Exmouth 9th June 2009 - Marble Bar 19th June 2009

Lesson Time Open Access Style


Exmouth gave us the chance to wash clothes, fill up with water and a bit of food before heading inland for the next couple of weeks.


I was keen to go to Onslow - no reason - just because - so we headed up the coast. Onslow - well im sure it is great if you fish and the caravan park is right on the beach but we got in late, it rained all night and we were gone by 11.30am after the kids classes.



Ant hills on the way into Onslow WA



We headed inland - the landscape changed, the soil was red as we entered the Hamesley Ranges.

At our bush camp we were sitting outside when a local station owner arrived to round up some horses ready for mustering in the morning. Apparently we were camped on the edge of his 500 000 acre. The kids enjoyed feeding the station horses and chatting to him about life on the station.

Feeding stock horses outside Tom Price WA

Tom Price Iron Ore Mine Rio Tinto from Mt Nameless Lookout

"Small" Dump Truck used at Tom Price mine





Tom Price Show - Kids in the Balls DArcy and the local birds at Tom Price Caravan Park




Tom Price is a mining town. Red dust everywhere, white 4WDs everywhere and we loved it. The view from the top of Mt Nameless was fantastic and the 4wd up and down was fun. The show was in town so the kids got to spend their pocket money very quickly supplemented by Dad. (he is sooo soft) We had a little bit of repair work to do to the van - we had a broken tap under the van to the water tank.

Spinifex - The Pilbra Region WA


From Tom Price we went further inland to Karajini National Park. It is famous for its Gorges, pools and walks and we did many of them. The area is beautiful and the campsites are great - especially the resident dingos.



Dingo creeping right up to our camp.

Filling up the water - Karajini National Park



Gum tree above Circular Pools - Karajini National Park WA






Swimming at Fern Pools Karajini National Park Tree Climbing Fern Pool



Marnie and DArcy Karajini National Park Riley walking the edge Kaliamini Gorge


Weno Gorge - Karajini NP





"Middle" size Dump truck Newman WA - BHP iron ore

From Karajini National Park we travelled further inland to Newman. Newman is a iron ore mining town like Tom Price but seems to have a few more social issues. It was welfare day so the town was 'interesting' but didnt cause us toooo much problems. We only stayed the night to wash up after 4 nights in the bush, filled up with water and check the road conditions North to Marble Bar. Again we had to do some repairs to the other water tank as well as fastening the microwave with an extra strap and reattaching the gas stove into place before we hit the dirt again.

This travel direction was a change in our original plans but i think a good one.

Marble Bar was a 300km drive on a dirt road which we did pretty easily. The van handles things well except for letting in a "little" bit of red dirt. You think you have found where it gets in and you fix it and it finds another way. We'll see this time. Marble Bar is the hottest town Australia apparently but it rained all day today. Go figure!!! We a good look around - the Jasper deposits were beautiful and Chinaman Pools is a must - green grass in the middle of nowhere. We decided that it would be a good chance for the kids to have a chance at "driving" the Landcruiser. It was a fun afternoon and even Riley enjoyed it after her initial refusal to give it a go.

Marble Bar - WA

Jasper Bar in Marble Bar (they originally thought it was Marble hence the name)

DArcy and Taine loved it but Riley wasnt so sure!!!!! Test Driving Chinaman Pool - Marble Bar WA

Saturday 20th we plan on heading off to Pt Hedland on the coast to continue our adventure.

We are all well and cant believe that we have been on the road for over 5 months!!!!!

Love to you all. Stay Warm and Safe

Themitchellsonthemove xxxx

Shark Bay - Exmouth 9th June 2009

Again time has flown which combined with a lack of internet connections means im a long way behind again. But the plan is to give you all a brief outline of life on the road recently, throw in a few pictures and BINGO the blog is updated!! As simple as that it is not.

After leaving Shark Bay we hit the road north looking to bush camp again on the coast. This lead us to Bush Bay. It was an overnight stay only and for us that was all it could be yet some people (mostly people who love to fish) set themselves up for months on end! Tooooo many mangroves for my liking.

We were up early to continue our trip. Kym was due to head out of Exmouth for 9 days of work all over the country. However we decided, after discussions with others, that Carnarvon was a better place to stop for us while Kym flew out. We made a couple of phone calls changed his flight and then readjusted our itinerary.

We had a couple of days before we had to be in Carnarvon so we head out to Quobba beach to catch up with the Brooksby for a couple of nights on the beach. It was a very unusual site stretching five Kms along the coastline with our spot being at the furthest point. The kids were pleased to see Georgia and i think she enjoyed having others to play with. In the afternoon we went to see the blowholes as well as going down to the beach for a swim and a snorkel. DArcy went out with Andrew (Georgias dad) and had a wonderful time viewing all the marine life.

Kym and i were not setup to snorkel so made a decision then and there that we needed to get our own gear for the next time!! After two nights of nearly getting blown over we headed into Carnarvon to refuel, refill and to set ourselves up before Kym headed off.

Quobba Campsites The Blowholes

Carnarvon is the fruit bowl of the west and there are fruit stalls along the river with all types of fruit and vegetables available.

Kym flew out with an itinerary not to be envied Carnarvon - Perth - Darwin - Adelaide - Canberra - Perth - Carnarvon !!! and the kids and i set about doing school work, sight seeing and relaxing.

First we did a site visit to the the School of the Air and sat in on a grade one class as well as getting a tour of the library and the dispatch area. It is very much like the kids school and i think we all found it very interesting and could pass on alot of information and ideas to the teacher and principal of the school.

The Boys reorganising the roof

The wind blown trees on the main road of Carnarvon

We visited the sites including the the one mile jetty and the Coffee Pot train, Chinamans Pool, 'The Dish" and did the plantation tour of the South and North river. We shopped and shopped and ate and ate and had a lovely time. The kids worked hard on their school work and even spent time at the local library researching for school projects.

The weather was wonderful and the time pasted quickly before Kym was back. Kym had some reports to write so we spent a couple more days in town before hitting the road again. The kids had been great and we really enjoyed our time in Carnarvon.

Again we ran into the Brooksbys at an off road camp that really was a mistake. By that i mean we werent where we had planned to be and neither were they so it was a surprise to all of us. They have an older son Joel and he and his girlfriend and mates were camped out so we joined them and the boys got involved in the music session that night.

After getting the inside scope on the Ningaloo Reef we headed to Coral Bay, parked up the van in the visitors carpark then spent the day snorkelling on the reef, lunching in the sun and showering in the warm showers. Given the price of accommodation we decided to head on to the Yardie Homestead Caravan Park in preparation for entry to the Cape Range National Park. In a nut shell it is first in best dressed and although we were at the rangers station by 630am we were only 4th in line so by 8am opening time the line was at least 15 cars long! There is only a certain amount of sites in the park so you need to rely on people leaving to free up space. We got a spot in the area we wanted so we were happy that the early morning start was worth while!!!

The National Park is know for its snorkelling of the Ningaloo reef but also has a beautiful Gorge and great wildlife.



Yardie Creek Gorge

Filling up the solar shower in Cape Range from the warm bore water

Kym DArcy


Snorkelling on Ningaloo Reef near Exmouth WA



DArcy Riley

Riley, DArcy and Kym on the Turquoise Drift

Ningaloo Reef Cape Range National Park.

We spent 5 nights out at Cape Range National Park and really enjoyed it. We swam or fished each day with success. The snorkelling was lovely and we saw sooooo many fish and "things" under the water and although the water was pretty cool we really enjoyed it. The kids did very well and except for water in the masks (Riley) they all did a good job snorkelling. We all had the gear including the essential reef shoes and spent plenty of time exploring the beach and reef. The boys had one successful fishing day so at last the rods are earning their keep.

After nearly a week bush camping we were all in need of a good shower, new water in the van, washing and a top up of food so we headed in to Exmouth for a night of rejuvenation. Four loads of washing, school work done and fish and chips for tea (bought not caught!) we sat out and watched a movie on the big screen in the play area at the caravan park before sitting down to get on top of the blog.

We are off tomorrow heading towards Tom Price and then into Karijini National Park again bush camping on the way.

Life is good. The days are still warm and sunny and the nights are cool but not cold and perfect for sleeping.

Out of interest to date we have spent:

$3600 on fuel

$4200 on accommodation

13000KMs travelled

Themitchellsonthemove XXX