Ahhh the open road...it has always called to me. The freedom, the vastness, the empty horizon stretching before me for miles. I love the romantic idea of it. Give me some wheels and a map and I'm into it.
And let me tell you, I have seen the OPEN road. I thought America was empty, especially the middle part, but it is nothing compared to what I experienced in Western Australia. Try to imagine the western half of the continental United States (around 1 million square miles) with a population the size of Houston (around 2.3 million people) and you've pretty much got W.A. There are hundreds of miles of open space without a person in sight. In fact, all that you have to tell you what century you're in is the black asphalt beneath you. And once you get onto some of their dirt tracks, you'll have no sense of time.
It's a beautiful thing really. Though, I don't recommend seeing it the way I did. My husband and I thought that since we were going out into the "Great Australian Outback" that we would need to camp. And our idea of camping includes a full-service bathroom, a kitchen with a small refrigerator and a bed. I know, I like to think of myself as adventurous, but I do draw the line with real camping. I'm a sissy and I own it. Anyway, we decided to rent an RV for our W.A. adventure. We christened her Matilda after the national anthem of Oz and after a few days, she was renamed "the beast." While we thought that having an RV would allow us to feel a sense of comfort in remote camping spots, we ended up regretting it. First off, we couldn't really make it to those remote camping spots we dreamed about since Matilda couldn't exactly go off-roading. Most nights, we pulled into a lame RV park and "camped" right next to a dozen families on holiday. Not exactly the romance of the open road we were hoping for...
Secondly, Matilda guzzled gas. We wanted to put some serious road behind us and we ended up driving from Perth all the way up to Shark's Bay (2/3 of the western coast). In the end, it cost us quite a bit of money just in gas. By the time we hauled the beast to our destination for the night, we had spent enough money to stay in a nice little motel. At least then we wouldn't have had to assemble and disassemble our bed every day. Plus, there was the noise. Any divet in the road would cause the silverware packed haphazardly in drawers in the kitchenette to sound a symphony of clanging. I realize that I am not an RV person. I can say I've done it and I probably will never do it again.
That said, there were some marvelously beautiful parts of W.A. It really does feel like the edge of the world. And there's wildlife everywhere. We saw kangaroos, emus, sharks, pelicans and dolphins on multiple occasions. Here are some of the highlights...
Ryan and Matilda, aka "the beast."
Looking out from the famous suspended tree-top walk near
Walpole in the Valley of the Giants south of Perth.
Cuddling a baby kangaroo was a highlight of the trip.
(He was domesticated! Do not try this with a wild animal.)
An Australian icon.
These rocks once linked Australia to Antarctica
when the continents were one as Pangea.
What's a road trip with out a little roadside kitsch?
Australians have an obsession with making giant fiberglass sculptures.
Around Oz there's also a a giant lobster, a koala, a bull and a banana.
The natural splendor of the Pinnacles Desert near Cervantes.
I have never seen anything like this pink lake near Kalbarri.
It must have been caused by some sort of mineral in the water.
Pretty amazing sight.
The edge-of-the-world cliffs near Kalbarri.
Truly the OPEN road.
Sunset at Monkey Mia.
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