Kalbarri National Park WA

Sam, Lee, & Joey modelling the latest fashion in Aussie fly netting - an essential companion to any trip to the outback areas of Oz, particularly Western Australia which has the most persistent flies on the face of planet Earth!!!

This short video shows the scenery at Nature's Window in Kalbarri National Park...

Lee, Sam & a partly hidden Joey at the 'Z' Bend. A section of the gorge that winds past the lookout. Again very spectacular country, hard to capture with a camera...

A sample of the famous West Australian wildflowers found through the mid-west area in the spring time. Very pretty...

This is a replica of the 'postcard shot' of natures window. Named natures window because you can get a view of the Murchison River in the background through the 'window' of stone.

A few kilometres from Kalbarri township is the magnificent Kalbarri National Park. This shot of Joey shows how deep the gorge is below. Similar to Karijini the striking colours of red dominate. We were fortunate to have a day of around 25 degrees. The previous day was 40 degrees!!

Denham/Monkey Mia - Shark Bay World Heritage Listed Site

The dolphins love to pose for the camera and 'play' the crowd. This shot is of Nicki - a 34 year old female showing off her speckled underbelly. Quite cute...the interaction with the dolphins was quite an experience...

This is Lee's favourite photo of the dolphins. A really nice shot. They are a graceful and very intelligent creature indeed!!

On the second day it was Tom's turn....cool...

At Monkey Mia the Dolphin feeding takes place from 7.30am and happens 3 times a day up to 12.00. No set times really as it is left to the Dolphins to decide when to come in for a snack! There is a huge crowd for the first feed and then the tourists head off elsewhere. Here in this shot on the third feed of the day Joey is selected to feed 'Puck' one of the usuals to come for a snack...

Some close ups of the dolphins waiting to feed...

A view around the beach area of Monkey Mia...

We passed through Denham, a small town that is now the main administration centre of the Shark Bay Region. Pretty shoreline at this section of town!!

Eagle Bluff is one of the best places in Shark Bay to view the marine life. The shallow waters below are teeming with marine life including rays, turtles, sharks etc.

Today was cyclone day it seemed....very windy!!

Further in you come to Shell Beach. Here's Sam in all the bling on the beach....

Shark Bay is one of only a few special regions in the world that meet all criteria for World Heritage Listing. 1. Natural Beauty. 2. Earth's History. 3. Ecological Process. 4. Biological Diversity.

On the way into Denham/Monkey Mia you pass by Hamlin Pool Marine and Nature Reserve. Here the largest and oldest living fossils dot the shore of the pool in rocky lumps. Stromatolites are the name for these colonies of micro-organisms.

Carnarvon & The Blowholes - WA

Sam & Lee at the Quobba lighthouse. Warning any stray ship of the dangerous coastline being approached...

A typical example of the 'blowholes'....

Tom & the boys at the foreshore of the 'Blowholes'. An area just north of Carnarvon which has some strange rock formations that allow the incoming tides to push upwards through holes in the rock up to 20 meters high!!

The jetty history...

At the other end of the jetty looking back towards the mainland you get a better idea of its length. Apparently the longest jetty in WA's northwest area.

We left Tom Price and headed back to the coast toward Carnarvon. Previously a busy area exporting sheep. This jetty is one mile long and in a state of disrepair. Fro the price of $2000 one can replace a pylon and be remembered for this gesture with a wee plaque. There are about 640 pylons in total!! The weather here was a bit cooler than the hot northwest region...only about 30 degrees...

Mt Nameless - Tom Price

Grace, Sam, David & Joey at Mt Nameless....

Our friends Craig & Maryanne Baker whose company we enjoyed whilst staying at Tom Price, along with Keah, David, Jack & Grace.

From the other side of Mt Nameless the sprawling Mt Tom Price Mine. In this shot you can see the single mens and FIFO quarters...the view is a couple of kilometres across.

Tom & Lee at the top of Mt Nameless which is WA's highest peak accessible by car. Looking back toward the Township of Tom Price.

Hamersley Gorge - Karijini NP

Here's the live footage of the escape....with commentary from Sam. I think he's got the goods for a sports commentator!!

The Top Pool at Hamersley Gorge!! Very cool spot to refresh after the climb upwards to it. Entering was easy....exiting was a bit different....

Some rock climbing - at around 300ft high. Death defying attempt to impress Leeanne!! Waste of time really - she's already impressed!! It felt like 300ft - all 10 ft of it!!

Joey and a sample of the amazing rock formations found at Hamersley Gorge

Here's Sam in the Hamersley Gorge, a separate area in Karijini. Amazing rock formations in this ancient looking landscape...

Karijini NP - Weano Campground

A lovely shot of upper handrail pool by Lee...

"Let brotherly love continue"....so far, so good - Joey & Sam are enjoying the experience too!!

Lee & Joey show what awaits the climber at the bottom. This is 'handrail pool'. Super spot to cool off on a hot day which is mostly what they have around this region!!

This shot is a good indication of the type of terrain that visitors to this area are attempting to negotiate. It continues down and becomes even tighter until you reach a section with handrail bolted into the wall to help your descent....once again the colours are quite spectacular...

I am standing beside the Celtic Cross Monument dedicated to a relative of mine, James Regan, who lost his life whilst performing a cliff rescue with the SES to save visitor to Karijini National Park.The monument is near Oxer lookout. The SES at Tom Price and also Newman are among the busiest in Australia helping people who have got into difficulty. James' father Jack and my father are cousins.

This is an arial view of Weano Gorge. There are actually four gorges that meet in this area. Very rugged terrain indeed. Quite striking colours though...

Dinner with Rafa & Jess - Our Brother & Sister

Whilst in Tom Price we met up again with our friends from Brazil Raphael (Rafa) & Jessica (Jess). Enjoyable dinner together before they headed off to Exmouth. We enjoyed Brazilian dinner with good old Aussie Pavlova for desert. A cultural exchange!!

Karijini NP - Dale's Campground

Lee, Sam & Joey at the top of the walk after completing the round trip. Well worthwhile...

We were lucky enough to meet one of the locals at the pool. He/she was having a great time of it. There were even some small fish in the water for it to snack on!!

This is what awaits those who take the 1km trip down to the pool. Very refreshing even if a little chilly!! Beautiful spot here!!

Here's Joey at the walkway down to the swimming hole at Fortescue Falls. If you were keen you could fry an egg on the hot stones around the pool...

The view along a section of Dale's Gorge. Very rugged terrain...

This shot is of Circular Pool at Dale's Campground which is one of two main campsites at Karijini NP. A walk along some cliff face will bring you to the bottom for a dip in the chilly water to cool off...

Excuse me....coming through!! No sharing the road with this wide load!! On the way to Karijini National Park. Just happens that the same road is used by traffic to Port Hedland and Newman Mine.

Tom Price & Mine Tour

Durnin's in the bucket!! The heat at Tom Price is around 35 degrees during October. In mid summer more like 45 degrees. With all the ore in the ground and reflection it's not surprising...

A smaller loader....new toy for the boys??

In the workshop for repairs. The guys working on the machines give an indication of their size. A tyre for these trucks costs $70,000+ dollars!! Machine replacement is in the millions of dollars...

This is what happens when a Iron Ore loader meets a Toyota Landcruiser Ute!! A graphic warning to be cautious on the mine site roads...

Leaving Coral Bay we backtracked inland to Tom Price to see our friends Craig & Maryanne. One of the sights is the mine tour conducted by Rio Tinto of the operations at Tom Price Mine. This dump truck weighs 200 tonne and carries about its own weight in payload

Coral Bay WA

Just a couple of kilometres north of Coral Bay is this Reef Shark Nursery. A natural salt water pond where the young sharks come in to feed at high tide!! We didn't see any at the time we did the walk....

We left Exmouth and headed southwards to Coral Bay. It is reputed to be a WA playground for families because of the inshore coral reef so readily available for snorkelling. We weren't disappointed....