Andy & Gillie's Big Adventure!: The Road Goes Ever on and on and on and on...

As it’s been over a week since our last post, it’s worth reiterating that reliable wifi on this trip is like the fabled beasts of myth and legend such as the unicorn or the Gryphon – you hear and read about them, but you never actually see them. Indeed, you could say that about wild wallabies and kangaroos in the bush – you only see them when they’re roadkill…

Since Kununurra, when we last had some sort of access to the outside world, we have travelled nearly 3000 kilometres (more than 1800 miles in the Old World) and I’m writing this in Exmouth – home to the whale shark and staging post for the world-famous Ningaloo Reef Heritage Site.

From Kununurra, we backtracked slightly on a whim (we can do that!) and spent a night at Lake Argyle, a man-made lake the size of 18 Sydney Harbours – with a beautiful infinity pool. We then put in a marathon drive of 720 k to Fitzroy Crossing – the only highlight there being a bacon and cheese pie in one of the most dismal roadhouses we came across!

Fitzroy Crossing had a delightful campsite with wandering wallabies – the first we saw in the ‘wild’ that weren’t dead. From there we hoofed it to our Utopia/Shangri-La/Eden/seaside paradise – in fact everything we wanted and hoped for after 9 days in the outback – Broome. And indeed Broome was lovely. Campsite near the long golden beach, beautiful sunsets and the Staircase to the Moon – a visual phenomenon that only happens three nights a month from May to October, when the moon rises over the very low tide and the impression is of a red staircase from the earth to the moon. I think Led Zeppelin had something to say about that!

There’s something quite relaxing about driving long distances here. You set your speed at about 80 km/h – 50 mph - to save engine wear and fuel costs – after all we aren’t in any great hurry – get comfortable, select a few tunes on the iPod and go. Endless ribbon-flat and pencil-straight roads on the Great Northern Highway, single lane each way. Sometimes the landscape is barren, blackened – flat as far as the eye can see on either side, occasional stands/rows of spindly white trunked (no bark) trees. You can almost smell the desert to our south and east. You can certainly smell any roadkill more than half an hour old and it lingers for about 1km!

If a cow or wallaby wanders too near the road when there’s a Road Train coming…they don’t stop. At first the Road Trains weren’t really a problem – just a slight adjustment in the steering. More recently however, possibly because we are heading more south and there’s a strong cross-wind from the desert, it feels like somebody is picking the camper up and shaking it! Scary.

Another unexpected phenomenon is something called Willy-willys (or something like that – could be willy-nillys or willy wonkas for all I know). They are mini whirlwinds created completely randomly when the earth gets too hot and creates this terrific upsurge tunnel of air. We’ve seen a few that have given us early warnings by sending a corridor of leaves across the road in advance, but some have hit us by surprise and pushed the camper across the lanes – good job there’s not much traffic…They disappear almost as soon as they appear.

The earth is brick-red. You notice it most on the roads that go off either side of the highway, heading for remote stations (ranches?)

The Boab trees are magnificent – some slim and slender, some bulbous and many-limbed. The trunk is literally rock hard and all look dead at the moment. I imagine seeing them flower in autumn(?)/after The Wet is awesome. I love ‘em!

There are the occasional short-lived excitements of hills, sliced at the top like a cake, clearly stratified where the earth has undergone its pre-historic upheavals, then more road, more bush, more flat, more outback – BRILLIANT!

We have established a kind of routine for the moment. Up very (6-6.15) early, then a swim in the pool if it’s open, if not fruit for breakfast, then a swim, then a shower, then hit the road – usually before 8.30. Shopping for lunch & essentials in the nearest commercial area when appropriate. Stop for coffee, leg stretch after a couple of hundred k, then on. Eat lunch on the road – certainly not tempted by roadhouse pies after our experience at Halls Creek – plan to arrive at destination by 3.30-4 pm or a bit later if long distance. Making every effort not to be still on the road at night, so far successfully. Day’s journey anything from 350-700 km – although that was a bit of an aberration.

Small world syndrome – whilst watching a sunset at Broome, we got chatting to one of the lifeguards and it turned out he was a contemporary of Holly and Emily at Shelley High School near Huddersfield!

After leaving Broome somewhat reluctantly, we headed for a campsite at 80-Mile Beach – well you’ve gotta try that haven’t you? Ten kilometers off the main highway along a dirt road to a pretty unimpressive site. Long featureless beach, amazing stars at night, but not much else to commend it. Thought we’d take the advice of the Lonely Planet book for our next stop also – at a ‘pretty village’ called Point Samson. Remote, over-priced and overrated – will treat Lonely Planet with some suspicion from now on…

Arrived at Exmouth, with its promise of Turquoise seas, snorkeling, lovely sea life etc and found…

Actually it’s a lovely site, two bars within walking distance, wild Emus in the campsite. Off to Bundegi beach for snorkeling and swimming tomorrow and then Turquoise Bay for more on Friday before setting off for Coral Bay. Ah me…