WA-Karijini National Park

Karijini National Park is the second largest park in Western Australia. The views of the gorges are breathtaking and we swam in many of the refreshing pools and relaxed under cascading waterfalls.

There are three main gorges to visit, some of the walks are very challenging as the paths descending in to the bottom of the gorges are more like goat tracks. We loved the area and were always amazed to find these waterfalls where you couldn’t see where the water came from or where it went to as there are no rivers in the area. The just seem to materialize out of nowhere.

Magic, magic spot. I think that the photographs speak for themselves.

WA-Tom Price

We sadly left Exmouth and the Ningaloo Reef area and headed inland. We had been hugging the coast for most of the trip in WA but had heard magical stories of Karajini National Park so decided that a detour was in order.

Tom Price, on the way to Karijini, is 635 klms from Exmouth and is a town of about 5000 people, most of whom who work in mine related jobs. The Rio Tinto iron ore mine here is huge and most of the ore is railed to Karratha for shipping overseas. We drove to the top of Mt Nameless, 1128 metres above sea level, and is the highest accessible mountain by vehicle in Western Australia, where we looked down on part of the mine site. This mine has been in production for over 50 years and still going strong.

As much as we love the ocean, the drive through the various red coloured ranges made the trip visually appealing and we were appreciating the differences in the rock formations. We spent two nights in Tom Price preparing for Karajini where we would not have power or water. So, we filled the water tanks, checked all the batteries, shopped and we’re ready to go.

WA-Exmouth and Ningaloo Reef

Exmouth offers a contrast of the rugged landscape of Cape Range National park with its many gorges, four wheel drive and walking tracks to the serenity and wonder of the pristine Ningaloo Reef and marine park.

We wanted to walk the gorges while we were here but the temperature most days was in the mid to high 30’s which for me, is not conducive to a lengthy bush walk. Instead, we spent every day at one of the many beaches enjoying the magic of the reef.

The Ningaloo marine park encompasses 260 kilometres of coastline and at its closest point is only metres off shore which makes it so accessible and appealing. There are well over 20 beaches along the reef in the Exmouth area and you can snorkel from most of them. At many areas you could get in the water with your snorkel gear and drift to the end of the beach, get out walk back along the beach and do it all over again. We saw brilliantly coloured reef fish, turtles, sharks, rays and many different types of coral.

As well as all the marine life, emus and kangaroos roam free in the area. The emus would wander through the caravan park and we were always alert driving as they would just wander on to the road.



I loved every minute of our week here. Mike had a wonderful time fishing with our friend Steve and his brother Rob and we shared many meals of freshly caught delicious sweet tasting fish. While Mike fished, I made more glass beads, my new hobby.



The crystal clear water, the white sandy beaches and the ruggedness of the area have given us many, many fond memories.

WA-Coral Bay

Coral Bay is at the southern end of Ningaloo Reef and is a marine paradise. There are two caravan parks, a motel and a few shops and eating places. The water is undrinkable so you need to make sure to fill up your tanks. The water is artesian and very hot and salty. When I had a shower I had trouble getting it cool enough as even the cold water is hot. There is something very odd about brushing your teeth in hot salty water.

The bay is stunning and you walk right off the beach with your snorkel and view the coral and so many spectacular coloured fish. Each time we went out we would see different types. We would come down to the beach at least twice a day to be with the fish. Off shore is the edge of the reef where the waves break and this makes the inner reef very calm and perfect for snorkeling.

Every afternoon at 3:30 is fish feeding time when the huge snapper come in to be hand fed. It is such a buzz. You stand in the water and about 50 of these large fish swim around you eating the bread and pellets. I buried my toes in the sand as I was afraid that the fish might find my red toenails appetizing.

WA-Carnarvon

Carnarvon is renowned for its fresh produce so we were looking forward to our stopover here to fill up the fridge and freezer. Unfortunately, we were about three weeks early for the framers markets but did manage to find a couple of farms that had some to sell. We bought beans, onions, watermelon, sweet corn, pumpkin and avocado.

A narrow strip along both sides of the Gascoyne River bed supports the plantations.. The diversity is amazing with tropical fruits such as mangoes and paw paws, citrus and stone fruit, grapes and many variety of melons. Vegetables include tomatoes, beans, capsicum, asparagus, sweet corn and pumpkin.


The fascinating fact is that there is no water in the river. All the plantations are watered from bores that are located along the dry river bed.








The coastal area just north of Carnarvon has some lovely beaches as well are spectacular rugged cliffs where we found an area called the "Blowholes". We spent ages here and were fascinated watching the water blow, the height depending on the size of the waves. Very impressive coastal scenery.

WA-Shark Bay and Monkey Mia

Shark Bay became Western Australia’s first world heritage listed area in 1991. The area is renowned for its white beaches, turquoise waters, rust red sand and a multitude of marine life.




Heading towards Shark Bay you pass by Hamelin Pool which is one of only two places in the world where living marine stromatolites exist. These are the oldest living organisms on the planet and are very slow growing at a maximum of 0,3mm a year.
They dot this shoreline in rocky like clumps and these particular ones are estimated to be 3000 years old. A walking platform has been erected so that we could view them without damaging them.



We settled ourselves in the caravan park at Denham and headed for Monkey Mia. I have wanted to visit this place and see the dolphins since I was a teenager and I was not disappointed. Between 8 - 12noon every day the bottlenose dolphins come right into shore to be fed. They swim around and very gently take the fish out of your hands.






While here we had lunch at the restaurant and watched the emus wander around the grounds. We then spent three hours cruising Shark Bay on the sail boat, “Aristocat 2” where we saw dugongs, turtles, more dolphins and we even saw a shark. Out in the bay we stopped in on the pontoon “Sea Lab 1” where we saw demonstrations on how they seed the black lip pearl shells and then the end result of stunning coloured pearls.