Friday 5th - Sunday 7th October 2012 - Kalbarri

We headed off from Hamelin Bay and drove down to Kalbarri. It has been years since Ed and I had been there so It was nice to return. We stayed 2 nights at the caravan park.
The Kalbarri Coast is beautiful with lots of places to explore.

When in Kalbarri you can't not go and see Natures Window.

How romantic!

Wednesday 3rd - Friday 5th October 2012 - Hamlin Bay & Steep Point

We left Quobba and went into Carnarvon to resupply water and food before heading south towards the last most do part of our trip - Steep Point the most westerly point of mainland Australia. We camped at Hamlin Bay For 2 nights. We got there late in the afternoon and only had enough time to explore the shell quarry and the Stromatolites.

The next day we took the long drive out to Steep Point. There are very few camping spots there so we were lucky that we didn't come out here to camp. Ed enjoyed a fish off the rocks. The kids and I were well away from the edge.

Ed Fishing off the rocks at Steep Point

It was a long day to drive there and back but we were glad that we did it. We ended the day tired but happy that we had completed our goals to go to all the major geographical landmarks around Australia.

Tuesday 2nd October 2012 - Quobba Station

We drove down to the blowholes which are around 50km out of Carnarvon. We had planned to stay at Point Quobba however there were very few spots left (due in part to all the grey nomads who were there) so we decided to camp out at Quobba Station. The station owners very generously gave us a nice, just caught Spangled Emperor. There were only 3 other cars there. It was very quiet for our 1 night there.

The Blowholes

The beach at Quobba Station

Friday 27th September - Tuesday 2nd October 2012 - 9 Mile Camp (Coral Bay)

We had heard about a camping spot called 9 mile just out of Coral Bay. We managed to find it and we had a great time staying there. The caretaker had already left so it was free! There were 4 caravans there so there was plenty of space to chill and relax in a pretty spot.
We spent our days exploring the beach and fishing. Thomas really improved with his fishing and is now able to cast out his line a reel in a fish. He was very proud to catch some Flathead and Thread-fin Salmon without help. Ed also caught a Golden Trevally. We had lots of fish to eat. The girls also went fishing but with no success. Olivia lost 5 fish! The beach was fun to explore and we found lots of pretty shells.

We were in need of showers and clean clothes so Monday was spent in Coral Bay snorkelling, washing clothes and bodies. Another great day. We packed up on Tuesday at a leisurely place and hit the load heading down towards Carnarvon.

Saturday 22nd September - Friday 27th September 2012 - Exmouth/Cape range National Park

We left Karratha and Dan & the kids and headed south to Exmouth for some sun, fishing and snorkeling. We spent the first 2 nights at the light house caravan park as Cape Range National Park was  full. We managed to catchup with another family that we had met in Kakadu.
The next day we did some exploring and took the kids down to Leamouth Jetty. Olivia had some success fishing and caught a fish much to her delight.

We also took a drive around to the lighthouse and into town. Ed managed a fish in the late afternoon on the beach. Unfortunately the wind started to pick up and we had a very windy night.
On Monday we drove down to Yuli Beach in the Cape Range National Park to camp for 5 nights. Apart from the annoying wind we had a great time there. Every day we went snorkelling at Turquoise Bay or Oyster Stacks. It was so much fun as all of us can now do it together, although Thomas gets cold quickly and doesn't last out in the water as long as the girls.(Even with a wet suit and floating vest on!). We saw some beautiful coral and lots of fish.
We spent time exploring the beaches and fishing here and there as well. We enjoyed our days chilling out at the beach and trying to stay out of the wind. The late afternoon and nights were very windy.

The wind got worse so we cut our stay by one night and headed south - just a little!

Thursday 20th - Saturday 22nd September 2012 - Karratha

We left Balla Balla and drove on down to Karratha. My cousins Dan & Lisa live there with their children Lily, Henry and George. Unfortunately Lisa was visiting family down in Perth and we didn't get to see her, but we enjoyed 2 nights catching up with Dan and the kids. The girls enjoyed playing with Lily and Thomas was in heaven playing with the boys and a lll their lego.

Thomas and Henry playing Lego

Lily and the girls

George did not want his photo taken!

Dan and I saying goodbye

Thomas had been complaining on and off about having a sore ear and when he was in tears again I took him into Nickol Bay Hospital in Karratha and he had a nasty infection in his ear canal most probably caused by all the water we had been swimming in up north. Great! Just in time for our trip into Exmouth!

Tuesday 18th September - Wednesday 19th September 2012 - Broome and heading South!

We discovered a fuel leak late yesterday so Ed got that looked at and patched up before we left town. It was a leak in the hose between the tanks apparently. We got out of town around lunchtime and drove down to the 80 Mile Beach and stayed the night at the caravan park. The beach was endless and there was some amazing shells which we collected that day and early the next morning.

The endless 80 Mile Beach

Ed and Charlotte went out early and got caught in an early morning fog whilst collecting shells

The next day we drove down to Port Hedland (where we stopped for lunch) and then we drove onto a campsite at Balla Balla Inlet for the night. There wasn't much there except for lots of mud and some cute little red crabs.

Saturday 15th September - Tuesday 18th September 2012 - Broome

We drove straight back to Broome from Cape Leveque. We camped at the Cable Beach Caravan Park close to the large swimming pool - much to the delight of the kids.
Although our visit did not coincide with the viewing of the Staircase to the moon, there was very low tides so we could see the dinosaur prints at Gantheaume Point.

We went and visited Cygnet Bay Pearls at their shop in town and the kids were really excited to see the worlds largest, best quality round pearl which was collected in 2204 I think at the Cygnet Bay Pearl Farm.

The kids enjoyed a camel ride before sunset on Cable Beach whilst Ed and I took photos. They had a ball!

We enjoyed our last night in town watching a Cable Beach Sunset and enjoyed a cold beer.

Monday 10th September 2012 - Saturday 15th September 2012 - The Dampier Peninsular (North of Broome)

Quondong Point
We packed up and left Derby for Broome. Just out of town there was another large boat tree that was used as a prison tree. It was very large - but it is still hard to comprehend that it would be used in this way.

We continued driving into Broome where we stopped at the Visitor Centre and hit the shops for some supplies. We drove out of Broome to the north to start exploring the Dampier Peninsular up to Cape Leveque.
Our first stop was Quondong Point with was only about 40km north of Broome. It was a lovely elevated site to camp with direct access to the beach. We enjoyed a swim and collecting shells and of course fishing! The amazing thing about this place was the hundreds of hermit crabs that surrounded us that evening. I have never seen so many in my life. They were amazing! The sunset was also great...yes I know that it is hard to believe!!!

I will never forget the Kimberly sunsets - I just wish we could capture them in a photo. They look better  in real life.

Middle Lagoon

Our next stop on the way up to Cape Leveque was Middle Lagoon. It was a sandy drive in there but worth it when we arrived. After setting up we got on our bathers an hit the beach. It was really lovely.

We enjoyed fishing, playing in the sand, swimming, the sunsets, shell collecting and playing in the sand. One of the things I love about the WA coast is the Red rocks, the white sand and the blue water all close together. It's just such a beautiful sight to see.

Charlotte dancing on the beach

Olivia doing cartwheels

A sand croc

A sand mermaid

Another beautiful sunset

Cape Leveque

We drove  up to Cape Leveque via Beagle Bay. It was an easy drive up - a sealed road most of the way. The Beagle Bay Church was built and decorated by some spanish monks in the early 1900's. What makes it unique is the decorations of local shells and mother of pearl shells decorating the altar and the rest of the church. It is really a quaint place to visit.

We then moved onto Cape Leveque to stay up at Kooljaman Wilderness Camp. The beaches were beautiful. Ed and the kids had a snorkel and Ed also had a fish. We also caught up with a family who are travelling around Australia for 3 years! The girls got along well with Elizabeth and Kate who were around the same age as them.

The red rocks on Western Beach at Cape Leveque

Ed in action fishing. He caught a reef shark but he let it live another day!

Sunset over Western Beach

One Arm Point

We went for a drive up to One Arm Point. I remembered that I went to school with a girl from here. She is now a teacher in Derby but her parents still live there so I left them a note which I hope finds its way to Kylie and she gets in touch with me.

We visited a hatchery rugby an older man who had many good stories to tell. There were tanks with Barra and turtles and clown fish. The kids loved it - especially when the opportunity came to feed them.

They also polished up beautiful troches shells and the girl each got a necklace made of parts of a shell.

We drove out to a beach near the hatchery where they launch boats and we saw 7 Lemon Sharks swimming close to shore. It was amazing to see. Ed got in with a mask and snorkel to get up close. The colour of the water was amazing!

We did not get into Lombadina as it was virtually closed down due to a big wedding happening in town so it was the only place we didn't get to.

Cygnet Bay Pearl Farm
We did a tour of Cygnet Bay Pearl Farm which was really interesting. As it's close to the end of the season we went on the tour with only us. It was very informative learning about the pearling business. I was very tempted to buy a pearl (my favourite was the golden pearls) however I held back (just!). The funny thing is that loads of people go on a tour of the Willie Creek Pearl Farm and it is a fake. It is just set up for tourists and is not a working pearl farm!

We had a great time exploring up around the Dampier Peninsular and we were very glad we came up here. Off to Broome for a few days before heading south on the homeward stretch.