Saturday 1 – Sunday 2 May
Time to hit the road again – after the week in Perth we were ready to move on. We were packed and on the road again by 9am, again not quite sure where we’d end up. We decided against the coast road to Lancelin and headed up through Cataby (which is marked as a town but seemed to be only a petrol station) and pulled in at Cervantes just before lunch time. We parked the van at the visitor centre and headed into the Pinnacles Desert just out of town. The limestone fingers coming out of the sand look unreal. This was another site featured in the kids “Are we there yet” book – we weren’t disappointed.
We looked around for a couple of hours – you can drive on a loop right through the Pinnacles – then picked up the van and headed to a camp spot just north of Jurien Bay called Sandy Cape. Another top spot by the beach, although the corrugated road out was very rough (and only $15 a night)…
On Sunday we checked out Jurien Bay and picnicked by the beach. The kids enjoyed having grass under their feet again.
In the afternoon we played on the huge sand dunes back at our camp spot.
Monday 3 May
On the move again. On the way north we stopped for a look at Green Head where the kids played with some other kids they met at Sandy Cape. Dynamite Bay looks very nice.
We had heard from some Jurien Bay locals about a place called Stockman’s Gully Cave which was up a 4WD track near Leeman. We dropped off the van at the Leeman visitor centre and set off. The drive was worth it.
The cave is about 300m long and is open at both ends so you can walk right through it. We were there by ourselves. It is pitch black inside – torches were a necessity.
Had to watch out for this low hanging rock in the middle.
In the old days, stockmen taking cattle from Geraldton to the markets at Perth used the cave to keep their stock in overnight.
That night we stayed at a free camp at Cliff Head North.
School was in.
Tuesday 3 May
Into windy Geraldton. Lots of the trees do grow sideways as we had seen in pictures. The Geraldton waterfront is really nice. The kids especially loved the water park. Even better when they found out that this was also their wash for the day!
While in town we phoned around trying to pick up a second hand kayak – we had been looking for a while without luck and we knew that this was our last chance for quite a few kms. We were in luck this time – the owner of a water sports hire company had one she was selling off. After a big grocery restock we went out to her place to check it out – it was just what we were after.
We had planned to stay at Coronation Beach just north of Geraldton that night, but when we arrived we found it was chocas. We headed for a roadside stop a little further north instead.
Wednesday 5 – Friday 7 May
About 150kms north of Geraldton is Kalbarri, a beautiful beach town surrounded by national park. We checked into the Kalbarri Anchorage Caravan Park which is next to the Murchison River.
Thursday morning was our first big turn of the new (second hand) kayak. We paddled across to the other side of the Murchison River and had a picnic by the water.
In the afternoon we drove the bumpy road into Kalbarri National Park to see the fantastic gorges of the Murchison River. First stop was Z Bend…
…and then to The Loop to see the much photographed Nature’s Window. We enjoyed the view with the hundred million or so flies that were also holidaying in the national park. Would have been great to take the fly nets off for the photo but we didn’t want a mouth full…and Western Australian flies aren’t trained like Queensland flies – when you swipe at them they don’t go away, they go and get more of their friends and come back to try and fly in your mouth, up your nose. Arrgggg!
The natural rock formation frames the Murchison River below.
Spectacular scenery!
Just enough time for a bit of beach combing…
…and happy hour.
Sunday 9 May
Very windy day. We headed into Denham to look around. The annual fishing festival is on this weekend so there’s a few activities. The kite making display had plenty of wind to show off their work.
After a play at Little Lagoon we retired to our camp spot at Whalebone Bay for another night. After initially thinking we wouldn’t go to Monkey Mia as we had all seen dolphin feeding before at Tin Can Bay, we decided bugger it, we’re here, lets go – so early nights tonight as the feeding starts at 7am.
Monday 10 May
Up at 6am…it’s still dark…oh that hurts. The kids were very excited about seeing the dolphins up close. And they weren’t disappointed.
About five dolphins and several of their calves came in for feeding. They were so close.
This one smiled for the photo.
After feeding we hung around the resort – there’s really not that much at Monkey Mia but the water front is very nice. We had thought there would be a bit of a town but it’s just a caravan park and resort shops, restaurants etc.
The water was calm and warm so this was a great chance for another play on the kayak. As we were paddling around in the afternoon, the dolphins came back into shore chasing some fish. They came right up next to the kayak to check us out. Unreal!
Check out the one person kayak.
We had such a great time at Monkey Mia we decided to stay there for the night and catch the dolphin feeding again the next morning. Friendly emus roam around the resort.
Tuesday 11 May
After enjoying the dolphin feeding again we packed up and left Monkey Mia. On the way back to the main highway we stopped in at Shell Beach, a beach made up entirely of tiny cockle shells, in some places up to 10m deep. This is one of only two such beaches in the world. Plenty of flies here too.
A little further up the road is Hamelin Pool. Here we stopped in to see the stromatolites, rock formations built by tiny cyanobacteria. These little creatures are one of the earliest life forms. They are responsible for producing oxygen that filled the earth’s atmosphere and allowed other life to evolve. There are very few places in the world where they are still present.
We spent the night at a free camp spot at Gladstone scenic lookout.
Wednesday 12 May
Onto Carnarvon to restock the groceries. We decided to spend the night so we could look around town and power up. We spent the afternoon fishing with some friendly local kids and playing in the park.
Carnarvon has a big satellite dish that was used to track Halley’s Comet in 1986 (amongst many other important uses).
Time to hit the road again – after the week in Perth we were ready to move on. We were packed and on the road again by 9am, again not quite sure where we’d end up. We decided against the coast road to Lancelin and headed up through Cataby (which is marked as a town but seemed to be only a petrol station) and pulled in at Cervantes just before lunch time. We parked the van at the visitor centre and headed into the Pinnacles Desert just out of town. The limestone fingers coming out of the sand look unreal. This was another site featured in the kids “Are we there yet” book – we weren’t disappointed.
We looked around for a couple of hours – you can drive on a loop right through the Pinnacles – then picked up the van and headed to a camp spot just north of Jurien Bay called Sandy Cape. Another top spot by the beach, although the corrugated road out was very rough (and only $15 a night)…
On Sunday we checked out Jurien Bay and picnicked by the beach. The kids enjoyed having grass under their feet again.
In the afternoon we played on the huge sand dunes back at our camp spot.
Monday 3 May
On the move again. On the way north we stopped for a look at Green Head where the kids played with some other kids they met at Sandy Cape. Dynamite Bay looks very nice.
We had heard from some Jurien Bay locals about a place called Stockman’s Gully Cave which was up a 4WD track near Leeman. We dropped off the van at the Leeman visitor centre and set off. The drive was worth it.
The cave is about 300m long and is open at both ends so you can walk right through it. We were there by ourselves. It is pitch black inside – torches were a necessity.
Had to watch out for this low hanging rock in the middle.
In the old days, stockmen taking cattle from Geraldton to the markets at Perth used the cave to keep their stock in overnight.
That night we stayed at a free camp at Cliff Head North.
School was in.
Tuesday 3 May
Into windy Geraldton. Lots of the trees do grow sideways as we had seen in pictures. The Geraldton waterfront is really nice. The kids especially loved the water park. Even better when they found out that this was also their wash for the day!
While in town we phoned around trying to pick up a second hand kayak – we had been looking for a while without luck and we knew that this was our last chance for quite a few kms. We were in luck this time – the owner of a water sports hire company had one she was selling off. After a big grocery restock we went out to her place to check it out – it was just what we were after.
We had planned to stay at Coronation Beach just north of Geraldton that night, but when we arrived we found it was chocas. We headed for a roadside stop a little further north instead.
Wednesday 5 – Friday 7 May
About 150kms north of Geraldton is Kalbarri, a beautiful beach town surrounded by national park. We checked into the Kalbarri Anchorage Caravan Park which is next to the Murchison River.
Thursday morning was our first big turn of the new (second hand) kayak. We paddled across to the other side of the Murchison River and had a picnic by the water.
In the afternoon we drove the bumpy road into Kalbarri National Park to see the fantastic gorges of the Murchison River. First stop was Z Bend…
…and then to The Loop to see the much photographed Nature’s Window. We enjoyed the view with the hundred million or so flies that were also holidaying in the national park. Would have been great to take the fly nets off for the photo but we didn’t want a mouth full…and Western Australian flies aren’t trained like Queensland flies – when you swipe at them they don’t go away, they go and get more of their friends and come back to try and fly in your mouth, up your nose. Arrgggg!
The natural rock formation frames the Murchison River below.
Spectacular scenery!
On Friday did a short drive along the Kalbarri Coast NP in the morning…
…and did some fishing in the afternoon.
Only little fish here, but it was lots of fun. Ella thought this one was cute.
We finished off with chips and drinks by the river. Kalbarri is a great place.
Saturday 8 May
On towards the Shark Bay area today. It was a big drive with not much scenery along the way. The Nullarbor was much more interesting. We arrived at our free camp spot in the late afternoon – Whalebone Bay, about 25kms short of Denham. Beautiful spot.
Just enough time for a bit of beach combing…
…and happy hour.
Sunday 9 May
Very windy day. We headed into Denham to look around. The annual fishing festival is on this weekend so there’s a few activities. The kite making display had plenty of wind to show off their work.
After a play at Little Lagoon we retired to our camp spot at Whalebone Bay for another night. After initially thinking we wouldn’t go to Monkey Mia as we had all seen dolphin feeding before at Tin Can Bay, we decided bugger it, we’re here, lets go – so early nights tonight as the feeding starts at 7am.
Monday 10 May
Up at 6am…it’s still dark…oh that hurts. The kids were very excited about seeing the dolphins up close. And they weren’t disappointed.
About five dolphins and several of their calves came in for feeding. They were so close.
This one smiled for the photo.
After feeding we hung around the resort – there’s really not that much at Monkey Mia but the water front is very nice. We had thought there would be a bit of a town but it’s just a caravan park and resort shops, restaurants etc.
The water was calm and warm so this was a great chance for another play on the kayak. As we were paddling around in the afternoon, the dolphins came back into shore chasing some fish. They came right up next to the kayak to check us out. Unreal!
Check out the one person kayak.
We had such a great time at Monkey Mia we decided to stay there for the night and catch the dolphin feeding again the next morning. Friendly emus roam around the resort.
Tuesday 11 May
After enjoying the dolphin feeding again we packed up and left Monkey Mia. On the way back to the main highway we stopped in at Shell Beach, a beach made up entirely of tiny cockle shells, in some places up to 10m deep. This is one of only two such beaches in the world. Plenty of flies here too.
A little further up the road is Hamelin Pool. Here we stopped in to see the stromatolites, rock formations built by tiny cyanobacteria. These little creatures are one of the earliest life forms. They are responsible for producing oxygen that filled the earth’s atmosphere and allowed other life to evolve. There are very few places in the world where they are still present.
We spent the night at a free camp spot at Gladstone scenic lookout.
Wednesday 12 May
Onto Carnarvon to restock the groceries. We decided to spend the night so we could look around town and power up. We spent the afternoon fishing with some friendly local kids and playing in the park.
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