Kristy 4

Well it seems like months ago since we left Perth.  We’ve certainly been cramming in some serious adventures, what, with the cyclone, the fishing, the shark encounters, the fishing, the dolphin encounters, the fishing, the list goes on (unfortunately constantly peppered with FISHING).  In all honesty though the kids are in paradise, their getting along so well and I’m just absolutely blessed to share this journey with them again.  I hope they never get too old to come on holidays with us, that being said I just booked a holiday with my Mum and Dad so perhaps it’s a genetic trait.

From Perth we ventured north towards Cyclone Olwyn, the first cyclone since the late 70’s to hit the Southern Gasgoyne area, not something we thought we’d have to plan for.  We locked the radio onto the ABC and tried to plan a route that would keep us out of harm’s way, the most likely course being an inland diversion.  With the cyclone 24hrs away we stopped in at The Pinnacles, such a beautiful and mysterious place.  After our now compulsory dance-off at the lookout we received some advice to head to the coast and ride out the storm. 

We headed to Jurien Bay and asked the police what they’d like us to do and were cheerily sent to the local caravan park as that would make their job easier to evacuate any vulnerable people.  A peaceful night sleep was had by all then the town went into lock down.  11am was declared the time of impact, all shops closed their doors, roads in and out of town were closed and we sat waiting.  By 10.50am we were still sitting on the jetty under a blue sky without a breath of wind.  11.05am, all shops reopened and we all went about our business, which for my boys meant more bloody fishing!

 

Kalbarri was our next destination and I’m still left wondering why I never visited this beautiful spot in the previous trips west.  Sensational, doesn’t even come close to summing it up, it’s beautiful, rugged, tranquil, wild and peaceful all at once. 

Sadly no photos will ever do it justice, you really need to see it for yourself.  The highlights were certainly the beautiful beaches, the roaring Murchison River and of course the centrepiece of this stunning jewel was Kalbarri National Park.  Just to top it off there was a family of Tawny Frog Mouths nesting in our caravan park, my very favourite bird.  Ahhh, heaven!

Feeling relaxed we knuckled down and headed to everyone’s favourite West Coast destination Monkey Mia.  Sadly our timing coincided with an annual fishing migration and the park, which is usually full of international tourists was packed with foul mouthed, drinking, farting Aussie bogan fishermen.  As long as we stayed at the beach and avoided the caravan area things were perfect.  All five of us were lucky enough once again to be picked to feed the dolphins but in an even more magical moment we were treated to a visit by a pod of dolphins as we swam in the warm waters of Shark Bay.  The dolphins chose to swim up to the kids and brush past them constantly for about 20minutes, an experience few people in the world will ever have.

 Shark Bay (appropriately named on the basis of the number of sharks in the area) did not disappoint.  We saw several sharks in the shallows and Ry even had to help a young fella pull a 1.5mt shark up on to the beach.  There are plenty of great tours on offer at Monkey Mia but as fortune has it we have our own Zodiac and there has been no better time to launch her.

 As Chris and the kids disappeared out into the bay and they were treated to a display of beauty by turtles, dugongs, rays, dolphins and sharks.  Our last day in paradise was soured a little as the kids witnessed a 60+ year-old Neanderthal beating some emu chicks with a broom because they “invaded” his area of the park.  He then went on to call his partner an F-ing animal and other delightful terms of endearment.  He proved to be the best example of shark bait I’ve ever seen, may karma weave her magic.

 

We left Monkey Mia to enjoy a beautiful freestay out at Eagles Bluff from where we travel to the Oceanaquirium.  As a family we love marine life and love to learn more about the creatures in our oceans but its fair to say that Tamsyn and I were a little distracted at the start of our tour.  You see the young marine biologist appointed as our tour guide could possibly subsidise his career as a model.  Part of his duties included leaning over into the fish tanks which ultimately distracted my attention and caused me to miss out on some very important dialogue regarding transgender fish lifecycles, dammit!.

Farewell Shark Bay Peninsula, don’t ever change a bit!