19 Day Perth to Darwin Safari

 
Nadine Streifthau
February 2006
I was very satisfied with this tour operator, the guides are very friendly, engaged in their job and try to have fun with everybody, they know a lot, they prepare the food with enthusiasm, of course with our help. The whole tour is about living together in a team and that is a great feeling. It?s a good way to get to know each other also the small number of groups is perfect. We started in Perth, went to the Pinnacles, which was intersting to see, up to Monkey Mia, where we had the chance to see five wild dolphins for feeding in the morning, it was amazing to see them so free and happy! We visited Coral Bay, where you have half day for yourself, you can go snorkelling with the whalesharks (depending on the season), you can go diving, relax and go for a swim or make a beachwalk on this fantastic long white sandy beach where you will be able to see little sharks in the lower water very close to the beach. It was exciting to see about 200 sharks so close. Then we went to Exmouth for a night. After that we drove into the Karijini NP where we visited and jumped into many wonderful and refreshing gorges sometimes with beautiful waterfalls which was great fun!!! There we had two nights in the bush with a campfire and our guide gave us a little lesson about the stars. On the 80 Mile beach we saw only one turtle laying her eggs in the sand, cause we went to late on the beach; they are coming up around 8 to
9 pm which is a great wildlife experience to see!! So a short lunchstop in Port Hedland and then straight to Broome which is a very nice place to stay a little bit longer. A nice long beach also good for surfing, camel riding or barbies on the beach to watch the sunset. This tour with ATA is perfect to explore the westcoast, the overnight stays in the camping resorts are very good, you sleep always in a swag and in maybe your own sleeping bag, together with everyone on the floor, pretty cool. On this tour you have to be fit, you will walk a lot, you shouldn’t be to scared, just do it and be happy about what you did. It’s part of the experience, to challenge yourself a bit!!! You will also drive a lot, sometimes about 700 km a day, so you will need your one creation in enjoying your time on board with music, games and very important without a one and a half litre waterbottle you can’t start any walks, it is sooooo HOT and if you don’t drink enough you will get a headache, you will feel sick and have to go to the hospital and your holiday is over, some people don’t take that serious enough. Also you need good walking shoes and a lot of sunlotion and a hut!!!
From Broome to Darwin you need to be a bushwoman, four or five days without shower and toilet, the bush will be your best friend for these eight days ;o). That trip was the most impressive time for me in australia. I never was camping before and I had to experience a lot of not nice things I was not used to but all in one it is unforgettable and it is great to go back to nature and feel where we came from, where everything started and what it means to respect the nature and to live with the nature. The tour through the Kimberley is real australian outback and exciting every minute, a part of australia you can?t miss!!!
The tour from Darwin to Adelaide is great too, it gets hoter and hoter there, especially the walk in Kings Canyon is more than hot. Devil’s Marbles are interesting to see, also the Daly’s Water Pub, Coober Pedy, the Flinders Ranges are amazing too!