THE BIG DASH: Walking with dinosaurs

We’ve been on the road again this week.

We’ve wrapped up our very enjoyable time in Broome, hooked up Tas to the MDC and headed 200km up the Dampier Peninsula to Cygnet Bay Pearl Farm at Cape Leveque.

It’s pretty bloody remote, something that was reinforced to us when we stopped for a break about three-quarters of the way into the trip.

A Mitsubishi Triton pulled up for fuel with far too many people stuffed into the cabin and tray. The blokes in the back were sitting in those collapsible camping chairs. Barbed fishing spears were sticking out the back.

It’s difficult to tally up just how many fines a Victorian Highway Patrol cop would have handed out here.

But this is a different place, and it feels like a different time too. It’s slower, more relaxed and more connected to the environment around it than our east coast urban norm.

It’s definitely having an impact on us, chamfering away the anxieties and pressures of modern life. I wouldn’t say we’re completely relaxed yet, but we’re getting there.

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I mentioned recently that curiosity about the Kia Tasman had wound back.

But in the past week or so that trend has reversed. I’ve been engaged at least once a day, and often more, about Tas.

The scenario always starts pretty much the same. A bloke – it’s always a bloke – wanders up and asks, “That’s the Tasman, right? How’s it go?”

As I’ve mentioned before, everyone recognises it. Kudos to the Kia launch program, it really worked.

But from there things get a bit hazy. It’s amazing how many people think it’s either electric or a plug-in hybrid.

I had one bloke swear blind he’d just read a test criticising it because it could only travel 48km as an EV. I could not convince him otherwise.

The styling is drawing plenty of approval. People say they like it, especially with the canopy giving it a more muscular look.

Yep, Kia people, I’ve taken down all the names and phone numbers, so you can reach out with an offer too good to refuse.

The funny thing is when we get down to the nitty gritty of these conversations, people expect me to be adulatory about the car.

They think I own it, and when I don’t start with “I love it”, or “It’s great”, or “Ignore what those dickheads in the media say, it’s brilliant”, they are clearly a back.

I’m honest about the engine’s shortcomings and the modifications we have had to make to the suspension, but then go on to praise its cabin and driving manners.

Usually I say it’s competitive with most utes and a great first effort.

I also usually tell them I don’t own it, what I do for a job and that I’m conducting an extended test.

Then they start telling me how good their Toyota is!

Anyway, to the task at hand. After a couple of weeks playing suburban runabout in Broome, it was back to towing duties out to Cygnet Bay.

Predominantly flat running – although there were some rises and falls – on bitumen gave Tas a chance to get into its work. The journey was capped by a short section of red dirt into the property from the highway.

Apart from the entry to Rawnsley Park in the Flinders Ranges back in April, this was our first run of just about any length on dirt. Taking it very easy ensured no dramas or breakages.

Tas behaved well as usual. The longer the run the better, so you don’t have to repeatedly extinguish all the bings and bongs. That’s one thing about urban runabout duties I don’t miss!

So to this week’s fuel numbers, which are actually two weeks covering our time in Broome and the return trip to Cygnet Bay:

Litres consumed: 215.03
KM travelled: 1302km
Consumption average: 16.515L/100km
$ paid: $519.47 (best price paid: $2.305 per litre)
KM per $: 2.50km (Was 2.02km per $ last week)

After weeks in the remoter parts of north-west Australia, Broome proved very much a return to modern civilisation and all the conveniences and irritations it delivers.

Love the food choices – we had some great meals – but hate the traffic. They have gridlock here?

One of our favourite experiences was Sun Pictures because we love going to the movies. It looks indoors when you walk through the front doors, but the seating and screen are outdoors.

And it’s under the flight path to Broome Airport, so every now and again a jet roars only a few hundred feet overhead. It certainly adds another dimension to the viewing experience.

But did you know Broome and surrounds are a world epicentre for different types of dinosaur footprints? So much so there’s even a boat tour to a beach on the far side of Roebuck Bay where they are obvious.

Jane being a big dinosaur fan, we just had to go. And it was undoubtedly a blast. We were shown the footprints of a Brachiosaurus (the big plant eaters) that have remained embedded in the rock for 120 million years, even as the action of the bay’s huge tides has washed away the surrounding stone.

Jane even got to stand in one footprint as our host Myles enthusiastically explained exactly what we were looking at. This beach is only accessible by boat and with permission from the indigenous owners, hence the tour.

After the beach the tour also included a trip up Dampier Creek and some champagne to wash down nibbles as the sun set. All very memorable.

Our second boat trip of the week was just as memorable as the first for entirely different reasons. The huge tides in King Sound create enormous whirlpools as the waters rush, tumble, intersect and clash.

We went out and checked them out while staying at Cygnet Bay. Our skipper Willie expertly dropped us into some whirlpools and then teetered on the edge of others that would have been too big for even his powerful boat to cope with.

It was all very exciting and, for some onboard, perhaps a bit too exciting. We then checked out Waterfall Reef, which rises out of the Sound as the tide ebbs. Less edgy but still amazing.

The scenery out here at the end of the Dampier Peninsula is stunning and you get a very different perspective from the water. A friendly dolphin even raced us back to base at the end of it all. Noice.

Last week I was complimentary about the vast bulk of the Series 2 update MDC has delivered to the Forte SR line-up. Our van is officially now out of date, but that’s life.

However, there’s one update MDC can’t deliver to the new Forte or any other of its Chinese-built vans. Width.

Months ago I detailed the pains and process Jane and I went through in changing from our original plan to buy a second-hand Aussie-built and instead opting for a new Chinese-built (well, partially China-built to be accurate) MDC.

In that feature I quoted Chris Polites, the boss of the JB Group, which makes JB, New Age, Traveller (and soon Network RV) caravans. He extolled the local product’s wider body as one of its key advantages.

“Our vans are built for purpose for this country. Our vans are a foot wider simply because they [imports] can’t fit them in the shipping container,” he told me.

At the time I thought he was grasping at straws. Does a foot really make that much difference? After three months living on the road my skepticism is gone. He’s right.

It came home to me after some friendly fellow travellers parked next door invited us in to check out their Urban caravan (it was called an Xtreme or an Xcite or something like that).

It was almost exactly the same length as ours and had the same couples layout with an island bed, full kitchen and bathroom/laundry.

When we got inside I thought our MDC stood up pretty well design-wise. For instance, I still like our L-shaped lounge better than their café set-up. But jeepers, the extra room to move!

In our MDC, Jane and I have to co-ordinate our movements along the 'van, but there was no such issue in the Urban. It felt like you could play a game of footy in there.

It’s liberating... and I felt deeply envious.

There were also deeper drawers to store stuff, something we’ve chronicled previously as being a challenge because we brought too much with us on this trip.

There are downsides. Wider 'vans take up more road room, catch more wind and therefore contribute more to fuel consumption. They need that tiny bit more room when manoeuvring.

But the obvious impediment is price. The Urban we were looking at was somewhere north of $130,000, or more than double the cost of our 'van. It’s a better caravan than our MDC, but more than twice as good?

But clearly, based on our experience up here in north-western WA, the pricing of these big Aussie 'vans isn’t a major issue.

There are hundreds of Lotus, Titanium, Kokoda, JB and other high-end local 'vans being hauled by 300 Series LandCruisers, modified 79 Series, Silverados and RAMs. Monster $300,000 set-ups.

We’ve seen few MDC or other big-selling Chinese brands such as Snowy River up here.

So while the Chinese vans are making inroads, it’s clear the Australian brands still command some very lucrative territory when it comes to the big spenders on the road for long periods.

After two weeks at Tarangau, the shift to Cygnet Bay Pearl Farm was quite the change.

From the almost metropolitan vibe of Cable Beach and Broome to the remote wilderness of Cape Leveque. And yet, despite the location, there were still many creature comforts.

The restaurant served ripper fish and chips (Spanish Mackerel – yum!) and had a decent wine list.

There was a pool to cool off in and the caravan park itself offered proper amenities (could have been cleaner, just saying) along with permanent power and potable water.

One nod to location was that each pair of 'vans shared a tap because of limited water supplies.

As contentious as that potentially sounds, we had no issues with our neighbours. We both relied on our tanks and only hooked up hoses when topping them up.

There were also plenty of activities - we’ve already mentioned the whirlpool boat ride - including a tour of the pearl farm’s facilities, which have been in operation for 80 years. They’ll even sell you a pearl (shock!).

But there are also reminders of the remoteness. For example, you swim in the pool rather than the beach because there are crocs and sharks in the water.

Speaking of crocs, we took the trip up to the end of the road at Ardyaloon and found ourselves at a boat ramp overlooking King Sound and the Buccaneer Archipelago.

A car pulled up as Jane wandered close to the water’s edge and the driver advised her to step back. A five-metre croc had been spotted just offshore only 10 minutes earlier! And she had the iPhone video to prove it!

We stepped back and enjoyed the sights from a much safer location.

One Arm Point marked the end of the road north for us. From this point we’re heading almost inexorably south. There will be a detour or two, but the objective is to be in Perth in August.

First though, there are some homesteads and station stays to investigate, along with some small coastal villages well off the beaten track...

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