{"id":4043,"date":"2020-06-03T21:32:01","date_gmt":"2020-06-03T13:32:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/?p=4043"},"modified":"2020-08-24T06:01:35","modified_gmt":"2020-08-23T22:01:35","slug":"cruisin-for-the-covid-specials","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/index.php\/2020\/06\/03\/cruisin-for-the-covid-specials\/","title":{"rendered":"Cruisin&#8217; for the Covid Specials"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>It was good to be on the road again. In true Towns style, by\nthe time we\u2019d popped back into Denmark, picked up a few things and began on our\nway, it was dark by the time we pulled up to camp! After being in the house for\n2 months, it felt good to be back in the van. The most noticeable point being\nthat our lounge was now the outside, as was Lexi &amp; Reo\u2019s play area and we\nrealised now, how cold it was at night! Reo was up early the next day, eager to\nget outside and explore. Instead of the request for electronic entertainment\n(or even trying to get them out of bed), by 8.30am they\u2019d had brekkie, and were\nexploring what games were on offer and pulling each other around in the log\ncart. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-1 wp-block-gallery columns-1 is-cropped\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"498\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200604_081147-498x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"3984\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200604_081147-scaled.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/20200604_081147\/\" class=\"wp-image-3984\"\/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"498\" src=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200604_085525-1024x498.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"3985\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200604_085525-scaled.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/20200604_085525\/\" class=\"wp-image-3985\" srcset=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200604_085525-980x476.jpg 980w, https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200604_085525-480x233.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) 1024px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Our first stop was Augusta, and we made our way to Cape\nLeeuwin lighthouse at the most south western point of Australia, where the\nSouthern meets the Indian Ocean. Clearly, we must have been something right on\nthis home-schooling front as when I asked Lexi what the 2 oceans were, she knew\nthe answer immediately, although really, I guess I should just give credit to a\ngood student &#x1f61c;. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-3 wp-block-gallery columns-2 is-cropped\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"498\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200604_112719-498x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"3978\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200604_112719-scaled.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/20200604_112719\/\" class=\"wp-image-3978\"\/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"498\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200604_112548-498x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"3977\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200604_112548-scaled.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/20200604_112548\/\" class=\"wp-image-3977\"\/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"498\" src=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200604_120350-1024x498.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"3980\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200604_120350-scaled.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/20200604_120350\/\" class=\"wp-image-3980\" srcset=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200604_120350-980x476.jpg 980w, https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200604_120350-480x233.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) 1024px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>There were a few \u2018Covid specials\u2019 for attractions around the\narea, in a bid to re-start the tourism after lockdown, so we bought tickets for\na tour of the lighthouse and a local cave nearby and began our whistle-stop\ntour of the south west. Our kind of schooling had begun again! With a couple of\nbusy days ahead of us, we decided mental maths, on the run schooling and\njournal writing was the focus (we managed 2 out of 3 \u2013 once again the journals were\nforgotten).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We scaled the dizzy heights of the 40m lighthouse, after the\nreminder to socially distance ourselves from the other couple on the tour and grabbed\non to the rails at the top (I really don\u2019t like heights that much) to breath in\nthe fresh, sea air while we watched the swell of the oceans rise and fall. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-5 wp-block-gallery columns-1 is-cropped\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"498\" src=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200604_114259-1024x498.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"3979\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200604_114259-scaled.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/20200604_114259\/\" class=\"wp-image-3979\" srcset=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200604_114259-980x476.jpg 980w, https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200604_114259-480x233.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) 1024px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>There are a few caves in the area, but we\u2019d been told Jewel\nCave was the best one. We descended into the subterranean wonderland and it did\nnot disappoint. On entering the reverberant chamber, we were surrounded with\nglistening, sculptured rocks, each one given a name to best describe its shape.\nWe were led on our treasure trail, ducking low at points to get us through to\nthe next section of the crystalline maze, admiring the 10,000-year-old delicate\nstructures as we did. The recommendation was spot on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-7 wp-block-gallery columns-2 is-cropped\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"498\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200604_144611-498x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"3990\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200604_144611-scaled.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/20200604_144611\/\" class=\"wp-image-3990\"\/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"498\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200604_1453040-498x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"3991\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200604_1453040-scaled.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/20200604_1453040\/\" class=\"wp-image-3991\"\/><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>We returned to camp via Hamelin Bay, reputed for the rays\nswimming in the shallows. Alas, they didn\u2019t get the memo of our arrival, so we\nhad a walk on the beach before returning to cook our homemade pizzas in the\ncamp pizza oven.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-9 wp-block-gallery columns-1 is-cropped\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"498\" src=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200604_155720-1024x498.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"3992\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200604_155720-scaled.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/20200604_155720\/\" class=\"wp-image-3992\" srcset=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200604_155720-980x476.jpg 980w, https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200604_155720-480x233.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) 1024px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The following day took us in to Margaret River, world-renown\nfor its wines, but what we hadn\u2019t considered, or should I say researched, was\nthat cellar doors were still closed due to Covid and not opening until the\nfollowing day (boo). That just sped up our whistle-stop tour, as we had a weekend\ndate with the Roaming Reesons, aka Mal, Jen, Emily &amp; Mitchell, our saviours\nin lockdown. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"498\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200605_123320-498x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3993\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>We did, however, take in the delights of the chocolate\nfactory, to which Reo in particular, managed to return to the counter for\ntasting refills enough times to eat twice his body weight in chocolate! We\ncontinued north to Busselton jetty and take a walk down the 4km length. It was\nnice to stretch the legs and we were rewarded with this most amazing sunset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-11 wp-block-gallery columns-1 is-cropped\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Dji_0512-1024x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"4029\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Dji_0512-scaled.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/dji_0512\/\" class=\"wp-image-4029\" srcset=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Dji_0512-980x980.jpg 980w, https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Dji_0512-480x480.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) 1024px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Dji_0508-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"4028\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Dji_0508-scaled.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/dji_0508\/\" class=\"wp-image-4028\" srcset=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Dji_0508-980x653.jpg 980w, https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Dji_0508-480x320.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) 1024px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-13 wp-block-gallery columns-1 is-cropped\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"498\" src=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200605_165540-1024x498.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"3995\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200605_165540-scaled.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/20200605_165540\/\" class=\"wp-image-3995\" srcset=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200605_165540-980x476.jpg 980w, https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200605_165540-480x233.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) 1024px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"498\" src=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200605_172552-1024x498.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"3996\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200605_172552-scaled.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/20200605_172552\/\" class=\"wp-image-3996\" srcset=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200605_172552-980x476.jpg 980w, https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200605_172552-480x233.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) 1024px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Before we knew it, it was time to enter the metropolis of\nPerth and get to thank our friends personally for their generosity of letting\nus stay in their farmhouse. In reality, we\u2019d spent 2 nights with these guys\npreviously, more than a year ago, yet it was like old friends reunited. We were\nwarmly welcomed, enjoyed a couple of glasses of wine with a delicious meal and\nwhile the kids were playing, our catch up was relaxed and effortless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-15 wp-block-gallery columns-2 is-cropped\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/IMG_7703-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"4033\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/IMG_7703.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/img_7703\/\" class=\"wp-image-4033\" srcset=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/IMG_7703-980x735.jpg 980w, https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/IMG_7703-480x360.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) 1024px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200613_110911-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"4002\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200613_110911-scaled.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/20200613_110911\/\" class=\"wp-image-4002\" srcset=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200613_110911-980x735.jpg 980w, https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200613_110911-480x360.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) 1024px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>We\u2019d booked to go to Rottnest Island, or \u2018Quokka Island\u2019 as\nthe kids like to call it on Monday, so had Sunday to hang out with the Reesons.\nWe spent the day bike riding, to the coast, then along the shoreline towards\nFremantle, dodging rainstorms, listening to an opera singer belt out a tune at\na local caf\u00e9 and enjoying the fresh air and company. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It was a dawn rise for the Quokka\u2019s as we biked our way to\nthe train station. We met the Goldring\u2019s (who we\u2019d befriended in Peaceful Bay)\nat the port ready for our bike touring day. Again, we were travelling on a\n\u2018Covid special\u2019 \u2013 after just opening from being WAs quarantine island, I guess\nthey needed to build up the public\u2019s confidence to return and what a better way\nto do that than slash prices! <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-17 wp-block-gallery columns-2 is-cropped\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"498\" src=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200608_064523-1024x498.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"3997\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200608_064523-scaled.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/20200608_064523\/\" class=\"wp-image-3997\" srcset=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200608_064523-980x476.jpg 980w, https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200608_064523-480x233.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) 1024px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"498\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200608_064811-498x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"3986\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200608_064811-scaled.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/20200608_064811\/\" class=\"wp-image-3986\"\/><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>It was a quick ride out to the island and we only had to cycle\n100m before we were greeted by the locals. Quokka\u2019s are cute, furry little\nthings, a mix between a wallaby and rabbit, and the fun fact for the day is\nthat they have <em>SQUARE POO<\/em>! Clearly used to tourists, they hung around\nfor the photo shoot before we began our tour of the island. We\u2019d been told it\nwas hilly, but I wasn\u2019t expecting every twist and turn to be undulating. There\nwasn\u2019t a flat section in sight. Reo wasn\u2019t really using his gears before now,\nbut after a quick refresher tutorial he did amazingly well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-19 wp-block-gallery columns-2 is-cropped\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/IMG-20200612-WA0021.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"4040\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/IMG-20200612-WA0021.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/img-20200612-wa0021\/\" class=\"wp-image-4040\" srcset=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/IMG-20200612-WA0021.jpg 768w, https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/IMG-20200612-WA0021-480x640.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) 768px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"769\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/IMG-20200612-WA0019.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"4039\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/IMG-20200612-WA0019.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/img-20200612-wa0019\/\" class=\"wp-image-4039\" srcset=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/IMG-20200612-WA0019.jpg 769w, https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/IMG-20200612-WA0019-480x639.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) 769px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"769\" src=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/IMG-20200608-WA0011.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"4034\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/IMG-20200608-WA0011.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/img-20200608-wa0011\/\" class=\"wp-image-4034\" srcset=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/IMG-20200608-WA0011.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/IMG-20200608-WA0011-980x736.jpg 980w, https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/IMG-20200608-WA0011-480x360.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) 1024px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"769\" src=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/IMG_3635-1024x769.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"4074\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/IMG_3635-scaled.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/img_3635\/\" class=\"wp-image-4074\" srcset=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/IMG_3635-980x736.jpg 980w, https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/IMG_3635-480x361.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) 1024px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>We had a minor glitch with him early on when the \u201changries\u201d\nraised their ugly head, as we\u2019d only had a small breakfast due to the early\nstart, resulting in Reo demanding to get on the island bus that had just passed\nus as he was going to cycle no further. Once we managed to get some fruit\ninside him, all was well with the world and we continued our journey. It\u2019s a\ngreat way to see the island and take in the scenery allowing you to stop and\nstart whenever you fancy. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It was a beautiful day, not a cloud in the sky and low 20\u2019s,\nperfect for cycling. We stopped halfway for a very fancy picnic at a beautiful\nbay, where we cooled ourselves in the sheltered waters. Cheeses, deli meats,\nolives and crackers, all washed down with a Margaret River rose, we could have\nstayed and relaxed all afternoon, but we had a date with a return boat to Perth\nat 4pm and needed to make sure we made it. We rode about 20km in total and the kids\u2019\nefforts were rewarded with an ice-cream when we returned to town. It was a\ngreat day out, made so much better sharing the experience with friends. We all\nslept well that night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-21 wp-block-gallery columns-2 is-cropped\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"769\" src=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/IMG-20200612-WA0010.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"4038\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/IMG-20200612-WA0010.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/img-20200612-wa0010\/\" class=\"wp-image-4038\" srcset=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/IMG-20200612-WA0010.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/IMG-20200612-WA0010-980x736.jpg 980w, https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/IMG-20200612-WA0010-480x360.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) 1024px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"769\" src=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/IMG-20200612-WA0013_Original.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"4027\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/IMG-20200612-WA0013_Original.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/img-20200612-wa0013_original\/\" class=\"wp-image-4027\" srcset=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/IMG-20200612-WA0013_Original.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/IMG-20200612-WA0013_Original-980x736.jpg 980w, https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/IMG-20200612-WA0013_Original-480x360.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) 1024px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/IMG-20200612-WA0006.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"4037\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/IMG-20200612-WA0006.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/img-20200612-wa0006\/\" class=\"wp-image-4037\" srcset=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/IMG-20200612-WA0006.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/IMG-20200612-WA0006-980x735.jpg 980w, https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/IMG-20200612-WA0006-480x360.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) 1024px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/IMG-20200608-WA0019.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"4062\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/IMG-20200608-WA0019.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/img-20200608-wa0019\/\" class=\"wp-image-4062\" srcset=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/IMG-20200608-WA0019.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/IMG-20200608-WA0019-980x551.jpg 980w, https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/IMG-20200608-WA0019-480x270.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) 1024px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"498\" src=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200608_153509-1024x498.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3987\" srcset=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200608_153509-980x476.jpg 980w, https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200608_153509-480x233.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) 1024px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>At dinner that night, Jen announced that the weather was looking pretty dodgy towards the latter end of the week, and we should really think about staying the rest of the week \u2013 <em>softened campers that we now were<\/em>. I\u2019m not sure this had been discussed beforehand with Mal and of course saying things like this in front of kids means it\u2019s already a done deal. A quick, \u201c&#8230;.of course, it\u2019s up to your mum and dad\u201d trailed it, but the kids were already in a hullabaloo about the sleepovers and fun they were going to have as we extended our stay. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The following day we all hung out as Mal took a day of work\nand the kids were unfortunately ill, so needed to stay off school. &#x1f609;\nWe\u2019d arranged to see another friend of Alex\u2019s mid-week so left the Reeson\u2019s for\na night of rest and headed over to meet Anthony, his wife Liz and their\nchildren Will (14), Daniel (12) and Charlotte (9). We enjoyed a lovely\nafternoon getting to know them (well me, Alex was already acquainted!) which\nextended into drinks and a delicious dinner. It really felt like all was well\nwith the world and I guess in the west we were, compared to the rest of the\nworld. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-23 wp-block-gallery columns-2 is-cropped\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/IMG_3764-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"4053\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/IMG_3764-scaled.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/img_3764\/\" class=\"wp-image-4053\" srcset=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/IMG_3764-980x735.jpg 980w, https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/IMG_3764-480x360.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) 1024px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"498\" src=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200611_135219-1024x498.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"3989\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200611_135219-scaled.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/20200611_135219\/\" class=\"wp-image-3989\" srcset=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200611_135219-980x476.jpg 980w, https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200611_135219-480x233.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) 1024px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>We bid farewell the following day and ventured to Kings Park\nto take in the lovely views over the city, walk up the DNA tower, drive down\nWWI &amp; WWII Memory Lane and visit the dinosaurs at the play park. Weirdly,\nthe weather was glorious and not at all how Jen had predicted!?! &#x1f914;Thankfully Emily and\nMitchell had recovered from their illness quickly and returned to school, but\nthere was plenty of time in the afternoons for the 4 of them to play and dress\nup (Lexi &amp; Emily were now roaming the house in heels \u2013 high enough to rival\nones I used to wear in my previous life &#8211; giving us an insight into a few\nyears\u2019 time!!). And just like that, another weekend was upon us and we really\nneeded to begin our trek north. While the weather had been kind to us over the\nlast couple of months, it wasn\u2019t going to stay like it. The kids on the other\nhand had different ideas and hid, happy for us to go it alone! We\u2019d had a\nfabulous week and sad as it was to say goodbye, we hoped it wouldn\u2019t be too\nlong before we\u2019d catching up again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-25 wp-block-gallery columns-2 is-cropped\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/IMG_7693-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"4041\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/IMG_7693.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/img_7693\/\" class=\"wp-image-4041\"\/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"498\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200608_200247-498x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"3988\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200608_200247-scaled.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/20200608_200247\/\" class=\"wp-image-3988\"\/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/IMG_7698-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"4042\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/IMG_7698.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/img_7698\/\" class=\"wp-image-4042\" srcset=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/IMG_7698-980x735.jpg 980w, https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/IMG_7698-480x360.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) 1024px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200613_110943-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"4003\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200613_110943-scaled.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/20200613_110943\/\" class=\"wp-image-4003\" srcset=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200613_110943-980x735.jpg 980w, https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200613_110943-480x360.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) 1024px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>On the way out of Perth we popped in for lunch at an old\nschool friend of mine, Andrew, changed a couple of car tyres in preparation for\nreturning to the Gibb at a garage nearby and finally started on our travels\nnorth. Of course, we arrived at camp in the dark! We spent the next couple of\ndays getting some kilometres under our belt, with a return stop in Geraldton\nfor a haircut and to visit the red and white lighthouse again, hoping if a\nranger was going to find us, it would be our mate Trevor from last year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-27 wp-block-gallery columns-2 is-cropped\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200613_150152-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"4004\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200613_150152-scaled.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/20200613_150152\/\" class=\"wp-image-4004\"\/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/DJI_0580-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"4054\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/DJI_0580-scaled.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/dji_0580\/\" class=\"wp-image-4054\" srcset=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/DJI_0580-980x653.jpg 980w, https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/DJI_0580-480x320.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) 1024px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The next area for us to explore was around Kalbarri, at nearly 600km north of Perth, the days were warm, but the nights were still so cold. We visited here last year, but explored the inland sites, so decided to focus more on the coast this time. One place we were definitely returning to was Hutt River with its Pink Lake. From the road, you see a shimmer of pink if that, yet once the drone is up, you\u2019re transported to another world. The flamingo pink was a stark contrast against the sapphire blue of the sea the other side of the land and the views were extraordinary. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-29 wp-block-gallery columns-2 is-cropped\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Dji_0692-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"4032\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Dji_0692-scaled.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/dji_0692\/\" class=\"wp-image-4032\" srcset=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Dji_0692-980x653.jpg 980w, https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Dji_0692-480x320.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) 1024px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Dji_0656-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"4030\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Dji_0656-scaled.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/dji_0656\/\" class=\"wp-image-4030\" srcset=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Dji_0656-980x653.jpg 980w, https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Dji_0656-480x320.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) 1024px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Dji_0657-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"4031\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Dji_0657-scaled.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/dji_0657\/\" class=\"wp-image-4031\" srcset=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Dji_0657-980x653.jpg 980w, https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Dji_0657-480x320.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) 1024px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Dji_0724-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"4022\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Dji_0724-scaled.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/dji_0724\/\" class=\"wp-image-4022\" srcset=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Dji_0724-980x653.jpg 980w, https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Dji_0724-480x320.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) 1024px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>We explored the Mushroom Rock walk, although we thought it\nlooked more like a whale\u2019s tail and walked the coastline taking in the scenery.\nWe did pop back into the National Park to do Natures Window, hang off a cliff\nand do Z-Bend walk which we didn\u2019t manage last time. After the initial groans\nfrom Lexi and Reo which I think must be an automated response in them now, we\nhad a fun trek down into the valley, a big boulder descent to a cool river to\ndip our feet. Each day we returned to our beach side camp, nestled behind the\ndunes to huddle around the fire to stay warm once the sun\u2019s rays had\ndisappeared over the horizon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Dune Bashing\" width=\"1080\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/KqtrJJxnRgQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-31 wp-block-gallery columns-2 is-cropped\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"498\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200616_144424-498x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"4006\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200616_144424-scaled.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/20200616_144424\/\" class=\"wp-image-4006\"\/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"498\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200616_150536-498x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"4007\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200616_150536-scaled.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/20200616_150536\/\" class=\"wp-image-4007\"\/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"498\" src=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200616_150844-1024x498.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"4008\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200616_150844-scaled.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/20200616_150844\/\" class=\"wp-image-4008\" srcset=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200616_150844-980x476.jpg 980w, https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200616_150844-480x233.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) 1024px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Mushroom Rock\" width=\"1080\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/wqNqe4IhWQ4?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-33 wp-block-gallery columns-2 is-cropped\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"613\" src=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200618_135749-1024x613.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"4017\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200618_135749-scaled.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/20200618_135749\/\" class=\"wp-image-4017\" srcset=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200618_135749-980x587.jpg 980w, https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200618_135749-480x287.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) 1024px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"498\" src=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200618_154710-1024x498.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"4020\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200618_154710-scaled.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/20200618_154710\/\" class=\"wp-image-4020\" srcset=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200618_154710-980x476.jpg 980w, https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200618_154710-480x233.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) 1024px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"498\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200618_141102-498x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"4018\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200618_141102-scaled.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/20200618_141102\/\" class=\"wp-image-4018\"\/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"498\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200618_142615-498x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"4019\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200618_142615-scaled.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/20200618_142615\/\" class=\"wp-image-4019\"\/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"498\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200618_123033-498x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"3999\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200618_123033-scaled.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/20200618_123033\/\" class=\"wp-image-3999\"\/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"498\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200618_133421-498x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"4001\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200618_133421-scaled.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/20200618_133421\/\" class=\"wp-image-4001\"\/><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Before we headed on, we\u2019d been tipped off by another family\nabout a Cray boat tour, again with a current \u2018Covid special\u2019, so it was up-sticks\nearly on our final morning to try bag us some crays. There was a huge swell and\nthe skipper was clearly well practised in getting over the rocky break into the\ndeep. We hugged the coastline, dodging the surfers catching their waves and\nthen stopped suddenly as dolphins frolicked in the surf, it was mesmerising to\nwatch. They looked like they were having so much fun! <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-35 wp-block-gallery columns-1 is-cropped\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"498\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200619_094640-498x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"4021\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200619_094640-scaled.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/20200619_094640\/\" class=\"wp-image-4021\"\/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"498\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200619_094857-498x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"4010\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200619_094857-scaled.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/20200619_094857\/\" class=\"wp-image-4010\"\/><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Cray Pots\" width=\"1080\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Cyue9UQUkVs?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>As the skipper began pulling up the first cray pot, we\nbecame very excited, as did the Bronze Whalers swimming around the boat in the\nhope of a free feed. Alas, we were all disappointed as the pot was empty &#x1f632;\nIt didn\u2019t last long though, the next few pots brought up the goods, and by the last\ncrate, the tub was full and we were munching on lobster rolls with a side of\nlobster &amp; chilli jam and lobster &amp; garlic tasters. After a quick\ntutorial from the skipper on how to cook the little blighters, he gave us one\neach and off we went \u2013 very, very happy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-37 wp-block-gallery columns-3 is-cropped\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"498\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200619_101025-498x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"4011\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200619_101025-scaled.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/20200619_101025\/\" class=\"wp-image-4011\"\/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"498\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200619_101123-498x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"4012\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200619_101123-scaled.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/20200619_101123\/\" class=\"wp-image-4012\"\/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/IMG_4422-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"4060\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/IMG_4422-scaled.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/img_4422\/\" class=\"wp-image-4060\"\/><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>We had about 700km to drive over the next couple of days as\nwe had an important date to attend in Coral Bay. However, we couldn\u2019t do it all\nin one hit, so first night we pulled into Wooramel Station, a favourite on the\ntravelling circuit which we\u2019d missed last leg. Arriving just before sunset, we\nhad to decide, set up camp or go for a dip in the warm spa\u2026 Spa won outright! I\nhad envisioned lounging in the warm water under the twinkling stars, yet each\ntub was jam packed with everyone else who had the same idea, so while it was\nnice to chat with a bloke from Perth, it wasn\u2019t my anticipated version of\nevents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The next task was to try and remember the instructions on\nhow to cut up and cook the lobster. YouTube to the rescue. Lexi &amp; Reo\nweren\u2019t that fussed about having any more, so they had the \u2018special\u2019 on Mum\u2019s\nmenu, <em>pasta<\/em>, while Alex and I cooked up a lobster feast. Everyone was\nhappy. We sat under the night sky, a dark blanket wrapped around us, lit only\nby the glow of the fire that warmed us and the stars that shone bright above. It\nhad been a while since we\u2019d chilled under the stars and it was magic.\nOriginally, I\u2019d intended a sunset and sunrise dip, but as we parked so far away\nfrom the spa, my laziness kicked in and I settled for an after-brekkie dip,\nperfect, as we had the tubs all to ourselves. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Hot Tub\" width=\"1080\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-_ED4BiNV_Y?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-39 wp-block-gallery columns-1 is-cropped\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"498\" src=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200620_100800-1024x498.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"4014\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200620_100800-scaled.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/20200620_100800\/\" class=\"wp-image-4014\" srcset=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200620_100800-980x476.jpg 980w, https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200620_100800-480x233.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) 1024px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Dji_0830-1024x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"4023\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Dji_0830.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/dji_0830\/\" class=\"wp-image-4023\" srcset=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Dji_0830-980x980.jpg 980w, https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Dji_0830-480x480.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) 1024px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"498\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200619_194827-498x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"4013\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200619_194827-scaled.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/20200619_194827\/\" class=\"wp-image-4013\"\/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"498\" src=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200620_185957-1024x498.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"4015\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200620_185957-scaled.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/20200620_185957\/\" class=\"wp-image-4015\" srcset=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200620_185957-980x476.jpg 980w, https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200620_185957-480x233.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) 1024px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>We popped into Carnarvon the following day for some bits and\nto tour the fruit loop again, then headed out of town to camp. It must have been\nthe most extravagant dinner we\u2019d had at one of the most uninspiring camps, the\nlast of the lobster tail at a roadside parking lot!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The following day we found camp north of Coral Bay and\nbumped into another Towns family \u2018Towns Travel Oz\u2019, who\u2019d we\u2019d been following\non insta, were also in lockdown in Denmark, yet we\u2019d actually never met until\nnow! They introduced us to their friends, families \u2018Where\u2019s I going today?\u2019 and\n\u201912 Feet Around Oz\u2019, (everyone is only known by their travelling names) and we\nhad a lovely chilled afternoon getting to know them all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The next day was the focal point of returning to Coral Bay,\nanother day of swimming with the Manta Rays. Last year we\u2019d been lucky enough\nto do it, but the sea had been like pea soup and it had been very difficult to\nsee them, so as we were passing again\u2026.We had a great team on board, Jake,\nElle, Bern and skipper Frazer. Frazer asked the kids what they\u2019d like to see on\nthe trip, to which the obvious answer came back, \u201cmantas\u201d, then turtles,\ndolphins, dugongs and Tiger sharks all rapidly followed. Within a minute he\u2019d\nspotted a dugong! Pressure on Frazer. We\u2019d chosen this outfit as they allow you\nto snorkel with the Tiger sharks if they find one that looks placid enough and\nwe were <em>very<\/em> keen to see one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-41 wp-block-gallery columns-1 is-cropped\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"498\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200622_133707-498x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"4016\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200622_133707-scaled.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/20200622_133707\/\" class=\"wp-image-4016\"\/><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Ningaloo Reef\" width=\"1080\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/MZo3nyhnsNM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>There was an initial snorkel before the main event and we stopped at a cleaning station for Grey reef sharks, which we\u2019d visited last year. We counted 9 sharks all hanging around for their dental appointment to get their gnashers sparkling clean. It was evident how much our two had progressed in their snorkelling abilities and more confident too, Lexi especially as she tried to dive down to the sharks to get a closer look!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Grey Reef Shark\" width=\"1080\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/LADW3oKBBpE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>We found the mantas before the spotter plane, Jake jumped in and identified three, two males chasing a female, but they had no interest in hanging around for us, their eyes on a far more important matter! Another two were then seen and hung around to feed. Viz was good and we were soon ready for action, waiting for the nod to go in. The mantas had begun to barrel feed, swimming up towards the surface, gliding gracefully upside down in a loop de loop before speeding off again to repeat the process. Elle took our group, group number two, but group one continued to hang around for the action and before long, the two groups had merged into one mass of arms and fins splashing in a frenzy to look at the barrelling mantas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-43 wp-block-gallery columns-1 is-cropped\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/22.6.20_43-1024x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"3981\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/22.6.20_43.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/22-6-20_43\/\" class=\"wp-image-3981\" srcset=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/22.6.20_43-980x980.jpg 980w, https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/22.6.20_43-480x480.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) 1024px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/22.6.20_84-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"3982\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/22.6.20_84-scaled.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/22-6-20_84\/\" class=\"wp-image-3982\" srcset=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/22.6.20_84-980x653.jpg 980w, https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/22.6.20_84-480x320.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) 1024px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/22.6.20_89-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"3983\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/22.6.20_89-scaled.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/22-6-20_89\/\" class=\"wp-image-3983\" srcset=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/22.6.20_89-980x653.jpg 980w, https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/22.6.20_89-480x320.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) 1024px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Manta Swim 2\" width=\"1080\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/E6LkRM42CwM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>They put on an amazing show and once we were back on the\nboat, the hunt began for the elusive Tiger shark. As we coasted the sea, we saw\nturtles, rays, sharks and more dugongs, the water was crystal clear, it was so\ntempting to just dive off the boat. We came across one Tiger shark, but after\nJake jumped in to see if it was going to play, it swam off pretty quickly. We\nthen hit jackpot. The conditions were good to jump in. Not everyone was keen,\nReo wasn\u2019t 100% convinced but his questions were slightly muffled as we shoved\na snorkel in his gob and told him he\u2019d be fine as we jumped into the water.\nWowee, they are such beautiful creatures. So distinctive in their markings,\ncruising the ocean beds. It didn\u2019t seem keen to hang around like the manta\u2019s,\nbut we got our fix and it was so worth it. Once back on dry land, we drove to\nFive Fingers to meet up with the other Towns\u2019, 12 Feet Around Oz and Where\u2019s I\ngoing Today?, for a sundowner and snags on the BBQ. It was the perfect way to\nend the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Tiger Shark Swim\" width=\"1080\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/gC-wRZoU7nE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Drive to 5 fingers Reef\" width=\"1080\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/jdQ32pAUzQ4?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-45 wp-block-gallery columns-2 is-cropped\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Dji_0842-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"4025\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Dji_0842-scaled.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/dji_0842-2\/\" class=\"wp-image-4025\" srcset=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Dji_0842-980x653.jpg 980w, https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Dji_0842-480x320.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) 1024px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Dji_0838-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"4024\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Dji_0838-scaled.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/dji_0838\/\" class=\"wp-image-4024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Dji_0838-980x653.jpg 980w, https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Dji_0838-480x320.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) 1024px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>We had 1 more day at this camp, so drove over the dunes to Oyster Stacks, well-known for its good snorkelling. It had been a while since we\u2019d put our Body Glove wetties on, unfortunately they were more like compression stockings now after our lockdown binging! The tide was a bit low so there was quite a swell behind the reef as waves crashed over the top, but a fair amount to see as we swam around. It was a nice chilled day and good to have some movement as I was feeling a little sore after yesterday\u2019s activities. After an amazingly quick pack up the next morning, we left for our next camp. Our destination was as close to paradise as I\u2019d imagined when we were there nearly 14 years ago. We were keen to see how much it had changed since being in the hands of Ningaloo Station and subsequently the Dept. of Parks and Wildlife. Winderabandi, here we come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"4WD to Oyster Bridge\" width=\"1080\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/OpBIVKO9GBI?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-47 wp-block-gallery columns-2 is-cropped\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/IMG_4673-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"4068\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/IMG_4673-scaled.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/img_4673\/\" class=\"wp-image-4068\" srcset=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/IMG_4673-980x735.jpg 980w, https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/IMG_4673-480x360.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) 1024px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/DJI_0847-1-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"4069\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/DJI_0847-1-scaled.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/dji_0847-2\/\" class=\"wp-image-4069\" srcset=\"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/DJI_0847-1-980x653.jpg 980w, https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/DJI_0847-1-480x320.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) 1024px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><em>[Credit to Jake Wilton for the underwater photos]<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It was good to be on the road again. In true Towns style, by the time we\u2019d popped back into Denmark, picked up a few things and began on our way, it was dark by the time we pulled up to camp! After being in the house for 2 months, it felt good to be back in the van.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":4073,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4043"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4043"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4043\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4075,"href":"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4043\/revisions\/4075"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4073"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4043"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4043"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsontour.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4043"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}