5th October
Greetings again - from Carnarvon about 1000kms from Perth.  We have enjoyed taking plenty of time out at a couple of great spots.  From Karratha we ended up spending a week at Cape Range National Park and being wowed by the Ningaloo Reef.  We thought we had already experienced and been impressed by aqua waters and white sand- but the spot we were in and all along this coast absolutely excelled.  Fabulous clear aqua water with lovely snorkelling and swimming.  This part of the coast is world renowned for being such an accessible reef right on the beach which enables you to just swim out a little or a long way and be protected by the coral reef boundary.  Clive went fishing with our neighbour and they did quite well - we got three meals of fish for the freezer !

We then moved to another great spot and spent a week there - Warroora station which has one of its boundaries on the same reef but further south.  pretty windy there but spectacular spot overlooking the sea.

We plan to get to Perth first week of November where we will catch up with some friends and have a bit of a look around Perth.  It is about 15 years ago that we had a holiday in Perth and surrounds so it will be interesting to see what we remember and what we have forgotten.

We are now past our 6month stage of our trip.  Some things that have shown to be really useful through the time on the road:

Crocs - the shoes not the animal !
microfibre towels ( thanks Linda)
Wide brimmed hat and sunnies
portable gas ring - even though we have all the facilities inside the van
fold up chairs
Smart phone and an app called wikicamps- this has given us great information on the range of camping areas available in the surrounding area we are heading to.  People provide feedback and prices which are all totally up to date.

We plan to get to Melbourne later in January so we can be around when Finn starts school on 27th Jan.  We will then head off for about another month and do some of the Victoria area. 

So in the meantime we still have many thousands of kms to cover which no doubt will continue to impress us with the vastness and variance of scenery.

pic 1 - view of Ningaloo reef from caravan kitchen window !.  The photo doesnt do justice to the aqua water and white sand contrast.

Pic 2 catch of the day at Cape Range National Park

pic 3 1 mile jetty at carnarvon

love and best wishes to you all