After getting up very early to begin our adventure tour with EasyRider (The Western Way), we boarded the bus that we would be on for the durtaion of the 10 night tour. The tour guide (Chris) began the tour by asking us to introduce ourselves and state what we were looking forward to on the tour, we were introduced to our group members; Todd, a wine maker from Newcastle (Australia), Vanessa from Devon, Liam and Sarah from Twickenham, Inga from Germany and Lucina from Switzerland.

Following this we headed north of Perth wth our first stop being one of Western Australia's unique natural attractions, the Pinnacles, in the Nambung National Park. We then headed to Hangover Bay which was beautiful with a white beach and clear blue sea. We made our way to Kalbarri, seeing some sights on the journey including some trees which have been bent by strong southern winds. We arrived to our first hostel (Kalbarri Backpackers), and after a shower and change of clothing we went out for dinner at an authentic aussie fish restaurant (best meal we've had so far!) in which we sat outside by a logged fire. After this we spent the rest of the evening in a local bar where Matt played pool and had shots with the locals, much to the amusement of the rest of our tour group.

After a night of getting aquainted with our group, we had an early start for our Canoe Safari on the Murchison River. We began by geting into a 4x4 through dirt tracks where we saw our first Kangaroo, woohoo!! We all got into pairs and completed our first 3.5km of canoeing with the reward being a lovely breakfast. Following this we completed another 5.5km in two stages which was tiring but fun. In the afternoon we had free time to explore Kalbarri. Matt and I went for a wander and then met the group to go to the beach where Matt had another go at surfing using the tour guide's board. However, the waves were too powerful, and it was quite rocky which resulted in the tour guide acting out a scene from Baywatch to get him away from the rocks (everything turned out fine though). On the evening we went to a spot on the coastal cliffs to watch the sun set and we saw some humpback whales with their calfes in the distance before having a group barbeque and drinks at the hostel.

Before leaving Kalbarri we headed to Kalbarri National Park where we looked over the Loop and Z- Bend Gorge before descending 150 metres to the heart of the gorge. Following this we walked to Natures Window where we took the opporunity to take some group photos in the beautiful surroundings. On the way to Denham (Shark Bay) where we were staying for two nights, we had a small accident where Chris decided to stop the bus to get a lizard but ended up getting us stuck in a sand ditch, resulting in the group having to push it out. We managed and moved on to Hamelin Pool, which is one of the only places in the world to have Stromatolites (living organisms reported to have provided the world with oxygen). After arriving in Denham, we checked into Bay Lodge Hostel before heading to a local bar (The Groper) for lamb curry dinner which was nice but nothing like curry at home. We played some pool then headed back to hostel for some much needed rest.

After a good nights rest we did a tour of Ocean Park in Denham with a Marine expert. We went to an oceanarium first where we got to watch a shark feeding, then into Francois Peron National Park in a 4WD to look for the big 5 (Shark, Dugong, Turtle, Manta Ray and Dolphin). We observed a Tiger Shark killing a Dugong (an extremely rare thing to see so we were very lucky) just off the shore. We had lunch which was provided and then saw the rest of the big 5. Following this we headed back to the hostel via a natural springs hot tub to relax for a while. Following making dinner in the hostel we all went to local bar to watch a one man band called Bones. The evening resulted in us going to a hot tub party at a local's home who has found fame from an Australian reality show (Jamie from 'Farmer Wants a Wife'). Initially this was only supposed to be for one hour but we did not leave until 4.30am!

With the group all having bad heads and little sleep we checked out of Bay Lodge. We were supposed to leave early as there was a long drive and the first trip of the day was to see dolphin feeding at Monkey Mia, but due to us all sleeping in we missed it, whoops. We drove to Monkey Mia as Inga was jumping off, but there were no dolphins to be seen. Following this we began the long journey to Coral Bay. On the journey we drove through the tropic of Capricorn (where the sub- tropical turns to a tropical climate). When we arrived at Coral Bay we checked into the Ningaloo Reef Backbackers. We made dinner, played pool and cards and had an early night.

The following day we were supposed to go on a boat trip/ snorkelling tour, however, due to some miss-communication, it was cancelled and rescheduled resulting in Chris taking us snorkelling in the Ningaloo Reef. In the evening some of the group went to watch 'The Spy Next Door' at an outside cinema at the nearby Ningaloo Reef Hotel, which wasn't very good but it was funny because it was so bad!!

Another long day of driving to Karijini National Park (glad it isn't me doing all this driving). Whilst driving, Chris knocked over and killed an Emu (in his defence the Emu ran out and it was either the Emu or us) but it was a bit of a shock. Throughout the outback you see a lot of dead animals on the side of the road. Anyway, we continued to drive, stopping at Tom Price (highest town above sea level in Western Australia) to obtain food supplies as there are no shops in the National Park (real outback). We checked into Karijini Eco Retreat with Matt and I getting our own basic canvas safari eco tent with beds inside. We settled into the tent then Chris took us to the nearest gorge for a warm up for the next day. After climbing down rocks we ended up at a small waterfall in which Chris, Todd and Matt decided to climb up leaving the rest of us to find our own way back, which we managed. On return to the camp we made a lovely barbeque which we all thoroughly enjoyed and then off to bed for our long hike the next day.

After waking up in the safari tent with the side window open (it had mesh so no creepy crawlies could get in) and watching the sun rise, we began by travelling to Hancock Gorge to complete the Spider Walk to get to Kermit's Pool. With the spider walk you had to put a leg and arm on either side of a wall which was very scary for me (as you may be able to tell from Matt's photos of me). After much deliberaton about whether I could do it, Matt guided me through and I felt very proud of myself and I was able to do it all by myself on the way back. Of course Matt has no fear and was able to do it straight away. After almost having a heart attack climbing back up we moved on to another Gorge where we had to walk through cold water then climb between narrow steep walls to the Handrail Pool. After getting past the handrails, Matt decided to go ahead of Chris and ended up in Category 6 zone (we were in 5 and only people with harnasses are allowed in the 6 zone). Matt reported not realising this much to the amusement of the group.

After an eventful morning we returned to camp for some lunch and much needed rest before moving on to next gorge for a longer hike. We took a longer drive to get to Dales Gorge where we looked down on the circular pool before hiking down to it. When we got there Matt went for a swin and went under the dripping water which was heated from the sun shining on the rocks above. Following this we walked through the gorge to get to Fortescue falls. Before getting here Matt decided to follow Todd (even more of an adventurer than Matt) and go off track resulting in them getting stuck on a cliff side and having to turn back around and catch up with us (Chris reported that it was the first time people had went so off track). After the falls we walked to Fern Pool which is an aboriginal sacred site. We were asked to welcome ourselves in our heads and state that we mean the land no harm, as well as thank the land when we left. It is part of the aboriginal culture to respect the land. On return to camp we all had showers before the sun set so we could make sure there were no snakes or spiders. After a short rest we went to the camp restaurant for evening meal as we were all to tired to cook. We had beef stew with mashed potato and salad, it was nice as it felt like a home cooked meal. After this we all went to bed.

The next morning was a drive back to Coral Bay for the last couple of days of the tour. On our return we put our things in the room and the group headed to the beach to watch the sun set with some goon (boxed white wine). It was the last night as a full group so after the beach we went back to the hostel, watched Bones (one man band from Denham), had a few games of pool and played drinking games before retiring to bed.

Before going on the boat trip that was cancelled before Karijini, Matt went for a run with Todd along sand dunes and he saw lots of kangaroos. I didn't feel very well so I missed out on the trip but Matt went with the others. We all said our goodbyes to Lucina who was going on a different trip and we would not see her again. The rest of the day was spent relaxing, watching the sun set before saying goodbye to Todd that evening as he was returning to Perth instead of heading to Broome.

Our last day in Coral Bay and on the tour was a relaxing day on the beach, Matt and I went snorkelling and he took me to where they had been on the boat trip. We relaxed in the hostel before getting on the Greyhound bus at 12.05am for the 18 hours drive to get to Broome. The bus was so cold so we didn't sleep very well but we got to Broome safely. Now we have to decide what the next adventure is going to be.......

Hope everyone is well

Emma

xx