Albany-ish

 So after we left Esperance, we headed towards Albany. We spent the first few nights at Peaceful Bay Caravan Park and then headed backwards a little bit to join our mates at Cosy Corner free camp.  We were warned from travellers heading south to stay put during the school holidays as everything north was fully booked….so we did. 

For any of those who have done a bit of travelling, especially in free camps, you will have no doubt come across some dodgy characters. We had one at this camp and we called him 'the phile'.  He wouldn't talk to men or look any men in the eyes as he walked by but he went out of his way to make conversation with any young girls.  Anytime he would leave his camp, we would take turns moving or hiding his gear - he would become irate and we would all have a chuckle.


So other than infuriating creepy dude, what do you do when your stuck in the same place for 10 days…..fish of course!!

Woohoo - Paul caught 3 wild salmon!!

From Cosy Corner we went sight seeing around the Albany area.

We spent the day at Green's pool.  It is a beautiful spot with clear blue water and the local kids actually do their swimming lessons here during the summer.

We visited the Natural Bridge

                                                                                  ^

and the Gap.  If you look really close at the above photo, you can see tiny dots on top of the left hand cliff under the arrow

- that's Paul and the kids

We also visited the whaling station and were in awe of the display of whale skeletons - this one below is about 55metres.  They can get up to 70metres!!

So now we head north towards Margaret River 

Esperance onward

Our first stop after crossing the Nullarbor was Esperance. 

We spent the day at Cape Le Grand National Park but we could have spent weeks there. You literally need to line up at 8am each morning at the camp site hoping someone would leave.  If not, the ranger sent you packing back 40km to the town of Esperance to try your luck there again the next day - but man it was worth it if you got in!

The rock formations along the Cape Le Grand coast were so unusual and beautiful.  We visited whistling rock at Hellfire Bay and Frenchman's Peak.  The aboriginals have a story about this place where 2 children stole eagle eggs from the nest.  The mother eagle felt they had stolen her future and in return she carried the kids out to sea.  The early morning dew and waves that hit the rocks are the tears of the children's family and ancestors, and the whistling sound heard through the rock formations are their cries as they wait in vain for the children to return. The story is told to teach children to always obey there parents and elders.

On a lighter note, a moment of brotherly-sisterly love….it passes quickly so I get photos when I can

My favourite spot so far because of it's absolute beauty, is in Cape Le Grand NP and it is called Lucky Bay.  Lucky for anyone who witnesses her soft, squeaky, white sand and clear blue waters.  I didn't want to leave.

We saw seals playing in the waves and the locals were very cute and friendly

but all good things must come to an end so onward and upward (north) we go

The (dreaded) Nullarbor

                      Our next adventure was to cross the Nullarbor!!

We were somewhat dreading it as we knew there were miles and miles of straight roads, but we were with good friends and that made all the difference.

The coastline here was stunning!!

On a sad note, a week after this photo was taken, a swedish backpacker fell to her death trying to get a closer photo.  The above sign is there for a reason.

            I think someone needs a haircut, not mentioning any names

We finally crossed the South Australia/West Australian border and the kids had fun holding the iPhone and crossing the border back and forth watching the time on the phone automatically change over. 

 We knew we were in Western Australia the first time we re-fuelled.  Paul wasn't overly surprised or even upset at the $2.09/Lt diesel as we were forewarned but you should have seen his face when he bought his first cappuccino.  He had to make it himself, no problems there - it cost him $7.50, yep that did it!!  We had to re-do our budget ;(

We got through the endless stretches of unchanging kilometres looking for anything that moved or was dead on the side of the road. There is a part of the crossing called the '90 mile straight' and they are not kidding! We got really excited when there was a bend in the road or another car passed us.  Yes it really is that boring!! But we spent each night with friends at some really beautiful free camps.

     Those are our friends Kate and Andy goofing off in front of the fire

So goodbye South Australia, you are truly a beautiful part of the world, and on to Esperance!!