Cyclone Narelle shut down Francois Peron National Park, so we activated Plan C and rolled out to Shelter Bay near Steep Point. The run in across the big sand dune, a running repair on the rooftop tent, two to three hours a day when the wind eased, and some of the clearest water in Western Australia. Not the plan we started with, but one of the best camps of the trip so far. Here is how the shoulder season, a cyclone and a locked gate led us somewhere better.

We'd been planning this trip for years. Vehicles prepped, systems tested, itinerary mapped out. And then, approximately five days in, Paul ended up in the emergency department of Geraldton Hospital at 10pm while a Category Two cyclone bore down on the coast. Week one of our six-month adventure north had other ideas - but not before delivering some absolutely cracking campsites.