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yyyyyeeeeeessssssss finally finished work n already half way up the westcoast in our max & paddy machine, let me fill you in:
Day 1: after leaving Dunsbrough at 12 midnight we arrived to find Perth was well booked out of accommodation, so me ellie & james were walking about the city with our heads up our arse !!!!, we decided to kip on the station floor then head to maccy d's for 6am for some quality tucca lol, i think i got about 30 mins sleep in all but never mind we should be picking our camper up for 8 am (SHOULD), we finally get to backpacker campers and where told our van needs a service n shouldn't be long, 12 pm comes n still we are waiting for our machine, eventually we get it n blag a free day out of the situation, so off we go on our 1600km trek up the west coast.
After driving about 5 hours we arrive at geraldton to see the sunset n decide to stay on the beach front that night, with our little camper we had a gucci little stove where ellie has been making some fine cuisine id say, 1st night in Geraldton i slept like a dream after our night kipping in the station lol, so that was day 1 finito guys.
Day 2: After waking fresh n eager to trek on we checked out the beach briefly then drove to Kilbarri about 2 hours north passing Northampton, port gregory which had a massve dry salt lake, this was hugh n well impressive, so we spent a few hours checking out Kilbarri n its awsome beaches around it, we had to set off pretty soon due to it getting dark because the roads out here get full of roo's & wildlife, so off on the road again we done another 400 plus kms to arrive at Hamlin pool where we stayed a a old telegraph station from the 1800's, these owners where class just like or little aussie mam n dad lol, they give us a plot to get some power etc.
Day 3: Morning rises n no work wow that feels good lol, ellie making brekkie what more could i ask for, after bacon sarnies its off to see 1 of the oldest livng organisms on earth which are rocks growng on the sea bed (i was expecting dinosaurs) anyway these where cool to see, after seeing the stromatolites we headed for shell beach which is exactly what it says, a beach in some parts 12 metres deep full of little shells, this was a stunning beach to visit, we headed for Eagle bluff lookout n got to see sharks/rays cruisng by with more stunning beaches, from here we arrived at Denham a cosy little town with loads of natural beauty around it, we decided to go to Ocean park to see them feeding sharks and i got to see a 2 metre tiger shark, it was a canny size n these fellas grow to 6 metres, we arrived at monkey mia about 5 pm parked our scooby-doo machine up n headed for the bar where live music was pumping out- the guy was pretty good or was it the ice-cold beer i was supping mmmmmmm, after the band it was tucca time again then off to snooze beacuse where up at 7 am to see the little dolphne dudes.
Day 4: 7am coffee then dash down to the beach where about 75 peops all looking out to sea to find anything that breaks the waters surface, there is 3 feeding sessions each day starting at 7.30 am when the rangers come out n give a little talk abbout the dolphins etc, so about 7.15 like clockwork here theyy come about 10 of them cruisng so close to our feet it was amazing, they had calfs with them which were awsome just playing about, about 10 peopls gget t feed them n ellie got to have a go (she was buzzng-niice 1 ell) i got some pics i will upload soon, i was amazed how close they came i was totally woth the trek up here to check em out, after he 1st session wih the dolphiins we had some brekkie then another sessio was starting n like clockwork they arrived to be fed, i got some amazng pics of them, so now we heading off to Carnarvon later in the afternoon to see whats on offer there (not much according to the guide book, coal bay is getting closer how cool i cant wait, nuff said im off to see the bilbies then on the road aggain, wll add to this n a few days, anyone thinking of travelling to monkey mia i would totally recommend it its well worth it and so CHEAP !!.
Just me again to update from Leaving monkey mia, we headed onwards to Knarvaron which is half way to Coral bay where we would be swimming with he whale sharks, this little place (Knarvaron) is pretty but not much to do i think there was a banana plantation tour n a massive pier, dont get me wrong its located perfect but any longer than a day is well enough, oh yeah it did have a quality seafood gaf and very reasonably priced, after we spent our night parked at the port lol.
Day 5: We got a good early start about 7am so we could spend the day at Coral bay, it was about 200+ kms north so not 2 long in the scooby doo machine, we rolled in about dinner time n as soon as we parked up it was amazing we got us a powered site with the beach on our doorstep for $30 from there handbrake pulled n straight in the ocean to cool down (perfecto), this place has been so good the water is amazing the beaches flat n white, you have loads of tours to do, me n ellie fancied a quad bike sunset/snorkel trip for $62 each which involved a 2 hour dash up the beach a 30 mins snorkel in the reefs then obviously the sunset in the background, cheap as chips guys, then back in the scooby doo machine because up at 7 for the most amazing thing ever - swimming with whale sharks WOW !!!!!.
Day 6: 7am ding ding wake up amigos, it sounds pretty early but this morning i woke with a buzz thinking about swimming with these gentle giants of ningaloo reef, we asked at the office what the chances of spotting thses fellas and the day before they didnt see any, fair 1 as these dont run on a alarm clock like us lol. So off we rammbled to the office where were the bus was waiting then to the boat, once on the boat the captain speiled his saftey briefing and introduced everyone, like his crew etc, from there we set sial about 1-2 km off shore to start the day with a quick snorkelling to get us in the zone n to check all our gear was tip-top, after swimming about looking at turtles/ big fish, oh yeah ellie spotted a reef shark (she was bricking it - fair 1 i think i would also, just the fact its a shark), we jumped back on board where the captain was explaining " right guys we now need to chill out on baord while the spotter plane above checks for whale sharks in the area, so take your suits off n chill for a bit, sometimes it takes 2+ hours to find them if any at all", but as it happens he just walks into his crew room then dashes back out telling us " keep your gear on the plane has just spotted 1 about 5 mins away", the atmosphere on the boat was buzzing with the news, people just looked at each other with a eager sense but a nervous 1 also, our little boat was buzzing lol.
It felt ages to get there due to the excitment, but finally the guys briefed us on the do's & don's around the shark, which is fair due to them being endangered, also the fact that if someone was to grab the shark it would simply dive to the deeps n noone would get to experience it at all, so the best interests where for the shark and us, ok where off 5 each side was our orders, as soon as we splashed into the deep waters i would see nothing but bubbles n bright fins whacking me in the head lol, i soon changed that with a power swim, then looking at the guide who was pointing to her right i was to see a "hugh" amazing creature just cruising past me and looking at the little people wobbling about above him, it seemed to be unreal but the thing infront was far from it, it was the coolest thing iv seen !!!!!, we swam with the whale shark for about 5 mins, just trying to keep up with him was hard graft, 1 swoop of his tail he was pretty fast even thou he seemed to be moving in slow motion (i was blowing outta my arse lol), its skin was dark blue with white dotts, its mouth the size of a door, the size was unreal with little remorra fish (the shark cleaners of the sea) cruising with him, its aura was amazing, every swimmer around me was smiling like a chesire-cat, anyway it was group 2's turn as we climbed out of the water, after 5 mins it was our green light to go again and fortunatly the shark was well interested in the boats around him, i got 4 dives with the shark and every one was quality this fella was awsome (check the pics it says it all, after we left the shark to do its business in the big blue ocean, we had some tucca, relaxed & done some snorkelling after our food had settled.
The day was perfect looking back on it while chilling in the camper, the 1600 km to get there was worth it, iv had an awsome experience swimming with the whale shark, these fellas are stunning to swim alongside and especially in their natural habitat, i would have spent double doing this trip- any 1 thinking about it, its a must guys !!!!!.
Day 7: Time to set off home, ok i will speed it up a bit for ya's:
Woke early still buzzing off the whale shark swim we decided to cover a bit of distance n drove straight back to Geraldon, spent the night there then the next day decided to drive the coast route which is covered with cool beachesn we passed Port Douglas/Jurien bay/ Cervantees and the pinnacles which are worth the visit, from there we drove past the massive wind farm with 48 or so hugh windmills, interesting to see all in action, then finally towards Scarborough/City beach/Fremantle and home sweet home (well for 4 days then our next adventure to Ayers rock ahead of us, anyone who's read this check the pics there pretty good, We have had a quality time, the West coast has loads to offer, hire a car or campervan n trek away its cool, oh yeah just sat in Perth at the mo updating this and its been raining since dinnertime, just to cheer you folks back home lol,
see ya.
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