Shark Bay trip
Finally got around to getting a few photos off the camera and onto the computer of our week in Shark Bay.
So headed off after work for the trek upto Francois Nat. Park. Shark Bay. Left Mandurah at 17:30 the trip up was pretty uneventful, until about 2am when we turned off the NWC Hwy and started heading towards Denham. The plan was to pull over at the first parking bay and roll out the swags for a kip, then get started again at dawn. However the first parking bay is about 30k in, by that stage we had seen a heap of roos and had one jump straight under the boat trailer putting a decent bend in the 5mm angle iron that the mudguard is welded to! Nothing major thankfully. So got a few hours sleep to recharge the batteries, then off at dawn for our week in paradise. Woohoo!!
Got camp set, then dropped the boat in the drink and sat back and cracked a few tinnies. Lifes good!!
So the rest of the week went a bit like this. Get up have some breakfast, get the kids ready and head out about 500m from the mooring and have some fun on undersize Pinkies, Black Snapper, Flag etc.even got a few spotted macks to mix it up. It's a great place to take the kids fishing as the small Pinkies are like blowies and they put up a spirited fight on 
my kids bream sticks
Then we would come in have some lunch and a couple more beers. Then off with the brother in law for a Bluebone bash. Doug comes up here a fair bit and has the Bluebone sussed. We didn't get any monsters, but scored every trip. I got smoked on a good one, had my Calcutta 700te drag locked up and plenty of thumb pressure but still got smoked. Great fish to catch in less than 2m of water.
Come back in and chill out for a while then it was Pinkie time. We got out most arvos at about 4:30 till dark 
when the bigger Pinks seem to come around. Again no real big ones this year. But managed a good mixed bag most arvos, picking up nice size Estuary Cod, Black Snapper (not as big as the ones Beau posted) even scored a couple of Mulloway and Doug got a good Coral Trout. Only hooked one shark which was good.
So all in all a really good trip. Will definately be back next year and doing it all again
Cheers thanks for reading
Chris
beau
Posts: 4106
Date Joined: 24/01/10
good trip kirky!Im just
good trip kirky!
Im just about to repost all the photos on my report as theyre not showing anymore.
Cant wait to get back up there
randall df223
Posts: 6454
Date Joined: 08/08/11
Looks like a great trip.
Looks like a great trip. What part of the cape do you camp at?
Fish! HARD!
Versus
Posts: 918
Date Joined: 06/03/09
Awesome stuff, have only ever
Awesome stuff, have only ever been landbased there, kills me not having a dinghy. Is that the camp one down from Bottle Bay?
kirky79
Posts: 1354
Date Joined: 13/01/12
Thanks guys, Was a great
Thanks guys,
Was a great trip. We stayed at South Gregories. They have done a lot of work there since I was last there. They have 2 areas now one for campsites with generators and one without. Two fancy long drop toilets all the frames were made from stainless steel! Must of cost a small fortune, but they won't be going anywhere any time soon. Another really great idea was having 2 airhoses at the start of track in, making dropping air pressure a breeze and saving plenty of time on the way home. Plus a good information sign explaining the in & outs of tyre pressure. Royalties for regions maybe? Anyway money well spent I reckon.
randall df223
Posts: 6454
Date Joined: 08/08/11
South Gregories on the
South Gregories on the eastern or western side? Is it suitable to beach launch and moore a 5m plate ali boat, or easier to launch at denham or monkey mia and proceed by water (meeting another 4wd there with the camping gear?)
Fish! HARD!
kirky79
Posts: 1354
Date Joined: 13/01/12
G'day RandallSouth Gregories
G'day Randall
South Gregories is on the eastern side mate. I have seen a tandem axle go in there with a plate ally once before. The beach launch wouldn't be a prob. But I think the last km or so coming into South Gregories would be a bit dicey with a boat that size. I would be launching at Denham and meeting up there as mooring your boat wouldn't be a problem there.
Cheers
Chris
randall df223
Posts: 6454
Date Joined: 08/08/11
Cheers. Launch from monkey
Cheers. Launch from monkey mia if its eastern side? I am thinking somewhere more logistically easier than steep point for a boys week.
Fish! HARD!
kirky79
Posts: 1354
Date Joined: 13/01/12
Sorry Randall, haven't even
Sorry Randall, haven't even had a drink and got that wrong. Yeah it's on the western side, same side as Denham. Sorry about that. Not sure how far it is by boat but is about 40 ks from the homestead.
Chris
randall df223
Posts: 6454
Date Joined: 08/08/11
Understand, cheers.
Understand, cheers.
Fish! HARD!
opsrey
Posts: 1200
Date Joined: 05/10/07
Nice trip.
Air hoses sound like a treat. Can you post some pics?
kirky79
Posts: 1354
Date Joined: 13/01/12
Sorry Opsrey Didn't take any
Sorry Opsrey
Didn't take any photos of them, but they are the same as the servos have, one on each side of the road. One for going in and one for coming out. They must have the compressors at the homestead.