Ningaloo Reef, Cape Range National Park

The fringing reef comes in quite close to the shore at some parts of Cape Range National Park. With a World Heritage listed reef so close to shore, we would have been mad not to make the most of the opportunities this provided.

We went to snorkel Lakeside... a quiet and calm beach where there is a mix of coral and sea grass further out. Dugongs apparently frequent the area, although we didn't see any. The water was colder than we thought it would be, as the water we were wading in at Tulki Beach was pleasantly warm, like the beach at Broome. Tilda decided it was too cold and stayed out. Rory had “learned” to ride a boogie board at Town Beach in Exmouth the day before so he insisted on riding his boogie board, even though there were virtually no waves, and the water was on the cool side.

I had bought him a blow up board with a clear panel in it last year and I hoped he would be able to use it to look at the reef. The reef was just a bit too far off shore to take him out to, especially as he doesn't seem to want to stay on the board but prefers to jump on and off. He had a great time in the shallows and I supervised him and built sandcastles with Tilda while Greg snorkelled. 

I had convinced Tilda to come snorkelling with me (although in all honesty I was pretty scared and wasn't sure I could even do it) by the time Greg came out. Tilda and I got rigged up and headed out towards the first patch of reef, about 10m off shore but her snorkel got filled with water and with no blow valve and in the deeper water she got a bit spooked, so we headed back to shore. I had caught a glimpse of a Banded Humbug and the first piece of coral just as that happened, so decided I would get her safely to shore then head back out. Once Tilda had cleared her snorkel she wanted to give it another try. As she's never snorkelled before, except as a practice in a pool or very shallow and calm water, she was doing her best. As we got the reef we hit a very, very cold patch of water and Tilda decided she didn't want to snorkel. I don't blame her and in all honesty, the water was a little bit turbid (only a little bit of sand really) and I was starting to feel quite spooked, so we went back to shore and let Greg do some more snorkelling. I was proud of Tilda for trying as it is quite scary the first time you snorkel in deep water, where you can't see a long way away... and we hadn't reached the coral to be distracted by its beauty.

The next morning we headed out in the canoe for a look around Tulki Beach. It was a bit windy so there was chop on the water, which had been perfectly calm the day before, so visibility wasn't great. The first animal we came across was a turtle, probably a Green Sea Turtle. It popped its head up and saw us, freaked out and swam away. We thought we'd paddle after it for a closer look but it took off.... and gosh those turtles are fast! I had no idea they could swim so fast but he was long gone in no time at all! We saw a big grey sting ray settled on the bottom. It was probably about 1.2m across the wing span. We also saw another smaller grey stingray and a blue spotted one. We watched  2-3 whales doing big tail slaps just beyond the breakers and that was a sight to see! It was amazing and awe inspiring the way they slapped their tales and fins and put on a great display. We saw quite a lot of turtles as we paddled around. One came up and it looked like it popped its head up deliberately to check us out, as it came up quite close, stared at us for a bit and then calmly went under and swam away.

In the afternoon we went to snorkel the Oyster Stacks as you can only do this at high tides over 1.2m and the tide was 1.22m – the last day for snorkelling there while we were staying at the NP. The Oyster Stacks aren't little kid friendly, and when we were there, there was quite a choppy swell, coupled with increasing winds. The “beach” is sharp rocks and the entry requires climbing over rocks with small waves breaking over them. Rory and Tilda played on the rocks, and I have to give credit to their good imaginations as it kept them entertained while Greg and I took turns snorkelling. The Oyster Stacks are one of the most popular spots for snorkelling as you are on the reef almost the minute you set foot in the water. As you snorkel towards the coral you pass over a sandy bottom which is covered with sea cucumbers, sea stars and a multitude of fish are swimming right there. There were all sorts of reef fish, and any thought of the cold water disappeared the minute you saw the corals and fish. The colours of the fish are amazing and it is absolutely fantastic to be able to walk straight off the shore and snorkel at a reef with such a diverse population of fish and corals. I saw a clam in amongst it all and a host of fish that I couldn't identify as they were hiding in nooks and crannies. I saw probably 30-40 different species of fish. It was so amazing and beautiful! The coral isn't as brightly coloured as the Great Barrier Reef, as the water isn't tropical year round, so most of the coral is brown in colour except for blue tipped Staghorn coral, but it is beautiful nonetheless. We took photos using Tilda's underwater camera, so I'll let that show some of the things we saw, even though they are not great photos as the day was overcast so the light wasn't bright enough to really pick up all the vibrant colours.

This little guy seriously kept photo bombing me - everywhere I turned he was nearby looking at me and the camera!

We also got to see lots of whales at play beyond the breaking waves. At one point I looked up from playing with Rory to see the hugest splash and a tiny bit of whale disappear back under the water. I would have loved to see the whale breach that created that splash! It would have been beyond amazing I think.

We met a lovely German family staying at our campground. It was great to talk to them because it is always nice to meet other travellers and hear their stories and because they have done many of the off road journeys that we are interested I but haven't been able to do, like the Simpson Desert and Gibb River Road. They went to Windjana Gorge and Tunnel Creek; two of the things I wanted to do but we didn't because we were all so sick. They have a 13 year old boy and he, Tilda and Rory all played together in the sand dunes and had lots of fun. We let them borrow the canoe and go out for a paddle while we were wading in the shallows to see the reef sharks again. They got lucky... they had a pod of dolphins come up very close to the canoe and got to paddle along near them for a while! How amazing is that? I know dolphins are common in Port Stephens and we see them a lot but I was so pleased for them to have that experience as they don't have dolphins near Germany.

On our third day we went to Turquoise Bay. Turquoise Bay is simply beautiful  but the wind was quite strong and it wasn't particularly pleasant at the beach. The kids played happily in the shallows of the sandy beach while Greg did some snorkelling. He snorkelled the drift. This is where a south-north current pulls you over the coral so you don't even have to swim, but you do have to get out of the water before the sandspit or the rip current takes you out towards the outer reef. He said it was very pretty, with lots to see, but he felt like he was in a washing machine. As I am still getting over my fear from the Coffin Ray, and the fact that there was only one person braving the wind and chop to snorkel there, I gave it a miss. While I was disappointed in myself for not overcoming my fear, I had to trust my confidence in myself and it is still a bit shaken so even though I could have gotten in the water, I doubt I would have enjoyed it.

The sunsets over the ocean continue to amaze... our second night was particularly spectacular as there were lots of clouds to turn pink.

Exmouth - Cape Range National Park

We spent 2 nights in Exmouth to give us a chance to explore the town and stock up on essentials before we headed into Cape Range National Park. Exmouth is a small town set in incredibly harsh and arid surrounds. The vegetation is scrubby and low, for the most part, and not particularly attractive. They are in the midst of a prolonged drought, which really doesn't help the situation, and like most arid towns, the footpaths are all gravel rather than grass. I think, if we took the time, we probably would have seen a lot of low growing wildflowers dotted in the scrub but only Tilda and I are interested in that, so we didn't. The town has a range of facilities, perhaps the most puzzling was 2 IGAs across a small mall from each other.... and their significantly different prices. It was painful buying 10L of water (for drinking as the water isn't great to drink, although people do) for $10... when we had bought 10L of water for $4 at Port Hedland.

As we came into town we saw Emu signs, warning motorists of emus on the road, but we didn't see any. Then in the caravan park, we saw signs advising people not to feed the emus as they can get aggressive. It wasn't until later in the second day that we finally saw some emus; we saw an adult and 2 young walking down the street and then later we saw an adult and 7 young in the caravan park. It was very cool to be so close to wild emus. We'd seen some before at Flinders Ranges, but not this close. These ones weren't overly friendly but they certainly weren't bothered by people either. Given that the adult in the caravan park probably stood taller than Greg with its neck stretched, there was no way I would get close enough to see how friendly it was. Although Greg did see an emu taking bread out a lady's hand, over her shoulder, later in the day. I think that would have freaked me out! Or I would have loved it. Not sure which.

Walking down the main street

In the caravan park (above and below)

We moved on to Cape Range National Park to be close to the beaches and Ningaloo Reef. We stayed at Tulki Campground. The NP campgrounds all cost $10 per adult and $2.20 per child over 5, so for $22.20 a night we had a site 150m from the beautiful beach, with a very clean pit loo and no other services. The volunteer campground host raked out our gravel site before we arrived and it was clean and looked so very fresh and tidy. We could sit and watch whales breaching, spouting and tail slapping behind the breakers from our caravan.... how perfect and lucky were we! And there were whales galore!

The view not far from our caravan!

We walked down to Tulki Beach after getting set up and gosh!!! It is so stunning! It is a white sandy beach with crystal clear blue ocean. Near shore the water is so calm, with small swell only, as it is sheltered by the reef. It is hard to tell distances from shore but the waves break over the reef somewhere between 1 and 2km out, so there is a long, calm stretch. Greg and Tilda waded thigh deep in the water and were soon spotting black tipped reef sharks, up to about 1m in length, coming within about 5 feet of them. Tilda loved it! She's always read up about sharks and is very interested in them and she thought it was fantastic. I could see the sharks from the shore, where I had stayed with Rory as we didn't have the right shoes on to walk over the oyster covered rocks.We all saw a couple of blue spotted sting rays as well.

At one point I was standing there, ankle deep in water and I felt my jaw drop at just how incredibly beautiful and awe inspiring the sight was. As I watched the small 10-15cm high waves rise up over the rocky bottom, the water was so clear it refracts the bottom and you can see a wall of rocky picture rise up. It is so hard to describe but I honestly think it's the first time all year my jaw has dropped at how amazing what I was seeing was.

We went to the Visitor Information Centre, which has some really good displays and information on the reef, animals and plants. I took my time studying the snakes preserved in bottles as it seems pretty much all of the ones we were likely to see in the spinifex and grass around us were all highly venomous... not sure I became a snake expert, all I really learned was that if any of us got bitten it was probably going to be highly or dangerously venomous so we'd better get help asap.

And of course, the sunsets over the ocean were amazing!

Tostaree Cottages Far Stay, Tostaree

I can definitely recommend this as a great place to stay. It is a working sheep and cattle farm but you are welcome to roam through all of the paddocks. The owners, Greg and Vicky, are lovely people who are happy for a chat and full of local knowledge. We had such a great time here that we ended up staying longer than we intended. We got to set up our caravan in a very pretty spot, on beautiful thick green grass, camped in a paddock next to the pregnant sheep. While we were there a baby lamb was born and the mum and bub got moved into the paddock next to us. Every time the lamb bleated Rory would jump up and say “what's happening?” which was so cute but also got a bit tedious after a while. Vicky gave us a tour of their 300 acres in a farm buggy. Rory sat on my lap in the front while Greg and Tilda stood in the back holding onto the roll bar. Our kids absolutely loved every minute of it.... the ride, the farm stay, the animals and the excitement of waiting to see if any more sheep lambed as it was the beginning of lambing season. I think both our kids could happily settle into the farm life, as you could see them blossom while there. There were loads of beaming smiles from them both. (But Tilda also misses home and her friends so if we could have a farm of a couple of hundred acres at home she'd be thoroughly content and happy I think).

 The paddock of pregnant ewes

 Vegemite the pony

 Rory was a bit unsure

 The beautiful area we camped in

This bull was huge!

We did a quick trip to Lakes Entrance one day. It was pouring rain and we desperately needed to wash clothes so we went there to the laundromat. Through the heavy rain it looked like a nice place to visit and explore, and we did explore some shops while our clothes were washing and drying. It would have been nice to spend a day or two there without rain but it just didn't fit in to our plans.

We also rode the Rail Trail (http://www.eastgippslandrailtrail.com.au/ ). This looks like a great idea and would make a fun holiday, if you like bike riding or horse riding. The old railway line is being restored into a bike and horse riding and walking trail. We rode along a small section of it adjacent to the farm and rode down to an old wooden railway bridge. It is amazing to look at how things “used to be done” and to see the effort and intelligence that had to go in to the construction of the bridge, not to mention the size of the trees they used to make the pylons!

On the way to Tostaree we spent one night free camping on the side of the Snowy River just out of Orbost. We found an AWESOME hamburger place at Orbost... so good we ate there 2 days in a row (so good I have forgotten the name of it! Oops!). It was interesting for Tilda to see the Snowy River closer to the mouth. We were surrounded by dairy farms and the River had also passed through towns between Charlotte Pass and Orbost so the River was quite brown and slightly brackish. We drove to Marlo so that we could see where the Snowy River reaches the sea. I think that was a good thing to see it near the start of it in the mountains and then where the river meets the sea.

 Where the Snowy River meets the sea

The "other end" of the Snowy River

Canberra

Canberra is such a big place, with so much to see and do, that I could fill many blog posts about it, but I won't.

We stayed at Capital Country Caravan Park which is still in NSW. Again, the decision was primarily price. We had thought about Cotters Camp but the weather forecast was predicting mid 30s so we decided electricity would be good. This caravan park had a swimming pool and jumping pillow. The pool was good to have on the hot days.

We went to the War Memorial which is something Greg wanted to do. I would have liked to do it too but I opted to do the whirlwind tour with Rory, with his attention span as big as a flea. I got to see snippets, and spent quite a bit of time in the kid's area, which is actually very good. The kid's area has “an underground bunker” the kid can crawl through, dress ups with various army uniforms, a submarine with interactive panels and a helicopter with realistic (very loud) sounds, plus more. Rory enjoyed the sights and sounds and pressing buttons and Tilda learned quite a bit reading various information panels. Perhaps the best part was finding Greg's great grandfather's name on the honour roll. Greg got to place a poppy there in remembrance of him.

A must do in Canberra with kids is Questacon. Given that I am arachnaphobic I spent quite a bit of time in their spider display to try to help conquer my fear. Tilda really enjoyed it as there was a lot of different things to do and interact with. Rory enjoyed it because there were buttons to press. He seems to have this overwhelming need to press something or touch something; so much so that in one shop he walked into he said “I just want to touch something!” in a very pleading tone. It's like a compulsion for him, or perhaps that is just all 2 year olds? The interactive area where there is the free fall slide and other activities for kids, is great fun. Kids learn without even realising it.

We met our old neighbours, as in they moved away quite a few years ago, for dinner one night. It was great to see Andrew and Sarah again as we still miss them. We had dinner at The Durham in Kingston and they served the best hamburgers we've had in a very long time, possibly ever. They were even better as we went there on a Wednesday night so burgers were $10 not $19.

Matilda's favourite part of Questacon was “mummy freaking out on the giant slide” which she then changed to “the area where you put scarfs in inlets into clear air pipes and you can follow their journey until they get shot out of a point up high on the wall”. Tilda spent ages there playing with that.

Despite a very busy morning at Questacon we decided to check out the Pods and Acorns playground at the Canberra Arboretum. While the Arboretum appears to be in its infancy, the playground which is purported to have cost $3 million, was definitely a highlight. We had to pay for parking so we only paid for an hour, figuring the kid were too tired to stay long. When we arrived we were the only people there. Not long after another family with 2 boys arrived. After a while the kids started playing together and we got talking to the parents. It turned out they are another family on the road travelling... and even better, we all clicked and they are lovely people. The kids played together so well and it was so nice chatting to Michael and Melissa that we ended up staying a bit over 2 hours. It turned out they were planning to head to Jindabyne, just like we were, and we both ended up at the same caravan park in Jindabyne, camping next to each other the following week.

That's Tilda and daredevil Rory climbing all the way to the top

We also spent a day at Cockington Green. For those who haven't visited this model village, every building is built to a 1:12 scale. They have a replica of the entrance building in 1:12 at the start so it gives you some persepctive of scale. The kids loved the fairy garden and we took may photos so that we could possibly replicate some of it at home in our fairy garden (that we never really started). Each of the buildings in the main section are replicas of traditional English buildings; some of them complete with hundreds of tiles hand cut to make roofs and other structures. All of the trees a miniature versions, rather than bonsai. The attention to detail is amazing. The kids enjoyed it all. Rory especially loved the train ride. My favourite part was looking at the building styles and the hidden quirky objects hidden in the displays – like Darth Vader and Obi Wan Kanobe fighting or Dr Who and the Tardis. In one scene a dog has run off with the butcher's sausages and the butcher is chasing him with a knife.

There was a lot more we could have seen and done. I would have loved to go to the Glassworks, Greg wanted to go to see the Tom Roberts exhibit at the art gallery and I think we would have all enjoyed the museum but our days were full and it was time to keep travelling. The good part is, Canberra isn't all that far from home so we can always go back and do the things we missed out on another time.

Best bits:

Tilda - “meeting Willow and Sakari”

Rory – “Willow and Akari”

Greg – “the War Memorial”

Therese – “some of the things I learned at Questacon (like what a St Andrew's Cross spider's egg sac look like as it turns out I've always wondered what they are when I saw them and now I know) and meeting new people who turned out to become friends”

Worst Bits:

Tilda – “ants in my bed”

Rory - “having to wait 90 seconds for the train at Cockington Green to reset” (paraphrased)

Greg – “ants that got into everything in the van”

Therese – “noisy buses and school kids jumping on the jumping pillow until 10pm”