Our Journey Continues from Melbourne to Perth!!!!
We are only around 6 months behind with this blog post but, as they say, better late than never. If you can’t remember where we ended last time on our journey, you can catch up here 👉🏽 ‘We finally got a camper van’. For those who can’t be bothered to read that blog, we will give you a clue, we got a camper van! Anyhow, we planned to drive from Melbourne to Perth and explore as much as possible along the way!
Wilsons Prom
We are under attack!!
We headed off from Melbourne and went south, to Wilsons Prom. It’s been our mission to see as many Australian animals as we can 🦘🐨 The last thing on our list, was a Wombat. Thankfully Wilsons Prom is famous for its wombat population.
We headed off on the road and arrived at Wilsons Prom camping grounds. It was our first real test for living the van life, we had only dreamed about it.
Throughout the days we hiked and cooked dinners early while it was still light. After we had done all the washing up, we got into bed to watch Netflix 🎥. It was absolutely beautiful in Wilsons Promontory, but it was very cold! 🥶
The first night in the van we were woken up by the whole van shaking. We were terrified as we had no idea what the hell it could be.
It felt like we were under attack!
It turns out one of Milly’s socks had fallen out and had gone under the van. A wombat crawled under our van in the middle of the night to try and get it.
Wombats are huge walking rocks and it was him 👆🏽 who was shaking the van. Living in a van seemed to be pretty easy at this point, we just had to factor in the wildlife.
After a successful two nights in the van, we worked out we needed a few more things to make our lives easier but over all, we were ready to start the 3,626km drive to Perth.
The Great Ocean Road
We fell in love 💙
After Leaving Wilsons Prom the next stop on the road trip from Melbourne to Perth was The Great Ocean Road.
We had completed the GOR a few years before but on a very tight time limit. This time around we had a lot more freedom. This road trip was one of our favourite parts of our first year in Australia and we were so excited to revisit it.
If you have ever visited Melbourne or the Great Ocean Road you will know that the weather can be very unpredictable.
Lo and behold that’s exactly how the weather was for our 3 days of exploring. From gale-force winds to clear blue skies and beautiful sun, we had it all. This time around we tried to stop in places we were unable to previously.
Click here to see our drone shots in our online shop
On our first visit to this destination, we fell in love with a little campsite in the Cape Otway National Park. We made sure to stay here one night as there is so much wildlife around.
This year was no different whilst cooking outside the van we were greeted by a very noisy Koala in the tree above. The next morning as we were leaving the campsite an Echidna casually walked in front of the van.
We were in our element as it was another Australian Animal ticked off the list. We decided to visit a few waterfalls before following the roads north to The Grampians. 💦
The Grampians
Ended on a flat note
On our first trip to Australia, we did not make it to the Grampians. Therefore we made sure we would not miss it this time. The original plan was to arrive in the Grampians National Park a day later than we did. But due to the weather, we set off a day early.
The rest of the week’s forecast for our road trip from Melbourne to Perth was rain, rain and more rain. Hiking up mountains in these conditions and not being able to watch the sunrise or sunset, was not ideal.
We opted for a whirlwind tour which consisted of 2 shorter hikes and 2 lookouts which were all amazing. Later that afternoon we managed to find a free campground along a 7km gravel road just on the edge of the park.
When we arrived here in the dark and after a long day of driving and hiking, we made some dinner and passed out.
A Day In The Grampians Guide – Click here
The Next Morning
As we arrived at the campsite in darkness, we had no idea what the surroundings looked like. We woke up and could see the campsite was located at the base of a huge mountain. We both looked at each other and were thinking the same thing. How amazing would the pictures be whilst flying the drone through the clouds?
The campsite was quite busy as it was currently school holidays and we didn’t want to cause too much of a commotion. As soon as we took the drone out of the bag, some kids nearby spotted it and came over to watch. We flew the drone up and away from the camp and towards the mountains and the clouds.
Then suddenly something happened to our drone. It was at this point where our stress levels went from “OMG this is amazing to, I don’t care let’s just get out of here!!”
Something had gone wrong with the drone and we could no longer see where were we flying. I thought we had lost the drone forever. I turned around and admitted defeat to Milly, which she didn’t accept. She got out of bed to help me as I was convinced that we had lost the drone. 😞
After a stressful few minutes, which seemed like forever, she had managed to spot it hovering in the clouds and we visually brought it down safely.
All the while the kids were asking to fly it and see the pictures but Milly managed to control them somehow.
The drone was now safely in its bag we decided to make breakfast and head off. That’s when one of the kids pointed out that one of the van’s tyres was as flat as a pancake. Whoever said being an adult is fun, THEY ARE WRONG!
Melbourne to Perth – Adelaide
Let’s get NAKED
We crossed the border into South Australia from Victoria with no problems. We stopped off beforehand to get a replacement tyre and do some washing.
The road between the border and Adelaide is pretty uneventful but, once we reached the city we found an amazing campground 15 minutes from the city centre. The couple who ran the campsite were English and had lived previously in Western Australia.
We were only planning on spending a night or two here, but we ended up extending it to 3 nights. This campsite had an oven which was a luxury to backpackers. Milly and I met lots of other backpackers along with their vans and 4×4, which was great. We were able to share stories about our van life experiences so far over a cuppa.
The last day was spent planning our journey around South Australia which mainly consisted of the Eyre Peninsula. The one thing that we will never forget about our time in Adelaide was, how bloody cold the last night was.
From a day temperature of 28 degrees to waking up with frost on the ground, we hadn’t planned for that. The next morning we purchased an extra blanket and set off to explore South Australia.
Melbourne to Perth – On the road again
I had told Milly I had found a good campsite a few hours out of the city near the coast. She didn’t think to question my choice of campsite and we arrived later that afternoon.
We met the very pleasant site owner and he pointed us in the direction of our camping spot. We drove along a gravel track and reached the gate. It was at this point I couldn’t stop laughing. It took Milly about 20 seconds to realise what was happening.
Yes, I had checked us into a nudist camp!! Before you ask, yes there were mixed communal showers and toilets. Luckily this was to be our only encounter with a nudist camp on our road trip from Melbourne to Perth. We didn’t last here long due to the scorpions and flies.
It was unbearable to be outside the van but too hot to be inside. We left and headed to a campsite closer to town, which was much better. Both are still fully clothed!
Find Out What’s In Our Camera Bag – Click here
South Australia
It’s too big to fit in…
Our road trip continued from Melbourne to Perth through the amazing state of South Australia. We headed along the Eyre Peninsula towards the town of Port Lincoln The only thing we new about this town, was that it was the only place in Australia where you could cage dive with Great White Sharks🦈
Before we reached Port Lincon we stayed in a free camp in a small town called Iron Knob. This town was the worst for kangaroo road kill. As a rule of driving in Australia, you should never drive at night.
Due to the sheer amount of kangaroos that love to jump out in front of you. We spent the day in Port Lincoln before heading west towards Coffin Bay and away from the sharks!
Coffin Bay is famous for its Oysters, so of course we had to do an Oyster Farm tour. Read about our hilarious experience HERE. “Its too big to swallow” – Milly’s first reaction to eating oysters.
After our tour, we headed to Greenly Beach rock pools. After some perseverance against the tides and wind, we made it to the famous Rockpool. We had the entire beach to ourselves and spent hours running around, chilling and swimming.
There is free camping on the beach edge here but due to the gale-force winds, we decided it wouldn’t be very enjoyable. However, before we left we spent an hour or two, doing what we love most, TAKING PHOTOS! Check out our photo shoot shots below 😏
We headed back into town where we had found a small gravel track we could hide in, and camp for free. The next morning we packed up the van and continued our drive along the South Australian Coastline until we reached the town of Ceduna.
Read Our Greenly Beach Guide – Click here
Melbourne to Perth – The Nullabor
A whole lot of nothing
The Nullabor is the next major step in our Melbourne to Perth road trip. When you talk to other backpackers or even Australians and you say “The Nullabor” you get one of two types of reactions.
The first is a face of madness followed by the words ‘you know how long it is’ or ‘there is a whole lot of nothing there’.
The Nullabor is approximately 1675km long and takes approximately two days to cross. The name Nullabor originated from the Latin terminology nullus arbor meaning ‘no trees’ because quite literally you are lucky to see any surviving trees along this desert plain.
It is the bottom of Australia, If you look close enough you can see Antarctica. 😏(Not really)
For us, The Nullabor was mainly a dessert plain with nothing to see. Apart from one small stretch of road that runs between a salt lake.
The lake is called Lake Mcdonnell and it’s probably the most amazing lake we have ever seen. With one side bright pink and the other an amazing blue. We took a few shots here before heading to our next camp spot on the border of Western Australia.
Little did we know how amazing this small detour would turn out for our photography in the long run.
Western Australia
A New State
The night before we crossed the border into Western Australia, we stocked up on supplies from the supermarket. We knew there were no shops around and all the service stations were going to be ridiculously expensive.
Advise for anyone crossing the board don’t stock up on fresh food!
We have crossed 5 borders previously in Australia and had no problems. However, at this border, the guy in the booth asked if we had any food. We said yes and the next thing we knew he was searching the entire van for food.
It turns out you are not allowed to bring fresh produce across the border (the imaginary line across the middle of the desert). He gave us two options, eat as much as we could now or throw it in the bin.
The next 30 minutes were filled with us stuffing our faces with as many bananas and cheese sandwiches as we could. We admitted defeat and handed over our brand-new groceries.
Time Travel
Did you know there are 3 time zones in Australia? ⌛ We crossed two of the time zones on our road trip from Melbourne to Perth. Finally, across the border, we got ready for our 9-hour drive ahead. It was then we suddenly realised we had just gained one and a half hours.
The upside to this was, we were able to drive for around 11 hours instead of 9. The downside was we were exhausted by the end of it 😴
We headed for the famous 90 Mile Straight. As you probably guessed it is a stretch of road which is 90 miles long and dead straight. It is the longest straight road in Australia and one of the longest in the world. After completing the Western Australia side of the Nullabor within the day, and decided to head straight to the coast.
Esperance
Later that night we arrived in the town of Esperance. We found a layby just out of town and set up camp. The next morning we headed into the Cape Le Grand National Park. This is where you find Lucky Bay and get shots of kangaroos on the beach like this.
Melbourne to Perth – The Whitest Sand
We spent 3 days in Lucky Bay, and although the weather wasn’t great, the landscape made up for it. The beach had the whitest sand we had ever seen.
There were families of kangaroos chilling on the beach, and hiking trails winding through the cliffs leading on to the next bay.
Our time here went quickly and we were sad to leave. We were around three-quarters through our road trip from Melbourne to Perth, but on our last day, we had a tough choice to make.
The original plan was to continue along the South West Coast for the next few weeks until we reached Perth.
But with funds starting to run low and after a few calculations, we decided to end our road trip here and drive straight to Perth. Our theory was we could find work that week and save for a month or so before completing the rest of our adventure.
Perth
All we need is a bit of luck
We made it! Our road trip from Melbourne to Perth was nearly over which was a sad thought. For the last 6 weeks, we had been living in our little camper van and become very fond of it. Along with spending most of our time in remote towns and beaches, it was going to be a shock arriving back in a city. We had a plan though, all we needed was a bit of luck with finding some work and we would be back on the road in no time.
The first 5 days in Perth were stressful, to say the least. There were no cheap campsites in the city. To hold onto the little money we had left, we opted to camp illegally around the city. This normally meant finding a car park with lights to make dinner in.
Then at around 9 pm, we would drive around the back streets of the city looking for the perfect spot. To us, the perfect spot was a dark residential street with cars and vans parked on the road. We thought we would blend in more and just hoped the residents didn’t realise we were sleeping in the van.
The Best Brunch Spots In Freemantle – Click here
Vanlife in the city
That was the easy part! When you are in your house, you take the toilet for granted. When you live in the back of a van with nothing more than a mattress, all you worry about is “what happens if I need a shit. ” So this was another thing we had to factor in. Trying to find somewhere close to public toilets or a shopping centre we could drive to first thing in the morning. Anyway, you get the idea! A large portion of our day was filled with finding places to shower, cook, sleep and use free wifi to search for jobs.
I had recently spoken to a friend who was in Melbourne and told him to ask his company if they had offices in Perth. This is where we had our first little bit of luck.
He sent an email to the company (filling up and emptying claw machines in arcades) and got a response about 30 minutes later. After a quick Skype interview the next day I got the job.
Milly had also applied for a job with a company called Hello Fresh. The job was horrific: knocking on people’s doors and trying to get them to sign up for a box of food in 30-degree heat is not fun.
Milly got the job and I decided to work there too for a few days before I started my new job. The best thing about working for Hello Fresh was we made a lot of new friends.
The job was laid back and you could get away with not doing anything. Although that would mean you didn’t earn any money.
Melbourne To Perth Complete
Things are looking up
After two weeks Milly couldn’t take Hello Fresh any more. She was working for commission only and 12-hour days which meant she didn’t have time to search for other jobs.
I could see she was hating it and I received my first pay cheque so I told her to quit. Whilst I was at work Milly spent the whole day in the library applying for jobs.
We repeated this for the next 21 days. Whilst travelling and being unemployed is fun, being on your own, living in a camper van all day for 3 weeks, takes its toll. Milly started to feel down and alone and I could tell.
Milly had a few job offers but once they realised she was a backpacker and only had 5 months left on her visa, they would turn her down.
It was then the week before Christmas and no one was hiring so we decided to forget about work and enjoy the few days I had off.
Our Guide To The Lancelin Sand Dunes – Click here
We received a message that night on Instagram from a couple that were from England and were arriving in Perth on Christmas Day.
They had seen our own Instagram stories from Perth and took the brave decision to message us. They asked if we would hang out with them on Christmas Day as they would not know anyone, or where to go.
Being the loving people we are, we agreed to meet on the beach on Christmas Day afternoon, an Australian tradition.
Without going into too much detail, it ended up being one of the best decisions we made whilst travelling. Meet our new Mum & Dad, Brad & Roisin.
Melbourne to Perth – A New Year
Christmas was over and Milly still didn’t have a job, so we decided that we would have to leave Perth. We looked elsewhere for jobs, ideally working together and with accommodation included.
The next few days we both spent our days scrolling online applying for any jobs that were taking more than 2 people and an option for accommodation onsite.
Our Airbnb on Christmas Day! ($100 for two nights) Cheaper than a hotel!
In the meantime it was Milly’s birthday and she had told me she wanted to visit Rottnest Island, the home of the Quokka 🐻 We asked our new friends Brad and Roisin to join us and had an amazing day. Our next Journey post will dive into that day in more detail.
It was on a Thursday when we struck gold. A job application was posted online looking for a couple to work in the bakery on Rottnest Island.
I saw the advert had only been posted 10 minutes earlier. I didn’t even ask Milly if we should apply, I just sent the email. Within the hour we had a trip booked over to the island for the next day. We completed our 3-hour trial and secured our new jobs starting the next week.
Finally, we had some good luck. Our Melbourne to Perth Road trip was complete and we were moving to Rottnest Island.
Read Our Rottnest Island Blogs below
Rottnest Island Guide 101
The Secret Spots On Rottnest Island
A Rottnest Island Itinerary
Finished our Melbourne to Perth Journey
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Living on Rottnest Island – Our Journey Is Next
Very fond memories indeed! Counting down until we can do our next road trip 🚐