From Coral Bay to Shark Bay: 5 days - 5 one nighters

Coral Bay to Shark Bay

Monday 24^th – Saturday 29^th October

After leaving South Lefroy Bay we stopped for the night at Coral Bay for a well needed hot shower. The wind was absolutely howling, so much so that when the kids and I attempted to walk up to a lookout we got totally sandblasted, the small grains felt like little needles against our bare legs!

We had planned to spend some more time along the coast, exploring some blowholes and another good snorkelling site, however the wind was predicted to be between 40-50kmp/h for the coming few days so we decided to head inland instead.

After stocking on supplies in Carnarvon (our first Woolies supermarket in 5 weeks, it was a BIG shop!), we headed towards Gascoyne Junction, where we spent the night at the lovely little caravan park adjacent to the pub. We had dinner at the pub, where we were all pleasantly surprised at the quality of our meals- they were delicious. The kids enjoyed having some concrete to roller-skate and rollerblade on, and they also met some other kids who they had fun on the playground with.

Enjoying our first meal out for a few months (check out the cool bottle window in the background).

The burgers were huge, but 'Mr Always Hungry' easily demolished it. **Look at the old tree root on top of the toilet door, it has been fashioned to look like a bull's head- it was a really interesting piece of art.

My incredible meal- crispy skin pork belly with pineapple sauce (sounds weird but it was amazing), buttery mash and grilled vegetables. It was so good I had it again 2 nights later!

Kennedy Ranges National Park

The next morning we headed into Kennedy Ranges National Park, admiring the imposing red rocky mountains as we drove in. That afternoon we did the Temple Gorge walk, clambering over the hot rocks until we reached the small waterhole at the end. The rocks are all so interesting, with such an array of shapes, sizes and colours. Our favourites were the huge iron stone boulders. Many of them had split open to reveal layer upon layer of thin rock. After cooling off back at camp (it was a very hot day and the radiant heat from the rocks apparently adds 5-10deg to the temperature) we headed up the escarpment to enjoy the late afternoon sun from the top of the range. That evening we had a fire in the communal fire pit and were joined by a lovely nurse from Portland, Karina, who is travelling around Australia working in regional hospitals. She had some very interesting stories to share and before we knew it, it was 10pm (well past our bedtime!).

In the morning we walked around the base of the escarpment to Honeycomb Gorge – so named because the eroded rock walls look like honeycomb. The kids and I enjoyed gazing up at the uniquely shaped cavities in the rocks, trying to convince each other that they looked like certain objects. On the walk to Honeycomb Gorge we passed some interesting rocks (fallen from the range above) that the kids enjoyed scampering up. It was already heating up by the time we got back to camp, so after breakfast we packed up and headed back to Gascoyne Junction.

Hiking into Temple Gorge - it was super hot with the added heat radiating from the red rocks.

The rocks have eroded to form unusual patterns in the walls of the gorge.

The waterhole at the end of the Temple Gorge walk. Daniel and Jackson climbed up the rocky walls to explore above (Emilia and I were too hot, so we sat in the shade!).

We discovered the skeleton of a kangaroo- Jackson was pretty excited to see the whole paw still intact, 'It's just like the ones you can buy!' Daniel tried it out (much to the disgust of Emilia and I as it still had skin and fur on it). Jackson carried it all the way back and we are apparently keeping it!!

The walk involved a lot of rock hopping!

Beginning the Escarpment Walk. We were heading to the top of the range Jackson is pointing to.

Making rock cairns once we reached the top.

The finished product- you could actually see Jackson's one from our camp.

Enjoying the view - our campsite is just near Emilia's right shoulder.

Heading back to camp down the steep trail.

One of the many interesting iron stone rocks we walked past.

The late afternoon light created a beautiful glow on the rocky range.

A boulder we encountered on the walk to Honeycomb Gorge- it split perfectly straight, creating two very flat, smooth sides.

The kids enjoyed clambering up some of the many boulders that have toppled from the range.

We all thought this rock looked like a lady's face in abstract art (Picasso-ish)

The intricate designs caused by erosion of the rock on the walls of Honeycomb Gorge.

Looking along Kennedy Ranges on the walk back to camp.

Gascoyne Junction

We decided to spend another night at Gascoyne Junction, catching up on some of our jobs whilst the kids enjoyed the pool and playground. The friends they’d met on Tuesday night were still here (the fuel pump at the Roadhouse wasn’t working so they were waiting!), so the kids had a ball catching up with Chase and Tahlia. That night we couldn’t resist having dinner at the adjoining pub again, as our last meal was so good. Karina, who we’d met at Kennedy Junction, joined us, as did Nicole and Nick (the parents of the kids Emilia and Jackson befriended). We both really enjoyed the adult conversation!

Saying goodbye to Karina. Turns out it was her birthday, so that morning we 'treated' her to a very out of tune rendition of Happy Birthday and a muffin from the roadhouse with a candle that wouldn't light because of the wind (thankfully her day could only get better from there!).

Wooramel Station

On Friday we headed to Wooramel Station, a station stay that had some hot artesian bore baths that we were all looking forward to soaking in. We camped right next the dry riverbed (the river flows underground all the time, only flowing above ground 2-3 times a year) amongst the massive gum trees. There were swings on a few of the old trees in the riverbed and the kids spent hours playing with Chase and Tahlia, who were also at Wooramel Station for the night, on them. We all enjoyed a soak in the magnesium rich water of the bore baths, with Jackson and I even doing a night time session. It was very indulgent sitting in the warm water looking up at the stars (just bloody cold when we got out!). After spending the morning immersed in the waters, listening to the birds and enjoying the beautiful scenery (we had the baths to ourselves as it was only 6am) we walked around the station looking at the various sculptures and junkyard art they’ve cleverly adorned the place with. We’d been warned the water had a high iron content and excessive soaking could lead to your skin taking on an orange glow! Jackson was a prime example of this. He ended up with orange tipped hair and it looked like he’d tried to do a fake tan!

After 5 single night stays, we were all looking forward to a few nights settled in one place – Denham (Shark Bay) here we come.

Enjoying the warm bore baths.

We had the baths to ourselves in the morning. This is when there was heaps of iron residue on the surface of this bath - Jackson enjoyed covering himself with it, giving his skin an orange hue!

I found this little guy behind the caravan- he'd fallen from a nest way up in the tree above. A couple working on the station came to rescue him and we discovered he is a Sparrow Hawk. They were going to look after him for a few days before taking him down to Perth to an animal rescue place who would take him. We spoke to them the next morning and they'd had an interesting night with the bird chirping all night and pooing all around their caravan. Despite this he'd gotten into their hearts as they'd been looking into the legalities of keeping him as a pet!

Some of the sculptures and 'junk yard art' around the station.