Hamelin Station/Monkey Mia 23rd - 25th July

In order to shorten our departure drive out of Monkey Mia, we decided to stay at Hamelin Station, about an hour south. Hamelin Station turned out to be an delightful surprise. It is a working goat and sheep station that has set up a small area for camping and caravans. It has amazing amenities and the setting is superb. We spent two nights there. We had a campfire on both nights, and of course marshmallows. On the second night we cooked a large damper on the fire. It was black on the outside but the inside was a range from undercooked to perfect. Imogen and Boyd enjoyed sitting by the fire eating the inside and leaving a blackened shell. We went to Monkey Mia and saw two "interactions" with the dolphins. The first one, at about 8.30, involved about 11 dolphins. We loved being so close to these beautiful creatures. They swam less than a metre from our legs. We played on the beach for about an hour until another dolphin came close to shore. A crowd gathered along the shoreline and we all hoped for more dolphins to accompany this one. It was joined by its calf only. It flirted with the crowd and came even closer than previous dolphins, stopping in front of people and turning to look at them. On our drive back to Hamelin Station we had fish and chips at Denham, visited Eagle Bluff and Shell Beach.

Hamelin Station

 

 

  

  

  

    

   

Kalbarri 21st - 23rd July

We arrived in Kalbarri about 4pm. We stayed at Murchison Caravan Park. A quick (???) tent set up whilst the boys sought out the playground (right by us) and Lisa and Imogen went to the beach to view the sunset. The next day we went to see and walk through the coastal gorges and the cliffs. In the afternoon we went out to Hawks Head and Ross Graham in Kalbarri National Park. At Ross Graham we walked down to the Murchsion River where the children practised skimming rocks. The morning we left Kalbarri Lisa and the kidfs went to watch the pelican feeding on the foreshore.

The coastal cliffs at Kalbarri

Mushroom Rock

 

Cervantes 20th - 21st July

Imogen watched Sam play netball in the morning and we didn't leave Perth until 11:30. We made it to Cervantes by mid afternoon, put up the tent quickly and headed out to see the Pinnacles. We drove and walked around this huge forest of pinnacles. The kids played hide 'n' seek . Archie was the best size to stay completely concealed. However, he had trouble staying quiet and was easily found. The next day we for Kalbarri.

Perth 17th - 20th July

We spent three fabulous nights with Pete, Sharon, Sam and Tom. We immensely enjoyed the pleasures of home - mattresses with springs, home cooked dinners, bathrooms with walls, central heating and daily showers. If that wasn't enough, Pete and Sharon were the most welcoming and spoiling hosts. During our quick visit Sharon ferried us around the sites, fed us and treated Imogen, Jasper and Archie. The boys enjoyed having an older "brother" and both of them idolised Tom. Archie continually repeated "where's Tom?", "where's Tom?", whenever Tom left the room. Thanks Tom for being such a great role model for them both. And thanks Sam for being such a great friend for Imogen. She had some genuine fun and was sorry to leave. Pete, we must say thanks for finding that elusive fuse panel in the car. We are now able to recharge phones, lights, ipads, laptop, modem and all the myriad of electrical devices that are travelling with us.

CELEBRATING OUR 15TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY (THANKS SHARON)

FISH AND CHIPS AT FREMANTLE

MORE FISH AND CHIPS AT FREMANTLE

FERRIS WHEEL AT FREMANTLE (ARCHIE'S FAVOURITE)