Never truer words have been spoken. These words were part of our wedding vows when Bec and I were married back in 2006. Now we have the misfortune of living by these words...
Today Bec received a phone call from our Insurance Company back in Brisbane, and it wasn't good news. Apparently our insurance claim for everything that was lost in the QLD floods (which is everything), has been declined. It's not the type of news we need to hear now. We have tried being brave during this whole process, but the cracks are starting to show. We are both taking this bit of news very hard, and I now think we will have to re-assess our plans. We now have to try and stretch our dollars that little bit further if we want to still have our planned 12 months off, or we may have to return home a little early. Only time will tell. Don't get me wrong, we are still going to fight this thing, but its not easy from the other side of Australia! We have asked that our claim be re-assessed, so fingers crossed.
This morning we left camp bright and early as we wanted to make it into Kalbarri in time for the 8:30am pelican feed. We made it with only minutes to spare, but someone forgot to tell the pelicans that they were suppose to be here. We soon found out that the pelicans are nowhere to be seen in this part of Australia at the moment due to Lake Eyre in South Australia being in flood; which is where all the pelicans are - supposedly breeding! Bugger!
Oh well, not all was lost. We now had some extra time to visit two more lookouts in Kalbarri National Park that we didn't get the chance to visit the other day. Best thing is they are on our way north to Monkey Mia. You Beauty!
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| Wendy looking out over the escarpment at 'Hawks Head' - Kalbarri National Park |
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| Yes - it was a little windy! |
First stop was a lookout called 'Hawks Head'. This is an easily accessed lookout that we were even able to get the caravan into without any hassles. Here, there are amazing rock formations that overlook the Murchison River. The area has been seriously impacted by feral pigs and goats, and there is presently a lot of work going into restoring the area to its natural beauty.
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| Bec, Shane and Scarlett at 'Ross Graham Lookout' - Kalbarri National Park |
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| Scarlett 'in' the Murchison River |
This is another beautiful part of Australia; and as we knew we had approx 5 hours of driving ahead of us today, we all decided to take the bush walk down to the bottom of the gorge and dip our feet into the Murchison River before heading off. It was well worth the walk, and Bec even found tracks belonging to a large goanna in the river sand. Unfortunately she couldn't track it down, much to the disappointment of the kids.
We then headed north and along the way we stopped at the Billabong Roadhouse for lunch. Bec made up some great ham and salad rolls inside the van, while I filled up the Pajero. I noticed that the price of diesel is slowly on the increase, as we paid $1.79 per litre here. We expect it to get even more expensive as we head even further north into the never never, and I guess this is only a taste of things to come...
We reached the Monkey Mia Beach Resort at about 4pm this afternoon. Bec started sorting out the inside of the van before she went for a walk with Wendy and Scarlett around the park to get their bearings and to start planning our stay here. I was as diligent as ever, as I continued setting up the rest of our camp and connecting all services. Unfortunately I ran out of light and didn't get the satellite dish up and running, but I can continue doing that tomorrow.
Bec soon returned to tell me that she had spotted her first dolphin just off the beach. Wendy took Scarlett back to a natural thermal pool that they discovered for a dip and swim, while Bec and I prepared and cooked a BBQ dinner as the sun was setting.
It has been a long day, but we now have 4 x days to enjoy this very special part of Australia. Bec has just informed me of our days activities tomorrow, and I must say it sounds exciting. It starts with the dolphin feeding at the beach tomorrow morning. I can't wait.
Although we received some really bad news today that will no doubt affect our trip around Australia in some way, shape or form; we wont let it spoil our holiday together.
From a personal point of view, I think this trip has already enriched all our lives immensely - both as individuals, and as a family. I would have to say that this is the most relaxed I have felt in years (Bec may dispute this claim), and it wouldn't be hard to get use to this type of lifestyle...
PS: I must appologise for the lack of photo's of Monkey Mia today. It has been a very long day, and when we finally got here, all we could think about was setting up camp, grabbing a feed, and cracking open a beer (or wine)!
I promise to include some Monkey Mia photo's in tomorrows post!
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