Steep Point - shells, sharks and spearfishing at the most western point of Aus.

After missing out on Steep Point on both our journey up and down the coast last year (due to wind and then rain) we were determined to make it to this remote area of Australia. To access the most westerly point on the Australian mainland requires a 3 hour 4wd on a narrow, hilly and sandy track. We were prepared, having booked one of the few campsite several months ago and stocked up on water and food. However the weather got us again!

After 2 big days of driving we got from Yallingup to Hamelin Station, the closest place to the start of the Steep Point track to stay. We arrived on a wet Monday afternoon and went to look at the nearby stromatolites (rock like structures that grow from single cell bacteria- similar to the first life forms found on earth and one of only 3 places in the world where you can view living stromatolites). On our return we heard the news that the road to Steep Point had been closed because of all the rain they'd had and that it might be reopened in the morning at 9am. We waited in the morning with the van half packed up then got the news that the road would remain closed with a review in the afternoon. We visited the nearby Shell Beach then just hung out at the campground with all the other people waiting to get into Steep Point. Thankfully it was a lovely place to stay and we all enjoyed exploring the old shearing shed and seeing their last lot of stock (goats) loaded onto a truck. By Tuesday afternoon we were getting antsy though and were very grateful to hear the road was reopened. 

It was a pretty steep, narrow and bumpy sand track but Daniel's skilled driving ensured we got the car, van and ourselves into the camp area unscathed. It was a picturesque place, white sandy beaches littered with shells and clear, turquoise water abundant with wildlife. 

Whilst at Steep Point we:

- combed the beach for treasures and were rewarded with some amazing shells, starfish, crabs, and two huge mermaid dollars that impressed us all.

- took the obligatory photo with the Steep Point sign then explored the cliffs, the vastness of the ocean was breathtaking.

- watched the serious fisherman with their helium balloons and super dooper fishing rods. They had caught a huge mackrel just before we got there and Emilia couldn't believe the fish was bigger than her.

- watched Daniel go diving and cheered excitedly when he brought his catch into shore.

- admired the ocean creatures (Dolphins, sharks, stingrays and so many fish - our faves were the fish that did flips out of the water, so funny to watch).

- felt slightly disconcerted by the huge(around 3m) hammerhead shark that cruised up and down our beach every day.

- played in the calm waters of Shelter Bay (a few meters from our campsite).

- watched the sun set over the ocean whilst sitting on the cliffs - we really felt like we were on the edge of Australia.

Our haul at Steep Point included:

- an icecream container full of amazing shells, as well as a huge clam shell,

- 3 lobster,

- 5 fish, speared by Daniel (2 sweetlip, mulloway, tailor and cod)

-  21 mice (we are back in mouse country but this time we are prepared - watch out little rodents the Katz are gonna get you!!!).

After stocking up at Carnarvon our beach adventure continues on the gorgeous Ningaloo Reef where we are booked for 1 week rough camping at Ningaloo Station. The weather is predicted to be high 30s all week so they ocean will be lovely.

The stromatolites in the super salty water at Hamelin Pool - one of only 3 places on earth where you can see these.

Hamelin Station - where we hung out for 2 nights waiting for the road to Steep Point to open.

The old shearing shed at Hamelin Station.

Letting the tyres down for the 'hazardous' road into Steep Point.

Steep Point - we finally made it.

Daniel taking the kids out to the edge of the cliffs.

It was so calm on the first day you could see fish swimming in the ocean below.

Our little nudists enjoying the beach at Shelter Bay (where we camped).

The stormy sky made for an amazing evening on the beach.

The kids decided a huge hole was needed so began digging......

and it resulted in sand EVERYWHERE!

Our campsite, just a few metres from the beach.

The first spoils - a tailor, a mulloway and a sweet lip - DELICIOUS.

Daniel is getting great with his spearfishing and getting a clean head shot nearly every time.

A wee with a view!!

The haul from day 2!!

The catch on Daniel's now very professional filleting table (an ironing board with plywood - perfect).

Treasures from a walk on the beach - two starfish (which had unfortunately been washed ashore and died)

Some of the incredible shells from Shelter Bay.

A sunset picnic on the most westerly point of Australia.

Looking over the vastness of the ocean (and holding very tightly to our kiddies hands).

Several planes flew by and left interesting patterns in the sky.

Leaving at sunrise... we were sad to leave this lovely place.

Coming up a steep section of the track....... and then going down

A fifth birthday fit for our bush princess.

Emilia's celebrated her 5th birthday at the lovely Yallingup. Our princess's day went like this:

5am - awake needing toilet, we tried to hide her eyes from the presents on the table. She instead notices the streamers and balloons hanging from the van roof and goes back to bed excitedly awaiting morning.

6.30am - her tossing and turning finally manages to awaken Jackson and she sits patiently admiring her presents whilst we do another toilet run.

6.45am - there are lots of oohs and aaahs as she rips open her array of presents.

7.15am - Xavier and Madi come over bearing more gifts and excitement.

7.30am - she finally makes it outside and sees another present, her scooter, which she had been hoping for.

8.30am - a birthday breakfast of pancakes, berries, syrup and cream shared with the Crellins.

10am - a few hours spent practising on the scooter with Dad whilst Jackson I made her the chocolate peanut butter cake she had requested. The Crellin family went to explore Margaret River.

12 noon - a rest for us all. Even birthday princesses need a nap!

2pm - a play on the beach and a paddle in her undies.

3.30pm - shower and into her red party dress.

4pm - lots of fun with Jackson, Xavier and Madi hitting the piñata and collecting all the lollies once it finally split (with a bit of help from Daniel).

4.30pm - entree of abalone (Emilia's request) and squid then some hide and seek and playing around the campsite.

6.00pm - a scrumptious dinner of roast chicken & lamb, roast potato, pumpkin and sweet potato, beans, broccoli and cauliflower (Emilia's birthday dinner request).

6.30pm - after having Happy Birthday sung to her and marvelling at the sparklers Emilia finished her birthday with a large slice of chocolate peanut butter cake with peanut butter ice-cream and cream!

7.30pm - she collapsed into bed exhausted and happy after a wonderful 5th birthday.

Getting ready to open her presents.

She even let Jackson open one (only a small one though!).

A horse for Barbie - OMG - Thanks Nanna and Opa.

She was very impressed with her handmade quilt from Grandma.

Extremely pleased with her presents (and this was before she saw her scooter).

Birthday van - Daniel kept getting caught up in streamers.

The scooter - she is a pro already.

Mum, will you just let me eat my pancakes!!

A swim in your undies always makes a great day even better.

Charlie's Angels eat your heart out.

Another princess ready to belt the piñata.

GIVE ME THE LOLLIES.

Lining up to ensure a good hit.

Getting ready for the birthday roast dinner.

A chocolate peanut butter cake - this is the best day of my life!!!!!

Emilia forcing a smile when all she really wants to do is eat cake (especially since she spied the cream and ice-cream).

Vistas, Vines and Vertical Climbs.

The next part of our travels with the Crellin family was spent at some of the most picturesque places in SW WA, the Southern Forests and the wineries and beaches of the Margaret River region.

On the way from Parry's Beach we stopped off at the Giant Tingle Tree whilst Dave, Bec and kids enjoyed the views on the Valley of the Giants tree top walk (which we had done a few months ago). The Giant Tingle Tree has a girth of 24 metres and is the largest living eucalypt in the world. It was very impressive.

Once we reached Manjimup, and Fonty's Pool caravan park, we headed straight for the inviting waters of the pool, which was originally a farming dam that was created into a public pool in 1925 by the ingenious owner of the land, Archi Fontanini. It is surrounded by beautiful gardens and the hazy sky (from faming burn offs) really brought out the vivid colours of the autumn leaves. The next day the weather had certainly changed and the warmth of the previous day was just a memory. Thankfully the rain held off long enough to allow Dave and Bec to climb Diamond Tree. After succumbing to temptation at the Fine Woodcraft Gallery in Pemberton (where both families got magnificent chopping boards) we checked out Gloucester Tree. In between the drizzle and the steady stream of tourists Dave, Daniel and I climbed to the top whilst Bec and the kids watched the brightly coloured lorikeets. We didn't stay long at the top as we could clearly see more storm clouds approaching. After enjoying a huge play at the Manjimup Timber and Heritage Park we headed home for a hot shower, a delicious pasta dinner and damper on the campfire. We certainly made the most of our day and half in the area.

The next day we managed to fit in even more:

- pack up and drive to Margaret River Region

- a visit to the Margaret River Dairy Company (the smoked cheddar was INCREDIBLE)

- a look at the Margaret River Providore where Bec and I tasted some mind blowing chocolate liqueur (and promptly bought a bottle each)  

- lunch at Cheeky Monkeys Brewery, indulging in huge pork ribs and beer whilst the kids went wild in the playground

- a stop at the beautiful Laurence Winery. The building was so impressive and the wine equally so. Bec and I tasted the range whilst the kids enjoyed the playground and the boys admired the gorgeous lawns and gardens. We all had to visit the incredible bathrooms, each individual bathroom was bigger than our van, with artwork, music, wood panels and cabinets. Emilia said she felt like a princess going to the toilet there! 

- when we finally arrived at Yallingup we were did a quick set up then headed into Busselton Jetty. Whilst the boys fished for squid we all watches the sun setting over the ocean. It was freezing so we left the boys on the windy jetty and headed back to the foreshore. We were lucky enough to meet some tourists with a drone camera who showed the kids how it worked. They were very impressed.

- we all collapsed into bed that night, exhausted but happy after a great day.

Over the next few days at Yallingup we:

- enjoyed the great adventure playground on the foreshore.

- celebrated Emilia's 5th birthday (another blog post coming)

- swam and built sand castles on the beach.

- ate delicious crayfish that Dave and Daniel caught.

- watched the colourful sunset from the grassy foreshore

- enjoyed a few beers at the great pub whilst the kids made the most of the surrounding gardens.

On Friday morning we said a sad goodbye to Dave, Bec, Xavier and Madi. We have had a wonderful 2.5 weeks with them. We spent another 2 nights at Yallingup getting prepared for a stint in the remote Steep Point (the most westerly place in mainland Aus). We left this morning for a big day driving to get us about halfway there.

The Giant Tingle Tree on the way

Inside the Giant Tingle Tree.

Farmer burn offs created a smoke haze that gave the sky a very eerie look.

 

Fonty's Pool and the sun behind the smoke haze.

 

Enjoying a float in Fonty's Pool.

Daniel threw Bec on a tyre and pushed her out into the middle - she used her thongs to paddle back and managed to stay dry.

Enjoying the great Timber and Heritage Park in Manjimup.

Relaxing in one of the beautiful trees of the Southern Forests.

  

Dave and Bec climbing Diamond Tree.

 

On the top of Gloucester Tree - there was a break in the drizzle (and the tourists) so we hightailed it up. I was still catching my breath for this photo.

Enjoying an amazing Rose at Laurence Wines on the way to Yallingup.

Building sandcastle homes for dead crabs on Yallingup Beach whilst the boys went diving for crayfish.

Squid fishing (and enjoying a magnificent sunset) at Busselton Pier.

Checking out the catch (2 squid which were delicious fried with garlic, ginger and butter).

Xavier and Emilia walking back along Busselton Pier together - they have become such great friends.

 

Fisherdaddies and our & our 'swell' time at Parry's Beach.

After Albany we took the Crellins to one of our favourite beach camps, Parry's Beach, and it quickly became one of their faves too. Whilst at Parry's we:

- ate abalone that the Daniel and Dave collected for us.

- spent many lovely hours walking along the rocks and collecting shells (Madi got so excited about every shell she found and she couldn't believe the gorgeous ones at Parry's. She had quite a collection to take home).

- had lovely fires every night, which were very necessary as the evenings got very cool.

- watched the kids play so many different imaginative games. Bec actually asked to join in one time and was promptly told it was for kids only.

- had great fun running from the waves (which were huge because of 3 days of large swell).

- spent a day exploring the area, which included a honey factory which had a glass encased beehive inside. We all became fixated on finding the queen bee. We were amazed by the huge waves at Green's Pool. It had been so calm when we had visited a few months ago but this time the swell was around 5m high and it was creating some monster waves. After a bbq lunch in Denmark we headed back to camp and stopped at a toffee and ice-cream shop which boasted huge freshly made ice-creams. We all indulged (my peanut toffee brittle mixed through vanilla was amazing). 

However by far the highlight of our 4 nights there was the fresh fish the boys caught. We ate lots of herring, which is amazing crumbed and crispy fried. On the last morning Daniel went out early with Jackson and caught a good feed. Dave decided to have a quick go after he packed up his van. He had caught a few fish in our days there but wasn't quite satisfied with his performance. Today was different though. His face on the walk back from the beach was priceless. He was like a excited child when he very proudly announced that he had 'bagged out' (caught the limit of 12). The kids shared in his excitement with Jackson and Madi helping him clean and bag them. It was certainly the making of another hunter gatherer!

Checking out the bees. We got some delicious vanilla infused honey!!



Doing some charcoal painting - thankfully there was fresh water for a wash.

Attempting to scale a rock at Green's Pool

After Daniel made it Dave was determined (Xavier was still trying but now from a different angle).

The daddies were up so the kids kept trying!

Bec and Madi watching the huge swell at Greens Pool.

A huge wave (we were up on the rocks just waiting for a wave to get some of the tourist exploring the rocks)

The four cheeky monkeys on the rocks.

Daniel hanging our abalone shell art (tiptoes on top of a ladder??? Lucky Dave is holding it)

Dave with his bucket of herring after 'bagging out'

Dinner - thanks Dave.

Freshly made strawberry ice-cream (and yes she easily managed to eat it all).

A morning of craft resulted in a very interesting outfit!