We've been in Perth for almost two days now and most of the time has been spent online searching for the best method to see as much of Western Australia and possibly and end up in Darwin by April 2 when we fly to Bali.

We initially had two ideas. Buy or rent a car and drive. Seemed easy enough ... except buying a car in one state and selling it in another turns out to be very expensive and a huge hassle. Not something we really want to get into the middle of. So, renting seems like the next best thing, right? Well, it seems most rental car companies, and there are a ton of them here, either don't rent long distance vehicles, or if they do, there is a huge 'drop-off' charge at the other end. By huge, I mean over $1,000 just for the privilege of delivering a car to another state so they can turn right around and rent it to someone coming back to Perth. On top of this, they add very suspect charges like re-registration fees, etc. that don't make any sense to us.

We've looked into a tour operator called 'Easyrider' that has passes you can buy that allow you to travel from point A to point B and get on and off as many times as you would like along the way. Unfortunately, this time of the year, they only go as far as Broome and not to Darwin since it is the end of monsoon season and the off-road parts of their usual tours are inaccessible until April at the earliest.

So, it looks like we're settling in on either driving or taking Easyrider as far as Broome and then flying across to Darwin. The flight cost for the two of us is under $500 which is a lot less than the drop-off and other charges. If we drive, we then have to decide if we rent a campervan, like New Zealand, or if we just get a car and stay in backpacker hostels along the way. We've been weighing out both options but haven't decided yet.

Tomorrow we need to decide so we can get going, otherwise our schedule starts getting a little compressed. Seems we have two dates now that have become somewhat critical:)

When we leave here, our first leg will actually be south and east to visit the Margaret River wine region, Wave Rock, and a few other sites. On our return through this area, we are going to stop in Fremantle (Freo to the locals) for the 'Fremantle International Beer Festival'. Yep, they must have known we were coming. This region prides itself on brewing Australia's best beers, so we've decided to taste a few with the locals and see if their boasts are true:)

The second dates that have fallen into place (not so much by accident) is the coral spawning that takes place for about a week after the full moon in March. This will happen right as we are driving up the coast to the Ningaloo Reef. A spot that is known for the large number of Whale Sharks that visit this area every year like clockwork. What draws them to the area you might ask? Why of course, the coral spawning!!! I have been trying to see one of these mammoth creatures for years, and with any luck, this time I will finally get to.

Stay tuned for photos of all of it.

Eric & Val