Exmouth - Ningaloo Reef

On the way to Exmouth we had emus crossing the road in front of us. A little while later we saw another bird loping across the road; it looked like a small/baby emu from a distance. When we got closer we realised it was not an emu. We found a picture in a book and the bird was a bustard.

Turquoise Bay

On our first full day in Exmouth, we headed out to Turquoise Bay for some more snorkelling. when we stopped at the information centre Neil noticed this goanna walking through the carpark.

Turquoise Bay was another great place for snorkelling. Right near the edge you can swim with schools of quite large white fish - different varieties. The super thing about Turquoise Bay is that you walk up the beach and get in and one end (looking at all of the beautiful fish) and the current carries you along the reef to the other end of the beach. You do have to be careful to get out before you pass the sand bank or you could get carried out to sea!!! Our snorkels, goggles and flippers have had a good workout! Sorry, no photos; we were too busy having a lovely time in the water!

A short drive back to Exmouth from Turquoise Bay is the Jurabi Turtle Centre. We were expecting some kind of museum, information centre - and in a way it was...

There was a sheltered area with some information about turtles and turtle breeding, including a taxonomied turtle in a glass case and in another glass case some of the turtles predators. From there there was a short walk to one of the beaches which the sea turtles frequent to lay their eggs. Unfortunately we had just missed the season for this. There were crabs everywhere on this beach - food for big turtles and predators for baby turtles!

A cute crab waiting to eat or be eaten by a turtle - maybe both!

  

Whalesharks

Maddi and Libby had been planning to swim with whalesharks ever since the plan to visit Ningaloo reef was made, so we handed over all of our money and headed off (@7.15am - I thought this was supposed to be a holiday) for the day.

If you look carefully in the middle of this picture you will see the top of a whale shark - enlarge it! Look for darker blue and some white spots.

This one too...

This is what it looks like from under the water, although it is quite big and sometime you can only see the tail end or the head end. Fish like this swim under them all of the time. This photo is from the Ningaloo Dreaming website - my camera does not work underwater!

Apparently in Australian waters we really only see young males who haven't yet reached maturity or full size. (They are still quite big for sharks!) Luckily they are filter feeders (not human eaters) and are only there for the coral spawning - apparently quite tasty food for teenage male whalesharks . The water is cloudy with plankton and coral spawn which means the vision is not as clear as when snorkelling on the beach side of the reef.

This is another whaleshark tour boat as seen from our boat. you can see all of the people standing at the end of the boat preparing to jump into the water.

We were lucky enought to see 6 whalesharks on our trip. They were all quite close together which was apparently unusual as whalesharks are supposedly solitary animals. Not much is known about them, especially about where the females are, how they mate, where they go when they are not at the known sites etc. We were lucky enough to have a whaleshark researcher from the US on the boat with us. He was hoping to collect some tags from whalesharks but none that we saw actually had tags. 

Swimming with whale sharks is pretty cool, but it is very expensive and due to regulations (and demand to do the tours) is quite rushed. Money from each dive goes to protecting whalesharks which justifies at least some of the cost. Only 10 divers plus two guides are allowed in the water with a whaleshark at any one time, which means they book 20 people onto a tour and you have to keep jumping in and out to give the other group a turn.

It goes a bit like this. You have to be ready to go at any time. Your group goes to the end of the boat. The boat stops in front of the whale shark. Your guide jumps in and swims towards the whaleshark to ensure it is located properly. Their hand goes up and the group has to rush into the water, look for the approaching whaleshark, choose a side to move to and then allow the shark to swim past. Then there is usually quite a bit of fast swimming required to swim alongside the shark for a while before it either goes past you or dives. The other group is dropped in front of the whale shark before the boat comes back around to pick you up. You are told to hurry to get out of the water and you have to use your own body strength - there is no ladder - no time! Then you sit for a second or two before you have to jump in again. I am exhausted writing about it. Maddi loved it - loves a challenge - and she seems to be able to swim for ages as fast as a whaleshark so she didn't find it stressful at all!

We were very lucky that the last whaleshark we swam with decided not to swim away but to circle around and around checking out the weird looking creatures in the waters of Ningaloo Reef. This meant we weren't too exhausted after our last swim - just a bit dizzy!

Coral Bay - Ningaloo Reef

The beautiful clear, calm water of Coral Bay is protected by Ningaloo Reef. The air and water temperatures are perfect for swimming, even for a lizard like me! There are little fish to be seen right on the shore and so much more once you go in the water, including sting rays which swim right up near the edge and bury themselves under the sand once they realise you are following them! About 50m out there are patches of coral which are inhabited by many amazing, colourful fish. It is an easy snorkel to check them out and there are other fantastic and easily accessible snorkelling areas nearby. (There are also glass bottomed boats and kayaks etc if you want to explore the reef from above the water.)

Makes me want to go back when I see this water.

Some of the little fish near the shore.

Beautiful sunset.
There was a rush of people with cameras heading for the beach when these colours came up!

Cruising on the Coral Breeze

We liked it so much in Coral Bay that we decided to spend some money an a family adventure. We took a six hour cruise which included lots of snorkelling, boom netting and a BBQ'd fish lunch. This was money well spent. We all had a fantastic day, especially Liam who made several friends on the boat!

We swam with reef sharks, sea turtles, sting rays and many amazing fish. We also had a chance to see a dugong, although we were out of the water at that time. Maddi was the best at spotting things but she also swam so fast and so far that we had trouble keeping up with her. She has no fear of deep water, or distance from the boat!

Maddi and Neil heading off for a snorkel.

Just chilling in the sun between snorkels.

Liam enjoying the boom netting. Neil and Libby had a turn too.
(advice for all girls - DON'T miss the fun but...wear a rashy or some other tight top...)

poo and spit and spinifex
These termite mounds can be seen all around this area.

 LOVE LOVE LOVE it here - will go back for more one day!

Shark Bay - not just Monkey Mia

Hamelin Station Stay

We stayed at Hamelin Station. It is a working farm. There was shearing (well...crotching) going on from dawn to dusk. The white is shells they have put down to mark the roads and campsites. The red clay had many prickles which Maddi seemed to be the best at finding. The stars were amazing at night time. Greatt amenities (quite new) and well equipped kitchen. We didn't have to take up our own plates, cutlery, pots etc. Everything was provided. A nice alternative but long drives to things to see and do in Shark Bay. (Yes, it was very difficult to set the camper up on this angle!)

Nanga Beach...My Mother's Day artwork! I also got a loofah massage (back and legs) - sand and sunscreen did the trick! It felt great after all of the long drives, which are wearing on the muscles in your back.

These emus were wandering the streets of Denham, looking for things to nibble on - they seemed so comfortable in the neighbourhood!

Stromatolites
This boardwalk has been built to  protect what looks like some pretty ordinary rocks. The stromatolites are actually made up of single celled living organisms, called cyanobacteria, which are only found in  a few places in the world.  Cyanobacteria are one of the earth's first living creatures, They release oxygen into the atmoshere. Without them, the world wouldn't be the way it is...

See the foam...oxygen being released!

4WDing at Francois Peron National Park

We forgot to take many photos. We were too busy snorkeling!

A very long drive, along sandy tracks - scary and exciting at the same time!

Monkey Mia

Geraldton - a very windy place!

We stayed at a caravan park a stone's throw from this lighthouse.

There were many ospreys in residence here, including this family who had had a home built especially for them.

The wind farm - a very good idea here!

The trees in Geraldton have an obvious lean. This is one of the more extreme examples. Apparently the branches on the windward side cannot develop well so the trees get very heavy on the other side.

Ellendale Pool - this is a campground ($5 per night - honesty box). There are toilets, Neil said there were showers but I didn't see/look for them. New BBQ's and shelters. If we had known about this place we may have stayed here instead of in town - it is a longish drive out to it however.

The Pinnacles

These rocks are actually fossilised trees. We would never have known this if it wasn't for the group of French students who were being led around by a tour guide. He explained how the area was originally covered by sea, the when the sea drew back trees and other plants were able to establish in the area. Then they believe a massive bushfire came through, demolishing most of the trees. Because the soil was sand and shells the lime and carbon somehow combined together to create these fossils of the tree remains. Then over time erosion has re-exposed them to create this amazing area we call the Pinnacles. We chose to do the 1.5km walk, which took us about two hours because it was so fascinating. This meant we didn't have enough time for the 4km drive. The WA National Park pass was handy here. We didn't have to pay any entry fee.

The view right out to the ocean.

Mandurah and Perth

Wet, wet, wet! Both Mandurah and Perth forgot to put on the good weather for us. Umbrellas weren't much use because of the wind. These pictures are deceptive. When it wasn't raining the clouds had a break but the cold wind did not. Luckily for us we did not camp. The rain in Mandurah was so heavy when we arrived that we decided to stay in a hotel. In Perth we stayed with our good friends Lisa and Juan Cabrera, who welcomed us into their home like family.

Neil, Joanne, Beryl and Gerry in Mandurah

View of Perth from Kings Park

The Bell Tower, Perth city

Interesting building - if you really like bells (and clocks) you might love it - kind of a bell museum, as well as an actual place bells are played from... At least it was out of the wind - until we stepped out onto the viewing platform. It was so windy that day that we couldn't go around one side - too dangerous!

Maddi, and Prue Cabrera being silly in Fremantle!

Little Creatures bar, Freemantle.

Freemantle gaol. Built by convicts. They quarried the granite from the ground here first. Later used as a regular prison until the 90's. We would have liked to be able to take more of the tours, particularly the one canoeing through the underground tunnels.

Watching the sun set - Margaret River mouth