Overnight stops

We haven't had to do too many one night stops...which is lucky. Unpacking and setting up for just one night isn't much fun...having to pack it all back up in the morning isn't either. Before we left I had this crazy assumption that when we were stopping overnight we would stay in a basic hotel/motel room. You know the one - a family room with double bed and bunks, the boys might have to share a bed...that sort of thing.
Well it seems that sort of thing doesn't actually exist. There are no motels on these long stretches of isolated highways. Instead there are 'roadhouses', petrol stations that also have basic accommodation and campsites....and when I day basic accommodation, I mean basic. So we set up our camper and sleep in our roomy and comfortable tent, we pack up bright and early and hit the road.

The campground...'overland roadhouse', middle of nowhere...



The accommodation...each room contains a single bed, and is about the size of a prison cell....tempted?


Cazz x


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Coral Bay...watching the whales

Sept 20th 2010

We packed up this morning, parked the car and trailer and excitedly boarded our boat, hoping to view some whales up close. We have seen dozens of whales out at sea, but really wanted to get a bit closer...and we weren't disappointed.
Our boat took us out beyond the reef where we saw two whales with calves, cautiously swimming nearby. It was just breathtaking to see these huge graceful animals ip close. Two of them passed right by the boat, and we were amazed at just how big they really are...huge dark shadow longer than the large boat we were in!











Just as we we heading in we were lucky to see a huge humpback whale slapping it's dorsal fin, an amazing sight.



We also saw a couple of gorgeous turtles...they are very funny, lifting their heads right up out of the water...then racing off in fright!
A massive ray swam by us too...it must have been over two metres wide!



What a magic day, an experience we will never forget.
We headed towards Shark Bay and Monkey Mia later that same day.

Cazz x

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Coral bay

How could anything named 'Coral Bay' be anything but pretty? This picture perfect seaside town is the perfect stopover for us. A chance to enjoy life's little luxuries, like running water, electricity, cafe's and of course the pristine beach. We had a lovely time here, snorkeling on the reef and swimming in the crystal clear waters.
We managed to watch St Kilda defeat the Western Bulldogs...are are thrilled to be in the grand final...even if this means rearranging our trip home so that we can watch it on tv!
The boys are loving the dunes:











We were booked on a whale watching trip which was cancelled due to wind...this was my own 'must see' so we had to extend our time here just so I can see the whales...see next post!

Cazz x

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ningaloo -cape range national park

13-18th September 2010



Imagine this..

The morning is warm and the sun is shining. I am softly swaying in the dappled sunlight in our hammock strung between the trees. The view takes in the soft sandy beach and turquoise waters of Ningaloo reef. I'm reading my book (Eat, Pray, Love) but I feel as though I could doze off (I have slept for 9 hours overnight, again) listening to the waves breaking over the reef way out at sea. It's all a bit nice...and I don't want to leave here tomorrow.


Our days here have been filled with snorkeling the various beaches and reefs, laying by the beach, fishing off the beach, jumping off the dunes and playing in the sand. The boys have especially enjoyed catching lots of crabs...sometimes by digging down the whole length of their arms...and risking some sharp nips from angry crabs!










The boys are very happy that a family have moved in beside us, with a seven year old son who has a box of Lego!

Cape Range national park extends along the stunning Ningaloo reef. It's so close we can simply swim out with our masks and snorkels to view the amazing coral, rocks, oyster stacks and brilliantly colored fish of every shape and size. Yesterday we snorkeled at a place called 'oyster stacks', and I don't think I have ever seen Harry so excited. He was constantly crying out in amazement and pointing excitedly at a huge blue starfish, a long thin yellow fish, huge multiple colored fish that looked like something out of a childrens picture book...and a large clam shell. We swam through hundreds of tiny fish which glittered and shone, silver and electric blue. It has been a brilliant experience for the boys...to see what is normally only available when scuba diving..and all so easily accessible. A couple of days ago we snorkeled at 'Turquoise Bay' where Grant and I encountered a shark - it was about 2m long and gracefully swimming along in front of us.
Thomas has especially loved snorkeling. He happily swims out on his own to circle the rocks and smaller reefs nearby and yesterday swam out with Grant and I to much deeper water, a good 200m there and back. We didn't buy flippers but might try to get some today!
The campgrounds here are currently completely full. Each campground is at a different section of beach..most with water views, and we are lucky to have some shade as well. We are camped at 'mesa' which is the largest campground with 13 sites. Some of the others have only 4 or 5. Sites here are allocated on a first come first served basis, which means arriving at the entrance to the park before the ranger arrives at 8am. Grant arrived at 5am and was 4th in line! You then have to hope that enough campers are leaving so you can secure a site!

Traveling families.
The longer we travel, the more we are feeling a part of a traveling community of like-minded families, many of them traveling for much longer than we are. Each time we stop we run into at least one other family that we have met before. It might be at the petrol station, the supermarket, the beach or we find ourselves camped right beside a family that we camped with weeks before. The longer we travel, the more families we recognise. Just here at cape range there are at least 5 other families that we have met before...everyone is happy.
We were thrilled to meet up again with Jenny, Stefane, Cal and Charlie. We have enjoyed afternoons snorkeling with them, and relaxing on the beach.



We have once again decided to extend our stay for 'one more day'. We are reluctant to travel any further south where we know it will just get colder, and it is so beautiful here. Our next stop is Monkey Mia and Peron NP. From there we will basically be heading home. We are meeting the boys grandparents at Streaky Bay for a few nights, revisiting our friends Chris and Pamela in Adelaide (if they are home) then arriving back in Melbourne around Oct 5th. The boys will go back to school halfway through the first week, and grant return to work the following week. Ho hum.

Cazz xxx

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Tom Price, and another long day

11th September 2010

(I remember 9 years ago, sitting on my bedroom floor in front of the television, pregnant with our second child...watching the events in New York city in disbelief...and wondering if the world was about to end.)

We knew today would be a long one, and we were prepared. However sometimes things just don't go to plan...
We packed up early and left Karijini at 8am...just enough time to arrive at Tom Price for a tour of the mine. The rain continued throughout the tour, but we really enjoyed seeing all the massive machinery, and learning about the mining industry and how it all operates. This is the third town we have visited that exists purely for mining...which must make them very interesting to live in.















After the tour (still raining heavily) we head off towards Exmouth, another 650km. Because it is so wet we decide to take the longer route along a made road, not wanting to travel in the wet and in in the mud!
The trip is quite easy, and we stop at a basic roadhouse for petrol and a $10.50 bucket of chips. You don't have much to choose from around here, it's at least another 250km until you will see anything much at all.
We are traveling well, and it looks like we will arrive in Exmouth earlier than expected, when Grant pulls off the road to check the tyres...and we have a flat. We were about 100km from Exmouth, it's about 530pm and luckily it's still light.
Now this is our second flat tyre, and we feel much better prepared. The spare is on the roof rack and so much easier to get to...but where is the jack? It's been put back where it belongs...underneath the metal framing which holds our fridge, food tubs...and is packed completely full of stuff. Luckily we have borrowed a friends whiz bang jack, and can get to it easily. Well over an hour later we are still trying to get our massive car jacked up high enough to remove the wheel...but it just isn't happening.
We are also stopped beside a dead kangaroo...the smell is starting to make me feel sick, and eventually we have to move the car along the road just to get away from it. The boys were being fantastic. Playing by the side of the road and keeping out of the way.
Eventually we realized that we would have to get out the original jack...this took some unpacking and maneuvering but we got it out...by now it is pitch black, getting colder...and we are definitely feeling very isolated on a lonely road with absolutely no traffic....it's just us. We are thankful that's it's not a real emergency, manage to keep our sense of humour and finally change the tyre. We arrive in Exmouth at 9pm.
We are staying in a proper caravan park, which we desperately need...showers/washing machines ($5 per load!) and power. We do notice quite a difference in the type of people staying in the bigger caravan parks...lots of retired couples living up north for the winter months. We seem to have created a bit of interest by arriving so late, and in such a mess, so we get lots of visitors the next day, enquiring about our late arrival the night before!
We spent the next day basically getting ourselves sorted out. Tyre repaired, 3 loads of washing hanging in the sunshine, food shopping, car sorted out...and even managed a coffee in town. Dinner at the in-house Italian restaurant...and everything was good again!

Cazz xx



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Karijini photos

The boys had the most exciting time at Karijini...each gorge was a new adventure, slightly dangerous, just a bit challenging...and absolutely spectacular. It is hard to imagine in such an arid place, what spectacular sights are way down below ground level. I often had to leave my camera halfway as we waded through deep water, or balanced along a ledge with high risk of falling in!




















Cazz and boys xxx


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Karijini NP, boys paradise!

It has been great to be able to camp in the bush again...the landscape here is arid, dark red earth, green spinifex and brilliant white gums. I love it.
Our campsite view..



No wonder the Australian bush has inspired so many poets...i have the inspiration, but not the skill. Photographs will have to do...





We spent our next couple of days here exploring the gorges, which had the boys in heaven...climbing walls, descending into narrow gorges filled with icy water, clinging to handrails and generally having a great adventure!

Gorge photos next post....

Cazz x



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Birdwatching

Quite early in our trip Harry developed a keen interest in birds. He enjoys watching them and following them...and wondering what they are. We bought him the Simpson & Day Field Guide to the Birds of Australia. He can often be found wandering around with it...gazing up into the trees and referring to his book.



We discovered these funny pigeons at Karijini. They walk around in and out of the spinifex, looking for our crumbs on the ground.
It is lovely to see the boys so interested...



The Spinifex Pigeon..


Cazz xxx

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Karijini National Park, day 1

Wednesday, 8th Sept.

We arrive at Karijini at around lunchtime and make our first stop at the stunning visitor centre. We have enjoyed many of the visitor centre's on our trip, and this one was full of beautiful displays including lots of info on aboriginal history in the area. There are 2 campgrounds here, and we decide to camp at the Eco Retreat as it's closer to most of the gorges. We visit Dales gorge first and are blown away by our first view of the gorge system here. We thought we had seen it all, with so many gorges throughout the Kimberley, but the gorges here are spectacular and dramatic in their own way. Most other gorges we have entered have been from ground level...and we have walked into them, but here the ground simply opens up in front of you, and you find yourself standing at the edge of a cliff, looking down into a deep red chasm around 200m deep.
The steps down to circular pool are steep and rocky, and we really enjoy being back in the bush. It is cooler here, mid 20's, which is great for walking. There are pools for swimming although just a quick dip, as the water is pretty cold!





From there we visited Fortescue falls and Fern pool...both beautiful spots.








We set up camp just in time for dinner, and an early night...all of us exhausted!

Cazz and boys xxx
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Heading south, port hedland

I don't like the thought that we are heading home, I'm not ready....but now that we are heading south that's how it feels. Grant keeps reminding me that we are traveling for another 4 weeks which is actually quite a long time, but we are still heading south.

Tuesday 7th Sept.
Today we packed up and waved goodbye to Barn Hill. We enjoyed our stay here very much!
We are headed to Karijini NP, back into the red dust. It is too far to drive today as we didn't leave early enough, so although we have been suitably warned to avoid Port Hedland, it is the obvious place for us to stop. P.H is a mining town, it's dock exports more tonnage of iron ore than any other in Australia. Even our lonely planet guide describes it as "...caked in dark red dirt" so we were prepared for the worst! When you prepare for the worst, you are often pleasantly surprised...and we found the town to be quite interesting. The boys marveled over the massive white salt mountain, complete with trucks driving over the top, and the extensive rail system with trains that stretched as far as we could see. We found a sparkling new shopping centre where we stocked up on groceries and even managed to sit down for a coffee...things here aren't so bad! As with most mining towns accommodation is limited and expensive. The first caravan park we called was completely full so we ended up in South Hedland...on a busy road, and in a park filled with miners...some of them with young families. Must be an interesting life. We met a young german traveler, she is cycling on her own from Perth to Darwin...on a push bike! I don't know what the appeal is...and can only imagine how difficult parts of her trip will be, she even plans on riding the Gibb Rd. While I can only shake my head in wonder, Grant is envious of every rider we see on the road, with their pannier bags loaded up and pain on their faces. We have seen cyclists several times on tough 4WD roads. Maybe one day one of his boys will join him on a cycling adventure through outback Australia...sadly it won't be me!
We packed up in the morning, had everything ready to go...and realised we'd made a mistake for the second time this trip, "have you got the keys??" I cant tell you how painful it is to have to unpack the whole camper to find the car keys..which are of course deep within the tent!

Cazz x


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Barn Hill, close encounters!

What an exciting morning we had.
We met another lovely family yesterday and were enjoying a morning on the beach together.

While Megan and I sat chatting on the sand, Grant, Thomas and Oscar were enjoying a snorkel over the rocks, not too far off the shore.
Megan suddenly leapt to her feet and in the split second it took me to follow her gaze out toward our boys in the water I too saw the dark grey fin heading towards them. It's amazing how quickly fear grips your heart. Time stopped still, and I felt completely helpless. It's amazing how quickly that split second can turn fear to joy, as the fin gracefully curved back into the water and it is clearly a dolphin, not a shark, heading towards the boys. By this time we are waving madly and Grant, fearing the worst, is leading the boys back into shore. The dolphin disappeared within seconds...and we marveled at what might have been.
Later that same morning Grant finally had success with his new fishing rod! It took some effort to get it out of the water...the fish measuring 64cm. We had to release it as no-one seemed to know what it was, and the size limits are strictly monitored here. It was quite exciting just the same!
Thomas, Harry and Oscar had another close encounter that morning, while snorkeling over the rocks...with a bull ray suddenly appearing below and rushing straight at them...a story which has been retold with much excitement, many times over!










The beachfront here is quite spectacular, with stunning red cliffs..







Cazz and boys xxx


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Happy father's day at Barn Hill

It was all good timing...we happened to be passing back through Broome and I happened to have seen a newspaper ad about fathers day, (and we don't read the paper much at all)...so we figured out fathers day was the next day!
Having just broken our cheap kids fishing rod,the gift choice was easy, hiding it in the car was not. I had actually made an extra trip back to the shopping centre car park, but can't say I noticed whether charlie's bike was still there or not, but once we did return, it was gone. It was our fault for forgetting we were back in civilisation and didn't lock it properly on the rack, but it was disappointing, pretty damn annoying and a big inconvenience...not to mention charlie's sadness at losing his beloved blue bike. We soon discovered some young kids were seen with it at the petrol station..putting air in the flat tyre, so we drove around the neighbouring streets hoping to find it and the naughty boys who stole it! So we ended up wasting a lot of time, reported it to the police (thinking we may be able to claim it on insurance)...then headed off out of Broome. We had planned on driving to 80mile beach, but it was getting late so we headed off to Barn Hill, a working cattle station on a beautiful stretch of beach. We arrived feeling pretty tired and quickly set and and ate dinner, choosing a shady site protected from the wind this time!
Barn Hill is a gorgeous camp ground...full of retirees spending their southern winter here where it's warm. The campground is full of big caravans, winnebago's and satellite dishes...everyone looking a little too relaxed! The showers are open air, so during the day you can shower in the warmth of the sun...and it is warm!


Sunday 5th October
Grant was thrilled with his new fishing rod, 2 books and cycling magazines. A yummy breakfast, coffee, bacon and tomatoes...then a day spent on the beach and testing out the new rod (including one for the boys). Dinner was shared with around 60 or so others, roast under the stars with a local band...how great is that!
Oh...and Grant decided to finally get rid of that facial hair today...yippee!



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Then it was time for the boys to have a trim..




Cazz x

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Middle Lagoon

2-4 September

We had heard lots of other campers rave about Middle Lagoon so we decided to make the long sandy detour, in no hurry to leave this beautiful part of Australia. We managed the deep sand and bumpy road without any problems...and were surprised to see quite large caravans here.
For the first time we decided to camp in the full sun...right on the cliff above the ocean, and put up our awning for only the second time on our trip. The views were just gorgeous, especially the setting sun.







Unfortunately the wind became a real problem, not for our camper or awning, which are both very strong and sturdy, but our stove kept blowing out and we just couldn't sit outside to eat! Luckily we had bought a (very) small portable stove in Darwin. We set this up inside the tent to cook, and ended up putting our table and chairs inside as well. During the night the wind was blowing a gale, and it just didn't really settle down the whole time we were here.
The boys enjoyed the surf, and spent hours catching waves with Grant, while I sheltered from the wind and hot sun.
We have also loved watching dozens of whales as they slowly make their way south..






Ass luck would have it the wind changed direction on the morning we packed up...blowing dirty sand and duet all over us, all over everything we have...and almost blew the tent right over our heads! The boys had to sit in the car while grant and I were whipped with sand trying to pack everything away. We even had to shower before we left as we were so covered in dirt and sand!

Cazz x
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A bit of culture...spear making!

There are several cultural tours on offer up here. We have enjoyed some indigenous experiences on our trip...and are gaining a much better appreciation and understanding of aboriginal lifestyle, culture and customs. We especially enjoy seeing the boys appreciate another way of life.
Like most things up here, nothing is ever certain and it's all fairly relaxed...so one of the tours we hoped to do didn't go ahead.?.but we the boys were very excited about the spear making.
We visited a small local community where we were shown how to make spears the traditional way. The boys heated their branches over the fire, straightening them while hot, then peeled away the bark. The spears were then sharpened and painted using traditional paints.










We then followed our guide 'bundy' to the most pristine beach we have probably ever seen. The sand was pure white and dazzling. The water warm and clear.






'bundy' sent his son (12 years old) and another relative off the spear some fish for us...while we tested out our own, had a swim, and learnt a little about his culture and customs. We were shown a significant cultural site where footprints dated at around 7000 years old are clearly visible in the ground...once a mud flat.
Harry, his spear...and just look at the size of that fish! There is a secret to catch fish that big with a spear!








It was a great day...

Cazz and boys xxx

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