A couple of days in paradise (Coral Bay)!!

We have been busy relaxing for a couple of days so have delayed blogging till now.

23rd April:
Today was a long driving day. Jase and I were very impressed with how well the girls coped during what equated to a full 8 hours travelling.
We started the day with a brief viewing at Eagle Bluff. It was a magnificent view but no wildlife spotting as is the norm here.

When we made it back to the main highway we had a quick driver change and I took the wheel for 199 km.  I thought I was getting the hang of it and thought about overtaking but remembered I had the van on the back so decided to play it safe and stick to Nanna speed.
Carnavon was our refuelling and shopping pit stop.  This was shortly followed by a picnic lunch along the expansive river banks of the Gascoyne River which I am sure would be more picturesque with water in it!
We only had one more brief stop - a photo shoot at the Tropic of Capricorn. Here we met a couple of brave people riding from Perth to Darwin. It was about 3.30pm and it was 37C - impressive.

The girls at the Tropic of Capricorn

Yay we have finally arrived in Coral Bay. We quickly checked in, set up and put our bathers on then headed to the beach for a well deserved swim!
Whilst the girls enjoyed splashing and swimming Jase and I enjoyed watching the sunset.

A Beautiful Coral Bay Sunset

24th April:
Sun, swimming, snorkelling, beach cricket, playing and relaxing. This succinctly summarises our amazing day. Highlights of day -  The girls had their first attempt at snorkelling
                                                   - we had champagne whilst watching the sunset (proving you can still have romance after 21 years together and travelling the countryside with 2 children!!)

The Girls relaxing as another day draws to a close

25th April:
Sun, swimming, snorkelling, glass bottom boat, playing and relaxing. Yes pretty much more of the same today! It is just so nice to relax and have fun in what is arguably one of the best beach/reef in the world.  Highlights of day - girls were more confident with snorkelling
                                               - we had our very own tour on the glass bottom boat around the reef

Spangled Emperor and Coral viewing on our private tour

                                                          LEST WE FORGET

20th April 2013 - The Adventure Begins.......

Well after 18 months of planning (and apparently saving) the day has finally arrived to start our Australian Adventure. We were up at 5am so we could pack all the last minute stuff and managed to get on the road at 6.40am. It was 16 degrees and raining when we left so we are happy to be heading north and chasing the warmer weather. After a brief stop at the Cataby roadhouse we headed onto Geraldton where we had lunch with Chloe & Maggie's cousin, Robyrose. From here the travelling really started when we left the country and travelled into the Principality of Hutt River Province, where we were met by Prince Wayne. Unfortunately Prince Leonard was in Perth as Princess Shirley was not well, but we still enjoyed our time looking at the Post Office, chapel and purchasing some local currency and posting a couple of postcards.

On the road to Hutt River

At the Border

We headed off, back into Western Australia and onto the nearby farm of Corro where we met up with our niece, Natalie, hard at work. After a short visit it was time to head off and look for a camp spot somewhere for the night. Our original plan was to camp next to the Murchison River, but due to fading light we found a good bush camp near Binnu, where we set up for the night. Well we are on our way, very excited and already starting to relax as we settle into the next 3 months on the road. Tomorrow we head for Shark Bay, I wonder what the day has in store, until then.....

Our Bush Camp

Dolphins, Dolphins everywhere!

Well what a great day we all had today. After an early start we drove the short 23km drive from Denham to Monkey Mia to see the world famous dolphins. We arrived at 7.30am & headed straight for the beach. We were pleasantly surprised to see some changes since our last visit many years ago, making sure people didn't rush the beach and scare the dolphins, instead everyone had to wait off the beach until the dolphins were comfortable at the waters edge and then we could move down.

Although filled with lots of people, the chance to have these magnificent animals swim within metres of where we were standing was just amazing! After the first interaction, a lot of people left the area, but we stayed for most of the day and were lucky enough to be there when the dolphins returned to the beach twice during that time. The highlight for us, was seeing Chloe chosen to hand feed one of the female dolphins called "Puck" - absolutely sensational. We also saw pelicans and up to 8 emus wandering on the grass and beach.

After lunch and a game of beach cricket, we travelled to Ocean Park Aquarium 8km out of Denham. It was another fantastic place, with a guided tour lasting about an hour each time. The tour took us through a number of tanks housing different species of fish, sharks & sea snakes, with highlight definitely being the shark pool where we got to see large lemon sharks and sandbar sharks being fed tuna by the guides. The tour was that good that the girls went around twice! When we had finished here we made our way back to Denham where we went for a walk along the foreshore, a kick of the footy and then back to camp for a well earned shower before dinner and updating you all on an amazing day. Tomorrow we hit the road again and travel to Coral Bay, will be a long day in the car but it will be all be worth it when we step on to the pristine beach, we can't wait. Until then.......

Teething problems

Well we have arrived safe and sound in Shark Bay, but before I fill you in on the day, you may have noticed 2 things so far about the blog! Firstly the entry for the first day is showing the date of the 21st April (which I think I've worked out the teething problems which stopped me posting last night so all should be good on that front going forward) & secondly, there are no photo's posted as yet. This teething problem is proving more difficult to overcome, so until I do, it'll just be stories for now, but rest assured we will find a way to get the photos up for all to see! Anyway on to today proceedings. We had a leisurely start to the morning and got onto the road at 8.45am, after breakfast and a little exploring. Our destination by days end was Denham, Shark Bay which was only a relatively short drive of about 350kms from our overnight camp. On the way we started driving on Australia's second longest straight section of road, which is 131kms long without a bend, before turning off to Shark Bay, we'll do the longest straight stretch of road in a couple of months time! Our first stop was at Hamelin Pool with its crystal clear waters and home to the Stromatolites. These living organisms are 3.5 billion years old and are amazing to see!

Stromatolites 

 We then made our way to Shell Beach, which, as the name suggets, is made entirely of shells. In fact, you can dig down some 5 metres and still find shell! There is even a section of the beach dedicated as a quarry, with many local buildings in Denham being made entirely out of the shell blocks from this quarry.

Our Very Own Shell Angel

 By the time we left the beach the wind was well & truly up and so we headed straight for the caravan park and set up for the next couple of days. As I type this blog, the wind has turned into a small gale and it will be interesting how sleeping goes tonight. We had a walk along the foreshore before dinner and during this walk a very funny moment happened. There were 2 guys kicking a soccer ball around and as we passed, watching from the other side of the road, Chloe was so fixated on their game that she didn't notice a pole on the footpath and she walked straight into it (sounds cruel I know, but it was bloody funny.....maybe you had to be there). Anyway after dinner and several more frustrating hours trying to load photo's onto the blog (and still no photo's), it is now time to sign off and get ready for an early start to see the famous Monkey Mia Dolphins, which the girls are very excited about, until then.....

Twas the night before.....

Twas the night before the trip and all through the house, not a creature was stirring not even a mouse....

hang on - BJ - what is it? why are you barking??

We are all very excited (except BJ of course as he isnt coming with us) and cannot wait till we leave the safe haven of Jane Brook tomorrow morning to see what this Australian countryside has to offer.

Lots of love to all our family and friends.  Thanks for all your kind wishes and support.  See you all in 13 weeks.  We will miss you all but will be looking forward to sharing the amazing stories with you on our return.  xxxx

9 sleeps to go!!! launching the new blog

Welcome to the Resuggan Australian Adventure.  We are getting very excited as we prepare to head off on the trip of a lifetime....

Jase, Rach, Chloe and Maggie are looking forward to travelling the Australian countryside and sharing this experience with you all.  Look out for the first "real" post on the 20th April when we leave home and head North....until then!