Back to Tom Price

"BOOM!" went a noise outside of our van as we were motoring down a dusty road towards Karijini National Park.

"What was that?" Ken and Anne exclaimed at the same time. I looked in my driver's side mirror and began slowing down.

"I'm not sure, but I think we might have just blown a tire." I've never had a tire blow out on me before while driving, but I always thought it'd be more of a shocking jerk, causing the vehicle to veer to one side, perhaps into oncoming traffic or into a neighboring car. Yeah, a little morbid. But luckily, we were miles away from any civilization and there was nothing to veer into, had our vehicle chosen to do so. Well, lucky for that particular moment in time...

We got out of the van and inspected the catastrophe laying before us. It wasn't as bad as it could have been. Thirty minutes prior, we had left a caravan park just outside the small isolated mining town of Tom Price. Had this happened the day before, we would have likely been a good 3 hours drive from a town with a shop for vehicle repairs.

The three of us stood on the side of the road for about a minute staring at the shredded rubber attached to the rim of the back driver's side wheel. We were all a little dumbfounded and I think we were each secretly waiting for the others to take control of the situation.

"How do the other tires look?" I asked.

Ken circled the van. "Not so good. This one is flaking." Why we didn't inspect the tires before renting the vehicle is beyond me. I guess I took for granted the fact that rental companies are supposed to rent out roadworthy vehicles. Lesson learned.

Ken and I began changing the blown tire. We got as far as loosening the lugnuts before we had to pull out the manual to figure out where to place the jack. Fortunately, a couple stopped to help and within 10 minutes, we were on our way back to Tom Price. I never thought I'd return to Tom Price. We never intended on going there in the first place. We just used it as a stopping point between Exmouth and Karijini NP and only drove through it the first time when leaving the caravan park because we missed the turnoff for the road leading to the national park. Tom Price will always have a special place in my heart; a small oasis with a tire shop.

Despite having to spend an unexpected day with vehicle maintenance, we did manage to get to Karijini NP just in time for a beautiful sunset walk along Dale's Gorge rim. Western Australia is extremely sparse. The road is usually straight and the land mostly red and flat as far as the eye can see. It gets a little redundant watching the same landscape whirl past at 110 k/hr and driving while the others sleep, but I enjoy it as a time of reflection. I'm surprisingly content with it. The national parks are a nice reward at the end of a day's drive and Karijini was no exception. Because we don't have 4wd, we were only able to see a small amount of the park. We spent the next morning hiking into Dale's Gorge. I swam to waterfalls at the other end of picturesque Fern Pool, definitely worth the small detour off of the main trail.

(Fortescue Falls - Karijini NP)

We're in Broome at the moment, our last coastal destination before Darwin. Today we head inland and into the outback. We will spend our last days with the campervan exploring The Kimberleys of western Australia and the Katherine area of the Northern Territory. I'm sad to leave the Indian Ocean. It has been very kind with its inviting and refreshing turquoise waters... Except yesterday on Cable Beach when we reenacted a scene from "Jaws." Ken, Anne and I were frolicking in the water and participating in amateur body surfing when lifeguards began running up and down the beach blowing furiously into their whistles. We kind of looked at each other and followed the lead of other swimmers as hundreds of people began swimming/running back onshore. The lifeguards jumped into a small dinghy and drove out into the water. I followed the dinghy with my eyes until it stopped about 30 meters offshore and began circling. I spotted a fin in the water. Shark! The crowd watched the dinghy and two outriggers as they scared the shark away and within half an hour, everyone was back in the water like nothing had happened. I guess it was just another typical day at the beach...

There's so much more I'd like to tease you with (such as how we played dodge the kangaroo one evening after returning from a drift snorkel session on Turquoise Bay. There were literally THOUSANDS of roos along the roadside and we had many near misses...I'm talking within inches of a roo vs van collision.) but the road is calling.

(Roo video courtesy of Anne)

Fine Weather and Whale Sharks

Where to begin? I apologize in advance. This update will not be as creative as past updates. The sun is shining, the weather is fine and Ningaloo reef is calling me for a snorkel session. I'd be doing myself (and all of you) an injustice if I stayed in this dusty remote internet cafe any longer than need be.

Yesterday was a spectacular day, definitely the highlight of the trip so far. Anne and I climbed aboard the "Darling Isabelle" and spent a day searching for and swimming with the elusive whale shark. I still can't believe we did it. A thousand photographic and emotional memories are surging through my brain remembering it all. We started off with a short snorkel training session on Ningaloo Reef. The water was very choppy and the visibility wasn't great, but who am I to complain!? We saw plenty of coral and colorful fish, but the best was yet to come.

The next hour or so was spent cruising along the reef and waiting for the spotter plane to find our boat a whale shark. Once one was found, the Darling Isabelle cranked up her engines for full speed ahead. We were separated into two groups of 10, A and B, and were told to don our gear. Group A was in first. They were given about 5 minutes in the water and told to stop swimming so us, Group B, could have a go. Unfortunately, the whale dove and group B was was forced to wait for the next session. A few minutes later, we were shouted at again to get our gear on and before I knew it, I was swimming along a 40 foot whale shark! Words cannot describe my emotions and I know that sounds silly, but this is something I've been wanting to do for a very long time!

I wasn't scared (at first) and oddly, I wasn't excited. I could feel the adrenaline, but I was relaxed. I'm sure I wore a huge grin through my snorkel despite the fact that I was breathing and swallowing more salt water than anyone would like. I would have been satisfied with the first session, but I was allowed 4 more. I couldn't get enough of it. During the third session, I jumped into the water after the crew yelled "swimmers in!" and swam towards the spotter swimmer who was near the shark. I stopped to gain my bearings and to figure out where the shark was only to realize it was swimming straight at me. Whale sharks feed on plankton, but with a mouth big enough to feed a 30 ton animal, who wouldn't freak out at one swimming directly towards them. For a half second, I was paralyzed. The gap between us was shrinking by the millisecond and all I could do was stare. It was a game of chicken and if I didn't swim out of the way, I was going to lose! Luckily, my survival instincts slapped me across the face and I swam/flailed away as fast as I could.

A lot of people were finished after the third session. To maximize swim time between the two groups, the boat crew was very militant about us being prepared to swim and getting us in and out of the water. It tired a lot of people. It worked out great for me. I was one of about 5 people who wanted to swim the last session and it lasted the longest, about 15 minutes. The shark seemed to warm up to us. In previous sessions, it would decide it was finished with us and dive deep into the blue, far beyond what I could swim or see, forcing the swimmers back onto the boat. But on the last session, our hour with this particular shark was up (boats are legally allowed 1 hour of interaction with individual sharks). Despite being tired from keeping up with the shark (freestyle swimming with fins to keep up), we reluctantly returned to the boat. The shark lingered around the boat, circling as if calling us back to play. But all good things must come to an end and within a few minutes, it dove and was gone.

Besides whale sharks, we were also able to see humpback whales, spinner dolphins and loggerhead turtles on our snorkeling adventure. Apparently, a humpback whale swam within 50 meters of my group while we were in the water, but we were all so occupied with the whale shark, none of us noticed.

Other wildlife I've seen since leaving Perth are bottlenosed dolphins, Australian pelicans and lots of feral goats. I spotted two roos while we were hiking through a gorge along the Murchison River in Kalbarri National Park.

(Anne, Ken and I in Kalbarri NP on Murchison River hike.)

Ken only saw a tail as it hopped up the rocks and Anne missed it completely. We're hoping to spot some today on our drive to Turquoise bay to do some shore snorkeling.