Planning for next year

[Grumpy John]

Damn you Toddy, I've had the Hema maps and Camps 8 book out feverishly planning a trip for next year.
A rough map and itinerary, if anyone has any comments on places to linger, or places to bypass let me know. Once we get past Adelaide it will be all new territory for me.
This is a very rough 1st. draft.
Two bucket list items are Steep Point, the westernmost point on the Australian mainland, and Exmouth/Ningaloo Reef for the whale sharks. But seeing as I'm planning the trip for April/May I'll probably miss the whale sharks because the season is in October.

[Toddyh]

You should get Whale Sharks in May for sure. 100% worth it. One of the best experiences of my life. Get swimming though. It's a lot more physical than I'd imagined.

The more time you have on the Gibb the more you can explore off the Gibb. 3.5 weeks was not enough for me and I'm go go go the whole time.

[HansE]

Looks like quite a trip. Just got back from our latest. will have some pics shortly.

[Grumpy John]

Thanks Hans, this is just a rough draft. Looking for any input from anyone that has traveled this route before.
Looking forward to seeing some of you latest images.

[bill jolley]

While up Pt Pirie way a look at Wilpena pound could be worth while

[Grumpy John]

Thanks Bill, I've been through the Hawker, Wilpena Pound, Blinman area a few times now. You're right there is some fantastic scenery and wildlife there, unfortunately time will be against us this trip. so we'll have to give it a miss.

[Ozzie_Traveller]

G'day mate

We had 6-months in WA back in 2015 - as a return visit from 10 yrs ago when we also spent 6-months there
Although your waypoints are mostly along the main highway, I would strongly suggest that you get off the "hiways & biways" as much as possible, as all you're doing is tagging along with the big trucks at full hwy speed and not taking time to smell the roses

Q- what sort of RV / accommodation vehicle are you in?? ... do you plan on CP use all / mostly / occasionally / ?? > maybe I can help here from our experiences
Also - WA tourism expenses are 150% to 250% higher than the east coast equivalents, so add extra $$ to your budget

Phil

[Grumpy John]

Colorado towing an off road fold forward camper (Skamper Kampers Dingo). SWMBO has had her share of off road and the associated corrugations and dust. We plan to free camp and maybe C/P every 4th or 5th night to top up water batteries and use amenities. It will be a make it up as we go along trip. The waypoints are just for me to get an idea of distances at the moment.
Any information you could impart would be greatly appreciated thanks Phil.

[Grumpy John]

I've spent quite a few hours over the last couple of days refining my proposed trip next year. I have pretty much decided the route, now I just need to work out where to stop and for how long.
I have a timeframe of ~8 weeks, so I know that I will not get to see everything. That is just a fact of life when you do not have the luxury of being able to travel full time.
We have a 2016 Colorado and Dingo camper with and extra 120Lt water in a bladder behind the front seats. We have 40Lt Waeco and 45Lt Bushman fridges we can run one as a fridge and one as a freezer. We also have 2 portable solar panels. a porta potti, and a Joolca HWS so we can be pretty self sufficient.
The plan is to free camp as much as possible with a caravan park every 3 days or so for the luxury of a proper shower and clothes washing.
Any input regarding places to stay and things to see will be most appreciated.

[Toddyh]

I could spend days discussing this John. There is just so much to see.
Regarding El Questro Station a few days would be a good amount of time to get a taste. There's a couple of sunset spots worth seeing plus fishing holes, hikes and swimming holes.You could easy spend a week or more. I was there 2 nights but was non stop the whole time.7am to dark exploring.

[Toddyh]

Hey John, going up the west coast make sure to check out
Kalbarri NP (Nature's window etc)
Red Bluff - Ocean side camping with some of the best whale watching from land I've ever seen
monkey mia and shark bay - super touristy but nowhere else in the country will u get so close to dolphins
Ningaloo Station - best and cheapest coastal camping ($5/pp/night)
Exmouth - whale shark swims
Horizontal Falls, Broome
Steep Point - western most point of the mainland.

[Grumpy John]

Hey John, going up the west coast make sure to check out
Kalbarri NP (Nature's window etc)
Red Bluff - Ocean side camping with some of the best whale watching from land I've ever seen
monkey mia and shark bay - super touristy but nowhere else in the country will u get so close to dolphins
Ningaloo Station - best and cheapest coastal camping ($5/pp/night)
Exmouth - whale shark swims
Horizontal Falls, Broome
Steep Point - western most point of the mainland.

Thanks Toddy, I have allocated 2 nights at Kalbarri. We also plan on getting to Steep Point as one of our "points of Australia" bucket list.
We have done:
Byron Bay - Easternmost point on the mainland
Wilsons Prom. - Southernmost point on the mainland
Lambert Centre - Geographic centre of Australia
Mount Kosciuszko - Highest point
Lake Eyre - lowest point

If you open the PDF attached to post #6 you will see my itinerary, which is still in the early planning stage. I'm open to any recommendations you may have.

[Toddyh]

How was Wilson Prom? You hiked out I assume?

[Grumpy John]

You're pushing my memory Toddy. My wife and I did that when we first got married in the early '70's. We camped at Tidal River for a week and did an overnight hike to the lighthouse.

[Toddyh]

Haha fair enough John. I looked into it last year and it was about a 30-40km hike from memory.