073 - Exmouth (Whale Shark Day) (8/6/17)

With limited reception at our current location, this blog will be without photos until we hit Broome next week. I have managed to squeeze this one through the bandwith though. Most shots are already on Facebook though, so you'll get the gist until I post the pics later.

So we’d had James’ Day, Evie’s Day, Dad’s Day and now it was time for Mum’s Day!!

Now, if anyone was excited for “their” day, it was B. She probably had pipped James and his flat out fanaticism for Mt Barker. For today was the day that B would get to go swim with whale sharks.

For a little bit of back story, B had celebrated the 10^th anniversary of her 30^th birthday last November and as a gift the family, on some reasonable hint giving from yours truly, had shouted B a swim with the whale sharks. And ever since that day in November, B hasn’t stopped talking about how excited she was.

And it seems that excitement was very well justified.

Our day out on the boat was amazing for all, but particularly for B who it seems had an item on her bucket list without even realising it. I think it’s proven to be one of the greatest experiences of her life, which is quite a feat given her travels and, well, the fact she married me really.

One thing I’ve loved about our trip is the way that everyone in the family respects the importance of a person’s special day. We all bound out of bed with excitement and hit the day with gusto. This was no different with breakfast done and dusted and the family waiting for the bus to pick us up nice and early.

A rare sight... the Whites, all ready to roll and out and about at 7am... I'd be lieing if I said we hadn't adjusted to life on the road well...

All the cool kids sit at the back of the bus....

Waiting for the "boat for the boat"

On the "boat for the boat"... All the cool kids sit at the front of the boat.

Once onboard the bus we headed around to the boat ramp. The bus host and whale photographer turned out to be a Welsh lass called Sian (pronounced ‘Sharne’ for all my bogan friends out there) who was extremely excited to have another Welsh lass onboard her tour. I think B had found her dream job, but I pointed out there probably was only enough room in the town for one Welsh whale shark swimming professional, and Sian had first dibs.

We were taken out to our boat for the day, where we were introduced to the rest of the crew. Josh the skipper, Seth the #2, Daphne one of the group swimmers, and Simmo the tour leader and 2^nd group leader. They were a great bunch who were great all day. I think these guys really know the value of the tourist dollar and were nothing but accommodating all day. In particular towards the kids, which I found extremely appreciative.

On with the skin suits for everyone and matching flippers, goggles and snorkels. It is quite funny watching people so unaccustomed to this kind of gear, myself included, try and navigate their way around a small-ish boat trying not to trip over each other or fall overboard.

Bob not so sure, but I reckon we rock the Skin Suits... I was lucky not to be harpooned by a passing whaling ship I reckon...

It was then we found out that the promise of being able to upgrade my attendance on the boat from ‘observer’ to ‘swimmer’ was not going to be possible. There is a legal limit of only having 20 people on the boat swimming with the whale sharks (10 per group) and we already had 20 swimmers. I must admit, I was pretty shattered. Had I known this, we would have upgraded on the phone weeks ago when we rang to confirm details. Still, in the end it probably worked out for the best given the fact that one of us would have to remain on the boat with the kids at any given time which would have meant splitting B’s whale shark time in half. I’m glad I didn’t have to do that, as listening to her talk about the experience, as jealous as I might be, fills me with joy and happiness. If you ever need to see her smile in the future, just ask her to describe her time with a whale shark. Boom! Instant happiness.

But we were going for a swim and a snorkel beforehand to prove to the crew we could do both. Sam and B leapt in with little apprehension whilst I tailed at the back ready to jump in with James. Evie, or so we thought would be fine given she’s a little super fish, but had decided now was the time for a meltdown. It seems, and perhaps understandably, she has a real fear of deep sea water (although it was only 4-5m deep at this point). Not wanting to stress her out and ruin everyone’s day, we pulled her from the water sharply and so ended her time getting wet for the day. James, already in, saw Evie get pulled out and he too thought that was the better option, and hopped back on the boat. I was allowed to jump in and snorkel around the buoy 15m off the boat to prove I could do it, which I did, before rejoining the kids on deck. I must admit, my first venture at snorkelling was a little shorter than planned!

First swim done and dusted... Reward... carrot cake.

The smile at 80% and we hadn't even seen the whale shark...

But with both groups of ten proving their capabilities (some better than others) the boat headed for a break in the reef and out the back into deep waters where the big fish were waiting.

The kids and I were invited up on to the captain’s deck for the rest of the day where Josh and Seth showed us the intracies of whale spotting, communicating with spotter planes and the hand signals used. This was incredibly interesting and I learnt a lot more about the art of whale shark swimming than I thought. Highlights for us included Josh getting the spotter plane to do a low fly by, dipping his wings just for our kids, seeing an array of turtles, sea snakes and fish, and off course getting a great birds eye view of the big whale sharks from high above the water. I must admit, as disappointed as I was not to be getting in the water, the day turned out to be very rewarding, enjoyable and entertaining. All without needing to get a nosefull of sea water to boot.

But the highlight continued to be, not the whale sharks, but B’s smile. Every time the jumped out of the water, she was like Luna Park. Some swims were better than others, but the smile remained constant and rewarding.

The photos we got from the group were pretty cool, and I loved how they made an attempt to get shots of everyone with a whale shark in the background. It actually proved to me that the whale shark was the only thing in the water that day with a mouth and smile bigger than B’s.

Incredibly graceful and majestic creatures, they float around without a care in the world. Daunting in size, but never at all intimidating the are like colourful ‘elephants of the sea’ who appear to play and let us swim around them without worrying too much. However, perhaps like elephants, you get the impression that if you ticked them off, you’d be ‘told’ in no uncertain terms which could result very badly for us humans. They were after all, about the size of the boat we were sitting on.

On occasions they dived and proved to be elusive, but we got a couple of really good ones, the first being the best right near the break of the reef. With the water shallower, the whale shark wasn’t able to dive to “get away” so we were able to circle it for the hour the law allows before having to “let it go” and find another to swim with.

Yep... they're big. REAL big...

This is now B's wallpaper on her phone and she delights in asking anyone (and everyone) "have you seen this photo?". Gotta admit, Sian nailed it.

B and her "spirit animal"...

A photo with Sam at the start... not sure what they were asked to do, but it's certainly weird...

No doubt about it... they're awesome.

This is how close you can get to these gentle giants...

The smile at 100% full bore...

And so was the day on the boat. The kids and I laughed and talked with Josh and Seth whislt the chaos downstairs of people jumping on and off the boat willy-nilly proved why it was probably best the kids weren’t involved. You had to move quick at times as Josh pulled u-turns and chucked donuts to swing around in front of the fish that often just popped out of nowhere.

Sam feeling the wind in his hair... before we chopped it all off the next day.

Lunch was good, but nothing to rave too much about given the price of admission, but no one went hungry. The endless carrot cake proved to be a hit with the munchkins that’s for sure.

Following a final snorkel within the reef, a day was called.

Sam out for one more snorkel on the reef... The kid is a natural.

B was still smiling (actually, she hasn’t stopped since) and there in lied the proof that she too got her Superpit-Mount Barker-Monkey Mia moment.

Due to the swell, and my probably over protective nature to keep the kids out of the way on the boat, the camera didn’t make a big of an appearance as it probably should have. Still, there’s enough great shots to know the day was definitely one of the best.

A family shot up on the captain's deck. It really was a brilliant day.

Champagne to celebrate the Whale Sharks!

I walked over to the 4x4 shop where the truck was getting a service (handy to have the car out of action on a day we didn’t need it) and we headed with the Butchers, our travelling buddies, over to the pub where we watched the socceroos continue on their way with World Cup qualification.

It turned out to be a late night for the kids and early for B as they all went to bed at the same time. Still smiling she was wrecked from the effort and excitement.

That, as they say in the classics, was one for the ages.

071, 072 & 074 - Exmouth (6-7,9/7/17)

OK, firstly... there will be no mention of whale sharks here... that's a separate post, coming to a blog near you soon.

This will focus on our time in and around Exmouth, and like the posts before this, will be largely pictorial. I really need to sort out a way to type onto the tablets so I can at least record nightly. Still, this is better than nothing and hopefully enough to keep Future Matt happy and any other readers of the blog entertained along the way.

Now Exmouth... what to say about this place... Hmm...

The caravan park (RAC one if you are interested) was servicable and did what it needed to do. But I feel for the money they were asking, wasn't even close to being up to par with other places in our journey. I mean really, is it that hard to get a decent tiler?

I think I touched on it in the previous post that I'll remember Exmouth for the people, the stunning landscapes and the amazing amount of fauna and flora we saw. I won't look back on the townscape of Exmouth itself with great fondness...

But onto the pics...

The boys and I getting ready to go for a fish, after spending the morning getting some new gear. James was particularly chuffed with his new rod which he paid for with his own money. Here we are talking to our neighbour (whose name escapes me) but really the boys are lingering going... "C'mon Dad... let's go!"

We'd originally planned to head up to the North of Exmouth to the top of the 'cape' where B could chase some waves. But alas, the weather brought in, on the wind, some pretty choppy stuff so the board remained on the roof of the truck. And then, to our disappointment we realised we'd also picked low tide, which up this way make fishing nigh on impossible. We've now learnt to check tide times... Still, this on our trip we found the wreck of the Mildura which the boys thought looked like a stranded submarine.

Sam not impressed when I mentioned that we wouldn't be even able to clear the rocks with the rods...

Evie cares little for fishing... and I don't blame her with her imagination. Why fish when you can look through your pretend binoculars at some exotic world over the ocean?

Sam trying his luck to persuade Mum to let him walk into the rocks and fish after I said it was a bit to strong and rough. As you can see from the distance between them, he wasn't having much luck. Still... lovely spot!

Back at the truck, and yep... another world literally a few metres away.

The next morning we awoke to the kids telling us the galahs were going through the recycled bin. We looked out to spy these two... and what a site. One of the funniest things I've seen. The literally were sitting there trying to find the dregs of drinks in cans. I think they had a penchant for Emu Bitter but they didn't look too fussy. Doubt the could fly straight later on that day...

We took a drive out to the Charles Knife Gorge trail to check it out. Not planning a big walk as it was a solid 8km round trip or similar. But we were met with phenomenal views on the Eastern side of Cape Range. This was the view towards Learmonth Airport.

And this is Charles Knife Gorge... Pretty freakin' amazing.

This was the view from the start of the bushwalking trail. You'd never know you were on a peninsula between two awesome bits of sea, with gorges of epic proportions just nearby.

Back that afternoon and treated the truck to a long overdue wash... She was grateful.

One of the things I realise I miss out on when at work is moments like this. It turns out James loves making things out of boxes and so when we do a 'big shop' he loves getting to work with scissors, sticky tape and glue. Here he is making a home for his pet dog "Ruffy". Given nowhere in Exmouth sells items with plastic bags, which I love incidentally, he had plenty of cardboard boxes to work with. Seeing moments like this make me realise that this trip is such a cool thing to do.

After lunch we headed out to Pebble Beach for a look, and despite low tide again, a fish. Was a pretty cool spot where we spent some time exploring what the coast had to offer.

I particularly likes the way the stone at this point, like the beach itself, was made up with small pebbles. It seems the name was very apt.

A quick solo run down the beach revealed... more pebbles...

I told Sam he'd need to head out a fair chunk to get into deep enough water to fish... He didn't seem to care. I took this shot in knee deep water a solid 50m from 'dry land'.

Meanwhile Evie, James and B were making birthday messages for Sion (cousin/nephew) to send to Wales.

Much to Sam's chargrin, I was the only one to catch anything and that's literally because I jagged this small trevally through the guts! Still, it counts!

Back in the Wonderful World of Evie, she and B (James had joined Sam and I in the water) started their own crab/snail racing ring. Not sure if it was certified or if they had a licence, but the trails left by the creatures as they tried to run from the Evie -shaped giant was pretty cool.

That evening we walked into town and treated ourselves to some fish and chips. Reasonable, but nothing to get too excited about. But the walk was great and watching the kids scoot around was excellent.

Following day was Whale Shark Day.... so let's jump ahead.

Day after was 'haircut' day. Not quite as cool... The only redeeming feature of the cuts the boys and I got were the fact that the girl cutting them (sorry, should that read 'young lady'?) was actually from Shepparton, VIC and was in a couple of my Mum's textiles classes! 

Yeah.. not one of the best.

I don't mind James' as much. He can rock the real short hair...

That afternoon I think B picked up on a vibe that I was a little 'over it' and took the kids back into town for a scoot and a play in the splash park. I incidentally kicked back, updated a few spreadsheets and busted out some blog posts whilst having a few beers. It was pretty nice.

Then I hear there was nudie runs in the middle of town!! Public indecency!

See... Sam's hair's not that bad... is it? Good to see he's stacking on the weight too...

And just like that, Exmouth was done and dusted. I packed up outside the van, as I try to do the night before we leave and put the LED strip light onto the car to try and draw the bugs. It did to an extent, however, it also lit up the side of the white van, like, well a big white van. But in the end, I quite like the shot and a different way to view the Big Green Lizard.

So we leave Exmouth to move around the corner to Cape Range.

Exmouth is like a few stops we've had, where we need both a washing machine and reception to plug back into the world momentarily. It's great being off-grid but you do feel a little bit out of it. Could I live permanently offline? Unlikely. But we're finding a balance I think and as we begin the 'middle third' of our trip, I think we're starting to come to understand what we need from the places we stay.

It's fascinating to see how we as a unit develop and change on this adventure, and how the kids and big kids alike adapt to it. Does it feel normal? No, and I doubt it will. But I think we're now not thinking about it as a novelty, but more as a way of life, or perhaps a style of living. Putting aside the touristy adventure parts and focusing on the actual 'living' aspect, every place is unique and throws up a different set of living circumstances.

I think we're coping pretty well with it all all things considering. School is still the biggest hurdle, but even then, when James' comes out with comments like "check out that mountain range over there" instead of "big hills" or Evie or Sam talk to random campers around a campfire about their adventures, I know they're learning so much indirectly.

It's all pretty good really.

069 & 070 - Warroora to Exmouth via Bullara (4-5/6/17)

Moving day(s) as we had to say goodbye to one of the truly spectacular and magical places we’ve been to. It might start sounding repetitive, but this one was one of the best. Such a unique place and opportunity, and the kind of experience B and I had in mind when we started thinking about this whole adventure.

We managed to get off our site with little to no fuss. It's amazing what can happen when you have a bit of a plan, the right equipment and a little bit of common sense. I think B too was glad we didn't get bogged...

We spun around via the ‘front desk’ to thank Rossco and Lesley for their hospitality and take a couple of unique pics of the truck and van nice and close to the water. I sincerely hope this isn’t the last time we’re at this special location.

Just adding another colour of sand and dirt to wash off the van... eventually.

Not too many colours in this pic, and yet, I love it.

Back out to the front gate we needed to air up the van and the car which is when we hit a bit of a snag. The compressor hoses wouldn’t reach the van wheels! Hmm… thinking about it, it was B that came up with the idea of perhaps jackknifing the car and van to get closer to the wheels. See… that’s why I married the girl.. sheer brilliance as it worked a treat and saved a bit of time. Having said that, was still 30min from go-to-whoa to pump up all 8 tyres including the manourvering. Much quicker than unhooking and much safer and cheaper than driving on under-inflated tyres.

The kids often rotate who helps with the tyres, and this time Sam jumped at the chance. He might have regretted it by the end but I think he understands why we do it. I'm not sure they teach about tyre pressures in Grade 4, but I think he'd do OK if they did.

Our first stop was an overnight stay at Bullara Station, a working cattle station a little south of Exmouth. A great piece of Australia and a nice insight into the work involved in keeping the cattle industry ticking along in this part of the world. We free camped up the back of the grounds but made absolute full use of the showers on offer.

Nearby cattle. The Big Green Lizard is literally just out of site to the right. This cow I think was a little confused to being on the wrong side of the fence. Was making a hell of a racket. Little did she know...

...we were packing an Evie, the Alpha Female of racket. She went over and sorted them out. She once mentioned that they were speaking human to her, but stopped when others came over. Unique. A little weird. But unique.

This was 'Snowflake'. A very grumpy ram. He wasn't allowed out due to his constant charging of campers! The kids found him interesting though and soon had his measure as he stormed off to the outside section of his pen.

Now… I’ve had some unique showers in my time, but these take the cake. Woodfired with a bucket for a shower head and tree for towel and shower rail, it was brilliant. Outdoors, looking up at the stars and moon having a stonking hot shower… So good….

I'm almost thinking I want a set up like this when we resettle, but something tells me the novelty in a Victorian winter might wear off quickly...

Bullara was a great little stop, with a communal campfire with complimentary damper cooked by ‘Damper John’ each night, we loved our stay. A highlight was talking to another travelling family from Perth, as well as a german backpacking couple into the evening about pretty much every topic under the sun. Artificial Intelligence, language, arts, crafts, you name it, we covered it. And I only had one beer… strange.

Kids as usual made friends as if they'd known them for years.

Another brilliant sunset over a cloudless sky.

Up the next morning we headed off but not before scoffing a serving of the homestead cooked scones and barista coffee. Wasn’t cheap, but there wasn’t any left either!

Parking the van on the way out to get scones. Looks at home doesn't it?

Was a quick run into Exmouth where we pulled up stumps at the local RAC caravan park. It wasn’t cheap, but there was little option for us with bookings later in the week and a desperate need for a washing machine and some power.

So we set up camp, which practicaly felt like sleeping in the Melbourne CBD after Warroora and Bullara. Nice sites though and it was great to feel grass underfoot.

Nice wide sites, no issues fitting in here, other than waiting for the sprinklers to be turned off.

A drive around town left us a little uninspired by the presentation of the town but the people in the shops were what made it. Ever so helpful, friendly and accommodating, nothing ever felt like it was too much. The blokes in the fishing and camping sites were particularly forthcoming with advice and banter with the kids, and they were rewarded later in the week with some repeat custom.

Strangely this seat had a weight rating of 60kgs... which meant no adults allowed. Only cheeky boys!

A drive out to the newly constructed marina left me a little unspired for land based fishing spots but Sam seemed optimistic. But then… he’s always optimistic when it comes to fishing.

No cartwheels here please Moo...

It looked pretty new the rockwall, and then I realised it probably got torn to pieces by Cyclone Vance in 1999. Might need to check that out. Cyclone Vance for those not in the know landed pretty much on Exmouth and recorded the highest ever wind speed recorded on Australian mainland. Just a lazy 267km/h...

But this would begin our time up on Exmouth region where so many new and awesome memories were to be made…

Reading Harry Potter outside, but near the bed end so James, who was being silly earlier and sent to bed could hear it if he lay still. Walk in to find James asleep. Nailed it.