western australia : wooramel station

Wooramel Station is a few hours drive from Monkey Mia but only a few kilometres off the highway. The campsites are right by the river though it's very dry at the moment. When Cyclone Quang came through a few weeks ago it took down a lot of huge branches from the old gums on this property but they've been tidied up. 

Our kids had a ball playing in these giant trees when we arrived. Another family set up next to us in the dark and we ended up chatting with the parents in to the night. The four kids roamed together, making games and having adventures under the trees and on the wide sandy river bed for a couple of hours while we chatted and packed up in the morning. Making friends on the road can be tricky. The kids meet little friends and within minutes one of the families can be leaving. Depending on how quickly/slowly the families are travelling we might not see them again on the road. So the kids are learning to grasp at opportunities to make friends. It's has done wonders for their confidence. 

The Artesian hot tub is a real draw card at this station stay. The bore water is steaming out of the ground and spilling out in to two tanks. It's a really well done bathing area and a novelty on a free camp! The amenities are in the halves of water tanks (I wish I'd taken a pic) - showers and toilets. 

western australia: murchison house station

Just a few kilometres north of Kalbarri is Murchison Station on which you can freecamp in the sand by the beautiful Murchison River. The station is a working property where goats run throughout the year until summer when some 5000 are mustered. There's plenty of history here being an old farm. It was once owned by a Turkish Prince. The cost to stay is $11 per person per night and there are showers, toilets and a camp kitchen. 

We've seen and met so many backpackers on this part of the West Australian coast. It was hardly surprising when a couple of 2WDs got themselves firmly bogged in the sand and had to be towed out. It was a new thing for us and J was pleased when he manouevered out of the sand without any trouble. The kids played in the river sand and from the rope swings for hours (when they weren't doing school work, that is!)

Unfortunately the biggest downside of the area is the fly population. I'm not kidding when I describe a plate of dinner with at least 50 flies on each plate and when those pesky little critters went to sleep the mozzies were waiting to move in. 

Our girl is obsessed with all things horses at the moment. Big River Ranch (on the highway towards Kalbarri) has pony rides and trail rides depending on age and experience. Our kids were pleased to have a half hour pony ride each. 

Our boy, on the other hand is bird obsessed since we stayed with friends in Hobart who had two pet birds. Every other day B is asking for a pet bird (remember him wanting to trap one to cuddle at Bay of Fires?). We've said that we'll need to finish our trip before well consider buying a pet bird. The next best thing was taking the kids to Rainbow Jungle - a parrot breeding centre - in Kalbarri.

western australia : kalbarri, z bend lookout

The oranges and pinks combined with the soft greens of this country gets us. And the clear skies and the warmth. We love it. 

You could base yourselves at Kalbarri for a week exploring the surrounding gorges and beaches. There's so much to see but you must be prepared for the flies. Swarms of them. Herds of them. This was the view from the Z Bend Lookout. We would have walked down with the kids for a swim but it was late in the afternoon and the walk up would have been impossible. 

We have the rule in our family that you can play with sticks as long as it's responsibly and away from others. B took us both on in a show-down.

The backpack weighed a few extra kilos.