19/5/15 Day 50 Today Dad and I went fishing this

19/5/15

Day 50

Today Dad and I went fishing this morning while Emilie and Mum did the shopping and we ought nothing again so we went home and ate our mud crab for lunch which was very nice and I really enjoyed it. In the afternoon we went to the beach for the last time and Emilie and a made sand sculptures of a turtle, crocodile, octopus and a fish, we also went swimming and I walked out on the rock exposed at high tide and saw 2 octopuses and lots of fish and crabs. We watched the sunset on the beach for our last time. After the sunset we walked home and had lamb chops and sausages for dinner and then played scrabble.

20/5/15

Day 51

Today Mum woke up in the morning with terrible sand fly bites all over her so she drove to hospital whilst  we packed up because she was extremely itchy. She returned soon after because emergency was to busy so she had booked a doctors appointment. Emilie and I went to the doctor with Mum while Dad got a spare rim. The doctors gave Mum some cream but that was all he could do. After that we drove and drove and it was a borring drive because we didn’t see the coast till the end. We stopped for lunch at a road side stop which was nice because there were no flies! After lunch we kept driving and we got there at 4. When we got there we were expecting nothing but a caravan park but at reception there was a little shop with all the tools you could need, fresh veggies and frozen meat. We set up and went straight down to the beach to watch sunset which was mesmerising because the tide was out about a kilometre so all the wet sand turned orange and red. After watching the sunset we went back to the van and had dinner and after dinner we played 500.

21/5/15

Day 52

In the morning we went to talk the “The fish whisperer” as he calls hime self and we got the fishing tips about 80 mile beach. We went fishing 2 hours before high tide which was a 12 and we fished till 1. I caught a small Thredfin salmon and so did mum but we got nothing else. We went back home and had lunch and reflected on our bad fishing experience this morning. In the after noon Emilie and I did some school work and after that we went for a drive on the beach and Emilie and I got to drive! It was really fun and a bit scary when we had to pass other cars. After our drive Emilie and Mum went for a walk on the beach to pick up some shells to bring home. Before dinner we went to a ranger talk where the ranger had a slide show and told us all about the turtles breeding and laying eggs which was really interesting and I enjoyed it.

22/5/15

Day 53

Today we departed from 80 mile beach at 8:30 heading for Karijini national park but fist we had to stop at port Hedland for shopping so while Mum was shopping Emilie and I went into Harvey norman and tried out all the massage chairs and feet massages which was very funny and quite painful. Dad got some drinks at the bottle shop and then we drove for an hour and stopped for lunch at the side of the road, we had sandwichs and every time a road train went past Emilie and I would signal then to toot there horn and 2 of them did. After lunch we kept driving and got our first rain for the whole trip! We stopped at a road house 30kms from our camp and we bought afternoon tea. We got to our camp site at 5 and set up straight away because the visiter centre was closed.

23/5/15

Day 54

 Today we went to the visiter centre in the morning and had a look around at the displays and asked about the park and we selected our walks. We did the dales gorge walk which was really good because we walked at the top of the gorge and on the way back we walk in it. In the gorge we swam in a pool which was freezing but I walked around the rocks to where to water was coming out and it was hot water from a spring. The walk though the gorge was good but I almost had to go to hospital because we found a bee hive and I thought they were native bees which don’t sting so I put a stick in it to get some honey but they came at me so I ran and only got one sting in the shirt. At the end of the walk the was a big pool and we had a swim and saw a giant wasp which I didn’t go near. We went back home and had lunch and after lunch we just relaxed.

24/5/15

Day 55

Today we went to visitor information again to ask about to road to the north end and the walks there because it was raining and we we're unsure about is they were open. The lady there said we had to take the long route there which was 75 kms on a dirt road and she said the walks should be okay. We drove all the way there and started a walk but couldn’t finish it because it was raining and then it started getting heavier so we ate our lunch and went back home. In the afternoon we couldn’t really do much but I did some knot tying.

25/5/15

Day 56

Today we left Karijini and went to Ex-mouth, on the way we saw lots of mountains and new landscapes. We got to Ex-mouth and had lunch at the bakery and then did some shopping and went to visiter information and found out about the park and that there where no spots so we decided to go to a caravan park not far away we also booked our diving with the wale sharks tour. We went to our caravan park and set up and Emilie and I went to the pool and saw people who had come in from fishing and they had some huge fish. We ate dinner and went to bed to the sound of Galahs and Corollas.

26/5/15

Day 57

This morning we went straight to the rangers office and got a site in the national park and went back to our caravan park to pack up and go! Once set up we went to the information centre and found out about snorkelling and what there was to do in cape range national park. We were told that we could go snorkelling at oyster stacks now because it was a high enough tide. We drove there and got all our gear on and jumped in! In stately we saw many many fish of all sorts some long and skinny some short and fat others just had amazing patterns on them. We were in for about an hour and had a great time see all the fish and coral of all shapes and colours it was unreal. After snorkelling we went home for lunch and then relaxed on the beach at our camp.

27/5/15

Day 58     

In the morning Emilie and I went to the beach and started making a hut on the beach and we also had a swim. We didn’t get to finish it because there weren’t enough sticks but we had all for supports in and a few cross beams. I had a fish before lunch but only lost tackles in the weed and then went back to the van for lunch. After lunch we drove down to turquoise bay for a snorkel and started at the bay loop which was to easier part because to other park is a curent which you drift on but have to know when to get off it. At the bay loop there were hardly any fish and no coral which was extremely boring the only good fish were lethe jackets. We then walked down the beach to the drift and dad stayed on the beach while Emilie, Mum and I went in. It wasn't as good as oyster stacks but was still good fun and there were many fish to see. I saw to big troopers and lots of star fish and sea urchins on the coral. The best bit was a big bit of coral close to shore which was home to many fish of all sorts and was one very good spot. We got out and bragged to da about all the fish we saw as we walked to the car. On the way back we saw an Emu and almost ran over a kangaroo which just scrapper the side of the car. We ate lunch and Emilie and I finished our hut and played frisbee on the beach and then went to happy hour hosted by the camp hosts there and we met every one in the camp. We all went and watched sunset under our little hut and after dinner Emilie and I went fishing but all we got was sand fly bites.

28/5/15

Day 59 

This morning we went for a walk at Mandu Mandu gorge which was a really good walk and at the end we got a great view of Ningaloo reef from the top of the gorge. We rang my older sister sally from the top to see how see was and it turned out she was getting ready for court because the owner of the house they were renting wanted all there bond for stupid reasons. Driving back we went to Yardie creek for a look which is at the bottom of the park and also sandy bay which was a fishing spot but we didn’t fish we just looked. When we got home we had lunch and got ready for snorkelling at Turquoise bay again. We drove there and we straight to the drift where we all got in and saw heaps of fish and corals and giant clams! We stayed on the beach for a while and then went home for happy hour but I didn’t go because I went to the beach with a tent peg tied to a shovel handle to try spear something. I did’t get anything but saw to rays and about 5 shovel nose sharks which are supposed to be good eating. I hit one but the spear didn’t stay in.

29/5/15

Day 60

Today we went to oyster stacks again in the morning and it was better than the other days because there was less wind and more fish. I saw lots of snapper and parrot fish. We had some issues with snorkels but we fixed them up and had a great time. We came home for showers and them went into Ex-mouth for lunch and for shopping. We bought an under water camera to take photos of the wale sharks and also got some more drinking water. We then went to the information centre in town to ask about coral bay which was out next stop and I got a tee shirt and Emilie got a Wale shark teddy. We went home and I unbent a crab hook and tried went spearing again but got nothing.    

30/5/15

Day 61

Today we got up at seven thirty to get ready for the wale sharks! We left at half past 8 and got there just on time. A small rubber boat took us out to ‘LATITUDE 22’ Which was our boat for the day and it was a big one to about 22 metres long with a long back deck, engine room home to 2 750 horse power engins and desalination plant which produced 200 litres of water an hour, A second deck where up to ten people can got and the caption drives and last but no least a tolet and shower. Once on board we had a safety briefing and met the crew of five and then we got stuck into breakfast. I had peanut butter and honey on toast and then went up to the top deck and talked to the captain. He told me about  wale sharks, Humpbacks, Dugongs and all about the national park. We arrived at the morning snorkel spot and got geared up in our wet suits and flippers. I was first in and had jumped into a world of beauty there where fish absolutely every were and there was a huge school of Barracuta and there was even a huge Crayfish under a rock ledge. I saw occupies and zebra fish and also some fish grading a hole on the sea floor. We were told to hop back on the boat and then the captain called up the spotter plane to find a wale shark. We had morning tea and Then cruised around for 20 minutes until the plane found a spot about 40kms away so we spun around and headed for the sharks but as we were cruising along a another wale shark boat passed us heading for the same spot luckily though we had the fastest boat and over took them easily thus getting to the sharks first. We got a run down on the rules on how close you are allowed to the sharks and what not to do and how many people in the water at a time which was ten so we were split into to groupes of ten and we were in groupe one so we were in first. Everyone got there gear on and group one got down on the marlin board at the back and we got a five and 2 minute warning before it was go go go and we were in the water. We all got in a line and I was a the back in 20 metre deep water. The shark swam past and I was in owe as the gentle giant passed us and suddenly I was grabbed on the arm and thrust forward but the guide because I forgot to star swimming next to it! Now I was first and I got a great view of the beast. We kept swimming for a bit until it sped up and we stopped swimming and the other group got in and the boat came round and picked us up. We watched the other group swimming next to the wale shark. After our first swim everyone was in shock but soon we were back in the water for the second shark which we got to swim with for longer. Back on the boat everyone was talking about how amazing it was and how then got so close. We got ready again and it was in the water again. I got pushed to the back and the I swam around the tail and went to the other side were it was just the photographer and me with was good because I got lots of photos. We Didn’t get long with that shark because it was fast but the next shark was really slow and I got a good look and its mouth and eyes which looked so humble. Back on the boat we got a break for about half an hour and the we got ready again for the last shark. We jumped in and lined up as the shark came towards us and as it was swimming past it veered toward we thing that my flippers were food so I had to quickly swim away. I swam behind the shark again and went to the other side and went with the photographer but then she went to the other side and I was by myself which was a bit scary. We got back on the boat and had lunch which was good after all the swimming we did which was 102 minutes swim time for the groups combined and 51 minutes each which was very because they usually aim for 60 minutes combined. After I had lunch I went up and talked to the skipper and asked him how he ended up in Ex-mouth and about diving which was very interesting and then he asked me if I could steer the boat while he had lunch and said “Its only a million dollars” so I took the weel and had to steer the boat for 20 minutes. We got back at around 5 and said goodbye as we walked back to the car.