Elisha
2024 was the year that I finally made it over to Western Australia for the first time. I’d seen so many vanlifers rave about it being their favourite place to explore and now I truly understand the hype. However, the year started off much slower than I had planned with endless delays, but the decision to head west in my van certainly turned out to be a rewarding one.
I had a very different vision for the year coming into it, but sometimes life is funny like that, and you end up somewhere different than you thought. No complaints here though. I was able to see some amazing places, reached a major blogging milestone, and completed my second thru hike.
It’s always wild to look back at the last year; sometimes it’s only then that you realise how much you’ve grown and how far you’ve come, even if it wasn’t always smooth sailing. This is my annual year in review post, something that I’ve been doing for several years now, looking back at 2024 and ahead to 2025.
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Overview of 2024
Going back to look at my 2023 in review blog post, I’ve been reminded how different the year has turned out compared to what I had first envisioned. I really thought I’d spend the first half of the year in my van and then the second half of the year overseas again. But in January 2024, a few things changed for me.
My women’s group tours to India for mid-year didn’t go ahead; I had a few people cancel and others not wanting to commit with a deposit, so I made the decision to just postpone the trips indefinitely so I could focus on my own plans for the year.
I then had some personal health issues and van trouble in the first couple of months. It seems the both of us are getting older now and breakdowns are becoming part of the journey. By the time, I had myself and my van back together again it was already May.
After spending a couple of weeks in one of my favourite places (Great Ocean Road), I finally decided to head to Western Australia for the remainder of the year. This is when I really felt like my year began, but I’d still explored parts of Victoria up until then whenever I could. Let’s take a look at where I went this year, with a few ups and downs along the way.
January-February: Victorian High Country
It was my fourth summer in a row up in the Victoria High Country, so you could say I like it up there. After Christmas with my family, I left in the first week of January and headed to Gippsland to visit a friend.
From there, I headed up the Great Alpine Road and wrote a road trip itinerary based on my trip for We Are Explorers. I slowly made my way back home again in time for one of my best friend’s 30th birthday, stopping in Kinglake National Park on the way.
I left a couple of days later back up to the High Country. This time it was for the annual family High Country trip (mum, dad and I pick a remote area of the High Country to explore each year). We camped at the Howqua Hills Historic Area for a few days, and completed some day hikes including, The Bluff and Ritchies Hut, and took the 4×4 up to Mt Buller via Bindaree Falls.
We then headed up to Falls Creek and I took them on their first proper overnight hike up Spion Kopje to Ropers Hut. It was much harder than anticipated, and I’m not sure we’ve convinced dad to ever do another hike again (if you haven’t watched my YouTube video, I suggest you do for a laugh).
For the rest of February, I had a few appointments I had to attend, but managed to still complete an overnight hike at Baw Baw National Park and headed back up to Hotham to complete Mount Tabletop at Dinner Plain and Bon Accord track down from Feathertop.
March-April: Vanlife Frustrations
More appointments for both me and the van, March did not go according to plan. Usually, I would head off interstate at this point, but it was not to be. In between appointments, I did get to explore Rubicon State Forest and took myself down to Phillip Island for a week of solitude.
By April, I was feeling better, but multiple mechanics were not able to fix my van. My parents left for Europe for five months so I ended up staying at home for the month while van-less, with just a few short day trips here and there.
At the start of May, I finally got my van back (still not fixed though), but it was decided that it was safe enough to drive and I’d just have to find someone else to fix it at the end of the year… (this is still pending).
May: Great Ocean Road & South Australia
I was back in my home on wheels in the first week of May and I can’t describe how good it felt. It’s an immediate sense of peace for me in my van, and I was excited to hit the road. I headed west of Melbourne and visited three places that I’d surprisingly never been before: Lerderderg State Park, Brisbane Ranges National Park, and Werribee Gorge. It felt good to move my body again with some day hikes.
I then spent a peaceful couple of weeks down the Great Ocean Road in Lorne, where I met some other vanlifers braving the start of winter in Victoria together. A decision was finally made though, and I crossed over into South Australia with the intention of heading to Western Australia for the rest of the year.
June: Nullarbor Road Trip
I began the long road trip from Adelaide to Perth across the Nullarbor Plain in June. I’d never ventured further west of Port Augusta in South Australia, so it was new territory for me. The Nullarbor is one of those bucket list-worthy road trips, so I was filled with excitement as I headed out of phone service to cross the treeless plain.
I was in no hurry and really wanted to enjoy the Nullarbor. It took me nine days to drive from Adelaide to Perth, and I actually relished the trip despite being pretty tired of driving when I arrived.
I spent a few days exploring Perth with my friend Elodie who I’d met in Sri Lanka the year before, and then I headed up the coast towards Kalbarri.
July: Perth to Kalbarri
I spent most of July along the coast between Perth and Kalbarri, stopping at the little coastal towns and national parks along the way. The real destination though, was Kalbarri National Park.
While I had a pretty good idea that I’d like Kalbarri, it impressed me way more than I imagined. I spent a few days there exploring the park and the coast, wishing I had more time to head further north to Exmouth (another time).
August: Wet Weather
I made it back down to Perth at the end of July and some bad weather came in. Western Australia had experienced very little rainfall for the entire year up until this point, but for the month of August they received almost an entire year’s worth of rain in four weeks.
It was not only the rain but the relentless wind that hit the coast too. I spent many sleepless nights in the van feeling like I was inside a tornado (there was a night where the wind gusts were recorded at 106km/h!). There was not much to do but wait out the weather, so I hung around Bunbury and Busselton, luckily with the Olympics to keep me entertained in my van.
The Bibbulmun Track was on my bucket list, especially after completing the Heysen Trail back in 2022. It’d been two years since the Heysen and it really felt like the right amount of time in between long walks to feel the desire to do another one. I’d been daydreaming about thru hiking a lot over the summer, so I figured if I was in WA then there’s no reason why I shouldn’t do the Bibb. But the bad weather caused some flooding, and the Bibbulmun was partially closed by the end of August, and I thought maybe it wasn’t to be… until it was.
September-October: Bibbulmun Track & Cape to Cape Track
I felt like my mind was already made up about the Bibbulmun Track; I really wanted to do it. The weather would just have to come with the experience and I figured it couldn’t possibly be worse than the weather we had on the Heysen, could it?
I made the call to just get started on the track and hope that things improved. It was a rushed few days, but I managed to put together four resupply boxes to send off and arranged for my van to be stored near Perth, close enough to the start point at Kalamunda.
On the 27th August, I woke up to some drizzle but decided I’d still start the trail that day. I dropped my van off and was at the northern trailhead at 3pm to begin the big adventure. It was a massive relief when I hit the trail; after so much deliberation, no training, a last minute rush, and lots of unknowns about the weather, nothing mattered now but to walk.
I spent the next 48 days hiking the 1000 km long Bibbulmun Track from Kalamunda to Albany. The trail really humbled me, it felt harder than it should at times. But, it also made me realise how much I’d learned about myself over the last few years, as I managed an injury and was forced to be kinder to myself navigating the highs and lows of a long walk.
Miraculously, the weather was as good as you could ask for. I only walked in heavy rain once, and narrowly avoided two other bad weather days by taking well-timed rest days. I was really blessed with ideal conditions and the flooding had receded almost completely by the time I passed through to the south (with the exception of the Pingerup Plains which are always under water in spring). It was amazing to complete a thru hike with enjoyable weather and it made me think how different my experience on the Heysen would’ve been if only we’d had better weather.
I walked into Albany on 13th October. Despite knowing that my body needed some rest, I certainly felt like I could’ve kept walking if I had to; I wasn’t quite done yet. So, after a week off back in my van, I drove down to Dunsborough to hike the Cape to Cape Track.
This 130 km long trail is a spectacular coastal trail running from Cape Naturaliste to Cape Leeuwin along the coast near Margaret River. I walked the trail in 6 days, feeling even stronger than when I finished the Bibbulmun. Yet, I was a little tired at the same time and had a lot to catch up and work to get back to.
November: Southwest of WA
Back to my van once again, I planned to get it serviced before making my way back home to the east coast for Christmas. Of course, things didn’t go according to plan again. I found a mechanic in Bunbury who was familiar with Fiats and booked it in for a service.
They told me that my drive belts needed to be replaced ASAP (which had been causing the bad squealing noise when I started my van up in the mornings), but they couldn’t fit me in for another two weeks. My electric windows also hadn’t been working since I left Victoria, so they ordered a new switch component as well.
I stayed around Bunbury, basically camping in the same carpark and just trying to focus on getting work done. When it came time to get the belts replaced, they realised that the window switch part was wrong. So, I waited another few days for that to come in and it was still wrong… so I decided just to leave and fix it when I got home (dad has since fixed it himself).
I’d spent seven weeks in total in Bunbury; half of that time was spent waiting out bad weather in August and the other half was waiting for my van to be fixed in November. Honestly, it’s not a place that anyone would usually spend that much time, but it turned out to be the perfect place to be stuck for a while. When it came time to finally leave, it was one of those weird feelings of wanting to leave so badly, but also sad because of the familiarity I’d grown to really like about the town.
December: South Coast of WA and Back Home
I was clearly quite delayed in my return to the east coast, but I still had plenty I wanted to see on the south coast of WA. I headed first down to Denmark and then Albany, revisiting some places I’d walked through on the Bibbulmun Track.
Albany is an absolute gem and I loved everything it has to offer. From the Bald Head Hike and the stunning beaches to the Stirling Range National Park just an hour inland, I really made the most of my time there.
I then spent some time in Fitzgerald River National Park before moving onto my final stop in WA: Esperance and its famous beaches. Over nearly a week, I explored the coastline around Esperance town, including Cape Le Grand National Park. No matter how many times I’d seen images of the beaches there, it was still one of the most beautiful places I’d ever seen; it’s really jaw dropping stuff.
I finally left Esperance on 13th December aiming to get home in time for Christmas. I crossed the Nullarbor much quicker this time, melting in the 38-degree heat with no air con or working windows. The van and I rolled into the driveway at home on 20th December, just in time and with no major issues!
This Blog in 2024
During a time in which blogging is going through a tumultuous existential crisis, this blog has actually had an incredible year. One of my biggest achievements of 2024 was hitting the 50,000 monthly sessions requirement for Mediavine, the premier ad network for bloggers. This means that I now make a consistent weekly income from this blog through ads, which was a huge goal of mine.
Some stats from the year for Beyond Wild Places:
Total views: 569,000 (61% increase from previous year)
New blog posts: 29
Best month for traffic: September (71,000 views)
Top 5 Most Read Blog Posts from 2024
- The Great Ocean Road: Guide to the Ultimate Road Trip
- A Complete Guide to Wilsons Prom
- 20 Best Free Camping Spots in Victoria
- Hiriketiya Beach: A Guide to Sri Lanka’s Little Coastal Paradise
- Ultimate 2 Week South Sri Lanka Itinerary
As for my other work, I still maintained a consistent base of freelance copywriting clients, including Vanketo, Drink Tea Travel, and Lede Studio. Plus, I added regular content creation work for Amble Outdoors and other brands as well.
Looking Ahead to 2025
Considering my year in review last year was quite off the mark when it came to looking ahead for 2024, maybe it’s best not to suggest anything here. In reality, I actually don’t have any plans yet for 2025 anyway.
I’ll likely spend the next couple of months around the Victorian High Country as usual and try to get some more hikes in. But from March onwards, it’s really anyone’s guess where I go. All I know is that I’m happiest in my van, so I’ll be exploring more of Australia this year, maybe Queensland where I really haven’t explored properly yet? At the same time, I would love to get overseas again for a little bit, maybe back to Sri Lanka or a new country, probably later in the year? These are all possibilities and questions that I have constantly in my mind.
They’re all fortunate “problems” to have and as long as my van and I stay healthy, I’m happy. I am aiming to work on this blog more this year as it’s now forming majority of my income. I’d also like to get into more content creation work this year too, as I feel the possibilities are greater there right now, as opposed to copywriting. I’m excited where my work might go this year.
Thanks for reading and I’ll see you out there x
