Still Coral Bay

A This morning was a little overcast but still warm enough to go for a swim.  We have all got the hang of snorkelling and this time we even remembered the camera to capture the moment!!

Troy went for a fish this afternoon, but didn't even lose any bait, so tomorrow he is going to try a different spot!!  

Coral Bay

After the ranger came to see us at Quobba and told us the roads were closed to Coral Bay due to massive rain we were a little apprehensive when packing up camp this morning, but we thought we'd give it a shot.  Worse come to worst we could just camp on the side of the road until it opened.  We drove to the Minilya roadhouse and they told us that the first road in to Coral Bay was closed, but the other road was open.  This was only about a 200km longer drive!!! But it was well worth the extra kms once we arrived. Coral Bay itself is gorgeous, although rather small, we even had to ask someone where the bottle shop was as we couldn't find it after searching the main street.  The rain had had no effect on the town, it was all still up and running, although the roads around the caravan park were apparently flowing a few days earlier.

The caravan park we are staying in is right behind the main street which is right across the road from the beach.  Once we had set up camp we explored the town, which took all of about 10min then went for a snorkel. The water was really warm and there were so many fish to see. There were even snapper that swam in the shallows at our feet. Ronan tried to catch some with his hands but they were a little quick! Once we had dried off we went out for a beautiful dinner at Fin's cafe.

The Blow Hole at Quobba

This morning we rode down to the blowhole after breakfast and could've stayed there all day.  The blow hole was fantastic but the coastline and the way the waves hit it was mesmerising.  

The wind picked up a bit, so we spent most of the day in the caravan getting lots of homework done and relaxing. It settled a little in the afternoon so Troy and Ronan had a snorkel and saw heaps of fish, a sting ray and an octopus.  Troy thought there were enough fish to have a go at catching one, and finally his efforts were rewarded!

The Stromatolites and Quobba

This morning we woke up to a beautiful morning, packed up and moved along toward Carnarvon. We stopped at Hamelin Pool to see the stromatolites which are really old rock / coral looking formations in the shallow waters of Shark Bay. While we were there a group of university students were studying them and we eavesdropped on the lecturer, getting a bit of an education too! They are rumoured to be as old as dinosaurs as they take so long to form.

We stopped at a lookout along the road to Carnarvon and found more Gnomes!! They are slowly but surely taking over the nation!!!

We then headed to Carnarvon, where we drove around the town, found another very long jetty with a train on it, a really big hammer, and saw some beautiful homes on the water. 

Carnarvon is also very flush with water and the contrasting scenery from where we have been to here is quite amazing. There were lots of plantations of fruit and veg, there was even supposed to be a big Banana, but it can't have been that big as we couldn't find it. We happened to arrive at the local pub just in time for the footy, so once again we sat down for a great lunch and to watch the game. 

We did intend on staying at Carnarvon, but some people we have met on our travels recommended going a little further on and staying at Quobba, so we ventured on. On our drive we came across many stray animals wandering along the road, including goats, cats, cows, emus and lots of lizards that enjoyed playing chicken on the road.  Some were quite good, others evidently not so!! 

We arrived in Quobba and set up camp just a dune away from the ocean, which happens to be really warm. We went for a swim and a walk along the beach, before settling in for the night. 

Shark Bay and the Francois Peron National Park

This morning we headed back to Monkey Mia for our boat cruise to see some marine life out in the ocean. It was on Aristocat 2, a big catamaran.

It was like trying to find a needle in a haystack as the wind was blowing a gale, and it was very choppy. Visibility was very poor but we still managed to find a dugong and a couple of dolphins.  

We were supposed to have a tour of a pearl farm but as it was so rough the boat couldn't dock at the factory, which turned out to be a shed in the middle of the ocean. We sailed passed a pirate ship, or at least that's what the kids thought it was.  

Then the kids tried boom netting, or basically being dragged along in the boom net at the back of the boat.  They had a great time.

On the way back from Monkey Mia we stopped at Francois Peron National Park. We couldn't drive very far in as it was mainly 4WD but we drove to the old homestead and shearing station. This was quite interesting, but the best bit was the artesian hot tub. This has been there for 90 years fed from a hot spring. We spent a while in there, it was lovely!!

When we got back we found our caravan in disarray. Apparently the winds had been pretty bad, knocking over our clothes line and bikes. Some lovely guy had wound in our awning for us, which was just as well! The rain fell quite hard, but then eased up enough for Troy and Ronan to venture out and try to catch a squid, and they did!! Ronan was most excited!!

Denham and the Dolphins

Yesterday we travelled from Kalbarri to Denham. This was a rather uneventful drive, the only thing worth mentioning was when we arrived in Denham, we were driving up the main street when a sign announced "Beware of Emus and Children!" Love the priorities, and the fact we are obviously a long way from home, having to worry about emus on the main street!

The caravan park is pretty nice, no playground or pool so the kids aren't that impressed, however we have an amazing view!

The local information radio station promised perfect weather, however we got rain, although we can't complain as this is the first rainfall we have seen since our adventure started! My washing got a bit wet, as did our beds! 

We headed to Monkey Mia this morning for the dolphins. We weren't sure what to expect, but it was actually quite nice. The dolphins slowly make their way in to shore and once the rangers are happy that they are settled, they wander in with buckets of fish, however they only feed 5 of the dolphins that come in and they only give these dolphins a couple of fish to ensure they still have to catch a few in the wild to keep up their hunting skills. The dolphins were gorgeous, having a bit of a play, then gliding passed looking at you. 

Ronan and Stella were lucky enough to be selected to give one dolphin, Puck, a fish. 

We were supposed to go on a cruise after the dolphin feed, however due to the weather we opted to delay it to tomorrow.  Instead we went to Ocean Park, the aquarium in Denham. This was great. We saw some fantastic fish, including one named Vadar that was a turquoise blue colour and swam around the tank occasionally popping his head up to say hello! 

There was a tank of big snapper and mulloway! Troy had a bit of a drool and wished he had a rod! We also got to watch a shark feed. They were only lemon sharks, but still had some big teeth!

There were also a number of other fish, and we found Nemo!

We went to Little Lagoon, which is an almost perfectly round inlet, for a bit of a fish and swim. We went to the local pub for dinner, then went to the pier to try and catch an elusive squid or two, but with no luck!

Kalbarri National Park

Today we explored the Kalbarri National Park. We started our hike at Nature's Window which overlooked our first gorge.

It set a pretty high standard as far as gorges go, it was just such an amazing view.  Our hike continued from there around the cliff edge of the gorge then down to the rivers edge. 

The sun broke through the rather overcast morning at that point making it rather hot, so much so that we stopped for a swim in the river. 

We continued on and finished the 8km trek back at Nature's Window for one last look, where the hike got pretty strenuous!!

Or that might just be some trick photography!!

We then drove back to camp for a much needed shower, followed by a swim in the pool for the kids and a quick fish for Troy.

Tonight we headed to the outdoor cinema in town. While eating pizza and relaxing under the stars on a glorious night, I finally got to see Frozen. Great movie!

Ronan's Actual Birthday

This morning we had Ground Hog Day!! We woke up, sang Happy Birthday to Ronan and gave him his presents again. He even pretended to be surprised with what we had bought him!!

We drove into Dongara and while this town looked great we drove on to Geraldton. It must really be windy here, as the trees do grow sideways, just as the book "Are We There Yet?" said they did.

We arrived in Geraldton with the hope of doing a Lobster Factory tour. Unfortunately tours didn't run on Tuesdays so we went out for brunch instead. This was delicious and the restaurant overlooked the Geraldton harbour so while we were eating we watched a cargo ship come into dock. Troy ordered a large latte and true to its word, it was large!

After this we stocked up on groceries and also did some minor repairs on the caravan, a few screws and clips that had come loose, before heading on to Kalbarri. This place is just beautiful, and once we had set up camp in the caravan park here we wandered down to the inlet for a fish. 

They were biting today, so at least Troy saw some action, but still no keepers. 

We had a cake for Ronan which sadly was not homemade! I really miss my kitchen!!