Stirling waves

Driving through the Stirling Ranges National Park reminded me of my first trip to New Zealand with the alpine setting of low scrub and beautiful vistas through mountain passes. We spent a luxurious day driving the range and taking photos while quickly jumping back in the truck as it was cold and windy!

Camp that night was on the other side of the range at Moingup

Springs with a view of the Toolbrunup peak. We arrived unusually early for an end to our travel days and I wondered how Matt would occupy himself. But alas, he found a golf club at the campsite - even left handed! He went about finding enough karri tree nuts to use as balls and whittled one down as a tee and away he went knocking them straight out to the mountain top!

A beautiful sunset on the peak and we were off to sleep to prep for our morning hike. It was meant to be Bluff Knoll as the largest peak in the south of WA but the peak was covered in clouds so we opted for Mt Trio closer by and gleaming in the sun. It was perfect hiking weather in the brisk wind with sun and clouds mixing perfectly enough to keep us warm and not sunburnt. A Skype video call with the folks from the summit and back down the way we came (via a very steep descent).

After the hike, we were destined for Wave Rock - a granite

mound formed in the shape of one giant wave. The journey there was through the Australian wheatfields on every dirt track we could find. Our only other vehicle sightings in 3 hours were farmers or silos on the move at harvest time - it was a good day!

The last 10km to Hyden was a locust swarm with one lodging itself straight in the bulls skeleton nostril on the front of Albert. We had the same swarm heading back out of town the next day - something about harvest and the weather timing.

The drive back to the coast from Wave Rock had a mirror goal of dirt, but this time slightly further east we had Dragon Rocks Nature Reserve and Frank Han National Park as our journey.

As for Wave Rock itself, a giant rock in the shape of a wave. We surfed it

and left. The town has implemented an interesting way to collect drinking water with a cement wall at the top of the rock's edge which feeds into a dam on the other side of the rock - inventive indeed for this rustic town.

Wine among the giants

Ahh, after what seems like ages of boxed wine, we have arrived at the beautiful, magnificent region of the real red liquid of the gods! Welcome to Margaret River. And just a side note -Margaret River was another stop where we missed the actual town all together. The other time was our stay in Fremantle and never getting into Perth. 

Not only is this area a welcome respite for our taste buds, but it's amazingly beautiful with the landscape having clearly changed from the dry yellow to the lush green hills with tall karri tree forests like giants guarding the vines. Then you have the coast with white sandy beaches and a cave system as well.

We started easy with just a couple winery stops and a brewery, then drove up to Eagle Bay before heading back to Caves Road and finding our camp at Yallingup Beach for the night. The next day was a grand day of about ten winery stops before setting up camp among the karri trees in the Leeuwin Naturaliste National Park. Thank goodness Matt was driving!

Our two bottle a day limit was a catastrophic failure and I'm thrilled for it. We collected a lovely collection of reds and agreed that because of our weight limit in the truck, we had to drink them daily and immediately! Ahhh!

The collection included:

• Flametree Shiraz 2012 
• Credaro Estate Cab Sav 2009 
• Windows Estate Cab Merlot 2011  
• Driftwood Sparkling Shiraz 
• Pierro Fire Gully Cab Sav Reserve 2004 
• Juniper Estate Tempranillo 2012  
• Briarose Estate Cab Sav 2005 
• Blackwood Meadery Blackberry Nip and a couple honey beers 

By the time I've written this, we only have 2 bottles remaining!

But they have been thoroughly enjoyed - bring on the Adelaide wineries!

Out of hundreds of caves in the area, only 4 are open to the public so we visited Mammoth Cave as it is the only one you can self guide. The system was beautiful to wind your way through and out the other side to walk through the forest and plethora of wildflowers and orchids before back to the start.

We made it to the southern tip before rounding up and over towards Denmark. Luckily the waters were cold and Matt doesn't have his boards as a couple days after we left the area, a surfer was taken by a great white.

Pinna-COOL!

Wow! Playing catch up with some trip updates but this one was super cool - the Pinnacles are a crazy desert of worn limestone structures created over time that pop up all around looking like a series of tiki stumps or a random stonehenge.

The national park has a road that traverses through the area, allowing you to enjoy the pinnacles from the safety of the car (the flies were abysmal). It's only a short drive, about 3 km, so we did it twice, jumping out quickly to capture a picture of two.

The other attraction of the area is in the nearby town of Cervantes where we treated ourselves to the west coast lobster (crawfish). Quite yummy but still nothing beats Maine lobster, especially from Cranberry Island!

We did have some pretty beautiful down the coast but we were on a mission for Perth. One stop that deserves a photo though was a camp north of Cervantes tucked in the dunes called Sandy Cove Recreational Park.

Then on to Perth. Who visits Perth and never enters the city? We did. We spent a week in Fremantle getting a new tray for Albert and a general service to keep him going. It appears the tracks we've conquered thus far have taken a beating to the aluminum tray on the back of the vehicle so we upgraded from a 1 tonne tray to a 3 tonne one, then back on the road we went.

Crazy mental winds

They are not actually that bad today but what Western Australia has become unfortunately famous for is this crazy mental wind! You cannot escape it at this time of year but I'm not a fan. What it does keep away are the pesky flies which come out for a couple weeks (now) during the season change. Having said that, we have been to some pretty beautiful spots since my last update - Pt Quobba, Hamelin Station, a little 4wd-ing in François Peron National Park, and a drive down the coastal road through Kalbarri National Park.

At Point Quobba, we had our own beach spot tucked in the safety of the dunes. With a protected fire place, we also enjoyed cooking on the open flame again. This area had blowholes on the cliff's edges, sandy beaches, and beautiful coral swims as well. Our overnight stop turned into 4 and we left just before a marine wind warning was put in place.

A top up in Carnarvon for the night and on to Hamelin Station which is a working sheep station at the beginning of the World Heritage Drive into Peron NP. We used this as base for our journey into the rest of the area. The farm itself is hydro-powered by the water source on the property which results in this beautiful lake in the midst of rocky desert. The next day, we drove all the way to the tip then taking our time to stop at the sights on the way back.

Skipjack Point was a thriller to see all the way along the Shark Bay and peer down to see marine life including dugongs (manatees), rays, and heaps of fish! At Gregories, Matt caught dinner of a flathead on the first cast after a couple there said there was nothing to be seen. The drive was fun through some sandy bits as well as clay flats and bush. We stopped at the Eagle Bluff Lookout where the winds nearly carried us away then Shell Beach for a swim. The beach is made up entirely of one type of cockle shells and has scientists puzzled on how it happened.

Last stop before sunset was the stromatalites which are among the oldest organisms in the world. Not sure what I expected but they are stump shapes in the low water that don't seem overly exciting but their story is, so we took some great sunset pictures and returned to camp to find two couples we'd met along the way to share dinner and a few drinks at the station's kitchen.

Kalbarri was next up with some gorge walks and coastal beauty. We stayed in town which is nestled on the coast between the national park. We did a couple walks in the park and found waterholes that although probably fine, we opted to enjoy the view and not a swim. Then walked up to the Nature's Window for the

required photo and decided not to do the 8k loop walk on the gorge as the temps were high and our hiking feet tired.

The coastal section of the NP is stunning with cliff edges, drop offs, and layered rocks. We ventured down with stops at Red Bluff, Pot Cove, Natural Bridge, Grandstand and Shellhouse.

I'm writing from Sandy Cove Recreational Park where we'll stay for 1 or a few nights before the Pinnacles and then Perth for maintenance of the truck and probably a new tray.

I met a prince!

I thought it deserved its own title but only a quick story. We did meet a prince and leave and enter Australia on the same day - even got our passports stamped. This was all done in the PHR, Principality of Hutt River. You can check out more info on Wikipedia or the PHR website.

Prince Leonard created his principality in 1970 when he was tired of the Australian Government telling him how much wheat he could or could not grow on his own land. The short story is he created his own empire and therefore does not have to pay taxes to Oz.

He's 88 now and full of smarts so he seems to be able to talk his way into anything. He has a museum of artifacts and honours countries have bestowed on him, including a sword from King Carlos of Spain. There's also a post office with his own stamps and currency, a chapel, and a stone bust of Prince Leonard. He has 7 kids and 22 grandchildren so a well established lineage in place (unfortunately I couldn't talk my way into the inheritance).

Other stories we've heard on the road included a war with Australia that now has him receiving war funds but I don't know the truth in that one. He was a lovely old man and we enjoyed our time in his country but had to get back on the road and reality.

Where the range meets the reef

Now we've been to some pretty beautiful places on this trip but our stop at the Cape Range National Park to see the Ningaloo Reef has left me in awe. We arrived after coming over the range and past the giant communications towers built by the US in 1963 to spy on Russia - an impressive site that had is wondering until we read the info signs at the lighthouse.

After an obligatory night in Exmouth to fuel and water up, we went on to the ranger's station where they give you the available camp options. The park is well looked after with camp spots spread along the coast so no one spot is over worked. We choose Kurrajong as no generators are allowed which normally gathers more like minded, solar inspired campers. And what a choice - BEAUTIFUL!

The spread-out campground is managed by volunteer campers who register you in/out and organise the cleanest drop toilets I've seen on the trip. Just over the dune is the beach and reef at your doorstep - a walk off the sand! And the reef is alive and flourishing! I've seen allot of reefs in my time and this one astounded me. Here is where I wish I could channel all my marine biologist friends to rattle off what we saw but it included heaps of colorful fish and loads of different corals - those are the technical terms ;-)

Different areas of the national park have different corals thus fish so we spent our days snorkeling a few. Oyster Stacks literally had piles of oyster rocks that when you dive under you see the really big fish. Then Turquoise Bay is a pristine white sandy beach that opens onto the reef where we found clown fish fluttering around their anemones. Osprey Bay had some great drop offs to peer under in addition to the tusk fish, parrot fish and angel fish that we saw at each location including just off our camp at Kurrajong. There were just so many fish and such a variety of coral - I came out of every snorkel with a giant smile!

We met some lovely campers at this spot that we're likely to see again as we all travel south. One couple came around after dark to rush us down to see the florescent shrimps rolling onto the beach and glowing - so cool. But we bid them farewell after five days to head on to Coral Bay. Matt did have a fish on the reef with a guy we met with a boat so we leave restocked with some beautiful yummy fish.

At Coral Bay, we got a camp spot at the caravan park right on the turquoise waters. Our first snorkel here reminded us how good we had it at Cape Range but now after a few more, we appreciate the differences of this reef (still Ningaloo). The coral is giant cauliflower plants and huge fields of stag. I've seen bottom feeders creeping along in a mass of thousands, a giant black and white spotted eel swimming between rock hides, turtles, shovel nose sharks, blue spotted rays, a lion fish, and schools of parrot fish!

The white sand levels off into the water slowly and then drops down to the reef, so you get this lovely shallow warm water before entering the deeper bit and amazing sunsets! Matt did have a fish on the outside of the snorkeling area and caught a gorgeous Tripletail Maori Wrasse - we decided too beautiful for eating and threw out back only to catch again but it leaves another day.

Slight issue with the truck's engine light coming on but all sorted (thanks Land Rover) and it meant another night's stay in Coral Bay and another snorkel - oh the tragedies we go through.

Big news (& the reason we came back into phone reception) is my sister and her husband welcomed Caleb Luke to the world and I wanted to Skype with the new guy! Such a cutie and my god daughter is an ace already at being a big sis.

Back to the gorge-ous

After making our way down the coast a bit, we went east to get to Karijini National Park. It was a hot ride into the desert but with promises of fresh water flowing in the gorges, we ventured on. What a site it was to see! We pried ourselves off sweaty seats to scale down this stunning gorge where we could see the waterfall below.

Dales Gorge was our campground and the location of our first hike back on the trip. We set out the next morning from the same waterfall and then down the gorge

to see the beautiful paperbarks and waterfalls cut by the wet season.

Circular Falls is the destination walking up tiered platforms to swim in a rounded arena of a pool that trickles water from the walls. From here, the trek goes back up the gorge to hike directly up the side and back along the ridge instead of the base. With the sun heating up and the shelter of the trees in the gorge, we opted to return the way we came - which also promised a lovely swim/shower at the end.

We had two nights at the camp before heading along to the other side of the park and the majority of the gorges. In a day, we packed in a hike through Weano

Gorge where you end at Handrail Pool which literally requires scaling down a handrail to descend into a pool in an amphitheatre room. The water seemed slightly less appealing than some we had passed on the way in so we returned back for swims in the moving water but enjoyed the ambience of this spectacular 'room'.

After lunch back at the trailhead and parking lot, we started for round two of the day and a more difficult level trek at Hancock Gorge. The increased level is due to the hike's requirement of getting wet and acting like a spider. This gorge narrows to a degree that water traverses the angled floors and you either walk with it or don't go. We were more than happy to get wet and even leave the camera behind for the last bit through Spider Walk to Kermit's Pool. Some places the water dipped just overhead but it was beautifully refreshing.

Trying to make headway before sunset, we hit the road to see which of the free camps we could get to by sunset. And what a beautiful time to be driving as the ranges

were perfectly lit and desert colours at their best. We quickly made it past Tom Price, a mining town, but not before stopping at a vista point that I thought could be our camp for the night. 'RIP Lookout' was just that - a stunning outlook that had become a memorial site where people had left stacks of rocks each signed off to a loved one lost. Campfires had been lit there but we decided to leave a rock each to our respective losses and move on.

We made it to Beasley River Camp where although the river was well and truly dry for the season, the camp had firepits, wood, a toilet, and even a picnic table. It seemed we had the place to ourselves for the night until a lone push bike strolled in from the opposite direction. Jett is a Dutch girl travelling from Perth to Darwin. Much respect goes to her as I thought I was tired from a long day on a hot road but she brings it to a whole other level. So a good night was had by all around the fire before a well earned sleep.

Next up - Exmouth and the Cape Range National Park, where the range meets the reef (Ningaloo).

Hooked but not caught

I'm not sure I'll ever understand the drive of a fisherman's will when it comes to a particular catch. In this case and at this time, it's barramundi. But strive for the catch we have with stays on the Pentecost River, Barred River, Cape Leveque, Willie Creek, and now the Fitzroy. I cannot say that I have not enjoyed all of it, because I have loved all these beautiful spots, but then I'm not the one with the rod in the water with the burning sun beating down.

I guess I just don't get it, especially because barramundi isn't even the tastiest fish you can catch in these parts. We have had some scrumptious meals on Matt's catches - queenfish, sweet lip, blue bone, trevally, cod and more than I can name but barrumumdi is a prized catch across all of Australia's top end.

Our latest side trip to a recommended locale on the Fitzroy River brought us closest to 'the catch'. Picture this - the sun was registering 40 degrees but felt like 43 Celsius with the hot winds blowing mini sand tornados through the dusty grounds. A man sits on the rocky outlet left from the old river crossing which long grew over except the wooden stumps across the river. Two rods hang in the water, one quivers with another tease of a catch so he winds it in and 'wham' out of the water jumps the unsuspecting barra!

He's caught it! But before he can reel it in, the cunning fish heads straight for the wooden bridge posts and tangles himself around the old bridge. Not only does he lose his chance of telling the story of his barra catch, he loses his last floater. The next day, we watch a floater tease its way around the river banks thinking maybe his barra is actually still connected. Till the next time, the barra lives on to tell his own story of how he caught another fisherman on the Fitzroy.

Fun fact #1 - barramundi all start out as males and switch to females in older age which is why the largest keep catch is 80cm. Hmm...
Fun fact #2 - catfish spines are very painful but soaked in hot water for half hour helps pull the poison out.