The Jackson 5 On Tour: It’s getting cooler.

After packing up from Monkey Mia, we had our sights set on Kalbarri, some 400kms down the road. Ron & Anne had already been there for a day, so they’d already reserved us a spot at Tudor Lodge caravan park. Jumping pillow and pool got the tick of approval, so they earned their keep for another night.

"CANNONBALL"

Kalbarri, like most of the coastal towns down the coast is predominantly a fishing/crayfish town. Scenic beaches and coastlines and a few basic shops make them nice spots to stay.

Kalbarri coast

Kalbarri

Kalbarri National park is nearby and one of the bigger parks in WA. We headed in there for one of the days we stayed at Kalbarri and did a couple of the walks. The flies were out in abundance once more, and the temp in the gorge walks are a bit higher.

Natures window

It was at Kalbarri that we finally got the kids fishing rods out! More for entertainment than necessity... which was fortunate as the jetty, as fascinating as it was watching the cray boats, was a tad windy. The kids grew tired of that quick, so back in their holders they went (the rods not the kids!) and off to the park.

Wind assisted fishing

Fish or park kids?... a no brainer

So onward and upward (or southward), we left Kalbarri, drove through Geraldton (urgh, city!) and reached Dongara/Port Denison. Similar to Kalbarri, just a small town with a handful of caravan parks. The town had just had its yearly festival for the opening of the cray fishing season. The town was still busy, accommodation wise, so we could only stay a night unless we wanted to move to a new site... umm no thank you. Ron & Anne had decided to get a beachfront cabin, so we sat on their balcony having a bbq, planning our next stop.

We all left the next morning: Ron & Anne off to Perth to visit their friends, while we decided to bush camp at Sandy Cape Recreational Park. It sounds like a theme park being called a Recreational park, but was a perfect bush camp (number 426 in the Camps 6 book, just north of Jurien Bay in case you were wondering).

We managed to fluke a great spot at the end of the camp ground, amongst the trees, near the beach. With the new solar panels in full flight, we stayed 4 nights, but could have easily gone longer.

Sandy Cape

We enjoyed this spot greatly. The bay itself is north facing and sheltered from the wind and waves. Whether it was climbing the massive sand dunes; swimming with the dolphins!; beach fishing (no luck L); 4wding the tracks; exploring the cave tunnels nearby; visiting the Pinnacles; or just watching life pass by; it was a welcome change from the cramped caravan parks.

Sandy Bay

Climb ya buggers

Fossicking

Limestone cave tunnel

Earth not Mars... The Pinnacles

One night, we walked along the beach to watch the sunset... and watch the forecast storm approaching... (it’s getting cooler). Without doubt one of the best sunsets we’ve ever seen. For about 30 minutes, we watched the sky change dramatically. Hopefully the photos do it justice, because it really was a spectacular memorable moment.