NIK `N` OFF: Ningaloo

Our latest trip was to South Lefroy Bay Ningaloo with the new Masterpiece Optimum caravan. We travelled up with ‘The Billy’s’ and called in and stayed the night at our mates ‘The Parkers’ place at Geraldton and then caught up with mates ‘The Scott’s’ at Edaggee rest area who were also staying at Ning .. How lucky are we to have mates

Parked up at Parker’s

On the road

we stayed at the short stay the night before going into Ning

A night at the old short stay camp site

As usual the road in was corrugated and rough, tracks around the camps had softer sand than before and the tracks through the dunes had also changed. We had an awesome camp just metres from the ocean, we have been coming here for around 30 years and though it’s changing with control now by WA parks and booking on line with system that’s not the easiest to use, our camps have basically not changed, just allotted numbers.

Our camp site

Vickie enjoying the serenity of another Ningaloo sunset

Stunning skies

What also changed is the amount of fish and squid caught, very few! One small reef shark, some rock cod and 7 squid of which Vickie caught 5! Certainly different to previous to trips but we no complain. The weather was beautiful!! Sunsets & Sunrise (when we could be bothered getting up) simply stunning.

Fish and Chip Night at Billy’s

Waiting for the rod to bend, it rarely did

Pumping up ground water into a bladder

We learnt a bit more about our MP Optimum, I was thinking we had an inverter problem but all it turned out to be was the microwave 240v switch had accidentally been turned off … Thanks Remon (the owner of Masterpiece caravans) for the call and face time, very embarrassing to have made a newbie error.

I felt proud & embarrassed at the same time when we were at the dump point doing our loo and a 300 series & Kedron pull up and a voice says “ I wondered if we would ever meet, I’ve been following your site for years” … well it was very nice to meet you Grant and your Dad Bob, even if it was coinciding with emptying our toilet haha…. we hope you enjoy camp 15 as much as we have.

I had my 70th Birthday there and celebrated it with friends and received some wonderful presents. We were invited to sundowner on some friend’s beautiful 40’ catamaran #Barbarossa McGinty who are on a sailing trip for 18 months.

Sorry about the photo quality here

My Birthday dinner and drinks, here we have Brett, Karen & Doreen

Vickie, Joanne and Dave

Joanne, Dave and Brett

Aye Aye Skipper

1st Mate and Best Mate

A beautiful ocean going Catamaran,

Leaving Sth Lefroy we all stayed two nights in Exmouth at a van park catching up with some more R&R (mainly the Whalebone Brewery and their wood fired pizzas) before The Billy’s and us going on to Kurrajong for some more chill time and Glenn and Karen heading back to Perth and work.

Whalebone Brewery

Vickie, Jo and Karen

Glenn, Hairy Me and Dave

As luck would have it we saw Lewis Lewis Davies Davies (yes he likes double names) at Exmouth Bakery with some of his mates, Lewis lives in Carnarvon and is a great young man and credit to his parents

Myself and Lewis

We were booked in for two weeks at Kurrajong but after 4 days we started to get itchy feet and decided to leave and head home and get some things organised before heading away again, this time it’s SA, Vic, NSW and possibly Qld

We have our Hobie kayaks & Thule Hullivators for sale if anyone is interested