After our last dolphin feeding in the rain at Monkey Mia we set off for a small restock in Denham on our way to Nanga Bay to sit for a while to explore the area a bit more while the rain passes thru. Steep Point road was still closed, so with that being our next place to travel to, Nanga Bay Caravan Park seemed reasonably priced to hang about for a little while. When we arrived in Denham, we pulled up to witness the most amazing rainbow on the horizon above the sea. It looked so beautiful l had to jump out and get a few pics. While l did this, Marty went to get the few groceries that we needed. Denham is a small quite sea shanty town with lovely surrounding coast lines. Pity we saw it in cold and drizzling rainy weather, would have been nice to spend the day at the beach here l reckon.
We arrived at Nanga Bay Caravan Park out of Denham around lunchtime and after Amanda and l could finally reach a decision on where to park the vans, we finally set up. The only bad thing about this park is the noise of the massive generator it takes to run the place. Hence, why it took a bit to decide where to park the vans. After being in Gero for a year and being kept awake with the noise of trains and ships porting, l really didn't feel like listening to a massive generator hum all night. After lunch, we all too a walk on the beach. The sand was so soft, and the storm out at sea looked really cool to watch. The rest of the day was left doing a little school and hibernating out of the cold in the vans for the day.
The next day l took a run on the beach, first ever, which went really well as long as l could stick to the hard sand! Things were seeming tense still with the Woods for some reason, everyone getting on each others nerves and tip toeing around one another. So surprisingly there wasn't much time spent together. We did school lessons with the girls in the morning in the camp kitchen where we could access the free wifi. So much of Boo's school this year seemed to have online activities, WA not really the state that has brilliant coverage to do it all. In the afternoon after lunch we took a drive to Francois Peron National Park. The road had finally been opened after the last lot of rain. Funny how a little rain makes the rangers close the roads off so quickly, back in Vic it takes flooding before any roads are deemed not fit to travel. Anyway, we set off and ended up meeting the Woods at the homestead. Let our tyres down and set off on the sandy road up to Cape Peron. The red dirt was so apparent, the cliffs totally offsetting the wondrous blue colour from the ocean. The kids all instantly became orange in colour from the red dirt staining there skin after playing in the sand dunes. I don't think l will ever get sick of what this country has to offer my eyes. Whilst taking in the lookout at Herald Bluff, Marty spotted some dolphins swimming close by. The girls were thrilled seeing they are totally obsessed with dolphins now since being at Monkey Mia. At Herald Bluff we also saw what seemed like hundreds of 'dart' birds forming a line along the beach. Looked so cool. Whilst enjoying our ciders and beers, we lost track of time getting totally engulfed in our surroundings. Was starting to get late int he afternoon, and Marty didn't really want to be getting out of here in the dark, so we started making our way back down the tracks, calling in for some quick photos at nearby spots along the way. We eventually arrived back at camp at around 6pm. Luckily l had prepared dinner for everyone before we left and whilst enjoying our arvo the Thermo Pot had been cooking our meal. We all needed warming up as the nights were still freezing, and the spag bol really hit the spot. It had ended up a big day and the girls climbed into bed exhausted, out like a flash!
If only we could see in the future, l don't think l would have gone to the toilet when l had or even got out of bed for that matter. I came back from my short stroll to the toilet, which would have been only 5 minutes, and came back to the two camps split up. Marty had had a bust up with Mark and Amanda whilst l had been gone over a small incident with the kids. What transpired was totally unexpected and disappointing. No one was talking, things had gone from being tense to now silence between the two families. There was no talking between us for the whole day. We both took off doing different things but running into each other along the way, they definitely made a stand to avoid us at all cost. They headed out for the day for sightseeing without us, so we decided to make our own day of it. We went and checked out Shell Beach. It is made up entirely of billions of tiny cockle shells layered up to ten meters deep and stretching over 120 km. The shells were once quarried and used to build the walls of buildings in the Denham area. The day was overcast and l tried to capture a photo that l saw our mates the Cronans do when they were here by having the girls throw the shells up in the air. Unfortunately the effect was lost by all the clouds. We bumped into Mark and Amanda where Marty apologised for his actions but they were still pissed off and things looked bleak. The kids seemed to have gotten over whatever it was that took place, off playing together, so we couldn't the adults??? Anyway, we headed off to Eagle Bluff to check out the lookout. We saw some sting rays and sharks coasting the shallows down below the cliff which looked pretty cool seeing it from a birds eye perspective. On our way back to Nanga Bay we took a right and made our way on a dirt track which led us to another cliff lookout. The girls squealed with excitement as we drove up this short steep rock rutted gully to the top of the cliff, so funny. The coastal line is amazing with its rugged cliff edges and bright blue clear oceans. On the way home we stopped off and checked out the 'barking dog' fence. Some mates from Geraldton had informed me about this place and to make sure we stopped to check it out. We had looked for it everywhere on our travels up and down this road, when Marty spotted it as we slowed down and our windows down. We heard it as we passed thru, a dog barking. It has a sensor in it that if something gets close to it it sets off the dog barking noise to a speaker. It was so loud and as l stood and filmed it l listened while cars drove thru, bet they were all wondering what l was doing. The girls thought it was pretty cool. It is used as a deterant to stop nearby foxes from entering the protected reserve area. It also has an electric fence attached to it that runs either side. We got back to camp in the afternoon and Marty and l decided that we had seen everything we wanted to see in the area, so tomorrow we would set off down to Hamlin Pool to wait for Steep Point road to open. The Woods had booked in for an extra day, so hopefully this time apart would be good for everyone and help mend the rift. Only time would tell, but for now, its not looking good seeing no one is talking to each other......bit sad really.

Bell Xxx