In this issue: •Brighten up those washday blues •Paradise found in Exmouth •Packing it in

the

On the road again sums it up bestIs Willie Nelson’s On the Road Again the ultimate grey nomad anthem?You’d better believe it. A whopping 83.2% of respond-ents our poll on the issue said it was the tune that best reflected their mood as they hit the highways and byways.Glenda and Owen summed it up best.“What is the first thing we do as the ute and van are being driven out of the driveway of home?” they asked. “We belt out: ‘We are on the Road Again’ ... glad the neighbours can’t hear us though!”Jeff was no less enthusiastic. “Go Willy!” he cried.So what of the 16.8% of respondents who weren’t moved by lyrics such as:“Like a band of gypsies we go down the highwayWe’re the best of friends.Insisting that the world keep turning our wayAnd our way is on the road again.Just can’t wait to get on the road again.”Surely Willie is tops? “Not a chance,” said John S. “Any good Aussie country & Western song would be bet-ter than Willie Nelson.” Click to comment

Issue 52: August 16, 2013Nomad dog poisoning

prompts1080 warning “We don’t want anyone to

suffer the same anguish we did after Toby died.”

A grey nomad couple who lost their mini Foxie to 1080 are determined to raise awareness of the danger that the poison poses to pets.Ross and Lynne from the New South Wales Mid North Coast would hate to see any other travellers suffer the anguish they endured after their be-loved ‘Toby’ died in their arms.“He was a very special dog who understood us completely,” said Ross. “He was very much a part of the family and we have shed a lot of tears since it happened ... and I’m no sook.”The couple were bush camping on the edge of Isla Gorge Na-tional park in central Queens-land when disaster struck.“We have been taking trips with Toby for six years and are very aware of 1080,” said Ross. “We always look for warning signs and will always move on if we see one.”They suspect the dog ingested the 1080 when he went ‘for a wander’ first thing in the morn-ing and ‘sort of sneaked back to the van with a guilty look’.The dog was unusually docile as the couple drove on to a new riverside campsite and was soon ‘as crook as Rookwood’.

“He had a quick stroll and then fitted before briefly coming good and then fitting again,” said Ross. “We moved as fast as possible to get him to the vet at Moura.”Sadly, however Toby died on Lynne’s lap before they reached the vet, who later confirmed that 1080 had been responsible.Compound 1080 is a pesticide used to control a range of pest animals throughout Australia. In the field, it is mixed with bait material, perhaps chopped carrot or meat. It is sometimes dropped in from the air. As well as eating it directly, pets may be affected if they feed on an animal or bird that has been killed by the poison.While there are some who campaign to have 1080 banned, Ross and Lynne accept that

measures have to be taken to control pest species.“I would just appeal to other grey nomads travelling with pets to be really aware of the possible presence of 1080,” said Ross. “And I would say to always keep dogs on a leash.”Ross and Lynne, who found the hole in their lives after Toby died was just too big, have recently adopted another dog, a Chihuahua/Foxie cross. They plan to hit the road again before too long, but will be buying a muzzle for ‘Diesel’ ... something they thought they would never do. “We just couldn’t bear to go through that pain again,” said Ross. “And we wouldn’t want anyone else to, either.” Click to comment

Your news and views? Email us at thetimes@thegreynomads.com.au

Times

‘A very special dog’ ... Toby (inset), and Ross and Lynne’s van

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Victorians Phil M, 68, and wife Sue, 66, are gearing

up for the ‘big one’

What do you travel in?We tow a 1970’s Franklin that I have done a lot of work on. It now has solar power and 120AH battery with mod cons like LED lights, microwave, BBQ, radio/CD, etc. It is towed by a Rodeo Ute that used to be the farm runabout but I turned it into the travel tug by putting on a canopy, fitting it with gas and adding storage areas.

Any plans to upgrade?At the moment our trips last 4 to 8 weeks. However, we are about to make the road our home ... and the Franklin is missing some of the comforts that we want for long-term travelling. We have placed a deposit on an Aussie Wide Bunderra that will allow us to travel off the blacktop and will be fully kitted out for long-term free camping.

Where do you like to camp?We travel with Chihuahua dogs now, so national parks are out. We love bush camping but prefer it when there are other nomads around. We use cara-van parks as a base to explore an area more thoroughly as we don’t like leaving the van unattended.

On-the-road hobbies?We both like to read and Sue makes patchwork quilts with just a needle and thread. We also fossick and seek out local history. I am constantly amazed at the courage and endurance of the pioneers that opened up the country and love to learn their stories. What they endured is quite unbelievable.

Best thing about the lifestyle?Happy hour! You meet some wonderful people and you can’t beat a relaxed evening sitting around a campfire chatting with others about anything and everything.

Any dislikes?Going home is the big one. We also don’t like travelling all day to get somewhere in a hurry. We prefer to be set up in the next location not long after

Handy nomads make old new again and bring history to life

Nomads in Brief

Issue 52: August 16, 2013

TimesCharacters of the Road

Last week’s winning caption sent in by Kevin K:

Do You Know 1. Nothing dull about this Victorian town?2. Hairy What Tugs (anagram). It goes straight up the middle?3. I am driving direct from Charleville, Queensland, to Bourke, NSW? Which highway am I on? 4. Shortest road distance between Blackwater, Qld and White Cliffs, NSW. A) 1575km B) 1652km C) 1716km5. How many states or territories does South Australia border? (Answers on p. 7)

Grab a Cuppa and test your grey mattaCaption competition

“The tape ran out at 8 metres, so I guessed the rest!”

This week’s challenge:

Can you think of a fun caption for this shot?

QUIZ CORNER

Email your entry here

Phil and Sue enjoy trips in their modernised ‘70s van

Drunk driver jailedA drunk driver who ran over a family who were camping at Kiama in New South Wales last September has been sentenced to a minimum of nine months behind bars. A car driven by Alexander Louis-Renshaw, 20, ploughed into a family of four’s tent at Kendalls Beach Caravan Park. He blew a 0.176 reading. The family were seriously in-jured in the incident.

Bushwalkers rescuedNine bushwalkers aged in their 60s were winched to safety after getting lost in the Royal National Park near Sydney. One bushwalk-er had a minor knee injury and another had mild hypo-thermia. Both were treated at the scene by paramedics.

Van flipsA motorist towing a caravan was lucky to escape un-scathed when his vehicle flipped on the Capricorn Highway near Blackwater in Queensland.

Emu ‘invasion’Emus have started ven-turing into the streets of Longreach in outback Queensland looking for food as drought conditions continue. Mayor Joe Owens says people should be aware that male emus have been known to attack if their chicks are harassed.

Click here for more entries

midday. I can drive all day if I need to but dodging kangaroos etc. at night is no fun I would rather be sitting in a comfy chair with my feet up and a cof-fee ... or maybe a glass of wine.

Do you volunteer as you travel?In 2012, we spent two months at Rainbow’s historic Yurunga homestead building a new shade house to the same di-mensions, and thatched in the same way, as the original had been before it fell into serious disrepair.

Advice for other nomads?Have the car and caravan ser-viced regularly. And, if you are free camping, get there early and wait. If no one else shows up to camp then you may be well advised to move to a more populated location ... especially if you are close to a town.

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Dear Editor,Re: Roadkill article (GNT: Is-sue 51). Most old farts like me don’t drive early morning or late at night so we don’t hit any animals. When I was driving trucks most of road kills hap-pened at night when the trucks were out. Now I only drive at 80-85 k/ph.

Ted SDear Editor,I don’t think much of the road kill can be laid at the doorstep of the grey nomads. Most of us travel at an economical speed and care too much about our rigs to tangle with a large roo, wombat or feral pig. I think truckies are responsible for a great amount as they are required to travel day and night, keep to timetables, and are also unable to take any sort of avoidance action because of the rigs they drive.

Di DDear Editor,From our experience, western Queensland is the worst road-kill area. The dead roos lining the road are too numerous to count and the carrion almost join their prey as they guard their treasure to the last pos-sible moment. We have been lucky not to have to ‘dispatch’ an animal so far, but can’t help wondering how many lie in agony for hours, being pecked at while waiting for blessed release?

Kathleen MDear Editor,Lots of road kill out Long-reach/Winton way in April – mainly wallabies, sometimes every 50 metres. Cattle are the victims on the Marble Bar road, often in twos. We have travelled over 10,000 kilome-tres in the last four months and hit some small birds just this week. Have also had a couple of near misses in NT with wal-

Issue 52: August 16, 2013

Timesmeal, no time to slow down for an animal. The vast majority of careless idiots out there don’t have a caravan attached. We are careful ... because that’s our home behind us!

Derek & Del TDear Editor,I have noticed an increase in the numbers of kangaroos now out and about during the middle of the day. My experi-ence is it is much wiser to flash headlights rather than sound the horn. The horn will gener-ally shock roos to freeze where they are, whereas they will jump away with lights.

Neil B.Dear Editor,We don’t ever want to kill or injure, but it is illegal to slow down to avoid animals on the road, especially if you put oth-er drivers at risk. I have been in the situation quite a few times when the driver in front of me stops suddenly. Also animals killed on the roads are ‘Property of the Crown’ and are “not to be removed”.

Lynne SDear Editor,We have been travelling full time for over five years, and in over 60,000 kilometres, I have had two near misses, once a kangaroo and the second a pig. My advice is not to travel at night, and to avoid early morn-ings and evenings. All sound-ing a horn would do is startle the animal and cause it to react in an erratic manner.

John MDear Editor,There is a very cheap product which can be bought from car retailers. They are small funnels that produce a high pitch noise, which we can’t hear but animals can, and they react very quickly to ‘get out the way’ before being hit. We have these fitted just on the radiator inlets, quite

unobtrusive and no one but you know they are there. Since fit-ting them we have not collided with any animal.

Alice JDear Editor,I see lots of travellers and they are not ones to speed. They would not want to damage their cars with roadkill and would be the first to pull over and take a dead animal off the road.

W & R HDear Editor,We have now covered over 12,000km and been travelling around three months. We have not hit anything as yet. We see more roadkill in our home state, Tasmania, than we see here on the ‘mainland’.

Maxwell SDear Editor,Re: Kids, pets and smokers (GNT Letters: Issue 51). Hi to all you people who were angels when you were kids. What a lot of high and mighty snobs giving opinions on how other people live! You are just rich tourists!

Rick B Dear Editor,You, the caravan people who do not like kids or dogs are not perfect and nor am I ... but I have a lot more tolerance than you. You were a child once too remember. I see no problems in caravan parks. It is only the people that have never had kids, or dogs and don’t know how to treat them that are the problem.

Glen DDear Editor,Going through Emerald last week the tourist info asked us to do their survey on what we would like as far as camping or van parking free sites. Good to see the council trying to find out what tourists like.

Garry & Chris D

labies doing a quick hop across the road from the scrub. Tony & Lesley (Sunbaker)Dear Editor,We have just travelled through Queensland and counted 67 road kill in 10 kilometres. Unbelievable! Sad to see.

Joanne & Brendan O’LDear Editor,On the backroads of Queens-land ... Charleville north Quilpie etc, there is a dead roo every 2–3 metres. Most of them are hit by trucks. I wonder how many crossed the road that did not get hit?

Andy & LoisDear Editor,Animals and birds on the open road are a fact of a traveller’s life. If you travel at a speed slow enough to avoid any collision you will be run off the road by other road users. Driving today is an occupa-tion requiring the utmost care and attention. When you are sitting around under the awn-ing sipping a Chardonnay and chatting about road kill scores, listen to those that say they have little or no such score sheets.

Mal S (Longtack) PS. I have been driving around Australia for 50 years and have hit just three roadside animals.

Dear Editor,Grey nomads are not the ones responsible for the huge roadkill. Try looking at trucks and buses. Recently, on a run towards Broken Hill, we stopped at a roadhouse, and were shortly joined by a bus sporting a mashed emu on its grille. We had passed that same family of emus on the road ear-lier, slowed down and let them cross the road safely. The bus was obviously on a tight timeta-ble, having a passenger-load of pensioners to take for a midday

the Your news and views? Email us at thetimes@thegreynomads.com.au Issue 52: A

ugust 16, 2013

TimesDear Editor,Re: fuel dockets (GNT: Issue 51). Many small towns do not have Coles and Woolworths, so therefore no fuel outlets to accept those prized vouchers. Competition may be the name of the game (and greed) by the multinational but it is often at the expense of the small family-owned businesses. Bear in mind that just one ‘free camp night’ is a saving of around $40 which equates to around 10 tank fills saving using the vouchers.

BobDear Editor,I agree wholeheartedly with the view that shopper dockets should apply only to super-market purchases, and the supermarkets should not be able to offer discounts that are out of their primary market eg. groceries. It won’t be long before the ‘Big Two’ control all that you buy.

Mike PDear Editor,Keeping an eye open for cheap fuel, I have seen 7-Eleven stores with the same price or cheaper prices than Coles and Woolworth’s without having to spend $30 in the shop to get the discount. How do they do it?

Brian DDear Editor,I do like the idea of cheaper petrol but am sure this discount is added to the cost of groceries. The people without cars must be paying more for groceries. Have discounts on groceries not petrol.

Peter GDear Editor,We have just been to a nice little town called Barham, with a great caravan park on the river bordering NSW and Victoria. The fuel station there was sell-ing diesel for $1.64.9 and the town of Kerang just 21km away

had diesel for $1.53.9. If it wasn’t for a nice gentleman telling us about the price we would have put in 120 litres at the higher price. If the dockets are removed, all service station owners should charge the same price.

Geoff & GayleDear Editor,Re: van park security (GNT: Issue 51). Our caravan is pro-tected by my friend Mr Ruger 357 and my wife’s side of the van is protected by the law firm of Smith & Wesson. Would sug-gest undesirables stay out.

Andy

Dear Editor,People need to take responsibil-ity for their belongings. Lock them up! Having said that, parks are also responsible for the security of the people who camp there and who pay their fees. It is a two-way street.

Allan BDear Editor,Just last issue we got through the problem of park fees rising via the installation of play areas. Now, in this issue we are saying we need the parks to install CCTV. What a funny old world it is. Surely we can look after our own equipment saving the cost of CCTV and let the kids have their fun at the same time.

TerroDear Editor,My husband and I stayed in a caravan park just north of Mildura over Easter. While we were there we were told of six people who had wallets stolen from their camper trailers, as well as phones. This was achieved by cutting or unhook-ing the canvas and reaching inside, and at least one lady said she had been sleeping when this happened. Common sense security is not quite enough to protect a camper from this.

Bill & Claire K

Dear Editor,Let’s be responsible for our own security. A cheap solar or powered movement light suffices for us and is easy to set up. Where we camp for a few months each year, there is a high incidence of theft, but it’s mostly due to victim slackness.

Rosslyn HDear Editor,Re: Jaclyn & Heidi column (GNT: Issue 51). Kate, Kate, Kate! Write your novel! Tell your husband what you are going (yes, going, not ‘want’) to do, and see what he says. He just might be very supportive, and you can give him jobs to do that will help you while you write – like researching publishers, drawing book cov-ers, or finding tips and hints on writing a best seller. If he’s not supportive, do it anyway. I bet he wouldn’t be backwards in coming forwards with his hand out when your book’s accepted for publication!

Myra SDear Editor,My husband and I are in a van and I too have the desire to write. I believe there is a right time to do that ... for me it’s down the track because I’m studying for a Diploma of Counselling. The marriage partnership is marvellous! My husband helps around the campsite which saves us the fee, and we keep Friday, the week-ends, and Monday for doing things together.

Shirley BDear Editor,There is room for compromise here. We too do most things together and like you I have a yen to write. In fact we have a number of separate interests, my partner ‘tinkers’ as he refers to it, carrying out regular main-tenance on the vehicle and van. I like to knit, sew, and write.

Perhaps while your hubby is off chatting to a fellow vanner you could be jotting down a few ideas or agree you each have a little solo time. Why not try a diarised version of your trip first to test your skills?

Lynne CDear Editor,Re: Letters column (GNT: Issue 51). So, Lynne S, are you saying it’s only Victorians that are rude? What about just com-menting in general. There are rude people from all walks of life and states and countries, possibly even galaxies. Some may think you to are rude by singling out Victorians!

JeffDear Editor,Re: Lightning Ridge artist John Murray (GNT: Issue 51). A trip to the Queensland town of Hebel, about 75k north of Lon-greach, brings you to the iconic Hebel Hotel with John Murray’s artwork decorating the exterior. Well worth a look ... and liquid refreshments, of course.

John RDear Editor,Re: Gadgets of the Road (GNT: Issue 51). Awesome idea. My son is autistic and we travel with a camper trailer, hence guy ropes. So something like this would be great as his vision is not too good at night and he often trips over the ropes. We have tried the glow-in-the-dark markers that you slide onto the guy rope but they weren’t too good ... would certainly give these a go.

Diane LDear Editor,We have a couple of LED solar lights that change colours that we place next to the awning rope stakes. Much simpler as they can be moved into a sunny spot in daylight to recharge. Cost was a princely $5 per light.

Dodg

the

Going for a song Among all the other numer-ous benefits it offers, the grey nomad lifestyle can also deliver some of the best sleep of your life. According to new research, ‘night owls’ who head for the open road may soon find that restless nights and waking up feeling exhausted are a thing of the past. Apparently, exposure to the natural light of dawn and dusk helps synchro-nise campers’ internal body clocks, helping them to drop off more easily and to wake up feeling refreshed. Read more here

Other website must-reads: Carry on camping WA to spend big on facilities RV of the future?The face of things to come?

Going for GoldLuring nomads to the coast

Show your colours Get your grey nomad stickers and stubbie holders

SURVEYDo you sleep better whenyou’re on the open road?

YES NO

Website highlightsGot the blues from van park laundry queues?

We all know the feeling. There’s a monster queue at the van parks’ laundry facilities ... and you haven’t got the energy to take up residence in order to guard your place in line. Or perhaps you’re pondering put-ting a washing machine in your new ‘self-contained’ rig but you haven’t really got the money or the available space. You’ve got the Big Lap equiva-lent of the washing day blues. So what to do about this ongo-ing grey nomad gripe?Well, while inveterate world traveller Ash Newland, didn’t dream up the Scrubba Washbag specifically with grey nomads in mind, the young Aussie inventor may just have earned himself a few friends in the mature-age traveller category.His newly improved Scrubba is effectively a lightweight polyu-rethane bag with a coated nylon housing. It weighs less than 150 grams and unfolds to be ap-proximately 60cm x 30 cm.Inside the bag is an internal washboard which supplies agitation to the washing pro-cess. Basically, you put your dirty clothes in. It’s probably

large enough for a couple of tee-shirts, some socks and undies. You add water and a bit of detergent, seal, squeeze out excess air using a special valve, and then it’s matter of scrub-a-dub. The bag has special grips at the bottom to stop it slipping as you rub the clothes against the internal washboard.You then release the dirty water, rinse your clothes, hang them out to dry, and put your feet up and enjoy the rest of the day.So unless you’re one of those people who likes to hang out in the van park laundry room chewing the fat with fellow nomads, or you love to read the stacks of the old Reader’s Digest magazines left laying about in there, your days of collect-ing gold coins for the washing

could just be over. The Scrubba wash bag is patented in Australia and New Zealand. It sells for $64.95.Can you see a use for the Scrubba on your next big trip? Click to comment

Issue 52: August 16, 2013

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Space-saving Scrubba bags can help

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When veteran around-Aus-tralia travellers are asked what advice they would give grey nomads striking out on the ‘big one’ for the first time, sooner or later they nearly always say ‘travel light’.Taking mountains of clothes that you will never use, or a mini library of heavy books that you ‘might’ read are common mistakes made by ‘beginners’.But once you’ve stripped back the luxury items that are plainly just crazy to haul up and down the highways, back-roads and dirt tracks of this great southern land, what are you left with? What single item or groups of items could you simply not bear to leave home without?The BBC’s Travel section recently asked its Facebook followers that very question and the answers were thought-provoking. “An open mind and a smile,” said Lena. “iPad, iPhone and credit card,” said Rachel.“Patience, head lamp, rain jacket, booze – not necessarily in that order,” said Emily. “Water, towel, brush, money stuff, eco bag, hat, folded umbrella, medicine and

flip-flops,” said Monique.“Kindle!” said Rachael.“Openness,” said Mary.“Toilet paper!” said Jennifer.“Water, emergency food, sleep-ing bag, a good map, a tooth-brush and a small book,” said Jessica.“Raincoat, painkillers and spare undies,” said Bryony.Okay, so does the list above

include your “I’m-not-leaving-home-without-this” item ... or do you value your camera, diary, or espresso machine higher than the BBC Face-bookers?What can’t you live without on the road? What is your ulti-mate grey nomad must-have? Click to comment

Would you prefer to travel with a smile or a toilet roll?

Industry Briefs

Issue 52: August 16, 2013

Times

Space may be tight, but what couldn’t you do without?

‘Wheeler’ dealerJayco has made a bold foray into the fifth wheeler mar-ket. Coming in 24ft 8in and 28ft 8in sizes, the company’s ‘new baby’ has a fibreglass exterior with an attached 12vs electrically operated rollout awning. The interiors are also stunning with goodies including 4-burner rangehood, microwave, washing machine, LED lighting and 32-inch LED TV and DVD player. Price is around the $85,000 mark.Elite awardElite caravans recently picked up the Caravan and Camping Industry Associa-tion (CCIA) ‘Best Manu-facturer of the Year’ award. The company has launched a host of new models, includ-ing the Murray HTV which contains a Home Theatre Van zone, as well as the strong-selling off roaders, Balistic and Dirty Harry. The frame gameUK caravan builder Swift is to use a man-made material to make its vans’ frames. In all 2014 models, it will use a hard, polyurethane-based product called ‘PURe’ that is impervious to water. As it is lighter than timber, weight savings of up to 14kg are expected. Swift began selling its vans Australia last year.

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‘It’s driving me crazy!’Dear Jaclyn and Heidi,My wife Toni and I have been looking forward to this trip for years, and it’s everything we had hoped for ... nearly! I find myself getting extremely anxious about driving. We have only got a medium-sized caravan but I am a useless reverser and just can’t seem to get used to the size of the vehicle. I am dread-ing heading inland next week when I know we will be on a lot of narrow roads. The thought of having to brake sharply because of cattle on the road or some-thing, or of meeting a road train coming in the opposite direction is giving me night terrors! Un-fortunately, Toni doesn’t drive and I can’t really tell her how I feel. She would be so disappoint-ed. Will things improve?

Eric

You might well get used to tow-ing your van eventually, Eric. But, if you’re so desperately worried about driving, you need to do something about it sooner rather than later. This trip is about living your dreams ... not making your worst nightmares come true. The other thing to consider, of course, is safety ... both yours and other road users. If you are so unsure about making basic towing manoeuvres, or don’ really have a sense of how much space your rig is taking up, you can potentially make a very costly mistake. You must tell Toni about your concerns and then sign up for a towing course. You will learn all of the skills you need to not only get out there into this wonderful country with your van ... but also to enjoy getting out there.

Jaclyn

No, it’s not going to get bet-ter, Eric. Not everybody is suited to towing a caravan, not everybody is suited to driving a huge motorhome ... and not everybody is suited to wearing a pink tutu, either. Rig choice is about horses for courses and you’ve backed the wrong nag here. It’s a shame you spent tens of thousands of dollars before you realised it. However, you won’t be the first to get caught up in the “I’ve-got-to-have-a-van-as-big-as-them”, or “of-course-I-can-handle-it” older man machismo. You should try before you buy, Eric. It’s back to the drawing board now ... maybe a small motorhome, a campervan, or just a tent could be the go. I think it was Clint Eastwood who said: “A man’s got to know his limitations.”

Heidi Click to comment

Issue 52: August 16, 2013

While whale shark season may just be drawing to a close, there are many grey nomads who still find plenty of reasons to linger a while in the wonderful Exmouth area.Of course, this part of Western Australia’s Coral Coast will always be famed for its proxim-ity to the iconic Ningaloo Reef and the opportunity to perhaps get up close and personal with the famed gentle giant of the ocean.But for those tempted to leave the gorgeous white sandy beaches and to venture into the clear, turquoise waters of the Indian Ocean, there are other rewards on offer besides the chance to glimpse the mighty whale shark. The wonders of

Ningaloo Reef are amazingly accessible. There is no need to take a long boat ride to snorkel over the reef. You simply take a short swim off the beach and there you are. Intricate coloured coral, spectacular tropical fish, even stingrays, manta rays and turtles are all right there.In other good news, box jel-lyfish don’t come this far south and the fishing is unbelievable. Besides the reef, Cape Range National Park – which is 40km or so down the road from Exmouth – delivers an amaz-ing wildflower display when in season, and the gorges, canyons and overall scenery is stunning. The Thomas Carter Lookout, some 311m above sea level,

Excellent adventures await in Exmouth

thethe

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is perhaps the perfect place to drink it all in. The lookout is the start and end of the Badjirrijirra Trail, a moderately challenging 8km loop walk-ing trail that crosses the top of Cape Range. There are apparently more than 100 camping bays in the Cape Range National Park and, while vans and bigger rigs are welcome, there is no power, showers or cooking facilities available. Nonetheless, the sites are exceptionally popular and, in busy periods, you can expect to queue to find a spot – and that’s if you’re lucky.

Happily though, the pleasant little town of Exmouth is well serviced with caravan parks, including one at the Vlam-ing Head Lighthouse.on the way to the national park. The lighthouse is also a magnificent place to view and enjoy the spectacular sunsets over the Indian Ocean.If swimming out to the reef sounds too much like hard work, there are glass-bottom boat tours available so you can unlock the secrets of this un-derwater paradise in comfort. And after all that activity, it might simply be time to find some shade, sit back in your campchair and enjoy the mag-nificent climate. Like many before you, you might just discover that you simply can’t summon the en-ergy to leave this special place ... at least not “for just a few more days”.

Fancy a swim companion? Photo: Tourism WA

Get up close and personal with lots of fish

in the sea in Exmouth