Life in a Humpback

Day 91: Cervantes (Day 1)

After some wet days the weather was nicer today, so we spent the morning exploring the art trail in Cervantes. We found metal alien robots, zebras who had crossed a road, a shark playground, and many more. The kids also got a swim in the first heated pool we've encountered since Alice Springs.

In the afternoon we drove south to Nambung National Park to visit the Pinnacles Discovery Centre and to go for a walk through the Pinnacles Desert. Unfortunately the 4km driving loop through the park was closed because of damage to the road from a very wet winter. Instead we walked out into the park. The Pinnacles are columns of rock that stick out of the sand dunes around them. Scientist are still not sure how they were created, but one theory is that they are petrified trees. While walking through we found Pinnacles that has birds nests on them, lots that had holes in them, and a few kangaroos eating dinner as the sun was starting to set.

Once we had a good look around we headed back to the carpark to join our Pinnacles Night Tour. First they sent us back out to the Pinnacles for a look around another section of the park before we circled back to where we were earlier. Then we had a yummy dinner before they pulled out the telescope and we got to look at some of the constellations. The dark skies here made star gazing very easy. Just before we headed home Saturn came high enough above the horizon for us all to have a look through the telescope to see the planet with its rings with our own eyes.

Day 90: Mullewa to Cervantes

This morning I got up early to go for a walk along the Mullewa Bushland Trail. It was still rather wet after the previous nights rain, so some of the everlasting were still closed, but it was a lovely walk through fields of wildflowers. I even found a few native orchids along the way. After the walk I headed back to camp to pick up the kids and drive out to Pindar (a small town to the east of Mullewa) to see the wreath flowers. The wreath flowers, with their ring of blossoms, are plants that people come from all over to see, so there were plenty of signs to help us find them on the side of the road.

Afterwards we drove back to Mullewa to hook up the caravan and head south to Cervantes via Mingenew. Along the way we passed fields of barely, wheat and canola with - of course - wildflowers in between. Once we arrived at the RAC Cervantes Caravan Park the kids went exploring the playground and surrounds before dinner while John and I set up camp.

Day 89: Kalbarri to Mullewa

Today we were on the move once again. Our first stop was south of Kalbarri at Hutt Lagoon to see the pink coloured Lagoon. The lagoon is pink due to algae that produce carotenoid. This algae is used for things like makeup and food colouring.

We then headed to Geraldton for lunch and to pick up some groceries, as this was the first big city we had passed through since Broome. It was very windy so we did not spend much time in the city.

Once we were re-stocked we drove back inland to Mullewa, which is a small town in the middle of "wildflower country". We stayed at the Mullewa Caravan Park (overflow section). Once we unhooked the caravan I headed out on the wildflower walk that leaves from the entrance to the caravan park. It was a short 3km walk through fields of pink, while and yellow everlastings, hakea bushes, and pincushion flowers, with a few sculptures scattered along the way.

Day 88: Kalbarri (Day 2)

Today we woke up to cloudy skies and a forecast of rain, so we didn't make any big plans for the day. In the morning we went into town for the daily pelican feeding.

While the others had some down time, I headed out for another look at the wildflowers in Kalbarri National Park. Then later in the afternoon Olivia and I went into town to look at the art and craft exhibition that was on.

For dinner we went to Finley's where Theo was very excited to find a burger named after one of his best friends.

Day 87: Kalbarri (Day 1)

Today we got up early and headed into Kalbarri National Park for a day of walking and wildflower viewing. Our first stop was Z Bend. We walked to the lookout to see the sharp bend in the river below, then continued along the River Track to the Murchinson River below. Along the way down we saw a school group who were getting ready to abseil down the wall of the gorge. On the way back up we stopped to watch for a little bit while the kids assessed if it was something they might want to try later on in the trip.

The next stop was Nature's Window. Here we walked out to a "window" in the rock that you can look through and see the Murchinson River below. Theo and I got excited when we thought we could see a mallee fowl down by the river (one of the animals in our Menagerie card game), but on closer inspection with a zoom lens it looked more like a swan.

Our last walk in the Murchison River part of the national park was to the Skywalk. Here there are two cantilevered lookouts that hang out over the gorge below. It was a very windy day today so we were careful to hang on to our hats. Unlike many previous visitors who had lost their hats (and at least one drone) to the cliffs below in what the kids called the "hat graveyard".

On the drive back out to the coast we saw a thorny devil on the road. We have been looking out for one for a long time. It was super cool to finally see one.

In the coastal section of Kalbarri National Park we stopped at Natural Bridge/Castle Cove for a look at the ocean. This was the first time on the trip that we have seen big waves coming in to the shore and crashing onto the cliffs. Further north the reefs stop the big waves of the Indian Ocean from getting to the coastline.

On the way back to camp we stopped at Blue Holes for a look around, before getting ice creams and having a quick play in the town playground. For the rest of the afternoon we stayed at camp where the kids spent their time making up new games with the other kids staying at the farm.

Day 86: Shark Bay to Kalbarri

Another travelling day today. We stopped into the Denham visitors centre and the "little shop" for one last look around before heading south again.

On the way back to the main highway we stopped at Hamelin Pools to try and see the stromatolites. Even though the tide wasn't very low we could still use binoculars to see some of them sticking up out of the water. After looking at the stromatolites we walked along the shore towards the old Hamelin Station, and its shell brick quarry, before circling back to the car.

As we headed further south we started to see fields of flowers along the side of the road - including white everlastings near our petrol stop at Billabong Roadhouse.

For our stay in Kalbarri we camped at the Big River Farm. The property used to be a horse farm but it is now up for sale. There are still a few horses, dogs, cats, and peacocks around. The kids were excited to have the pool and playground right near our site and made good use of them before dinner.

Day 85: Shark Bay (Day 3)

Today we went on a tour of Francois Peron National Park. Access to the majority of the park is only by 4WD, so rather than driving ourselves through all the sand we booked with Wulu Guda Wyinda.

We meet our tour guide "Capes", who gave us (and our two tour-mates) all indigenous names for the day, which we were told we had to remember if we wanted to eat lunch! Olivia's name was Warda (pearl shell), Theo's name was Biguda (handsome kangaroo), John's was Thaaga (shark) and I was Wirriya (ocean). Once introductions were over we drove out towards the park - spotting kangaroos and emus along the way. Then at the old Peron Homestead we let down the tryes and drove into the sand. The two kids took over as navigators and animal spotters sitting in the front seat of the old Landcruiser.

As we made our way to the northern tip of the park we made a few stops along the way to learn about bush tucker - digging up some native yams and having a taste. We kept an eye out for thorny devils and echidnas along the roadside, bearded dragon in the dead trees, and blue tongue lizard in the scrub. We saw lots of animal tracks, some smaller lizards, and the bum of blue tongue lizards before we made it to Cape Peron.

At Cape Peron we had morning tea and then went for a walk along the coast. Wow what an amazing mix of colours - red and white sands meet blue ocean and sky. We also saw dugongs and eagle rays swimming off the cape.

We all had a swim while "Capes" cooked up some fish for lunch. While we were eating, a monitor lizard dropped in to check out the BBQ area. After lunch we walked along the coast the other direction towards Skipjack Point. From the lookout at the point we saw cowslip and eagle rays, a white tipped reef shark, and some large fish swimming below the cliffs.

We then drove to Bottle Bay and along the sand to the end of the beach. To end the tour we headed back to the old Peron Homestead for a soak in the artesian hot tub. It was a perfect end to an amazing day with amazing people. We all learned so much and really enjoyed a day out in the park.

Day 82: Carnarvon to Shark Bay

Today was Father's Day. Sadly it was a travelling day so John couldn't have a sleep in. But he did wake to cards and hugs from the kids so not a bad trade off.

We headed south once again and into the Shark Bay World Heritage Area. Our first stop (and lunch) was at the Hamelin Pools. Unfortunately we got here just as a rain shower blew through so did not get out to have a look. We did learn that as it was also high tide we would not have been able to see much anyways since the boardwalk was damaged during a cyclone that came through a few years ago. We hope to drop in again in a few days when the tides are lower.

By mid-afternoon we arrived at the Blue Dolphin Caravan Park and Holiday Village in Denham. Olivia and I went for a walk through town before we had homemade pizzas for Father's Day dinner.

Day 81: Carnarvon

Today the sun was back out first thing in the morning. The kids and I headed to the local Saturday market in the town centre. We had a look at the crafts stalls, picked up some fruit and veg from the local farms, and had mini pancakes between rain showers.

Once back at the caravan park we picked up John and headed to the Carnarvon Space & Technology Museum. The site had several of the old dishes and radars used for tracking during the Apollo moon landings. Part of the museum covered the history of the Base Station through the Gemini, Apollo, and Skylab eras before it was shut down in the mid-1970s. The kids favourite part of the museum was the hands on science room. Here there were several simulation activities from landing a space shuttle on a runway to docking with the international space station. There was a green screen to "take" photos of yourself on the moon, a science quiz to do, and a vending machine where you could pretend to buy various foods to have in space and learn the pro and cons of those foods (chips = too many crumbs; baked beans = good that they stick to your spoon but makes you too gassy; lollies = can spill and bounce around hitting you in the head while trying to sleep). Finally near the back there were four old Atari games to play - John and Theo kept trading the top score on Gallaxia.

Day 80: Coral Bay to Carnarvon

Today we packed up, did a bit of souvenir shopping and said goodbye to Coral Bay. We continued our southern journey leaving the Ningaloo Coast for the last time and arriving in Carnarvon just before the rain started - our first rain since Kakadu. The winds that came with the rain are definitely the strongest that we have encountered this trip. We hunkered down for the afternoon at the Discovery Park Carnarvon for a bit of down time.