G'day folks! We are back from our epic road trip up the Western coast of Australia in our campervan; having covered over 2000 miles and we have seen and done things that we will remember for the rest of our lives! So... we will attempt to update you now on our adventures for the past 15 days, so get a comfy chair and possibly a pillow and sleeping bag as this could be a bit of a read....

Tuesday 28th November

Made our way by train from Fremantle back to Northbridge in Perth to pick up our campervan from Wicked Campers! Each of the campervans feature a unique spray paint job, ours being covered in the Pokemon cartoon logo and lots of Pikkachu characters down the side! What a great way for attracting attention as we drive across the West coast like we need an excuse to do that!

We decided to head North as quickly as possible as there were a lot of miles to cover over the next few days. We made our first stop in a small coastal town called Scarborough to pick up some shopping supplies and then we set off along the coastal scenic road to a town called Lancelin where we had to cut across on to the Brand Highway as it isn't possible to drive along the coastal route any further unless you have a 4X4 vehicle. What we thought on the map looked like a quick cut across the desert actually took us nearly an hour! We picked up the highway eventually and headed for Cervantes where there is a strange collection of rocks in the desert called The Pinnacles. On the way there it started to get dark and we both joked about how long it would be until we would see our first Kangeroo up close. Unfortunately an hour later up the road towards Cervantes we saw our first 'Roo up close as Darren smashed into it as it bounded across the road in front of the campervan causing the right indicator unit to be obliterated!

Obviously this was quite a shock (probably more for us than the 'Roo, he probably didn't feel a thing...) so we decided not to drive again at night and we pulled up for the night about 40km from the Pinnacles.

Wednesday 29th November

We woke at 3 in the morning as we wanted to watch the sunrise over the Pinnacles. We slowly made our way there watching out for anymore suicidal Kangeroo's and arrived there about an hour early so we took it in turns to nap while one of us kept an eye on the horizon for the sunrise. Eventually the sun's rays started to appear in the distance across the desert and we drove around the desert track marvelling at the rock formations dotted all around the desert, the remains of limestone pillars that have been carved from the extreme weather conditions of the ice age. They were truly impressive to look at, which sounds weird for lots of lumps of rock but with the early morning sun falling on them, they truly take on an other worldy appearance with symmetrical shadows, a local artist perfectly summing them up as 'Sentries for Centuries'.

After picking up some supplies from Cervantes we hit the road again and put a few hundred kilometres behind us, only stopping in a large town called Geraldton to find out how much it would be to purchase a new indicator for the van, which we were told would set us back $65. We decided to order the part and collect it on our return from the north in a week or so's time. We continued driving and made it as far as a small locality called Binnu & pulled up in a rest are for the night, watching the huge road trains thunder pass, lit up like roaring beasts, tearing down the road without stopping for anything. In England we think atriculated lorries are big but these things make them look like Micro Machines in comparison. Each road train carries 3 trailers, travel at over 100KPH and are 55 metres long!!

Thursday 30th November

Set off again on the road along the Great North West Coastal Highway. This is the only major road along the west of Australia and only has one lane going in each direction with the occasional passing point. We covered hundreds of kilometres and hardly ever saw any other cars on the road. It's hard to convey how desolate it is out here. All you can see for miles and miles is desert and scrubland. Despite this, the desolation does carry it's own inheritent beauty especially at night when the cloudless nights give your eyes access to a blanket of stars that we rarely get to see in our light polluted skies. Kerry drove the van for the first time today and looked quite funny sitting behind the wheel. We have also spotted a few wedge tail eagles along the road feasting on the many dead 'roos dotted along the road. See, it's not only us that hit them!

Today's only stop was Carnarvon at a gas station, where we discovered it had a shower & spent a good hour getting ourselves clean after not being able to wash for a few days. It was heaven! Such small luxeries! Back on the road we made it as far as the Shire of Exmouth but with 150km still to go as night fell, we decided to set up camp again at another rest stop in the desert.

Friday 1st December

Today we were up early again to complete our journey to Exmouth, the gateway to the Ningaloo Reef and Cape Range National Park. Unfortunately we are just out of season to dive with the famous Whale Sharks that migrate through the area every year but we still wanted a chance to use our snorkel sets again. After arriving in Exmouth we booked ourselves into Aspen Parks Camping Park for 2 nights as there is so much in the area to do.

Our first stop in the area was Turquoise Bay, which looked like something out of a postcard; beautiful Turquoise waters as the name suggests, whiter than white sand and we were able to walk straight from the beach into the water to snorkel over the reef just a few metres from the shore. We spent a few hours here before moving on to Sandy Bay, which somehow was even more picturesque than Turquoise bay although not so much coral close to shore. We watched the sun set over the water here as we walked along the beach finding interesting looking seashells in the sand. We travelled back along to the camping park, quickly stopping at the Turtle centre on Mauritius beach but after sitting on the beach for a while we had no joy in spotting any turtles laying their eggs. On the way back Darren hit a second 'roo but this was a smaller Wallaby so it didn't do any damage to the van this time.

Saturday 2nd December

First stop today was to take a look at the Mildura ship wreck, a cattle ship that hit the reef and is visible from the shore. No human victims in this tragedy, only cattle but still quite an eerie wreck to look at nonetheless. Vlamingh Point was the next stop where this a beautiful lighthouse keeping guard over the bay, but we think it may have been built too late to save the Mildura from it's fate. The beach was too windy today so we headed round the penninsula to Bundegi Beach, which was far less windy! In the evening we popped back to the camping park to make dinner and saw Alex and Ian there again, the couple that we had met while walking in King's Park a week earlier! What a small world, and Kerry felt like it could be fate as Alex looks like the identical twin of Keiley. Kerry was upset as for the first time it hit her that she missed everyone from home.

Once the sun had set we set back out to Hunter's Beach where were reliably informed the sea turtles could be spotted at night coming up the beach to lay their eggs. We walked on to the beach with the moon lighting our way and sat silently for about an hour without seeing anything, so we walked a bit further up the beach and waited for about another 30 minutes before we saw a huge boulder looking shape further along the beach. We army crawled closer to the shape and it was indeed a huge sea turtle making it's way up the beach! We watched in awe as she made her way up the beach and as it began digging it's body pit to lay the eggs. Sand was flying out behind it and it probably took about 30 minutes for her to dig a big enough pit and then she sat there for about twenty minutes laying her eggs. Sea turtles lay at least 100 eggs yet only 1 in a thousand babies make it to the sea and then their trial doesn't stop there as only 1 in ten thousand make it to adulthood! We felt truly privlidged to be watching this rare and magnificent creature complete a vital stage in the survival of it's species. We crept a little closer to get a good view as she made her way back to the ocean but she spotted Kerry's bright white bobble hat shining like a beacon in the moonlight and started to crawl towards us! At the same time an even bigger turtle came out of the bushes nearer to us and we quickly backed off as we watched them slowly make their way back into the water, exhausted from all that digging! We left the beach just before midnight feeling that we had witnessed something we would never forget for the rest of our lives.

Sunday 3rd December

We woke up today and had a breakfast of coffee and tea, at Alex and Ian's campsite. The similarities between Alex and Keiley prove to be even more spooky as both work in the same field and have the same interests. We are going to upload a picture as proof. Not sure as to whether they thought we were perculiar by asking for a photo, but we got one anyway!

Our first stop today was a place called Thomas Carter lookout, which is a look-out point set high up the top of the canyons near to the Coast at Exmouth. We tried to struggle up the first road to the look-out, but our 14 year old camper was not impressed and the van rattled unbearably, until the kitchen utensils lost their balance and the items in the interior of the van were literally all over the van! After doing an about-turn we tredged up the second turning and the road was surprisingly compact. The sights as we reached the maximum heights of the peaks were awesome. The reds and oranges blended, in layers to form the canyons, which looked like a smaller version of America's more famous version, were stunning although Kerry's camera didn't capture the moment as well as it could have done.

We left the look out after an hour or so and headed to Coral Bay, which was quite some drive away. Kerry drove a lot of the way to Coral Bay and spent her time listening to her Ipod at full volume, listening to country music whilst imagining herself in an old Spaghetti Western. The only difference is the suicidal kangaroos, who seem to eagerly anticipate the chance of getting splattered by the Mazda! They are such stupid animals. At least the goats, cows, sheep and the eagles mind out of your way. If Kangaroo burgers were popular we literally could make a killing!!

We arrived at Coral Bay at around 5pm and we headed straight for the beach. Coral Bay is very small and it is at the end of the road, so any deliveries that have to be made there (food, petrol etc) have to be delivered especially. This means that everything is more expensive, including the camp sites (which we chose not to stay at). The petrol was $1.54 a litre, whereas in Perth it is $1.13! Anyway, back to the beach.... the sand at Coral Bay is white and fluffy and the sea crashes gently into the curvature of the Bay. We donned our snorkels and headed for the water, hoping to catch sight of a few fish before the sunset. As we were swimming were approached by a Danish guy who asked if we had swam with a turtle. We hadn't and eagerly followed him, hoping to catch a glimpse of one of the turtles, like the ones we had seen the previous day. After clawing our way to a deeper section of the sea we came across a small turtle, about a metre in diameter, that was casually lulling around in the water, like the surfer turtles in Finding Nemo. We were able to swim alongside this beautiful creature for over 20 minutes, after which our skin had tightened and the early evening chill of the water took effect and made us return to shallower waters.

Spent the evening in a lay-by 12 KM outside of Coral Bay. We ate spaghetti bolognaise, which took ages to cook as the wind on the West Coast is incredible and the tiny camp stove couldn't sustain the pressure. Needless to say Kerry finds that quite frustrating!

Monday 4th December

We woke and travelled back into Coral Bay, for a lazy day of relaxation on the beach. With our books, snorkels and Ipods in tow we headed to a quiet section of sand. Snorkelling proved to be rather successful with views of stunning electric blue corals, multicoloured fish and a rather large stingray, which was busy feeding from the ocean floor. After an hour in the water we swam back to shore (which seemed like miles as we had gone a good distance) and warmed up on the beach. Darren spent his time looking at the ladies on the beach, so Kerry joined in this game and looked at the men! Many an hour were passed participating in our new hobbies and we left just before sunset, so that we could start making our way towards Denham, our next point of call.

Tuesday 5th December

Today was a full day of driving, only stopping for fuel and toilet breaks. Darren was blaring his heavy metal into his brain through his headphones and Kerry was chilling to country. We saw 3 eagles today, one of which nearly flew into the car. There are amazing birds and look peaceful in flight, barely flapping their wings. This journey was a lot longer than we originally anticipated and we arrived at The Monkey Mia Resort in the late afternoon. The resort was lovely and we made our dinner in the nice kitchen, drinking our 'Goon' (cheap wine-5 pounds for 5 litres!) and watching a waxy moon rise from behind the ocean.

Wednesday 6th December

Up early to watch the dolphins arrive for their breakfast on the resort beach. Monkey Mia has had dolphins visiting its resort for over 40 years. We arrived at the beach at 6:50am and the dolphoins were already making an appearance. There are a few babies at the moment, so we watched the littles try to jump over their Mummies. There were three generations of dolphins there, with the eldest being 31 years old! I know that we saw dolphins in Bali but not this close. This was close enough to touch, although obviously we wouldn't have. The resort feed the dolphins (females only) three times in the morning and we stayed to watch all three sessions. It felt a little weird as we are unsure as to whether wild dolphins should be tamed in this way, although there is no denying that that sight was spectacular. Both of us got to feed the dolphins and they were adorable. On the beach there were pelicans as well, which paraded around and seemed to pose for our camera! The resort had signs up stated that they needed a couple of bar staff and if we hadn't have already have booked our flights to Adelaide we would have stayed there, as the beach and surrounding areas were beautiful!!

That's all we have time for at the moment, we'll update you on what we got up to after this date in the next few days.