Brisbane Trip Day 12: Gold Coast

We woke after a good sleep and started to get ready to go to SeaWorld. I was looking at the information we got when we checked in and discovered we were eligible for a Guest Only dolphin presentation, for which we needed to be at the Gift Shop by 8.45. We quickly finished breakfast and got ready and headed down to the foyer. The group was walked through into SeaWorld to the Affinity Dolphin Pool and we got to see a training session with the dolphins which was really interesting. We then walked back to the resort and lined up go into the theme park when it opened. I raced back to the car to get close-toed shoes for Liam and Amelie because there was one attraction that required shoes. I got back to the line in time for us to go in. We'd planned to catch the monorail from the resort but it wasn't running at the moment so we walked in.

We went first to the stingray pools, where we discovered that we could pat the rays if they swam near the edge of the pool. Amelie found it hard to reach them sometimes, and we promised her we could come back later to pat them after we'd done a few more things. The priority for everyone was seeing Mishka the polar bear cub, so we went there next. We saw 2 adult polar bears, then moved to the pen where Mishka was with her mum. She was incredibly cute and lots of fun to watch, playing with a large plastic container that was floating in the water. Her mum had ripped a little hole in the plastic so that Mishka could grab it with her mouth and she was trying to pull it out of the water. Both the cub and the mum also spent time eating fish frozen into blocks of ice.

As we walked to the Nikelodeon kids area, we saw the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles come out for a photo opportunity which was pretty cool. Caitlin and Amelie went on a TMNT ride, then the 4 of us went on it (I sat with Liam). If we peddled our little planes they went higher, so it was fun and not at all scary. We then went on a bus ride which was like a mini pirate ship that rocked back and forwards, and also span on a fairly large, slow axis. We went from the kids rides through to the jet ski ride which Caitlin and Liam went on and said was fun. I wanted to try it so Caitlin took Amelie back to the kids rides and Liam and I went on - it was SO incredibly fast and I was quite scared. I screamed a lot. It didn't go high, just very fast around a turning track that also twisted a bit so at times we were sideways. It was fun but very intense (and I was happy with one ride, the speed was a bit much for me).

The ray pool was on the way to the dolphin show so we stopped in there again and patted some more rays. Amelie again had limited success - they had to come quite close to the surface for her to reach them and it didn't happen often. She was disappointed but then cheered by the idea of seeing the dolphin show.

We got a seat a fair way up in the stands. I was wondering if we'd find it a bit boring seeing as we'd seen 2 shows in Coffs and the training session this morning - but the show was great. The music helped to make it exciting, and the behaviours the dolphins displayed were impressive. Having a big crowd also made it more exciting. It was well presented (although a little sappy at times) and very very enjoyable. We all like the trainers being propelled forwards by the dolphins, we hadn't seen that before.

After the show we went to the battle boats - the kids lined up to go on a boat and I stayed on shore and shot the boats with water cannons. The kids were a little disappointed that they were on the far side of their boat so they couldn't shoot me or anyone else, although there were some targets to aim at that made cool water effects happen - but they were very hard to hit. I had fun squirting people and getting squirted by the boats. The kids still got wet, which Amelie wasn't thrilled about. There was quite a crowd there because so many people had just come out of the dolphin show, so we figured we'd try again later when there was less of a queue and the kids could be on the side where they could shoot the crowd.

The kids all had a big climb on the Sky Fortress - a large climbing play gym structure with lots of ladders, slides, bridges, net bridges etc. I joined them in there and had a go at walked across the high net bridges - it was very very very scary and I was very slow (the kids just ran across) - it was a great feeling to achieve it though. There was a harnessed climbing area too, but the kids needed to be completely dry to do that and we were still wet from the battle boats. We had some lunch to see if we would dry off enough in that time but were still damp so decided to come back later. While we were eating a pair of Asian kids asked me something which I couldn't understand. They were pointing to their backpack and I didn't know what they wanted. The older girl used the translator on her phone and the English version was 'Can you take a look at our backpack?' I still couldn't figure out what they wanted me to do, then they pointed at the Sky Fortress and I realised they wanted me to watch their stuff while they had a climb, which I was happy to do.

The big kids went for another ride on the JetSkis to try to dry off and met Amelie and I at Shark Bay. We had a pat of the sea cucumbers and sea stars and looked at some rays in the big pool. The Stunt Jetboat Show was about to start so we went up to the front of the park to watch that. I really love watching stunt driving and this was a good show. On the way there and back we saw more dolphins in different pools.

Caitlin and Liam had been keen all day to go on the Storm Coaster - the big roller coaster we'd seen on our way in. We headed there now and Amelie and I watched while they went on it. I had also been keen to go, but watching from the observation windows in a tunnel going over the ride scared me quite a bit - the initial drop looked fun but this later drop looked a bit steep for me. They went on it twice and loved it, and Amelie wanted to move on so I decided not to try it for now.

We went back to the Sky Climb via the ray pool, this time Amelie was able to pat some rays and she felt much happier. We were all splashed a bit so hoped we'd dry off enough to be able to climb. Amelie wanted to climb as well so I needed to do it too - she was in the height range that needed an adult to accompany them. The kids put their shoes on and I borrowed shoes from the desk , and we went and harnessed up. I was feeling pretty good about it and keen to give it a go. We walked up to the first level and Caitlin and Liam went off on their own way. Amelie walked across a ladder bridge and I followed her fairly easily. Then she walked across a plank and it took me quite some time to be brave enough to try that myself (I let 3 people go in front of me). There were ropes I could hang on to which helped - Amelie did it without the support ropes (because she couldn't reach them). Then we did some stepping stones which I also found a bit tricky. Amelie started to go up to the next level then reached a height where she was too scared so she came back down. She did one more crossing then it was time to come down. I made myself take a step or two out onto another ladder that I was really scared to do, then I came back and headed down myself. Caitlin and Liam climbed around on the 2nd level and had a great time. I gave the borrowed shoes back - and was allowed to keep the borrowed socks.

The queue on the Battle Boats was now non-existent so Caitlin and Liam had another go, while Amelie and I ran from cannon to cannon on the shore line and shot them as much as possible. We all got quite wet and it was a lot of fun.

The kids wanted to see a 3D movie, so we went to watch the Sponge Bob movie in the theatre - it was a lot of fun.

We headed back to Shark Bay, patted the rock pool creatures again, and went down to the underwater viewing area. The first window showed us lots of sharks and a turtle, a few rays and fish, and was pretty cool. The second window had many more fish, lots and lots of rays, including the Spotted Eagle Ray which is Amelie's favourite. There was a huge Queensland Grouper hiding under a rock (in plain sight) and lots of beautiful tropical fish, some sharks, so many rays. It was fascinating and we spent quite a bit of time watching.

I wanted to give the Storm Coaster a go so we went back over there. Amelie was in two minds and decided to just watch us. I was exceptionally scared and the closer I got to getting on the more sick and upset I felt. I sat with Caitlin and Liam sat with another boy. I had tears in my eyes and seriously considered asking them to stop even once I had the restraint down on my legs. Then the ride started and I felt quite a bit better straight away (things were out of my hands - I'm usually less anxious when there's nothing I can do!) Luckily the pull up to the top (the bit that often scares me the most because of the anticipation) was quite fast, and then there was a little dip and curve which I loved, then a long dip and curve which was fantastic, then the steep bit which was really scary because for a second we felt like we were free falling - I had my eyes shut tight for that bit - then a few more very fast ups and downs through water spray, and then it was over. I really loved it. I had screamed a lot and I was quite shaky when we got off, but really happy. When we got back to Amelie she said she wanted to have a go - she was within the height range as long as she sat with an adult. She sat with me and they put the restraints down - hers didn't quite touch her legs and her back wasn't against the seat back. We were both a bit concerned and it took me a while to catch the attendants attention to ask if she'd be OK. They said she was within safety standards and it would be fine. I asked if she'd move around too much and they assured us it would be fine. She decided she was OK so off we went. She seemed to like the first bit but got a bit scared and teary at the steep bit. I actually kept my eyes open this time. Amelie didn't really like the fast ups and downs towards the end, but was happy when she got off and said she enjoyed it. I was so impressed with her first big roller coaster effort!

Amelie had wanted to buy a SeaWorld towel that she'd been seeing all day, so we did that and then wandered back to see Mishka again - still cute and this time swimming around a bit. Her fur was so smooth when she came out of the water. She had completely deflated the plastic container she'd been playing with this morning.

We hadn't seen the Creatures of the Deep exhibit so walked up there - it was just large statues of deep sea creatures, not particularly exciting but cool to see. The big kids wanted to go on the Storm Coaster again, and Amelie was happy to not go back - they went ahead and she and I went to the ring toss game. She bought a large hat full of small rings - I reckon there were a couple of hundred in there and she and I tried to toss them over the neck of large glass bottles (which had small necks). It was really really hard, we had very many near misses but didn't get any rings on. She did get to keep the hat though, and it was a lot of fun, so money well spent. The big kids enjoyed their last ride (and the last run of the day) on the Storm Coaster, and got to see a one of the staff operate her last ever ride at SeaWorld and be part of the goodbyes for her.

We walked out via the rays again, and then up to the monorail station to catch it back to the resort - Amelie in particular was very keen to finally get on it. When it came in the driver got out and was on her radio, then came along and said that she wasn't allowed to take any more passengers because she'd already done extra trips that afternoon (it was a bit after 5 by now). Amelie was devastated - tired and hungry and so disappointed, so it was a long slow walk back to the Resort. In our room we collapsed on the beds and the kids put the TV on - more disappointment as Pokemon wasn't on as Amelie had expected. We ate some snacks and the kids played on iPods and had a good rest. I had a cold bath which was amazingly relaxing. For dinner we had cup-a-soup and cup-a-noodles. Easy and filling and tasty. We watched Friends and The Middle and ended off the day feeling tired but relaxed. Liam set up his camping mattress using the arm chair and two stools to make a little bed, which he thought might be more comfortable than the floor.

Brisbane Trip Day 7: Coffs Harbour

Amelie came up into my bed in the middle of the night and I was awake then for a couple of hours. Initially I was worrying about things then I looked up some auto electricians online and started to plan the next leg of our trip and felt much better. When I woke up in the morning I felt ok although my cold seemed worse. I went for a quick walk down to the beach then came back to ring an auto electrician who started work at 7am. He wasn’t able to help me but gave me the number of someone who would probably be able to. I played with Amelie for a while then rang the 2^nd guy, he agreed to come out and have a look at the window the following morning.

We’d planned to have a quiet day today then go to Dolphin Marine Magic (formerly the Pet Porpoise Pool) tomorrow – but not knowing how long it would take the window to be fixed I didn’t want to risk having to sit around all morning waiting to be able to go. So we decided to go today and quickly got everyone else out of bed, had breakfast, packed some food, untaped the window and were at the Dolphin place by 9.30. I’d bought our tickets at the caravan park and saved about 15% which was a nice bonus. When we arrived I taped the window back up in case it rained and for security.

We had arrived at the dolphin place in time for dolphin kisses so we headed out to the dolphin pool – there were 2 dolphins swimming in the pool when we arrived so we excitedly watched them for a while. The kids then lined up to get a kiss from a dolphin which they all loved. They said the dolphin’s nose felt rubbery. We headed down to then get a hug from a seal – the kids all had one individually and then I joined them all for a group hug. We were able to put our arms around the seal – it felt smooth and furry and slippery.

We went back to the dolphin pool to get ready to watch the show – we were early enough to get the front row of seats, right at the middle of the pool. The show was enjoyable and funny – and Amelie was picked to go and help the dolphins dance – she got to stand by the side of the pool and conduct the dolphins by pointing her fingers and swinging her hands side to side. The smile on her face was as big as I have ever seen. The seals performed directly in front of us, we had a great view. Caitlin was picked to throw rings to a seal, who caught them over her head. She was also pretty thrilled. Once the show had finished we were all able to stand at the side of the pool and the dolphins swam past on their backs and we were allowed to pat their bellies. They felt cool and smooth and it was a lot of fun.

After the show we went to watch the shark and ray feeding. We looked at the fish, small sharks and rays in a large tank – we could look in through the top, or through windows in the side. There were also smaller tanks containing colourful fish from the region. Fish and squid were handed out on little metal plates and we were able to feed the animals using tongs. Some of the big snapper really splashed as they came up to grab the food, it was pretty funny. A banjo shark came right up the side of the tank and kept popping up to try and get food – it was beautiful and also amusing.

Next we watched the green turtles being fed – one of them was huge and the others a good size. We listened to the guy talk about how and where they’d been rescued and some other turtles that had been rehabilitated. On our way from there to the penguin feeding I noticed a plaque with this trainer’s name on it – he has been working there since 1970, so would have been there even when I visited as a 2 year old!

The Little Penguins were very cute (as expected). We got some photos then were able to help feed them fish – the guy handed out a couple of little fish or a piece of squid to each person as they got to the front of the line – we held out the fish and the penguins pulled them out of our hands (and then fought over the fish until one of them managed to swallow it). We were able to back to the end of the line and keep feeding them until all the fish were gone – the kids had several turns. Most people were feeding the penguins right up at the barrier, we reached a bit further back to feed some of the other penguins. Some of them didn’t like squid (and many people didn’t want to hold the squid) – Liam spent quite a while trying to find a penguin to eat his last piece of squid.

We then helped feed the small turtles (throwing pellets in to their pond), looked at the photos of the dolphin kiss and seal hug, then went back up to look at the dolphins again. One of the trainers was about to do a training session with a seal so we were able to sit (in our front row seats again) and watch that, it was cool to see how the trainer was working on tricks with the seal. We chatted to another trainer who had started working there part time in Year 11 and had recently moved to a full time job once she finished school, she loved working there and was really appreciative of the opportunity she’d had. One of the dolphins brought a ball over to the edge and Amelie played catch with it for a little while which was pretty fun. Walking back down from the pool we saw a trainer with a little New Zealand Fur Seal and talked to her and one of the vets.

We went and had some lunch (surrounded by a school group) and the kids wandered around and looked at the animals some more. Soon it was time for the afternoon session of dolphin kisses so we went back for more – I had a kiss this time as well, it was pretty cool (and yes, it did feel rubbery). Then off for hugs with the seal, the kids had another individual hug, I had one as well, and Caitlin and Liam hugged her together.

Back to see the show again, and had our front row seats again. This time I was picked to hold fish out for the dolphins to jump up and grab (very excited), Liam got to help the dolphins dance, Caitlin got to do a tooth and heart check on one of the dolphins, and Amelie got to throw a ball to one of the seals. (There were very few people in the audience this time, only 2 other kids and they also were selected to interact with the animals). We patted the dolphins again then went for another shark feeding and turtle feeding. We played with the dolphins in the pool again, throwing the ball to them, and then went back to see the penguins and fed them again. We went and watched the seals in their pool for a while, and then went to purchase the group photo of us with the seal. The kids browsed the gift shop and Caitlin and Amelie bought some jewellery.

It was very hot and humid by now so we decided to go to the Big Banana to get a frozen banana. I drove around via the beaches so we could have a look – the beach just to the north of the marina looked very inviting, not rough, wild surf like everywhere else we’d been. I drove all the way to the end of Ocean Parade and the last little bit felt very familiar – just like a memory I have of walking with my Dad when we were in Coffs Harbour in 1974. (I checked with Mum later and we stayed just near that road on that trip, so I think it was the place from my memory). On the way out of town we passed a shopping centre so called in to get some milk and something for dinner. We also went to Target and bought some clothes that were needed.

At the Big Banana we bought 2 choc (and sprinkle) covered frozen bananas to share, as well as an Ultimate Banana smoothie (with cinnamon and maple syrup) and a Choc Banana smoothie. They were all delicious and very very enjoyable. We wandered through the banana and then went to play in the video arcade for a short time. The kids all got lots of tickets and we exchanged them for a few little toys – including those rubber popping domes that I remember loving as a kid. We went back to the banana and took some photos of the kids in front of it, and I figured out the self-timer on my camera and we got a group shot.  There’s now a fun park at the Big Banana as well but we were there too late in the day to do any of the activities.

Back at the caravan park we went for a swim in the pool which was lovely and refreshing. Amelie played for a while with some other kids in the playground. I figured out that this caravan park was the same place I’d stayed with my family in 1986 – but it looked different because they seem to have recently sold the top half of the park and it’s now a housing estate. So I was feeling quite nostalgic for previous Coffs visits.

We cooked sausages on the bbq in the camp kitchen and then headed back to camp for a quiet night. There was more rain coming so I spent a bit of time setting up the awning so that none of the rain pooled in the roof, and felt like I did a pretty good job (it worked overnight). 

Half-lap Day 92: Shark Bay

The wind blew all night, and while the tent flapped around a bit we were fairly well protected in our little corner and we didn’t ever worry that things would blow away. It was our coldest morning in a very long time, we were rugged up for breakfast and even when the sun was up it was still quite chilly.

We had a relaxed morning at the caravan park, talking to our neighbour, patting dogs, playing with toys. The day did warm up a bit as it got later, although it didn’t get really hot. Late in the morning we got organised and went for a drive back down the peninsula, stopping first at Eagle Bluff. There was a lookout high on a cliff, looking down a sloping hillside into a bay. We’d heard that you could see sharks and rays and turtles swimming in the water down here – the wind was ruffling the top of the water quite significantly, and at first we couldn’t see anything. The water was clear underneath the rippling surface. We looked out towards Eagle Island, which was covered in birds, and noticed a dark shape swimming in the water nearby. We watched it cover the channel between the island and the shore, and as it got closer we could clearly see that it was a shark. It was clearer at times as it swum close to the surface, then just a dark shape again when it was lower in the water. We watched it for quite a while, once again amazed at its elegance in the water. We walked along a boardwalk that followed the cliff top, read the interpretive signs, and looked out for more marine life. We could see brown shapes, a lot of them, moving along one channel in the water, but couldn’t see anything clearly, we think were probably rays. LiAM and I saw another black shape moving near some seagrass – we watched it for a while, then it stopped and seemed to be feeding on the bottom. We used my telephoto lens, LiAM’s binoculars and another couple’s stronger binoculars, but couldn’t get a clear view of what it might be. We thought it could be a large turtle and thought at one point we saw patterning – but it didn’t ever come up for air, even when it started moving again. We watched it for a while longer and eventually thought it might be a ray – some of them are patterned. We tore ourselves away eventually and walked back down the boardwalk, seeing a few more shapes in the bay – exciting even if we weren’t sure what they were. Tony had made some sandwiches while LiAM and I were still watching the water, so we had some lunch before moving on.

From there we drove down to Shell Beach. Millie wasn’t very keen on more sightseeing, we convinced her to come and have a look though and she really did love it. There was a large expanse of what looked like sand, between the edge of the foliage and the edge of the water. It was ridged, like sand dunes, and as we walked over it we discovered that it was mainly shells. The shells here were broken up and we could see bits of sand mixed with them, if we dug down a bit deeper though there were only shells. When we reached the slope that led down to the water, the surface of the ground was completely covered in shells, mainly whole. The water was clear and a bit choppy due to the wind. It is possible to swim here (although the water is very salty) – there were lots of jellyfish blobbing around in the water though so we didn’t go in. We sat on the beach and ran our hands through the shells – they are mainly little cockle shells, and at first glance they all seemed to be the same, white and the same cockle shape. As we sifted through them though we discovered lots of different colours – shades of white, pink, yellow, grey, orange – and shapes – conical shells, bigger and smoother shells, and lots of different sizes. We made a collection of all the different types we could find and laid them out on an area that LiAM cleared of shells. Our favourite was a glossy pinkish spiral shell, with silvery lines through it. Caitlin lay in the shells and had me bury her in them, all except her head, which looked pretty strange. They were deep enough to treat them like sand and make big piles or holes, and it felt really cool to run our fingers through them. It was interesting to watch too, as people came to the beach many of them just lay down on the shells like we were, just enjoying the sunlight and the view across the water and the feel of the shells.

We decided to checkout Whalebone campground on our way back, which is where the people we met yesterday had seen the dugongs. Millie stayed in the car, she’d had enough by now, while Caitlin, LiAM and I wandered down to the shore and along the rocks. We didn’t see any dugongs but it was a beautiful bay, with headlands either side. Tony walked up to the top of one of the headlands and we joined him. Looking across the water was cool, seeing the darker patches where the seagrass was and getting a feel for how big the bay is – we couldn’t see land if we looked to the southeast, where the bay ends.

Once we got back to our tent I had a nap, the warm afternoon and several early mornings had me feeling quite sleepy. I hung out in the tent after I woke up, catching up on a few things and enjoying the quiet. The kids played with their toys in the annex and wandered around the caravan park patting dogs and chatting to people. The wind had died down a bit by now and it wasn’t quite as cold. Tony and the girls walked over to the supermarket and Caitlin found the clearance shelf, she was keen for me to go back and have a look at it with her. We had dim sims and mashed potatoes for tea and then got ready for bed, reading for a while before falling asleep more easily now that the tent wasn’t flapping in the wind.

Half-lap Day 90: Edagee -> Shark Bay

I woke up around 5am and decided to get up and start catching up on my blog – with so many early starts lately I’ve got a bit behind. It was cold, though I was still comfortable enough sitting outside, until it started raining. I covered up or put away anything that we didn’t want wet, then I sat in the car to finish my cuppa and do some typing.

The rain was only light, and hung around for a couple of hours. It stopped and started for a while, but wasn’t too much of a pain. We stood up to eat our breakfast so that the chairs didn’t get wet (they were folded up under the table). We enjoyed having a slower, quiet morning, without anywere to be in a hurry. The kids played in the tent for a while, and Tony and eventually started packing up. Once the sun came out it was a beautiful morning. We did things in a funny order because we wanted to give the tent (and the washing I’d hung up the night before) as long as possible to dry, so it took us a couple of hours to pack up, we were done by around 10.30. Having the trailer already hitched saved us a bit of time and mucking around too. I rang ahead to caravan parks in Denham so that we didn’t have to stress about getting there early – there wasn’t much choice left, most were full or almost full. I took at powered site at Blue Dolphin Caravan Park, the last one available for the 3 nights we wanted, and it cost more than we have paid anywhere else so far. I did ring the resort at Monkey Mia – it was significantly more expensive still, and we would have had to move after our first night to an even more expensive (although beachside) site.

We made some sandwiches before we left so that we didn’t need to stop for lunch, then headed towards Shark Bay and Denham. Millie has been wanting to get to Shark Bay since we first started talking about the trip, it was all she really wanted to see, so she was very excited. The land as we drove was still very red and sandy, with sparsely placed black trees and low scrub. This is one of the few places in the world where the desert comes right up to the ocean. We saw more wild goats, and a couple of cows.

We stopped for petrol at the Overlander Roadhouse, then turned off the highway, through a big stone entry way into the Shark Bay World Heritage Area. It was 100km from here in to Denham, during which time we had glimpses and sometimes long looks at the water of Shark Bay – Millie was thrilled and we were all impressed with the view. The water was flat and almost exactly the same colour as the sky, it created a really hazy, glassy effect that I haven’t really seen anywhere else. This country is obviously still extremely dry. The hills are covered in plants, low lying bushes, and occasionally in between hills there’s a round area which has obviously been filled with water at some stage and now is dry and filled with red and purplish plants that look like the plants on the surrounding hills, just a different colour and more sparse. The road was long and straight, up and down over hills, it felt like we were driving somewhere very very remote. Tony and I saw a Thorny Devil on the road – we’d seen one yesterday as well, exciting as I’d really wanted to see them, and had thought we were past the point where it would be possible (I’d expected them in the Northern Territory, with no luck, and hadn’t realised that this area was desert as well).

We reached Denham and found our caravan park. For a minute the girl couldn’t find our booking, then tracked it down. We were in a fairly small site, right in a corner, with someone else’s car parked quite close. Tony very skillfully backed the trailer in, then the lady next door came out and said she could have moved her car. The kids saw a dog with her and went to pat it, she asked if they wanted to pat the bearded dragon (called Charlie) so they happily played with the dragon and dog while Tony and I figured out how we could fit the tent on the site. We attempted to turn the trailer around to put it in the best spot, but the ground was too soft and sandy and we couldn’t get it far enough into the site. We eventually set it up sideways into the site, which means that we won’t get as much shade as we’d like, but we can put the annex up and we will fit.

We got the trailer into position, then the kids and I left to go and check out the Aquarium. Tony stayed at the site to watch the Collingwood game on his phone. Ocean Park Aquarium was about 10km out of town – we got there just before 3 and it closed at 5, so I hadn’t wanted to delay any longer. It was well set up – there were lots of tanks, some with open tops and some enclosed glass cases, and a marine biologist took visitors around from tank to tank, explaining about each of the creatures in there. The tour went for an hour, and as each group of people arrive, they just join the tour wherever it is up to, and then stay with it until its done the full circuit, then they can leave.

clownfish

green turtle

Blue spotted ray

lionfish

We arrived about halfway through the sea snake talk. We saw several turtles, moray eels, a frog fish, a squid, clownfish, boxfish, lion fish, stone fish (they are one of the few creatures that really scare me), blue spotted rays,  leopard rays, shovel-nosed rays, and lots of fish. We discovered that the silver fish we’d seen in schools at Cape Range would have been tailor. We were the only people left on the tour when it got to the shark feeding, so the kids got to ask lots and lots of questions and talk about some of the marine creatures we’ve seen on our travels so far. The guide was really interested in all the things we’d seen and asked lots of questions herself. The sharks weren’t hungry and didn’t come up to eat anything, but we saw a couple of lemon sharks and a couple of sandbar sharks, incredible animals and I really love watching them swim, so graceful.  We finished up back at the sea snakes and listened to the whole talk there (also incredibly graceful animals) and then we had a quick look at a few of our favourite fish again (the rays for me, and the lion fish, also the stone fish because they are so fascinating). Out to the gift shop, where Caitlin bought a turtle necklace, and LiAM a dolphin puppet. Millie wanted a huge soft crocodile (it was very cool) though I convinced her to save her money until tomorrow when we’d be at Monkey Mia with the dolphins.

sea snakes

Sandbar shark

Stonefish

Out in the carpark we were looking at the view of the beach when the marine biologist came out – she chatted to us for another 15 minutes or so, telling us lots about the local area and more about the marine life, and talking more about our trip. We left her there and drove back to town, seeing an emu foraging along the side of the road.

Back at camp Tony had almost finished setting up the tent by himself, so I helped him with the last little bit. Collingwood had won and he was very happy (although keeping quite about it since they’d beaten West Coast). I hung the (still wet) washing out, and the kids wandered around the park and chatted to dog owners. We decided to walk down the main street of town and get some (local caught) fish and chips for tea – there wasn’t much open at 6pm on a Saturday night in Denham, but we did find a fish and chip shop. It was a bit pricey but within our means. We ordered then went across the road to play in the playground and walk along the beach a little. It was windy and bit cool. We sat and ate our dinner on the foreshore, enjoying the fading light on the water and the sea air. The kids played in the playground a bit more and I tried to find an ATM (no luck – although enjoyed walking further along the main street and seeing some of the old buildings).

Back to our tent and everyone was on edge – very tired and also a bit anxious, we’d been waiting a long time to get to Monkey Mia and I think everyone (especially me and probably Millie) was worried about how it would go. If no dolphins came or we couldn’t see properly or the weather was terrible – Millie would be devastated. We were all hoping that the experience would live up to what she’d imagined it would be like.

I was so tired I went to bed as quickly as I could, and we didn’t read for the first night in a long time. We had an early start in the morning and everyone was OK with just going straight to sleep and trying to be rested for tomorrow.