10,000+ kms

Well you can't help but wind down in Coral Bay.  Retail therapy consists of a bakery, a supermarket come everything type shop, one dress/trinket souvenir shop, a newsagent and a couple of tour organising shops.  Then there's a couple of eateries and a hotel within a small resort and the beach!!! No TV so no news - wouldn't have a clue what's going on in the outside world.
After 9 nights there it was time to pack up stumps and head to Exmouth. The rain had stopped and all roads open.  We had 3 nights booked in Exmouth which really was too many.  For anyone planning a trip there I don't know where to advise that you stay but definitely don't stay at Lighthouse Caravan Park - can't think of a good word to say so I'll say nothing (that says it all!!).
The drive to Exmouth did involve some 'Slow Down' moments as the road certainly had some flood damage and there was still quite a bit of water across the roads.
The highlight of our stay was a day out on a beautiful boat swimming with Whalesharks.  AMAZING!! lucky enough to have 4 of these massive, docile animals come to visit us, the largest being 9 metres and the others 5-6 metres. I'm really not a strong swimmer and an even worse snorkeler but the crew on the boat are so good that I had no fear in being in the water, very encouraging and definitely an experience I can recommend to everyone.  It was a full day and wee came home exhausted but very happy.  I'm sure all tour groups offer a comparable service but I can only speak of 'KINGS' as that's who we went with and I can't recommend them highly enough.

These photos don't give a true indication of the mammoth size of these creatures.  You get in the water ahead of it, as it swims toward you, once it's head has past, giving it a space of 3 mts at the side - you snorkel like crazy to keep up with it then your turn is up and the next group takes a turn. I think we were in and out of the water about 10 times by the time we'd finished - exhausting.  When you get in the water ahead of the whaleshark it seems to swim directly at you and you move like crazy to keep out of it's way. As the girls working on the boat said 'when you're that big you get used to everything else in the water moving out of the way to make room' - no argument here.

From Exmouth we headed to Cape Range Nat Pk for 5 nights.  No power, no water, take everything you need with you.  The camp sites are new (replacement for the original one we were booked into that washed away) so we were the first to stay in our site.  We did take a drive to look at the devastation caused by the flooding to Pilgramunna and it was very sad to see such a lovely spot with so many fond memories so destroyed

Only those brave enough to drag the cars and boats over rock and rubble are using this spot for launching.
Anyways, our new neighbours in the new camp spot were a lovely young family with the two most delightful little girls and David had found himself a very keen fishing partner with A BOAT!!
Salad and sausages were out and fresh Spanish Mackerel was IN

Another was caught the following day but as they reeled it in, a bronze whaler shark bit off half of it - the half they bought in still weighed 7 kg though so it was a biggy :-)

Our camp site looked a little like a garage sale site but we certainly made ourselves at home and very enjoyable it was too.

 Each evening we spent on the ridge of the beach at the designated cocktail table with fellow campers discussing our day and adventures while watching the sun set

There are lots of lovely spots to go swim but personally i think the highlight would be Turquoise Bay and the photo below doesn't do justice. Called Turquoise for good reason the water is about 27 degrees and it's a sanctuary where no fishing is allowed so the Spangled Emperors are out there swimming with you - gorgeous.

So till next time….

Scarey I know, eye candy we're not, but……... life's too short to take yourself too seriously :-)

As far west as you can get

A little over 2 hours from Perth is Jurien Bay.  A beachside holiday destination for many (as the Mornington Peninsula is for many in Melb).  It is permanent home to only a small community though by the looks (unlike MP).  We passed through last time on a sunny day and decided this time to stay a few days.  Best known for it's fishing and boating activities and provides a base for the cray industry.  David is very jealous of facilities provided for the locals for boating and fishing.  The launch and retrieval ramps are amazing and the parking space provided at NO cost is phenomenal and this throughout WA not just here in Jurien Bay.  You have to wonder what happens to all the money collected in fees in Melbourne, they certainly don't go back into providing facilities.

 Here there is 1 launching ramp, 1 retrieval ramp and 2 for both launching and retrieval with a small walkway between and many small towns have similar setups!
Blessed with warm sunny weather we used the place as a base to visit surrounding areas.  One of the most unusual is located just south near Cervantes and is called the Pinnacles.  These amazing rock formations.  You can walk around them and there's a track that you can drive around too.  It took me straight back to the old TV show 'Lost in Space' I expected to see Dr Smith and Will jump out from behind the rocks

 There are a few other small little hamlets around the area that I imagine area full of campers in the holidays and the area is a haven for swimming, snorkelling, fishing and just exploring

Continuing further north we made our way a short distance to Dongara/Port Denison and ditto to the above re fishing etc.  This however is home to the Lobster industry.  As we walked along the jetty, there was a Lobster boat arriving having been out to collect their pots in the morning.  With very wide grins on their faces we were told that their 'catch' for the day was very good as they unloaded the crates on to the conveyer belt to be kept alive until they were shipped.  Apparenlty at the moment the market is China and they pay very big money.  The lobster industry is on a quota system and it seems that they will be resting for much of the season as the catches to date have been so good that they have nearly filled their quotas.

Unsure where our next stop would be we left Dongara heading north.  Things were about to change, especially in the weather dept.  Grey stormy skies were on the horizon and news was filtering through that up at Exmouth massive rain and storms had wiped out some of the area at the National Park and roads were closed due to flooding.  Skies were ominous and so we decided to bunker down in Kalbarri and wait to see what was happening.  And rain it did!! but as we were only on the fringe the downpour was short lived - a day and a night and it was over.  It did cause some temporary road closures and closures within the Kalbarri National Park.  We did the scenic coastal cliff drive in Kalbarri twice; the first time in the rain and we finally gave up and the next day in sunshine.

 No matter the weather the view is always spectacular and Mother Nature just gives us reminders of who really is in charge!!

Next day and sunshine.  From one of the carparks/viewing areas a board walk has been built to the next viewing spot about 1 km away

David actually got a swim in here, the first since Esperance.
We were still in touch with Bruce and Kathy who were now in Coral Bay and 'stuck' there due to road closures from flooding and we wanted to get into Coral Bay but probably wouldn't because of road closures.  This would be the longest time Kathy's ever stayed in one spot - a true grey nomad.  The storms in the Exmouth area have been devastating, the Cape Range Nat Pk has been decimated.  The NP provides many camping areas with designated camp sites along the coast - many are in the dry river beds. On one side is the reef/ocean and on the other the mountain range, during the storms, with so much rain washing down the mountains the river beds flooded while the campers were still there. There were stories of camps being washed away and damage from washouts and tree limbs etc.  The camp site we were booked into has been destroyed and will never reopen and this is probably the case with about 3 other sites.  We will be camping in there though next week, instead of staying at Pilgramunna we've been offered a site at Kurrajong Nth - a new camp site only recently created and on higher ground so we'll go (we were considering not going) and see how it is.  Talking to a Park Ranger the other day he told us that professional fishermen (those that fish out beyond the reef) are still reporting finding animal carcasses - kangaroos etc that were washed out to sea in the storms.  We're interested to see how the place looks having such great memories from our last visit!!
We did manage to get into Coral bay even though the road was closed because we did a 200km detour - we were concerned if we didn't take the opportunity to drive in, we may not get there for a while as more heavy rain was forecast with further road closures threatened.  It did rain but not to the degree that was forecast.  After a month of travelling by ourselves through the southwest of WA we were again in the company of Bruce and Kathy for a few days which was lovely.  As the weather fined up and the roads opened they packed up and headed off to Karijini in the Pilbara.  We probably won't get the opportunity to catch up again on this trip but it is always good to have company for a while.  We are in Coral Bay until friday then to Exmouth and then Cape Range.  A very popular place for visitors and overseas backpackers alike - if you have to be 'stuck' anywhere, can't think of anywhere better than Coral Bay.  Mainly warm and sunny, stunning beaches and reef to snorkel. At the moment the population in the caravan park is going up and down like a yoyo with the passing parade of caravans, tents, motor homes (some like palaces) and all sorts of means of travel.

Obviously the area offers swimming with Whale Sharks, snorkelling, diving, Manta Ray viewing and QUAD bikes!!  So Bruce and David took a 2 hour quad bike tour which they claim to be the best money they've spent.  They went through the many tracks and sand dunes that are behind the town here.  So the net day we took the cars over the same areas - great fun

 Anyway that's all the news for now.  Will catch up soon…