Upon arriving back in Perth we decided to take a few days to recover so we headed to the beach. This time we chose Scarborough beach which is just up the coast form Cottesloe. The waves here were even better than Cottesloe with a gigantic swell and we spent the next four days making the most of the sun, sea and sand many a night we were still in the water at 8 o’clock watching the sunset!

After our 4 day break we decided it was time to hit the road again, this time heading north of Perth. Our first stop was Cervantes where we stopped at the Pinnacles. These are basically large limestone pillars that jut out of the ground. Sounds a bit boring but it was a pretty amazing sight! There are hundreds of them dotted around the park in all different shapes and sizes. The first settlers to find these pillars actually though they were the remains of a lost city, however, it was later discovered that it was a large limestone escarpment that had been worn down with the weather to create these unusual pillars.

Our first port of call was Geraldton which gave us a bed for the night. The next day we set off to explore Geraldton, visiting the HMAS Sydney Memorial which had never been found since it was sunk after being attacked by a German ship during the War and all 400 or so crew went down with it! However in recent weeks the wreck of the ship has now been discovered! Then it was on tho the Cathedral which is a beautiful building made from limestone and red brick, across the road was the Queens Park theatre which has an outside picture screen though we had missed the showing by a couple of days!

Next on our trail was Kalbarri. On the way we stopped at Port Gregory where we marvelled in the sight of the pink lakes. And of course we couldn’t stop without taking a look at the coast. This was pretty amazing as you could see the reef about 100m out to sea and all the waves were breaking over the top of it – we hadn’t seen this before!

Continuing to Kalbarri we visited all the natural gorges along the coast which had great views out over the ocean and of the native wildlife including loads of birds. The following morning we got up early so we could feed the pelicans on the beach which was good fun, then it was off again towards Monkey Mia first of all stopping at Kalbarri National Park to see natures window which is a large rock with a hole which has eroded through the years and gives great views out over the gorge to the Murchison River below. The views from here were spectacular in fact the pictures do not do it justice. We then stopped at the Z-bend and took the 1.2k trail down to see the meandering of the Murchison River, unfortunately by the time we got this far the Temp had reached over 40 degrees so we decided not to go right down to the river.

From Kalbarri we continued on to Denham and the Monkey Mia Resort. On the way we stopped at shell beach where the full beach is tiny little white shells! In Denham we took a stroll along the front before heading to Monkey Mia which was the star attraction on our trip. It is a resort on the shark bay peninsula where we both got to feed wild dolphins, at the edge of the beach as they come on a daily basis to be fed - what an amazing experience. We stayed here for 2 nights and on our 1st full day we decided to take a boat trip around the bay on a catamaran called the Shotover. Whilst on the boat we were lucky enough to see a sea snake, dugongs, a turtle and more dolphins swimming alongside the boat, then we moored and it was time for a snorkel On the way back to shore we even got to see a 3 metre tiger shark which was pretty amazing though I’m glad it was after the snorkel as I don’t think we would have ventured in the water !! After the boat trip I even got to see a baby shark in the bay, only about 3 feet in front of me!!

We stopped at Carnarvon over night but didn’t really explore here much as it was really just a stopover on our way to Coral Bay.

After visiting the Valley of the Giants we headed further south to Denmark where we visited the visitor centre that had a large display of barometers and also a maze which we managed to get lost in a couple of times though we did find our way out! It was then on to Albany which was a beautiful little seaside town with gorgeous beaches. Whilst we were there we visited Frenchman’s bay which had spectacular views out over the ocean and white sandy beaches and is also great for whale watching when the whales are migrating - not the right season unfortunately I’m sure it would have been a wonderful sight!

Here we also visited the natural bridge and the gap which are large formations of rock that have eroded over thousands of years. The gap was created when Antarctica broke away from Australia thousands of years ago and it is said that they would still fit back together today at least to some degree erosion of course taking its toll. On the way back to Albany for the night we took the 2k walk to see the blow holes which included 78 steps down around the rock to get there. These are basically large holes in the rocks that the sea water is pushed up through when the sea is rough enough. The weather however wasn’t rough enough and the swell wasn’t high enough so the blow holes weren't blowing! However there were some fantastic views out to sea and a rather good surf beach where we had the pleasure of watching some surfers taking a few tumbles in the waves - of course they were far better than we'll ever be!! Here we also watched the sunset then made our way back to the beach for a stroll before going back to our cabin for the night. On the way back we also came across our first wild kangaroo standing at the side of the road he even posed for some pictures!!

Next day it was on to Hyden and Wave Rock which was a 4hr drive inland from Albany. This is a large granite rock which has been eroded by the wind and rain over thousands of years into the shape of a wave. It was a pretty amazing site we weren’t expecting it to be quite so big. The heat was even more immense as we travelled inland almost 10 degrees hotter than at the coast which we didn’t realise until we ventured out the car due to the air con!! Our bed for the night was at the Hyden/Wave Rock Motel which was really nice and we had a make your own dinner in the restaurant where you choose what you want to eat then cook it on the indoor BBQ it was great then we managed a dip in the pool - the perfect way to end the day and our first road trip!

Our next adventure was a road trip down south of Perth. To do this we hired a car i had to drive the whole way! Though we split it over 7 days so i didnt feel too tired!! The first port of call was Bunbury though we passed through Rockingham and Mandurah on the way to take in some of the lovely views and amazing beaches! By the time we got to Bunbury we had just had time to grab something to eat and a quick swim in the sea before watching the sunset.

The following day we visited the dolphin discovery centre but unfortunately the dolphins didnt visit that day though we had fun looking around all the exhibits and watching for them at the beach. Next it was on to Margaret River where we witnessed our first bush fire - we were miles away though and it wasnt too serious! we stayed at Mrgaret River for 2 nights and on the first day we went on a cheese and wine tasting tour where we got to visit three different wineries and cheese factory, a venison farm and a chocolate factory mmmmmmmmmmmm!! Before the tour set off we also got our first taste of a real Aussie BBQ - perfect way to start the day! After the tour we hired canoes and went canoeing down the river which was fun!

After leaving Margaret River we went to Prevelly Beach where we caught a glimpse of our first surf comp before heading to our next destination! We then stopped off at Pemberton where we went on a tram ride through the forests which was really interesting looking out for fish and animals in the rivers and snakes on the ground - though we never saw any. The next stop for the night was Walpole on our way to the valley of the giants, where we went on a tree top walk through the giant tingle trees some of which are over 400 yrs old!