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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