We went for a cruise up the Yardie Creek Gorge and saw the
Black Footed Rock Wallabies which are really unique and so different from the
kangaroos which are throughout the park. We have to be very careful about
leaving any water containers about the van as the kangaroos come around in the
evening and do their best, sometimes succeeding in taking the tops off to get
at the water. Crafty little buggers!
Despite all of that
we had an absolute ball at Tulki, enjoying snorkelling at a number of sites
twice a day, finally settling on Turquoise Bay as our favourite. On one
snorkelling adventure we saw a very large octopus sitting on a rock with a
large number of small fish hovering around.
We only notice the octopus initially because the fish move as a group
whenever the octopus moved. Each evening we enjoyed chatting with our
fellow campers and watching the sun set. We had planned to move back to the
Blowholes after our 8 nights at Tulki but having decided that we were having
such a great time here we were able to secure another site in a different camp
within the National Park. There are no sites available in the pre booking
system until August so it certainly is a very popular place. Once you are in
the park there is a process each morning of the various camp hosts
communicating via radio and discussing any vacant sites which campers already
in the park can transfer to. Then any remaining (!) sites are made available to
the cars waiting at the entrance to the park which have been waiting there
since 4am! So the best plan is to do as we did and book ahead where you are
able to and then transfer once you are in the park. Happily for us we are now
staying at Lakeside Camp with two other campers from Tulki and have new camp
hosts Bill and Hazel who are just as helpful as Patrick and Barbara from Tulki
and we can stay up to 28 days in total at Cape Range National Park.
We have continued to snorkel every day and the wind has
largely disappeared so we are very pleased with that. The fish we are able to see here has been
fantastic and we are having a ball. We
have seen fish up to 2 feet long and some miniscule. The only thing we had
wanted to see and not been able to, was a turtle as it was not the time of year
when they are seen in any number. Yesterday
we went back for a second snorkel and low and behold there was a beautiful
turtle who was more than happy to stay with us for quite a few minutes, coming
up for air and paddling just below the surface whilst we followed him. When he
decided he had had enough of us he retreated down amongst the coral and we left
him in peace. I’ve called him Harold for absolutely no reason. We also came across a very large sting ray,
which I could have done without. They
stay on the bottom covered with sand except for their eyes and when they decide
to move they are quite disconcerting I think because they rise up from the sand
and are very large. We had seen a number
swimming which is fine because they are just like any other creature in the
ocean but when they come up from the bottom that is another thing altogether
for me. We are so lucky to have had wonderful weather with lovely sunny days
and warm nights. Each evening we take
our chairs down to the beach to watch the sunset with our fellow campers and
discuss the day’s activities and plan what we will do the following day. The
photo Ian took was from our chairs and just shows how tough it is!!
Today is the first day we are not swimming as the weather is
drizzling and very windy so it is a good opportunity to blog, clean and set
ourselves up for a few more days here if the weather improves. If there is no
improvement we will probably move on on Thursday to Tom Price and then to Karijini
National Park.
We heard ourselves described at the weekend on the radio as
“The Grey Haired Stimulus Package”. We’re happy to be of sevice!
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