Oh my Gorge!!

On the 9th August we reluctantly departed Kurrajong Campsite in the Cape Range National Park and drove East for a change. It was a very hot day and there was a lot of driving to do so the DVD player got a good workout. We stopped for very expensive diesel ($1.79 p/l) and ice creams at the Nanutarra Roadhouse where you could also buy a hot dog for $9 or a hamburger for $18! Our evening stop was at a free bush camp called House Creek Bridge that, like all the creeks round here, didn't have any water but there were lots of Snappy Gums for shade. The following day we did about 300km via Paraburdoo to the Rio Tinto town of Tom Price where we checked into the Tom Price Tourist Park for 2 nights, swam in their pool and did about 6 loads of red Pilbara-dirt washing. Finally, on August 24 we arrived at the spectacular Karijini National Park. Our first impressions were not so great as the wind blew red dirt everywhere, including over our sandwiches and through the van, but that afternoon we experienced our first gorge and it was amazing. Over the next 4 days we hiked through breathtaking gorges, admired picture-perfect waterfalls like Fortescue Falls, and swam in crystal clear swimming holes called Fern Pool and Circular Pool. On our last day we drove for ages along a very bumpy dirt road to Weano Gorge where we walked and climbed over rocks and through pools to the stunning Handrail Pool (a very boring name for an amazing place). The reward of a cool swim at the end managed to keep Ashleigh and Hannah happily walking for hours, which kept everyone happy!

Cape Range National Park

Our 7 day stay at Cape Range National Park has definitely been one of the highlights of this trip. From 6.30am we waited in line at the ranger's office until 8.00am when they started allocating sites. We were number 13 in the queue (Sean, Steph and Jonah were number 12) so we weren't very hopeful, but thankfully we made it in. Both campervans were offered a campsite at the Kurrajong camp which was a brilliant spot on a lovely beach for swimming, fishing and snorkeling and no generators allowed. Our camp hosts Tony and Marie were a lovely couple from Perth and made us feel very welcome. We spent our days exploring the snorkeling spots within the park, hiking up Yardie Creek and Mandu Gorges, windsurfing, fishing and swimming. At our campsite we met some really great people including Christiana from Germany who joined us each night either for dinner or after dinner for some singing (we introduced her to the coconut boat). Simon caught a Spangled Emperor and a Long Tom for tea one night, and Anthony caught a Cuttlefish with his bare hands! It was a great week by the Ningaloo Marine Park that we enjoyed very much.

Warroora and Coral Bay

After another washing and shopping stopover in Carnarvon we did the 4 hour drive north to Warroora Station. We had a lovely camp spot right overlooking beautiful turquoise water and a spectacular reef, but it was extremely windy which is only good for one thing........windsurfing!! Sean didn't waste much time getting out there! In the evening we cooked a turkey leg stew in the camp oven (2 legs for $4 from woolies...bargain!!) and Sean taught us a song in french that he had written called "Ou est la dinde?" (Where is the turkey?)

The next day we did a short drive to Coral Bay. This tiny holiday town consists of one main street, 2 caravan parks and hundreds of people. We had tried to book camp sites in advance but the first available sites were weeks away. Luckily we were able to pick up 2 unpowered sites (at 2 different parks) when we arrived on July 29th (Happy birthday Aunty Melanie!) There was still a bit of wind up so Sean went windsurfing while the rest of us swam and snorkeled at the main beach which was enclosed by a reef and full of huge Spangled Emperors. Coral Bay is at the southern tip of Ningaloo Marine Park and the white sand and blue waters were amazingly beautiful.

Carnarvon and The Blowholes

I apologise for the delay in updating this blog but it has been such a long time since we've had internet access and power (2 things I used to take for granted.....)

Carnarvon seemed like an oasis of colour and life after the very long drive through a dry reddish brown landscape from Shark Bay. Banana plantations and loads of other fruit and vege farms lined the roads as this area is very fertile due to its location at the mouth of the Gascoyne River (which is lucky to flow once a year - so I don't know how that works??) We gave the washing machines at the Capricorn Tourist Park a workout and bought up big at the local Woolies (much better prices than Denham IGA - $16 a kilo for tomatoes!) We spent ages in the showers and topped up our water tanks with lovely treated fresh water that was not the salty horrible bore water that we had in Shark Bay (another thing I have taken for granted.)

Our next stop was only about 65km north west at Point Quobba and The Blowholes. Here we camped for 3 nights by the beach for $5.50 per night. It was a basic camp but the beach was beautiful with warm water, a surf break and coral reefs to snorkel on. While snorkelling with Anthony, Ashleigh attempted to drown him when they spotted a Shovel-nose Ray gliding alongside them. There was a huge variety of colourful fish and many turtles. In the evenings we warmed ourselves around the campfire and cooked some delicious meals including roast pork with apples and a loaf of bread. Sean and Stephany taught us a song called "The Coconut Boat" that they invented on their 2006 Oz Odyssey Tour. Basically everyone took turns to sing a verse about what they did that day then we all joined in the chorus "la la la la, la-la la la la, the coconut boat".

Shark Bay

On July 19 we turned West off the North Coast H'way and toward the Shark Bay World Heritage Area. Our lunchtime stop was the amazing Hamelin Pool where we checked out the ancient Stomatolites that grow there. Stromatolites are colonies of micro-organisms that resemble the oldest and simplest forms of life found on earth around 3 billion years ago. They grow here because of the ultra salty water and lots of calcium bicarbonate from the massive amount of shells here. It was very interesting. Continuing on we found a great free camp at Eagle Bluff right on the beach with cliffs of sand overlooking turquoise waters full of sharks, whales and dugongs (we didn't see any). In the morning we drove to Monkey Mia and spent the next 2 days camped in this beautiful resort where we fed dolphins, swam, played on the beach and relaxed. It was great! Our final overnight stop in Shark Bay was at the Nanga Bay Resort which had well and truly passed its use by date and desperately needed a lot of maintenance and basic attention. But it was only $25 per night and was right next to another beautiful Shark Bay beach. We also visited Shell Beach whick is covered in cockle shells that are metres deep. The water was absolutely freezing but Ashleigh managed to have a dip.

Kalbarri

On the 16th July we said farewell to "Coro" and drove north for about 70km to Port Gregory for lunch and an unsuccessful round of fishing. A highlight along the way wasn't another one of Ashleigh's teeth falling out this time but her thumb nail, that had turned black after a collision with a rock a few months ago, finally fell off! Port Gregory is a tiny seaside hamlet bordered by a pink lake that is pink because of the beta carotene produced there. Another short drive further and we arrived at the coastal town of Kalbarri and checked into the Anchorage Caravan Park where we scored a sceni spot overlooking the Murchison River. During the following days we hung out in this sleepy town, played some Petanque and ventured into the spectacular Kalbarri National Park where we explored river gorges and admired dramatic sandstone cliff faces. Anthony had a break from the Bateson clan that day and toured in Supersexy (Sean and Steph's VW) to some spectacular sections of the winding river gorge. That evening we camped in a free (and very basic) rest area at Galena Bridge and enjoyed steaks on the camp BBQ and hot bananas with chocolate and marshmallows for dessert!

Finally heading north!

On Monday 12th July we finally departed Perth at about 3pm and made it as far as Waddi Farm, 30km past Cataby. We arrived at this very run-down (but only $25) caravan park just after dark and were out of there first thing in the morning. We stopped briefly at Geraldton for some fuel and arrived at spectacular Coronation Beach, about 20km further north, at about 4pm. For the first time in a few weeks we had beautiful sunny weather and a great campsite right by the beach - perfect (and only $10)! Sean, Steph and Jonah arrived about 5.30pm which was a huge shock as they only left Perth that morning. Over the next 2 days we swam, snorkelled, fished and surfed (well, some of us did) at this beautiful beach. Hannah showed off her bike riding skills by doing several laps of the campground and Sean did a bit of windsurfing. The highlight of our stay was a boat race where you had to construct your boat out of any materials found locally and the winner was the boat that made it to the breakers first. The race winner was Jonah Noe 1, closely followed by Sam's Pirate Ship and Steph's Super Red. Anthony's Sudafed catamaran capsized in the surf along with Ashleigh's Speedy and Simon's Blue Bottle Express. Sean's Yellow Gypsy Love also capsized and took a right hand turn up the coast and away to Ningaloo Reef. Hannah decided not to launch her boat and it remained in dry dock for the remainer of our stay.