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…and stopped by Cyclone Narelle!
After our stopover in south-western Western Australia and another visit to the BackpackerCars workshop in Perth, we set off for Darwin for the second time. Our Toyota had to go back to the garage again because the ball joints in the steering had significant play. Although you could drive around Australia like that, the car’s straight-line stability was anything but reliable. And, as is often the case, the car was in the garage for one technical problem, which was sorted out, but it ended up with two new problems. No idea what went wrong during that repair. Perhaps it has something to do with the age of the Toyota; as soon as you tinker with something, the next problem crops up.
It took two days before we spotted one of the new faults. Whilst investigating the problem, I (Tom) noticed several other issues that hadn’t been properly resolved or fixed. But to our relief, the car still runs fine. We can do without the interior lighting and other little lights. The only minor annoyance was that the two trip odometers in the instrument cluster always reset to ‘0’ when the ignition key is removed. But as already mentioned, the car runs fine without these gadgets, and we couldn’t be bothered with another visit to the garage.
We left the Perth metropolitan area via routes we were familiar with. We wanted to head north as quickly as possible and visit Ningaloo National Park and Cape Range National Park before the Easter holidays. All the campsites were already fully booked for this holiday period. We were also aware that a cyclone was wreaking havoc in north-eastern Australia, as well as the intense heat in the northern parts of Western Australia. We kept a close eye on the cyclone and the severe flooding in the east and north, secretly hoping that this weather phenomenon would not reach all the way to the west coast.
Unfortunately, things turned out differently than we had hoped. At a beach campsite, we were once again driven away by wild bees, and inland – a few kilometres from the coast – the flies were still everywhere. So we often had to retreat into our mosquito tent and wait until the sun disappeared behind the horizon. Fortunately, it gets dark very early in Australia, so we were still able to put our cooking skills into practice. Although the flies had gone by nightfall, the nocturnal creatures were immediately present. Thanks to the ultra-strong mosquito and insect repellent from ‘Bushman’, it was reasonably bearable.
In Yanchep, we visited the national park of the same name once again, where we were able to observe koalas, kangaroos and many other wild animals at close quarters in an almost park-like setting. We also stopped off again at the Pinnacles in Nambung National Park and were amazed at how the lighting conditions had improved over the course of a month. Fortunately, the crowds in the park were also smaller and there was no stop-and-go traffic on the gravel track through the Pinnacles stone desert.
We made our way away from the coast via side roads and tracks and visited a downgraded national park in the outback. It soon became clear to us why the vast former national park, located some 200 kilometres east of Geraldton, had been removed from the conservation programme; everywhere, minerals and ores are being mined with huge machines and entire swathes of land are being dug up. Over the next 30 years, every conceivable resource is set to be extracted from this area, so much so that a new railway line has been built specifically for this purpose. The adjacent areas remain under some form of protection, and considerable effort is being made to reintroduce native animal species. Introduced and invasive species are being culled using poison baits and shooting. Despite the poison baits and potential culling, you are allowed to drive your off-roader right across the area, and spacious camping areas offer a breathtaking bush camping experience.
After so much of the outback experience, where flies and mosquitoes kept us company into the night, Cyclone Narelle moved further westwards, flooding not only large parts of the Northern Territory but also the northern part of Western Australia. Even saltwater crocodiles were swimming in the settlements. We spent a lot of time online checking the countless forecasts for the coming days. To our dismay, the cyclone was heading our way. Along with extreme winds, heavy rainfall was also forecast, and the population was instructed to take certain protective measures urgently.
We are complete novices when it comes to tropical cyclones and what can happen in such a situation. The Aussies are taking it – as always – very calmly, and you can hardly sense any tension in them. Even the ever-rising price of petrol at the pump, which cost between 10 and 20 cents more a day as a result of the war in the Middle East, barely ruffled their feathers. Admittedly, we were seeing signs at the petrol stations more and more often stating that the desired product was currently unavailable. Even in the grocery shops, various products were already missing from the shelves. Things could get interesting for us travellers, and we suspect we’ll be at the back of the queue when it comes to getting fuel and food…!
To weather the approaching cyclone unscathed, we booked an affordable bungalow at a campsite for the coming days, so that the cyclone could swirl along the coast without harming us. So we headed back to the coast, where both the infrastructure and the wind speeds were expected to be somewhat lower, towards the accommodation we had booked in advance. The wind was already picking up, and sand was being whipped up from the vast fields everywhere. Even whilst we were still driving, we were contacted by the campsite and told that they couldn’t rent us the accommodation we’d requested; these little cottages weren’t suitable for cyclones, and as a precaution, all campers had been asked to leave the site. It came as quite a shock to us and we looked at each other in bewilderment, wondering where else we could go?
But even in Australia, business is not forgotten despite a dire situation; the campsite immediately offered us an upgrade so that we could safely see out the storm in a sturdy stone house. Admittedly, we had to dig deep into our pockets once again and spend a lot of dollars on this safe option, but as I said, we are novices when it comes to cyclones and tropical downpours, and our safety takes precedence over the adventure of the roof tent.
So we moved into our apartment and were curious to see what would happen next. At the campsite, many things had already been secured or cleared away as a precaution, but the strong winds failed to materialise. Had the forecasts led us astray? Once again, we spent a lot of time researching every possible scenario and what might happen next. The Western Australia warning website was also becoming increasingly specific and soon provided precise guidance on how to behave. Chantal’s warning app also responded with appropriate safety guidelines, even though everything was still calm outside. At regular intervals, we looked out of the window or stepped out onto the balcony, searching for the windy adventure. But nothing happened; just thick clouds, occasional light rain and little wind!
The night leading into Saturday, when the big storm was actually supposed to have passed through, was absolutely calm. In the morning, we jumped out of bed and looked out eagerly. But nothing! No fallen trees or torrential rain; just a rainy Saturday morning. Were we lucky, or had we simply gone to the right place?
Upon further investigation, we discovered that the cyclone had veered south-east about 250 kilometres north of us and moved inland. We were already out of the danger zone. However, all the roads around us were closed. The torrential rain inland probably pushed all the rivers to their limits, and the usually dry fords must be well and truly under water.
Well, now we’re hoping the roads will reopen soon so we can continue our adventure. We’re excited to see what adventures still lie ahead. 😊
Chantal and Tom / Late March 2026
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