Mount Florance Station

Welcome to Mount Florance Station

I love Mount Florance Station.  Why? Because I love the wild cattle, brumbies and being on the station was really fun.

Mount Florance is a cattle station.  It is huge, about 350,000 acres or 140,000Ha.  It is so huge that you have to drive everywhere.  The station has about 3,500 cattle and that is a lot of cattle!

Our camp ground hosts are Robin and Brett.  They are a really nice couple.  They took us out on a brumby tour.

Brett told us a story about a brumby.  The story goes that some people set up a trap to catch a brumby.  They caught one, took it back to their farm and tried to train it.  Three months later it died. So that teaches us to not take brumbies away from their family because brumbies should be left in the wild where they belong, otherwise they will die.  They are not like a normal horse.  Mum said that they looked that good that they could be race horses.  I thought so too, but you can’t just take them away.

We got very close to the brumbies. It was very cool.

The second day we were there we helped work on the station. We had to make sure the pump was running into the dam. The pump runs for about 2 – 5 hours.  The water is pumped from under the ground. It was 4 metres deep under the ground.

Then we went to another paddock to make sure the water in the trough was full, and also to check if the windmill was working.

Last year Robyn had to hand feed a calf and she named it Elsie!  The day before we arrived Elsie was locked in the yards with some other cows because the wind slammed the gate. So Brett opened the gate to let them all out. That’s how we learnt about Elsie. The farmers love her.

At the water troughs we saw some cows on the other side of the fence. I thought I saw Elsie and I was right.  Brett went up to Elsie and she came over and kissed Brett on the cheek.  We got it on video. I went up with Brett to see Elsie. Elsie licked my hand and then she kissed me on the cheek. My whole family patted Elsie.

Then we drove on to another paddock. Brett pulled over and told us that there were brumbies ahead. We saw a foal and about 8 brumbies.

I loved my time there ……..

From Ella

Karijini National Park

 “On the road again”

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh, Karijini National Park. Life can’t get much better, except also going around Oz for 5 ½ months. BUT now it’s only 4 ½ months (you might be questioning only 4 ½ months).

We walked heaps of gorges but my favourite was Weano Gorge where we had to wade through waist deep rivers and walk down a fast running, steep waterfall (but luckily we had a handrail to cling onto).  My 5 year old sister, Ruby, did it so you can tell it wasn’t so bad. Everything was stunning. I can’t believe we saw a 1.5 m Pilbara Olive Python. Mum was scared and wanted to go back. They are constrictors.

This is me at Fern Pool, a pool about 800m from our campground.

Fern Pool was the best pool that I went to. Everybody loved it. On the walk there it was amazing. There was a tree full of bats and they were extremely loud snorers. The pool had about 200 fish feeding on the algae on the ladder.

Circular Pool was a pool that was circular. The walls were like they had been professionally carved by 1000 carvers. I was surprised that it was just nature. On the walk there we had to go through a lovely rainforest like an oasis. It was just magic. It was a highlight of Karijini.

Joffre Falls was absolutely spectacular. It was 150ft high and about 35ft wide. It was a beautiful outlook from the lookout.  The river was crystal clear. We wanted to go for a dip. Joffre falls fell in an oddly fashion. Here’s a pic to give you an idea.

Jack J

Here are some other cool photos I thought you’d like to see:

JR and the Manta Rays

Yo guys!

My dad and I just went swimming with a Manta Ray, whale watching and snorkelling. The whole day was awesome!!!

First we went whale watching. Saw some good whales but didn’t get many good shots. The male was rolling and rolling and rolling around like a puppy! He was trying to impress the females. Here I am with the whales. By the way, they were humpback whales:

Then we went for a practise dive before diving with the mantas. I swam with a turtle and the turtle’s shell was beautiful. After our 15 mins of snorkelling it was time for the big one: the mantas. I was at the front of the group and on top of the animal.  It was three metres wide (wing tip to wing tip). I absolutely loved it. No photos because we don’t have an underwater camera. Here’s a photo of me in my snorkelling gear:

After that we had a free snorkel for an hour. You could say we practically went swimming with black tip reef sharks, they came so close. If my mum was with us she would have packed herself (LOL). We tried to get a Grey Nurse Shark out of a cave but it wouldn’t come out. It was amazing.

Unfortunately the whole day had to end and that was a real bugger. When we were tied up I saw quite a lot of fish feeding on stuff growing on the bottom of the boat. We saw heaps of fish all around us. Mind you, the photo below is not coral! This is actually schools of fish!

When we got back I was sad. Not only because the Manta Ray tour was over, but also because it was our last day at Coral Bay. Well, off to the pool!

Thanks,

Jack J

Coral Bay

“On the road again”

If Willy Nelson received 1 cent each time this phrase was sung he would be a billionaire!

Along the way we passed places of interest,

but some things never change:

It is 27 August 2011 and we have arrived at Coral Bay.  We had a good spot in the caravan park and nice warm showers, but that isn’t what Coral Bay is all about.  It is the coral and the fish life of which there is HEAPS!

All of us got in the spirit of snorkelling; none more so than the kids:

Fish feeding on the beach was a favourite.  These Spangled Emperors (a type of brim) are at least 50cm long in ankle deep water!  We were told to bury our toes in the sand to stop them being nibbled!

Jack and Stu spent half a day on a large boat doing a spot of whale watching, swimming with manta rays and diving on coral reefs.  It was a great day.  Excluding footy stuff, I haven’t seen Jack so animated and excited.  He could not get enough of the whales as they rolled and hit their fins and tails on the water.  This was the highlight of his day!

Not far behind was swimming with the manta rays; a totally harmless yet majestic creature.  JR never left the guide’s side and was always at the front of the pack throughout the whole swim.  The way they effortlessly glide through water is remarkable; yet with 3 quick flaps of their wings they can reach speeds of 70km/h.

But I loved snorkelling over the coral and seeing the vast array of fish life.  We saw a heap of 5 foot reef sharks, stingrays and fish of every shape and size.  Many you would recognise from marine aquariums and from the movies like Finding Nemo.  The coral is not the most colourful, but the fish are beautiful.

Ella again had no problems with making friends.  When she meets someone new they become instant best friends.  All they want to do is hang out at the pool, and of course Ruby loves to tag along.  In Coral Bay Ruby met some kids her own age and like Ella wanted to spend the whole day with them.  Girls their age are so sociable and inclusive.

Jodi has also done some snorkelling and enjoyed it.  She is well and truly in the swing of things.  A couple of days in one spot and she is itching to move on to something new.

Coral Bay, a beautiful place, but it is time to move on.

1 Sep 2011; Cape Range National Park here we come…….