Gray Nomad,  gray with an a for active seniors lifestyle.
 
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Reg, Indigo and myself have arrived at King Parrot Creek rest area.  The morning final pack and clean ready to go went without any more incidents aside from my discovering that my $300. Brookes running shoes have gone missing.  I was not very happy, about that and can see no logic at all to Mr Nobody taking my shoes.  That reminded me that last year I bought a $50. New pair of Crocks that Mr Nobody took when they were only 2 days old.  It gets very expensive travelling with ‘Mr Nobody’, I wish he would hitch a life with someone else.

Anyhow we had a lovely drive through the Goulburn Valley and have arrived and set up out caravn beside the King Parrot Creek, using the generator to connect the wireless internet and computer to, to report in that we are at the destination we had planned for the night and all is well.

Fish and vegetables planned for dinner tonight, reading and maybe some sketching.

On to Lakes Entrance tomorrow. I will be on line  more from there as we stay a couple of days.

Tour plans for this week:-

Vic.

Today  Wednesday April 7:  KING PARROT CREEK Rest area no (222 )
Thursday April 8 Lakes Entrance Idelours Caravan Park
Friday April 9 Lakes Entrance Idelours Caravan Park.
Saturday  April 10 Thurra River rest area no (7), 11klm east of Cann River.
Sunday April 11 Mallacoota Foreshore Camping Park no (4)

Then into  NSW.

 
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While our 2009 around Australian tour has reached it’s Summer studio home base of Northern Victoria, it is far from over and I will continue to write about places we have visited and are currently visiting.

Driving across the Nullarbor Plain is one of Australia's great road journeys. Most of the area is flat and features bluebush and saltbush. The wildlife here includes Australia's largest population of the Southern Hairy-nosed Wombat, we saw several on this trip. There are rare and endangered species such as the Nullarbor Quailthrush, Major Mitchell Cockatoo, Australian Sea-lion and Peregrine Falcon
The Nullarbor name comes from the Latin 'nullus' and 'arbor' meaning 'no trees'. Experts believe the plain was created about 25 million years ago when it lifted out of the sea. 
Reg and I love the Bunda Cliffs, the area where the flat plains meet the pounding Southern Ocean 70 metres below.

This year my pleasure at the scenery was mixed with alarm at people who were scaling the cliffs so friends could take photos of them in precarious positions over the cliff edge. I just have to say the word, 'foolish' . There were even drivers who drove around, 'Danger, do not enter', signs, with a caravans in tow to camp out over seriously undercut, dangerous cliff tops.  Not only are they being foolish, they risk having this natural beauty wonderland, barriered off, so sensible users may eventually be barred from entry or it might all become like the ‘head of the bite’, where everyone has to pay $20. to enter so a ranger can police that people use a little common sense where it comes to enjoying nature and these spectacular views of the coastline.
We saw many Southern Right Whales off the coast,  from the many vantage points along the cliffs that are open for viewing and camping. It is worth the fee to go into the  Head of Bight, the ultimate whale-watching area with great viewing platforms.  Sadly that area is no dogs allowed, though I fail to understand why responsible dog owners cannot carry a small dog, so they can view the whales from these platforms, it’s not as if the dog would threaten the whale.

This year I saved the audio book ‘The Power of One’, as my driver entertainment for the Nullarbor crossing.  It was a great choice being 18 CD disks that took many days, the length of the journey, to complete. 
 
 
Camp spot 114 km W of Coolgardie or 68 km E of Southern Cross, Southern Goldfields region of Western Australia. 
We began our trip east from Toodyay yesterday, filled up all the water tanks in the van and many spare bottles with fresh water, also vegetables and fruit,  mostly frozen, bottled or tinned so what I don’t use can be taken through the quarantine check point at Ceduna.  You can take honey out of Western Australia, but not into Western Australia from other states.  

Travelling along the Great Eastern Highway, we stopped at Merredin and purchased fresh bread at the fresh bread bakery. Merredin  has good parking for large vehicles with a caravan in tow and clean public toileds and a park to stretch your legs during your break from driving.

We dropped in to a charming country hotel / pub, under friendly new management, at Moorine  Rock.
 
We then arrived at Boorabin rest area, in time to walk some of the many of the trails.
Facilities here are great, plenty of private, in the bush on smooth earth roads, camp sites.  Toilet and dump point facilities, fire places, picnic tables, tents to large rigs catered for, dogs allowed, fire places and BBQ’s mobile phone service and free 24 hour stop over allowed.  Pretty wildflowers, were in flower amongst the eucalypts.   
This is a lovely quiet, off the road camp site.   Highly recommend. We have stayed at this one and others similar on other occasions when heading for Norseman and the start of the big southern route, crossing from west to south of Australia.  

 

 
 
 

Camp spot 22 km NE of Wubin or 131 km SW of Paynes Find, just north of Rabbit Proof Fence, Road.

There is good internet and mobile phone connection here and we are now only 40 km from Dalwallinu, our next stop to exhibit.  

Excellent wild flowers in the area, the pink ones are highly fragrant but attract mosquitoes at dawn and dusk and in shady places so wear protective covering if outside at these times or in these conditions.   We had our first rain since we left Victoria in April this year, today.  As I am now in the wildflower area of Western Australia, I almost welcome the rain as the wildflower show depends on it.  It is still warn even though we have now travelled a long way south and are only a day’s drive from Perth although we will not be near Perth until the start of September.

 
 
 
Our camp site tonight, is amongst boulders and wildflowers about 20 km North of Meekatharra. 

It is listed as a free camp site, in the Western Australian Royal Automobile Club, travel guide book.   This camp site has been a favourite place to stop our car, take a walk, photos and marvel at the unusual rock formations and the wildflowers that grow so profusely out of the sandy and rocky soils in Western Australia.   I saw some beautiful wildflowers along the road side today.   The weather was glorious again, as it usually is during winter in this part of the country; it has indeed been a great day’s travelling driving towards Meekatharra from Newman in the North, on Highway 95, the Great Northern Highway.

We filled up with Diesel and food at  the Capricorn Roadhouse, just out of Newman and I added the audio book ‘Twilight’, to our 'keep the driver alert', kit, for the trip as I still have the flu and felt like, pampering myself, making the driving experience as pleasurable as it would be possible and I know that because of the addition of this audio book to the journey, I probably drove an extra two hours for the day than I might otherwise have chosen to and I was pleased with 1,200 kms to drive this week to get that extra couple of hundred kms covered on the first day.  This means I can cruise along at my leisure for the rest of the week, sight seeing, relaxing and walking as much as I would like to.

We arrived at his pretty camp site around 4pm, plenty of time to set up camp in daylight and walk around and marvel at the beauty and ruggedness of this amazing area. 

To find this unmarked free camp site,  look for an outcrop of granite boulders 20 km north of Meekatharra, , drive in off the road and around to the back of the boulders for private, level, caravan sites away from the noise of the road side.

Caution, I never stop at any free camp sites close to a town if there is no other caravanning travellers also stopping, tonight, two of us pulled in together and another caravan has since joined us.  There is safety in numbers and this is also in Telstra wireless connection range, hence my being about to post onto the internet, even though I’m basically in a remote outback region.  Technology is amazing and making travel safer. J  I also look for tell tale signs of any potential safety concerns. For example a lot of broken glass and graffiti would put me off staying overnight and I avoid free camping on a Friday and Saturday night close to any town.    Remember that camp sites close to towns are a great place for the minority who might abuse alcohol to come for a drinking party, this situation could occur in any town, though Western Australia has very strict liqueur licensing rules, there are many dry and alcohol restricted towns and the Western Australia is making a bigger effort than any other state as far as I know to try to prevent alcohol abuses.

Respect these free camp sites, take only photos and leave behind only foot prints, so these places will remain open for other travellers and for your return journey.

Theses free camp sites within natures splendour, are what makes a road trip around Australia, the most memorable and beautiful experience.

 
 
 
 East Munjina  Gorge Lookout adjacent to the Karijini National Park in the incredibly beautiful, inland Pilbara region.  This has to be one of the most spectacular drives in the world.   The photos above, were taken in this area, at our favourite free bush camp in Australia,  the Albert Tognoli Rest Area 179 km NW of Newman or 17 km S of Auski Roadhouse. 2 km E off Highway. Follow tracks along the ridge to find your own private piece of paradise on earth.  Camp site no 579 in Camps Australia Wide, book 5.

We leave Tom Price to head to Newman soon but intend to back track out of our way to return and spend a few days on the ridge overlooking this beautiful Gorge and I will be painting the view in water colours.

It is a black spot for mobile phone and internet connection, I am considering spending more time in these more remote beautiful areas next year, rather than coming into the towns for the weekend and as I want to continue with my blogging, now I’ve discovered blogging I am hooked, and love it.   I will look into the cost of satellite internet connection costs and see if this is affordable knowing I can part offset the cost now I am selling my health and travel writing essays.  I love all aspects of my gray nomad life, hobby business and companionship with Reg and seeing how he also loves this gray nomad life style. 

I’ll plan so we can stay longer in the Pilbara region next year, simply stay for longer periods at our favourite camps, especially up on this ridge top and walk, talk, write and paint, and soak in the majestic countryside, enough to last until we return the following year.  Of all the camp sites in Australia, Reg and I want to keep returning to, this is the one.   I could live forever, happily, here on this ridge top and only return to civilization when we run out of water and food.

Fortunately for us and other lovers of living close to nature, most of our friends and acquaintances moving on from Tom Price to Newman are all booked in to the Tom Price caravan park for the convenience of power and amenities blocks so there is plenty of private peaceful camp sites in the bush for those who want to be alone with nature between these fun if hard work, socializing, catching up with the washing and supplies stocking and a little retailing to pay for the fuel, town stop overs.
 
 
Ngumban Cliff Lookout is beautiful, peaceful and the most private camp site we have found in Kimberley and one of my photos, above, shows our caravan and car and the open space all around us.  

As few other travellers choose to stop over for the night, fire wood was in abundance and Reg and I enjoyed watching the sun set over the beautiful gorge country then sat around our very private camp fire, made hot toast in the glowing coals, star gazed and we were rewarded with a display of shooting stars. 

The site has a public toilet, though not one I would personally use nor camp near, it was rather smelly. So pleased we are self sufficient travellers. There is room (lots of room), for big rigs to park and dogs are allowed in the area.  The site is described as scenic, in the Camps Australia Wide book 5 and that’s why I found it so hard to understand why so few people choose to enjoy this beautiful camp site.  

You will find Ngumban Cliff Lookout, rest area 96 E of Fitzroy Crossing or 192 km W of Halls Creek.

 
 
 
Mary Pool is the most well known and popular, free camp site in the Kimberley, WA. There are a lot of Mary River frontage camp sites and this river stops flowing during the dry season and then becomes Mary Pool. This year there was no pool, just a wide dry stony basin so we camped out in the open area away from the crowds and the pool bank and enjoyed views into the bush and of a lovely old ghost gum.

You find Mary Pool rest area, 180 E of Fitzroy Crossing or 108 km W of Halls Creek.  There is lots of room to park big rigs and a small city of caravaners, motor homers and fifth wheeling travellers congregate here for an allowed 24 hour rest on the journey through the Kimberly between Kununurra and Broome.

These free camp sites are the most incredibly friendly places and an evening stroll with the dog is a friendly say hello to the neighbours journey and can end up in a progressive dinner and one evening by the Mary Pool resulted in a smorgasbord meal with everyone bringing their food and adding it to the shared camp fire side tables.   Five million stars, party, dinning at its best. Of course if you want privacy, maybe Mary Pool is not for you.

The area abounds with bird life, Reg and I counted six pairs of the most beautiful bird we have ever seen, the rainbow bee eater, in the ghost gum in front of us and corellas abound at the water’s edge and there is a small bird that makes it's home close to the camps, in holes in the side of the Mary Pool banks.

Last year there was a crocodile stranded in the Mary Pool and Indigo caught a tick in her top knot hair and that’s why we had her ears and top knot trimmed off for the Kimberly crossing this year so I would see any ticks instantly if she picked one up. 

Mary Pool is on my list of must stop over at, great free camp sites and even I with my fussiness, will use the new, excellent public toilets provided.  There are many of these new self composting and odourless toilets being placed at free camp sites, they are on an elevated platform, large rooms that allow wheel chair access and they are a far cry from the smelly, open drop boxes of the old style ‘out back dunny’ and they even flush.

You do need to take your own fresh drinking water into any of these free camp sites and swimming in Mary Pool or any natural waterway in the Kimberley, is not recommended, due to the possible presence of crocodiles.

Mary Pool is site no 637 in the Western Australia, section of Camps Australia Wide 5.

The photos are of Reg setting up our Eco Tourer caravan, it takes less than a minute to complete.

 
 
 
Spring Creek.  Kimberley, WA. Free camp site, scenic, rest area, 107 km NE of Halls Creek or 56 km SW of Turkey Creek.  There is room to park big rigs at top of car park, small vans and tent camp sites are along the water’s edge, during dry season.

In a short walk along the creek we saw many varieties of birds, it is a friendly nature lovers, peaceful setting.  Facilities include, toilets, shady camp sites, picnic tables and benches, camp fires and dogs allowed.  There is an area under the bridge where you can obtain water from the creek to top up the your shower water tank and it looks clean but  I would suggest carrying fresh drinking water with you and I preferred to use my own caravan toilet, I’m not keen on using public bush camp toilet.  In some respects I still love the clean comforts of home while in nature and travelling with my own flushing toilet is one of those luxuries I have not given up.

This is a lovely quiet, away from the noise of the main road, bush camp site and one we have stayed at over night on a few occasions.  You need to watch out for the turn of, because the caravans camp site is not visible from the road.  It is site no 644 in the Western Australia, section of Camps Australia Wide 5.

 
 
Free Camps 07/13/2009
 
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We are about to leave Kununarra and head west, staying at free camp sites, on the Orr River, beside Mary Pool, then on private land, with the permission of the land owner, beside a bird filled, billabong.  These free camp sites in the Kimberley, will be one of the most enjoyable stretches of out trip.

One of the best bonuses of having been an exhibitor at the Kununurra Show, has been staying here on the Kununurra Show grounds for a week, free of any camp site fee, use of large automatic washing machines provided for free and 10% discount in the town for many services including our Toyota Troop Carrier 30 thousand service, because we are staying in what they called the 'over flow' area of the caravan parks. 

Personally If I was not staying at the show grounds, I would not be staying in any of the caravan parks as nice as they may be, because we just don't 'go country', to have another caravan as our view.  At 'home', our summer cottage retreat, we have rural scenery all the way to the horizon, viewed through our own cottage garden and we don't leave that behind to go to places where we would feel more hemmed in.

Before we left for this latest trip we purchased the latest Camps Australia Wide Book, which is the no 5 book, we upgrade with every new publication. Now that is a book I do recommend and I would not leave home without it.

We are self sufficient with solar power and en suit so we do not need caravan park facilities and we prefer  to be closer to nature than we usually are able to be in a caravan park.   We use Camps Australia Wide, as our guide to places where you can stay in bush camps and we look for locations marked as, dogs allowed, suitable for larger rigs and that have scenic locations.  

The book is great as each person can look for what their own needs are. If you are not self sufficient, you might look for the sites that have toilets, or even the low fee sites with showers.  The book tells me if a camp site will have mobile telephone cover.   Even if you are not self sufficient, you can comfortably bush camp as many road houses offer showers for the traveller, for a modest fee.   I love the shower in our van and can usually quickly refill the water tanks while Reg fills the car with diesel fuel, at the service stations.

I have been asked to recommend caravan parks, but I can't  help with such advice because we are not your average, grey nomad, rarely using any caravan park.   We do occasionally stay at  caravan park, but there needs to be a very specific reason, usually because we are using the natural hot springs within or beside the park, to swim in a couple of times a day.   Nanga Bay resort, the Riverview Caravan Park at Katherine, Mataranka Homestead,  and some of the caravan parks at Moree with hot thermal pools come to mind as parks with the bonus of the  hot waters, where we will come into civilization to set up camp within a caravan park. 

We are about to resume our travelling through the Kimberly, then south to and through the Pilbara, then South West, the wildflower way in Western Australia and back over the Nullarbor over the next few months and don't plan to use a caravan park again for the rest of this year.  

I always look for and love the alternative to being lined up side by side with a vans all around us and another person's choice of TV or radio in my ear as I write.    Right now my van is parked on spacious green grass in the Kununurra Show Grounds, room for the dog to chase a ball and I have unbroken views to the right of my of a large clump of boab trees, to the right front a spreading Frangipani in bloom and in front a large expanse of green oval.    This area is classed as the 'overflow area', the place you can book into, within the town when all the caravan parks are full.   Give me the 'overflow area' any day by choice, as the caravan park opposite might be 5 star standard ( I would not know), I love the 5 million star, standard and  spaciousness, of the non caravan park, locations we find to set up in.    It's a great life, saying to each other, 'where will we live tonight'. and moving from one beautiful place, staying and enjoying it for a week or so, then moving on to the next.     Many sites are designated as 24 hour or 48 hour only stays, that's where having the latest Camps Australia Wide Book, is a huge help on a tour where you want to see more nature than neighbours. :-).  

Just as well we are all different in taste, there are 7 thousand tourists in town in Kununurra at the moment, most booked into local Kununurra Caravan Parks which stay full for most of the duration of the dry season at income for the parks of around $30. per van par night; that's a huge input into the local economy and obviously more people like to travel that way than like to go bush, like I do, or Reg and I and others like us, would not get our favourite camp sites by the billabongs and rivers where we are heading after we leave here.
Free Camping beside these rivers and Billabongs in the Kimberly and the Pilbara regions of Western Australia are amongst Reg and my most memorable and joyous experiences in recent years. :-)

 
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