Day 74-76 Kalbarri

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Kalbarri, it kills three to four people a year. So I guess we were lucky to get out alive. The problem is the temperature. It’s hot! And if you walk in the national park when it’s between forty and fifty degrees without water you can expect to find yourself in trouble. Of course while we were there heat stroke wasn’t that much of a concern. In fact it was quite the opposite and for a while Emma and I found ourselves contemplating the logistics of turning around and heading north again. While in Kalbarri we were somewhat distressed that:

A) we found ourselves using the Oz Weather app on the iPad because all of a sudden we could not rely on each and every day being hot and sunny.
B) we put our rain coats on!
C) the kids spent more time on dry land than in a pool despite having ready access to one.
D) one day, and it pains me oh so much to admit it, Canberra’s top temp exceeded Kalbarri’s! Continue reading “Day 74-76 Kalbarri” →

Day 70-73 Carnarvon – “6 ft, 7 ft, 8 ft bunch”

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We were a little sad to leave Coral Bay, but there are so many more good places to visit. Next stop Carnarvon was especially good because we caught up with Grandpa Brucie and Irene and doubly exciting because they picked up a new camera for us and bought it over with them. No more spots in our photos!!

It was also good to temporarily return to suburban living as we parked our van in the backyard of Irene’s son Jason and his wife Kylie’s place. Amy and Oliver enjoyed playing with four year old Tommy and two year old Summer and all their toys. Greg enjoyed the access to a hose and ladder to wash the car and caravan while Amy and Oliver gave their bikes a going over as well. I got to cook a bit in a real kitchen – so much space! It was also nice to just talk with the other adults and find out about Carnarvon from the locals. Continue reading “Day 70-73 Carnarvon – “6 ft, 7 ft, 8 ft bunch”” →

Day 64-69 Coral Bay… The purple patch

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It’s about 20 metres north of the ‘5 knots’ sign and about 40 metres from the beach. The purple patch that is. Well it’s lavender actually, lavender coral and it’s the only place on the planet you will find it. It carpets the floor of this section of the lagoon at Coral Bay in a lovely purple colour with the occasional patch of green thrown in for good measure. Its also a bit unusual in that most of the coral here is naturally brown, the most efficient colour for hard corals to photosynthesize (apparently). The usual array of tropical fish make this the best bit of snorkeling at Coral Bay without venturing further afield to the outer reef anyway. Continue reading “Day 64-69 Coral Bay… The purple patch” →