1st stop on tour was the Pinnacles..got off the bus to this burst of 45 degree desert heat. Nightmare! If only I knew what was to come after that! The Pinnacles are really cool formations of calcite (I may or may not have made that word up!). Went for a bit of a walk and off again on the road. We stopped at a really nice beach for lunch and then went onto our overnight accomodation in Horrocks. All of our food and accomodation was included...but the downside was that we had to prepare and cook it! Ronan and I were on cooking duty (one would think that would have meant I was off the hook for 2 weeks then...oh no!). No-one really slept cos of the heat - and Lucy informed us all that "wet t-shirts" were to way forward to cool down! Ronan was in his element! Also did I mention there were 13 girls on tour and only 2 lads!
Day 2 - Ryan our tour guide very kindly got us up at 5am for breakfast! Then it was another long day on the road. We arrived at Kilbarrie National Park where we walked to Natures Window (see photos!) - very pretty indeed. We then went on a hike in ridiculously hot weather, which I most definitely did not have the right gear for. My pink runners were definitely a bad idea when nearly everyone else had hiking boots! We hit a very Aussie roadhouse for a BBQ for lunch and then drove a couple more hours to Shell Beach. Name is particularly apt - given that its just a beach covered with shells! We stayed in Denham for the night and had Air-Con Gate 2!!
Day 3 - 6am start today! Off to Monkey Mia - this is a place where you can swim with dolphins and if your very lucky you get to feed them....guess who got picked to feed them! Yep - I sure did!Lovely relaxing morning followed by a 700km drive to Coral Bay! I see a pattern emerging here...super early starts and very long drives with not very much to see but outback!
Day 4 - Staying in Coral Bay - a really nice beach resort with a pool. Flashpacking again! We signed up to a morning snorkelling trip in Coral Bay and off we headed on a glass bottom boat. Note - and I didnt only find this out AFTER the event..but a snorkeller got his arm bitten off my a shark in Coral Bay! The snorkelling was amazing - we did swim with reef sharks in a "shark cleaning station" where little fish clean the sharks teeth and skin. Very cool indeed. There was amazing coral and really cool fish too! Except for the bloody eejit who threw fish food into the water as I got in the water. I nearly lost my life (and by bikini) in the process.
After snorkelling we made our way back to the resort where we met our driver. This is we were about to get news of the 1st natural disaster! Karijini National Park (the reason most of us did the trip) had to be suddently closed due to torrential rain and flooding! We were due to camp there for 3 nights. Which also meant we were homeless for the last few days of the trip! We stayed on in Coral Bay for another night until the tour company could devise another plan for us!
Day 4 - Stranded in Coral Bay! - We went on a guided snorkel in Turquoise Bay. Forgetting the fact that half of us nearly drowned cos our snorkelling gear was faulty, it was actually like swimming in an aquarium - with amazing fish, turtles and sharks! So being stranded in Coral Bay wasnt so bad! Visited the Tropic of Capricorn (a sign really!)
Day 5 to 8! - We drove from Coral Bay two Exmouth. We stopped off at the local "shopping centre" where we heard the locals talking about the cyclone that was coming. So of course we all started panicking and started asking our driver the 21 questions! Cue - the 2nd Natural Disaster coming our way! Cyclone Iggy was fast approaching - the last time a cyclone hit Exmouth it flattened the whole town. So these things arent looked on lightly! We just had to wait and see!
One of the nights in Exmouth - Ryan brought us to a Turtle Beach - January is in the middle of mating season for turtles - so after sunset the huge female turtles drag themselves out of the water onto shore and lay about 100 eggs! Only a very small number survive as they get eaten by crabs and sharks :( We did see two tiny turtles just hatched make their way to the water for the first times. Probably one of the cutest things I have ever witnessed!
4.30am - we got a knock on the door to say - get up and get the hell out! So the early mornings were now turning into late nights! We all packed up and had yet another meeting...to tell us that we cant go any further north (so no Broome trip!) due to the cyclone. So we all boarded the bus dismayed and made our way back to Perth
Day 9 - we travelled 700km back down to Carnarvon - the town that everyone was being evactuated too. The place was jammers - and for this reason we got put up in the fawlty towers of hostels! 45 degrees and no air-con - well it was like a flipping refugee camp! We were stuck in Carnarvon due to the Bushfires down south (yes that would be the 3 natural disasters in just over a week!). My insurance company are going to just love me!
We got woken at 5am to see if the road would re-open so we could return to Perth..no joy..hourly checks were in place until 8am...at which point we were rushed onto the bus and took off! We spend from 8am until midnight on the bus....fun times! So lots of times to say goodbye to all the crew on the trip! Although the itinerary didnt go to plan - I made some fantastic friends who I will no doubt stay in touch with...so a big thanks to...Lina, Lucy, Kathrin, Kay, Celine, Elene, Ilana, Maike, Floriane, Diane, Claudia, Lukaz, Ronan and Ryan! No dramas!!!
Im in Perth Now - on the lookout for some work (will be a foreign feeling after Fiji and WA!)...over half way through my travels so you guys will be seeing me soon at home!
SJ xxx
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