June 9 - 14

Day 69 – June 9 – Kununurra (WA) -> Gregory National Park (NT)

We said goodbye to Western Australia after 51 days! WA is great, lots of very beautiful places to see, with good infrastructure and not very many people. A real treat.

We embarked on a new adventure in NT, our 5^th state (ok, territory to be pedantic). Long drive from Kununurra. We drove to Gregory National Park near Victoria River and camped in the national park by the river.

Day 70 – June 10 – Gregory National Park -> Douglas Daly Resort

Bruce, Erin, Luke and Ben went on a beautiful 90 minute walk at Joes Picnic Area in Gregory National Park (Michelle not feeling well today, nasty flu). They saw red cliffs and lush green forests with Livistona Palms against a huge escarpment. Erin and Luke took some amazing photos. The boys made their own waterfalls down the mountain….

200km to Katherine, where we stopped briefly for lunch at the Low Level Bridge. We collected lots of brochures from the visitors centre and then headed north. We’ll spend more time in Katherine after Darwin.

We stopped for the night at Douglas Daly Resort, just off Stuart Highway past Hayes Creek.

Day 71 – June 11 – Douglas Daly Resort -> Litchfield (Florence campground)

In the morning we went for a lovely walk along the cascading rapids and waterholes of the Douglas River. We had the whole 2km to ourselves – except for some dead cane toads, a dozen wallabies, lots of orb spiders, a snake and 1 group of campers. Very pretty, shady campsites right on the river. The water looked inviting but we didn’t swim due to the croc signs.

We found a great camping spot in Litchfield National Park at Florence Falls, surrounded by bush. It was only about 600m walk down to the gorgeous plunge pool at the base of the falls. It was a very deep clear water pool with two big waterfalls at one end and a trickling stream at the other. We had a refreshing swim then walked back to our campsite via Shady Creek walk. We made a campfire and toasted marshmallows after dinner then lay outside under the stars to read. We all agreed that Litchfield is even more beautiful than Karijini.

Day 72 – June 12 – Litchfield (Walker Creek campground)

In the morning we did a 2km walk from Florence Falls campground to Buley rockholes, a series of small waterfalls and rockholes. A perfect place to swim and relax! We arrived at 9:00 and there were only a couple of other people there. We started at the top pool for a swim and climbed down all the waterfalls to the bottom, swimming in each pool on the way, then went back to the top again. This is one of our favourite places! It felt like we had it all to ourselves until 10:00 when all the tour buses arrived. By 11:00 it was swarming with people, smoking and jumping in the pools. We remembered one of the reasons why we liked Karijini and the Kimberley so much – very few people.

Bruce went back to pack up camp and pick up Michelle and the kids, and we left the crowds to go to Walker Creek. Walker Creek is a campsite at the north end of Litchfield where you leave the car and hike in to camp at one of eight sites along Walker Creek. Each site has a different rockpool and given the hiking, much less people! We chose to stay at campsite #6 – about 1.6km from the carpark through the bush next to the creek. A very secluded little camping area with shade, a table and a fire place right next to our own swimming hole and little waterfalls. It was a long hot walk carrying all our gear in (we made 2 trips!) but it was certainly worth every step. We had a few day trippers come in and swim in the pool but otherwise we had it all to ourselves. A relaxing afternoon swimming and reading. We were even brave enough to go skinny dipping! After dinner we lay in our tents and drifted off to sleep to the sound of the waterfalls.

Day 73 – June 13 – Litchfield (Walker Creek campground)

We think this is the best camping spot we have found so far on the whole trip, and have decided to stay another night. We relaxed at camp, swam and explored the waterholes, and when the first daytrippers arrived about 10:30 we headed out to see more of Litchfield.

We saw Tolmer Falls and Wangi Falls. Both of them spectacular, it’s difficult to imagine how much the water must flow in the wet season. We couldn’t swim at Tolmer Falls as it is a refuge for ghost bats, and while swimming is normally allowed at Wangi it was closed to swimming due the recent heavy rain creating strong currents and the chance of saltwater crocs. Given our difficulty in cooking meals back at our campsite we went to a café for a yummy lunch of burgers (Michelle had a local Barra burger – very good!).

We spent the afternoon and evening back at Walker Creek – more swimming and reading. We can’t believe how clear and lovely the water is, and no horrible insects or slimy things in the water. Only a big water monitor which sits by the pool and watches us…

Day 74 – June 14 – Litchfield -> Darwin

We packed up the campsite, and after a final swim in our private waterhole we loaded everyone up with backpacks and bags and trudged 30 minutes back to civilisation. Very sad to leave Litchfield, it really is a beautiful national park and so close to Darwin as well.

We drove back to the Stuart Highway and on up to Berry Springs, where we visited the Territory Wildlife Park. This is a great park created by the NT government to showcase the natural wildlife of the Top End. The park is very spacious, with sections devoted to different parts of the Top End, from grasslands to mangroves to billabongs. We particularly loved the aviary with the local birdlife and the aquarium, which had lots of amazing creatures from fish to the obligatory saltwater croc. They also had a bird show, where they had owls, kestrels, a jabiru and a huge wedge tailed eagle.

We drove on to the outskirts of Darwin, where we’re staying – a huge caravan park with 3 pools and a jumping pillow. Quite different to last night’s accommodation in Litchfield – but the kids love it!

June 4 - 8

Day 64 – June 4 – Turkey Creek -> Purnululu (Bungle Bungles)

Our big tour in the Bungle Bungles! We were picked up at 5:30am in the 4WD bus by East Kimberley Tours for our long awaited tour into Purnululu National Park. We had been looking forward to experiencing the 4WD Spring Creek Track into the park – supposedly one of the roughest roads in Australia – but after 5 minutes we were all quite sick with the motion sickness. We had to stop the bus at one stage when Luke was physically sick. After 2 ½ hours we finally made it to the visitor’s centre – after 53km and 47 river crossings (but only 3 had water in them).




We then travelled with our tour guide Jools to the northern section of the park and hiked into Mini Palms Gorge – a pretty tough 5km walk (2 ½ hours) along a river bed next to tall palms in a steep red gorge. Then, after a gourmet packed salad lunch, we walked to Echidna Chasm – an amazing chasm 250m long, 200m high and in some places only 2m wide. It felt amazing being there and looking up at the Livistona Palms against the blue sky.




Now, totally exhausted we arrived at our accommodation for the evening – tented cabins in a beautiful bush setting next to a river bed. We had a relaxing afternoon chatting around the fire and then had a yummy dinner of steak, veges and apple pie. We met a nice lady called Helen who used to work as a nurse for the RFDS in Derby – she knew Lou our tour guide from Windjana and Tunnel Creek. We slept in real beds! (Luxury..) Pretty cold overnight however, we were glad they provided doonas.



Day 65 – June 5 – Purnululu (Bungle Bungles) -> Turkey Creek

We awoke to the sounds of Dingoes at 5:15 am, had a morning stroll to view the sunrise (as though we weren’t doing enough walking over these two days), and then had a mountainous breakfast of bacon, eggs and coffee.

Another huge walking day, this time down at the southern end of the park. We drove along the range, past wattle and grevillea blooming in bright yellow and red. We walked along Piccaninny Creek bed for a couple of hours. The scenery is breathtaking, right next to the orange and black striped beehive domes. The whole range is so much bigger than we had expected. There were a few pools of water along the creek after the recent rains and the kids had a swim in one in their clothes! Ben said ‘This is amazing!’




We had lunch in Cathedral Gorge (think choir kids running around a beautiful pool in the Qantas ad). It’s a magnificent amphitheatre with a pool surrounded by cliffs. The pool glowed gold – almost fluorescent – due to a film of fine sandstone dust floating on the surface. At one point the surface tension changed so the gold broke up before our very eyes.




We walked through the domes and saw the Grotto, and on our way back to the carpark the beehives almost shone red in the afternoon light.

On the trip back Luke said ‘Mum, the Bungle Bungles are amazing aren’t they!’ On the 4WD bus trip back to Turkey Creek in the dark we listened to Roy Orbison, Abba, Neil Sedaka, etc. Luke and Ben fell asleep. What a great day, and tour. We finally arrived back at the Winnebago at 7:30pm, and we fell straight into bed.

Day 66 – June 6 – Turkey Creek -> Kununurra

After the last couple of days we slept in a little, and then headed north through spectacular scenery towards Wyndham – the northernmost town in Western Australia. There were long tall red mountain ranges everywhere you look. We drove past the east end of the Gibb River Road – we were tempted to see how we would go with the Winnebago, as it isn’t far to places like El Questro and other great stations. However, we resisted our temptations and will have to look forward to when we come back to the Kimberley with a 4WD.



The 5 rivers lookout in Wyndham was awesome – 350m above the surrounding countryside you can see for miles and miles, where the 5 rivers merge and the surrounding huge tidal plain. We also saw the biggest boab tree in ‘captivity’ (this means there is a tiny fence around it) – but not much else to see in town.

On the way from Wyndham to Kununurra we dropped in at the Grotto (not to be confused with the Grotto in Purnululu). This is a very pretty permanent water hole in a gorge 140 steps down – apparently the water hole is 300 ft deep! We all swam, for a while we were the only ones there until we were joined by a little water lizard.

We stayed at Discovery Caravan Park in Kununurra, recommended by Dave and Leanne who we met on the tour yesterday – and we discovered that our site (right on Lake Kununurra) was right opposite theirs where they live!

Day 67 – June 7 – Kununurra

We were woken early by the birds and flying foxes. Spent a relaxing morning by the lake – the kids tried to sink a dead turtle floating in the water, played with a rope hanging from a tree (we didn’t let the kids swim in the lake however, Dave told us that there had been reports of crocs living nearby), and we tried our hand at fishing. The fishing wasn’t very successful, but we got a few nibbles. Dave gave us a tiny fish and some worms to use as bait – but the kids decided to see how long the fish would live in a bucket instead.

We spent the rest of the day on a JJJ tour of Lake Argyle, Ord River and Lake Kununurra. We were picked up by a coach at our caravan park – and Dave was our driver / tour guide! (Small world…) He successfully spoke non-stop the whole 70km from Kununurra to the Argyle Homestead and the Ord River Dam – about the local region, history, flora, etc. The best part of the tour was the 4 hour boat cruise from the dam, down the Ord River back to Kununurra – about 50km. Spectacular scenery – past red cliffs, rich vegetation, freshwater crocs and prolific bird life. It was amazing to see how fast the river flows – 12km / hour or 50,000 litres per second flows through the lower diversion dam.

We were told many interesting facts about how much water flows down the Ord (due to the huge catchment area flowing into Lake Argyle in the wet seasons). Lake Argyle itself currently holds a volume of water equivalent to 19 Sydney Harbours – at it’s peak it has held 36 Sydney Harbours. Apparently a few years ago there was so much rain in one season that ALL of Australia could have been supplied with their water needs for one year – the only problem of course is how to get it transported throughout Australia. It’s takes less power for Perth to have a desalination plant than to pipe the water from the Kimberley.

We stopped for afternoon tea on the side of the river, and went up a few tributaries. The Ord is so beautiful, and an amazingly successful engineering project which irrigates thousands of acres of crops around Kununurra.

Day 68 – June 8 – Kununurra

More fishing in the lake – Ben caught a catfish! We saw the beautiful zebra rock in some galleries – only found around Kununurra. We tried fishing for Barramundi at Ivanhoe Crossing – not a nibble.. We saw some pink diamonds from Argyle diamond mine in a local diamond gallery, and we dropped in to a local art gallery, with some beautiful paintings of Purnululu and the local area. We also went to Mirama National Park, right in the middle of Kununurra – a hidden gem. Just like a mini Bungle Bungles, with rock formations similar to the beehives. Just outside the park we picked up heaps of boab nuts for the kids to try their hand at carving.

May 30 - June 3

Day 59 – May 30 – Broome -> Derby

We loitered around the caravan park this morning, we stayed to play another game of mini-golf (Erin won the first nine, Bruce won the second). On the way out of town we checked out the Broome markets – is it just us or are markets the same everywhere? Shoulder massages, ‘green’ and ‘organic’ trinkets/bric-a-brac, local artist paintings and Turkish BBQ food? Didn’t see any hemp products however…

We drove into the Kimberley to Derby this afternoon. Surprisingly very green, after the unseasonal rain a week ago. A number of creek beds had a lot of water in them, apparently this is uncommon for this time of year. We saw lots of boab trees on the way, and they also line the main street in Derby. Derby is a drab, sprawling town built between a large expanse of tidal mud flats. Derby experiences the biggest range of tides in Australia – up to 12 metres! We saw the town jetty at high tide this afternoon. It will be interesting to see it at low tide.

Day 60 – May 31 – Derby (Windjana Gorge and Tunnel Creek)

One of the best days yet! Today was an example of a day trip tour which was excellent and well worth the expense. We had been looking forward to seeing Windjana Gorge and Tunnel Creek for the whole trip, and it didn’t disappoint. We had initially thought we might be able to drive the Winnebago, but all travellers we talked to said that the access road is really 4WD only. We therefore booked a tour from Derby. We were lucky really because the unseasonal heavy rain had closed the road for 3 weeks, but luckily it was re-opened yesterday.

The tour group was just us and a young couple from Switzerland, so we fit into a Toyota Landcruiser troop carrier. Our tour guide was a girl named Lou who was born in Derby and has been going to Windjana and Tunnel Creek since she was very young.

From Derby we turned onto the Gibb River Road, and soon realised why we made a good decision not to drive the motorhome on the road ourselves. Apparently the road was good because it has recently been graded. On the way we saw a large goanna standing up on its hind legs!

Windjana Gorge was beautiful, and again due to the rain the water level was reasonably high, and the vegetation was green. It was hot, but according to Lou in the wet season it can be over 50 degrees and over 90 percent humidity – not a pleasant place to be. We saw half a dozen freshwater crocodiles in the water and sunning themselves on the banks. Luke tried to sneak up on them to see how close he could get! (Good thing they weren’t salties..)

Tunnel Creek was great fun – an amazing 700m long limestone cave / tunnel complete with stalactites, stalagmites, clear water, sandbanks, yabbies and fish. We saw flying foxes, horseshoe bats and even 20 or so carnivorous ghost bats on the ceiling. The tunnel was quite dark and we needed to use the provided torches to see where we were going. It was fun walking through water that went up to our knees (Ben’s thighs), but it was nice to have a guide to tell us exactly where to walk. The kids walked through a ‘kids only’ tunnel and we all swam in the pool at the end of the tunnel. It was great to have Lou’s local knowledge as she described how the tunnel and creek have changed since she was a kid.

On the way back to Derby we stopped in a pretty spot on the Kimberley Downs floodplain, had a yummy afternoon tea while Lou told us the (true) story of the Aboriginal rebellion leader Jandamara. Check it out, Jandamara was a local Aborigine who led his tribe against the whites who took the land and enslaved the young men for the pearlers based in Broome. Why didn’t we hear about all these travesties of justice when we were kids?

We watched the sunset behind the termite mounds and boab trees. A perfect end to a fabulous day.

Day 61 – June 1 – Derby -> Fitzroy Crossing

The first day of winter and the hottest day so far. The sweat dripped off us all day.

We visited the Kimberley School of the Air (KSOTA), which educates kids from about 28 remote stations across the Kimberley. We sat in on a class a teacher was running for 8 year 1 students – they all had computers and were communicating via the internet doing a science experiment. It was fascinating – each kid could signal on the computer when they had completed something or when they wanted to put their hand up. They spoke using a radio. It was a very modern well equipped facility. The principal gave us a tour through their school – he was rightly proud of his staff and students. He thought Luke was in year 6!

We saw the Boab Prison Tree, used in the 1880’s to hold Aborigines captive before they were walked to Broome (220 km) and forced to work on pearl luggers – another piece of history which we shouldn’t be proud of…

We then drove to Fitzroy Crossing (3 hours) – with Ben singing to us the whole way!

Day 62 – June 2 – Fitzroy Crossing -> Mary’s Pool

We did the 8am Geike Gorge cruise, a pleasant 1 hour boat ride past the multicoloured gorge walls. We saw freshwater crocs and an abundance of birdlife. Lots more people than the Yardie creek cruise – we couldn’t ask any questions but the ranger was very interesting. We then went for a short walk along the Fitzroy river where we saw another 4 freshies.

We had a refreshing dip in the pool back at the Fitzroy Crossing Lodge caravan park, lunch, then drove on.

We stopped for the night at a 24 hour rest stop at beautiful Mary’s Pool, a free camp under trees by a river and a sandy river bed. We cooked damper and marshmallows over the fire. Lots of squawking corellas.

Day 63 – June 3 – Mary’s Pool -> Turkey Creek

We woke up early with the birds. Had a lovely relaxing morning exploring the rocks and sandbanks besides Mary’s River. Found some excellent coloured rocks. The kids tried out a new fishing method using bread, carrot and pumpkin. When that didn’t work they tried scooping them up with a plastic bag! Surprisingly they didn’t catch anything, but at least they had fun trying. Morning tea of pumpkin scones from the oven – Bruce had 4!

We drove through Halls Creek and saw China Wall – a quartz rock formation that looks like a mini Great Wall of China. We stayed at Turkey Creek Roadhouse (Warmun) that night.

May 24 - 29

Day 53 – May 24 – Port Hedland -> Eighty Mile Beach

How inefficient can a tourist information office get? Michelle had specifically called ahead a couple of days to enquire about the BHP facility tour, and was told by the office that no prior bookings were required, we just had to turn up on the day. We turned up, and you guessed it! Tour cancelled because no-one had booked ahead… Fuming! The tour couldn’t be organised at short notice because they had already cancelled the bus. Also, their information about ships departing the harbour and trains departing were also both incorrect, so we didn’t see anything. Bit of a wasted overnight stop, really…

Anyway, we kept heading north and had a break at De Grey’s rest area – where we practised our newly honed stone skipping skills and did some bird watching (Thanks for the Bird book Pa – has proved very useful!)

We stopped at Eighty Mile Beach, just short of halfway between Port Hedland and Broome. A HUGE caravan park in the middle of nowhere, but we soon found out why. The beach is fantastic – big sand flats at low tide and thousands upon thousands of huge, interesting shells. Ben said “I can’t believe God created such a beautiful world”. Gotta love his comments.. When we arrived at the park a lady approached us and gave each of the kids a beautiful home made shell animal sculpture, made with shells and some glue. That night the kids made a card to thank her for her amazing generosity – she obviously gives one to each of the little kids who stay at the park.

Day 54 – May 25 – Eighty Mile Beach -> Broome

We went for early morning walk along the beach. At 6:30 there were already a dozen fishermen. We collected dozens of amazing shells (no National Park restrictions here thank goodness!). We met a man who told us that he had stayed at the beach for three months already. We also saw a large school of dolphins swimming close to the shore.

A brief stop at Sandfire roadhouse (typical petrol station in the middle of nowhere) where we saw a dozen peacock walking around…

We arrived in Broome mid afternoon – quite humid, just like we expect Darwin to be. We played in the sand at Cable Beach and watched the camels walking on the beach at sunset. Broome seems to go crazy around sunset, dozens of 4WDs go down to Cable Beach to watch the sunset, than half an hour later they all charge back up again!

We let the kids stay up late tonight to watch the Survivor finale on TV (we’ve managed to convert the whole family to be Survivor tragics) until after midnight! We’ll all be tired tomorrow…

Day 55 – May 26 – Broome

We planned out our next few days – lot’s to do in Broome!

This morning we stopped at the Japanese cemetery and strolled around the Chinatown district. We did an excellent tour at the Pearl Luggers museum where we learnt about the early history of Broome and pearling industry – fascinating. Did you know that the Japanese divers (Many of which only weighed 60kg dripping wet) wore diving suits which weighed up to 200kg! We were invited to try on the diving helmet but we declined when we couldn’t even pick it up.

We dropped in at Kimberley bookshop (must have been the same one you liked Pa – great) and stocked up on books for the kids – 12! Hope they’ll last for a while, the kids have been reading voraciously while we’ve been away.

Then we went back to Cable Beach and did a half hour camel ride – something the kids have been looking forward to for the whole trip. It didn’t disappoint – very touristy but well done. We had plenty of time to get to know the camels, the kids could choose which camels they wanted:
- Erin – Rasheedie – very furry and loves eating
- Luke – Daisy – an ex Alice Springs racing camel – a boy with a girl’s name so it didn’t attract many bets (apparently the boys are faster than the girls), and therefore attracted better odds for the owner’s bets – smart… Had very long eyelashes
- Ben – Connor – big camel, quite young at nine years old found in the wild near Mount Connor in NT
Recommended for all travellers to Broome!

Day 56 – May 27 – Broome

Today we dropped in ‘Winnie’ for a 70,000 km service, then we were picked up for our Willie Creek Pearl tour. After picking up a few other tourists at various hotels and accommodation we drove 40km over dodgy dirt roads to the pearl farm in Willie Creek, north of Broome on the road to Cape Leveque. We learnt about the anatomy of an oyster, how a pearl is formed, and how they are farmed. We also went on a boat to look at where the oysters are stored in Willie Creek. While on the boat, we went looking for the crocodile that they had seen ‘yesterday’, and we were shown a bird nest (no bird), etc etc.

Overall pretty lame – they made us spend more time in the shop looking at their range of pearls than anything else. I guess it worked however; we did buy a small freshwater pearl necklace for Erin. The tour was definitely aimed more at grey nomads with fat wallets rather than families with young kids..

Back at the caravan park (and having picked up Winnie) we went for a refreshing swim in the pool, and then went to Gantheaume Point at very low tide to see some 120 million year old dinosaur footprints in the rocks – now that was impressive and it was absolutely free! Then had yummy chinese for dinner in Chinatown – we introduced the kids to the pleasure of Short soup.

Day 57 – May 28 – Broome

Michelle went for an early morning walk on Cable Beach – just like Balmoral in Sydney really, lots of boot camp people exercising, power walkers and parents pushing prams. Cable Beach is a little bit bigger than Balmoral however…

Cable Beach was actually closed today for swimming as someone was stung yesterday by an irukandji jellyfish (one of the most venomous creatures in the world for the uninitiated). Normally they don’t appear this late in the season, especially in Broome. To think – the kids went swimming at the beach just the day before!

This morning was maintenance – cleaning the motorhome, doing several loads of washing. Good to take advantage of decent facilities and a sunny day. Bruce and the kids played minigolf (yay, all the kids got at least one hole-in-one… no arguments), the kids rode bikes round the park, swam in the pool and read heaps of books.

In fact so many books have been read by the kids that we went to a second hand book shop in town to buy more – Erin and Luke in particular seem to be finishing a book a day!

We then went to Town Beach to watch the ‘staircase to the moon’, a phenomenon where a full moon rises over a low tide across the mudflats of Roebuck Bay, creating the impression of stairs up to the moon. There were thousands of people there waiting for the moon to rise at 5:36pm – we thought that it was going to be a disappointment after all the hype, but it was fantastic! We walked out on the flats to watch the moon rise, and Erin & Luke discovered some amazing worms in the mud that glowed with a fluorescent blue light. Only problem was getting stuck in the mud flats (Ben wasn't impressed!).

Day 58 – May 29 – Broome

Ben wanted a ‘school day’ today, so Michelle kept them all in for the morning and made them do homework. She rang the bell and everything! It’s good for the kids to catch up on their homework, we’ve been a bit slack lately.

Bruce washed the outside of the motorhome while all this was going on – so we spent the morning again just like yesterday.

In the afternoon we went to the Cable Beach Crocodile Park just around the corner. It’s owned by a guy called Malcolm Douglas, a local legend who apparently was doing things like Steve Irwin long before Steve did. Not quite as famous as Steve, but then Malcolm is still alive so maybe he’s smarter after all…

The park looked a bit run down – there is another, newer and larger park on the outskirts of Broome, but it was excellent simply because of the number of huge crocs there. We learnt heaps of info about the various crocodile species, with the saltwater crocs being the largest and most aggressive. We did a tour with a guy called Mark who took great delight in teasing the largest saltwater crocs with raw chickens, making them jump up against the fence right in front of us. One of the crocs lost a tooth on the fence – Mark then gave the tooth to Luke for being the keenest kid in the tour. We also held a croc about a year old – but not before his mouth had been held shut by a rubber band.

Rode our bikes down to Cable Beach again to watch the sunset – this time the beach was fairly empty as most of the town was over at Town Beach watching staircase to the moon again. We rode home behind the camels (not too close) and finished another very pleasant day in Broome. Off to Derby tomorrow!

May 17 - 23

Day 46 – May 17 – Cape Range National Park

Michelle and Erin went for an early morning walk on the beach, they had it all to themselves. National Park rules prevents collection of any items, including shells and coral. Big shame, there’s some great stuff there! While they were walking, a shovel nosed ray followed them all the way along the beach.

Later we all did a 3km walk through Mandu Mandu Gorge. We had a serious energy depletion issue but nothing a jelly snake or two couldn’t solve. A tough slog along a dry rocky river bed, but then up to the top and back along the top of the gorge back to the car park. Great views from the top, well worth the effort.

We returned to our camp ground mid afternoon to find it half under water! A combination of high tide plus big swells plus strong winds caused water to be pushed up into the camp site. We turned around to do some snorkelling at Turquoise Bay for a couple of hours (sensational!). On one side of the bay you can enter the beach at one end and let the current drift you along, over the coral bommies to the other end of the beach. Just beautiful, spectacular coral and hordes of amazing fish. The fish are unafraid of humans as well – once a school of over 100 fish surrounded us! Later we returned to our camp site to see the water had subsided with the lower tide (a bit…)

Day 47 – May 18 – Cape Range National Park

We drove down to Yardie Creek this morning, where we did a 1 hour hike up through the gorge. More beautiful red cliffs. We then did a 1 hour boat cruise up the creek and learnt about the local flora (rock wallabies and egrets), fauna (red and white mangroves) and environment (ancient rock formations in the gorge). The water level was very high (the highest the ranger had ever seen) – we were wondering whether our camp site was going to be inundated again!

We decided to go back to Turquoise Bay again, where we did the Drift snorkel again – just fantastic. Nice and warm in the water. We stayed a while and let the kids have fun in the water.

Small world – at our camp site we met a lady from Wingham (near Taree in NSW). That night we went crab hunting with torches on the beach back at Lakeside. Ben counted 21 crabs – some small, some v. big. The kids were a bit scared when we were between the crabs and their holes, and they would run towards us (Bruce and Michelle were unafraid of course…) The biggest surprise was seeing the biggest crab of the night waiting for us at the step of our motorhome! Erin was screaming and Ben was in tears.. Luke said ‘we are never going out at night again’!

Day 48 – May 19 – Cape Range National Park -> House Creek Bridge

Michelle and Erin went for a final snorkel at Lakeside in the morning. Quite sunny so the visibility was good, the fish were particularly bright. The Wrasse (lovely purple, pink, green and peach colours) and the Moorish Idol (think ‘Gil’ from Finding Nemo) were a highlight. They got a fright when they small two rays – one small but one behemoth (5 foot wingspan and 6 foot long tail). They were the same colour as the sand so only saw it when they were right on top of them! Made a quick getaway…

We restocked with food, fuel, gas etc in Exmouth and then headed inland for the Pilbara. Beautiful drive – through the red soil, yellow spinifex, green bushes and purple mountain ranges as the afternoon daylight faded away. We drove during dusk, and we found out why this is not advisable – we had to stop several times for cows which were perched on the road.

Day 49 – May 20 – House Creek Bridge -> Karijini National Park

We continued driving towards Tom Price, dodging cows, kangaroos, corellas and road trains. Quick stop in Tom Price for tourist info and then on to Karijini National Park in the Hammersley Ranges. At Karijini we had our first shower in 5 days – good to have clean hair and put on clean clothes…

We settled at Dales camp ground, which provides good sites in a bush setting. The kids rode bikes around and worked on some activity sheets provided by the ranger. We had a roast for dinner (not bad for camping…, thanks to the Winnebago) – Ben said “Nothing could be better than this!”

NB: Far less flies than we had expected – bonus!

Day 50 – May 21 – Karijini National Park

Awesome day! We hiked from our camp site around the rim of Dales Gorge, then down into the gorge to Fortescue Falls. Spent the rest of the day (4 hours) swimming in the cool water under the Falls, lazing like lizards on the rocks in the sun, walking to Fern Pool for another swim and shower under a waterfall, then lunch, another swim at Fortescue Falls, etc, etc…

Not much more to mention, but what a day!

Day 51 – May 22 – Karijini National Park

Another great day in Dales Gorge. This time we hiked along the floor of the gorge from Fortescue Falls to Circular Pool and back, about an hour each way. A very pretty and exciting walk, as there a number of creek crossings on precarious slippery stepping stones. Somehow we managed the walk without any slips and broken bones, and had a swim in Circular Pool – very cool, clear, deep water completely surrounded on 3 sides by steep cliff faces. Back at Fortescue Falls we did more swimming, more lazing, more sitting in the waterfall. Michelle and Erin went back to Fern Pool for a massage (from the waterfall) and a pedicure (from the little fish nibbling their feet).

Day 52 – May 23 – Karijini National Park -> Port Hedland

Big driving day today, from Karijini to Port Hedland. Played lots of games in the car, Michelle did spelling tests with the kids. Ben learnt how to spell ‘palaeontology’ – did I spell that right?

We’re not impressed with Port Hedland – obviously not built for looks but for functionality to the mining industry. Quite impressive for ports, ships, trains and piles of salt and iron ore however. Amazing to see how much infrastructure is required for a large mining company these days.

May 11 - 16

Day 40 – May 11 – Denham

Luke sat 2 (out of 4) NAPLAN tests this morning at Shark Bay School. Only a small school which has K-12 – only eight students in year 3. The school is only four years old (brand new!), and has a very friendly principal.

We walked through the town and saw the excellent Discovery Centre, showing the history of the area and describing why Shark Bay is one of the few places in the world that satisfy all four requirements of World Heritage listing : History, Evolution, Natural Beauty and Threatened Species.

We saw an emu walking down the main street (!), and a turtle off the main jetty. We collected some sea shells and Ben made sushi with the seaweed. We also saw some interesting local buildings made from compacted shell bricks cut from the quarry at Hamelin Pool. Fishing is the big recreation at Denham, lots of boats go out every day from the jetty. Apparently Shark Bay is excellent for fish, particularly pink snapper. The geography of Shark Bay means that they can get both cold water and tropical species.

Day 41 – May 12 – Denham

We got up while it was still dark to get to Monkey Mia to see the dolphin feeding. Fortunately Bruce had found out from a fellow traveller the night before that first feeding was before 7:30, so we arrived just after 7am to find the dolphins already there for their feeding! Eight dolphins came as close as a metre to us while we were standing knee deep in the water. An amazing experience (even though we were sharing it with 100 others…) For some reason the rangers fed the dolphins themselves (usually they pick people at random to feed them). We saw one dolphin Nikki who had been visiting the beach to be fed every day for 34 years. The dolphins then came back again for a total of three feedings – but all over by 8am! Good thing we were told to get there early.

We relaxed on the beach, paddling in the cold water and playing beach volleyball. Bruce amazed the dolphins with his old volleyball skills (not really).

Back in Denham we went fishing off the jetty. Erin caught 3 little puffer fish (or was it the same fish getting caught 3 times?), and Luke hooked a huge fish but it jumped off just before we landed it. We saw a charter boat come in with nine passengers and fifty huge beautiful fish. We had to be satisfied with some pink snapper and whiting that we bought from the local fish market for dinner. Yum!

Day 42 – May 13 – Denham -> Carnarvon (Blow holes)

Luke did his final two NAPLAN tests this morning (hooray!). There were three kids from out of town doing their NAPLAN tests there, a girl from ACT, another girl from Dubbo as well as Luke. The staff at the school, especially Kay and Rebecca were very friendly and helpful.

We visited Ocean Park Aquarium on the way out of Denham, which had a number of tanks with fish, sharks, eels, stingrays, turtles and other creatures. Ben was splashed by a cheeky fish! We saw the only tiger shark in captivity in Australia being fed – an awesome sight.

We camped behind the sand dunes at the Blowholes near Carnarvon. The campsites were along a two km stretch of road behind the sand dunes. The caretaker had a small windmill to power his fridge, and there was a collection of little shanty shacks made of corrugated iron. It was very windy, apparently unusually. Still people fishing off the beach, we saw one man catch a very large fish.

Day 43 – May 14 – Carnarvon (Blowholes) -> Coral Bay

Unluckily for us, the swell was coming from the wrong direction for the blowholes to be performing at their best (apparently 20m on a good day), but it was still an impressive sight. Looked like a lunar landscape, covered in salt pools, leading to a rugged cliff with fierce waves.

While driving we saw heaps of animals, including emus, cattle, goats and kangaroos. Two emus ran across the road in front of us, and a flock of 20 pink breasted cockatoos flew right in front of us. Erin walked across water over the Gascoyne River at Carnarvon. The Gascoyne runs underground, so all you can see is a sandy river bed about 50 wide. It provides fertile ground for local banana plantations and other tropical fruit.

Coral Bay is a cute little town but packed with tourists and backpackers. Way too busy for us. We’re staying in a nice caravan park in a fantastic spot, right across from the beach. Even has grass and trees! Erin, Luke and Michelle went snorkelling from the beach – amazing – there were huge 60cm snapper, and great coral.

Day 44 – May 15 – Coral Bay

Bruce not feeling well this morning (bad headache, obviously not getting enough sleep – only 11 hours a night!). We stayed around the caravan park while he rested. The kids made a couple of friends so they happily amused themselves playing tip and flying kites. Very windy day.

At midday we did a glass bottom boat coral viewing and snorkelling tour in a boat called the Sub-sea explorer – we actually sat below the level of the water and looked out the side through glass panels. Just like a moving aquarium. The whole floor of the bay is carpeted in coral. Amazing shapes and structures, although not much in colour. Hundreds of gorgeous colourful fish, Erin even spotted a turtle. Erin, Luke and Michelle went snorkelling amongst the fish (great experience!) while Ben and Bruce stayed on the boat. Pizza for dinner – a treat!

Day 45 – May 16 – Coral Bay -> Cape Range National Park

Up before day break today, to get to the Cape Range National Park just after 8am to queue for a campsite. We left Coral Bay in the dark at 6am and drove towards the rising sun, a lovely pink/orange sky.

Luckily there were 4 campsites available so we chose one at Lakeside – a pretty spot near the beach and close to a snorkel site. Only 7 sites in the whole campsite – much quieter and more peaceful than the caravan park at Coral Bay.

We checked out the Visitors Centre, by riding our bikes 1km on a very bumpy dirt ride – Ben did particularly well!

We then did some snorkelling at Lakeside – excellent coral, teeming with fishof all colours, shapes and sizes. Saw a shovel nose ray and a manta ray. We all skipped stones. Ben made a good effort with 3, Erin 5, Luke 7 and Bruce did an all time personal best of 9! (Small things…) We watched kangaroos on the beach while the sun set. Can’t get better than this!

May 4 - 10

Day 33 – May 4 – Busselton -> Fremantle

We spent a pleasant two hours on Bunbury beach at the Dolphin Discovery Centre waiting to see some dolphins. They’re supposed to come close to shore not unlike the Monkey Mia experience, but things sounded ominous when the lady who took our money ‘prayed’ for dolphins today. We did see two dolphins from a distance but none came to the beach to be fed as we had hoped. Oh well – we enjoyed looking at the interesting discovery centre and talking to the very enthusiastic volunteers.

After Bunbury we detoured to Donnybrook which has the biggest free playground in Australia. Amazing! Spent two hours and had a BBQ lunch there. Lovely drive up the coast, and enjoyed an outdoor art exhibition at Rockingham. Stayed at our favourite caravan park – Fremantle Village. (We let the kids stay up to watch Survivor – their favourite show!)

Day 34 – May 5 – Rottnest Island

One of our best days yet! A big bike riding day on Rottnest Island. We cycled from the caravan park (8am) to the ferry terminal and caught a ferry to the island (30 minutes). What a great, relaxing place! No cars, just people cycling and strolling around. The island is about 11km by 4km, so a good size for cycling. No dramatic hills. On arrival we spotted two dolphins, then a quokka. The kids had a try at fishing (thanks to a friendly tourist), and Erin caught a herring!

Later we saw some huge stingrays, a peacock and lots more quokkas (Erin & Luke counted 32 in total). We braved the cool water to go snorkelling at the Basin and saw heaps of fish. After the ferry ride home we had fish and chips in Fremantle, then cycled back to the motorhome just on dark (6:30). Fantastic day!

PS. Check out Bruce's beard!

Day 35 – May 6 – Fremantle -> Cervantes

Long drive out of Perth, to arrive in Cervantes just after lunch. We checked into the local caravan park (not much accommodation choice in Cervantes), and after a rest we spent a couple of hours at Nambung National Park wandering amongst the Pinnacles. We were disappointed to hear that the Winnebago was too wide to drive through the Pinnacles, but we took the walk and got up nice and close anyway. Very eerie, thousands of limestone rocks jutting out of the sand. The kids amused themselves playing ‘poo tip’ – where Ben pretends to pick up dried animal poo and the other kids try to avoid him – lots of fun.

Day 36 – May 7 – Cervantes -> Coronation Beach

From Cervantes we drove along the coast road through Dongara and then on to Geraldton. We saw the amazing leaning trees, that have been blown over by the constant wind (yes, more windmills in Geraldton!). In Geraldton we had lunch next to a water playground, and we let Ben and Luke get themselves soaked.

At the great Geraldton Museum we learnt about all the shipwrecks in the local area, in particular the Batavia which was wrecked in 1627. An amazing story, the survivors of the shipwreck experienced a subsequent mutiny, where over 100 of the survivors were massacred. They showed a movie which dramatised the events, in all their gory detail. Good thing we were warned not to let the kids see it!

We stopped in briefly at the brand new memorial to the HMAS Sydney II – which was sunk in a naval battle with the German ship Kormoran in 1941.

At Coronation Beach camping site we at fresh prawns and Mullaway fish (which we had bought at the docks in Geraldton) while watching a beautiful sunset.

Day 37 – May 8 – Coronation Beach –> Kalbarri

Beautiful drive along the coastal road through Kalbarri National Park, lots of scenic lookouts on the cliffs. At the Natural Bridge lookout we saw a large pod of dolphins from the cliff top, and we nearly got blown away at the Red Bluff lookout.

At Kalbarri we relaxed at the pool in the caravan park, and in the evening we went to an outdoor cinema where we saw ‘How to Train Your Dragon’. Great experience, they provided very relaxing chairs and we ate pizza and ice cream. The kids watched the movie from their sleeping bags – a fun night!

Day 38 – May 9 – Kalbarri -> Nerren Nerren

Mothers Day! First stop was by Murchison river in Kalbarri where we saw two pelicans being fed. Very entertaining. We then rode pedal boats on the river for a while and set off to see Kalbarri National Park. We had received advice from the Visitor’s Centre not to attempt the dirt road to the main gorges, so we satisfied ourselves by stopping at Hawks Head lookout and also walked down to the river for a look. Very hot (even in May!) and so many flies! We’ll have to try out our fly gauze hat covers at the next stop…

We stopped at Nerren Nerren camp site (just off the highway) – still lots of flies, but we had a great camp fire and sausage BBQ when they died down. We were treated to an impromptu fireworks show by one of our neighbours, but they weren’t nearly as colourful as the language of one of the other campers who said that the crackers were scaring his dogs…. Luke made damper in the fire coals for dessert – excellent!

Day 39 – May 10 – Nerren Nerren – Denham

More driving – but the country looks and feels like the Nullarbor again. Long stretches of red dirt and shrubs with a roadhouse every now and then. No grass, very few trees.

At Hamelin Pool we saw the stromatolites – the oldest living organisms on the planet. Stromatolites were the king of living things for 2 billion years, and helped produce enough oxygen in the atmosphere to promote more advanced life forms. They didn’t look like much, but amazing to think that that was how life started…

Stopped at Shell Beach which consists of millions and millions of tiny shells. Still heaps of flies, so not particularly pleasant to stay for long. We also stopped at Eagle Bluff which shows an excellent view over the water in Shark Bay, and saw the vast fields of Sea Grass which feeds 10% of the world’s population of Dugongs (didn’t see any of these however).

In Denham we’re staying at Seaside Caravan Park, nearby to the school where Luke will do the NAPLAN test (which Michelle has arranged).