Tuesday, July 15.

We decided that, since we didn't think we'd get in to Exmouth until the school holidays were over, that we'd do some free camping – saving money as well, so we could afford to stay in a caravan park.

Our first stop two stops were at free roadside camps, with two short travelling days between. At the second camp, our friends Ton and Bev turned up and we spent several hours enjoying their company.

We had intended to go to Bullara Station from there to wait until Monday, but when we reached a crossroads and had a mobile signal, we rang Exmouth and scored a caravan park site for four nights, so continued straight through. Our site is right next to the amenities, so we have a virtual ensuite.

So nice to have hot showers, lots of water (even though it's hard water and tastes awful), and shops.

Free camp

A 'stone age' boomerang?
Ian doesn't think it caught on for some reason.

Dawn at Beasley River free camp

Saturday 19th

We hit the credit card for a day trip out to see the whale sharks. What a day! Not a cloud in the sky, no wind and perfectly calm. The tour organisers themselves were delighted with the perfect conditions.

First of all we were taken out over the reef (which is only about half a km from the shore) where we donned wetuits, masks and flippers and had a 'practise' snorkel over the coral. Six humpback whales cavorted around not far from the boat. Then a manta ray was spotted, so we swam along with it - me filming with the GoPro.

Happy (belated) birthday to me.

Spotter planes were up searching for whale sharks, and when one was spotted, some of the other boats let their passengers swim with it. When we had our turn, the whale shark was down fairly deep, so we didn't get much of a look at it. However, just as lunch was being prepared, 'our' spotter plane saw the shark again, so we were rushed into the water. This time, the whale shark was just under the water, and swimming straight at us. It passed just underneath us – so close I had to pull my flippers up out of the water. AWESOME!!!

What a perfect day! It was expensive, but worth every dollar.

See what I mean about the flippers!

Sunday, we drove around the tip of the Exmouth Gulf and down the west side to see all the National Park campgrounds, to see which ones would be suitable for launching the kayaks. Several have been closed due to the freak storm in April which dumped 400mm of rain in 24 hours and washed away several campgrounds. We loved Turquoise Bay, where the reef is very close to shore and you can swim out with your goggles on and snorkel along it. However, all the rest of the grey nomads have been waiting, like us, for the holidays to be over, and the campgrounds are showing 'full' signs. We have to do the line-up thing at 8 am and wait for someone to leave. First in line gets first pick of campsites. A funny system, but they say we'll get in if we wait in line.

Monday – our friends Peter and Pam have arrived and we spent the day driving around sight-seeing and learning about Exmouth's history.