I can only speak for myself, but when I first heard that we would be a group of 10 girls that would hit the road from Broome to Perth, I was somewhat worried about how we‘d ever be able to store all our backpacks and suitcases in one bus and the trailer. Looking back it feels like all of us were trying to figure out how we could decrease the volume of our things and which items we could bare to part with.
It was when we tried our luck at a game of luggage tetris we discovered that our trailer is a lot more spacious than we thought.
With the first struggle behind us, we set out to buy the groceries and snacks for the first three days on the road. As we had already met up and discussed what we would eat during the first three days of our trip, our amazing shopping team bought everything we needed for three amazing breakfast, lunches and dinners.
And just like that ten girls and one bus with a trailer hit the road.
10 camping queens at our amazing camping spot close to Port Hedland
As we started our trip a little later than anticipated, we wanted to set up camp before sunset, so we decided to stop at a free rest area approximately 160 km away from our planned destination. The location was nothing special when it came to the view, but we were allowed to light a campfire, which our cooking team used to bake sweet potatoes with tuna salad and chickpeas for the vegetarians. We felt very proud of ourselves, turning the entire camping experience into glamping.
Especially as we attached fairy lights that we bought during our shopping trip to our tents. We were essentially living the lives of camping queens in the middle of nowhere – a truly amazing experience.
The next morning we woke up with the realization of just how hot it gets early in the morning when one is in the Kimberley area.
After breakfast we hit the road towards 80 Mile Beach.
Once we arrived we tried to go for a swim, but an early shark sighting put a stop to our plans. Therefore we decided to simply enjoy the beauty of the beach and sunbathe for a while. Eventually some of us ventured into the shallow waters to cool off, but no one dared to enter the ‘shark infested‘ waters.
After two hours at the beach we decided to continue our journey towards Port Hedland and arrived in the area of our camping spot for the night with one hours to go before sunset.
With less than 30 km to go, we looked up the exact address of the camping spot, only to realize that camping in tents was not permitted at this specific spot. With this the race against the sun began as we turned around the car towards the next available camping spot we could find that has the wonderful name ‘Gravel patch’.
None of us thought much about the name until our navigation app told us we had arrived at the location and the only thing around was literally a patch of gravel, at the side of the Great Northern Highway. Obviously, none of us were keen to spend a night at this specific location as there was not enough space for all tents and there were safety concerns, so the search for a camping spot started anew.
At this point we only had 30 minutes left until sunset so long drives to a new location were not an option if we wanted to set up our camp during daylight hours. By lucky coincidence the next free camping spot was only 7 km away, so we headed there knowing that we would have no choice but to stay wherever our navigation system would lead us.
Approaching the turn of the road towards the camping spot, we realized that we were quite close to a chain of hills that we had previously seen and the moment we arrived at the camping areas everyone started cheering as we had somehow found a perfect camping location with an amazing view.
We managed to set up our tents in record time and still managed to watch the sunset as our dinner was cooking on the camping stove. The search for a camping spot might have been stressful, but in the end we were more than rewarded for our hassle.
Video: Drone footage of our amazing camping spot
After the sun had set and we were eating in the dark without flies swirling around our heads, we looked towards the night sky where we could see faint hints of the Milky Way.
We decided to spend our third day in Port Hedland, where we visited the Courthouse Art Gallery, which displays the works of Aboriginal and other local artists. Afterwards we heading towards the ‘Pretty Pools’.
Thereafter we headed towards the next camping spot at a station just south of Port Hedland, where we made our plans for the coming days in Karijini National Park.
Stephanie is the story teller for the Share Bus trip from Broome to Perth. Feel free to check out her pictures and her posts. You‘ll find more blog entries in the coming weeks, so keep your eyes open for updates from this trip.