Gary and Sandy

3 July Another cold clear night, but the doona with 2 blankets worked beautifully. Toasty warm in bed whilst outside the temperature plummeted once again into the minus zone, -4°C this time, although there are reports around the camp of -6. Either way it got pretty cold overnight The morning brings yet another day of clear blue skies and light winds. After breakfast Sandy and I head off to Dale Gorge. Dale Gorge is at the opposite end of the park and involves around 45k of driving to get there, mostly on rough corrugated unsealed roads. We arrive around 10:00 and head off on our hike. We decide to do Fortescue falls and Fern Pool first, then trek through the gorge to Cicular Pool. The decent into the gorge is by the standards we have been ... read more

1 July Up this morning and head over to Debbie and Steve's for breakfast. Our fridge is plugged in over there on the 12v caravan battery as well as having the the cereal and bread. Sitting down to breakfast the sun feels good on the back but the wind, although only light seems to be from the Antarctic (or desert). It's freezing cold when it blows through. Debbie is sitting reading her kindle with her beanie on as well as the hoodie pulled over her head and another jacket on top of that. Yes it's cold, but not quite that cold. Steve on the other hand decides that the solar panels on top of the caravan may be a bit dusty and not recharging the batteries to their optimum, so it's up on the roof for ... read more

29 June A cold cloudless night gives way to a fresh crisp morning of around 6 degrees according to the thermometer in the car. A cold shower over at the ablution block because they only have solar hot water, then back to the tent for breakfast. After breakfast it's off on our first walk....Joffre Gorge lookout, a 25 minute round trip from our camp site. Debbie decides to join Sandy and I as the others stay back at camp to join us later. Our first glimpse of the gorge and you soon realize what this place has to offer. Deep red gorges with crisp clear water running through them, the contrast of the red rock against the blue sky and the occasional tree or shrub protruding through a crack in the rocks provides a contrast in ... read more

Wow! What a day! I had a poor night's sleep due to the excitement of diving with the whale sharks. They did not let me down. The morning started well, no need for the alarm I'm up showered and breakfast before getting dropped off at the dive shop around 7:30. Ironically I was the last one to arrive. After saying farewell to Sandy it was into the minibus and off to the dive boat. 16 paying divers (myself included) and 6 crew, which included a marine biologist as well as a professional underwater photographer. All crew had a minimum of instructor level diving credentials. After a 30 minute drive we were at the boat and loaded on. A 30 minute "test" dive to check the competency of all divers. All OK and we were back on ... read more

A game of 500 using "Komen rules" last night. Not sure who won as the rules kept changing along the way. This morning was a late start before heading out in both cars to Turquiose Bay and the various bays and inlets along the way in the Cape Range National Park. Some beautiful scenery andThea water gives a clear indication to where the name Turquoise Bay comes from. After doing some exploring on the land at the different lookouts and beaches we had a light lunch before heading into Oyster Stack bay. One of the premium snorkel bays along the coast. Debbie and Steve left us at this point whilst I got changed and went for a dive into the water.no sooner than the head is underwater and the colours and life seems to abound. I ... read more