The Longest Shortcut in Australia – The Goldfields of WA

We’re on an adventure at the moment, crossing the continent on Australia’s longest shortcut travelling some 4,600klm. Strictly speaking this is a outback route, largely a dirt road, one that stretches from Perth on the sunset side, through the centre of Aus’ and onto Cairns, this on sunrise side or vs vs. This route across Aus’ is also known to take in the remote stretch of track known as the Outback Way, which is nearly 2800klm travelling from Laverton WA to Winton Qld, and is presently from Laverton to Kata Tjuta (The Olga’s) a notorious 1000klm strip of dirt track that is subject to some extreme weather conditions and which is currently still rough and ready. Though they are threatening to tar this route over the next decade or so, at the moment it is very much an adventurous run.

The Red Pilbara, Karijini NP in WA

North of the 26th Parallel on the Sunset side of Australia, the most southern place in Aus where the sun can sit directly overhead and the Gateway to the Greater North West, is a world like no other. This circle of latitude also defines our State Borders. That between the southern cities and commercial mammoths, and the wilder northern frontiers.

The southern edge of the Pilbara sits snugly just above this parallel. It is an ancient landscape with some of the worlds oldest regions still sitting above water, area’s rich in iron ores which were born when the world was rusting.

Kalgoorlie’s Deserts of Gold

Available for FREE download, for just a few days is the e-book Deserts of Gold

A story of modern day adventure into the frontier Goldfields of Australia

Read about the history, the discovery and experience the adventure of one of the biggest goldfields in the world.

Come and journey with me in this tale from the ‘Around the Campfire’ series of stories in travelling around Australia, by traveller Jan Hawkins

Nullabor Plains – Caverns of the Dreamtime

Visiting the Nullabor Caves has been something we have wanted to do for some time. It is commonly believed that there are only a few caves along the Eyre Highway and while most caves are within reach of the highway there are many more than you can count.

WA’s Recreational Camps – A History

While we are preparing to point our noses east across the ‘Nullabor’ once more, (colonial spelling here), having dawdled around the shores of the SW corner of Western Australia, there is a history here that has become more evident. It is an unexpected tale perhaps. We have all heard of Australia’s whaling history, where the giants of the sea were once harvested indiscriminately along our shores and particularly along the shores of the SW WA, while settlement and colonization crept across the land. The harvest that is believed to have begun around 1837 was huge and bountiful and it decimated the whale population leaving a lasting impression on places like Albany, Esperance and much of the south west coast in a vivid history. The industry lured the French and Yanks to our shores as their ships cargoed the convicts and then turned their interests to whales in season. On the return run back to their home port they took the bounty of our seas with them. This oceanic massacre however eventually led to the industries own demise as whale numbers declined steadily over the decades of indiscriminate hunting and killing.  

Sea, Sand and Sun WA – Albany

Albany Shire has long held a reputation for welcoming the traveller. She sits on the middle shores of the Great Southern Ocean in Western Australia. Her beaches stretching into inlets and bays are now the precinct of the fisherman and boaties alike. It was once where whalers and sealers hunted, where emigrants passed by following the coast seeking the path to inland gold, the often sad tears of the sun and where traditional natives feasted and followed their Songlines and sandy trails in an endless cycle of surviving the seasons of the sun and wind. It is a region of immense beauty with tall giants settled into her forests and winding tracks of soft and solid sands offering recreational entertainment for the 4×4 enthusiast. The shire is RV friendly with a number of rest area’s, many that could do with a loo or two, yet she sits proud amongst those coastal towns of WA offering welcome within her region and a myriad of activities and entertainments.

Farmers Markets – Bunbury WA’s Best

We headed south of Perth this week, down into the South West corner towards the forests and the Southern Ocean, somewhere I have been wanting to get back to for quite some time. It is a delightful area, tall trees, rocky shores and glorious stretches of sand. Most important though, is the promise of fishing.

Sea, Sand and Sun WA – Rangers, Councils and Rec’ Areas

Point Louise Freecamp and Rec’ Area WA

Point Louise is just north of the Green Head settlement on the coast of WA, 2-3 hrs north of Perth. It is a favourite beach for freecampers travelling north and south along the Indian Ocean Drive, which hugs the coast as it meanders through the beautiful white sand hills. It is a beautiful drive, a beautiful stop and quite popular recreation area even out of season due to its sheltering reef and sandy beach. It is also made more popular by the fact that it is one of the very few campsites publicly available where families can stop-up and rest conveniently for free along the open coastline.  

Gnamma Holes … An Ancient Lifeline

We turned our headlights east this week to explore the Wheatbelt region of WA intending to once more reach into the Goldfields… bad move! It is bl**dy hot. It wasn’t this hot when we left the city of Perth, but in the following days a heat wave swept through the SW corner of Western Australia and the temperatures climbed into the mid 40’sC. We hadn’t planned on heading to the coast so soon but the pups had, and they made sure we knew just how hot they were.

Understanding Freecampers – An Aussie Lifestyle

It has been over a year since The Man and I moved permanently into our caravan, a mobile home that we hope to call home for a decade or more. We might change it, upgrade or downgrade but this will be in time. There has been much debate about freecamping in the social media, and as freecamping has become our way of life I thought it would be apt to explain just what, to us, freecamping is for those uninitiated who think we are merely avoiding handing over our hard won resources to caravan parks.