Life in a Humpback

Day 114: Esperance to Baxter Rest Area

Today we started our journey across the Nullarbor. We headed north from Esperance, stopping in Salmon Gums for morning tea and a play in the playground. After leaving Salmon Gums we passed several salt lakes some of which were a bright green colour. We made it to Norseman for lunch, stopping at Phoenix Park. While here we all had a bit of a wander through the park and town.

After filling up with petrol we turned east and officially started our crossing of the Nullarbor. A few kilometers in we ticked over 20,000km since leaving Hobart!

Our next stop was at Balladonia for more petrol, a play in the minions playground, and a look through the museum (Balladonia is the site of the 1979 crash of SkyLab space research station). Soon after leaving Balladonia we reached the start of the 90 Mile Straight - Australia's longest section of straight road that measures 146.6km long. About half way along the very straight road will pulled over at Baxter Rest Area to camp for the night.

Day 113: Esperance (Day 2)

Today was another windy and overcast day with the sun poking through only every once in awhile. We decided to go for a drive along the Great Ocean Drive. This scenic drive leaves from Esperance heading west along the coastline. Along the way we climbed the platform at Rotary Lookout, which gave us views both back towards town and along the western coast. We then stopped at several lookouts - West Beach, Salmon Beach, Twilight Beach, Observatory Point, Nine Mile Beach, 11 Mile Beach and Pink Lake - dodging the rain showers and gusts of wind the best we could.

Day 112: Esperance (Day 1)

Today we woke to blue skies and headed out to Cape Le Grande National Park to the east of Esperance. Our first stop was the Frenchman Peak carpark. We had intended to climb to the top but the winds were very strong and the signs advised not to try in these conditions. Instead we went on a short walk from the carpark to the base of the climb.

Our next stop was Lucky Bay. As we drove over the saddle and into the bay we all exclaimed at the colours of the bay. The water was a very bright turquoise colour and the beach was very white. It was a beautiful site. Once at the carpark we had lunch and then all of us went for a dip in the water. We were told to look out for kangaroos on this beach, but given the number of people there on the day it was not surprising that we did not see any!

Our last stop in the park was at Hellfire Bay - another gorgeous white sand beach with turquoise water. Here we went on a walk around its eastern point so that we could look back into Little Hellfire Bay around the corner. Along the way we spotted a few large lizards.

Back at camp we took advantage of the ice cream truck that rocked up to the park - the kids were keen to cash in their reward from Dad for finding his lost caravan keys. Afterwards the kids headed to the pool for a swim before dinner. Meanwhile I headed to the esplanade to watch the harvest moon rise over Tanker Jetty.

Day 111: Fitzgerald River Rest Area to Esperance

Today we continued our drive towards Esperance. Along the way we stopped in Raventhrope for a quick look around town, and a few rest stops to look at the wildflowers. We rolled into the RAC Esperance Caravan Park a bit after midday, which gave us the afternoon to have a look around town and stock up on groceries. John and the kids finished their day with a swim at the pool.

Day 110: Denmark to Fitzgerald River Rest Area

Today we packed up and said goodbye to our lovely campground by the Denmark River and continued eastward. Our first stop for the day was outside Albany at the Historic Whaling Station. This was the last whale processing station in Australia, which closed in 1978. It was interesting to learn about the history of the industry and how Albany has changed since the 1970s to have a more conservation focus.

We all really enjoyed exploring one of the old whaling ships. The kids struggled with how the whales were killed for their oil but enjoyed the sheds where we got to learn about the whales and learn to tie different knots.

On the way back towards Albany we stopped in at the Natural Bridge and The Gap in Torndirrup National Park. The lookout had one of the most impressive car parks that we have encountered. It appeared to be raised above the surrounding rock, with drop offs along the edges of the road to navigate with the caravan attached. Once parked we walked out to the Natural Bridge and The Gap to watch the waves crashing against the coast. It was fascinating to watch the power of the ocean and learn how it helped to create the bridge and gap.

From Torndirrup National Park we drove through Albany and continued towards Esperance. In the evening we camped on the side of the road at Fitzgerald River Rest Area, just outside the Fitzgerald River National Park. Recently we have been travelling though the more built-up areas of WA, so it had been a while since we have had the chance to free camp. When we arrived at sunset we were the only ones there, but before heading to bed we gained a few neighbours and lots and lots and lots of mossies!!

Just as the kids were getting into bed one of our neighbours came knocking on our door asking if we could help them as their camp stove was on fire and they were worried they might start a bush fire. Armed with a fire blanket and extinguisher and a water bottle John and I went to help. Meanwhile the kids are hanging out windows trying to see what was happening. It was our turn to be the "people who know what they are doing". While initially it looked like a flame from a leaky gas cylinder, it turned out to be a few gumnuts that had caught fire under the camp stove. A few swift kicks to get the stove out of the way (with Crocs™ providing foot protection - no thongs were on hand), a bit of water to dose the flames, and any potential emergencies were avoided. I gave the inexperienced travels some reassurances, and some quick tips on using the dodgy little gas stove, and we left them to reattempt making their dinner.

Day 109: Denmark (Day 3)

We woke up to rain at 6:30am in the morning and it stayed pretty constant all day. Instead of wandering further afield we stayed in town and caught up with some old friends from Tassie who moved to Denmark a few years ago. The kids and I had a great morning hanging out with Emma and her family at the local playground (between showers) and also at the chocolate factory. We even dropped in to see their block of land where they will be building their new home. John hung around camp for the morning - catching up on things and finally getting a chance to fix his hat.

We wrapped up the day and our time in Denmark with dinner at the local brewery with Emma and family. Despite the weather we had a great day hanging out!

Day 108: Denmark (Day 2)

Again we opted for a quiet morning around camp - basketballs, frisbees and boomerangs all were thrown. After an early lunch we drove west to Walpole to checkout the tingle forests at the Valley of the Giants Tree Top Walk.

The tree top walk took us 40m up into the forest canopy. The walk is a lot like the Tahune Airwalk in Tassie just with different types of trees to walk through - karri, karri she-oaks and red tingle trees. After the tree tops we wandered along the Ancient Empire Walk. I actually thought the walk through the under story more interesting than through the canopy. On the lower walk we got to walk through some of the tree trunks, look out for fairy doors in the trees, learn about how quokkas tunnel through the grasses, and of course see the wildflowers in bloom.

On the way back to Denmark we stopped to walk up to Monkey Rock. From the top we had amazing views down the coast. As it had been rather windy there was lots of sea spray in the air along this section of coast.

We got back to camp in time for another game of basketball before dinner.

Day 107: Denmark (Day 1)

We started off our day with a relaxing morning around camp - exploring the river, watching the ducks and kookaburras, playing basketball, and throwing the frisbee. After lunch we drove out to the coast to have a look, and swim, at Elephant Rocks and Greens Pool.

We wandered over to Elephant Rocks first. Going for a scramble over the rock outcrops before walking through a small gap in the rocks to get to the beach. The kids both had a swim here before we headed to the next bay over. At Greens Pool it was rather busy but is was easy to see why. It was a nice protected beach, which made it great for families with kids. After our swim we made our way back up the hill to the carpark checking out the coastal wildflowers along the way.

Day 106: Prevelly to Denmark

Today we left the west coast for the last time and headed to our first stop on the southern coast of Western Australia. Along the way we stopped in Pemberton to have a look at the Gloucester Tree. Unfortunately the Gloucester tree climb was closed due to renovations of the top platform. Instead we went on a short walk around the forest before piling back into the car.

We made it to our campsite at Riverbend Chalets and Caravan Park just after 5:00pm. We were met by Jo one of the lovely owners who walked us down to our site near the river.

Day 105: Margaret River (Day 4)

Today we got up early and headed north towards Ngilgi Cave (near Yallingup) for an Aboriginal cultural tour provided by Koomal Dreaming. We learned about the local Aboriginal history of the area before we took the stairs down into the cave. Because it was school holidays the tour started at 8.30, which meant we had a bit of time in the cave to ourselves before it got busy. When we got to one of the bigger "rooms" in the cave Josh played the didgeridoo for us. It sounded amazing bouncing off the walls of the cave. Afterwards he left us to explore the cave on our own before we continued to the meeting place above ground to learn more about different Aboriginal tools and listen to a few more didgeridoo songs before finishing the tour.

After saying good bye to Josh, we drove further north through Dunsborough to the Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse and Heritage site. We had lunch while being watched carefully by the local magpies, then wandered up the hill to the lighthouse. From the lookout we could see a few humpback whales playing in the water off the coast in the distance. We then had a look in the museum and learned about what is was like to be a lighthouse keeper.

Next we made our way to the coast near Yallingup. Here we walked down to Canal Rocks to watch the waves roll in and look in a few of the rock pools. We then back-tracked at bit to a carpark used the access "The Aquarium" (a water channel surrounded by rocks that protect it from the large ocean). From here we grabbed our snorkelling gear was walked down to the beach. Although the water was much colder than up at Ningaloo we had much better visibility. We saw a sea slug, an eel, lots of fish, and cool seaweed everywhere. By the time we were out of the water and heading back to the car it was getting late in the day.

Our last stop of the day was at Injidup Natural Spa. As it was almost sunset we did not go for a swim. Instead just watched the water rolling over the rocks into the pool, while Theo found lots and lots of crabs. It was a nice spot to watch the sunset.