North-West Coast (Kimberly, Pilbara & Ningaloo)

In the words of Andy Finlay "some days are just diamonds". This has become our daily moto since hitting the coast. The pace has slowed down and we feel like we are in relax mode now. Our days have pretty much been filled with swimming, snorkelling, surfing, fishing, reading and drinking- so it's tough. Some highlights have been:

Broome - after the Gibb it was so good to have a few dust free days in civilisation. We enjoyed Matsos brewery, eating out, coffee and the saturday markets. The beach is nice, you can swim there and the boat ramp is an exciting spectacle (see photo of boat launch fail). Just north of Broome, we stayed a few days at Quandong Beach. We were camped right on top of a grassy sand dune with our own beach and a front row seat to the huge 8m tides and sunsets over the ocean. This campsite was free, which made it even better!

Cape Keraudren - with similar amazing ocean sunset views, this campsite stood out to us because of the rock pools. These were the best we have ever seen. Tropical corals, and we found so many octopuses on low tide. I didn't get a video of one that was squirting us with ink but managed to get one squirting us with water. We became really good at spotting them even when they were in camouflage mode or hiding in their holes.

Karijini National Park - beautiful ancient deep gorges with many interesting water holes. Mt Bruce was a favourite hike too. Its the second highest peak in WA at 1,234m. What is striking about this hike is the juxtaposition of natural beauty and human impact. On one side of the mountain you get a view of the Hamersley Range which is all a part of the National Park and on the other side you get a view of Marandoo Iron-ore Mine. It is particularly disappointing because the mine is on land which was part of the National Park but was excised in the 1990s for mining.

Exmouth & Cape Range National Park - so far this is our favourite spot. We camped on the beach in Cape Range National Park on the Ningaloo reef and because it's a fringing reef, you can snorkel straight off the beach. We have seen so much variety in corals and fish, and the reef is in really good health. We jagged a perfect day out on a boat tour to swim with the whale sharks. Where they were swimming was only about 10m deep, so we were extra lucky as they couldn't dive too deep, we were able to get within 1-2m from them. This was the most amazing day!! There are a few native mice around the National Park and we ended up with one in our trailer which was entertaining trying to find it and get it out. Much to Nada's devastation the mouse seemed to take a liking to his barbeque shapes and jatz biscuits! Exmouth is a cool town with good cafes, breweries and surf. It's really the most consistent wave this far North and we have both got some awesome waves as there is something for all surfing abilities here. The town was only built in the 1960s for the U.S Naval comms station and there is still a strong airforce presence here. This is a town we could seriously live in!

Waroora Station - a couple of hours south of Exmouth, this station is still on Ningaloo Reef. It's a beautiful and quiet spot with camping right on the beach and a few surf options. At night, dozens of yellow ghost crabs come up around our campsite and even climb up on the tent; they are harmless and its actually quite funny watching them and hearing them scratch around.

We have met a lot of fun young couples along this stretch of the trip. There is a friendly, country vibe and everyone waves as they drive past. Nada has caught a few little fish but still hasn't caught anything sustainable enough for a full meal (actually - he did once but the seagulls took it while I was supposed to be watching it!) but he is persisting.

We are heading to the Bluff in a couple of days, which is on Quobba Station. As WA school holidays begin we will probably stay there for a few weeks to avoid the crowds. I think this surf break will be out of my league, but luckily, I have a few good books!