Around Oz with the Munchkins: Heading to the Kennedy Ranges

Kate insisted on heading inland to visit the beautiful Kennedy Ranges as it seemed only appropriate – particularly having been given such a good time in Perth by the Kennedy Clan. Fortunately the Ranges were particularly beautiful – a little shady campsite nestled in amongst spectacular cliff faces, which reflected the morning sun. Next morning we walked and scrambled and stumbled up onto the Escarpment to be rewarded with amazing views of the ranges. After lunch we headed to Honeycomb Gorge which did indeed look like a great wall of honeycomb. Next morning Zara and Kate wriggled out of their sleeping bags at the crack of dawn to watch the sunrise from a perfect vantage point called ‘sunrise lookout’. After the sun was up we did another gorge walk - lovely in the cool of the early morning. Back at camp we found the fellas still in their pyjamas but we all managed to get packed up pretty fast and hit the very bumpy road north in search of Exmouth.

Unfortunately we had underestimated the distance we needed to travel to read Exmouth. Bill and Kate started glancing nervously at the petrol gauge. And despite having had our bike rack welded back together it had started to sag alarmingly towards the road. So this journey was altogether a little bit stressful and we were almost panting with relief when we slid into Coral Bay having driven the last 60kms with the petrol light on – not to mention the bikes dragging along the road behind us (Kate’s bike wheel seriously stuffed). But our troubles were not over because it was still school holidays and the little coastal town of Coral Bay was jam-packed. Unable to find even a penthouse apartment let alone a humble campsite, we left town to try and find a roadside campsite to no avail. As dark descended we eventually just pulled over the side of the road, set-up in a rather lopsided manner, made spaghetti and tumbled into bed exhausted but keeping half an ear out for police.