Northwest Trip!

I survived the Outback trip! It was such an amazing experience and I am so excited to tell you about it. We camped for 10 nights straight at various different towns along the west coast and then we made our way inland to camp in the Outback. Many people think the Outback is another word for Australia but it's not. The Outback is mainly the middle part of Australia that consists of nothing but bushes, red dirt, and kangaroos.

DAY 1: We left Murdoch University at 8 AM and traveled north for a total of 581km. There were 44 other Murdoch students that also went on the trip. We were all extremely excited and anxious to start our journey! We traveled through wheat and sheep farm areas to the fishing town of Dongara and Port City of Geralaton. We got to our campsite, Northbrook Farmstay, in the evening and set up our tents for the first time. It was a difficult task at first. Our 3 tour guides thought it was hilarious how amateur we were. But by the end of the trip, we couls set up our tents with our eyes closed. It was SOO windy that night and no one could sleep. We had to wake up at 5AM to drive to our next destination so we all ended up sleeping on the bus!



DAY 2: We traveled about 370km in our caravan towards Kalbarri and we explored Murchinson River Gorge and Kalbarri National Park. After lunch, we continued north to Shark Bay World Heritage area. Shark Bay was amazing! The tour guides said they normally see 4 to 5 sharks swimming in the bay. But we saw about 80! They said the water was the clearest they have seen it in about 10 years. All the tiny black dots in this picture are sharks!



Later in the day we arrived at our campsite at Hamelin Pool. This is where we saw the oldest living organisms on earth, stromatolites! They look like rocks in the water, but they are living and produce oxygen. The only places where they are present today are Hamelin Pool in Shark Bay, Australia and Lagoa Salgada, Brazil.



DAY 3: We woke up at 5AM to travel 278km to Monkey Mia in order to be able to see the dolphin feeding. It was totally worth getting up this early. I was picturing something different in my mind when our tour guides said we might be able to see wild dolphins being fed. I was thinking that I would be trying to spot the dolphins about 300 feet from the beach. However, this was absolutely not the case. The wild dolphins swam inland on their own. They come every morning at the same time. They swam in so close, about 3 feet from where I was standing! Take a look for yourself.



After we enjoyed hanging out with the dolphins, we spent a relaxing day on the beach. Well, I actually got to ride a camel along side the beach. Now I can check riding a camel off of my to do list!



On our way home from Monkey Mia, we stopped at Shell Beach. You may be wondering why a beach is called that. Well, this is a special beach because instead of sand, there are little shells that cover the ground. I enjoyed making a shell angel, although it did hurt a little bit.



We camped at Hamelin Pool for the second night in a row. This night was the clearest I have ever seen the sky. I didn't even know there were that many stars in the sky. It was so unreal. I tried taking a picture of it but of course it didn't work. After star-gazing and seeing multiple comets, we made our way to "bed."

DAY 4: The next day consisted of just traveling. We made our way 437kms north along the coast to Coral Bay and the Ningaloo Reef. We camped at Bayview Coral Bay Caravan Park. After arriving at the campsite and setting up our tents, we made our way to the beach to watch the sunset over the Indian Ocean. It is such a beautiful sight but I think these pictures do it some justice.





DAY 5: FINALLY, we did not have to step foot in our caravans! I was getting a little tired of driving all day, everyday. We spent an unforgettable day at Coral Bay. This day I went on a 3 hour glass bottom boat tour of the Ningaloo Reef that also consisted of two snorkels! Unfortunately, I didn't see any manta rays or turtles but I did see beautiful coral and colorful fish. I do not have an underwater camera so I couldn't take pictures of the coral or fish. But I did take pictures through the glass bottom boat!





This was our last day/night in civilization before heading to the Outback so we enjoyed a couple drinks at the local bar.

DAY 6: And we were off to the Outback, where we would be with no running water and electricity for the remaining 4 days. We traveled east for a total of 592 kms and every one of those kilometers looked the same. Red dirt and bushes. And you think traveling on I88 west is a boring drive? This was a boring drive but it actually was really pretty. I mean what in Australia isn't pretty?



Also when we were driving, we saw some tornadoes. This obviously made the ride more interesting. See it on the left side of the picture?



We avoided all tornadoes and made it to our campsite safely at Karijini National Park. Here is a picture of our home for the next two nights.


DAY 7: Today was a day I will never forget. It was by far the best day of the trip. We spent the day at Karijini National Park, which is supposedly compared to the Grand Canyon. We hiked through gorges, saw the 3rd deadliest snake in the world (Australian Brown Snake), swam in fresh water pools that were clean enough to drink, and sat in gorgeous waterfalls. It was such an amazing experience and just glad I didn't get bit by that snake! The first fresh water pool we swam in was called Circular Pool. This is where the snake was lurking around while we swam.



After a nice dip in that pool, we hiked over to Fortescue Falls. Check out this beautiful waterfall. I sat in this for about an hour. It was like a free massage on my back, I never wanted to leave it!





I eventually got up from that wonderful spot and ventured on to yet another breath taking spot, Fern Pool. It seemed like every fresh water pool and waterfall kept getting better and better.





After spending quality time in the water, we made our way back to the top of the gorges to head back to our campsite for the night. Here are some pictures from the top. The first one is of Fortescue Falls, where we went swimming earlier.





DAY 8: We woke up bright and early to go for one last swim in Fortescue Falls and Fern Pool. I'd say that is a great way to start out your morning. After going for a relaxing morning swim, we packed up our campsite and traveled down the inland highway for 312km to the mining town of Newman. This is where we camped for the night. Newman consisted of miners, iron ore, and big machinery. Nothing seemed worth taking a picture of after enjoying two days at the most beautiful gorges and waterfalls I have ever seen.

DAY 9: This was yet another day that consisted of 700kms of driving. By this time we were making our way back to Murdoch. We camped at a random sheep farm in the middle of no where. This was our last night on the trip! I wasn't ready for it to end. On the last night, we all slept outside. And by outside I mean not in a tent or in a sleeping bag. We had officially become one with nature. Here was my bed..it looks comfortable right?



DAY 10: I survived sleeping outside. I didn't get bit by any of the snakes or spiders that were lurking around. We woke up at 5 in the morning to head back to campus. One advantage to this was seeing the beautiful sunrise.



A rainbow even made an appearance. It was a nice way to leave the Outback and head back to reality.



When I look back on these pictures, it reminds me how incredible this trip was and how lucky I am to experience a trip like this. A few times during the trip I was fed up with the millions of flies attacking me, not having running water, or wishing for air conditioning. But it was so worth it. I left the trip with about 40 new friendships and memories will last a lifetime!