Janese,

I have one other question that I forgot to ask about and that is concerning accommodations. Was just wondering how necessary it would be in May to have reservations for hotel/motels ahead of time in the various small towns between Perth and Darwin.

We do intend to have resv. in the major cities, also Kakadu ( Jabiru ) but just not sure about anywhere else. Would this be a prudent thing to do?

I doubt that you would have too much trouble really but be warned that there are long areas between some towns where there will be very limited accommodation. Usually anyone doing that route would be open to assorted accommodation i.e. B&B, farmstays, homestays, Caravan Parks, Pubs and motels etc and not expect 5 star accommodation except at that cattle station that I have mentioned before ( and which is a "must") and now for the life of me I cannot remember the name. It is on the banks of one of the big rivers up in the NW, and although it does have some lower cost accommodation it does have 5 star at the homestead. You can get helicopter trips over the countryside from there - or at least you could do. Help me out with the name please Fodorites! Also if you booked you are then locked into that when you may find that you find somewhere where you want to explore for a couple of days. Its not an area that you can just go back to anytime!

The name of the cattle station is El Questro which is a one Million acre station in the Kimberleys - for information about it and about trips from it their web site is:
http://www.elquestro.com.au/
If you were intending to stay there then I would most definately book because it is such a good base.

Janese,

Thanks for the name of the homestead as I will look into that. That would be good if we didn't require having pre arranged accommodations the whole way up to Darwin because as you say, it will allow for much more flexability. We don't by any means require 5 star outside the major cities etc. and would be quite content with a nice clean motel or B&B etc.

During out first driving trek we were very pleased with all the accomm. we stayed at including the little motels in the small towns along our route. They were always clean and comfortable and we were able to get good meals close by if no restaurant was onsite.

A helicopter ride sounds good. We have done this many times on various trips we have taken and it does give one a different perspective of their surroundings. Thanks again for your comments and advice. DJE