The West Coast

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Hi all ( bored of G'day)

Sorry it's late but been very busy the past week and now completely knackered. Plus have had a bit of a nightmare with accommodation since arriving back on the East Coast here in Brisbane but I will fill you in later.

Well we arrived in Perth in the early hours of Monday (13th Nov) and managed to find a hostel in the city centre. As it was about 2am and we were very tired we went into the first one we found which had a bed and booked in for 3 nights, in the morning we woke up thinking we were in a prison. We had been lucky up till this point with the hostels but this one I don't think had been updated or refurbished in the last 50 years at least. God, the room was a twin bedded room and was internal so no windows. The beds were 2 iron beds and there was about 1 foot of space between them and then so little room at the end that we had to take it in turns going in and out of the room. The door did not open fully as the bed was in the way so you had to walk in abit and then close the door so you could get into the rest of the room before the next person entered. It did'nt really matter though as we were out most of the time and it did the job. Well Perth was okay and we spent a couple of days looking around but we were not greatly impressed by it although we did'nt explore the outskirts which are supposed to be nice. On the Tuesday we went whale watching which was good and we managed to spot a whale although could not get that close. Still pretty impressive though to see it as they are huge and it came out of the water a couple of times but too quick for a photo so no photos of that I'm afraid! We decided that as we had a good week here we would book on a tour up the West Coast as it seemed a great distance to drive ourselves and the tour looked fun, plus the nice lady in the booking shop gave us free tea and bickies! (always a seller). So on Wednesday morning at 6.30am (god that was early) we were picked up by our tour guide/driver/cook/nurse etc who turned out to be abit mad and there were 16 of us altogether with all nationalities which made it interesting. They were a great bunch though and we soon all got to know each other even though on occasions the language barrier proved a problem especially when Simon (tour guide) was trying to explain what Bootylicious was to one of the German girls (it was not a pretty picture). Once we were all on board we set of up the West Coast and you soon saw how vast it is, you can drive for hours and there is nothing, no other cars, no shops, no buildings, thank god we did not drive ourselves. Our first stop was at the Pinnacle Desert which was fantastic, it's a huge desert with loads of Pinnacles which had been formed over millions of years and we had a walk round with Simon giving us a talk on it all which was interesting aswell as pointing out any phallic shaped ones. After that we went to Hangover Bay and had lunch on the beach and then went sandboarding. Great fun but hard work walking up the bloody sand dunes. I had a go and asked Rob to take a photo of me and god the slope was steep but off I went at about 100 miles an hour, got to the bottom in one piece and he had missed and had just taken a photo of sand so I was not impressed. So off I went again up this massive dune in 35 degree heat and luckily for him the second time he managed to get a photo otherwise he would of still been there now buried up to his neck in the sand! That evening we arrived in Kalbarri about 9pm so it had been a long day and we all crashed out pretty quickly. The next day (Thursday) we were up at 5.30am! and off to a National Park. At the park the guide said we were going for a walk which turned out to be more rock climbing than a walk as we went down to a massive gorge and then back up again and it was a case of climbing up with you hands and grabbing the rocks. There were some spectacular sights though with these rock formations, one of which had a huge hole through it and was called Natures Window. Basically the wind had eroded it over millions of years and looking through it you got a fantastic view of the gorge. In the afternoon we went to shell beach which yes was a beach completely made up of shells so not great to walk on bare feet but beautiful to look at. That evening we arrived at Monkey Mia after covering a huge distance, however we got there in time to go down to the beach and see the sun set which was lovely and then we had a BBQ in the evening and consumed plenty of wine. We had a lie in on the Friday getting up at 6.30am! although this would be the longest day driving as we would be covering about 500km. Monkey Mia is a beautiful place with a gorgeous beach and in the morning the dolphins swim up to the shore and people can walk into the water and they come right up to you. We went down to the beach and spent some time watching the dolphins which was good and they get fed by the staff there aswell. After that I went out on a boat trip with some of the group, Rob stayed on the shore as was pretty windy and not keen on spending the trip throwing up so fair enough. The boat was a big catamaran and we went out to where there was loads of sea grass and managed to see a Dugong (Sea Cow) and it's baby which was so sweet. The Dugongs eat the sea grass and there is a huge population there so quite easy to spot and they are strange mammels although great as had never seen one in the wild. In the afternoon it was back on the bus and off to Eagles Bluff where you stood on the point and looked out over the sea and we saw turtles, reef sharks and loads of fish. That evening we arrived at Coral Bay and by now we were getting hardend to lack of sleep so we managed to stay up a bit longer chatting and having table tennis tournaments and generally being much more sociable. Another early start the next day as we were spending the morning in Coral Bay and there were loads of activites we could do if we wanted. Rob & I decided to go out on a boat trip with a couple of the others where you got to snorkel with Manta Rays (harmless). Off we went to the area they are found in and a spotter plane would be overhead and then when it informed us where one was we would all be ready with our gear on and we would slide into the water and swim along behind the Rays. It was amazing, one of the Rays we followed was 3 metres and it was hard work to keep up, but luckily the boat would come and pick us up so we did'nt have to swim back. On one of the snorkels whilst we were following the Ray a 2.5 metre Nurse Shark swam past us and scared the hell out of us all, however they are harmless and it was not interested in us but still gives you a shock. That afternoon we travelled on up to Exmouth where we would be staying for 2 nights which was good as we could actually unpack a bit and sort ourselves out. We stayed in a campsite which had big trailers with 6 beds in and a seating area so this was nice and we sat up that night chatting and drinking. In the morning we went to Ningaloo Reef and had a chance to snorkel although I stayed on the beach with some of the others and sunbathed as was all snorkelled out and knackered. It was nice to relax for a few hours although not for too long as Simon (tour guide) was soon bundling us back on the bus and decided to take us for a bush walk. Just what we all felt like doing after lying in the sun but it was only a short walk as I think he realised we were not that impressed and starting to lag after all the early mornings and manic days. I am not suprised he was a bit nuts as what a job, we covered about 4000km in the whole 7 days so a lot of driving for him plus having to do all the sightseeing and activities plus cook although we all helped out with this. We stayed at the same place on the Sunday night and had a mini golf tournament - whoopee! It was very amusing as we were all crap and it took forever to go round although Rob was trying to offer everyone advice, however his skills at mini golf are not that great either. The last 2 days would be spent driving all the way back down with the Monday heading off at 7am and arriving at our hostel at 6pm! Although this was not exactly a hostel but a stay on a farm. We were again in dormatories with the toilets and showers being a short walk over a field and then the kitchen being in the opposite direction so definately back to basics here. I think they put us in this accommodation on the last night as they know we will all be so tired we would'nt care although not the best nights sleep. The mattress was wafer thin and I could feel the metal of the bed through it, so woke up rather sore in the morning. It was not such a long drive on the Tuesday and we had a chance to stop at a beach for an hour to chill out and were back in Perth by 6pm thinking that it would be great to sleep for 12 hours. However as we had all got on so well it was decided that we would meet up for dinner and then go to club which Simon had recommended and arranged to meet us at. So there was no nice rest or sleep and it was back out again and having to hit the alcohol to keep ourselves awake. The club was interesting as first proper nightclub we have been to in Australia and their music is a real mix with some very old tunes being played. Anyway we had a good night and all died about 1am when we got taxis back to our hostels and all said goodbye. The next morning we got up and packed as were flying to Brisbane at midday and I was looking for forward to getting there and spending some time chilling out by the beach and pool, however this was not meant to be! We landed at 10.30pm and got the bus to our hostel only to find that they had no record of our booking! Apparently they had had a girl working for them for a couple of months who had messed up a few bookings and there was another couple there in the same situation. I was not happy as very tired, it was getting on for midnight and as the cricket was starting the next day we knew there would be no hope of finding anywhere else. The hostel confirmed that everywhere was fully booked for the next few days and in the end decided we could sleep on the sofas in the communal lounge and he would speak to the owner in the morining. So today the owner came over and was very apologetic, the other couple are now staying at her house and we have been given the lounge and a mattress until beds become available. Not ideal but she is not charging us for staying so that is quite handy and don't worry Lynsey there are beds for when you arrive on Sunday so it will all be okay by then. Brisbane seems nice although very busy as the Ashes started today, we have tickets for the Saturday so if any of you are watching it Friday at midnight then look out for me, I will wave alot! Loads of Xmas decorations up which is seems wierd as does not seem chrismassy at all being so hot. Anyway hope all is well back home and write again soon.

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