Awe-Stralia

10/12/2025

WA- Gibb River Road.
When is the best time to travel this iconic road you ask ? -

Thinking of doing the Gibb River Road? Here's the best times to do it.

👉 May – June
• Road usually graded and open by early May, most creek crossings still flowing.
• Bell and Manning Falls flowing fast pack reef shoes for knee-deep walks.

👉 July – August (our pick)
• Clear days sit around 28 °C, nights cool for campfire.
• Dust settles after the first vehicles so the road smooths out.
• Book El Questro and Mt Barnett camps six months ahead.

👉 September – early October
• Water drops and temps climb past 35 °C; fewer rigs means easier camp spots.
• Some smaller falls dry up but swim holes stay deep.

👉 Wet season November – April (skip)
• Heavy rain closes gates, rivers rise fast, and graded causeways wash out.

Need-to-knows
• High-clearance 4WD only; on-road caravans stay on the blacktop.
• Fuel at El Questro, Mt Barnett and Imintji—carry jerries for the 300 km gap.
• Check Shire of Derby–West Kimberley road report the night before you roll.

Save this post & grab the full timing guide here 👇
https://saltandcharcoal.co/best-time-visit-gibb-river-road/

03/10/2025

Closing Page:
Due to other commitments, I’m looking to close this FB page/site.
If anyone wishes to take it over, please let me know or PM me. 😀

06/05/2025

NSW - Lake Cakora

“The Tree of Life.” After a big storm, the tea trees along the banks of Lake Cakora in New South Wales, Australia, color the water running off into the lake, hence the brown shade. The additional water flowing out of the lake has created this masterpiece.
📷 Derry Morone

23/12/2024

If you’ve ever travelled to remote parts of Australia you are likely to be aware of Len Beadell who put through roads such as The Gunbarrel Highway, Connie Sue Highway etc.

'FINISH ROAD RIGHT ACROSS.'

Len Beadell, a surveyor, road builder, and proud bushman, played a pivotal role in opening up remote desert regions of central Australia. Between 1947 and 1963, Beadell constructed over 6,000 km of roads, making previously inaccessible areas—covering approximately 2.5 million square kilometres—navigable.

His most famous achievement is the Gunbarrel Highway, aptly named for his efforts to make the road as straight as a gun barrel wherever possible. This remarkable route begins at Victory Downs homestead, 316 kilometres by road south of Alice Springs, and stretches westward to the Rawlinson Ranges. It skirts the southern edge of the Gibson Desert, passes through the mission at Warburton, and ultimately connects to an existing road at Carnegie Station.

Len Beadell, the man of the hour, faced a myriad of challenges on his journey to complete the Gunbarrel Highway. The weather was unforgiving, with scorching temperatures well into the mid-40s and relentless winds.

Despite these obstacles, Len pushed on, averaging between 4 and 5 miles daily. The final stretch was particularly gruelling, as he battled through thick scrub, sand hills, spinifex, and even encountered a snake in his bed!

Len Beadell and the Gunbarrel Road Construction Party made it to Carnegie Homestead, owned by the Doman family and managed by the Linke family, to complete the Gunbarrel Highway.

Len’s diary entry for 15 November 1958, a momentous day in the history of the Gunbarrel Highway, reads: 'FINISH ROAD RIGHT ACROSS.'

Image: By Len Beadell shows Doug Stoneham, Roy & William Linke at the end of Gunbarrel Highway at Carnegie on 15 Nov 1958.

28/11/2024

AUSTRALIAN PESTS - Cane Toads
Wouldn’t it be great to rid Australia 🇦🇺 of the dreaded cane toad‼️

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1AzoyBhsQk/?mibextid=WC7FNe

14/11/2024

The Thorny Devel with its own built in straws to syphon dew from its body.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/18AhBP1NRm/?mibextid=WC7FNe

Did you know that thorny devils (Moloch horridus) don’t just use their spiky armour for defence? They also use it as a straw!

Tiny grooves in the devils’s armour suck up dew that collects on the armour and water on the ground through capillary action, passing it to the devil’s mouth.

So, what other Australian animals have unique adaptions that help them deal with the country’s unique environment? Find out: ausgeo.co/animaladaptions

📷 Don Fuchs

19/09/2024

A warning for those not familiar with this plant … ouch!😩

Have you ever been stung by a Gympie-Gympie? If you have, you'd know!

Also known as the 'stinging tree', this is one of the world's most venomous plants and can cause months of excruciating pain for unsuspecting humans who come across them.

So, how does the touch of this plant cause so much pain? Find out: ausgeo.co/gympiegympie

29/07/2024

QLD: Australian animals have adapted to live in odd places. We all know of kangaroos and wallabies on the ground, but in the trees! 💕💕💕