Our WA Dealer David Goulding took the family for a beachside test trek to compare the new 2.6m Bedouin Awning with the standard Kimberley 2.4m wide Awning and walls. He also took the new Quad Pod and got quite a surprise at how it changed the camping routine!
Located 496 km south east of Perth and 183 km east of Albany, Bremer Bay is a quiet little village. It’s location on some of the most beautiful coastline in Australia, and its isolation from the more developed seaside resorts, has made it one of those places which people speak about in whispers hoping that the hordes never get to find out about the attractions of this tiny settlement. However it is estimated that the permanent population of about 100 people can increase to up to 3000 in the peak season.
The first Europeans to make contact with the area were Matthew Flinders who, in 1802, sailed the Investigator along the coast charting its beaches and rugged cliffs as he went. By the 1820s the whalers and sealers who hunted in the southern ocean knew of Bremer Bay and used it as a stopover point.
In 1841 Edward John Eyre passed through the area having being revitalised at Thistle Cove (near Esperance) after traversing the Nullarbor Plain. Eyre and his Aboriginal companion Wylie made the journey from Thistle Cove to Albany in late June, 1841.
The first European settler into the area was John Wellstead who arrived in the 1850s and built the two storey stone homestead which still stands near Tooleburrup Hill about 7 km south of Bremer Bay. It is still owned by members of the family and is not open for inspection.
The township (if it can be called that) came into existence with the establishment of telegraph station in 1876. The first operator was Mary Wellstead who was probably the first female telegraphist in the country.
On the 8th of January 2006 we drove 7 Hours South East from Perth to a turn off several kilometres West of the Bremer Bay Township on the main road.
It took 3/4 of an hour to drive down to a special beach through some very dense coastal vegetation. This vegetation closed in the track that was mostly firm sand with intermittent limestone, scrapping our Nissan Patrol as we went. No damage was sustained at a speed of 5-20 Km's/Hr.
We travelled on the beach with our tyres down to 18psi.
We selected Kimberley Kampers’ new SportsRV with the Quad Pod and the new Bedouin Awning for the test on the beach. It was great to have three other Kimberley Kamper owners on the test with us.. Ray Carter and Peter Mercouvich travelled with us with their 2005 Kimberley Kamper Platinum's and Keith Connors with his 2003 Kimberley Kamper Classic.
The possession of a satellite phone, CB radio, and an electric bull bar mounted winch between us all, gave us security and peace of mind to get out of difficult positions if needed. This trip was made memorable by being able to camp very comfortably in our Kimberley Kamper on a wide section of beach overlooking the Southern Ocean 100 metres away with huge rolling sand dunes just to the West of our site.
A large section of Reef is only 150 metres off the beach and runs parallel until it reaches a Lagoon to the East, making fishing and snorkelling very safe for kids. This spot is known for some great beach fishing.
We got most excitement out of the 4x4 Quad bikes that we took with us exploring the huge sand dunes. We were exceptionally careful not to disturb the grass and the environment and stuck mainly to the beach.
Our boys just loved it, being very careful not to roll over the bikes. These are experiences that kids simply do not get in the cities. When the weather turned bad for a couple of days we were all very happy to bunker down inside our annexes chatting, laughing, playing chess, cooking, reading, watching DVD's etc, etc.
It was interesting to note that most people gravitated towards the New Bedouin Annexe on as everybody could get together inside with room to spare. A high light for the day would be the mandatory bike ride with our love ones on the back seat to the top of the highest peak of a near by sand dune, to watch the sun set. There, we would make a toast to "another day in Paradise" as we opened a bottle of our favourite Red. Fantastic!!
We were ALL able to be self sufficient in our Kimberley Kampers with plenty of water storage, battery power, generator and gas for a week.
When it came time to leave it was interesting for us to have to find another way out, as the lower lying areas became flooded and i didn't want to take the chance without a Snorkel to protect the engine on my Nissan Patrol.It was definitely safety in numbers coming out.
The trek proved to me:
- the ease by which I could tow my KK along the beach
- the size and comfort of the Bedouin Annexe
- the weather proofness of the Beduoin Annexe
- the extra fun of taking a 4x4 Quad bike
The loading of the Quads onto my Kamper and the other tow vehicles quickly brought to mind that this was the end of another great camping trip in our Kimberley Kampers.
David and Helen Goulding- Camper Trailers WA
