20 things to do with kids over the school holidays that won't break the bank

Looking for free or cheap ideas to keep the kids amused over the school holidays?

The summer school holidays have begun here in Australia, and we like many grandparents across the country, help out our children while they are at work, by looking after our grandies for at least some of the school holidays. The years rush by so quickly, that before we know it our grandies won't want to come, or have reached the age when they don't need to come, to Grandma and Pop's house over the holidays, so we are very happy for them to come over for the day/s or for sleepovers throughout the holidays. I think as Grandparents we have more time for our grandchildren and appreciate these precious visits when the kids are not with us 24/7. 

Another Day in Paradise - Coral Bay, Western Australia

I've been absent from my blog the last couple of weeks because we've been relaxing and living the beach life along Western Australia’s magical Coral Coast at the small seaside township of Coral Bay, located 1125 kilometres from Perth, 152km south of Exmouth on North West Cape, and 238km kilometres north of Western Australia’s banana growing region Carnarvon.

WA’s Coral Coast starts at Cervantes, a two hour drive north of Perth, and features 1,100 kilometres of stunning coastline, white sandy beaches, marine sanctuaries, the pristine coral reefs of the Ningaloo Reef, National Parks and World Heritage areas.

This was our fourth trip to Coral Bay, the first being in the mid 1980s during the early days of eco-tourism in Coral Bay when Coral Bay was not much more than a caravan park, hotel, and a general store. Coral Bay has grown since then but it still retains its relaxed beachside holiday feel visited by thousands of tourists, families, retired lifestylers, and holiday groups every year from around the world.  Today you will see a small collection of about 20 houses that can be rented, plus workers’ accommodation units, a hotel, backpackers’ accommodation, two caravan parks including cabins, a small shopping centre which includes a fantastic bakery, a tavern, several restaurants serving local seafood, and a host of dive and tour companies.

And of course there is the beach, only a short walk from your front door - look how blue and clear that water is.

We arrived at Coral Bay after two days on the road driving up from our home in the wintery south west. I recommend that travellers take the scenic Indian Ocean Drive which gives you access to the coastal communities between Perth and Geraldton, rather than battling with road-trains on the Brand Highway. I have blogged about the Indian Ocean Drive previously Return to Wedge - Indian Ocean Drive

We stopped overnight at Northbrook Farmstay, conveniently located just six kilometres north of Northhampton (475km north of Perth). The self-contained cottage suited us perfectly for the night and we were on the road early the next morning, stopped in Carnarvon for lunch and reached Coral Bay late afternoon.  

Northbrook Farmstay, Northhampton

Carnarvon banana plantations and waterfront

The ocean at Coral Bay sparkles bluer than blue.  One of the main reasons people visit Coral Bay is to experience the Ningaloo Reef, regarded as one of the world’s great ocean paradises. Ningaloo is Australia’s largest fringing reef, stretching 300 kilometres from Red Bluff, 140 kilometres north of Carnarvon to Bundegi Reef near Exmouth on the tip of North West Cape.  The Ningaloo Marine Park encompasses over 5,000 square kilometres of ocean and is home to around 300 species of coral and 500 species of fish.

Everything in Coral Bay is only metres from the beach, so park your car, slap on a hat, and walk. The beach at Coral Bay is sheltered and the shallow water makes it perfect for families with children, who can play on the white sandy beach, swim safely and wade into the water to see fish swimming along the shoreline and amongst the coral gardens only a few metres from the shore. All you need do is wade in with a snorkel and face mask. For those not confident with snorkelling a “noodle” is a useful addition to your kit to help keep you afloat. The ocean front at Coral Bay is within the marine sanctuary zone and the fish swim close to shore, making for an amazing experience.

THINGS TO DO:

• ·        Relax! Bare feet mandatory. Check out my last post  - Rules of the beach

•  See the Norwest Snapper fish feeding frenzy at 3.30pm on the beach at Coral Bay (when we visited Monday, Wednesday and Friday)

•  Take a glass-bottom boat or sub-sea explorer tour over the coral.  Or join a See-doo Scooter, kayaking or snorkelling tour.

• Snorkel from the beach

    

         Bottom left is an amazing blue clam which we saw only metres from the shore. 
For those interested, I don't have a complicated underwater camera set-up, just my little Canon G11 go everywhere camera in an underwater housing and no lights.  So I need to be in fairly shallow water for there to be colour in my pics (a bit of post processing helps too). Also I am not good at holding my breath diving down to get closer to take pics, so the water needs to be only a couple of metres deep for me.  Take at look at this blue starfish - cool hey?
 

• For those who are confident snorkelling or deep sea diving and with dollars to spend, you can take a tour from Coral Bay or Exmouth to swim with the Whale Sharks (March to July), Manta Rays (all year) and Humpback Whales (August to October). The world’s largest fish, the Whale Shark which grows up to 18 metres in length, visits the Ningaloo Reef between March and July following the mass spawning of coral. I’ve not experienced it myself, but I am told it is an amazing experience to swim with these gentle giants of the ocean.

•  Many visitors bring a boat to Coral Bay to go fishing outside the reef (please be aware of sanctuary-no fishing zones), or you can join a fishing charter boat tour to experience sport, reef, game or fly-fishing.  

•  The Ningaloo Coast World Heritage Area is also an important breeding ground for six varieties of turtles which come ashore to lay their eggs during December/January which hatchings in February and early March. The Jurabi Turtle Centre, located near Exmouth, provides information about Ningaloo’s marine turtles.

•  Explore the beaches, bush tracks and dunes on a quad bike tour

• Watch out for the wildlife. Here you can see a perentie lizard (also known as a bungarra) on our back verandah, a little crab, a herron, a red kangaroo in the caravan park more concerned about washing his face than looking at us.

• Enjoy a sunset sail.

•  Buy something yummy for morning tea from the bakery, or try local seafood cooked beautifully at one of Coral Bay's restaurants. (sorry I didn't take one food pic!)

• Are you are a retired lifestyler? Coral Bay is the perfect place to getaway from the winter down south. 

• Beach walk, sit, swim, read, sleep, relax, build sand castles, talk to friends, enjoy sunset drinks. 

THINGS TO DO FURTHER AFIELD:

• ·        Explore the rugged canyons and gorges of Cape Range National Park.
• ·        Visit 100 year old Vlamingh Head Lighthouse and the remains of a World War 11 radar and anti-aircraft post at North West Cape
• ·        Camp and snorkel in the Ningaloo Marine Park on North West Cape.
• ·        4-wheel-drive the coastal track from Coral Bay to Exmouth.
• ·        Beach camp at Ningaloo or Warroora Station.
• ·        Enjoy a boat tour along Yardie Creek.
• ·        Visit Milyering Discovery Centre in Cape Range National Park.
• ·        Experience the Ningaloo Whale Shark Festival in May.
• ·        Drive up to Exmouth for the day. 

We had two weeks in Coral Bay, and sad to say the weather wasn't kind for boating, either fishing or snorkeling out on the Ningaloo Reef from our boat (which is not big by Ningaloo standards), but the water inshore was warm enough to snorkel, the sun was shining, we had the company of good friends, we had little or no internet to bother us, and we had a lovely relaxing holiday. And with sunsets like this, who can complain?

MORE INFORMATION:

Coral Bay and Exmouth Visitor Information – www.visitningaloo.com.au

Cape Range National Park information – Milyering Discovery Centre, Email: milyering@dpaw.wa.gov.au

Northbrook Farmstay: www.northbrookfarmstay.com.au

Thank you so much for stopping by. I hope you have enjoyed this visit to Coral Bay. I am back in wintery south west Western Australia and the rain is pelting down, the wind is blowing, and our trip to Coral Bay is just a memory. Do you have a favourite beach-side holiday destination? Perhaps you'd like to tell us about it in the comments. 



 I value your comments and look forward to hearing from you. I will try to visit your blogs in return. Have a wonderful week. 

I am linking up to the link-ups below. Please click on the links to see fabulous contributions from around the world - virtual touring at its best!

Mosaic Monday 
Life Thru the Lens 
Lifestyle Fifty Monday Linkup 
Our World Tuesday
Through My Lens 
Image-in-ing
Wednesday Around the World at Communal Global 
Worth Casing Wednesday 
Travel Photo Thursday
The Weekly Postcard 

You might also like:

Life is a beach in Western Australia

Coral Bay - blue on blue

Tour Western Australia - I like to be beside the seaside

Return to Wedge - Indian Ocean Drive

2016 Reading challenge

I recently came across this 2016 reading challenge through Facebook. It came along various paths from its original creator Anne - Modern Mrs Darcy - over on her blog at Modernmrsdarcy.

It is an interesting list so I've decided to give it a go and have already earmarked a few books for my challenge.

I've already ticked off my first book recommended by my sister -  In Love and War by Liz Byrski published in Western Australia by  Fremantle Press in 2015.  Please click on the links to read more. 

  




Liz's personal memories and experiences as a young child in the final years of World War 2 in the English country town of East Grinstead, and her trip in 2007 to find the England of her youth, are interwoven with the stories and memories of "The Guineas Pigs"  and their nurses. Cronically burned airmen were brought to the East Grinstead hospital where Archibald McIndoe rebuilt their faces, hands and bodies while the nurses and townspeople helped rebuild their self-esteem and lives. In the process of walking familiar paths, interviewing airmen and nurses and writing the book Liz made peace with her memories and banished some of her own personal ghosts.