Perth to Broome, Australia

After 6 nights in Perth, I set off on the first part of my journey to Darwin: a 10 day tour with Western Exposure to the beach side township of Broome. The first stop was at Namburg National Park to view the famous Pinnacles Desert, a region of hundreds of limestone pillars, the tallest of which is 4 metres high. After lunch we proceeded to go sandboarding down a steep, large sand dune. Like my previous sandboarding adventures, I yet again found it close to impossible to stay on the board for a significant amount of time. It was immense fun, but the timing of this activity was curious to say the least – literally 20 minutes after I gobbled down three large sandwiches for lunch!

Day 2 began with a disgustingly early 5AM kick off to begin another long day of driving. We stopped at Kalbarri National Park where we took in a stunning view of the river from Nature’s Window, and hiked down into the Z-Bend Gorge (the first of many gorges on this trip) where we chilled for awhile beside the natural pool. However when I think of Kalbarri, the first thing that comes to mind is Kangaroo related tragedy. The driver of another tour bus rammed straight into the oblivious and fairly blind creature, killing her instantly. However, her offspring, the Joey, miraculously escaped. For the next hour or so one of the members of the other tour bus kept the terrified looking fella warm until the park ranger arrived to take him into good hands. It is just one example of road kill that happens all over Australia, on a daily basis. Those Kangaroos don’t watch where they are hopping!

After lunch we set off on a long drive to Shark Bay World Heritage and Marine Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site. First up was a trip to Hamelin Pool to check out the stromatolites. If you believe what the scientists say, these unremarkable creatures are the earliest form of life on earth, dating back to 3.5 billion years. While this place would no doubt be heaven for science enthusiasts, to everybody else they look like nothing but a bunch of rocks sitting in shallow water. In fact, one of the girls presented an amusing theory that stromatolites do not exist, that they are just rocks, and the local souvenir shop simply use the term ‘’stromatolites’’ to draw in silly tourists to buy postcards, fridge magnets and 5 dollar milkshakes. These lazy creatures became the subject of numerous jokes throughout the rest of the tour, and I simply cannot fathom why the world renowned travel writer Bill Bryson drove such an enormous distance from Perth specifically to see these things!

However, Shark Bay then livened up dramatically. First up we visited Shell Beach for sunset, a beach made entirely out of small shells, with not a bit of sand in sight. What made this place more remarkable was the fact that we were the only people on this piece of majestic coastline. That is the beauty of the Western Australia, it is completely off the beaten track and for the most part it has not been built up for tourist purposes. The following morning, we headed for Monkey Mia, a tiny beach made famous by the local dolphins who come to shore of their own accord every morning to interact with humans and to be fed. It is quite an extraordinary site witnessing such interaction in a natural environment. People refer to dogs as being the most social creatures of earth, but they were merely bred by humans to behave like this. This behavior by the dozen or so dolphins at Monkey Mia is 100% natural, and I was left awfully impressed by the whole thing.

After another stint of long driving through the wilderness, we stopped at the extraordinary blowholes situated at incredibly isolated coastline. The rugged scenery of the steep cliffs and powerful waves were simply breathtaking, and the blowholes themselves did not disappoint, with the water spraying up to heights of 25 metres. We then continued northwards, past the Tropic of Capricorn to Coral Bay, a tiny town of 150 residents, situated on the Ningaloo Reef, a newly declared UNESCO World Heritage Site.

While not as large as the World famous Great Barrier Reef, it is also not thronged with anywhere near as many tourists. What´s more, the coral on the Ningaloo Reef comes right into the shore, unlike it´s bigger brother on the East Coast. This allowed us to simply hire snorkels pretty cheaply and go snorkeling on the beach, which was a relief because most of the other activities, such as diving with whale sharks, were incredibly expensive. I thoroughly enjoyed snorkeling on this stunning beach and witnessed all sorts of strange looking fish, swimming around and through the large amounts of coral. The next day we continued on to the township of Exmouth. From here we took a journey out to the gorgeous Turquoise Bay, where most of us spent the day snorkeling on the reef once more and chilling out on the splendid beach.

Days 6, 7 and 8 were spent in Karijini National Park, where we spent three nights camping in swags. The idea was to sleep outside under the sparkling stars. However, the first night was bitterly cold, which resulted in the majority of the group suffering from mild insomnia. After that, the sensible decision was taken by most people to sleep under the tents for the remaining nights. Despite the uncomfortable nights in the swag, Karijini was a magnificent place of wilderness. In total we visited 5 gorges: Knox Gorge, Hancock Gorge, Weano Gorge, Joffre Gorge and Dales Gorge. Each was stunning in its own unique way. However, what they all had in common was the ridiculous terrain that one had to tackle in order to get to the bottom. I assumed that there would be a lot of hiking on this trip, but never foresaw myself scavenging over and across steep rocks perched on the edge of cliffs. Extreme caution needed to be taken at all times, and being perfectly honest I felt a little uneasy at certain points. Certainly not something for the faint hearted. Thankfully everybody made it through each gorge without injury. A few of us were amazed that people are allowed to hike this terrain at all, and I was personally disgusted that some parents were bringing their children through these dangerous parts of the gorges.

While Karijini is first and foremost a haven for gorge lovers, there was another activity which we undertook, and that was hiking to the top of Mount Bruce, the second highest mountain in the state of Western Australia, at a little over 1200 metres high. Starting off at 700 metres above sea level, we set off for the top, with the prestigious Western Exposure record of 1 hour and 2 minutes in the back of my mind. The hike was longer than anticipated with numerous flat parts, along with some extremely steep sections. Myself and two of the others from the group made it to the top in 1 hour 14 minutes, a good effort. However, according to our tour guide the woman who made it to the top in 62 minutes was as mad as a bag of dingos, and basically ran all the flat bits. We opted against such lunacy. The record simply wasn´t THAT important.

After Karijini, the final 2 days were pretty quiet, with not a lot to see in the 1000 kilometres or so to Broome. We stayed  at Pardoo Cattle station for our final night of the tour, before arriving into Broome early afternoon on day 10. Here, on Cable Beach, I witnessed one of the most spectacular sunsets in my lifetime.

In total we drove an enormous 4100 kilometres over the 10 days, a perfect example of how vast this incredible country is. Western Australia is particular possesses some of the most isolated communities in the world. A typical day of travelling would consist of 2 hours driving through barren wilderness, stop at a random roadhouse in the middle of nowhere to purchase overpriced crisps, Coca Cola, and the occasional fridge magnet, continue on for another 2 hours of driving through absolutely nothing, stop at something that really shouldn´t be classified as a toilet, another 2 hours driving, and then arrive at some tiny town that Vodafone hasn´t bothered to service. What´s more is the fact that looking out the window at the barren landscape does strange things to one’s mind. You just can’t help daydreaming about all sorts of things when the scenery consists of a desert with nothing but spinifex, gum trees and other rough water-starved vegetation growing on it. But this is what is so amazing about Australia. Despite the fact it is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, most of it is so isolated and unforgiving. And of course, there is usually the occasional Kangaroo and Emu hanging around in the middle of nowhere. It doesn’t matter how many times you spot these animals in the wild, the novelty does not ware off.

Overall, I had an incredible 10 days and could not recommend this trip and the tour company, Western Exposure (Adventure Tours Australia) high enough. The itinerary was perfect, the sights and scenery were breathtaking, and the food was absolutely top notch. It is very rare that one doesn’t have even a little bit of negative feedback about a tour like this, but I simply cannot think of any. It was perfectly run, and the tour guide was very flexible and relaxed in his approach. Another positive aspect of the trip was the people I travelled with in the tour group. Barring the odd exception, they were an absolute pleasure to travel with, were always up for a laugh, regardless of what time of day it was, and I have made lots of new like-minded friends from Ireland, England, Wales, Germany, Switzerland, France and Australia. In addition I had the great pleasure of being in the company of a couple of the funniest people I have ever met. 

Also, a shout out to our tour guide Simon is much needed. He did a great job encouraging the group to socialize each evening over a few cold beers (or lemonades as he liked to call them) and was not afraid to join in the drinking and general banter. Two of the nights he staged a bus party after midnight, where general mayhem and carnage happened. His positive energy towards his job and willingness to enjoy himself was something that definitely fed into the rest of the group.

Finally, this trip saw the Vengaboys return to the consciousness of many people. This dreadful 1990’s cheesy pop band provided the theme tunes of our trip in the form of ‘Boom Boom Boom Boom’ (or Broome Broome Broome Broome as we preferred to call it) and ‘We’re Going to Ibiza’. Anytime I hear those songs in the future, they will no doubt bring back many fond memories of an unforgettable 10 days.

I now have two days in Broome to relax before embarking on a 9 day journey to Darwin, through the isolated wilderness of the Kimberleys. Each night will be spent camping and some of the sites are so far off the beaten track, that a 4WD is needed to get to them. Only three of the Perth to Broome tour group will be continuing on to Darwin, so for the most part it will be a completely new group. If they are half as good as the people I travelled with over the last 10 days then it is sure to be a memorable trip.

In the words of our tour guide Simon, West is most definitely best!