This was going to be our first time camping, first time 4WD in the Western Australia outback and the first time we had to find a place to look after our two dogs Taffee and Fudge. Up until now we had family looking after them when we went away on trips or better still they have been on many pet friendly holiday’s with us.
To the airport in record time via the Dog Kennel
We have two dogs with the eldest being 7 years old. This would be their first stay in a kennel. We had to do a bit of looking around until we found a dog kennel we were happy to leave the dogs for over a week. We found one that was about half way from our house to the airport. It worked out perfectly. We dropped them off ( it was very quick and professionally managed ) and got to the airport in the same time it normally takes.
Backpacks and carry on
We parked in the long term carport which we had pre-booked online. We got the bus to the terminal and made our way to the terminal. We had decided to travel light and had a backpack each. We knew that space would be limited in Wayne’s 4WD so really did only take things we needed. We also wanted to test out not checking in and just taking a bag to “carry on”. While we had culled as much as possible we knew our bags were the right size but perhaps a little overweight. At worst we would have to check our bags in so we took our chances.
We boarded without a problem and our bags squished up easily and fit in the overhead compartments.
Bunnings for ratchet and cable ties
Wayne picked us up from Perth airport and we headed towards his house not far away. We stopped at Bunnings to get some more ratchets and cable ties. Both were important for strapping everything to the 4WD and roof rack.
We got to Wayne’s house towards the end of the afternoon and got straight into getting the camping gear out of the garage.
Piles and piles of stuff was placed on the ground around the 4WD ready for the tetris master to get everything in and on the roof rack of the car.
Nadine ( Wayne’s lovely partner) arrived home from work and we shared a nice cold cider while we chatted and watched the boys at work stacking and securing the stuff to the car.
Dinner in Fremantle and a stroll
Once the 4WD was packed we drove ( in another car) to Fremantle for dinner. It was a lovely way to see the city lights of Perth and suburbs. We ended up in Fishing Boat Harbor in Fremantle for dinner. We walked along the wharf past restaurants and cafe’s. The night was mild with lots of stars sprinkled across the sky.
We ate at Joe’s Fish Shack and had a table overlooking the magnificent looking boats and boardwalk with the night lights reflections on the water. We all shared some yummy stuffed prawns, fish,beer,wine and stories and headed off for a stroll through the city to check out the old buildings.
Exhausted and asleep
While most of the day was spent travelling I hadn’t had much time to think about what was in store for the week ahead. I was nervous and apprehensive about driving and camping in the outback. David and I really didn’t know what we were in for. A welcoming bed awaited us in the spare room where our heads hit the pillows and we slept…