It was only a leisurely drive from Bullara Station to Exmouth and we found a great spot at the Lighthouse Caravan Park before lunch. We spent our time here beach frisbee-ing, swimming in the crystal blue water, snorkelling on the best reef we've ever seen, watching sunsets from the lighthouse and cruising/exploring the Ningaloo Coastline. Coral Bay was next where we did some more beautiful snorkelling and relaxing on the beaches. A good night at the local (and only pub) watching some footy and eating hot chips as the sun went down. After that it was to Quobba Station where family friends had lived and helped out on the station but we were a bit slow in getting there and they have now moved on (we will see you in Tassy Anne and Bob!). The beach was covered in amazing shells and we spent hours forraging through them and found some rare special keepers. We also spotted some whales off the coast while watching the sunset and had a night inside playing cards listening to the rain patter on Carmen. The weather was still a bit inclement but we drove up the coast a bit to Red Bluff and Cape Cuvier which was a nice scenic drive and left that afternoon for Carnarvon.
Sunset at Exmouth Lighthouse
Snorkelling on the Ningaloo Reef
The shells at Quobba Station
Some unlucky bugger didn't watch the tide!
Sunset and whale watching at Quobba
We were hoping to find some plantation work here as we were told they always need itinerant workers short term but we came a bit too late for them. We did find choc coated mango icecreams that day though, so we were stoked. Not much else to do in Carnarvon so we went fishing on the jetty all afternoon until it was too dark to see. We caught 5 bream keepers and had a good barbie that night of chicken rissoles, bubble and squeak and fish in foil with our favourite seasonings. It was then down the coast a little further to Denham and Monkey Mia. We splurged a bit and stayed in the camping resort where we drank passionfruit mojitos, watched dolphins in the bay, listened to live music and watched the sun fall behind the ocean. The next morning I was lucky enough to hand feed a wild dolphin that came to the shores for breakfast before we moved onto an almost free camp ($5 permit for all 3 of us) at Goulet Bluff which had no facilities at all but rich in beauty and awesomeness (we also had it to ourselves). We explored a nearby beach called Shell Beach which was made up entirely of small crushed up shells that they use to make bricks with back in the day and there were also stromatolites nearby (the oldest living organisms on the planet). Jammimg , frisbee and reading took up the afternoon and evening in this magical spot.
Mmm...mango ice creams!!
One of the unlucky bream we caught, so delicious
Hand feeding the wild dolphins in Monkey Mia
Goulet Bluff camp spot
The shells that made up Shell Beach
Kalbarri was our next port of call and we stayed 3 nights so we could explore. We drove down the coastal cliffs of Kalbarri NP with some amazing views out to sea, did 10km of walking around Natures Window and Z Bend in the NP and relaxed by the fire in the evenings along the river with fellow campers. A lovely coastal town with a river inlet where we could of stayed a lot longer but our money was running low and we needed to move on. Geraldton was next but it poured down with rain all day and night so we went to the movies that night and then drove further south. We went through a nice beach town called Jurien Bay which we'll have to revisit and then through the Pinnacles which were 1-3m rock stalagmite like formations coming out of the ground with the ocean on the horizon if you looked west. It was still raining so we drove the track through here and then thought what the hell lets go to Perth. It was farewell to Mazza for a little while, she was off to make new friends and adventures in the hostels but she did shout us to dinner one last time which was just lovely.
A surfer at Kalbarri
Lookin hot on the coast trail
The Natural Bridge on the coastal cliffs
Ash havin a swing at camp
All 3 of us at natures window
A panorama of Z-Bend, could see the fault lines and all
A rainbow at The Pinnacles
We basically job hunted for 2 weeks pretty unsuccessfully because no one wanted 2 people, we didnt have the right experience, we only had one car and rent in Perth is expensive! Inbetween job searching though we still did a few touristy things like a tour of the WACA Ground (WA's home of cricket for all those non-sport enthusiasts), Hillary's Boat Harbour, Cottesloe and Scarborough Beaches, Freemantle: Little Creatures Brewery and Fish & Chips and catching up with friends. Ash's cousin Mitch, his wife Laura and two kids Ella and Finnley lived a short drive south of Perth and we decided to go stay with them for a week or so before we got work. It had been about 8 years between visits and we think we made up for it in 1 nights drinking haha. We got to meet some of Lauras family which was lovely, watched Finn play soccer and have his 7th birthday, hung out at the waterfront, went fishing with Mitch in the boat and caught up on life since the last visit.
View from The Bradman room at the WACA
Ice creams again in Freo
Vibin brewery in Freo, so yummy
Watched some of the Avon Descent
View from Kings Park over the Swan River and Perth hills in the distance
Fishing with Mitch, crazy early and cold but a good day at the 'honey hole'
It was while we were here we came across a farm course on Gumtree that had a good possibility of obtaining work on completion. We took the gamble and paid for our 4 day course in York, 100km east of Perth and crossed our fingers. The night before our course we stayed with Tammy and her husband Pete who is a family friend from Evans Head and was on maternity leave after having their 1st baby, Talon. They cooked us a lovely dinner and Pete had some amazing stories from his time in the Australian Army and SAS. The next day we started our farm course with Ley Webster at '2 Workin Oz' and were joined by a canadian girl and a german guy. We got to spend a day in a shearing shed as rouse abouts learning how to pick up and throw a fleece, got to ride and drive in a header, a front loader, a chaser bin and farm utes, learnt about fencing and knots, herding sheep, tailing and docking lambs and lots of other general farm duties. We had such a great time on the farm and we both found it very interesting all the things that go on on a farm that you dont realise. Ley was so helpful and in 5 days she had found us casual work with the Springbett's, a local grain farming family (Tim the son who is taking over the farm, his wife Claire and their two kids Chelsea and Annabelle and Tim's parents John and Chris.) We helped tidy up yards and rock pick at first and then helped out with their family homes and kids too. We were also passed around to other locals in town to help them move out, garden, house sit and babysit. Everyone in town was so lovely and we were happy to help anyone out, we were getting paid and it didn't even feel like work. Ley also found us casual work with an Ag research company, Agrisearch, and we did some field data entry before they did their harvest. This included stuff like counting weeds, counting wheat heads, dating when they flower, hand cutting and weighing samples, pulling rogue samples out of plots, bug catching and counting disease infected varieties. So, so much science behind grain farming that we had no idea about. Taisiya was a backpacker who worked here too for harvest and we got along really well, having her over for drinks and beach trips to Perth together.
Ash in the loader and me in the ute
Drying our wet boots in front of the cosy fire
The yellow canola fields were so beautiful
Flowering notes, we were experts by the end haha
Rogueing was nearly the death of me haha
At about this time we also got our first visitor come to see us, Alex and her then 5 month old little man Louie! We stayed in Perth sightseeing, beaching and even brought them out to the farm for a night. Such a massive effort for her but we loved every minute of it and appreciated it alot.
Sunset and nibbles at Scarborough Beach
After a couple of weeks working between all the locals, Agrisearch offered us full-time work over harvest which is what we needed. We got to drive and sample in mini headers for 7 weeks and got to see alot of the wheatbelt, from Goomalling to Albany. We got to stay on the Springbett's farm while we did all this work and we were very greatful for their generosity. They had some workers for their harvest too and we got to house share with Tim from NZ(otherwise known as Kiwi Tim) and Steve from Germany, having lots of family dinners and jam sessions (both were great on guitar). As it happened to be Claire is pregnant with number 3 and they asked if we could come back for seeding in April to help again. Agrisearch said they'd love to have us back too, so we'll be back to York in April to share our love between the two again.
10 hour harvest day sunset
Our little trial plots we harvest one at a time
Ash in Springers big header ( like 6x bigger than the research ones)
In the fields, about to harvest some more
Unloading the chaser bin
The end product of canola
Me driving the research header
As most of you who read this i imagine know we also came home over Christmas and January. It was so lovely to see and spend time with our family, growing nieces and nephews and friends. We got to attend Jodie and Mark's engagement party, Christmas with the family, start the new year with a bang, go to a T20 cricket game, do a roadtrip to see Sheree and the boys, Sam and Joe's engagement party, a couple of birthday parties and we ate and drank copious amounts of food and alcohol with everyone. Our next adventure is down to the south-east and south-west of WA and we are very excited, I best keep on top of that blog too. Love us xxx
Jode and Mark's engagement
Meeting little Keanu for the first time
Me, Ash, Kiwi Tim, German Steve, Maree and Taisiya
