Rain, rain go away...... a wet welcome for the Crellins.

Well we had clearly used up all our luck with the weather and on the day Dave, Bec, Xavier and Madi arrived the rain began and was on and off for their first 5 days with us. However, we still managed to have some great times at Lucky Bay with them. One of the most memorable occasions was when Xavier got so excited at the beach that he ran into the water, raincoat and all. It was hilarious watching him jump waves with a huge smile on his face and his raincoat and long pants on! We still explored all the beaches and managed a few walks in between light showers. By day 3 of rain we had a lot of wet clothes so we did a day trip into Esperance and 'borrowed' the washing machines and dryers at the caravan park. We treated the kids to an afternoon in the cinema watching Zootopia.

Good Friday was thankfully a lovely day and we spent the morning at the beach, the kids spent so long in the water they began to shiver! The boys caught some herring and a barracuda in the morning to add to the 'seafood fiesta' we had planned for dinner. We then headed to Rossiter Bay where the boys went diving whilst Bec, the kids and I explored the rocks and played at a little beach we found. Daniel got his quota of lovely green lip abalone so we were set. We had a fabulous dinner of abalone, baked herring (courtesy of our neighbour Michael), 2 lobster (which we had saved in the freezer) fried herring and barracuda with salad and roast veg. It was certainly an indulgent feast.

Saturday was overcast but thankfully not raining so we spent the morning at Hellfire Bay where the boys tried,to no avail, to catch some of the schools of salmon that were taunting them by constantly swimming close to the rocks. After some Easter craft in the afternoon the kids all went to bed that night excited about the Easter Bunny's impending visit.

The kids thoroughly enjoyed their Easter Egg hunt and we all couldn't believe the places the Easter Bunny had hidden the eggs! The kangaroos had been very interested in the shiny eggs and had required quite a lot of shooing by the boys!

The rain started again mid morning and was on and off all day. By this time we were over it and were happy to be moving on the next morning (of course the next morning the sun was shining as we packed up!).

After a big drive we made it to Albany late afternoon and the kids made the most of the pool at the caravan park. The next day was spent shopping, washing and completing a few chores while Dave and Bec checked out the Anzac Park. Them we all had a lovely sunset dinner a a local foreshore restaurant whilst the kids made the most of the adventure playground. 

The sunny weather has certainly lifted all our spirits (and dried our clothes) and we are ready to try our luck at another beach camp. Fingers crossed that there will be no more rain whilst the Crellins are visiting. 

 

Daniels idea of fun on a wet morning!

Xavier and Madi's first morning on the beach (not quite beach weather).

 

Whiling away a few rainy hours.

Bec's Prado about to get wet on Cape Le Grande.

Xavier was so excited to be driving on the beach!!

 

 

Bath time! The solar hot water showers were very cold on the rainy days so we hauled water from the camp kitchen to give the kids a bath.

Two beautiful smiles.

Admiring the kangaroos - Madi was so taken with them.

Rock climbing near Rossiter Bay.

Ready to dive for abalone.

Xavier and Madi were very impressed with their Dad.

Checking out the haul - some great sized green lip abalone.

A cool morning spent eating bacon and egg sandwiches.......

....followed by rock climbing and building sandcastles at Hellfire Bay.
 

Unfortunately they got out!!!

Giving me her cheeky smile.

That cheeky smile again on Easter morning. The Easter Bunny hid eggs everywhere.

More eggs - HOORAY!

My makeshift Easter baskets!!

Stay away Jackson.

MMMMM so good.....



.....that it shared it with my whole face.

Easter Craft on the rainy days- a dyed hardboiled egg.

Exploring Albany - naturally they had to run as fast as possible and it ended in a grazed knee!

Climbing a fabulous tree at Albany.

 

Enjoying dinner and a pint on the foreshore at Albany.

 

Getting lucky at Lucky Bay (pun intended)

After a few hectic days in Esperance doing chores (laundry, shopping, cleaning etc) we decided to check out Cape Le Grande NP as we had heard on the travellers' grape vine that the Lucky Bay campground had reopened. We spent the Tuesday exploring and loved Lucky Bay, if we could get a site it would be perfect for Easter and 'The Crellins' when they arrived in a week. The next morning we packed up super early and managed to get there by 8am and luckily secured a site (there are no bookings, you basically have to grab a site as soon as someone leaves!). Thanks to Daniel's incredible ability to befriend and chat with people we then managed to get an upgrade the next morning to a site with full beach views that will fit Dave and Bec's van as well as ours, talk about lucky!! 

Over the last 6 days we have:

- become very aquatinted with the resident kangaroos who are so comfortable with humans. We have actually had to shoo them away several times as they have tried to steal food from the kids. They just lounge around our campsite and are not at all perturbed by us. 

- been taking up to the nearby caves overlooking the ocean by our neighbour, Michael, who we have become good friends with. He has 4 older sons and was a stay at home dad so has really taken to the kids and is being a substitute grandparent, teaching them ball games, and doing cooking and craft with them.

- eaten lots of lovely crumbed herring caught by Daniel who has had stellar success with fishing, catching some very large herring and getting some green lip abalone.

- climbed Frenchman's Peak, a reasonably difficult rock climb to a large cave then on to the top for some spectacular views of the National Park.

- checked out the other beaches in the National Park (Thistle Cove, Hellfire Bay (both incredibly beautiful) & Rossiter (covered in weed but lots of abalone)).

- did the lovely coastal walk from Lucky Bay to Thistle Cove, admiring the vast array of plants and wildflowers.

- did a day trip into Esperance, taking the 22km drive along Le Grande beach. The sand is so fine and becomes very hard when damp so you can easily drive on several of the beaches.

- learnt to make friendship bracelets and dream catchers with Michael. Emilia has really taken to it so be ready for some homemade gifts Grandma and Nanna!

We are so excited to have Dave, Bec, Xavier and Madi coming to visit and we excitedly await their arrival this afternoon after their epic 4 day drive from Melbourne.

Catching dinner at the far end of Lucky Bay.

Driving on Le Grande Beach towards Esperance

Some of the VERY friendly kangaroos.

Up in the caves overlooking Lucky Bay.

Jackson doing his usual - squeezing into tight places, this time with an added level of danger.

Inside one of the many 'rooms' of the caves we found.

The kids had a lot of fun with the little 'windows' in the rocks.

Looking out over Lucky Bay, the campsite is left top, the hollowed out rock in the middle is where we had lunch.

 

The caves we had explored (photo taken from our lunch spot in a hollowed out rock)

 What a camp site - we open the door to look out onto Lucky Bay.

Thistle Cove - another amazing beach at Cape Le Grande NP.

My little rock climber decided not to take the path and go up and over instead!

Sinking in the soft sand at the far end of Lucky Bay (camp area is far left at other end of bay).

Working on her friendship bracelet.

Frenchman's Peak

Scaling the steep rock of Frenchman's Peak.

The large cavernous area just before the top of Frenchman's Peak (a window to the beauty of the NP).

We made it - on top of the Peak.

Emilia was very proud of her effort climbing (so she should be!).

I'm the king of the world!!!

At the top - not sure what the kids were screaming out!

Hard at work at Hellfire Bay.