Tracy Tbird Bignose Rob

Coral Bay 26th - 29th June Coral Bay was beautiful - shame we couldn't say the same about the weather. It's the kind of place where you need hot sunshine to enjoy the beach and snorkeling. When we first arrived the weather was lovely and we had a great day and a half on the beach, swimming and snorkeling. There were some beautiful fish. Then it got a bit cloudy and not so warm. Pete and Jan, our Aussie friends, arrived on our site and we spent a day 4x4 driving around the sand dunes and beaches with them - great fun in their landrover. We had to rescue some guys who had got their 4x4 stuck on the beach with the tide rapidly coming in. Rob and Pete got a special towing strop and pulled ... read more

Shark Bay 21st - 25th June Still trying to chase the sunshine, we headed further up the west coast. We stopped at Hamlin Pools on the way to see the stomatolites - ancient organisms which build up solid 'towers' in the sea. Next stop was Shell beach which was stunning - pure white shells stretch along the whole of the bay. Too cold for a swim though. Shark Bay was great - First Rob and I went to Monkey Mia, a little resort at the tip of the peninsula which is famous for the dolphins coming close to the shore. They feed the dolphins each morning (only very small amounts to stop them beoming dependent on it). We stood and watched the feeds and I was longing to be picked to feed one of the dolphins. ... read more

Kalbarri National Park We had been really looking forward to visiting the famous 'Nature's Window' at Kalbarri and set off on the 27km unsealed (but, we were assured, suitable road for two-wheel drive vehicles). The optimistic guy at the park entrance had a real 'no worries, you'll be fine' Aussie attitude. Ten kms later, after being shaken to pieces by big ridges of corrugation and deep dips everywhere, we decided enough was enough and turned back. The next day they closed the road to repair it! We never did get to see 'Nature's Window', but we did see a couple of the gorges nearby, which were beautiful. We didn't have a lot of luck with the weather either. There was something like a short tropical typhoon which swept through Kalbarri on our second day. It was ... read more

The Nullarbor This was our first challenge for driving the vast distances that Oz casually throws at you. The Eyre Highway stretches across from South Australia into Western Australia. It's a really strange set up here going from one state to another - it's like going to a new country - we had to go through 'border control' where they checked all our stuff - searching (shock, horror) for fresh fruit & veg! They're trying to stop fruit flies from entering Western Oz. We cracked up over this - has no-one told them that these things can FLY! We imagined these fruit flies disguising themselves to try to cross the border! Wigs, dark glasses etc etc. Anyway, the drive took us 4 days from Flinders to Perth. The Nullarbor (which means 'treeless) stretched forever around us. ... read more

14th May - 4th June Our first port of call in Oz was to stay with some friends of ours, Dick and Kelly, at their house in the Adelaide Hills. It was fantastic to see them after 4 years since they emigrated from the UK. We had a brilliant time with them and their little boy, Adam. Sorry to be leaving here. Dick and Kelly showed us around Adelaide and the Fleurieu Peninsula - we visited Cleland Wildlife Park, where we fed the kangeroos and wallerbies (or 'wobblies' as Adam called them); two fantastic beaches, Maslin and Willunga; and dragged poor Dick and Kelly around Adelaide looking for a car for us to buy. Rob and I also explored The Coorong, a great birdwatching area, where we saw wild emus; and Waterfall Gully which was a ... read more