The Southwest region is known for its tropical blue secluded beaches, tranquil wineries, unique array of biodiversity and mighty tingle forests, lush farmland and sand dunes galore.

I’d heard the whispers from friends about this majestic region – I just knew I had to take a road trip down to see it for myself.

For the past year, I have been travelling solo around Australia. Just me and my little renovated 1980s retro caravan, named ‘Something about Mary’.

Adjusting to the seasons and vastness of Australia, we headed from North WA to South WA to enjoy the scorching summer. Mary, me, and my ol’ 120 series Prado decided to hit the frog ‘n’ toad and journey into the great Southwest region. We had recently upgraded parts of the Prado with some epic new KAON gear, and wanted to venture out and explore some surfing, fishing, diving, camping and hiking spots – and we certainly found them!

Straight out of the packaged goods; a screw-driver, phillips head and allan key later – the new KAON gear turned the Prado into a real-life living and organised area of joyful pursuits on the road. It took one afternoon to build everything, with a coffee in hand and tunes assisting the process.

I was chuffed with the new set-up. Spending the majority of my travels with homemade loose roof carriers drooping down, I now had a clean, sturdy set-up for all my camping and hiking equipment.

It felt uber easy putting the sophisticated KAON designs in place. The products were built perfectly snug for the Prado, unleashing a new sleek side of the 120 and transforming her into the ultimate adventure-mobile for the road trip.

The Southwest has a range of enormous tingle trees, refreshing oceans, and sand dune trails that lead to isolated turquoise beaches. How easy it was to leave Mary the Caravan back at camp, and head for the horizon in my Prado with my new set-up in place. The newly installed equipment made it easy for my friends coming along for the ride too. I roamed into Margaret River, and the satisfaction of going for a surf and then coming back for a snack break using my rear door table was the perfect mid-morning treat.

Hopping from Margaret Rivers beaches to scaling up north to Gracetown for more quiet bays, most of the time I opted to cook outside on the Rear Door Table. The warm balmy nights were enough to pop the stove and gas bottle out and muster up a delicious stir fry whilst watching the sun glaze behind the forest.

We darted inland to D’Entrecasteaux National Park, then over to Mount Chudalup to hike uphill for some panoramic views, before meandering into Windy Harbour, seeking out untouched waves. Over to Parry Beach for some fishing and diving, then roaming into Greens Pool. Up through Northcliffe and Pemberton for a stroll through town, and a drive down to Salmon Beach to check the surf in the hope of some clean waves. We speared a couple blue groupers and tarwhine with friends on the quiet coasts, far south.

I opted for some time down in the Southwest with a few of my good pals. Before packing up the adventure goodies, I was able to pop the rear door drop-down table for a quick coffee to start the road trip south. Big drives across Australia mean coffee stops are a must – now made easy with my table and a 5-minute boil on the stove. A short break on the side of the road allowed me to make lunch, burn up another tasty coffee and get back behind the wheel.

It's brought ease and functionality having a Rear Door Table/kitchen area. The Rear Door Utensil Cage is a place to store my kitchen implements, resources, cutting board and sunscreen; organising my belongings without gathering dirt and dust on the ground. The Rear Door Table doubles as workspace under the dappled eucalyptus light whilst I journal about my travelling days, then quickly turns into a kitchen table for a lunchtime feed.

The Rear Roof Shelf creates utter ease for all my belongings, hiding towels for quick access, sleeping bags, camping gear and tents when I want to grab them and head out for a quick hike. It's a perfectly snug and condensed area for all my useful camp gear.

The Side Molle Panels have been the most practical and surprisingly helpful storage spaces. Holding water bladders that don’t get squished in the rest of my stuff, my obsessive hat collection is finally stored with orderliness and a clear view for these scorching summer days. A hung cup for my early morning coffee boils and my first aid kit that I spend way too much time using since most of the time I’m out surfing and hiking. The quick grab of finding this on the Side Molle Panels gives me peace of mind while wandering in the outdoors.

I’ve been roaming the untamed Southwest for the past couple of weeks – driving across farmland, through coastline, under towering karri trees and into 4X4 sand dune territory to get to isolated beach spots.

My friends were also impressed with my newly organised setup in the back of the Prado. Stopping on beaches for a quick ocean fish for whiting, diving for groupers and leather jackets with everyone conglomerating around the car. The Rear Door Table down for sun screening up, a cold beer, cuppa and yarning away with our much-needed catch-up tales. I store my wetsuits on the Rear Roof Shelf (rather than my rooftop box) for ease and efficiency when exploring the Southwest for waves, and throw up the dive gear, towels and umbrellas as I headed out for beach days. Tying my snorkel onto the side panels, cooking up a feast on the back door table and enjoying some platters with friends as the sun darted behind another turquoise ocean view.

I now had a reason to un-hook Mary the Caravan and leave her at camp, for a quick night in the bush by myself when the caravan can’t go into 4X4 beach areas.

The Margaret River region brought new environments for my eyes to soak in; large Boranup forests, grass trees and red flowering gums was the view to my campsites. The best part of the west was driving through the Jarrah forests, the trail running deep into Bramley National Park, and scooting up to Indijup spa before opting for a morning surf and read by the ocean. I lounged in the glistening virescent waters that became the rock pool around the reef. Slow lunches were made in the back of the car overlooking Grace town’s beaches and cliffs.

The Southwest beholds grandiose exploration, with an abundance of dazzling wineries with oceans perched behind that are powerful and wild. The winds roar louder in the heat of summer days. This trip became a patterned routine of swimming, exploring beaches, hiking and diving on repeat each day.

It certainly feels like God's country out in the rural vast lands of the Southwest, and I’m feeling more enthused about exploring it with these brilliant products in tow.

Georgia Doherty is currently travelling solo around Australia in her 2007 Prado 120, with a 1980s retro caravan named Mary in tow. As a freelance writer, and an outdoor educator and teacher in the making, Georgia is a fervent outdoor enthusiast and an eager adventurer. Her days are spent inspecting the sand banks for a dreamy wave setup, yearning to hunt powder on mountains or hiking in search of a new adventure. She enjoys all the realms of the wilderness, photography and stories that follow.