Sea Urchins at Knobby Head

Geraldton was the first sizeable city we’d seen since Darwin.  While we were there we managed to get to a few things on our list, including a haircut for LadyBug and TurboBug.  Isn’t LadyBug’s hair the cutest?  She’d been asking to have it cut off for awhile but we wanted her to be sure since for more than a year she’s been saying she wanted to grow it as long as Rapunzel.  When it was TurboBug’s turn the hairdresser commented on his baby hair.  He’s definitely been the slowest of the kids to grow a full head of hair!  We also got LadyBug a new booster seat that could fit in the back and moved TurboBug to her old seat.  Which means we finally don’t have any baby car seats in our family!  The kids had been looking forward to switching around, here’s SkeeterBug in the middle and LadyBug at the back. 

After we left Geraldton we spent one night at a free camp called Knobby Head.  It had the stickiest whitest sand ever, covering our shoes and mat in white.  In the morning we wandered the beach looking for sea urchin skeletons (called tests), since Dad had found one and we were fascinated.

We found plenty, even some still covered in spines with creatures inside them.  This one I threw back in the water, I couldn’t tell if it was still alive or not.  They were all quite small most were filled with sand.

The shells are fascinating.  I’d seen pieces like these washed up on another beach further north and didn’t know what they were at the time.  The colours and patterns are beautiful, like they’ve been sewn together.

They are quite delicate, easily smashed with the squeeze of your fingers.  We’ve never seen them intact before, I was so glad we stopped here, it could be the only time we’ll see them.

We found dozens and had great fun collecting all the ones that weren’t still furry.

This was one of our favourites and was the only one we found like this.  Purple and spotted, it was gorgeous.

We spent just one night here.  It was a lovely, quiet spot.  There are many stops along this stretch of road, some suitable for 4WD only. 

It was also a very windy spot!  We had to carefully position the van against the bushes so that the gas powering our fridge wouldn’t blow out.  We’ve had that happen before and it’s always frustrating to wake up in the morning and discover the fridge has been out most of the night. 

After Knobby Head we were off to Cervantes, our last stop before Perth.

The Devil’s Marbles – Karlu Karlu

If you drive the Stuart Highway you literally can’t miss the Devil’s Marbles since the highway cuts right through them.  When we drove south after our stay in Tennant Creek we oooh’d and ahhh’d at the sight and made plans to stop here on our way back north.  I really had my heart set on camping here for a night because the sunset hitting these rocks is supposed to be beautiful.  During peak season this campground fills by early afternoon.  Since we were there at the end of the season we didn’t have to worry about claiming a spot and shared the campground with only about ten other caravans, motorhomes, and camper trailers. 

There aren’t any formal walking tracks through the marbles, you just follow the footprints of all the other people who have been there before you. 

Karlu Karlu is huge, over 1800 hectares but most people (including us) only see a small portion of it.  The marbles extend out in the distance quite some way. 

Ownership of the land was only given back to the traditional owners in 2008. It was immediately leased back to the government and is now jointly managed.  There are four aboriginal groups in the area, they all call this place Karlu Karlu which translates to ‘round boulders’.

This lovely lizard was not afraid of us at all.  We nearly didn’t see him, he blends into the rock so, so well.

This picture was an accident, taken while trying to get a closeup of that lizard.  I love it, though, the way you can see all the marbles in the background.

The rocks are all different shades of red depending on how the light is hitting them.  It would be lovely to walk through here all day and see the rocks at all different hours of the day.

We didn’t climb the taller piles of marbles, there are signs around asking you not to climb due to the cultural significance of the area.  Those are other tourists on the rocks in this picture, with TurboBug walking on the ground.  It’s nearly impossible not to end up on some of the rocks that offer a gradual ascent so we did end up on top of some rocks here and there.

And now I bring you picture after picture of the lovely Devil’s Marbles…

Of course the campground wouldn’t be complete without a little information on the rock formations and how they were formed.

The sunset was gorgeous, of course. Beautiful silhouettes and gorgeous hues on the rocks.

There’s our home!  Can you believe that when we are travelling we can fit all that stuff in the van?  All the camping chairs, the mat, the grill, the three tubs, the boogie boards.  Those three tubs hold beach gear and outside toys, beach towels and swimwear, and the mat and sullage hoses.

That night we laid out under the stars and enjoyed the sheer number of them so visible in the night sky away from everything.  After this we are still heading north, our next stop we’ll be the furthest north that we’ve been in Australia!

Catching the Ferry to Bruny Island

Our next stop after exploring Hobart was Bruny Island.  We were all looking really forward to this.  Before staying in Snug we had spent a couple of nights in Triabunna with the intention of visiting Maria Island.  (Which is pronounced muh-RYE-uh.  Because we are in Australia and they like to do their own thing when it comes to pronunciation.)  When we got there we decided it was just not in our budget, it cost too much for a day-trip for our whole family and we wouldn’t be able to camp there.  So we promised the kids we’d go to Bruny Island instead.  Exciting, because we could take the van across and camp there for a couple of nights.  The ferry leaves from Kettering, which I can’t get to show on this map but if you zoom in a little you’ll see it.  It was a short drive from Snug.  See the Tasman Peninsula off to the east?

 

On the way to the ferry I snapped this roadsign for a black swan.  :)  It’s blurry but it counts.

We had a short wait for the ferry.  There’s a small cafe and toilets, a place to get in out of the cold.

There’s two ships that ferry vehicles back and forth.  We had the Mirambeena that morning.

Actually, I think it was midday.  We were one of a handful of vehicles towing something.  After they loaded the upper deck we were first in line.

We got to pull right up to the front, right against that gate at the front of the ship.

A lovely day for a ferry ride!  Okay, in reality it was cold.  But we still enjoyed it very much.

Well, most of us enjoyed it.  TurboBug was so determined he needed to get over to the other side of that gate.  We eventually had to get back in the car because he was not content to observe the view from my arms.

When we approached the island they lifted the ramp to offload the top deck first.

See the car driving off, right above us?

Then it was our turn.  Down came the ramp.

Look!  We’re on Bruny Island!

We headed down the road, south, toward the neck of the island, called…The Neck.  There’s a free camp there that’s perfect.

More to come on Bruny Island!