Winched to hard ground.

Well getting bogged in hot, red river rocks in 35 deg heat in the dusty bush over 1km from the main road (a road on which we had only seen 2 cars on in our few days at Mt Augustus) initially caused me some angst. However I trusted that the thoroughly prepared and ever resourceful Daniel would find a way to get us out. So while the kids sat in air-conditioned comfort and watch a Peppa Pig marathon we dug out the tyres, used rocks and branches to try to give traction and slowly moved forward with the help of the maxx tracks. After about 30 min we were pouring sweat and we'd only moved about 5 metres so Daniel decided we had to take it to the next level. Out came the winch for its maiden use. Without hesitation it inched us out and we were safe on the hard edges of the river. Even though it was only 10.30 by this stage both Daniel and I looked at each other and said how we would kill for a cold beer. Icy cold water and Solo had to suffice and after a swim in the nearby Cattle Pool to wash the dirt and sweat off we were on our way to the Kennedy Range National Park. Disaster averted.

** I wish to apologise to Daniel Katz for the misinformation printed in the last blog. He actually completed the hike to the summit of Mt Augustus is 2hrs 20min not 2.5hours as I incorrectly stated. I have been duly admonished for my failure to acknowledge the amazing sporting prowess of my wonderful fiancé.

River rocks and sand = a sinking car and van

First try - Maxx Tracks and digging

Snatch strap and winch to the rescue

We are moving - HOORAY

Uluru's bigger, but less popular, brother.

After an epic 8 hours in the car we arrived at the very impressive Mt Augustus (Burringurrah), apparently the largest rock in the world. It is twice the size of Uluru, covering over 4500 hectares, rising over 1km above sea level and measuring 8km in length. We were determined to bush camp and found a great spot on a dry river bed where we could still see the colossal rock and watch the setting sun change its colours. We even had a fire, only to cook on though as we certainly didn't want to sit around it as it had been 39 deg and the evenings didn't cool down until about 3am. With no power we didn't even have the luxury of our small fans so we resorted to wet tops and hair to try to get cool enough to sleep.

Anyway back to the rock. The next day we did the 49km drive around Mt Augustus and did several of the walks into gorges and dry creek beds to see some of the engraved rock. Burringurrah holds spiritual significance to the local Wajarri people and you can see how their ancestors would have found this place special. The nearby permanent waterhole also added to the area's appeal and it was named Cattle Pool for its use by drovers in the early 1900's. After our hot morning walking we spent the afternoon there swimming with Jackson having his day sleep in a wet hammock under some shady trees. It was here that the mouse saga finally reached the end (I hope anyway). So during the morning after we got back from each of our walks we had been pumping the air con, particularly the rear vents to cool the kids off. Well each time it started the smell was so bad I was convinced we had a dead mouse in the air con unit but could not quite believe one had squeezed inside the vent. So I was in the back of the car looking for something when I pulled a bag out and nearly vomited from the smell. I didn't look any closer but called the mouse slayer up to inspect. Well squashed down near the rear air vent was a rigid, very dead and extremely smelly mouse. After a lot of baby wipes and even more Glen 20 out car smells less like dead animal and more like the sweaty, dirty children smell we are used too. I am praying my mice ordeal is over!

The next morning Daniel got up super early and did the Summit walk, completing the 12km walk (that takes you up 650m from the car park and is meant to take 6 hours due to the rock scrambling needed) in only 2.5 hours. After he got back we packed up ready to go to Kennedy Range National Park, if only we could get out of this river bed...........

The impressive Mt Augustus

Helping each other walk the rocks

This rock became their cubby for awhile.

The view from inside the rocky cave Daniel and I were cooling down in.

Hanging off Mt Augustus

Our prime location free camp on a dry river bed

The view from the summit after Daniel'e early morning climb

Summit Selfie

Steamy Pilbara Nights........

No, not that kind of steamy unfortunately. Steamy as in so hot that you sweat while laying in bed and you pray for just the slightest of breeze to drift through the open windows to at least give you some relief. Our $5 mini fans from Big W have served us well but they don't quite cut it on 30deg nights. Due to the heat we altered our plans to stay in Karijini National Park and instead stayed for 4 nights at Tom Price where we had power to run our little fans and a pool that was open until 9pm for a pre-bed cool off.

Our first day was spent replenishing groceries and enjoying the pool. In the afternoon we headed up the 4wd track to the top of Mt Nameless, the highest accessible mountain in WA. The view of the surrounding ranges was spectacular. We also got a birds eye view of some of the nearby mines and the exceptionally long trains they use to carry out the iron ore. We enjoyed a picnic dinner watching the setting sun give the red rock such vivid colours. Jackson added a bit of excitement to the night by wedging a small rock up his nose. After a minor panic he managed to blow it out but we suspect this will not be the first time our inquisitive boy sticks something where it is not meant to go!

Mt Nameless (view from our van)

On top of Mt Nameless, the kids were more interested in throwing rocks than the view.

Daniel checking out the mines.

Looking over the mines

When not throwing them he was using them to build.......

......and stick up his nose.

Sunset, hot chook, chilled wine and cuddles.....Lovely.

We then did day trips to see the spectacular gorges in Karijini. On our first trip in we did  two gorges (Dales Gorge and Weano Gorge), three swimming holes (Circular Pool, Fortescue Falls and Handrail Pool), three lookouts (Oxer, Junction Pool and Joffre) and over 5km of walking on some very challenging tracks. The kids did amazing as some of the tracks were rated class 5 (for experienced bush walkers). Cleary all their time rock hopping through the Kimberley has given them the experience they needed as they were super confident shimmying along rocky cliff faces, hoping over rocks to get over streams and clambering down steep ledges to get into swimming holes. We were so proud of them and their confidence and ability allowed us to get to some really amazing spots. Our favourite was Handrail Pool, a small pool surrounded by 70-80metre high red rock accessed via a narrow crevice in the the gorge then straight down the rocks holding onto a handrail (hence the unimaginative name). We had the place to ourselves and it was just magical

Mr Independent would not let Dad help on the ladder into Dales Gorge

Clambering up the rocks towards Circular Pool.

A refreshing dip was much needed after the hot walk in.

A very unusual rock formation.

Fortescue Falls

Inside Weano Gorge, on our way down a narrow crevice towards Handrail Pool.

Jackson was very taken with the camouflaged grasshopper he found.

Handrail Pool, it was so still the reflections were amazing.

The reflections of the rocks created a surreal atmosphere.

Watching pebbles create sparkly splashes.

It was a very steep climb back out.

Gorge Selfie (we don't have a selfie stick like all the tourist though so had to do the old fashioned thing of sitting it on a rock)

After our 12 hour day we spent the next morning lazily recuperating and utilising the pool (where unfortunately Jackson got bitten by a bee trying to save it from drowning) before heading to Hamersley Gorge where we spent the afternoon.

We leave tomorrow morning headed towards Mt Augustus and hopefully some cooler nights (though we've stocked the freezer with ice cream just in case!).

Braids in for a few weeks equal very curly locks.

Lunch at Hamersley Gorge

Hamersley Gorge

Turtles (and mice) galore at Cape Range NP.

We left Exmouth on Saturday headed for Cape Range National Park. The school holiday crowds had subsided and we got to choose our campsite, which ended up being at Osprey Bay, a gorgeous sheltered beach that was perfect for the kids to swim in. Their were so many turtles in the waters which were amazing to swim with, but unfortunately there were also heaps of mice on land, which were not so great. By the end of our 10 nights in the National Park Daniel and the kids had caught over 50.

The most memorable parts of our days were:

Saturday

Daniel - paddleboarding out past the reef and seeing heaps of large reef sharks.

Bec - snorkelling with Emilia and seeing a small strange fish with two horns.

Emilia - snorkelling without help, swimming on my own.

Jackson - swimming in the supremely calm bay without worrying about getting salt water in his eyes.

Sunday

Daniel - kayaking out to and snorkelling in a deep hole called the 'lagoon' which was full of huge fish and going on a predinner bike ride with Jackson.

Bec - swimming with a huge turtle whose head was bigger than mine.

Emilia - exploring the rock pools and playing in the shallows on the boogie board.

Jackson - finding two dead sea slugs and making them his pets, he carried them everywhere and even built them a sand house.

Monday

Daniel - lying in the hammock which he managed to set up between the car and the van

Bec - playing in the shallows at Sandy Bay with the kids after our bike ride there.

Emilia - snorkelling in the shallows practising and seeing 2 kangaroos and a rabbit on a dusk walk.

Jackson - rolling my glowing sparkle ball on a night time walk.

Tuesday

Daniel - paddleboarding and seeing heaps of schools of large fish, turtles, reef sharks and stingrays.

Bec - seeing 12 large reef sharks at different times during my 3 snorkels out deep.

Emilia - going on a snorkel with mummy where I saw a large stripy fish and a box fish and heaps of other fish.

Jackson - practising casting my home made fishing rod.

Wednesday

Daniel - fishing with Jackson even though we lost two fish when the line broke.

Bec - working with Emilia to try to shepherd a school of whiting down to Daniel to catch and snorkelling with two very large stingrays.

Emilia - chasing fish while snorkelling in the shallows and watching a movie with my own bag of popcorn.

Jackson - watching people kite surf and watching a movie with popcorn.

Checking out where he is allowed to fish.

Sunset on Osprey Bay

Our camp overlooking the ocean and the Cape Range.

Thursday

Daniel - seeing Yardie Creek and doing the cliff top gorge walk with Jackson.

Bec - swimming round and round with a friendly turtle in the morning then kayaking down Yardie Creek and seeing 4 of the near extinct black footed rock wallabies in the afternoon.

Emilia - seeing the rock wallabies, egrets, corellas and other birds while I kayaked with Mum down Yardie Creek

Jackson - finding more sinkers and fishing line and playing with my new monster truck (until I broke it). Seeing stingrays and an abandoned turtle nest at Yardie Creek

Spotting a black footed rock wallaby whilst kayaking up Yardie Creek with Emilia.

 Checking out the animals she'd seen already on our walk up Yardie Creek.

Daniel and Jackson kayaking up Yardie Creek.

Yardie Gorge (Daniel and Jackson negotiating the rocky creek bed in the kayak).

On our walk (with Barbie) to the lookout over Yardie Gorge (before the trip and fall that left her with a bloody knee.

Friday

Bec - snorkelling over huge bright blue brain coral in a ferocious current.

Daniel - driving back from Exmouth in the dark, going 40km/hr to avoid the masses of kangaroos feeding along the roadside then being stopped by a man who'd got stuck in his JetSki at low tide on the reef and helping him find his mates.

Emilia - playing with Matilda and playing with Daddy in the waterpark at Exmouth and watching the sunset from the lighthouse.

Jackson - driving up to the lighthouse and having a picnic in the car because it was too windy outside.

At Vlamingh Lighthouse (picnic in the car as it was SOOOOO windy the kids were getting blown over).

Saturday (today we crossed Yardie Creek at low tide, 6.30am, then moved to a more secluded spot further south but still on Ningaloo reef)

Bec - making a book with Emilia detailing our experiences on the reef. A bad but still memorable experience was having a mouse frighten me whilst I was laying in bed reading then jumping so quickly off the bed that I kicked over a cup of tea and spilt hot water everywhere. I spent the next 30 min in the kids bed whilst Daniel tried to mouse proof the van even more!

Daniel - fighting with a shark for the fish I had just caught and was trying to get into the kayak. Not a good idea to snorkel holding a dead, bloody fish! I did not give in though and we ended up with half each! 

Emilia - making a book with a Mummy,  nudie swimming with Daddy and eating the lovely Sweetlip that Daddy caught.

Jackson - seeing a huge snake on the beach and getting the biggest fright ever then running as fast as I could to Daddy. (The snake was right down near the water, Daniel followed its track into the dunes but he didn't see it so we don't know what type it was but poor Jackson had the fright of his life, we're just glad he turned and ran and didn't try to pick it up like everything else interesting he sees. Daniel is still having nightmares about it).

Crossing Yardie Creek, 6.30am, lowest tide for the next two week (until full moon)

Walk on water, nah we drive on water.

2.5 fish thanks to a hungry shark, i think we got the biggest half though!!

Sunset at Boat Harbour, our secluded  beach.

Sunday ( a very windy day)

Daniel - collecting oysters off the rocks with Jackson.

Bec - working with the kids to try to scare crabs out from their hiding places whilst on a rockpool walk and seeing a huge hermit crab in a shell as big as my thigh whilst snorkelling.

Emilia - making a noodle necklace, watching a movie with Jackson and finding crabs with Mum and Jackson.

Jackson - getting oysters with the hammer and screwdriver and watching a movie (he calls himself a hunter gatherer now).

Monday (a super windy day again)

Daniel - finally getting the rock lobster that eluded me last time we were here and having my hook bitten off four times by the several sharks hanging around in the shallows. 

Bec - snorkelling with Emilia and making up 'Woofer' stories with Jackson.

Emilia - going on a shell walk with Daddy and Jackson and finding lots of colourful shells.

Jackson - collecting dead crabs in my used juice box and bringing them to my sand castle.

Fresh oysters collected by my two hunter gatherers, Jackson and Daniel.

What a catch Daddy!! (about to be filleted on a makeshift filleting table we found at the campsite!).

Filleting the fish with Daddy.