What a great couple of weeks we have had - we left you with our departure from Broome to head South - just a quick 3000km round trip to see some of the good bits and then back again to Broome.

We are now on Day 41 of 153 ! We decided to hot-foot it to Coral Bay, and although the kids were not thrilled with the idea, we promised them it would be worth it.

We bush camped on the way down at De Grays Bush Camp on Day 29 and Barradale on Day 30 (both roadside free camps). We had stopped in at Malcolm Douglas' Croc Park on our way out of Broome and Max had a wow of a time watching his DVD's on the trip Sth (crocs, barra, bush cooking etc).

Day 31 saw us arrive at Coral Bay in time for morning tea at the bakery - they are few and far between and I'd promised the kids a custard tart .....didn't know they'd be $3 each though (Coral Bay is by far the most expensive place we've been in terms of groceries - measured best by the $7.60 price tag on a block of chocolate)! We were snorkelling within a couple of hours of arriving - Max absolutely loved it....... Tess was not so sure (the masks are pretty uncomfortable and difficult to breathe). We stayed at the Caravan Park over the road from the beach, so only had a 5 min walk to the water. The Caravan Park had lots of kids about, and Max and Tess both found some new friends to play with at the playground (and had a rippa time in the pool). We spent two nights there before deciding to head up the coast to Ningaloo Station.

We spent Day 33 and 34 at Ningaloo Station - it's only about 80kms Nth of Coral Bay but a very slow coast road (more corrugations and red dust before hitting the sand). The Ningaloo Reef is known for its snorkelling and coral reefs close to the shore. Mark and I stumbled across this Station on our honeymoon and it was our favourite spot. Unfortunately our return visit wasn't all we'd talked it up to be - you used to just turn up and pick a spot that you liked anywhere on the property that stretches kms along the coast - now you have to go to the homestead, rent a port-a-poti (I know!!), pay $100 deposit for a key, and proceed to the campsite they had allocated you behind locked gates. Anyway - the wind was absolutely howling and our beach campsite became redundant when we had to find some cover behind the dunes....not that it worked - we got sand blasted for two days and decided to pack up early. It could have been a fabulous stay, but the weather just wasn't on our side (word is you get a week of good still weather then a week of howling wind). The boys attempted some fishing from the beach (far too rough to put the boat in), and although they had a couple of bites, they had no success in landing one. Mark did get a fish on the handline, but somehow in the transfer of the handline from Mark to Max (who was jumping up and down saying 'can I bring it in Dad') - the fish jumped off. Of course each one is blaming the other for the loss!

We left Ningaloo Station on Day 35 and decided to head to Yardie Creek Homestead Caravan Park (we hit Exmouth and continued 20kms up and around on the coast to the Cape Range NP) - it was $46 a night as opposed to $67 at Exmouth - thieves! The kids found more new friends to play with and another playground and pool! We spent the morning of Day 36 in the NP snorkelling at Oyster Stacks and swimming at Turquoise Bay. Tess really enjoyed the snorkelling this time - I put her life jacket on her and a pair of goggles - much easier. Tess popped her head up every now and again and shouted that she'd seen a 'puffer fish' or 'coral trout' - of which she hadn't - but there were certainly lots of colourful fish and coral she was seeing. Turquoise Bay was stunning - again one of the highlights on our previous trip. The only problem is that this time of year is much busier than when we travelled - we had the place to ourselves nine years ago! Mark had a trip to the doctor at Exmouth hospital in the afternoon for some pain killers - he'd done his back emptying the port-a-poti (I know!!! again - how impressed do you reckon he was) - thankfully it was only muscular and not a disc.

We arrived at Eighty Mile Beach early that afternoon and were swimming within the hour. Max enjoyed a birthday present session before dinner and hasn't stopped playing with his new Leatherman that Mark got him (it's a hit Justin). His b'day ended with losing the first of his two front teeth - it wasn't ready to come out, but he emerged from the camper at 8pm determined to rip it out - which he did after 40mins of pulling, yanking, counting down from five to zero and pulling again, and of course after a bit of blood spitting.

Day 39 was a great day - still at Eighty Mile Beach......collecting shells in the morning and fishing in the afternoon. We took the car down the beach in the arvo so I got to sit under the pull out shade while Mark struggled in the surf casting both rods and dealing with skanky pilchards. Mark landed a Threadfin Salmon after Max got the lowdown from a fellow fisherman that you won't catch them on the hooks you're using - they've got to be gang hooks. And Max 'very nearly' landed a very big fish! He hooked it on Marks surf rod and fought with it for 10 mins - Mark said it did plenty of very big runs and by the time I got there with the video camera Max was exhausted. He got the fish to within 2m of Mark and as Mark leant down to pick it up, the thing snapped the 80lb line. Max dropped the rod, the hands went up to his head, and he burst into tears. He was absolutely devestated, and it was not until over dinner that we realised how crushed and bitter he was - he made the comment ...."the only good thing about losing that fish is that it's now got a gang hook and sinker still in its mouth, and that hook will get infected and then that fish will die.....I hate that fish". Don't cross that kid!

We made it to Broome Tuesday (Day 40) and ran into Pagey (Marks mate from Sov Hill who is travelling with the family too) - we are at the same caravan park as them which means we have some company while Mark is back in Perth for his next appt. The kids have had a great couple of days playing with the Page boys (Will and Charlie), and we have a great photo of the four of them at sunset tonight at Cable Beach (in the albumn).

We will leave here tomorrow (Friday - Day 42) to head across the Gibb River Rd to Kununurra, where Mark will fly to Darwin for his next dose in a fortnight (a two night stay up there for him which is a pain).

We are all going well, and the kids are having a ball. Max is still making a pretty good effort with the school work and has enjoyed a couple of homework sessions with other kids at the Caravan Parks. The car is holding up well, though Mark has just had a heavy duty set of springs sent up and fitted today in preparation for going up over the top - the poor girl is working pretty hard carting all our stuff over the corrugations! A few minor annoyances that have required some work on Mark's part - the cooker in the kitchen, the fridge plug in the car, some light switches in the camper, a new air compressor......just the usual stuff from bouncing around for 5 weeks I think, but otherwise it's holding up well.

Will post again in a few weeks - hoping you're all well. Thanks for the messages on the website and via email - great to hear you're liking the blog - I have a few less pictures of us with bevvies in our hands this time!