Day 28: Exmouth - Cape Range National Park (Turquoise Bay, Mesa)

Today, another small 'wilderness adventure' begins. We are going to Cape Range National Park for 4 days. We have booked 3 nights at the park's campsites, which are only equipped with pit toilets. That's why we charged all our batteries last night. Now it's time to shower, fill the water tank, and empty the toilet.

After breakfast, we will go shopping in the center. While I restock the supplies, Michi will take the kids to the public water playground. Samuel has been wishing for this since we arrived in Exmouth. We will also buy burgers and donuts at the bakery and then head towards the national park. It doesn't take long and all 3 kids are asleep. We will refuel at the Lighthouse Campground. Diesel is cheaper here than in the city.

At the park gate, a ranger will check our national park pass and our campsite bookings. The national park is fully booked today - all pitches at all campsites in the park are reserved.

We drive to Turquoise Bay - according to the travel guide, the most beautiful snorkeling bay in the park. The parking lot at Bay Loop is filling up and there are also some people on the beach, but due to its size, it still appears almost empty. We will go snorkeling several times. The reef is just a stone's throw away. In fact, it starts at the beach. There are a lot of fish here. Samuel is also brave enough to snorkel today. Although he can swim quite well, we have equipped him with armbands and an air mattress. This gives him security and he can concentrate on the underwater world at Ningaloo Reef. He is really enjoying it, especially with the small fish. He's not so 100% excited about the larger surgeonfish and the 2 stingrays that Michi and he discovered.

Until now, Elija's crawling attempts have always been very close to seals. But today, he's doing really well and covering quite a distance.

We will stay at Turquoise Bay until sunset. We had a super relaxed afternoon with digging in the sand and great snorkeling experiences. It's beautiful here! This is how I dreamed of the Ningaloo Reef. I'm already sad that we are 'only' here for 3 nights and I hope that maybe we can manage a fourth night (if there's electricity and availability).

After a short drive, we arrive at our overnight camp, Mesa. On the way there, we see more kangaroos than we have seen on the entire trip so far. There is also a ranger on site who provides us with the most important information. It has been very windy in the past few days (it was also windy in the afternoon at the beach and therefore a bit cooler), but the next few days should be calmer. Today we will have quick cuisine: soup & rice pudding.

10/9/2018

Overnight: Camp Mesa / Cape Range National Park (1 night 22 AUD, basic pitch with pit toilet, closer together than the Dales Camp in Karijini)

Weather: sunny & windy, 28 degrees

80 kilometers for the day, total of 4,588 km