Wild and windy but persistence pays with a MONSTER crayfish.

Our blissful camp on the pristine Ningaloo coast was soon to turn into a sand blown mess when some seriously wild weather swept in. 

Our first few days at Warroora station were great. We snorkelled (I actually got to swim with a turtle which was amazing), watched the huge stingrays (and the occasional turtle) swim by just metres from the shore, paddle boarded, collected beautiful shells, made so many sand castles, swam in the clear water and watched the perfect sunsets. 

On the third day though, the winds arrived and they were howling. Gusts of 40km coming straight from the bay had the van shaking and everything flapping and flying everywhere. Daniel used every available rope and hockey strap to secure the bed end flys, which were flapping about noisily. We put the kayak and paddleboard up against the side of the van to try to reduce the incredible amount of sand that was billowing from under the van all through our campsite. It helped a bit but by the next morning we had our own little sand dunes built up near the door. We lost a few toys that must have got completely covered with sand. Anyway we still managed a few walks and watched movies, much to the kids delight. When it was still crazy windy the next day we went into Coral Bay (which is only half hour away) and swam in the sheltered bay. We also snuck into the caravan park where the kids had a play on the playground and we all had showers! After a lovely dinner out we headed back late, hoping the wind had subsided. It hadn't and we got totally sand blasted trying to get the sleeping kids inside! Two more days of wind later and we were toying with the idea of leaving (as the majority of people had already done, we were one of a only a handful of camps left

Now that's a Cray!!

Sunset Fishing

Another awesome sunset

Our sandblown campsite
But we awoke on Wednesday morning to a perfect day, our persistence had been rewarded, finally. We paddleboarded, kayaked and swam and Daniel caught 2 Sweetlip which we enjoyed after an entree of fresh squid, caught by Daniel and Henry. Over the next few days we explored the station property a bit and went to a few different beaches. At Maggie's beach we had another snorkel looking at the abundant fish on the reef whilst Val and the kids and sorted through the incredible amount of shells they had found on this remote beach to determine their most favourite ones

5 star dinner location

Cheers!

Not getting very far (he was trying hard though).

The Monster Cray..........

On Saturday we went to nearby Turtle Point to explore the rockpools, which were full of large crabs which hurriedly scuttled away every time we got near. Daniel went for a snorkel hoping to spear a fish for dinner. He couldn't believe his luck when he saw a huge crayfish, and he somehow managed to grab it and hold onto it even though his snorkel was full of water and he was having trouble getting air. Daniel has been trying to get a crayfish the whole trip so there was no way he was letting this one go. The strong current was taking him but he managed to get his head up and gulp some air before trying to swim back to shore, which was no easy feat considering he was a holding a few kilos of cray. After swallowing even more saltwater he washed up to shore, exhausted but triumphantly holding the crayfish up to the sound of shrieks and cheers from Val and Emilia (unfortunately I missed it as I was at the car attending to Jackson who had just got two eyefuls of sand when he got in the way of Emilia digging). I was shocked when I saw a the cray, it was huge (there was actually 1.6kg of meat).Well we feasted that evening on bbq crayfish tail and white wine, it was sumptuous. We ate the claws the next evening, and they were equally as delicious. We were all so grateful to Daniel and he is so happy to have finally got one, and to have such a great story to go with it as well.

The weather was turning again so we decided to move up to Coral Bay for a few days before the school holiday influx begun on Saturday

Proud as punch at his catch (this is after he finally caught his breath).

BBQ crayfish tails, very gourmet!!

The view from our campsite - breathtaking.

An early morning walk through the surrounding scrub.

The abundant spinifex 

The delicate wildflowers, some of Emilia's faves.

We had lost Jackson, but he was just exploring as usual.

Peek a boo!!

Driving the distance for the beach dream

After a few months away from the beach we were more than ready for some sea, sand and saltwater fish. Cable Beach at Broome had reminded us of how much we loved the ocean and we hoped to find some beach camping. We had decided to try a few beaches North of Broome instead of heading all the way up to Cape Leveque as we had heard the road was horrendously corrugated and would take us around 3 hours. The place we ended up at was James Price Point, a lovely bit of coast line with white sandy beaches coming up to large cliffs of rich red dirt. It was pretty much empty and we found an area to camp where the sand met the red dirt. Well it was beautiful but the red dirt was like a dye and we all had bright red feet (and clothes, and sheets, and pretty much anywhere the kids hands and feet touched). We played in the many rock pools, swam, watched for turtles (I had a huge one swim right past me), built sandcastles, watched the gorgeous sunsets over the water and stargazed in the evenings. It was lovely but the red dirt was not ideal. After 3 nights we decided the pristine Ningaloo coast was beckoning so we began our journey south, from the top of the WA coast to about halfway down. Around 1500km, a night in DeGrey river rest stop, 2 nights in Karratha, hours of battles with unresponsive Internet and $1000 or so at Kmart and Coles we made it to the magical beaches of Warroora Station. We got the last spot left right on the beautiful white sand with the turquoise waters of the Ningaloo Marine Park only a few meters from our van. Thankfully it was also a relatively secluded at the end of the beach. After a hasty set up (it was now after 5pm and we had been on road since 8am) we all cooled off in the ocean and stood in the bay watching the sunset, we couldn't believe our luck. Little were we to know of the wild weather a few days away........

An impressive Sea Eagle

The thick red dust that went right to the sand

Western Australia has such beautiful wildflowers.

Celebrations at Sawpit

We left Purnululu NP early Saturday morning and collected Val and Henry on the highway, headed for a free camp outside Halls Creek that was meant to be nice. We arrived at Sawpit Gorge and got the pick of the spots, on the river bed right next to a swimming hole and under some huge orange rocks, it was beautiful. The place is popular with locals so we had a few others camped nearby on Saturday night but got the place to ourselves on Sunday and Monday nights. 

Sunday was party day! Daniel's 35th birthday certainly had a food theme. He began with a huge pancake stack for breakfast and ended with roast pork and beef (with all the extras) then chocolate mud cake with rich chocolate ganache and vanilla ice cream (all washed down with beer, champagne and Jack Daniels). The kids dressed up, with Emilia wearing a princess dress all day (even when fishing!). We all had a great day, even though our fridge packed up in the morning and we had to squash heaps into Val's (we made sure there was room for the drinks though!).

We spent the next day relaxing in our gorgeous spot, swimming and taking turns in the hammock. Daniel took the kids to the nearby Palm Springs, a warm spring and large pool where they spent a few hours jumping off the rocks. We were tempted to stay a few more days but decided the responsible thing was to get to Broome to get our fridge looked at

Looking over the swimming hole to our campsite

Daniel's birthday breakfast

Fishing in her party dress (which she insisted on wearing all day).

Fishing Princess

Getting ready for the celebrations

Mmmm. Two delicious roasts cooked by the birthday boy.

Cake time.

Jackson after he took a tumble in the bulldust 

The view between the gorge (you can see Val and Henry's van to the right).

Early morning picnic to enjoy the view.

The kookaburras up here have blue wings and much bigger beaks.

Emilia, Daniel and Henry after a big climb

Nudie swim

The picturesque cliffs at Sawpit Gorge.

We left Tuesday morning and did a huge day of driving (about 600km). The kids were fabulous so we just kept going to get closer to Broome. Daniel's habit of checking out gated tracks (where lots of people don't go because of the gate) paid off and we had a fantastic spot to ourselves near the Fitzroy River in Willare. We left before 7am the next morning to get to Broome. They took our van for most of the day to fix the fridge, which thankfully was only a blocked injector (probably due to the thick layer of Kimberley dust in the van) and only cost us $150. 

Val and Henry took us out for a lovely dinner at Zanders on Cable Beach where we all indulged. Emilia managed to eat nearly a whole berry sundae to herself even though she was meant to be going halves with Nanna! Poor Val only got a few scoops. We only spent two nights in Broome to restock for our next adventure, though we did mange some time playing on the gorgeous Cable Beach and dancing to live country music during 'happy hour' at the caravan park

What a sundae

She couldn't believe her luck

Cuddles with batman.

Posing princess

Dressed up in his favorite batman costume

Rainbow over The Bungles

Due to the extreme heat we decided on a short, action packed, two nights at Purnululu National Park. The man at the park visitor centre was excellent and gave us an awesome plan to ensure we saw the highlights of the Bungle Bungle Range in our limited time. The World Heritage Bungles are famous for their sandstone banded domes, carved out by erosion over the last 20 million years. A bacteria causes a dark band which creates a striking stripy effect on the orange iron outer layer of the domes. The are so vast and their beauty was hard to capture in photos from the ground.

On the first afternoon, after traveling for nearly 4 hours from Kununurra, we could only muster enough energy to wander the dry, rocky creek bed near camp and watch the setting sun change the colours of the famous domes. That evening a storm passed by and the lightening show was impressive. We only got five minutes of rain though, just enough time for us to frantically pack everything away and close all the windows before it stopped!

The next day was action packed! We left camp at 6.15am, headed for Cathedral Gorge. After a 1.3km walk in (around some very impressive domes) we reached the gorge, which is a natural amphitheatre. We were lucky enough to have the place to ourselves and the kids loved listening to their voices echoing within the rock. We saw some lovely wildflowers, including a rare white grevillea that grows only in this park.

Building rock cairns.

The beautiful black and orange domes of the Bungle Bungle Range

The 'Domes' walk

A spectacular view

Cathedral Gorge

After a detour back to the van, and a nap for all of us, we journeyed to the northern end of the park to explore Echidna Chasm. The walk takes you right into the 180m high chasm, with the rocky walls (made from smooth river rocks and compacted sand) less than a metre apart in some sections. In some parts boulders had fallen and lodged themselves in the chasm, in other parts the boulders had made it to the ground and we had to climb over and around them. It was a great adventure and the kids loved it. It was also quite cool in there as the sun only reached the ground during the middle of the day.

The beginning of Echidna Chasm

Getting narrower in the chasm

We made it to the end of the chasm

Jackson was very proud of his rock cairn - check out the dusty face!

This boulder was wedged in the chasm just above a ladder.

After a few hours in the chasm we climbed the nearby Osmund Lookout. The panoramic view was spectacular, particularly as we could see another storm approaching. We watched it come closer then decided we had better head back, a few drops later we thought the storm had passed. Heading back to camp we actually drove right into the storm and it started bucketing down. It was incredible to see as some sections of the Bungle range were in sunlight whilst one section had a huge dark rain cloud over it. The rainbow this storm produced was one of the best I've seen, Emilia was very impressed (Jackson missed it as he'd fallen asleep). The rain stopped just as we approached another lookout so Emilia and I ran up. The light and colours on the range were breathtaking and the photos do not do it justice. We were so pleased to have seen the Bungles during this effect. After a quick stop back at the van for drinks and munchies we watched the sunset from another lookout, satisfied that we had experienced so much of this magical place in such a short time. We were super impressed with the kids who had walked nearly 6km! We were all exhausted and Emilia fell asleep after the first sentence of their bedtime book. It had been a memorable visit.

Sunlight through the storm clouds.

It was such a vibrant rainbow - the photo does not do it justice.

The storm making its way across the range

Running down from the lookout before the storm reached us.

Run Milly Run

At a viewing point watching the setting sun change the colours on the rock, the rainbow is still out on the left!