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Western australia

4WD Journey

By Bianca Janelle

March 13^th, 2019

PERTH

July 2017. 35 hour flight from Montréal to Perth. No expectations, no plans, just a one way ticket. First time travelling alone, what to expect? Maybe missing a flight or even not going on the right one! Of course, none of that happened, everything went pretty smoothly. I remember catching my first glimpse of Australia when flying over rugged hills and cliffs. God, it was nothing like Canada's landscape. The shape and the colors were all so new and interesting to the eye. I couldn't wait to discover more!

Cold and wet. What about sunny and hot? No and not for a while. I arrived at maybe the worst time of the year in Perth, winter season. It has its charms though. You can still go to the beach, sometimes walk around with shorts and a t-shirt when it's not raining and have a beer on a terrace. Is this actual winter? No. More like a mix of fall's rain and spring's warm sun. After a few weeks, I was over it though. The weather up North was much nicer and my skin color was calling for help.

I had three travel options: buy a car, travel by bus or travel with other backpackers. Since I didn't have any schedule, I didn't want to rush my travels. I had a whole year to visit this country. Plenty of time! I opted for the third solution. I found this backpacker group on Facebook and met up with 3 other travelers, one French and two Germans. The plan was to drive from Perth to Darwin. 4 200 km of driving! I never realized until now how much driving we did for the whole trip.

The start

For the journey, we traveled with Momo's, the French guy, 4WD. We just split the costs for fuel, food and accommodation. It was equipped with all the camping gear we needed: two tents, a roof top tent, water jugs, cooking equipment, Jerry cans, fresh and canned food, table, chairs, name it, we had it all! Although the car was so cramped during the whole trip, we made it worked. The girls were in the back and the boys in the front, more space for long legs!

Our first stop, 162 km North of Perth, The Pinnacles in Nambung National Park. We discovered thousands of limestone formations. They pretty much look like long thin wieners according to Momo!

The sun setting got us the best view possible while driving through the sandy paths. Beautiful first stop!

Pink lake

On Wednesday, we wear pink.

What are the odds we were here exactly on a Wednesday? Coincidence? I don't think so. This beautiful pink lake is a short but must stop! A special algae gives it the bubble gum color.

Kalbarri

The coastal views of WA are incredible and unique. Endless views of waves crashing on rocks and dolphins catching waves. It's a wonderful feeling walking on the wet sand and slowly sinking. There is just nothing to worry about when you are out here. Nothing.

I could get used to these views. I understand why Aussies love living so close to the water.

Camping life

The fresh air, the smell of a fire, the unknown sounds of the night, a good cooked meal, that's what camping is all about. Every night, we would set up camp and prepare diner. We would stay by the sea, in a national park or even on free camping sites which made us save a lot of money. Looking at the night sky was my favorite thing to do before bed. The milky way is literally at your doorstep.

Cooking has always been a big part of my life and sharing it with my new travel companions was important for me. We had to be creative since we didn't have a fridge to store food. We shared a lot of good food and learned to understand each other through it. Food brings people together! Sounds silly saying it but it's very true.

Let's not forget, not everyone eats everything. That's what you get when you travel with strangers though. I made my best to accommodate every taste pallets which wasn't always easy.

Shark bay

Not to worry, there are no sharks here but plenty of dolphins! This little heaven is full of aquatic life. In the early morning or late afternoons, you can get a glimpse of the dolphins swimming at the edge of the beach.

We discovered François Peron National Park located North of Monkey Mia. Quite an adventure! We drove through the sandy trails to the top of the park, got stuck twice in the sand and had a blast experiencing the coastal sand dunes! At the top, you could see sting rays and turtles swimming around, unnatural thing to see for a Canadian used to seeing deers and groundhogs. At this point during the trip, almost all of my clothes have turned red. Once you touch the red sand, you're basically branded with it!

To rap up the 4 wheel driving experience, we soaked up in the hot springs tub at the entrance of the National Park and watched the sunset. How much better can it possibly get?

shell beach

This beach is local to the Fragum cockle where it lays trillions of tiny shells. The water here is as twice as salty than the sea, which means they are barely any predators around. The abundance of this species creates this beautiful and natural sea of shells.

Exmouth

Whales, dolphins, dugongs, manta rays, huge cod, turtles and whale sharks are abundant at World Heritage listed Ningaloo Reef, the largest fringing coral reef in Australia and the only large reef in the world found so close to a continental land mass, making it an easy snorkel from shore.

By far, my favorite place in WA.

We spent a whole week here beach hopping, hiking, meeting Aussie legends and drinking beers at Cape Range National Park. Turquoise Bay beach was my favorite, the current would push you from one end of the beach to another. The richness of colors and marine life is unreal. Locals try very hard to ensure the constant preservation of the Ningaloo reef. Plastic bags are even banned in this region!

We walked the Yardie Creek trail to catch the sunset one evening. Not only did we see a beautiful sunset but we also watched the moon rise at the same time.

Climbing Mandu Mandu Gorge was an exceptional moment. At the top, we had a beautiful view of the sea and humpback whales jumping out of the water. They kept giving us an amazing show one after another for at least a whole hour.

On the road again

Karijini National park

This isn't your typical green park you would find in Canada. Karijini is very rough, dry, hot and red. Surprisingly, it's my favorite park in WA. Here, you will find over two billion years of natural rock formations. 2 BILLION YEARS! That's a hell of a long time.

While walking through red rocky sand, your path will lead you to crystal clear waters or even refreshing waterfalls. I love the idea of sweating your way to a nice soothing natural shower! Climbing down various gorges were like visiting Aladdin's the caves of wonders, always fun and full of little friendly surprises. No big spiders, I promise! Climbing up the second highest mountain in WA was also on my list. The view was like nothing I've ever seen, kilometers and kilometers of dry land. I must say, WA isn't gifted with a lot of mountains. Yet, it's still a very unique and underrated part of Australia.

broome

The best part of Broome is Cable Beach. It's the perfect place to have a swim, drive on the sand, find a spot and watch the sunset while drinking a little or too much beers. This place brings everyone together!

If you are lucky enough to visit this place, here are some tips:

Crocodiles live in these waters, no joke.
The right side of Cable beach is nudist territory. Be alert. You will spot older leathery skinned man and woman.

Horse Races

Classic Aussie experience, the races. When day drinking and being fancy is allowed. Bloody good!

Gibb River Road

660 km of tracks in the heart of the Kimberly's, no phone reception, fuel stations every 200km, unsealed roads, let the adventure begin! To embark on this track, you need to be prepare. Lots of food, water, extra tires and having the right 4WD equipment is necessary!

Like Karijini, this place is full of surprises! The best of all, the "freshies", fresh water crocodiles. Aussies just love short words, don't they? Unlike salt water crocodiles, freshies are smaller and friendlier. Don't get to close though and don't pat them, they'll probably bite you.

Hikes, waterfalls, pools, you name it, the Gibb has it! It has friendly cattle walking down the tracks, little oasis's where you can relax, old rock formations and water crossings. If you want to get away as far from civilization, it's the best place to do so!

See ya Wa, Hello NT.

3 578 km later, we've made it to the border! It's now time to visit another beautiful state, Australian's outback territory. The big difference between WA and NT is the speed limit, it goes from 110km/h to 130km/h. Sounds crazy but getting from one place to another makes it go faster!