So after leaving Broome we made some long drives down the coast. We Passed eighty mile beach driving down to Port Headland to restock our food and water supplies before heading away from the coast to stop through Karijini national park. We stop just outside the park for the night and make our own campfire as it has started to cool off over the nights. The next day we head into the park. We stop at the information centre to see what parts are open and what are closed as for this time of year some of the roads are still closed from the wet season, or are impassable without a four wheel drive. But luckily we are able to see most of the sites. We stop to walk the trails from fern pool to Fortescue falls, and circular pool. This is all walking through stunning gorges. I am happy we made the trip to see it but would like to know what the other gorges we couldn’t see were like but o well. We make good time here and stop for a dip in the falls and at the pool as even though it is getting to single digits at night it still manages to get to mid-twenties during the day. But we leave with lots of light left in the day so we can try to make the long drive to Exmouth and get to the biggest thing we have all wanted to do on the west coast and that is to be able to swim with whale sharks. And the time is running out as the season is coming to a close. We get there just before dark and find a campsite and also book a tour and it isn’t looking good as all the tours are booked for the next day and they haven’t seen a shark this week. But we book in for the Saturday and just decide to relax at the beach and try our hand at snorkelling as the reef on this coast is right off the beach. We are hopeful for our trip and have a great day just lazing around and snorkelling off the coast. We get to see many types of fish from parrot fish to stingrays. We also see a sea turtle. As the day wears on we are getting excited for Saturday and a chance to get to see and swim with the largest fish in the ocean. So we get up early for our trip out to sea and are whisked out to do a first snorkel on the reef to make sure everyone is confident as it is hard to stay with the shark when you get in the water. Part way through this we are told to jump on board as our spotter plane has found us a shark. So excitedly we jump on board and are given instructions to let us know the proper etiquette for our time with the shark. Then we are off and let into the water ahead of the shark and looking for it. As it gets closer we still can’t see it till it is right on us. And its breathtaking how big graceful and beautiful this creature is. They say it’s just a juvenile but still it could swallow me whole. We get to swim for about an hour taking turns between the two groups on board before another boat shows up but it’s all right as each boat is only allowed to stay with a shark for maximum of one hour. So we are handing it off to the next boat when the shark decides to dive down. It is unreal we just had a whole hour with it and as soon as another group shows up it dives. I guess we were lucky. We start to head back to the reef and on the way we stop to see the migrating humpbacks and also many see turtles and a few see snakes. Then spend more time on the reef before heading in. All in all it has been one of the best experiences I have had and well worth the extra time we stayed to actually see it. The next day we stop at coral bay for another snorkel on the reef, which is the Ningaloo reef if you are wondering. Our next stop will be in shark bay. Before we get there we stop in Hamelin bay and get to see the stromatolites which are the oldest living creature in the world. They look like rocks but it is definitely worth it to see where life started. From here we stop at shell beach which as you may guess from its name is made up of just shells instead of sand. There are all of these little white shells end it is really neat to see. We are told that there is a pub made from blocks of these compressed shells and true enough on our way to monkey mia we stop and see it and it is amazing what they did with the material. Then the next day we get up for the dolphin feeding at monkey mia. This is where they feed the wild dolphins for the visitors. They come in close and are playing at our feet in the water it is quite amazing. From here we head further down the coast to Kalbarri national park where we stop and do some of the walks along the gorges. The big one being the loop walk where t=you walk the eight kilometre loop around the gorge and get to see one of their natures windows, which is a rock formation where there is a big hole to look through. The trip around is very tough as the track is not very large and many spots you have to climb over and under rock formations. But it is beautiful scenery and well worth the trip. Getting close to the end I stop and get to see a large goanna walking just off the path as well as some wallabies hopping around. After this we decide to do one more walk and go see the z-bend which is also very nice and much less strenuous a walk. Then off to see a couple of the coastal lookout before heading south towards Geraldton. On the way we decide to stop and see what is called pink lake which is a lake that is tinged pink from the high amounts of beta carotene in the water. We get there but it is overcast by now and even though you can see the pink water because of the light none of the photos seem to pick up the colour. As it is getting dark we decide to find a spot to camp for the night before hitting up Geraldton the next day. As we pull into this free camping area the girl driving pulls off the gravel and just as she enters the grass we hear this large bang. So we drive around and see what is was. We find it was a hidden stump but it’s dark so we decide to look for problems in the morning. We set up camp just as it starts to rain. The next morning we pack up and get in the car as we can’t see any problems with it but as we try to start it won’t go. We get help trying to jump it but no go so we get it towed to Geraldton. Where we find out that the bang we heard was the sound of the stump hitting and driving the gear box back from the front of the car to just before the back wheels. So needless to say our adventure in the car was over. We grab our stuff out of the car and head for a hostel. The next day I explore the city before booking a bus down to Perth. I get to see many of the sights in the day and also saw an interesting portrait display at the local art gallery. I get the bus to Perth and now need to start looking for work.
