2024 WA Trip Summary

2024 WA Trip Summary

A bit of a summary and a few stats for anyone interested in numbers. I like to keep a record of everything on a spreadsheet while travelling - it's not very time consuming when it's kept up to date, and it’s surprising what is revealed at the end of a trip. Keeping the daily blog does take a little more effort, and sometimes motivation, but it's never really that difficult either. I could write less, but the Blog acts as a bit of a diary and is a great reminder of what we have done and seen. It's surprising how often I also refer to it when talking with other travellers, but most useful when I eventually transfer it all into a photo book or two at the end of a trip. Starlink has made it much more effortless to upload the daily SITREPS, and more importantly stay in touch with family while travelling. I will now either pause the Roaming account until we travel again, or I may decide to disconnect our home Bigpond account and use Starlink as the primary internet service provider. Buying Starlink was a last minute decision in South Australia after we started the trip, and it was so quick and easy to set up. 

Ideally we would have liked to leave Canberra later in the year so as not to return in the middle of the winter like we have done, but we wanted to concentrate our trip to Southwest WA which can also be wet and cold in winter. As it was, we were blessed with extraordinary weather right up to our visit to Exmouth, when the rain started chasing us home. Rain in that part of WA is not normal at that time of year. It was disappointing to finally reach Karijini, and not see all the Gorges due to heavy rain and subsequent gorge/road closures, many of which still remain closed. We just needed four more days of the great weather we had been enjoying. Ideally, I would have preferred not to drive back across the  Nullarbor either. It’s such a long way, and having done it only a few months earlier in the opposite direction, it was much less interesting on the return leg, especially with all the rain. Returning via the north of WA would have meant a longer drive, and it would have also been rushed. The car issues in Rockingham which caused more than two weeks delay put to bed any thoughts about going home via the north. Thankfully the break down happened at the most convenient place, where I could park the van and stay at a friend’s house while the car was being repaired. 

Overall, it was a great trip with a lot of highlights. The WA coast Is amazing, and we can’t wait to see the north of WA, another time. Unfortunately, booking well in advance may be necessary. We both loved Albany and Exmouth, two very different towns, but the highlight for me was swimming with a Whaleshark at Ningaloo, while for Noel, it was seeing the caves at Margaret River. 

Natures Window Kalbari

Trip Stats
Total Trip  Distance	15,543km
Total Avg Fuel	15.9l/100km
Towed Distance	12,579km
Fuel Used	2,430 lt
Fuel Cost	$5,106
Highest Fuel Price	$2.94 / lt (Nullarbor Roadhouse)
Lowest Fuel Price	$1.87 / lt (Rockingham)
Nights Away	112
Total Accn Cost	$3469.49
Nights: Caravan Park	65
Nights: Free Camp	37
Nights: Paid Camp	10
Most Expensive CP / Night	$61 / Night (Coral Bay / Exmouth $60 / Night)
Avg / Night x 65 Nights (CP Only)	$47 / Night
Avg / Night x 112 Nights (All)	$31 / Night

Disappointment #1: Car breakdown and two weeks delay for repair’s

Lucky: Being in Rockingham when the car broke down and being able to park the van at a mate's house while the repairs were done.

Annoying: Several weeks of trying to work out the problem with our faulty fridge, even paying $650 for new parts and labour to a large RV Repair specialist, that didn't fix the problem. 

Satisfaction: The very pleasant young Auto Electrician who went out of his way to come to us at short notice at Jurien Bay to try and fix our fridge, but couldn't diagnose a fault. He didn't want to leave without trying to eliminate one possible cause which ultimately fixed the issue, all for minimal cost (We ended up paying him twice as much as he asked).

Disappointment #2: Making it all the way to Karijini NP, and having to leave due to rain (lots) & Gorge/Road closures and our dead caravan batteries. 

Highlight for Bob: Swimming with a whale shark and snorkeling at Ningaloo Reef

Highlight for Noel: Jewel and Lake caves at Margaret River

Positives:  We’re still married and even talking to each other 

Negative: It’s cold (and wet) in Canberra in the middle of winter

Lake Cave 

Ninagaloo Experience

Total Trip Distance 15,543km. This trip brings the total of our caravan travels to more than 40,000km, and we still have North WA, the NT and many other parts of SA, VIC and NSW yet to see.