8greatEscapes

The 8greatEscapes series is made up of our Chairman Chris Pyes' all time favourite WA drives - and he has written a lot of the following webpages in his own style - and as they are about relaxing and having fun they have some unusual features and he has used some relaxed terminology - you might need to read the 8greatescapes special terms page (see above index) to understand terms like "the Jailors", "your Get out of Jail Free card", "Getaway Car" etc which you will find scattered through the text.

We are completing the design of the itineries and releasing the 8greatescapes one at a time.

Greatescape #1 "the Swans escape to Ningaloo" will be the first released and the DriveWA ITV series has been shot, the book drafted and the webpages completed.  

The others will be released as we feel we have finished them properly over the 09/10 year.

Despite the irreverent tone of our special terms and some of the text, the 8greatescapes series has a very serious purpose - the itineries are designed to help you find a self - drive holiday that is perfect for you - so that you will really enjoy your time driving around Western Australia. 

Use them any way you like - either as a complete template or you can break them up into a number of shorter holidays or simply use them as research ideas from which you can make up your own personalised greatescape with our itinerary building software.

The 8greatEscapes series covers much of the worlds' most beautful place, Western Australia, and they are very different - but all have been designed to show you the best of the areas they take you through and to introduce you to some of the locals and show you their history and the natural beauty that is Western Australia.

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 your Getaway car (your "what!" - be patient please, all will be revealed in due course) with the cruise control on at the speed limit from one major town to the next.  Please don't do that!

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 - and 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.   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 that.  

Why not use our site properly and before you leave buy some of the inexpensive maps and books we can help you find - so you have everything that you might need and enjoy along the way. 

Its amazing how much more fun you can have for the sake of taking a book or map 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!

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

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

Proper preparation prevents pathetically poor performance in everything you do but with your self drive holiday it is everything!  So now you are ready to start your escape and become an escapee - on one of the 8Greatescapes - lets see where they take us next.  So sit back at your computer, fasten your seat belt and lets go!.

And by the way there is another exciting new adventure beginning for us - and you can join us - for free!

The DriveWA 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. 

So far we have only shot the "Swans escape to Ningaloo" itinerary which took us from the iconic Swan Valley to the Ningaloo Reef through some of the worlds' most beautiful country and along some of the most magnificent beaches in the world.  The first is complete and you can see it on the Swans Escape to Ningaloo itinerary page - Eight other webisodes (webisodes="episodes for the web") are in the final stages of production as this is being written.

The other webisodes are coming over the next twelve to eighteeen months so stay tuned and look in and say hello to us from time to time to see what we have been able to add.  For now we have the itineraries made up for you and there is quite a lot of information but it is only going to get better as the DriveWA ITV series cranks up on a computer or TV screen near you.