12/6/15 Day 73 This morning Emilie and I got up

12/6/15

Day 73

This morning Emilie and I got up early to go fishing and Dad was going to drop us off at the pier but he hoped out of the car and stayed and got involved and then afterwards complained about baiting up hooks. All we caught were these yucky little spiky fish that fought hard for there size but you can’t eat them so we had to let them all go and the first one I caught spiked me in the leg and that really hurt for a few hours. We went home a 9 and had breakfast and then went to town and did a big shop and picked up our mail from the post office. After lunch we went to the aquarium which was really good, we got to see sharks, Trevally and many other interesting fish like stone fish! It was very informational and seeing all the fish and turtles and eels get fed was very good but the best was seeing the sharks get fed! There was a huge lemon shark and a big tiger shark to which were quite scary when we saw there teeth liking into a large fishes head. We also learnt about the stone fish which is extremely dangerous and scary for its size because it has an extremely painful venom which is injected via sharp spines on its back which doesn’t sound bad because you could just avoid it but the thing is that when I looked in the tank and I couldn’t see the fish and then one move and realised why they are so dangerous. Our guide also told us that one guy on a fishing boat was pulling up a net and got stung by one and he had to be restrained by the crew of the boat because he tried to cut his hand of the pain was that bad. After that we went to eagle bluff look out and then went back home and relaxed the rest of the day.

13/6/15

Day 74

Today we went to Monkey Mia to see the dolphin feeding and to have a look around. The Dolphin feeding was great and I got to feed one of them but there were 12 or so there. We went for a walk along the beach and saw to more Dolphins and then when we got back we saw 3 turtles in the water. We went back home and on the way had a look at little lagoon which was a small inland slat water lake which was very slaty and there was a sign saying that stone fish were abundant so I didn’t go for a swim. When we got home we had lunch and then we went into town and had a look at some shops and then a 5 we went fishing of the beach for whiting but they weren't on the bite.

14/6/15

Day 75

Today we went into François Perron for a day trip which was well worth it. We drove into the park at 9:30 heading for our first stop which was the homestead where we had a look at the old holding years for the sheep and the shearers quarters which was good because there where the old beds and fridges lying around. We also saw the hot tub of artisan water there which we decided to stop at on the way back and have a dip. We had a quick look at Heralds bight and then kept driving to Gregories beach where we stopped to have lunch and a fish. After having lunch on the beach I went into the really cold water for a spear fish and Dad started fish of the beach. I was in for about 40 minutes and saw heaps of small sand whiting that I couldn’t spear. I went swam in to the beach a dried off and Emilie told me to look in the goodie bag so I went up to our stuff and in the bag found 2 nice whiting just as I hear Dad say he's to a big one on! I grabbed to pliers and the nice and ran down to the water line to see Dad beaching this big 40cm flathead with brilliant yellow on its tail. I spiked it between the eyes and took it up to the chopping board we had used for lunch to clean the fish. From that point on the fish just kept coming and We got in total six flat head and 6 whiting and I also speared my fish fish which was only a small whiting (because they have no size limit) so we used it as bait and it converted into a nice flaty. After that we didn’t have much time to go so we went straight to skipjack lookout which was supposed to be amazing but we didn’t see much apart from ocean and cliffs. We drove back to the station and had a dip in the hot tub for about half an hour and then went home and had steak for dinner.

15/6/15

Day 76    

Today we left Shark bay and headed for Kalbarri, a little town on the coast. On the we didn’t stop anywhere interesting only stoping for lunch at a roadside stop full of flies. When we got to Kalbarri we went into town to have a look around and go to the visitor information where we asked what we could do in the national park. We did a quick shop for groceries and Emilie and I had a look at a dive shop and some other shops. We went for a drive to the surf beach but there was no swell so no one was surfing. We had a look at the river mouth and then drove out of town 4kms to the station we were staying at. We set up and collected some fire wood and Emilie and I made some damper on the fire. I had a fish in the river but just lost heaps of bait to these tiny sea mullets that a couldn’t hook. We sat around the fire aster dinner and then played cards.

16/6/15

Day 77 

This morning we went to look at shops and do a proper shop. We had a look at to three small shopping centres but didn’t find anything interesting apart from the dive shop. We also had a look at the snorkelling spot there since it was a nice day but it didn’t look great and I would have been the only one going in so I didn’t go. We went down to the rive mouth and had a look at the beach there because we were planing on swimming but the water was really murky and cold so we went back to the shopping centre and had lunch at the pub. After lunch we went home and stayed a the station for the afternoon and had a fish but didn’t get anything. We had pasta for dinner and had our damper which was nice but burnt on the bottom and under cooked on the top. We went to bed to the sound of a down pour.

17/6/15

Day 78

We woke up to the sound of rain and had to move everything from outside under cover. We were afraid we wouldn’t be able to get the caravan out because it might get bogged in the mud so we decided that tomorrow we would drive to Perth so we could do inside thing whilst it rained. In the morning we went into Kalbarri national park and went to the look outs in between showers of rain. The look outs were good and we got to see the postcard like coast of Australia for the very first time, it was impressive how such shear cliffs meet pristine colour ocean. We went home for lunch and played monopoly in the afternoon and I won.

18/6/15 

Day 79

We woke up a 7 this morning to pack up before the rain started. It was a mad rush to pack up but we got it done before the rain came and managed to get the van high and dry. We drove out of Kalbarri and started the long drive to Perth which was boring until we got the Geraldton. In Geraldton we stopped for lunch and than bought some scones for desert which I had with jam and cream, the best thing on rainy days. We kept driving and got the the outer suburbs of Perth in about and hour which were really nice which lush green gardens and big houses. we drove to our caravan park 14kms from the city centre and it was once again a mad rush to set up while it was not raining. We got the annex so we could make sure everything stayed dry. After setting up we were all tired and we just relaxed and Emilie and I played monopoly.

19/6/14

Day 80

Today we went into Perth for lunch and to do some shopping. We had a quiche for lunch and then we shopping because I needed some winter clothes and so did Emilie. I got 2 tee shirts a flannel and a light jumper and Emilie found what she needed to. After that we had a walk around and looked at some other shops before catching the train back home. When we got off the train we got into the car and drove back to the Caravan park where we had to quickly put everything inside because it started pouring down on us. We had dinner and then played 500 and went to bed but I didn’t get to sleep till late because of the rain and cars going past.

20/6/14

Day 81

We went to the swam valley for lunch today and to have a look at a chocolate factory. We went to the chocolate factory first and had a taste of some chocolate for free so Emilie and I kept going up for more! We bought 2 blocks of chocolate and I tried the best chocolate of my life! A dark ginger it was so good. We then went into a winery next door which had free tasting of wine obviously but it also had jams, honey, relishes, chutneys and sources. I tried almost every thing and my favourite was the tomato chutney and the honey so we bought some honey and also a nice pancake mix with chocolate source. We went to a brewery for lunch and I had a beef pot pie which was delicious. after lunch we went shopping for groceries and then called it a day and headed home.

21/6/14

Day 82

Today we had to pack up quickly to beat the rain and then we drove out of Perth aiming for Jurien bay. We had planed a few stops on the way like Nambung national park where we could see the panicles which are rock formations sticking out of the ground from about a metre tall the 4 metres tall which gives the effect of a grave yard. I found it quite amazing to see and it looked quite baron and felt like a desert. We kept driving and got to Cervantes for lunch which we had at the lobster shack but we had fish and chips because the lobster was to expensive. We bought a lobster from there and we were going to do a tour but the boats hadn’t gone out today because the whether was so bad. We went to a fish shop there and bought some bronze whaler shark and then we drove to Jurien bay and went to information but it wasn’t open so we went straight to our camp site and talked to the camp host there and found out a few things. Setting up was a nightmare because it was so windy we almost blew away! It took us half an hour to get the annexes up and then another 30 minutes to get everything else up. Once set up dad and I got some fire wood and made a fire but it started raining so we just played card all afternoon and then went to be which was really scary because the wind was so strong it was shaking the van and also felled small tree!

22/6/15

Day 83

The wether was better today but still cloudy and not the warm only 16. I wanted to go swimming but it was to cold and we didn’t know if there were sharks around. In the morning Mum, Emilie and I went for a walk to a look out on the point and It was so windy up there we didn’t stay long but when we were almost back on the beach it started to rain so we waited under a little cave for 10 minutes and them we ran back when it wasn’t heavy. We ate lunch out side because the sun was out and them after Dad, Mum and I went fishing down from the look out off the rocks and I caught 2 fish both little parrot fish that looked really nice but they were not edible. We relaxed for the rest of the day and we made some damper again for dinner and after dinner we played cards and Mum and I lost.

23/6/15

Day 84

Today  we went into town for the morning to do shopping and have a look at shops and I also wanted to ask about spearfishing a sandy point where we were camping. Emilie and I look in the new agency whilst Mum and Dad did the shopping, we both bought a magazine each for the Nullarbor because it was going to be so long and boring. After shopping we went to the dive and fishing shop to ask about sharks where we were and the guy said there were none and that it was good to spearfish. We walked out onto the pier and saw a dolphin playing around in the water by itself. We went home and had lunch out side in the sun and then got ready to go sand boarding! I also got my stuff ready to go spearing. We walked down to the beach to the dune and Emilie and I den straight up the dune which I thought looked small but once I was up the It seemed a lot bigger. I went down fist on the body board sitting down and then the second time I stood up which was heaps of fun. We did that for about 30 minuits and then I got ready to go in the water. I squeezed into my old wetsuit and the put my current one over the top and put some work gloves on so my hand would stay warm. We walked to the rocks and I walked to the waters edge and put my gear on and got into the water. I walked out and then went under water and saw heaps of sea grass which was 20cm from the surface so I didn’t want to swim over it because an eel might pop out of it. Dad kept telling me to swim out ten metres but I was quite hesitant and in the end I shock my head and swam out! I got to the sand patch ten metres out and started scanning the bottom for fish, maybe a tasty flathead but saw nothing. I worked alone the patch and only saw little box fish and these small king gorge whiting but the were to quick for me and my hand spear. It wasn’t very deep water where I was only about 3 metres so I decided to go the deeper water when suddenly I see this 3 metre long thing swimming 5 metres away with its tail moving! I really freaked out and thought if im gonna get eaten I may as well know what it is so I swam over and it was a big bit of seaweed drifting on the bottom. I kept swimming for ten minutes and then swam in and then we walked back the the caravan and I had a warm shower and sat by the fire.

24/6/15

Day 85 

Today we left Jurien bay and went Karalee rocks which had a dam and not much else. On the way we didn’t see anything interesting apart from a pipe line which goes from Perth to Kalgoorlie. Once we got the I got some fire wood and we had a fire but it didn’t burn long because we didn’t have much wood. That night we played cards and went to bed but it was very cold.

25/6/15

Day 86

We had a fire again this morning with the sticks that were lying on the ground just so we could keep warm and then once we ran out of wood we packed up and left for Fraiser range station but on the way we stopped at Kalgoorlie and we ate lunch there and we also had a look at the super pit which was a huge mining pit a least 100 metres deep with roads connecting it up and trucks everywhere. It was hard to comprehend how big it was and how much it must cost to run but they were mining for gold which does fetch a fair bit. We kept driving all day and got to the station about 40 minutes before sunset so we set up quickly and had showers and all those things.

26/6/15

Day 87

We left Fraiser range station early this morning because we had a long drive to the WA/SA border village where we were staying in a caravan park because we wanted to use the heater but we need power so we couldn’t free camp. We drove to the border village with only one stop for lunch and got there with plenty of time to spare so we went to the pub to watch the footy and have  drink. We went back to the caravan for dinner and then went back to the pub after to watch the end of the footy and unwind after a long days drive.

27/6/15

Day 88

Today we left to border village and had another long days drive to streaky bay which was a very very nice town and we arrived there at night so we could see the lights reflecting off the calm water which looked amazing. We didn’t have time to cook so we went to the pub for a meal which was nice except for the people behind us who were loud and swearing every sentence. We went home and put the heater on because it was going to be another cold night.

28/6/15

Day 89

Today we didn’t have much driving so while the girls did the shopping dad and I went fishing off the jetty where we saw about 100 cormorants sitting on the pier so we didn’t think the fish would be bitting. We didn’t get anything so we went back to the car and then picked up the girls and went to Whyalla which was 3 and and a half hours away and set up in a caravan park and once we had showers Emilie and I had a kick of the footy before having dinner and then we went to bed.

29/6/15

Day 90

We took our time packing up this morning because we didn’t have a big drive so we left at around 11 and then took our time driving to Adelaide where we got to sleep in a real bed in Dads apartment because he was working there for the next 11 days but we were only staying tonight. We went out for dinner at the pub which was really nice and then after dinner went home and watched Tv for the first time in a while.