Carnarvon 19th to 21st August

At the Tropic of Capricorn

Road side stop between Karijini and Carnarvon

At the start of walking the One Mile Jetty

Beach view from the One Mile Jetty

We made it to as far as we could go. The end of it was fenced off as it had been burnt.

Trying to balance along the rail tracks of the One Mile Jetty

BIG Humpty Dumpty

View along the cliff line from the Blow holes

One of the many whale shots of them having a play in front of us

Louise and the blowhole

Jacob and the blow hole

Hannah and the blow hole

Another of the cliff line near blow holes

Emu we found going further up the coastal blow hole road.

We left Karijini and headed for Carnarvon via a road side stay. We were looking forward to arriving at Carnarvon and setting up camp so that we could have a well deserved shower (it had been 6 days since our last shower) and catch up on some washing. Before setting up camp we visited an Upholster who was able to replace our zip ($5). This meant we would now be able to zip up our tent at night and secure the door with it being a little warmer with the door closed. We were all down to our last set of underwear and clothes. Once freshened up we headed down to visit the Visitor Centre and have a look around the town. The day we arrived was spent just catching up on everything. I was still doing washing at 9.30 that night.
Tea that night we joined other park patrons at a Park Mystery Dinner. You of course didn't know what the dinner was going to be (that is why it is called Mystery). There was also some entertainment with a guy (from Moe) singing Australian ballads and country music. This was a great time to chat to a number of the other park patrons, with us sitting next to a couple from Germany. They told us that the parents aren't allowed to take kids out of school at all, not even the last day of a term to go on holidays early. It is a good thing that we are not in Germany then!! There was also a door raffle prize with both Louise and Hannah winning one each (so we donated one back into the raffle). The bag of goodies was full with a hat, stubby holder, lanyards, lollies and stickers all in a recycled shopping bag from the area. So this was pretty good to come away with this.
Our first full day in Carnarvon we took the kids around the Gascoyne Food Trail, which involved visiting the local farms to see some of their produce and purchase some goodies. The food was FRESH and tasted YUMMY. The kids tried some star fruit (not all that keen) and some fresh banana's (they do have so much more flavour). We saw an unexpected BIG Humpty Dumpty to Hannah's excitement. The kids then spent time guessing what the different crops were. We visited a farm where they purchased some frozen mango and a chocolate dipped banana and mango's on sticks. Strick then took us off track, where we found some Emu's who decided it was fun to run up the track in front of the car (I think the kids thought it was funnier).
The afternoon saw us walking out on the One Mile Jetty (much to Hannah's disgust as she wanted to take the train). We walked out today and promised the kids we would bring them out to have a go on the train the next day. To walk or take the train on the Jetty wasn't free. To walk cost Strick and I $5 each and to take the train was $10 adult's and $5 for kids. We saw a large number of people fishing, but again today they didn't seem to be having much luck.
Our second day at Carnarvon saw us drive about 60km north to the Blowholes. This was magnificent as when we got there we got 2 different spectacular sightings. One being the blowholes, but two we saw whales that were quite close to the cliffs and were jumping out of the water and splashing their fins. The whales for a while took away from the blowholes. We then drove further up the coast along the cliff line to see if we could see anymore. We saw a large number of them for the few hours we were there.
Heading back into Carnarvon we stopped off at one of the farms and got the kids a long awaited fruit smoothie. Jacob and Louise of course a Mango and Hannah a Banana smoothie (and of course I had to try the banana too). They were YUMMO with the fresh fruit. The kids also purchased some Mango jam and Banana jam. This then filled the kids enough that we didn't need to find them any lunch for awhile.
The afternoon saw us try and take the kids on the train on the One Mile Jetty, only it wasn't operating because of the RAIN and it was really windy on the jetty. So we decided we would try again in the morning before we left Carnarvon for Exmouth. So instead of riding the train we went to stock up on groceries and the girls and I had a look through a few shops while Jacob and Strick went and bought themselves a fishing rod (hoping to catch us some fresh fish).
Before we left Carnarvon we went via the One Mile Jetty again to try for a train ride. This time the driver was held up because his wife was sick so it wasn't starting til 11am. So as a pacifier the kids and I had a drink and wrote on postcards, while Strick did a few jobs. We also promised Hannah that we would try again on our way back through Carnarvon on our way back down South. We eventually got out of Carnarvon and headed for Exmouth.

Karijini and Road side stop 14th August to 18th August 2014

Ship at Port Hedland being escorted out of the Harbour

Entering Karijini NP

Start of our first walk Kalamina Gorge

Kalamina Gorge

Climbing the rocks in Kalamina Gorge to get to the top of the falls

Top of the falls in Kalamina Gorge

Kalamina Gorge

Kalamina Gorge

Kalamina Gorge

Lower Weano Gorge (the walking path went through the water and no we didn't go any further)

Jacob trying to warm up after going in the water at Lower Weano

Trying to gear themselves up to go in the water

Circular Pool walk

Dad trying to get kids wet with water from the falls in their hats.

Circular Pool

start of the Dales Gorge walk

Some of the obstacles on the Dales Gorge walk

Dales Gorge walk

Fortescue Falls

Made it to Fortescue Falls and ready for a swim

At the base of Fortescue Falls

At the base of Fortescue Falls

Fern Pool

Dale Gorge Rim walk

Dale Gorge Rim walk

Girls with their Karijini Junior Ranger Badges

We left 80 mile and headed for Karijini with the plan to have an overnight stop somewhere on the roadside. Karijini was somewhere when we originally planned our trip wasn't on the itinery however after speaking to a number of different people we altered some plans and managed to put it in. We are glad we did.
We went through Port Hedland to have a look and show the kids. We were lucky enough to see a ship being escorted out of the harbour by the tug boats. After having a quick look around we grabbed some lunch and stocked up and headed to Karijini.
Jacob's tally of the road trains grew quite dramatically this day around Port Hedland and heading out towards Karijini. We found a road side stop and pulled in for the night. Strick and the kids rounded up some wood so that they could have a fire (albeit small but they were happy to have one). It wasn't a late night as it was cool and of course the bugs started to come out.
An earlish start the next day and we only had about 150km to travel. We arrived and checked in. The kids were given a Karijini Junior Ranger Program they could work through while we were there. The girls were overly excited.
When we set up our tent the zip had really spat the dummy and wasn't working at all. So it was decided we would do a quick trip into Tom Price (100km) to see if we could find a new zip slider. Everything we read on good old Google said if we replaced the sliders we should be all good. Unfortunately Tom Price didn't have what we needed, so it was back to camp. Night time saw us having to put a table outside the door on it's side so that we didn't have any visitors throughout the night (this was also done when we went exploring each day).
On our way back from Tom Price we stopped in at the Visitor Centre in Karijini and the girls answered some questions in their Junior Ranger Book. They were that excited (especially Hannah) they expected the answers to jump out at them and didn't stand still long enough to find the answers.
The nights in Karijini were COOOLD!!! It reminded me of being back at Alice Springs at the start of the trip. The kids went to bed clothed and even used the spare sleeping bags and blankets that we had gained once mum had left us in Broome. Because it was cold it was hard to get moving each morning but once we did the days were rather warm. Karijini is one of the highest points in Western Australia so if you were staying at one of the highest points in another state then we would possibly be cold (especially Victoria). With it being cold it was early to bed each night as this was often the warmest place to be.
On our first full day in Karijini we travelled to the other end of the National Park where we walked the Kalamina Gorge (this was fantastic and again the kids did a great job walking the Gorges). We went and just looked at some of the other Gorges (Joffre and Knox) as they had lookouts and their walks were alot more difficult. We watched some people on some and they also looked dangerous for the kids so we decided not to walk them. We also had a look at Lower Weano where the kids decided to have a swim. This was FREEZING according to the kids. Jacob jumped in and jumped out. The girls played around with Hannah ending up slipping and falling in so she ended up getting wet and it took her breath away. The plan was to have a shower at the Visitor Centre, but we of course spent too long on the walks enjoying ourselves and missed out.
The second full day at Karijini we spent locally around the Dales Gorge camp ground where we were staying. We walked down and looked at Circular Pool. It really is a small world with us running into a lady from Wonthaggi who I know through netball, on the Circular Pool walk. We asked the kids what they wanted to do next either, go back to the top and drive to Fortescue Falls or walk. The kids were keen to walk, so we walked along the bottom of Dales Gorge to Fortesque Falls where the kids had a well deserved swim. Hannah enjoyed looking for the walk path markers to make sure we were going in the right direction. I then walked back to get the car at Circular Pool walking along the top of the Gorge. This was interesting with some fantastic views knowing that we had walked along the bottom of the Gorge. When I got back to Strick and the kids we went and visited Fern Pool and after talking to them about the Gorge Rim walk they decided they wanted  to do that (except Hannah). So I drove the car back to Circular Pool and met them along the walk to pick them up. We then went back to camp for lunch before going back to the Visitor Centre to purchase some souvenirs.
The girls worked really hard on their Junior Ranges books and learnt alot. So were very excited when before we left I took them down to the Camp Entry where they were required to read out the Junior Ranger Oath and were asked a few questions by the park Volunteers. They were then presented with a cloth badge as a Karijini Junior Ranger. They were so proud as were we with what they had achieved.

The next day saw us leave Karijini via Tom Price and Paraburdoo to a road side camp. While in Paraburdoo we searched the internet to book some accommodation at Cape Range (as this is all required to be done online now). As we couldn't get in when we wanted we  decided to head on to Carnarvon before coming back up to Cape Range.

80 Mile Beach 12th and 13th August

80 mile beach at low tide (it is just wet sand that you can see not water)

Kids posing for their sunset photo

Sunset first night at 80 mile beach

High tide at 80 mile (notice all the fisherman and ladies)

Kids enjoying the water at high tide (we had trouble trying to contain them to keep them out of the fisherman's way)

Sunset 2nd night (the beach is absolutely covered in shells)

Sunset 2nd night

Butterfly Louise made out of shells on the beach

Kids decided that they could have sand socks!!

On the beach

Well the plan was to have 3 nights here and really relax and catch up on all our blogs, postcards, diaries etc. It was a spot that had been recommended and we were really looking forward to it. When we arrived to begin with there were no more powered sites, so a non powered it would be and we decided to see how we went if we needed to move so as to charge all the batteries we would move. The second thing was it was soooo windy, it took us twice as long to set up the camper (that is without the awning) as everything kept getting blown away. The wind was so strong it was getting under the tent and really blowing a gale. It even ripped open the door at one stage. So we were getting a little agitated with each other but eventually we had it sorted and parked the car in a position that at least would allow us to cook out of majority of the wind. With the wind so strong and bad Strick and I were toying with the idea that we may not even survive two nights let alone 3. So it was decided to see how we went.
We went for a walk on the beach and collected some shells and saw the tide way out (too far to walk as you would have needed a picnic lunch). Believe it or not it wasn't as windy on the beach as it was at the park. We sat and watched the sunset before heading back to brave the winds to try and cook tea.
The wind seemed to settle through the night, only to start up again about 4am. We woke to rubbish having been blown around the park and really unless you had it nailed down it wouldn't still be there when you came back. I tried to do some washing (we decided to persevere for another night) and that was a task in itself to try and hang it out. Every time the kids went to the toilet they had to check that the washing was still on the line.
We went for another walk along the beach and visited it again at high tide to see that it was basically splashing the bottom of the sand dunes. The beach was literally lined with fisherman and fisherladies trying to catch a fish at the turn of the tide (it did appear that no one was having success). It was fascinating how much the tide can change the landscape.
The afternoon was spent catching up on diaries and writing postcards and Strick and I doing a little planning for the remainder of our trip. The kids played cards in the tent to get out of the wind and visited a little market by the other park residents and some of the money that was burning a hole in their pockets was spent on ice creams, drinks and lollies (oh and Jacob on some thongs as he left one of his thongs where we had lunch the day before).
Again we watched the sunset and thankfully the wind had settled a little more that night. It was interesting watching others that afternoon try and set up tents and camps as we had done only the day before and to think we would have given others a laugh.
If there wasn't the wind 80 mile beach, would be a fantastic place and one we would really enjoy. It is a place I would love to come back to when it isn't so windy and be able to explore it properly. The sunsets and shells were beautiful. Although it was nice we were looking forward to getting out of the wind the next day as we started to head inland to Karijini NP.