Kata Tjuta

 We set off from Kaltukatjara expecting our slowest day’s driving. The road out of Docker river was wet and a bit challenging. We stopped to investigate the first waterhole we came to that we couldn’t drive around. Fiona even offered to wade it to test the depth but there was no need. The Subaru pulled the poptop through with ease with the x-mode engaged. We negotiated numerous waterholes for the next part of our journey. The road on the NT side did not have good drainage so all the water just sat in the middle of the road.

We took a break after 40kms at Lasseter’s cave where Harold Lasseter perished in 1930 after unsuccessfully searching for gold. We had been unsuccessfully searching for geocaches along the way. It was at Lasseter’s cave we discovered that the sat nav on the car was able to give us a GPS position as well as the times for sunrise and sunset. Well we have only owned the car for 18 months!

At the 180km mark we finally hit the bitumen again which was lovely. We had great views of Kata Tjuta (The Olga’s) as we drove towards them. We pulled in the carpark to be confronted by loads of cars. This was quite a sight after the relative isolation of the outback way. The WA cars we very easily identified by the mud. We had not thought much about visiting Kata Tjuka before we got there. It had just registered in our minds as a side trip on the way into Uluru. We arrived and had some lunch and then set out  on the 7km Valley of the Winds walk going anticlockwise as directed. This was a great walk with water and greenery and lovely views. There was lots to see and we all really enjoyed it. We even managed to get our first mobile reception since Kalgoorlie.

After we had finished this and a shorter second walk we headed into Yalara to set up camp for the night. Unfortunately this was not quite as quick you would hope. Fiona stood in a very long queue for a very long time before we we were eventually allocated our campsite and set up the poptop. Luckily by now we were becoming quite proficient at a quick setup and the promise of a hot shower did not slow things down. Once again it was freezing. We were in bed early ready for the next day and Uluru.

The Outback Way - Perth to the NT Border

July 1st, first day of the school holidays and we were off. Not quite as early as some of our friends expected - but it had been a busy week. Our destination? Uluru via the Great Central Road also known as the Outback way. Here is a map of how far across Australia we went. Two thousand three hundred and sixty kilometers one way to reach our furthermost destination - Kings Canyon. Nine hundred kms of dirt road.


We had a lovely day for our drive to Kalgoorlie following the pipeline most of the way. The sun was shining with not a cloud in the sky. Little did we know that this was not going to last. We arrived at Kalgoorlie late afternoon and set up the camper with the ease of seasoned professionals. Only one problem - no lights inside, despite being on power. We did all the obvious things like check the power source and the fuses - nothing. At 4:55pm on a Friday Fiona decided the best thing to do was call Jayco for some help. We did manage to get someone but after suggesting checking the power source and the fuses he was out of ideas. So we did what we should have done in the first place - googled it. Then it all came back to us - the safety switch under the roof. We checked it and found it had got stuck. A bit of a jiggle and all was good again. We were very glad it happened in Kalgoorlie as we did not have phone reception between there and Yulara which would have been a long time without lights!


Next morning we were up early to check out the superpit. A very large hole indeed. It was freezing but luckily we were warm as toast in our down jackets and could shelter from the wind inside a handy piece of machinery!

After a quick coffee in town we were back in the car and off to Menzies. Menzies was much more charming that expected with a lovely lady in the tourist office who told us lots of interesting bits and pieces. She was however the bearer of bad news telling us that the excellent coffee we had been told of in Menzies would not be available as the cafe was shut for the school holidays. On her advice we had a quick look at the town grave yard which had some unusual headstones (made of tin) and headed out to Lake Ballard.

 At Lake Ballard we managed to secure a great campsite overlooking the lake. The day had become quite hot so we changed into some shorts and after lunch set out to explore Lake Ballard. We had been warned it could be very muddy so were happy to find it was relatively dry. That evening we had our first off grid camp in our (yet to be named) camper and cooked dinner on our trusty Weber Q. It rained in the night and the next morning we were very glad we had walked Lake Ballard the day before!

A bit soggy the next day

The mud begins

In light rain we packed up and headed down the muddy road back to the bitumen. We stopped in Leonora to get petrol and saw two cars that had just come in from the Great Central Road - not very reassuring. They were very MUDDY! But we were on the bitumen all the way to Laverton where we refueled and set off on our first bit of dirt. Fiona was nervous and even Rob entered into a discussion on whether this was a good idea. The rain was falling, the road was wet and the mud was flying. Roadworks around Laverton were not helping. After a bit of discussion we decided to press on and camp the first night at the Pines and reassess in the morning. Putting up the camper covered with mud was great fun!

Symi and Rob built a fire and the next morning things looked much better although we we still quite muddy and damp which made packing up the camper interesting. We headed off early. The road was much better and Symi and Rob saw a dingo. The bush was fantastic. It was lovely to see spinifex and the western woodlands. The country along the Outback Way was always changing and interesting to look at.  We stopped in at points of interest along the way admiring the flowers and the landscape. 

Symi enjoying the front seat

Next stop was Tjukayirla - "Most isolated roadhouse in the world". Like the other roadhouses along the way all the fuel pumps are in padlocked cages - one advantage is that you get the driveway service that has disappeared in the city. At Warburton we stopped for more fuel keeping to our decision to fill up when ever we could. Probably a wise decision as although we wanted Diesel they had no unleaded as the pump was broken. It was in Warburton we were told the story of the Mazda 121 which had come along the Outback Way - in the dry. I think this was meant to reassure us after the man giving us fuel called our car a low rider - not confidence inspiring!

Our next camp was at Yarla - a lovely spot where we all indulged in a hot shower courtesy of our new poptop. Then it was up the ridge behind the campsite to enjoy a picturesque sunset before retreating from the cold for dinner.

Enjoying an alfresco shower

Next morning we left the campsite early. All the canvas was wet from the dew and combined with the mud it made for a cold and dirty packup. We were glad we had refueled at Warburton as Warakurna Roadhouse had no diesel - broken pump. We enjoyed lunch and coffee at Giles Crossing and while up on a ridge spotted other cars in at what looked like a good campsite to use on the way back.

We were closing in fast on the Northern Territory Boarder. We were also closing in on the large circle on the Outback Way Guide (kindly lent to us by Katie and Jez) which indicated bad roads. This circle became known as the "Circle of Jez" (despite us later finding out Katie had drawn it!). It was all true. The roads got worse. We crossed the boader to find they were worse and WET. It seems that road design for drainage is not a priority in the NT. On arriving at the border we we surrounded by other cars. It seems the outback tours make a trip from Uluru to the boarder - a little over 200kms. This was good as we were able to get someone to take the photo above.

Coffee break on the side of the road

Kaltukatjara Campground

We decided to get fuel in Docker River before camping the night. We followed the sign and found ourselves on the worst kilometer of road for the whole trip. We could barely go above idle speed. We got fuel off a Japanese girl who had been working in Docker River for one day - we think - there was a bit of a language barrier. She will have some stories to tell when she gets home. We were relieved to find a new road had been built from the highway into Docker River (to replace the one we came on). Seems the signs are still to be done but the drive back to the camp was much better. Kaltukatjara Campground was 5km east of the border. We found a nice spot and set up. After Symi had done a bit of driving the car around the campground we had a walk and met some of our fellow campers. A bit like trekking in Nepal you see the same people around as they are travelling the same way. After another dinner cooked on the Weber we headed off to bed excited that tomorrow we would see the Olgas. Stay tuned for the next post!

Leaving on a Jet Plane

All my bags are packed/ I'm ready to go / ...

If only it were that easy to pack the bags, We were definitely ready to go, all that stood between us and leaving was packing.

Leaving Carlsbad early in the morning we headed back to LA to empty out the RV and hand it over the the new owners.

We had done a bit of preparation for the  the week before when we stayed at Octavio's. Octavio has a lovely big double garage but we don't think he would mind us saying that it was just a little bit cluttered. With over 150 kgs of luggage to sort out  + the extra that we were going to ship back we needed a bit of room to sort ourselves out. Before we left for Carlsbad Rob and Fiona spent a day as de-clutterers assisting Octavio to discover the floor of his garage. We sold things on the front lawn, sent things to the second hand shop and filled the amazing number of bins residents of Anaheim are issued with. At the end of this we were able to fit a car in the garage.

Coming back to Octavio's we were very grateful we had done this as we were able to quickly transfer all our things out of Marvey the RV and into the garage. We did one final clean and check before handing her over to the new owners with very mixed feelings. This had been our home for a year and it was not an easy goodbye. 

Last photo

Bye bye Marvey

Then it was onto the packing. We had bikes to clean, shoes to clean, boxes for bikes, boxes for shipping and more stuff than we thought possible. It was a lot of work and reminded us exactly how much work it had been getting over to the US in the first place. 

The day before we flew out Symi and Rob went to Knott's Berry Farm for a day of roller coastering. Fiona, having terrible motion sickness, wisely decided to give it a miss. The pace was frantic, Symi has a knack of getting out of a ride first. In the first hour we rode six roller coasters! The most frightening (read best) was the Xcelerator that went 0-132kph in 2.3 seconds! Then went completely vertical up, then down. Amazing and addictive. All the roller coasters in the park were sampled multiple times with short queues helping to totally wear Symi and Rob out by late afternoon. On the last roller coaster Symi was trying to close her eyes and rest her head against Rob, time to head off! Arriving back at Octavio's Fiona wanted a full report of the day, what she got was a adrenaline depleted and exhausted husband and daughter.

Fairy floss in front of the Xcelertor

Our last day in LA we delivered our shipping to the depot and went out to lunch with Octavio. With an 11pm flight we had a long day to fill. We had an uneventful trip to the airport having allowed lots of time to get there with all our luggage. Fiona had found a way to buy a reasonably priced 30 day pass to the Qantas Club so we made our way there and sat and toasted a successful trip. Only the eight hour wait in Brisbane airport to look forward to!    

The flight was uneventful until Symi woke up and decided she didn't feel well. Fiona found her a sick bag which was not needed and she fell asleep. Hours later after one mouthful of breakfast we were very glad we had found the sick bag! Very glad indeed as a search of all the surrounding seats did not reveal a second one which at one stage we were thinking we would need. Apart from not wanting any more breakfast Symi recovered well from this episode and we were soon on the ground in Brisbane 30' early.

Our charmed trip continued with an uneventful progression through customs (not a given when you have three mountain bikes with you). That achieved we were out ready for our next flight - in 8.5 hours. Rob decided to go and see if we could swap onto the 11am flight that we had been too scared to book on our frequent flyer points in case we missed it. No problems they said. Just pay us $2100 and the seats are yours. Suddenly a long wait in the Qantas Club looked financially appealing.

We went over to the domestic check in desk that was located in the international airport to book in the 2 of our 6 check in pieces of luggage that were not over-sized. There we met the lovely Marji who told us that if we took all our luggage over to the domestic airport on  the bus we might be able to find Garry who might be able to put us on the earlier flight. She could not book in our luggage as it would be for the wrong plane. We were just about to leave her desk when Fiona checked with Symi that she was feeling alright after the trip. As soon as Marji heard that Symi had been sick she was straight on the phone to Garry telling him all about the 'really sick young girl who had been vomiting all the way from LA'! Anyway the phone call worked and we were on the plane for the princely price of $0.00 a great improvement on the previous price.

Check-in was quick and after a quick shower and some breakfast we were on the plane and winging our way towards our final destination of Home Sweet Home.

It was so lovely to see everyone and get back into our house which was in great shape. Symi was beside herself with excitement at seeing all her friends

What a year! It all worked out even better that we hoped. We saw and did amazing things and met wonderful people. 

At the end of such a fantastic year you know you are really lucky when it is so easy to come home to family, friends and a great Perth lifestyle. 

That's it from the Wandering Waller's for now. It may be a bit of a wait until we accrue some holidays and can wander some more.

Thank for reading our blog.

Carlsbad and San Diego

We left Sedona very early on Boxing Day morning after a quick farewell to the understandably sleepy Washingtons next door. 

We headed south skirting around the west side of Phoenix and settled in for the long drive to LA. On the way we had our last crossing of the Colorado River and glimpsed the southern end of Joshua Tree National Park which was the first National Park we visited.

We also got our first sighting of the iconic Saguaro Cactus that you see in the all the western movies. The journey was long and Rob did a great job driving. 

We got to LA late in the day with a bit of time to start cleaning up the RV in preparation for the people who were coming to view it the next day. We had spent quite a lot of time over the previous week cleaning so mostly we just had to get all our junk out of the way. An easy task as we just put it all into Octavio's garage. Remember Octavio? He was our charming Air BnB host at the beginning of the year when we arrived in LA. We had arranged to stay with him again and enjoy eating his delicious food.

The next day we had a number of people organised to come and look at the RV. We decided Rob would do the selling and Symi and Fiona would stay out the way. The first family were keen to buy at $1000 below the asking price. We were relieved to know someone was prepared to pay this price but felt we needed to let the other people who were already on the way a chance to look at the RV. The first people were not prepared to offer any more and finally left with an offer of $1500 below the asking price at the end of the day. Hurried conversations between Fiona and Rob resulted in the decision to risk it and wait. Had we done the right thing?

The next man arrived but was not in a position to buy on the day and wanted to come back the next day with his Dad. Then another couple arrived who had traveled up from just north of San Diego and had arranged to bring a mechanic with them. The mechanic spent a long time under the RV and then advised the couple to offer the asking price, which they did. One RV sold for the asking price in a morning. What a relief! Even better they did not want it until the next weekend so we could head out for a few more days in Marvey. The buyers suggested we might like to try the beach at Carlsbad north of San Diego so we made a booking and headed off the next day.

The Carlsbad campsite was right on the ocean. We had a site one row back from the front. The first day we were there was one of the coldest they had ever had with locals commenting they were seeing snow on the mountains for the first time in many years. Needless to say it was pretty chilly especially down on the beach.

After a day or so it warmed up and we spent time walking and playing Frisbee on the beach. It was never that warm for swimming though and we once again realised what great beaches we have in Perth and Western Australia.

Carlsbad was just north of San Diego and we were right next to the train line. So we thought "Lets get the train to San Diego". Well there's an out there idea. We asked multiple members of the park staff where we could walk and catch the train. It was a bit like asking where the bus stop for the moon was. Finally we looked it up on google maps, found a station and decided to try and walk. Not an easy task as there did not seem to be a road that went through from the beach side and it was too far to walk around over the nearest bridge. After some trial and error we found our way - once you knew the way to go it was about a 10' walk!

Autumn Still happening.

San Diego was really interesting. We visited the State Park - Old Town San Diego and heard all about the history of the area. It was fascinating to hear that one lady who lived in the same house all her life had three nationalities without moving - Spanish, Mexican and USA. We spent a couple of hours on a great tour and then had a look around the old shops before walking to the Mission Hills area where after a bit of searching we had a great lunch. Fortified with food we then headed off again to walk to Balboa Park which was full of great buildings with a very Spanish feel.

Our legs were extremely tired by then and the rain that had been threatening was beginning to fall. We decided it was time to find a bus back to the center of town and then hop a train back to Carlsbad. As on the way the train ride was a scenic one with the track hugging the coast for much of the way.


Back in Carlsbad the next day it was time for New Year celebrations.Nature came to the party with a very nice sunset. The site in front of us was conveniently empty so we sat and enjoyed watching the sunset on a highly enjoyable 2014 - a year of travel and adventure for the Wandering Wallers.

New Years Day was spent hanging around the beach. We went for a ride north along the coast and found a nice place to drink a coffee in the sun. Rob promptly stuck up a conversion with a local who after 15 minutes invited us around to dinner. He even picked us up so we didn't have to drive the RV. When we jumped in his car we commented how fast it felt after so long in the sluggish RV. It was a great evening and our thoughts were well and truly turning to the pack up to get home.

The handover of Marvie

Three days before we flew out we drove the 90 minutes back to Octavio's house in Anaheim. We worked out in Australian dollars (the AUD had fallen significantly late in the year) that we had lost $100 on the RV over the year, something that we would have thought was a dream at the beginning of the year.

Watching the sun go down and about to spend the last night in Marvey

Sedona: The third time!

i40 just before the continental divide

Leaving Sante Fe we drove past an RV wash and decided the RV needed to look clean in case anyone looked at it. That night we stopped again at Sky City Casino and spent some time pouring boiling water into our grey water tank in an attempt to unfreeze it. This combined with a wire up the outlet pipe eventually allowed us to drain our near full tank. The next morning we woke to a few inches of fresh snow, so the chance of the RV staying clean were minimal once we hit the interstate. From Sky City the i40 rises 7300 ft to go over the continental divide, it wasn’t long before the snow resumed and started to get worryingly heavy. All of a sudden traffic on the interstate was very thin, trucks

xmas photo opportunity just off the i17

had slowed down and the left hand lane looked very dodgy for driving. The blessing was that there was no wind and it was all quite scenic. Before long we were up and over the pass, and the snow promptly disappeared. Arriving at Flagstaff for the night there had been no snow, even with it’s 6500 ft elevation. That changed overnight and we woke to six inches of fresh snow that was still falling. After a quick trip to Safeway for supplies we headed down the hill to Sedona. Fiona suggested we should take a Christmas photo of us in the snow, so we promptly jumped off the i17, found a perfect location and set up the tripod. Lucky we did because not long after the snow disappeared at 5000 ft. We arrived in Sedona late morning to a sunny and cool day. After all the snow driving the RV was filthy again! That afternoon Rob went for a quick ride on trail that was WET with the dirt offering velcro type grip. A real treat after the very dry and loose dirt that we rode two weeks earlier.

Rain equals wet rock, just trust that there is some grip

We were hoping that the only other Australian RVing family we had met all year, might turn up and spend Christmas in Sedona as well. Symi got her wish and the next evening Brett, Suzie, Maddy and Zac turned up and camped next to us. Rob was happy as well as Brett is a very keen mountain biker and great company on the trail. Of course you can always be braver on the technical Sedona rock when someone else is there. The next few days were spent with the boys riding and kids playing. Fiona and Suzie managed to talk frequently and escape for a few walks.

Kid's world in the Washington RV

 Christmas eve we managed a family walk on the Hangover Trail. On the way up the kids delighted in picking up the many sheets of frozen ice in the creek and smashing them on the ground, or heads! Rob had ridden this trail once in February, found the trail extremely intimidating and had not been

Climbing Hangover Trail

brave enough to go back since. Eventually Brett and Rob decided to ride the trail and spent plenty of time on Hangover picking the technical lines to bits and riding a few critical lines a few times. At the end they promptly re-rode the trail and developed a Hangover addiction, riding the trail like locals not tourists! After the Christmas Eve walk they rode the trail again. Then Christmas day managed to sneak in another lap which was to be Rob’s last ride in America. This would have to be one of the most technically challenging and fun trails ridden all year. In six months it was the first trail that Brett had re-ridden. Mountain bikers put this trail on your bucket list but it beware of its very justified double black rating and it is not for the faint hearted.

Some of the endless exposure on Hangover

Learning this section of descent on Hangover took some time
but was well worth the reward

Very brave single speed hardtail rider, cameraman (Rob)
found it more nervous watching than riding.

Crazy rock tech on Hiline, there is a sharp right
turn on the dirt or the choice of a large drop!

Christmas day came and Symi delighted in the many SMALL presents that Father Christmas delivered. Maddy was desperate to see snow on Christmas day, it did sleet for a little while but that was it. Maddy was to get her wish a few days later when a foot of snow fell on Sedona, very rare. The kids spent the day playing with their new toys and we had a game of ladder golf. Late in the afternoon we had a joint Christmas dinner of lamb (hard to find in the states) and baby back ribs with the Washingtons.

Top of Hangover, soaking up the vortex energy.

Getting a lift with Ken in his 57 Chev which is his daily driver.

RV Xmas dinner and great company.

Boxing day it was time to hightail it the 750kms back to Anaheim, our longest drive in a day all year. Fortunately we had been inundated with interest in the RV and had many seemingly serious buyers lined up to view the RV the day after.

Symi nailing a rock section on Grand Central

RV xmas, home made advent calendar and stocking.