This is our second attempt at going to the iconic Gibb River Road at the very top of Western Australia. When we tried 3 years ago we had fridge trouble so we went east to Queensland instead. We are better equipped now so we’ll try again.

To start, instead of heading north from Adelaide, we took a detour and went east to Renmark to help friends celebrate a couple of special occasions. It was wonderful catching up with lots of old friends again.

Even in drought the River Murray at Renmark is still beautiful

From Renmark we travelled west for a few hours then north for 2800 km over 6 days, with overnights stops in roadside rest areas. We chose rest areas with long drop toilets but no other luxuries,very basic but we enjoy evenings under the stars rather than in towns.

Typical roadside rest area, 220 south of Katherine.

The terrain varied from irrigated fruit country near Renmark, to desert areas near Coober Pedy, to rugged gorges around Alice Springs, to savannah grasslands north of Tennant Creek. Already we have met several really nice people at Happy Hour. Caravan traffic has been a bit lighter than normal but there are still plenty of huge road trains to keep us interested. We have seen eagles, emus, wallabies, sheep, cattle, horses and a dingo.

Road trains such as these are 53 m long and usually travel at 100 kph.

After 6 days of fairly “routine” driving we are now at Katherine for a couple of days, preparing for our trip westward into Western Australia.

Relaxing at Shady Lane caravan park, Katherine

Cooking bacon and eggs for breakfast at Katherine.

Our itinerary ahead is for about 6 weeks traveling about 2000 km to Broome, WA. There will be lots of short day trips, relaxing, bush walking, swimming, sightseeing and relaxing; looking forward to some new sights and experiences.

Hope everyone keeps, safe and well

Ted and Jo