Loving WA...

Well we have fallen in love with Western Australia, it has really turned about to be pretty much everything we imagined it to be so far. Last time I said we were heading to Albany which we did & had a fabulous day there, so much more to see & do then I expected. We started by going to a food market by the Marina & filled in our day visiting a Museum, having a picnic, going to visit some incredible beaches & then visiting the Albany wind farm, which was really cool. Then we went just north of Albany to Denmark to see one of the nicest beaches I ever seen called Greens Pools & if it was so cold we would of all have jumped in for a swim...bloody cold weather! The next day we did The Valley Of The Giants walk which is a walk 40 mtrs above the ground on suspension bridges & it was really interesting & exciting. The next few days were spent visiting places like Busselton, Bunbury, Mandurah etc which were all really nice but we were so sick of the cold weather & the wind we couldn't wait to get to Perth & hopefully some better weather. We arrived at Perth & instantly the weather changed it was sunny, boiling hot & much less wind! We spent the first couple of days catching up with an old friend & then spent time on beautiful Trigg Beach & a day exploring Kings Park & the city. Usually I really dislike cities but have to say Perth is really fantastic & very different to many cities. Had a great time in Perth. We decided to head north of Perth for Easter & stopped at a couple of places but ended up spending Easter at Coronation Beach just north of Geraldton. We spent a huge amount of time in Geraldton & really liked it, the beach was great & they have a brilliant kids playground & water park right on the beach front. Also had a really interesting Museum we spent heaps of time in. At Coronation Beach we got to witness the most spectacular sunsets we've ever seen. They were amazing! We had a beautiful Easter there & Easter Bunny found the kids luckily! From Coronation Beach we headed north over a few days to Canarvan & then we found out the place we had planned to camp at had closed down so we were really unsure what to do but with the suggestion of the lady at the Information Centre we decided to head to a place which was abit off our path but really had no choice, but we ended up being so grateful to this lady as the place we stayed Point Quobba is an absolute hidden little gem! It was free too! You camp just behind the sand dunes so your just a stones throw from the beach & the beach is like a little lagoon (the locals call it the aquarium) surrounded by an island of rock & then reef so the lagoon is protected from any waves & most of the wind & it was full of reef, coral & beautiful fish. We spent 4 days just snorkeling & swimming, the kids loved it because of all the amazing coral & colourful fish to see, even got to see our first Octopus. We were very sad to leave Point Quobba. Next we headed to Coral Bay & Exmouth. Coral Bay is a lovely kid friendly beach with really shallow crystal clear water for about 20 mtrs & then it drops off to the coral but after the snorkeling at Point Quobba we didn't find Coral Bay so great for snorkeling, never the less we had a fantastic day swimming there & the highlight was the afternoon fish feed. At 3.30 a tour guide comes into the water & hands out pellats to anyone who wishes to feed the fish & you start dropping the pellats in the water & you have these massive fish swimming all around your legs eating the food, you can even see their teeth. It was such an incredible experience, they kids in particular loved it! That night we stayed at a place called Bullarra Station which is just a farm or station as they are all called over here because of their size, where they farm mostly, goats & sheep. We got there late so after visiting the cute little lambs we had an early night. We were awoken the next morning by a strange noise & when we took a look outside we had 3 horses right next to the caravan & as soon as we stuck our heads out they came straight over for a pat, one of the horses even stuck his head in the van for a quick look around, it was very funny. We went for a walk & found a heap of goats & sheep & then when we went to watch the lambs have their morning milk feed in the shed our very friendly horses followed us into the shed to watch too...the kids thought it was hilarious. After a great morning with the farm animals we got back on the road to Exmouth which was only an hour up the road. Exmouth itself I have to say is abit of a let down as it really isn't a pretty town & the local beach isn't very appealing either but the Cape Range National Park 40kms up & around the corner is an incredibly beautiful place. Our first real day in Exmouth was spent out on a boat swimming with the Whale Sharks & it was truly out of this world!!! We've done alot of things & seen alot of amazing places this holiday but this is the definite highlight so far. It was just the most unbelievable feeling swimming next to this incredible giant of the sea & to see how excited the kids were with it too was just fantastic!!! The first Whale Shark we saw we all jumped in & Zac & I were the last 2 to get in so when we jumped in & looked straight ahead of us we nearly died as the Whale Shark was right there, right in front of us so I grabbed Zac & started to swim sideways as fast as I could to get out of the way, although they are harmless I wasn't going to push my luck. After the initial fright & we had calmed down it was surreal swimming next to it. The time went so fast & after 90mins of swimming with them we had to go back in but we didn't want to & we all can't wait to do it again one day. The next day we headed into Cape Range National Park got a camping spot exactly where we wanted very easily after being told it was almost impossible to get in here by everyone we have meet, very lucky I guess. We are camped at a spot called Mesa it was gorgeous. The beach is the most incredible crystal clear blue water & the whole National Park Coast line (Ningaloo Reef) is the same & then behind you we have these amazing looking huge ranges. We went to a little water hole to fill up some buckets of water & got to see 4 Emu's having a drink & have seen heaps of kangaroos here. We went for a walk through one of the Gorges here & that is a pretty special site of huge cliffs of red rock. The snorkeling at a place here about 10 mins from our camp called Turquoise Bay is sensational. The beach is stunning & very easy to access the reef which is full of fish & coral. We have seen 100's of fish, a few octopus, a couple of turtles & even got to see a couple of White Tip Reef Sharks which was a thrill to be swimming with them, one in particular gave me a bit of a fright as it got abit curious & came up off the bottom for a look around so I was a little scared being at eye level with this shark but Glen was cool calm & collected which calmed me back down & the shark just cruised back to the bottom. Cape Range NP & the Ningaloo Reef is one place we will definitely be coming back to one day, it is just the most amazing, beautiful unique place. It was very sad leaving there. Now we are Karratha & haven't had time to explore it much as it is really windy & rainy at the moment but once the sun comes back out we'll start looking around. Glen has some work here so we'll stay for a few weeks & have a look around. The kids & I are hitting the school books hard & catching up on work while it's raining. Can't believe we've been gone for over 4 mths & we are half way now, I'm having a great time but also can't wait to see everyone back home again soon!!!