After eight months of hibernating I am finally on the move again. The coercive travel restrictions imposed by governments around the world are slowly being eased as they realise life must go on regardless and ultimately Nature will prevail. Unfortunately some of the most restrictive have been implemented by the state of Western Australia where I live and only since 6 June have we been able to leave our region and travel intrastate but interstate travel is still banned.

So in anticipation of Freedom Day (stage 1) I bought a 4 wheel drive Mitsubishi Pajero and equipped it to be self sufficient in the bush. It’s winter in Perth and I prefer warmer climates therefore I headed North towards the Kimberley region and once the state borders open up continue on to the Northern Territory taking it one day at a time.

First stop Gregory, 527 km north on the coast an easy drive. This place does not even have its own mobile phone tower and I had to go to the beach or on top of a rise to get a signal, no Petrol Station and one General Store, yes such places do exist. I visited Horrocks a few km to the south similar to Gregory but with a phone tower and Kalbarri to the North which is a very popular tourist spot with all the amenities. The last day here was spent hiding from a storm, packing up a wet tent and then erecting it somewhere else is not nice.

Gregory – population 64

Lynton Convict Hiring Depot

Horrocks – population 138

Kalbarri – Tourists per year 200,000