kits, 42537452 LED light bars etc etc. Heaps of people out there doing the same as us in standard 4X4s, the amount of traffic was almost comical at some places.
- Let the kids have fun with the camera! I'm a crap photographer, my 7yo daughter took a couple of these pics, you can't tell the difference between mine, hers and the missus'...
- When you slightly head off the beaten track you easily find some magic spots, usually feeling completely isolated and alone. Some places were awesome, some not so good, Just got to go with your gut.

Enjoy it out there!

[Hatto]

I just love reading people's trip reports. Thanks so much for sharing it with us. Sounds like an epic adventure that you'll all be able to look back on with fond memories.

[stevemc181]

Thanks for the trip report. Looks like you had an awesome time with only a few minor drama's along the way. Some great pics of your adventures

[noddy.r]

great trip report brought back some great memories did a simular trip about 5 years ago,i know what you mean when you talk about warburton and docker river!

[Drjohn11]

Loved the report. Thanks for sharing.

Alex

[NJV6]

Great reading. It is hard for us to comprehend the km you can do on a trip when our whole country is only 1500km from top to bottom. Thanks.

[sharkcaver]

Great report Nab. Some iconic places visited there and some I would love to get back to.



Do you know the story behind Gill's Pinnacle? It's pretty amazing. There is some stone somewhere behind the water hole, up in the hills that Giles believes to be a ceremonial site - of human sacrifice!

Not that it matters, cause your permit only allows you to be 30 meters off the road. I hiked about 2K's in there (at 1630 in the arvo on a +35 degree day )

[Nab]

Cheers, yeah the whole family had a blast. We managed to get on the dirt roads between road closures, many others were not so lucky and had to go via the bitumin...

Shane, not sure about the history of the place, I just know it's a cracking spot to stay!!!

[cannonsjs]

Great report. Really enjoyed reading it.

[Nab]

It's funny, over most of the trip we had general chit chat with other travellers and that was it. After we did the Oodnadatta and the Pajero and camper were caked in mud I lost count of the people asking about where we came from, what the track was like, what tyre pressures etc etc!