After a beautiful drive from Carnarvon we arrived at the famous Coral Bay. Larry was keen to soak up a bit of sun after the ordinary weather we have been copping prior to now. We were also keen to dip our feet in the water and soak up the rays! After a quick pie at the bakery and a look at the beach we had the wheels in motion bound for Exmouth…

After pulling in and setting Judy up it was time to find something for dinner. Tara was keen for a Chicken Kiev-Tristan wasn't saying no either. The butcher had run out but he said he could make some up. $13.25 for two kievs was a bit pricey for our low budget trip…. But they were delicious!

After exploring some of the surrounding areas in Cape Range National Park we knew we had to invest. $410 for a whale shark tour was a bit out of the price range, although everyone said it well worth it! We opted for a set of fins and snorkels instead. First stop Turquoise Bay… A stunning Bay teaming with coral, fish and so much more just metres from the shoreline. Not to mention the turquoise coloured water with the range in the background made for an awesome afternoon.

Tristan was lucky enough to swim with a turtle at a great snorkelling spot called Lakeside in the National Park, but when the English backpackers next to us mentioned they saw a black tipped reef shark that was enough to keep Tara out of the water for the afternoon. Earlier that day Tristan was again lucky to get a spot on Phil's (our neighbour!) tinnie. (We met Phil and Sonia in Margaret River and we have been bumping into them all the way up the coast!) Unfortunately, Tristan didn't get any fish (USELESS-lucky we aren't relying on him fishing to feed us this trip), but the views of the range were just amazing. Tara finally snapped a picture of a cute little echidna crossing the road, luckily Larry was protecting him from the hero that went speeding through and nearly cleaned us and the echidna up. To end a long day exploring the National Park, it was off to the sunset for a cheeky beer and cider on the beach. Tara's sunnies spent the night on the beach-half buried in the sand-but they were still there when after an hour searching Larry and Judy, Tara put it down to the beach where we watched the sunset!

During our stay in Exmouth, Larry had a bit of well overdue pampering…after his fun in the mud on the way out to the Red Bluff (Carnarvon). Unfortunately, there aren't any carwashes this side of Perth so he was lucky to get a pampering at the park we were staying at! Believe it or not we realised he was actually white under all that mud!!! Unfortunately for Larry, the red dirt, dust and mud is only going to get worse from here… But at least he has his own wash kit now.

On our final day in Exmouth we knew we had to visit the Yardie Creek Gorge… we weren't at all disappointed. The 1.5 km track meandered around the stunning gorge. Tristan compared it to Katherine Gorge, but on a smaller scale. The vibrant colours looked like something in the outback but the coast and stunning Ningaloo Reef was less than a kilometre away. A truly beautiful spot. Larry also had a near miss with a kangaroo friend on the way home… Luckily everyone was safe!

Exmouth, Ningaloo Reef, Cape Range National Park- a stunning piece of Western Australia.

En Route to Karijini National Park tomorrow, alarm is set for 6am! Goodnight and farewell to this beautiful part of Australia xx