When I was eight, my family travelled around Australia. Out of all the places I have been, Dirk Hartog Island was my favourite place of them all. There is amazing scenery, spectacular wildlife and more than enough things to keep you entertained. If you’re bored on Dirk Hartog Island… you’re crazy.

Getting to Dirk Hartog Island was a pain. We started off at Carnarvon early in the morning and drove about 200 kilometres just to get to Shark Bay, then another hundred around the bay.  It doesn’t seem too bad until you realise you’re going to be late and have to race over 4WD track.

We had to cover 50 km of extreme 4WD track in under an hour before the weather got too bad to take the barge across the canal. The ride was torturous while the car was jumping around causing us to collide heads with each other a few times along the way. At least it was all for a good cause as we knew it was going to be worth it. Eventually, we arrived at Steep Point at around 10am where we met my Dad’s old friend Kieran. Kieran used to be one of Dad’s football mates when they were younger, now Kieran manages the Dirk Hartog Island Homestead for his father.

By the time we got to the barge the weather had already picked up and was getting worse. We didn’t have any time to stand around and greet each other, it was a quick hello and straight onto the barge. The ride was a nightmare and I was worried about losing the car overboard. Although, it wasn’t nearly that rough, everything seems exaggerated when you’re eight. Even though I was worried, it was an amazing sight just to see a car on a boat, and at our age then, we found it all amusing.

When we reached the other side, we all felt amazed, excited and relieved that the torturous ride was over. It was my first time to ever be on an island and Mum and Dad had high expectations of what they were about to witness. So we drove off the barge with our heads held high, along the beach a while and then straight back into the 4WD tracks. Only, this time, we weren’t racing to get somewhere.

About an hour later we had finally covered the small 20 kilometres of rough track between the homestead and where the barge was beached. There we were introduced to Kieran’s family, his wife Tory, his two sons William and Ollie, and his daughter Sanchia.  William was my age and Ollie was a year younger so we ended up becoming good friends. Sanchia was Audrey’s age and they too were the perfect pair. Only, there was no one Graces age which was unfortunate, but as I said, there was no reason for her to be bored.

Tory soon showed us our new home away from home. It was a small apartment about 100 metres away from the main homestead. The walls were pure mortar and stone which gave it a homelike, comfortable feel and took your mind away from the awful finishes. Some parts in the ceiling had glue sticking out and the furniture wasn’t amazing, the place also owned many friendly rodents that drove Mum crazy. Although it wasn’t the prettiest house, the location made it luxury. It was built on the sand dunes and just steps away from the spectacular, pristine, crystal clear beach. It was a dream.

The beaches at the homestead didn’t have any pumping waves and weren’t packed with surfers. They weren’t overloaded with tourists and you didn’t need a snorkel to see the true beauty of what they encompassed. The beaches at the Dirk Hartog homestead were their own David Attenborough show, filled with fish, sea stars, dugongs, reef sharks and more. The water was like none other, it was crystal clear, pristine and almost untouched. You could walk out about 50 metres out without getting your waist wet, whilst feeling swishes of water against your legs as schools of fish swim by. It was unconceivably magnificent. It was paradise.

By the time we were all unpacked, it was about 4 o’clock in the afternoon. We decided to have a quick look around the bay. We started off at the main homestead bay and walked north towards what I call, ‘dugong bay’. But the bay that the homestead was on was so big that we only got so far before we had to turn back to be back to the homestead in time for dinner. Dinner was pasta and sauce made my Kieran’s wife Tory.

After dinner we were all tired from the long drive there, and our butts were sore from the lack of suspension on Dads car on the 4WD tracks. We all needed a sleep, although we were all too excited for what fun and wonderful times we had ahead.

 

Part 2 coming soon.

 

These photos link to the certain parts of the day.

Photos here.