Epilogue
Trip Start
May 11, 2009
1
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Trip End
Aug 17, 2009
Kiama, New South Wales, Australia
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Well, sadly the trip has come to an end. Sad because it's been a fantastic journey and an amazing experience and it would be great to keep going as there is so much to see out there that we didn’t see, but there is a joy in it ending because after three months on the road you just want to be home. We have all loved it and want to do it again, but when we asked the girls last night they said no to doing it again tomorrow.
The places that really stick in my mind is seeing the Painted Desert under such amazing skies, the gorges of Karajini NP (particularly Kermit’s Pool), Steep Point, Cable Beach, Valley of The Winds, Kings Canyon, Rainbow Valley, Chambers Pillar El Questro and Mitchell Falls.
The events that are highlights are our first nights camp, the camp fire at Oodnadatta, burying our wine casks on the way to Lambert Centre, swimming at Edith Falls, swimming in Katherine Gorge (only to find out it was closed the week before as they THOUGHT there was a saltie), Owen skinny dipping in Litchfield, Maria’s fish, Samantha’s fish, Kirstyn’s fish, going down the big sand dune at Steep Pt ( not knowing how in the hell we would get out again) the cruise on the Pearl Lugger "Willie", the Jumping Croc Cruise, crossing the King Edward River and getting to Mitchell Falls, and seeing so many whales at Head Of The Bight. Getting to some geographical land marks was important for Owen too, Lake Eyre, with water, the lowest point below sea level in Australia, Lambert Centre, the geographical centre of Australia and Steep Point, the most westerly mainland point.
The camps that have been the best have been our isolated bush ones, Murray Sunset NP, Steep Point, and Albert Toglonini. In each case it was just so special to be out under clear black skies where the stars were just so bright and so numerous, the air crisp and it was all to ourselves. Even the crappiest van park we encountered (Oodnadatta Pink Road House) was a great night because of the people we spent the evening with.
There have been places and times and events that just didn’t give the same buzz and it’s because we were in sensory overload. Each day was something new and as the trip went on it took something so much better than the last time to become a new highlight.
It went so fast too. It would have been great to do it with more time, be able to relax as we travelled instead of rushing to fit the next adventure into a jam packed timetable.
We met some fantastic people on this trip, they made the journey really enjoyable. Jim and Lorraine, we hope to catch up with them in NZ soon. Richard, it was fantastic to do the Oodnadatta Track with you but sorry we couldn’t see you in Kalgoorlie as we ran out of time. The numerous Dutch couples we met, the German girls, Pat and Barrie from Batchelor, Emily and Sean and their girls at Purnululu, Pat and Alan at 80Mile Beach, the hippies from Byron Bay and so many more. And a really big thankyou goes to Rose and Brentyn for allowing us to stay with them in Broome. It was as far away from home as we could be and it was a point in the trip where we just didn’t know whether we should try and jamb WA in or just see a few key things. I’m glad we saw what we did and look forward to WA in more detail at a later time.
Our equipment, we learnt heaps. There is no perfect set up out there, everybody has different dreams and needs and every piece of gear has its compromises. Next time we will do it a little differently, it’s all about making it easier and we will adjust our set up to make it easier next time. How did it do? It did great. The Prado is a fantastic weapon. It gobbles the distance up with ease and comfort and it can do the rough stuff easy too. The mods did their trick, the suspension was great, the snorkel ensured the air filter was cleaner and the engine didn’t take a drink on the river crossings, the exhaust and chip gave the engine the extra power it needed to tow the trailer comfortably. The trailer was easy to use and other than not being as well prepared to cope with the bugs and rain it’s a great camp trailer. The Waeco is a fantastic fridge.
We had some little hassles but they were part of the journey and made the good things stand out. No one thing ever became too much of a hassle, the electrics in the camper which we fixed in Alice, the wheel alignment which is better but still not 100% right (the LHS tyre is now totally chopped out), wishing I’d had a bull bar at 6:35am yesterday, the exhaust system not being the perfect fit it should be, the Chescold Fridge (drinks fridge!) clagging it at El-Questro, rolling my ankle at Old Halls Creek (it’s still swollen – perhaps I should see a doctor about it?) and the inevitable pressure on the family relationships in such a confined space, 24/7 but they were probably no different to what would normally happen at home.
I have to say the girls, Kirstyn and Samantha were great. At times you think they are not interested in what we were doing, but later on you find out just how much they soaked up. Kirstyn has grown so much in confidence on this trip. She amazed us when she was just so keen to do the canyoning at Karijini, normally its Samantha that’s leading the way. They took on cooking duties, washing and wiping up, they helped with packing the trailer with what they could, they loved making a fire (and playing with it – don’t all kids) they kept themselves entertained over the long miles with their imaginary games (yes you can travel without an in car DVD!!!), they read books, they took photos of the things we took photos of but it is amazing what THEY see. They are sisters, through and through, they fought on occasions, but they remained the best of friends. They adopted every dog they saw at every camp we stopped at. They took other dogs for walks. They missed Occy. They made friends with so many people, kids their own age and they melted the hearts of the Grey Nomads. They were noisy and never shut up which frustrated us at times, when they were out of line and we pulled them up they understood, but they were really good kids. We got some great comments from people and they made us proud.
Regrets? Absolutely none!
We travelled 23,230km, taken over 6,000 photos, lived in a space 1.8m x 4m for 90 days, made 37 fuel stops, used just over 3,700 litres of diesel, camped with a totally self sufficient set up, experienced every type of weather other than snow, hail and a typhoon, with temperatures ranging from -3oC up to 38oC and some days a temp range of over 30oC, and seen what has to be the most amazing and beautiful country. But we love Kiama and it will always be the place where our heart rests.
I can’t wait for the next trip. Julie, how many days holiday have I got????
Comments
chicka
Good on ya. Everyone should travel within oz. i have been travelling for 20 years in oz and have worked in the Kimberley on occasions. I was widowed early so I took off in my 4x4 with a swag and a fridge and very few clothes etc. The places you mentioned I have visited on several occasions and on every visit the places change.The people one meets and the beautiful outback night skies makes up for the dirt and dust one encounters whilst travelling. Keep up the good work.A great learning experience.