the adventures of pen and jane issue 5: travelling through western australia

B. Campbell and J. Baker-Edwards, White Ford Falcon Station Wagon, Somewhere in Australia | 0401 514 832 | [email protected]

"

The Adventures of Pen and Jane

March 2015 Issue Number: FiveBen Campbell

and Jade Baker-Edwards

White Ford Falcon Station Wagon

Somewhere in Australia

TELEPHONE 0401 514 832

328 SKX

Despite the undeniable beauty of Australias west coast, relatively few backpackers get around to travelling the sparse landscape between Broome and Perth. Perturbing logistics coupled with a general underrating of Western Australia causes many to instead favour the prominence of the east coast, believing it to encompass the entire essence of backpacking in Australia. I throughly enjoyed the care-free atmosphere and unforgettable experiences of the east coast, yet I cannot help but disagree with this fiercely marketed concept. I argue that the real adventure and the true Australia can be found not in the bustling streets of Byron Bay or on the standardised trips and tours but in the middle of the outback with the road stretching out infinite and empty; the confused horizon blurred from both the constant mirage and the layer of insects splattered and hard-dried on the windscreen. It rides alongside as your own

stupid confidence vibrates you along windy and risky dirt roads, taken in hope of finding the sight of a secluded somewhere that will make you forget to breathe. Its accepting the macabre feeling of being the only people within screaming distance and learning to be self-sufficient because of it. Its eating out of tins, drinking tea-temperature water and peeing in bushes more often than toilets. Its a great shame that so many backpackers dont make it out this far, however their loss was our gain as the lack of backpackers and tourists in general is a crucial part of WAs charm. The absence of footfall goes hand in hand with WAs ability to stay relatively pure, untouched and natural. Whilst the west is already less touristic than the east, this feeling was amplified by our choice to leave Broome in the middle of summer. After having become acclimatised to working in the extreme heat in Broome, the trip down was enjoyable despite 35oC+ temperatures. Our timing enriched the entire experience because it meant that we consistently had waterfalls, swimming holes, beaches, reefs, gorges and campsites completely to ourselves.

Lady Margaret and her River, come hitherOur three week

road trip from Broome to Margaret

River - in convoy

Circular Pool, Dales Gorge, Karijini National Park

Shell Beach, Shark Bay

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The Adventures of Pen and Jane PAGE2

" B. Campbell and J. Baker-Edwards, White Ford Falcon Station Wagon, Somewhere in Australia | 0401 514 832 | [email protected]

"

Junction Lookout, Karijini National Park

Awesome rest area with 360 views in the outback

How it came about We first met Shogo at Pinctada Resort where Ben and I were both working when we first arrived in Broome last July. At that time he was living in Kimberley Club Backpackers but later moved in with us in our share house. Shogo was the main instigator of the trip who rallied up the troops and pulled everyone together. Essentially, we know everyone else through him and for that we will be eternally grateful.

Dynamics It was interesting to see how the dynamics of the group developed over the course of the trip. We had never met Laetitia, Miri or Jonas before and had only seen Fifi and Max a handful of

times. Three weeks is not a long time to get to know someone, however in our very intense

situation where we would spend every waking moment together, we became very comfortable early on. Our shared

experiences bonded us into a family where silences aren't awkward and whose inside jokes should not be repeated in public.

The Convoy of the NinjasShogo- The legendary ancient Japanese warrior lu re s you in w i th h i s p e r m a n e n t s m i l e a n d generous heart. Fuelled solely on energy drinks and laughter. Convoyed in his loud White Subaru. Miriam/Miri- Majestic G e r m a n h e r b a l i s t , specialising in cabbage-on-foot application. Convoyed with Shogo. Fifi- Beautiful Taiwanese Goddess, master and teacher of the Fifi Booty ShakeTM. Convoyed in her Red Car.

Laetitia/Sha Sha/Leti- Tanned French ear th princess destined to show you the world from a d i f f e ren t pe r s pec t i ve. Convoyed in Blue Car. Max/Matt/Monty- The ever-optimistic Australian rapper, recognised by his distinctive jumping style and questionable card tactics. Owns Blue Car. Jonas- Expert German camp-chef with a taste for destruction. Aint no car g o n g e t i n h i s w ay. Convoyed in Red Car.

Knox Gorge lookout, Karijini National Park

Logistics Once we set off, Ben and I quickly found ourselves in

navigator roles and we were positioned at the head of the pack. We had the following to aide us.

The Lonely Planet helped me plan our stops. The app Wikicamps allowed us to find free camp sites,

showers, drinking water etc. The app Maps with Me meant that we could navigate

using GPRS - no internet connection needed. Our previous experience and knowledge meant that

we were well prepared and qualified to be honorary leaders.




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Ben and I have been to our fair share of national parks in Australia and we can honestly say that Karijini has been the best one by far. Our time here will forever stick in my mind as a highlight of not only this leg but of Australia as a whole. Karijini has it all. Stunning lookouts where you can see for miles around, adventurous walks involving swimming, rock climbing and spider-walking, not to mention refreshing swimming holes with waterfalls and ledges at convenient cliff-jumping height.

On top of everything else, we saw very few people during our visit. We even spent two hours at a swimming hole half way along a popular gorge walk and didn't see another soul! It was a perfect three days with amazing company and atmosphere.

The gorgeous Fern Pool

Our Adventure

Kermits Pool, Weano Gorge

Kermits Pool at the end of the Weano Gorge walk

Cliff jumping into swimming hole at Knox Gorge

Fortescue Falls

Knox Gorge Walk

Oxer Lookout

Tempting fate at Oxer Lookout

Oxer Lookout

Knox Gorge walk

Behind the waterfall at Fern Pool

Karijini National Park




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Exmouth and

Ningaloo Marine Park Bundegi Beach

Beautiful bright blue fish

Miri trying to tell us we were swimming towards a shark

Swimming in the fishy superhighway

Chasing a family through the coral Diver Ben

Bright coral and an array of fish

Shogo and Ben at Turquoise Bay

Fish of all sizes

Fish feeding on the coral

Emus on the beach at the aptly named Turquoise Bay

Ningaloo Marine Park near Exmouth was another major h igh l ight . There are three particularly amazing snorkelling sites in the $12 per car per day park: Lakeside, Turquoise Bay and Oyster Stacks (in this order of increasing magnificence). We swam with turtles, rays and even saw a reef shark that was 1-1.5m long.

For me, the most impressive thing was the how close to shore the reef is. On the east coast you have to pay for a tour boat to get out to the reef. Whereas, in Exmouth the reef is just metres from the beach and we found the coral more colourful and the fish more varied and abundant than in Upolu reef (east coast).




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Bay I had heard of Shark Bay

before arriving in Australia, but I had always presumed it was one beach. As it turned out, Shark Bay is a whole area which encompasses a multitude of beautiful lookouts, beaches and scenery. Shell Beach (where the sand was made up of billions of tiny shells) and Eagle Bluff Lookout were particularly notable.

Wild Dolphins

Eagle Bluff Lookout Pelicans chasing the one with the big catch

This is how close to the dolphins we came

Shell Beach Dolphin Laetitia with dolphins and pelicans

Huddled under the only shade we could find for lunch

Pelican with a huge fish in its mouthStromatalites- living fossils descended from organisms that lived 1.9 billion years ago

Nia Unless you have a

4WD, Monkey Mia is the end of the line on the Shark Bay peninsular. We spent an entire day in the Monkey Mia reserve where we came within a metre of wild dolphins which spent the day swimming the length of the shore. The resident pelicans shocked us all with their gracefulness and the emus tried to join in our game of cards and steal our food!




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O t h e r s t o p s

Eighty Mile Beach was our fi r s t s t o p a s a convoy. Absolutely deserted, we had ten miles of beach each. Cloudy but pretty.

Wittenoom Ghost Town was an asbestos mining town that was deserted in 1966 when asbestos was found to be poisonous. Or so we thought A woman in her 70s approached us and informed us that she still owns and lives in the buildings here and is plagued by visiting backpackers setting things on fire and smashing windows.

I loved the small seaside town feel of Coral Bay, a prime example of how even prestigious parts of WA have remained relatively untouched. The reef here rivalled Exmouth with huge fish 2m from shore. Its a worthy alternative to Exmouth which is farther out of the way.

We found the best pink lake we have seen just outside of Port Gregory. Pink lakes are formed by algae and bacteria which accumulate red pigments.

Kalbarri is a p r e t t y t o w n s u r r o u n d e d b y natural beauty. A variety of lookouts and rock formations dot the coast, whilst inland the National Park boasts gorges and walks.

Red Bluff Lookout, Kalbarri

Natures Window, Kalbarri National Park




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Knox Gorge Walk

The view from one of the awesome rest areas we stayed at

The dirt roads of Karijini National Park Attempting the slack line in Denham

Oxer Lookout

Another amazing place we camped Weano Gorge Walk/rock climb/swim

Food and card stealing emu, Monkey Mia

The Pinnacles Desert

In order to catch Sarah (from Matsos) on holiday in Margaret River, we had to leave the pack in Kalbarri after an amazing three weeks. We met up with Shogo again in Perth (who fast-tracked down from Kalbarri to renew his passport) and spent three days there with him. We soon had a reunion with the rest on our last night in Perth as they arrived.

We had such an amazing time with the convoy, it was very sad when it had to end. Occasionally travelling with so many people was frustrating as many things took much longer than if it was just the two of us. However, the pros far outweighed the cons; I wouldnt have changed the trip for the world. We have made the kind of friends where you can start up a conversation after a year and it not be awkward. With such a multicultural group its unlikely that we will ever all be in the same place at the same time again, but we can hope.

All Good Things Must End

At the lighthouse in Exmouth




Blind juvenile red kangaroo The ducks that acted like dogsHand-feeding tiny colourful birds

Ben amongst the red kangaroo and emu families Hand-feeding baby emus

Ben feeding the birdsFeeding meat to the dingo family

The chickens in the Chicken Plaza

Hand-feeding a grey kangaroo

Waminda Wildlife SanctuaryAfter we left the group we spent the day in

Geraldton, the most developed place we had seen in weeks. Through word of mouth we had heard of a wildlife sanctuary that allows you to camp amongst the wildlife for a donation.

Waminda is run by a generous man, Ian whom keeps the place open mostly out of his own pocket. All of the workers were volunteer backpackers doing their regional work and all of which spoke very highly of Ian and appreciated how lucky they were to be able to complete their regional work in such a special place.

In the morning we went on a feeding tour around the property where we discovered that all of the animals are very well looked after and the cages are absolutely huge! Ian optimises the skill sets of the backpackers to create and build innovations to keep the animals occupied and safe.

After helping with the feeding, we sat down for breakfast with the crew which included Lucky the 10 month old joey with a broken leg.

Hand-feeding tiny colourful birds

Holding Lucky, the orphaned joey with ta broken leg




Margaret River is a scenic area surrounded by vineyards, beaches and caves. The town itself is small but what it lacks in size it makes up for in character. Character that is epitomised perfectly by the graffiti on the sign entering the town: Margaret River - now gluten free!. Full of health foods, charity shops, coffee shops, wineries and breweries, Margs is the perfect place for hippies, retirees and backpackers alike.

We spent the first two weeks spending time with Sarah and the convoy (minus Jonas). I really enjoyed the lovely hot days and cool nights which was such a nice change from Broome where it only went as low as 28oC at night when we left!

Welcome to Margaret River

- now gluten-Free!

Whilst on the road I was in contact with Silvia, a lady on gumtree who was offering accommodation in her caravan in exchange for two hours of housework per day.

Silvia is an interesting German lady with refined ideas about the psychology behind childrens learning. She taught Laura (5) how to use hand signals to communicate before she was old enough to talk! She is currently starting up a business to help parents enhance childrens learning abilities in the magic" years of 0-6.

Laura and Holly eat very naturally and healthily. Silvia does not buy any packaged foods and it has been enlightening to he lp w i th cooking and preparing nutritious foods such as sushi, vegan fruit and nut balls (as an alternative to sugary snacks) and healthy pizzas made using quinoa tortilla bases.

We do general housework like cleaning and laundry and have even been nannies when Silvia has been called in to be a relief/supply teacher.

After a few weeks we decided to be proper backpackers and signed ourselves up to a grape picking agency! We lasted two shifts. Whilst it was nice to work outside, the repetition, the 5am starts and the late notice of shifts were definitely not offset by the piece rate pay which equalled around $13 an hour (minimum wage $18). When I worked out how much we had made after our first shift I felt utterly violated! Apparently it is possible to earn up to $25 an hour (if the pick is very good) but considering the shifts only last 2-6 hours, its pretty much impossible to earn a living wage. It seems as though the system is taking advantage of backpackers trying to do their regional work. Im very glad that we did ours on the farm.

Instead, I found a job at Wise Winery overlooking the gorgeous Eagle Bay. Though its 45mins from Margs, Im able to get 25-30 hours per week by only working Friday to Sunday. We offer a la carte breakfast and lunch and hold weddings Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings.

Accommodation Finding Work

Surfers PointThe caravan kitchen

Reef Beach

Silvia, Laura and Holly

The houseVegan fruit and nut balls

The garage and caravanHomemade Sushi Rolls The view from the restaurant




Lake Cave

The steps leading down to Lake Cave

Calcified waterfall in Jewel Cave

Lake Cave

The path in Giants Cave >Mammoth Cave

Floating columns, Lake Cave Mammoth Cave

Straws in Lake Cave

Mammoth Cave

Caves Numerous show caves dot the South West. Ben and Shogo took me to spectacular Jewel Cave on my birthday for an informative guided tour. Self-guided Mammoth Cave was huge and looked prehistoric; it was like travelling back in time! Photogenic Lake Cave was my personal favourite because of the columns that appear to float due to the change in the water table since they formed. The most adventurous of them all was self-guided Giants Cave.

Jewel Cave

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We have had a great few months in Margaret River being influenced by the laid-back lifestyle of the region. Usually when we settle in an area, we aim to make as much money as fast as we can. We have taken a different approach here which was aided greatly by our accommodation situation. With no rent or bills to pay, we didnt need to worry about getting full time jobs (which would have been hard anyway considering our short stay). Instead we have spent our time going to the beach, visiting caves and spending time with friends.

Having time for myself has been liberating as I have been super productive regarding my own projects. This newsletter has turned into the most visually appealing one yet, my youtube videos which were 6 months behind are now up to date and I have researched and planned our trip across to South Australia. On top of this, I have earned enough to cover our costs in Margaret River, the costs for the next leg of the journey and enough for some seed money which I have invested in the Foreign Exchange market (my newest hobby). In addition, I have been exercising every day and eating wholesome and healthy foods, so I feel great in myself. Embracing Margaret Rivers culture has been wonderful for my body, my mind and my soul.

We are pleased to announce that we have been asked to go back to South Australia to manage

the Willalooka Tavern! The Tavern is a pub, restaurant, motel and service station which is right next door to the farm that we worked on last year. We will live on site and manage the place by ourselves until our visas run out in July. This is obviously a huge opportunity for us and we are very thankful to Annie Johnson who recommended us to the owners of the Tavern, Catherine and Shannon. Not only does this mean guaranteed income for the rest of our time here but it also means that I can feel less guilty about having travelled for so long. By choosing to stay in Aus for another year we chose the chance to earn more money over the chance to start a career. Against the odds we have been lucky enough to have the best of both worlds. Becoming managers at 24 whilst backpacking says a lot about our characters and will hopefully give us a bright future.

What Next?

The convoy at Sugarloaf RockThe Convoy plus Danny in Yallingup

Sugarloaf Rock

Happy Birthday 2/4 Jade in tea lights from convoy

Sugarloaf Rock

Alisha, Bronte, Sarah, Karlie and us before a night out

Mind, Body and Soul

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Ben is currently in Willalooka for 2.5 weeks learning the ropes and flies back to Perth on the 29th March where we will both meet his sister, Abi who is coming to see us on a two week trip! It will be amazing to see her again and the timing means that we can make the most of her holiday by taking her on an awesome road trip and showing her what backpacking Australia is all about.

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the adventures of pen and jane issue 5: travelling through western australia

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