Coral Bay to Kalbarri

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Day 62 Coral Bay to Carnarvon 30/08/06

As we had to be at the Shopping Centre by 8.30am for the ‘Quad Bike Tour’, we were awoken at 600am by the alarm clock. We got out of bed straight away to find the tent was wet from extremely heavy dew. We quietly dressed, ate breakfast and began the pack-up. As I wanted the tent as dry as possible before we collapsed it (dried by the sun), we didn’t drop it until 7.55am. After tying the bikes on the front box, we drove across the road and parked in the trailer parking bay.

Once at the tour shop, we were fitted out with helmets (we took our own snorkels & masks) and taken to the bikes. The boys had chosen the particular quad bikes they wanted the previous day and miraculously we were given those exact ones! After some basic instruction from our guide, Mark, on how to ride them and the dos and don’ts, eight quad bikes were off down the main street. Leanne took William as her pillion and I took Daniel as mine (we swapped for the return trip). Once onto the sand track, we were told to select 4wd and then followed Mark along tracks through the dunes and down onto the beach. As we progressed, the speed at which we traveled gradually increased. We rode north along the beach over washouts and dunes, avoiding the breaking waves, until we reached Oyster Bridge. The guide stopped and ushered us to park in a line, side by side, facing the water. After he explained the best areas to snorkel in, we all snorkeled for around 20 minutes. Once again we saw various forms of coral and fish, as well as spotting an octopus or two.

After drying off, we remounted our quads and rode further north through the dunes to the next bay. Here, we snorkeled for another 20 minutes and saw even better coral and more varieties of fish including some ‘Nemo’ fish and a large octopus! After drying off and eating a snack, we jumped back on the quads for the return trip. As Leanne and I had been 2nd and 3rd respectively on the trip up the beach, Mark reversed the bikes so we were now at the back of the train, sucking some dust! We started off riding at quite a quick pace, but this all came to an abrupt end when we came over the crest of a dune to find one of the quads on its side! A lady, with a teenage girl as pillion, had run up the right-hand bank and rolled the quad onto its side. The girl had been thrown clear, landing on her feet, but the lady had landed hard on her left shoulder and was still lying on the ground. Mark calmly checked her out before sitting her up and Leanne helped him put her arm in a sling and bandage. Once this was completed, we righted the quad and got it running again. The lady then went pillion on Mark’s quad and unfortunately, it was a boring, slow trip back. But on return to the shop, we discussed the ride with the boys and they said they had thoroughly enjoyed it! William said “it was the best thing in my life!! - better than the Cable Beach jet ski”!

After organizing a quick lunch and purchasing some cold water, we got in the car and departed Coral Bay for Carnarvon at around 12.45pm. As we neared Carnarvon, we turned off onto The South Road, where we purchased some cheap, fresh fruit directly from a farm shop. On our way into Carnarvon we refueled, arriving at The Coral Coast Tourist Park around 3.45pm. We did a very quick setup and then drove into town to do some shopping. At about 6.00pm we drove back to the park and I cooked a BBQ dinner. After dinner, we went for about a 3k walk, buying ice creams on our return trip. After all showering, it was time to retire to the trailer for the night.

Day 63 Carnarvon to Denham (Shark Bay) 31/08/06

We awoke around 7.00am and were all out of bed shortly after. Once breakfast was eaten, we began the pack up. We left the park at 9.15am and headed back into town to get some cryovac meat and a few other groceries. From here we did a quick tour of the historical precinct and walked the 1 Mile Jetty. Whilst the jetty has had restoration work ongoing for some years, it is showing its old age. Once back at the car, around 11.35am, we headed south toward Denham. As we had phone coverage in Carnarvon (a rare occurrence on this trip) we decided to book a site in Denham. We phoned 3 parks that we had numbers for, receiving a “no vacancies” at each.

We arrived in Denham at 3.30pm and drove along the foreshore to the Denham Seaside Tourist Park, were we got a powered site straight up. We achieved another very quick set up of the trailer and then walked back along the foreshore to the Visitor Centre at 4.50pm. While walking along we spotted Rick, Jan and their kids who had spent their day at Monkey Mia. We chatted with them for quite a while, before returning to our park for dinner. After another BBQ dinner, it was showers all round and another early night for all.

Day 64 Denham & Monkey Mia 01/09/06

We awoke around 6.00am and got out of bed as we had to be at Monkey Mia for the Dolphin Feeding at 8 - 8.30am (the dolphins decide on the feeding time). As we arrived a little before 8am, we got the boys to do some diary work, to fill in time. As we walked down onto the beach the boy’s noticed some dorsal fins near the pier and people starting to gather at the waters edge. We joined them, standing about knee deep in the water and shortly after were joined by two rangers who were organizing the feeding. They spoke for about 30mins before ushering us all back up onto the beach as the fish were bought down into the water by helpers. While the talk was happening, the dolphins played and swam around, which was great to see. Unfortunately, neither of the boys got chosen to feed the dolphins this session, however Zoe Shepherd did. Once the feed was finished we walked up to the kiosk for a cuppa, while the boys did some more diary work. At about 9.00am we again noticed the dolphins swimming back in, so we walked back down onto the beach. After another 30min speech, the feed buckets were bought down again. This time the boys both got a turn (we videoed both), with William grabbing a second go as the last fish were handed out.

Again we returned to the kiosk and checked out the shops and the display centre. At about 11.00am the dolphins returned for their third and final feed for the day, so we made our way down into the water. Once again, the rangers gave the 30min talk before the dolphins were fed. William was fortunate to get chosen again, his third time, but Daniel, Leanne and I missed out! After the feed was over, as the weather was not that warm and it was pretty windy, we decided to return to Denham. Once we had lunch, the boys did some diary work before we visited the Shark Bay Interpretive Centre. This was very interesting and informative, with the boys completing a questionnaire for school children as we made away around the numerous displays. From here we returned to camp and had dinner. After showering we retired to the tent and watched Harry Potter 4 on the laptop, turning the lights out around 10pm.

Day 65 Denham to Kalbarri 02/09/06

Once again we were awoken by people on the move around 6.30am and got up about 7.00am. After breakfast, we completed the pack up, refueled and departed Denham around 9.50am. We didn’t rush, as we had been informed there had been an accident 10k’s out and the road was blocked. By the time we got out to the accident they were allowing traffic through, though single file only. Unfortunately, a Nissan X-Trail and the Jayco van in tow were both upside down on the side of the road (both right offs). Given the marks on the road, it appeared the driver had lost control negotiating a left hand bend and over corrected!

On the way out to the highway, we visited Shell Beach, Hamelin Pools and the Stromatolites. At around 12.20pm, we stopped and refueled at Hamelin Pools Service Centre. We drove on south until about 1.30pm when we pulled into a shady 24hour roadside stop and had lunch. About 20 mins later, we hit the road and drove onto Kalbarri arriving at 3.30pm. We were lucky to get the only vacant powered site left in Murchison Caravan Park and set up the trailer. As it turned out, Rick, Jan and the kids were also here, but they were out when we checked their site. We walked up to the Visitors Centre arriving five minutes before it closed. We managed to get some info on Kalbarri before they asked us to leave, so they could close. After buying some groceries, we walked back to the park and cooked dinner. As there was a TV in the camp kitchen, we decided to eat dinner in there. A little later, we were joined by the Rick, Jan and their kids, as well as Robert, Kaye and Jack. While the kids were watching the Lassie movie, the adults chatted and had a few drinks. Unfortunately, William was a little off colour and we had to shower him before we put him to bed at about 9.30pm.

Day 66 Kalbarri 03/09/06

We awoke around 7.00am and to my surprise, I was given some great Fathers Day presents. After a leisurely breakfast and a relaxing morning, we drove out to the Kalbarri National Park visiting the Loop and Natures Window, the Z Bend, Hawks Head and the Ross Graham Lookout. On our return trip we called in at the Wild Flower Centre where we had a Devonshire tea. We arrived back at the park at around 3.30pm and relaxed before dinner. As it was Fathers Day, we had arranged with the East’s (Rick & Jan) to go out for dinner at Finlay’s Fresh Fish BBQ Restaurant. At around 6.00pm we all walked to Finlay’s and met up with Robert, Faye and Jack, who had saved us a table. We all had an enjoyable evening, the kids all playing together and finished dinner sitting around the open fire. We walked back to the park and after a cuppa at Rick’s van, we retired for the night.

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Photos

Carnarvon
1 Mile Jetty

Carnarvon 2
1 Mile Jetty

Coral Bay
Quad Bike Tour

Coral Bay 2
Quad Bike Return Trip

Denham
Sun Set Over Denham

Denham 2
Our Camp Site

Monkey Mia
The Dolphins Coming in for Feeding

Monkey Mia 2
William Feeding the Dolphins

Kalbarri
Shell Beach Quarry

Kalbarri
Nature's Window

Port Gregory
Pink Lake

Port Gregory 2
Port Gregory Jetty