8greatEscapes

The 8greatEscapes series is made up of our Chairman Chris Pyes' all time favourite WA drives..

We are working through these webpages and updating them all the time to bring them up to date with new attractions and promotions and we are currently updating them to take account of Tourism Western Australia's Extraordinary Taxi Ride promotion which is an excellent initiative.

Most of their itineraries were very like ours so we have adjusted ours a little so that our clients could more easily plan a greatescape using both resources.

We chose the trip north from Perth to Exmouth to be our Greatescape #1  and named it "Escape to Ningaloo".  We have produced a DriveWA Internet TV series, an interesting book has been written about the shooting of the series (which will soon be published) and these webpages completed all of which are designed to help you plan a self - drive holiday that is ideal for you - so that you will really enjoy your time driving around Western Australia within the many options that exist. 

You can use our itineraries as a complete template or break them up into a number of shorter holiday drives or just use them as a starting point for your research - from which you can make up your own personalised greatescape with our itinerary building software.

Sometimes the 8greatescapes series will take you to a regions' iconic destinations and sometimes to some of the unique places along the way that you would not find if you just drove along the main highway.

Our theme for this series is:

    .."Don't drive fast...don't drive past....come in and have a look at the real Western Australia!"  

Some of the very best experiences we enjoyed whilst researching and designing these 8greatEscapes (and filming the webisodes for  the DriveWA ITV series) came when we saw a side road and slowed down and turned in to have a look.  

The footage I like best in the first couple of webisodes is of a pair of dolphin playing with a fish which we shot less than a hundred metres off the beach.

We stumbled over it doing exactly that - we were just meandering along the Indian Ocean Way at about 80km keeping an eye out for something interesting and suddenly there it was - we did not know what we were looking for till we found it!

Now leaving the main road is quite safe if (like we do) you prepare properly for the trip and you know what you are doing and can read maps etc.   We take a GPS and moving maps on our computers and flat maps - that is a little over the top for most people we suspect and we are not suggesting everyone needs to do all of that.  

But please take some of the inexpensive maps and books we can help you purchase with you - so you have everything that you might need and enjoy along the way. 

You will have a lot more fun if you take books and maps about the areas you plan to visit with you, so you can understand what is all around you as you drive along and so you don't miss things that you would have liked to see - and books and maps are cheap!

Most importantly, please drive safely so we can have you back happy and healthy at the end of your next DriveWA escape - your loved ones need you back - so we have compiled a safety video which we recommend that all young drivers and those who have not had a lot of experience driving in the WA outback watch - Australian outback conditions are a bit unusual and things can go wrong quickly if you are not ready for them and well prepared. 

So spend a few moments having a look at this video - it's good insurance - it might save your life!

Speaking of great vidoes our team has becom involved with Loco TV and Zulu Media to produce a movie for ITV (ITV="Internet Television") to show you what you can enjoy on some of the 8greatEscapes.

The first DriveWA.com ITV series will be made in 13 webisodes and they are being released progressively - if you have a computer or portable computer or phone to which you can save podcasts why not save these episodes and take them with you. See the TV guide here!

Then you can refer to them along the way so you can check details and find the places you want to find etc.  The wonderful modern digital technology that is evolving with iphones, ipads and other pdas etc are very exciting and can make a lot of difference to your enjoyment of your DriveWA.com escape.

So sit back and fasten your seat belt and lets go!