Saturday 12th May 2018
Well we had intended on doing the Dales Gorge Loop again before breakfast but we didn’t manage it as I woke up really tired this morning, so we just went to Circular Pool lookout which wasn’t very good at this time of day as there was no light getting in there. Then we went back down all the stairs to Fortescue Falls and Fern Pools where a group of people were having a swim. Amazing the difference a little light does to change the overall look of somewhere.

Then we headed to the visitor centre where we read a lot of information about the area. I struggle with reading about the terrible things we did to the Aboriginals when we settled in Australia. One interesting thing I read that upset me was that one of the elders from this area died at the age of 76, he was the last in his tribe which had been around for 30,000 years. We have only been here just over 200 years and his family is now all gone. Did we cause that? We always like to read about all the plants and animals in the areas we are walking in. The Visitors Centre is always really interesting.

We then headed the short cut to our next sleeping place, the Karijini Eco Retreat, but on the way we will stop for a hike in Kalamina Gorge. This was a lot different to yesterday’s walk, a bit more rugged, with more twists and turns, a few more pools and amazingly high red cliff faces. We walked all the way to the end where there was another Nature’s Window which we climbed up to. A bit tricky on the steep cliff face, but once up there it was a nice view. I had another swim in the gorge pool, then we headed back. It was a pleasant hike.

Then we continued on our way towards Karijini Eco Retreat with a quick stop at Knox Lookout and Joffre Lookout. These were also amazing and we will walk one of their gorges tomorrow.

We arrived at the Eco Retreat at about 4.30pm and decided on a rest for the remainder of the afternoon. We are having dinner under the stars in the Retreat Restaurant tonight. We had an interesting dinner. BBQ Crocodile for entree which tasted like chicken with a slightly different flavour. David had Emu, Kangaroo and Crocodile Sausages and I had Lamb Shanks and a Citrus Tart with Macadamia Ice Cream. It was a very nice treat.

Friday 11th May 2018
This morning we are heading out to Tom Price Mine on a tour. This was really interesting. A few facts:

• The mine was constructed in 1965
• The town was named after Thomas Moore Price who was the Vice President of the US based steel company Kaiser Steel. He was instrumental in convincing the WA Govt to listen to Rio Tinto and realise the abundance of iron ore in the State.
• Population (2011 census) 5460
• School Age children – 818
• Altitude – 747m above sea level and is the highest town in WA (giving it the nick name – Top Town in WA)
• Dump trucks cost $4.5m, carry 240t, 2500hp engine, fuel capacity 4542 litres, 26 large trucks 140t, 10 smaller trucks 100t
• Excavators cost $7m, 1944hp engine, fuel capacity 7450 litre, Hydraulic oil capacity 4000 litre, Bucket weight 28,500kg, Bucket capacity 21 cubic metres, Height at full reach 16.5m
• Trains are over 2.5km long, 4500hp each locomotive and 4 used to drive train, 120t ore per car, 28,000t per train load, 5 trains per day from Tom Price, pooled fleet consists of 45 x 236 cars, approx 200 locomotives and 10,500 ore cars

After our tour we headed in to Karijini National Park. Our home for the next couple of days. Karijini is the second largest National Park in WA. As we drove in to the park there was smoke, we kept driving as we had just watched a video at the Visitors Centre which was for the private mine road we were travelling on later in the week which said if there is a fire, just stop your car in a clearing, wind up your windows and close the vents and wait for the fire to pass. We also figured they would have had a road block if it was unsafe. The further we drove in we worked out that they were just doing routine back burning.

Our first stop and overnight stay is in Dales Gorge. We arrived here about 4pm and decided to tackle all the walks here. The estimated time to complete all the walks was 4 hours. We went down into the Gorge first to Fortescue Falls and Fern Pool where I had a lovely swim. Then we walked the base of the gorge to Circular Pool, then back up to the rim and back to camp. It only took about 2.5 hours including my swim and was only 6.6km. The views and gorges were beautiful especially with the fading light. We keep telling ourselves to settle in and take our time when we get to camp but the temptation to walk at sunset always seems to win over, which in turn makes everything else later in the evening.

We are loving the National Park camping as always. Most times they have a loop camping ground which means you only have one or two neighbours. One on each side, sometimes close but most times to so close, Here at Dales there are 5 loops. Unfortunately David mustn’t have smiled the right way when we checked in with the volunteer camp host as we got put in with the generators. Lucky they are only allowed to run between 8am and 8pm. It is also quite amazing, Telstra has been the best provided for the entire holiday but I only have Emergency calls in Karijini and David’s Optus is working.

Thursday 10th May 2018
Wee today was a big travel day. We were up early and I went for a quick run and David did the Windmill Walk as we were to be on the road all day. We had over 500km to drive to tonight’s hopeful home of Tom Price. Wish us luck that we make it.

The drive travelled through some changing scenery, it had been flat plains for over 1300km for the last 2.5 weeks. It was a pleasant enough drive and nice to watch this change. I had my first drive since the 42km I did on the sand in Francois Peron NP. I haven’t forgotten how to drive yet which is good. It was easy driving, not much traffic and no need to overtake anyone.

We arrived at Tom Price at about 4.30pm, checked in to the only caravan park and headed out for a quick 4WD climb up Mt Nameless for sunset. A very beautiful sight! The track was pretty rocky and steep but in low range wasn’t too much trouble albeit a bit slow.

Feeling a bit tired we treated me to a night off cooking at a little Asian Restaurant in town. It was a nice treat.

Anyway, off to bed now as we have another big day tomorrow as we head in to Karijini National Park.

Quick facts
Mount Nameless, or Jarndrunmunhna in the local Aboriginal language, is 1128 metres above sea level. Overlooking Tom Price, the mountain summit can be accessed by 4WD and by foot along a challenging steep well-marked trail and  is the 2nd highest mountain in WA that you can drive up.
In 2006 population was 2721 the median age of 29 reflecting Tom Price’s relatively young family-oriented community.

Pictures for yesterdays whale shark swim are now in yesterday’s post.
Make sure you go back and have a look.

Wednesday 9th May 2018
Well I am still buzzing around with excitement and adrenalin. I feel so lucky to have been able to swim with the whale sharks yesterday. Who would have thought I would ever do that 5 years ago. Thanks again to all my buddies for helping me feel comfortable in the ocean.

Okay so on to today’s adventure. We headed into the Cape Range National Park which is on the west coast of the Exmouth peninsula. The range is right on the beautiful turquoise blue coastline. We had a short stop at Turquoise Bay where amazingly we were the first car in the car park. We had the beautiful beach to ourselves. It was beautiful, water clear, sky blue, air clear. What a privilege to enjoy days like today. (And yesterday!!!)

As it was to be quite warm again today (about 35°) we tackled the longer walk of the two we were doing first. This was Mandu Mandu Gorge, the walk started out on a dry rocky creek/river bed which was a little difficult as the rocks were small and moved underfoot as you walked. We kept walking through the gorge on the river bed with high, sheer cliffs on either side of us. Beautiful colours of the cliff face. We then headed up and walked the return on the cliff face. It is always great to see the area from both high and low viewpoins. It was a 3km hike expected to take about 2 hours. Water recommendation 3 litres per person. The people we met in the carpark had just taken 2 hours and said it will only take us about 1.5 hours. Fifty two minutes later after a comfortable walk we returned to the car park. Quite surprised that we had more than halved the time. A lovely walk.

Then down to the furthest south part of the park to Yaardie Creek Gorge. We would have loved to kayak this gorge but unfortunately we only have our paddles. We are thinking about a blow up kayak for next trip as I think the roof top tent is here to stay. We love the ease of setup, backup and comfortable sleep it provides. Yardie Gorge trail was another lovely walk, this time just on the top of the cliff but with a view of the amazing sheer cliffs, as well as the beautiful full creek below. The creek is tidal and goes out to the sea daily. The walk starts out on a very easy nature trail which is a Grade 1 for the first 600m then turns into a Grade 4 (moderately difficult) for the next 1km which is up and down steep rock sections and goes further along to almost the end of the gorge. The scenery is fantastic yet again. We have the most amazing countryside. Unfortunately no Rock Wallabies to report, only same bats. Another walk done before midday, we are on a roll today.

Next stop Osprey which is a lovely beach campground – fully booked – a short stroll along the beach towards Sandy Cape. We had lunch at Osprey and then drove to Oyster Stacks, another camping spot with amazingly beautiful coastline. A spot to come back to when it is safer to snorkel.

The day ended with a few chores, shopping, pick up my photos from yesterday and a job for the master mechanic.

New battery installed we then drove to Bullara Station stay for another night. Unfortunately our new battery took the time we needed to make it there for damper at 5pm, but was lovely to go back there all the same. Edwina was very welcoming again and we were happy to support them again. They have a great operation going here, they have a couple to meet and greet at the camping spot who are here from Old Bar and love their seasonal job.

We arrived on dusk so DB went off for a walk in search oh animals. Unfortunately he was a little early or late. He came back in the dark, thank goodness for his hiking skills and technical tools that assisted him. He had recorded his track in the light so he could follow it back in the dark. Clever cookie he is.

Well time for a good sleep as we have a big driving day tomorrow. Heading towards Karijini National Park.

Tuesday 8th May 2018
To say I had an amazing today is the biggest understatement in the universe. It is now 8.30pm and I have been back from my Whale Shark Dive since 3.30pm and I am still buzzing. It was awesome, fantabulous, extraordinary and one of the most amazing things I have ever done. To all my surf buddies who have given me the confidence to spend time in the ocean and to go so outside my comfort zone. I THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart. To David and Kristen for all your moral support this morning and encouragement to have a go. THANK YOU.

WOW!!!

3 Islands Shark Dive were so fantastic. Their staff was so young and exuberant, mind you who wouldn’t be with a job like that but it is the photographer’s 7th season so you would think they would maybe get bored but they were fantastic. They showed us the most incredible time. The day started with a little boat ride our to the bigger boat “Drawcard” where we were kitted up with snorkel, goggles, fins and a stinger suit. The suit was needed as they have had 6 cases of Irukandji jellyfish stings in the Ningaloo Marine Park since 18th April with treatment in hospital. So once we were all organised we went for an initial snorkel to test equipment and ability in the water so we could be split in to 2 groups. Lucky for me today we only had 15 on the boat instead of 20 so we swam in groups or 7 or 8. This allowed more vision so was great. They had a plane in the air spotting the whale sharks. Once spotted the photographer Amy got in the water and located the whale shark, she indicated which way it was swimming and then the 1st group got in  the water. Lined up and waited for the whale shark to come towards us. As it approached you put your face in the water and watched. Once the pectoral fins were past us we then swam as fast as you could beside the whale shark to watch it. Some whale sharks swam faster than others, some were bigger than others (from 5-10m long). This was such a buzz. Once group 1 had swum for a bit and the whale shark was out swimming them, group 2 got in the water. Amy continued to swim with the whale shark and directed group 2 in to position and they repeated the same process. Then Group 1 again, then Group 2. When group 2 went in for the 2nd dive the whale shark dived down deep. They can dive down about 1500m. So we lost that one. Time too hop back in the boat and wait for the plane to spot another one. They had the small boat following to pick up any stragglers if necessary.

Whilst we waited to enter the water for my first dive with the whale shark my legs were shaking, I was nervous, scared and very unsure of the situation, but once in the water I didn’t think of irukandji, sharks or anything else, just keeping up with the whale shark. My first 2 swims were amazing I was right beside the whale shark for a very long way. Very grateful for my swimming training and practise with flippers, and also for the last couple of days snorkel practise. We then swam another 3 times with the whale shark. The last time the whale shark swam directly towards us and we saw it face on at a short distance before it swam away and we chased it. It was about 10 metres long and its mouth was about 1 metre wide. It was the best experience ever!! I hope the photos from Amy are really good. We were able to swim only about 3 metres away from the whale shark. So COOL!!!

After this we had a lovely lunch followed by another snorkel back on the reef. Here we saw an incredible number of fish, all sorts, colours, patterns, and sizes. We also had a visit from a white tipped reef shark which I followed for a little while. And also a logger head turtle which unfortunately I din’t see. And we saw a smaller turtle and sting ray on the sandy bottom.

Whilst on the boat we had 2 sightings of dugongs, 2 sightings of humpback dolphins who were very friendly today (normally they are a bit snobby and run away), we saw a manta ray breach the water which was so cool, and we saw 3 dingoes on the bus on the way to the jetty this morning. The crew said we were incredibly lucky as some days they don’t see any other animals. Well I must say I am still buzzing and will remember this day for the rest of my life.

DB had an explore of the Cape Range National Park today, getting ready for a more detailed adventure in there tomorrow.

I will post a couple of pics from today and will let you know when I post the professional pics so you can come back and have a look.

Monday 7th May 2018
Well today was a bit of a quiet one. We went for a walk around the homestead before breakfast, then set off for our next destination – Exmouth – with a few stops along the way.

First stop was Pot Shot Memorial, which overlooked the Exmouth Gulf. It marks the site of Operation Potshot, a US Navy submarine refuelling base in WW2, as well as being the starting point for the Krait’s attack on Japanese shipping at Singapore in WW2.

Then we went to Thomas Carter Lookout, at 311m above sea level, Thomas Carter Lookout is one of the highest points in Cape Range National Park, with views of the ocean, both west and east over the gulf. The lookout is the start and end of the Badjirrijirra Trail, a moderately difficult 8km loop trail traversing the top of Cape Range (too hot for us today). We also looked at Shothole Canyon and the Exmouth Gulf.

Then in to Exmouth where we tried to get in to the National Park for camping, our first failure for getting where we wanted to stay. The National Park is booked out for the next 4 or 5 days. So we decided to stay at Yardie Homestead, a bit of a play on words as it is just another caravan park, which was a little disappointing.  All good, it isn’t too crowded.

We also stopped at Vlaming Head Lighthouse on the way to the caravan park. The views of the coastline were amazing. It also overlooks the “Very Low Frequency” Antenna Array which David thinks is for submarine communication. Fact – the station provides radio transmission to US Navy and Australian Navy ships and submarines. It is the most powerful transmission station in  the southern hemisphere.

That’s all for today.

Sunday 6th May 2018
Well it was an ok night on the highway. The road trains kept going all night but there weren’t too many. I had a pretty good sleep but DB struggled a little. All in all we didn’t have too bad a night in our freebie camp.

Today’s adventure was a trip to Coral Bay. We had been told it was just one street and lots of caravans. Well that was a very true description. The caravan park was chocka block with so many people but the beach wasn’t too crowded. We went for a snorkel starting in the south and drifting down about 500m. We did this a couple of times. It was a little disappointing compared with yesterday’s snorkel at Quobba Point. We had a little down time after this where I actually read my book and had a little rest on the beach. After lunch we headed off on a sand 4WD track to Five FIngers Reef which was south around the headland. We went for a snorkel here at it was as good as yesterday. There were many, many fish, sea slugs, coral and an amazing blue starfish. There had been a turtle, stingray and reef shark in this spot earlier today but they didn’t come round whilst we were out.  Not sure that I wanted to see the shark but it would have been cool to see the stingray and turtle. I stuck close to David just in case the shark made an appearance. It was another awesome experience. The fish were so colourful and varied, big and small, striped and gradients, spots and squiggles, plain and one school of fish where long and skinny with a long sword like nose.

Saturday 5th May 2018
As I sit here under the shelter in the dark at a grey nomad road stop I ponder the amazing day we had today. This holiday presents opportunities to explore around every corner. Today we woke beside the ocean at Blowholes Campground Quobba Point which ended up a freebie as there was nowhere to pay in an honesty box and the ranger didn’t show to collect money. Lucky us, that helps the daily average accommodation costs. After breakfast we went for a walk to “The Aquarium”, which was noted in the Lonely Planet book as being a great place to snorkel. This did not disappoint. It was the most amazing experience, the number of fish, the different species, colours, patterns, shapes and sizes was incredible. We saw an octopus and sea slugs as well. Plus the beautiful coloured corals – pink, purple, green, yellow and brown. It was the best snorkelling I have ever experienced including the Barrier Reef. We were out there for 1.5 hours.

We then went on an exploration up the coast through a couple of stations (Quobba and Gnarraloo). These were through private property but as they offer accommodation and camping we were able to drive through them to the deserted bay. The only downside to this little side trip was that it was 60km each way on a dirt road. Some parts better than others.

The first stop was Red Bluff on Quobba Station which is a big surfing beach, unfortunately no big waves today but that’s ok, the view and scenery was amazing.

Then on to Gnarraloo Bay which is obviously on Gnarraloo Station. This was a big fishing spot but also a magic spot for a swim, the water was quite warm, very salty and picturesque. We had two swims here, one before and one after lunch.

We then headed back to Blowholes to see the actual blowholes as we didn’t get to that this morning. We weren’t really expecting them to be working as there was no surf but they surprised us.

Decision time again as it was almost 5pm. To stay or to move on a little towards Coral Bay. Moving on won this time, we are starting to slip in to old habits again. We managed to arrive just before dark, but only just. Well nighty night. We will see what tomorrow’s adventure entails tomorrow.

Friday 4th May 2018
Well we woke to another windy morning beside the river (hehehe) and as it was quite dry the and created dust swirls which made DB a little crabby. I had a few technical issues so I was a bit crabby too. After packing up we headed on the road to Carnarvon. A cycle along the Heritage trail to Heritage Precinct and One Mile Jetty which is the longest jetty in the  NW of Western Australia and was constructed in 1897 from jarrah. Unfortunately it was closed due to being unsafe, it would have been a great vantage point for looking back at the town and along the coast. Next we had some time apart, I went to the hairdresser and David went to the Carnarvon Space and Technology Museum  which he enjoyed. And I am feeling young and happy again.

We have now headed up the western peninsula to the Blowholes near Quobba.

Thursday 3rd May 2018
Another day waking in the beautiful Francois Peron National Park. We headed out early and were just having a look at the lagoon near the new camp kitchen when we were delayed by some very chatty cooks. The man had been the Director of SLS NT, a keen hiker and traveller. We chatted for almost an hour and were given some tips for Darwin and NT so was a worthwhile delay, although it made us very late for our visit to the Monkey Mia dolphin feeding. We had missed the 1st and 2nd feeding and were running late for the last feeding as it was at approximately 9.45 and we still had to drive about 15-20km on sandy tracks, pump up our tyres and go 20mins along the road to Monkey Mia. Will we or won’t we. We decided we may as well give it a go as that was the last thing we had to do in the area.

We got lucky this time and arrived just after the display had started. It cost $12 each to enter the resort area but was worth it to see the dolphins up so close. We then went for a walk through the resort area which is currently being rebuilt.

We then headed on our way to Carnarvon (about 351km) via Denham, the Little Lagoon and Eagle’s Bluff lookout. As we drove we saw a few animals and many feral goats along the road. This caused DB a little problem when we checked in to our Station Stay as he mentioned to the owner that we had seen lots of feral goats, not realising it was a sheep, cattle and goat station. Oops!! I think we offended him a little as he wasn’t quite so chatty after that. The station is lovely once again. We were looking forward to a swim in the river as this was mentioned many times in WikiCamps comments but not to be this time. We did manage a lovely chat by the log fire with another young retired couple who had been on the road for 3.5 months with another 8 or 9 to go, and another chat with an older couple in the dark in the Artesian Spa (only 33° today) where we watched the stars, Jupiter, shooting stars and satellites for about 30 minutes. It is lovely sharing our journeys, their journeys and tips for future places with all the fellow campers.

Oh well, so much for an early dinner, we only got back to camp at 8pm, lucky we are having a quick vegetable omelet as we haven’t much food left. We had intended to shop when we arrived at Carnarvon today which didn’t quite happen. We are still about 1.5 hours from there. Oh well it is 10.18pm and I still have to name the pics, so nighty night. xxx