Perth - Kalbarri - Denham: October '12

On our most recent journey, we travelled in the company of a friend and my mother in law. We thoroughly enjoyed our trip, spending 1 week in Kalbarri and 1 week at Hamelin Station just out of Denham. The kids came down with some sort of virus, the doctor called it "slapped cheek" syndrome. The poor things screamed every time we put sunscreen on them due to a rash. We were using Banana Boat but once we swapped to the Cancer Council sunscreen their skin stopped stinging. The salt water also caused them pain which was unfortunate seeing as there is not much to do in kalbarri if you cannot go in the sun or water!! Anyway, they slowly over come it and we managed to enjoy the rest of our trip. We did the 9km walk around the Kalbarri NP and went on a boat trip at Monkey Mia aboard the Aristocat 2 which were both well worth the time,money and effort. At a beach just out of Denham, we found the remains of a Loggerhead Turtle - AMAZING!! Of course I kept it!!

Kalbarri *** Over-rated tourist mecca. The river seemed to fished out.. or perhaps it was our rusty fishing techniques? Lovely views of the oceans form the cliffs along the coastline so don't forget the camera! The natural bridge is nice.

Kalbarri NP **** More toilet facilities would be good. Great sights, lovely walks. Great for viewing the flora and fauna. Thoroughly recommend the walk trails, just ensure you have PLENTY of water and sunscreen. A fly net maybe good too! Oh, and be sure to take a dip, it's very refreshing. You can also go fishing in the gorge rivers although I'm not sure how you would go about carting all your fishing gear down there.

Tudor Holiday Park **** Great caravan park. Ablution blocks close to sites, pool, playground with jumping pillow and a talking parrot :)

Hamelin Station ***** OMG amazing. 5 star ablutions blocks, laundry, kitchen ( with fridge for patron use), BBQ area, happy hour 5pm ( everyone gathers for a beer ). There is no dump point for caravans but you are still welcome to stay. Nice country feel. A little difficult to get tent pegs in the ground so make sure you have a mallet! No pool and it does get awfully hot during summer and its about a half an hour to the nearest swimming beach so if you want somewhere closer to the town centre or a close available beach, look elsewhere but if you dont mind a bit of a drive this place is awesome. The kids enjoyed checking out the shearing sheds and found a few animal remains such as skulls. They also saw the station hands mustering the sheep. All great fun and lovely caretakers make you feel very welcome.

Denham **** Lots to explore. Plenty of beaches, good fishing, snorkeling, etc. You can spear fish in some parts as long as you aren't using SCUBA but be sure to check with DEC. http://publocation.com.au/pubs/wa/denham/heritage-resort-shark-bay This is a link to view the nicest pub I've been to :) good company, brilliant views, delicious cocktails, great food, a pool table and so good we went back again! Be sure to visit when your in Denham.
http://www.bluelagoon.com.au/  
A good place to take the missus is blue lagoon pearls for that little something special :) Here they sell Gemini Pearls which are only farmed at the pearl farm in Monkey Mia, also a nice place to check out. You can get to the pearl farm via the Aristocat 2. They also educate you on how a pearl is made and you get to taste some of the clam meat. I will pass next time although they say people pay hundreds of dollars just for a small piece of it. Not me, I'll stick to good ol' fish and steak!
Shell beach is worth a visit as is the stromatolites at Hamelin Pool, only 5 mins from Hamelin Station Stay. The snorkeling is great although as the name suggests there are alot of sharks. We saw mostly shovel nosed sharks and tonnes of sting rays.
http://oceanpark.com.au/ Ocean Park is definitely worth a visit whether or not you have children. Amazing species of fish including stone fish, lion fish, eels and sea snakes. But the best bit for the kids is the shark pool at feeding time. We actually witnessed a shark eat another shark by mistake! oops. The little fella went for the fish and the big fella took out both of them! As you are driving along Shark Bay Rd you'll come across the cattle grids. I'm pretty sure it the second grid along the road? It's easily recognised by the fence to keeping out the feral animals. If you drive SLOWLY over the cattle grid with your window down you will hear a dog barking!! This is an automated dog that barks every time something crosses the grid. It is designed to frighten feral cats, etc back the way they came.

Monkey Mia - Nice cafes on the beach, The dolphin feeding thing is a tad over-rated although if your a die hard dolphin lover by all means, check it out. Too unnatural for me. We enjoyed watching them from the Aristocat 2 along with dungong and sea turtles. The kids also enjoyed the boom net on the back of the boat. Nice fishing further down the beach, plenty of whiting. If you look closely you can see hundreds of tiny crabs the size of a finger tip along the shoreline, amazing!