Introduction to 2019 Trip

The story of four couples who have joined forces to spend the Australian winter in Outback Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland. Transport is via four diesel 4WD vehicles and accommodation is four different caravans (plus a couple of tents).

The Chris & Shirley winter trip to northern pastures has taken on a new aspect this year, with the “expedition” being expanded to four couples. All individuals will be introduced over time.

Regular companions, Kay and Darryl, will be in the group.

Our plan commences somewhere near Ceduna as we join forces before we cross the famous Nullarbor Plain from east to west. This will be around the last week of May 2019.

At the opposite end of the Nullarbor we head north from Kalgoorlie – famous for its mining, and nightly entertainment. We then gradually meander our way through the middle and remote parts of Western Australia to places like Mt Magnet, Meekatharra, Newman and Tom Price. The prize at the end of this part of the trip is Coral Bay and the amazing Ningaloo Coral Reef. I have my underwater camera ready to go.

From Coral Bay we head in a north easterly direction through the iron-ore-rich Pilbura, feasting on the many highlights it has to offer. One of these is Eighty Mile Beach. We may venture into Marble Bar, renowned for being the hottest place in Australia. The end of this phase sees us having a relaxing time in Broome for one week.  Broome is known for its pearls and the western end of the Kimberley – another key focus of the trip. It also has a great brewery, hopefully with live music on a Sunday.

Two special friends will fly in from Melbourne to join us for the week in Broome.

After leaving Broome we have three nights on Cape Leveque before coming back to Broome.  It is then we embark on the challenging Gibb River Road. Some of us see a small bit of it, while one couple have plans to cover its entire length of 600+ km – most of it gravel.  For serious Aussie outback travellers this is one of the pinnacles of travelling. Purnululu, or the Bungle Bungles, is another “look-forward-to” spot to overheat the camera.  The blog will contain many others highlights.

At the eastern end of the Kimberley we arrive at the larger town of Kununurra, before we start to drift towards home.  However we still have 4000 km to go and many sights to see.

Feel free to have a regular read and see what you can do if you really want to.

Sounds easy! I hope you enjoy the trip.

Index of Chapters:

Chapter 1 -  Nullarbor, Here We Come

Chapter 2 - The Nullarbor

Chapter 3 - The Goldfields and Northern Goldfields

Chapter 4 - The Pilbara

Chapter 5 - Coral Bay and the Coral Coast