The west coast of Australia is filled with colour both on land and in the sea. Our many hours of driving was made easier by the gorgeously colourful wild flowers that made fields look like carpets of purple, pink and yellow…

When I wasn’t driving the colour continued in the coral reefs of the Ningaloo, the blue and green ocean that contrasted against the white sand during the day was replaced by orange sunsets at dusk or the moon casting a yellow stairway mirage on the blackened water below. We were lucky to witness this last phenomenon – named the Staircase to the Moon. Advertised like crazy in Broome we did wonder if the true thing would be as great as the many posters displayed around town but we waited with hundreds of others on the beach for the moon to rise. It was worth the wait but it took many photos and wading into the water to get only 2 good shots. Oh, I forgot to mention this phenomenon only happens when it is full moon so our timing was just perfect.

This all sounds so idyllic I know and it was from Broome down south towards Perth we saw so many beautiful things including an abundance of wild life. My highlights:

1. Watching Humpback whales breaching in Lighthouse Bay, Exmouth.
2. Snorkelling on the Ningaloo Reef amoung the coral, tropical fish and the occasional Ray.
3. Driving in Cape National Park at a slow speed allowed us to spot the uncountable number of grey kangaroos, red kangaroos, two Echidnas crossing the road and some Emus.
4. Swimming with Manta Rays in Coral Bay. These graceful gentle giants of the sea are just beautiful to watch, I spent a good 30 mins following this 4 meter wide ray – which was total goosebump material.
5. Watching green turtles and spotting a tiger shark on the out Ningaloo Reef just before we dived in for a snorkel – scary stuff!
6. Feeding the Dolphins at Monkey Mia and the Pelicans at Kalbarri NP.

You could never be bored down the coast with all the things to see and do, but at the same time it is peaceful with its sparse population. The people are incredible friendly, views amazing and the seafood fantastic.

Liz and I celebrated our final part of our trip together at Freemantle, Perth over a glass of wine in the harbour – after all we had just driven all the way from Darwin together – approx. 5800km!!!!