Thursday 16th
We came into Canarvon to do shopping and I was planning to go and stay at Blow Holes at Point Quobba but apparently if you don't have a chemical toilet they don't want you staying there so we had to change plans and stay in Carnarvon and head out tomorrow for a day trip. I had been told that it is an excellent snorkeling place for kids and you get to feed the fish and you will want to stay there for at least 2 weeks.
Tim is constantly doing upkeep and repairs on our moving house and vehicle. Swapped caravan tyres around and fixing caravan mirrors. All still going well with his eye for detail keeping everything running smoothly.
Thursday, 16 May 2013
The Monkey Mia dolphins
Wednesday 15th
As we left Monkey Mia on Tuesday we noticed a notice board that tabled how many dolphins came in, at what time , how many fed and who they were. Monday and Tuesday had very low numbers like 1 or 2 and only 1 feeding at a time yet the week before they were getting 16 at times with 5 feeding so I said to God "bring a heap of dolphins in tomorrow please". So we got up early and headed to Monkey Mia and the dolphins were already in the feeding area swimming around. There was about 10 to 15 which was fantastic, and this very quiet one named Nicky that swam up and down the shore line with the guy that was talking.
This is from Kimberly's camera as she was down in the water right where the action was. It was great listening to the guy as he knew a lot about dolphins and their characters and each different dolphin by name. They talked for a while as the volunteers were thawing out the fish. They first count how many dolphins come in then they work out how many fish they need by who came in that will eat. Some don't come and eat they just swim around.
This is Nicky who posed for Kimberly to take a picture.
This is Kimberly and Ethan feeding a dolphin. They just wait with their mouths open for you to drop the fish in.
This is Baylee's arm feeding a dolphin. About 4 dolphins came in to be fed while the others stay back at both the 8:30am and 9:30am feeds. We were very blessed. Amazing at how they have worked with these dolphins and have routine and set times of feeding that allow us to interact with them yet they still live as wild animals, capable of looking after themselves.
This is one of the many friendly emus walking away from us. He came right up to our towels there to see if we had any food! The kids spent a few hours swimming and playing in the sand while Tim and I slept in the sun. So we headed off and stopped at Shelly Beach, a lot of shells.
THERE ARE FLIES. We haven't had flies for so long yet a few days before all of a sudden there are flies. Where the line is that they stop and start I don't know, they just appear!
Then we headed off out to the highway to our camping destination.
Along the road sides we saw heaps of sheep and goats. Coloured sheep and goats. Little kids with their mums. Right next to the road. There were signs of cattle but we hadn't seen any thankfully.
As we left Monkey Mia on Tuesday we noticed a notice board that tabled how many dolphins came in, at what time , how many fed and who they were. Monday and Tuesday had very low numbers like 1 or 2 and only 1 feeding at a time yet the week before they were getting 16 at times with 5 feeding so I said to God "bring a heap of dolphins in tomorrow please". So we got up early and headed to Monkey Mia and the dolphins were already in the feeding area swimming around. There was about 10 to 15 which was fantastic, and this very quiet one named Nicky that swam up and down the shore line with the guy that was talking.
THERE ARE FLIES. We haven't had flies for so long yet a few days before all of a sudden there are flies. Where the line is that they stop and start I don't know, they just appear!
Then we headed off out to the highway to our camping destination.
Along the road sides we saw heaps of sheep and goats. Coloured sheep and goats. Little kids with their mums. Right next to the road. There were signs of cattle but we hadn't seen any thankfully.
Tuesday, 14 May 2013
Denham
Tuesday 14th
We got an early start. I even had time for a run through the scrub! We stopped at the Overlander roadhouse for fuel and as Tim was taking all the boys to the toilet an Indian man working there in his accent said "you have a big team!" Tim had to get him to repeat it a couple of times before he knew what he was saying. We have had a lot of different reactions as we enter places!
So on to Monkey Mia but we got there a little too late for the feeding and the dolphins didn't come in again so we enjoyed the beach for a while.
That is Ethan, Josiah, Zane and Manning patting a Pelican who is trying to sleep. Manning tried to pat one but it opened it's big beak at him and Manning quickly jumped away!
There also was a turtle close but we couldn't see him very well as he was down the bottom on sea weed..
It was quite warm on the beach, maybe 26 C and we could see how it could get really hot. Also there were very friendly emus.
So we decided to go back to Denham and stay the night and come out early the next morning to see the dolphin feeding.
We got into a park that had a swimming pool, cold , not like Karcultaby! So we swam then walked down to the playground. In the main street the cars were going quite slow and we wondered why then we saw this young emu, teenager age, walking down the road. He didn't care about the cars or the people. Tim said he saw him try to get into the motel. Maybe he thought a room for the night might be nice!
This is us all trudging up the hill from the main street in Denham to our caravan park.
We got an early start. I even had time for a run through the scrub! We stopped at the Overlander roadhouse for fuel and as Tim was taking all the boys to the toilet an Indian man working there in his accent said "you have a big team!" Tim had to get him to repeat it a couple of times before he knew what he was saying. We have had a lot of different reactions as we enter places!
So on to Monkey Mia but we got there a little too late for the feeding and the dolphins didn't come in again so we enjoyed the beach for a while.
There also was a turtle close but we couldn't see him very well as he was down the bottom on sea weed..
It was quite warm on the beach, maybe 26 C and we could see how it could get really hot. Also there were very friendly emus.
So we decided to go back to Denham and stay the night and come out early the next morning to see the dolphin feeding.
We got into a park that had a swimming pool, cold , not like Karcultaby! So we swam then walked down to the playground. In the main street the cars were going quite slow and we wondered why then we saw this young emu, teenager age, walking down the road. He didn't care about the cars or the people. Tim said he saw him try to get into the motel. Maybe he thought a room for the night might be nice!
Kalbarri
Monday 13th
We checked out of Geraldton with our clean caravan, nice to get the caravan and everything clean after bush free camping for a while. As we left Geraldton we counted 11 huge black & red grain/mineral boats out at sea waiting to come into the port. We learned that there are a lot of reefs not far out and we saw 2 tug boats very carefully bringing in a huge boat so it wouldn't hit any reef.
The countryside was hilly for a while then became flat with salt bush, bushes and very few trees, a bit like around Iron Knob. Red sandy soil. We saw wild goats near the road but they were smart enough to stay off the road.
We drove into Kalbarri to have a look. Some big houses, big boats and a lot of money is spent there in holiday time. Some crayfish trucks there waiting for the boats to come in.
Josiah's head with all the boats in the background.
After a play in the playground we headed back out to the highway to find a spot to stay for the night.
This free camping spot was near Nerren Nerren.
The kids wanted the shovel down, not so they could go to the toilet, but just so they could dig holes! As you can see the soil is very orange/red. A very strong colour, especially when you dug down a bit.
We checked out of Geraldton with our clean caravan, nice to get the caravan and everything clean after bush free camping for a while. As we left Geraldton we counted 11 huge black & red grain/mineral boats out at sea waiting to come into the port. We learned that there are a lot of reefs not far out and we saw 2 tug boats very carefully bringing in a huge boat so it wouldn't hit any reef.
The countryside was hilly for a while then became flat with salt bush, bushes and very few trees, a bit like around Iron Knob. Red sandy soil. We saw wild goats near the road but they were smart enough to stay off the road.
We drove into Kalbarri to have a look. Some big houses, big boats and a lot of money is spent there in holiday time. Some crayfish trucks there waiting for the boats to come in.
After a play in the playground we headed back out to the highway to find a spot to stay for the night.
Sunday, 12 May 2013
Sunday
Sunday 12th
Well Sunday didn't start off that well with Tim getting the tummy wog that the kids had through the week. So with getting all the beds and clothes washed and dried, as it was a great drying day, we didn't get to church.
The kids played games in the morning while I did the washing. Kimberly, Josiah and Zane had finished playing Zingo and were packing it up when I heard Zane say "Hurry up now, I'm not getting any younger you know" He was holding the bag waiting for them to put the game in. So turning 6 obviously makes you old all of a sudden. We all laughed.
In the laundry I got to talk to a lady who has been travelling for 1 1/2 years now with her family. She has told me some good spots to go to that the kids will be able to snorkel and see a lot of colourful fish and some coral reef. It's good hearing from people that have been there with kids.
So I took the kids out for lunch and as it was about 25 temp I said I would take them to the water playground.
There are buckets above Baylee's head that fill up with water and when they get full enough they drop a bucket load of water on you. Kimberly said it hits you quite hard.Josiah, Manning and Zane and Kimberly up close.
You can just see the water falling from the bucket. Baylee, Ethan and Josiah under the buckets and Zane running on the right.
Well Sunday didn't start off that well with Tim getting the tummy wog that the kids had through the week. So with getting all the beds and clothes washed and dried, as it was a great drying day, we didn't get to church.
The kids played games in the morning while I did the washing. Kimberly, Josiah and Zane had finished playing Zingo and were packing it up when I heard Zane say "Hurry up now, I'm not getting any younger you know" He was holding the bag waiting for them to put the game in. So turning 6 obviously makes you old all of a sudden. We all laughed.
In the laundry I got to talk to a lady who has been travelling for 1 1/2 years now with her family. She has told me some good spots to go to that the kids will be able to snorkel and see a lot of colourful fish and some coral reef. It's good hearing from people that have been there with kids.
So I took the kids out for lunch and as it was about 25 temp I said I would take them to the water playground.
There are buckets above Baylee's head that fill up with water and when they get full enough they drop a bucket load of water on you. Kimberly said it hits you quite hard.Josiah, Manning and Zane and Kimberly up close.
Zane's birthday
Saturday 11th
The day started off super for Zane as it was his birthday.
This is Zane uncovering a Star Wars Transformer.
And then some Star Wars lego!
The kids spent the morning playing with these new toys.
Tim needed to do a tyre rotation and it happened that the site the caravan park gave us was on a large concrete pad. So up went the car and off came the tyres. He had all the guys around us watching
, but nothing out of the ordinary happened. He did find a little oil that had leaked from the diff but not too much and he is going to keep an eye on that. He was very happy as he said he saved us $100!
After our birthday lunch we headed to the museum. They gave the kids a sheet to fill and was another interesting museum to come to. A lot of ship wrecks here!
After that we took the kids to a playground that had a water section but it was a bit late and cold to get wet.
So back to the caravan for a birthday tea and cake (ice cream of course!)
The day started off super for Zane as it was his birthday.
The kids spent the morning playing with these new toys.
Tim needed to do a tyre rotation and it happened that the site the caravan park gave us was on a large concrete pad. So up went the car and off came the tyres. He had all the guys around us watching
, but nothing out of the ordinary happened. He did find a little oil that had leaked from the diff but not too much and he is going to keep an eye on that. He was very happy as he said he saved us $100!
After our birthday lunch we headed to the museum. They gave the kids a sheet to fill and was another interesting museum to come to. A lot of ship wrecks here!
After that we took the kids to a playground that had a water section but it was a bit late and cold to get wet.
So back to the caravan for a birthday tea and cake (ice cream of course!)
Friday, 10 May 2013
Geraldton
Friday 10th
We drove up to Geraldton , passed very ordinary small trees and not much pasture. As we got closer to Geraldton the trees got on more of a lean indicating a constant wind from the sea. We went shopping , adding to our list a lot of birthday food for Zane for tomorrow. The lady at the checkout said it is a very windy place here. She asked Manning if she could come on our holiday with us and he seemed to think that we could fit her in somewhere. We have booked into a great caravan park that has been kind to a big family again. We are very grateful to these people.
Once we were settled in Tim hit the shops again as he has been trying to work out our battery system in our caravan and trying to get the most out of our batteries. He decided to buy a battery charger so while we are using AC power we will top the batteries up as it seems our caravan system prevents the battery from being completely full. So he is making little improvements all the time. Yesterday the sun was out a lot and was pouring the power in but we have had a lot of grey days. Anyway all is working fine and I am happy that we have enough storage that I only have to go shopping once a week. When I was in Woollies there was an employee running around with a trolley that said "I am shopping for an online shopper" To me that is a fantastic idea. I could do my shopping on line and pick it up when I get to that town!!! I'm not on this holiday to shop so that would save me heaps of time!
I bought a new rubbish bin and Manning thought the lid would be a great hat!
We drove up to Geraldton , passed very ordinary small trees and not much pasture. As we got closer to Geraldton the trees got on more of a lean indicating a constant wind from the sea. We went shopping , adding to our list a lot of birthday food for Zane for tomorrow. The lady at the checkout said it is a very windy place here. She asked Manning if she could come on our holiday with us and he seemed to think that we could fit her in somewhere. We have booked into a great caravan park that has been kind to a big family again. We are very grateful to these people.
Once we were settled in Tim hit the shops again as he has been trying to work out our battery system in our caravan and trying to get the most out of our batteries. He decided to buy a battery charger so while we are using AC power we will top the batteries up as it seems our caravan system prevents the battery from being completely full. So he is making little improvements all the time. Yesterday the sun was out a lot and was pouring the power in but we have had a lot of grey days. Anyway all is working fine and I am happy that we have enough storage that I only have to go shopping once a week. When I was in Woollies there was an employee running around with a trolley that said "I am shopping for an online shopper" To me that is a fantastic idea. I could do my shopping on line and pick it up when I get to that town!!! I'm not on this holiday to shop so that would save me heaps of time!
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