Hello everyone, we have had some amazing ventures and Western Australia is turning out to be even better than I had imagined so far.  After our night stop over on the Moore River, we pack up and head to see The Pinnacles.  The Pinnacles are limestone formations within the Nambung National Park.  You could have taken a thousand photos as each and everyone was unique in its size and shape. 

The Pinnacles 

We set the co-ordinates into Sarah and head to a camp at Sandy Cape.  What a little adventure that turned out to be.  Sarah literally takes us down a sandy, rocky road,( that's if you could even call it a road,) that would have only been a metre and a half wide.  We were in too far to turn around or even reverse out, so luckily we have a cruiser and an off road van.  The unlucky part is all the scratches along the length of the car and caravan.  Lets just say that Sarah came very close to be thrown out the window. The bright side was that it was just another adventure that we all got a laugh out of, and we did arrive safely at our destination.  Sandy Cape was a really lovely spot on the beach just north of Jurien Bay, where we went to the lookout and watched the sunset on the beach.  It was also the place where Max learnt first hand about the term 'sharted'.......

 

                                                   Sandy Cape Sunset

We left Sandy Cape on the main road in, which was nice for something different, and headed to Geralton to stock our supplies.  The information centre was excellent and headed us to Wagoe Beach, which was only 20km south of Kalbarri.  It was a lovely place and we spent our days exploring the National Park, which included the most amazing cliff edges and the contrast of the red against the blue were spectacular. A place that Sammi will never forget either as she lost her hat off one of the cliffs.  Wagoe Beach itself was great, with a huge rock pavement, that the waves crashed on and shot metres into the sky.  We also seen a Hilux bogged on top of the sand dunes, and after realizing Toyota wasn't shooting another ad, we sat and watched the antics that followed.

                                                            Wagoe Beach Camp

                                                                Kalbarri coast line

                                                      Where Sammi lost her hat

Off again, and ready for our next destination and adventures.  We found a place that we had been searching for ever since we left home.  A place that we could just chill, but with still plenty to do as well if that makes sense.  Something for everyone, a beach to swim in, and fish in, and snorkel in.  Point Quobba is where we found it, 70km north of Carnarvon and the start of the Ningaloo Reef.  It was awesome, we camped right behind a sand dune and had our own private access to the beach.  We all snorkeled, which was a first for me (apart for the Sea Lion experience) and I absolutely loved it.  Sammi was amazing and after her first turn, she just couldn't get enough.  Kaicey was exceptional, and was diving down to see the coral, fish and even an octopus with Troy.  Elley and I shared special moments together as we cruised along the edge of the reef, blown away with what we were seeing.  Max felt more comfortable sticking closer to shore, but still got to see the colourful fish which swam so close.  Memories were made that day.  Just down the road were the most amazing blowholes we have seen to date.  The water shot up as far as 20metres and back in World War II, the Japanese bombed the area thinking it was enemy fire.  Incredible.  A little further down the track was the HMAS SYDNEY (II) MEMORIAL, where we payed our respects for ANZAC DAY.  A sobering moment as we learnt that over 600 Australian lives were lost on the vessel.  We had our minute silence, which is a huge feat in itself with Sammi in tow!!!  Back at camp, we had barbeques on the beach, Troy caught fish, we swam and snorkeled away the days.  Elley and I had a day out to run errands and enjoyed a lovely lunch at the pub.  I had a haircut in town, which was especially needed as I tried to cut my own hair when everyone was asleep, and was ordered to get it fixed.  The hairdresser and Troy both made me promise to never try and cut my own hair again!!!!  Six nights at Point Quobba and I was reluctant to leave, but also excited about the next spot.

                                                Point Quobba

 

                                                           Blowhole

                                                        BBQ cook up on the beach

                                                           HMAS SYDNEY II MEMORIAL

                                                      Chillin' at Point Quobba

Back in Margaret River when we met Neil, he had told us about his sisters property that you can camp on.  It's called Warroora Station, and 52km of her boundary is the West Australian coast line.  It was 20km of the roughest corrugated road we have been on, but it was worth it.  We camped right on the beach only metres from the water,and the girls spent hours in it with their boogy  boards, while the twins coloured in.   It was lovely and the sunset on the water was beautiful.  We got many looks as we left, people wondering why we would only spend one night in such a lovely place.  The thing is, we think we are getting a little spoilt.  We have seen so many beautiful beaches that we may be getting immune....

                                            Warroora Station Camp

Coral Bay was great, but again, just another beautiful bay!!  We were lucky enough to have met another lovely family, travelling as well.  We had decided to move on, school holidays were in full swing and the Bay was crowded.  Exmouth, here we come.  We had planned on staying in the National Park, but we were grossly mislead by the Information Centre, (who we believe get a cut with the Caravan Parks in town) which had told us all the camps were full and that there were line ups to get in.  We had driven so far, so we booked into the Big 4.  It was a lovely caravan park, and it just so happened we ran into the family we met in Coral Bay, Simon, Kristy, Mila and Elke.  With a packed lunch, we set out for Turquoise Bay.  It was glorious.  Troy and Kaicey snorkeled with a turtle even.  On the way back we drove up to the lighthouse lookout, where there are still sandbags around the radar tower from World War II.  It really was a great park, and the kids really enjoyed the pool.  They had movies every night and they joined the kids club to make starfish chocolate brownies.  We had three nights in Exmouth and we thoroughly enjoyed it.

                                                     Turquoise Bay

                                                   The sand bags from World War II

                                                               Kids club

Super excitement had set in.  We were heading to Tom Price to catch up with my cousin and visit Karijini National Park.  It was not what we expected.  There were so many mountains and platues on the way there, every single one was so different.  After ocean after ocean it was a welcome change.  We had one night in Tom Price, which is a mining town, and it is evident the moment you pull in.  High vis everywhere, along with work cars.  We were on our way to Karijini when Troy says he would like to do a mine tour.  We all donned our hard hats and safety glasses and head to the Tom Price mine.  It was really interesting, we got to see the Iron Ore being graded and crushed and also being loaded onto a 3km train.  Every train that leaves Tom Price has a minimum of 2 million dollars worth of Iron Ore on board and on track to Dampier.

                                                Mine tour at Tom Price

Karijini!!! OH MY GOSH!!!!  What can you say about Karijini, for me, Heaven on Earth, Where Dreams Come True, Where Fairytales Are Set come to mind.  After seeing the camp hosts at Dales Campground, we set up camp and relax with a cold one.  It had been a big day after the mine tour and we decided to rest and start a fresh in the morning.   We had dinner and sat outside star gazing.  I have never in my life, seen so many stars, stars so bright and thick it felt like daytime.  It was a special moment in my life, the five most loved people in my world sitting right next to me, pointing out the Southern Cross, Saucepan, Milky Way and the likes.  We sat there for hours, mesmerized.  Packing a picnic in the morning was even exciting. We went straight to Dales Gorge and with a bit of local knowledge under our belt, we headed straight to Fern Pool.  WOW!!!  It was quite daunting actually, jumping into unknown water, even after being assured there were no nasties in it.  Fern Pool is this amazing 'pool' setting with a waterfall.  It has a boardwalk out to it and a step ladder to enter the very cool water.  Kaicey and Troy ventured to the fall first, then we all followed.  My fear of water, or what lurks underneath it was soon at ease as Troy and I swim over to the waterfall.  Sitting underneath, Troy leans over and kisses me.  It was pretty special, and quite funny, because he followed the kiss by saying, "you can scrap that off your bucket list now hey, being kissed under a waterfall' how romantic!!!  ( it actually really was)... We all got out and dried off and spoke to the ranger.  It turned out to be the best thing ever.  He told us the twins would cope with the class 4 walk all the way to fortesque falls and circular pool.  We were full with food, water and enthusiasm.  It was amazing.  Here the six of us were, trekking up cliffs and around waterfalls, safely of course.  We climbed out on a tree and got our photo taken.  I would stop everyone everynow and then and make us all look up and around, just to marvel in our surroundings.  We made our way to Circular Pool, which took our breath away, for two reasons.  One, for the sheer beauty of it, secondly, it was bloody cold.  What we seen was spectacular, a circular shape cut out of cliffs a 100m high,  with several waterfalls cascading down into the crystal clear blue-green water.  The six of us swam to the falls and were surprised by the warmth of the waterfalls.  It was breathtakingly amazing, which left us on a high we have not experienced as a family unit before.  We had walked for hours, and we are so in awe of our surroundings and our children. Talk about making memories!!!!  We were beat.  Back at camp, we had dinner, watched the amazing night sky and slept like we had never slept before.  We woke in the morning on a high, wanting to duplicate the day before, we set off to Weano Gorge.  With a lot of lookouts along the way, I was feeling a little bummed that our day wasn't as great as the day before.  On our way down Weano Gorge we passed several people puffed and exhausted, saying to us that the kids would never make it down and back.  It was obvious they had never met OUR kids before!!!  I'm not sure I could even describe what happened next.  It was a class 5 walk, one down from needing ab sailing gear, and while we wanted to do it, we were still thinking about safety and the kids.  We were assured it was fine, and that there was plenty of room to turn around if need be.  Have I told you our kids are awesome???  We had to swim clothed, with shoes on, walking around cliffs, walking up gorges only a metre wide with water gushing at you.  We had to navigate our way down a handrail into another gorge pool, that grown adults turned around and were not able to negotiate.  It was totally mindblowing, and I am in awe of my husband, and our four wonderful children.  On our return, we were met by the same ranger as the day before, even he was in awe of our kids after we told him how far we had gone with them, all the while, with THEIR safety in mind.  He encouraged us to do another adventure walk, in another gorge, The Hancock.  We did it, and it was amazing, the kids were beat, but with the promise of a cordial back at camp, they ploughed on like true champions.  We were heading back to Tom Price the following morning and I'm not sure if it was just tiredness, but I kicked my toe so hard that I actually dislocated it and broken it in two places.  Lucky me!!!  All apart of the adventure hey!!

                                         Find  the handrail we all climbed down

                                            Karijini

P.S. We did have the most amazing photos which I happened overwrite on the computer, and yes, I cried, but we will always have our memories!!!!!


 We spent another night in Tom Price, and headed to see some special friends in Karratha.  Briony, Troy, Caitlin and Lauren have welcomed us into their home so lovingly and we are forever grateful.  They are beautiful people, and we are humbled to call them our friends.

It's Mothers' Day tomorrow, my personal favourite day of the year, but I would love to wish two very special ladies a very HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!!! LOVE YOU SO VERY MUCH...

We are over half way around Australia, but my plan is to slow down, I don't ever want this journey to end!!!!

Love ya's all
The Travelling Bryants
xxxxxx