Ningaloo

Ningaloo. The name alone invokes magical images of sunshine, deep blue skies, soft white sand, turquoise waters, glorious reefs and amazing aquatic life. The Ningaloo Reef area provides some of the most beautiful beaches in the country and some of the best snorkelling. It is a place of wonder and delight, and perhaps more than any other place we have visited so far, Ningaloo firmly entrenched itself into our hearts. No wonder this place is busy with people from all over the country making this their go-to winter escape. We will be back.

We stayed in the Ningaloo area between 21-27 August 2018

Kerry’s snippets in fuchsia

Getting There

Karratha > Nanutarra Roadhouse (272) > Yardies Homestead (320) > Coral Bay (192) ~ 784kms

The UNESCO Ningaloo Coast World Heritage Area was established in 2011 and is regarded as one of the last great ocean paradises. The area was listed due to its marine and terrestrial (land) properties including rare flora and fauna such as the Whale Shark with 300 to 500 of these megafauna aggregating at Ningaloo annually.

The Ningaloo Reef is one of the longest near-shore reefs in the world and Australia’s largest fringing reef system, stretching 300 kilometres from Red Bluff (accessible via Carnarvon) running north along the coast to the Muiron Islands in the north and Bundegi Beach in the east of the Exmouth Gulf. It extends 10 nautical miles seaward and encompasses over 5,000 square kilometres of ocean.

Day 1 – 21 August – to Nanutarra Roadhouse

Before we hit the road, Mobi had to have a service – we had booked one to be done first thing. We left the Karratha van park and were at the service place at 7:15. Well done us! There was nobody there and we had a go at reversing into their service bay. But we got too close to one wall and there were cars parked out front, so we had to get out and have another go. This time it worked out well.

Basically we wanted to get the 10,000km service on Mobi. But we also asked about fixing the stand in the Cruiser for the screen for the rear camera on Mobi. The screws on this keep loosening themselves and falling down the vents at the windscreen. Because we want them to fix this, we need to leave The Cruiser with them. So off we trotted to the shopping centre to eke out a few hours while the work is done. We did some shopping, as is our want, had a very early morning tea and finally got the call at 10.15 – all was done.

The road south west down to Nanutarra Roadhouse is very good, wide and flat. But a very strong wind is against us, and gives Mobi a good nudge every now and again. The mainly head and cross-winds, meant you have to concentrate 200% on driving. We stopped for lunch at the Robe River rest area, a very large area and very popular spot. The river is a big one but, like so many, was just a dry river bed, except for a remnant pool under the bridge. A maintenance crew was cleaning out the toilets in the rest area – good to see.

We got to the Roadhouse in the mid afternoon and filled up with diesel – quite expensive (1.895/L), but to be sure, to be sure! The strong headwind certainly knocked our fuel economy around – 22.23L/100km over 281km. Not good.

We had a powered site, which was s drive-through, and we could stay hitched. The base is a fine gravel mix and we put down a groundsheet to keep the dust down as the wind continues to blow hard. The ablutions were fine. We had a hamburger for dinner and Kerry went up to the shop for a bucket of chips.

Day 2 – 22 August – to Yardie Homestead

As were still hitched, it took very little time to get ready. Only issue is that we could not find the caravan key. Kerry eventually found it on the floor next to where she was sitting. We are on the road by 7.15, and were not the first to leave.

It is virtually all a flat and uninteresting drive, with just an occasional rock outcrop to look at. After we turned north onto the Minilya Exmouth Rd, the land turned to sand. There were a number of sand ridges beside the road and in the distance, and a cloudy haze as the wind blew sand dust around. It is not an inviting landscape. Closer to Exmouth we began to see the ocean on our right, not so far away. On out left was the Cape Range.

The first documented European landing on the Ningaloo Coast was made by the Dutch Captain Janz in 1618 near the tip of what is now known as North West Cape. To put that into perspective, this was 150 years before Captain James Cook arrived on the east coast at Botany Bay! Captain Phillip King visited in 1818 while surveying the northern coastline of Australia, and named Exmouth Gulf. In the years that were to follow, pearl luggers visited from Broome and a small number of pastoralists operated large sheep stations along the coastline.

Very little changed on North West Cape until 1942, during World War II, when the US Navy established a submarine base under the code name Operation Potshot. This only served as a permanent base for a short period of time, but continued to operate as a refuelling facility. Royal Australian Navy and Air Force personnel operated early warning radar and anti-aircraft guns in support of this base, and the area was actually bombed by the Japanese during the war, although no damage was sustained. In the mid-1960s, the Australian Federal Government supported plans to redevelop Learmonth as a ‘bare base’, due to its proximity to Indonesia. The major work was undertaken between 1971 and 1973. In 1963, an agreement was reached between the Australian and US governments to establish a VLF communications station on the tip of North West Cape as a consequence of the rapidly escalating Cold War and the need to establish a communications system with nuclear warhead equipped, US submarines. The town of Exmouth was created to support this facility and was officially declared open in 1967. American and Australian defence forces withdrew their military personnel in 1992, leaving the VLF station in the hands of civilian contractors. The UNESCO Ningaloo Coast World Heritage Area was established in 2011

We arrived at Exmouth mid morning and went straight to the Tourist Information Office, which is on the road into town. It is a big centre attached to the local council office, and there are a few parking spots for large rigs. A caravan park is directly next door adding to the congestion. In the office there was a queue to get help, but we did not have to wait long. We had a lovely lady to help us, and she quickly assures us that the whale sharks are still in the area – we had been worried that it was too late in the season. So we booked a tour. The wind was playing havoc with these tours so we booked for Saturday, 3 days away when winds should have eased. While the lady was checking with the Exmouth Diving centre, they told her they were cancelling tomorrows tours due to the winds and waves. The woman talked us through some of the operators and what specials they had on. We settled for the Exmouth Whaleshark Centre, which had a special on at $350 pp. It is an all day cruise – we get picked up at Yardie Homestead at 7.40am and get back around 4.30. It includes all meals and equipment, we just bring towels. It also includes a free video and photo shoot, which we will get on one of our USB sticks. On the overnight outer Barrier reef cruise we did from Cairns, we paid $200 for the photo package.

She also told us that there were 3 beaches that were recommended for casual snorkelling. Turquoise Beach is the most beautiful and has a lovely drift area where you can get out into the water and let the tidal rip drag you along while you just gaze down on the shelf. But the drag can be strong and you have to get out of the drag before you get to the end of the sand spit. Oyster Stacks is so different. There is a rocky ledge to get into the water which can be tricky. But past this the coral in immediate. However, you can only snorkel there when the tide is above 1.2m. Then there is Lakeside, which involves a 500m walk down the beach to get in.

The lady also booked our stay at Yardies. When I had phoned Yardies a few days before, I’d been told there was no need to book as there was plenty of space. This surprised our assistant. Then she showed us on a map where the long-parking is at the shopping centre, and we quickly found that – quite a big area set out for caravans and motorhomes. We only needed some fresh bread so were out of there in no time, then onto the 35km drive to Yardie Homestead. It is quite flat although the Cape Range on the left shows promise. We rounded the top of the peninsular and were soon looking up to the lighthouse at Vlamingh Head. We passed the Lighthouse van park and it looked very crowded. Hope ours is going to better than this, we thought. Turning south we saw many tracks on the right many leading to the different beaches and to the Jurabi Turtle Centre – we must come back and visit this.

Yardie Homestead is off to our left, with a narrow strip of bitumen on a dirt road in. The edges fo the bitumen are breaking up. We were quickly booked in and lo and, behold, were offered someone to help us park Mobi. A fellow was soon at our site and he actually got in The Cruiser and backed it in. We were soon set up. The park has power limitations – we can’t run a stove, aircon, heaters, microwave, We were aware of this beforehand and can easily boil a pot of water on the gas cook-top and their showers were good, hot and strong. There is ample power for the fridge, charging phones and computers. But we cannot use their water as some folk and told us it can affect the van’s water systems, so we have to be careful of our supply as we hadn’t filled up the van tanks. They do have a tap for drinking water, so we just fill up the jerry cans for use in the van.

It proved great to be here on the west side of the peninsular, with easy access to all the beaches, rather than 35km away in Exmouth.

We went out to do a bit of sightseeing. We drove up to the North West Cape where the remains of the SS Mildura lie on the rock outcrop. This was a cattle steamer destroyed when it clipped the rocks in 1907 during a cyclone. During WWII the allied planes used the wreck for bombing practice, It is a lovely beach although at low tide, as it was then, there is a rock shelf along the shoreline. There are also some really interesting wave breaks on the reef – rows of waves breaking together.

On the road back out we caught a few wildflowers.

To get to Vlamingh Head is steep climb, but on a good bitumen road with good parking at the top. We saw a couple of vans up there – have to be careful going down. The Head provides spectacular views of the coastline in all directions – the lines of waver breaking on the reef edges are amazing. The lighthouse is also on the Head.

On the drive south there are numerous tracks to our right taking us to some of the most beautiful beaches. The colour of the water and the white sand is what dreams are made from. We called in to look at the Jurabi Turtle Centre, even though we knew that this was not the time of year for turtle activity. The females struggle out to the ocean to lay their eggs between about October and January and the young make their run for the sea between January to April. Nevertheless, there is an interesting series of panel displays. The beach there, one of many used by the turtles, is another beauty. We also saw spectacular surf breaks on the reef.

Next we went to Mauritius Beach, another stunning beach with wonderful soft sand and only a few small rock outcrops, most of which were a very light sandy colour. A little stone tableau welcomed us. We had heard that this is clothes optional beach but there were only a couple fishing when we were there – fully clothed thankfully. The walk north is really pretty.

We had seen a track out to Brooke Beach, and as our grandaughter is named Brooke, we had to go and look. At the entry point it is a dramatic rock shelf a few meters over the sea at low tide. North of that the beach is lovely.

We had seen that there was a point near the Yardies turnoff and thought it would be interesting to see that. But there were no turnoffs to it that we could see. To be sure we drove on a bit past Yardies and took the next track on the right – a bit hidden. This was a bit of a rocky and sandy track, some softish, but no issues. We stopped at an open area – the track went on – and walked up to the beach. This is one of the prettiest beaches we have seen. There are no rocks, just the gently lapping of small waves breaking, despite the stony wind. To the south there are some large sand headlands – we had seen another couple down there. We initially walked north, with Kerry doing her usual shell and coral collecting.

Later we walked to the south towards the sand headlands. What a spectacular place. I could stay here for a long time… I love the sands and the rock shelves – brings back wonderful memories of wandering Freshwater beach and of course skipping over the rock platforms with Dad when I was a kid.

Back at Yardies, the wind had eased a bit. We chatted with our neighbours, who warned us not to connect to the water supply system. It could damage the hot water system and leave remnant deposits. There are 2 drinking water taps in the park and we should only use that water. We had our tanks half full – had we known we would have filled them at the Exmouth – at the Tourist Information Office. We disconnected the water.

We also heard that our friends Lilian and Jon will be coming to Yardies tomorrow for a few days. Excellent news.

Day 3 – 23 August – Turquoise Bay

The wind is again howling. We decided to look at some more beaches up our way and maybe go snorkelling with Lilian and Jon in the afternoon. We also needed flippers. First, we went off to the sea on another unnamed track, again sandy, which was clearly getting more sandy by the meter. So we stopped at a small clear area and walked in – I did not want to let the tyres down just for this. Again it is another amazing beach. It had one 4WD on it.

Next we went out to Trisel Beach, which is a bit like Brooke with a ragged rock shelf about 2m above the water. There was a good beach to the north of that and Kerry went out collecting again. I tried to get a decent photo of the waves breaking on the reef. The breaking waves are an amazing sight – so far out, waves going in all directions with the heavy spray everywhere. So timelessly majestic. I also saw something large washing in and out with the waves – I got closer and saw the most amazing lobster shell (well, half of a lobster shell), totally beautiful with just the top of the head part of the body completely intact. No claws, no tail, but still eyeballs. Totally weird really, but so beautiful.

We went into Exmouth to get some flippers – this had completely slipped our minds on the way through. We had also received a message form Lilian that they had been in the queue to get water at Exmouth (on our advice) for 30 minutes and they were still 5 vans from the tap. So in town we quickly got our fins, and got some fresh bread and milk. In the bakery we met the couple we had had dinner with at the Tavern at Point Samson, so we caught up with what they have been doing.

We then went over to see Lilian and Jon. Despite the long wait to get water, they were in great spirits. Clearly they were going to be a good while in Exmouth – they had shopping to do after being in Giralia Station for a while. The strong winds had made it very difficult there. So we told them that we would go to Turquoise Bay for a snorkel and to meet us there if they were set up in time.

On the way back we refuelled at Lighthouse van park – at $1.678/L this was the cheapest fuel in town. Our economy rate was 19.68L/100km over 432kms – so we clearly benefitted from the southerly wind over the last few hundred kms.

Turquoise Bay, the most popular and well known beach at Ningaloo, is about 30km south of Yardies and we went directly there, parking at the rather small “drift” carpark. We only got a spot because a car was leaving. There are 2 areas at the Bay – the “drift” area where you get in and allow the currents to drift you over the coral – and the Bay area where you swim out to some nearby coral. The problem with the drift area is that you need to get out of the drift before you reach the end of the sand spit, or you could get dragged away – great care must be taken when the currents are strong. Strong currents are caused by a build-up of water in the lagoon behind the reef. Large waves and a high tide add to the volume of water in the lagoon increasing the amount of water escaping through the gaps in the reef.

What a stunner of a beach this is – we gasp as we walk onto it to look around, taking photos with the Canon, before getting our gear. Look at these photos.

We got all our gear – and there is a lot – and settle at the fence like everyone else, towards the southern end of the coral areas. There are quite a few people snorkelling. We got in and made our way out to the coral areas – only about 30m or so out – me with our little waterproof camera. But we quickly realise that the currents are quite strong. We went in to talk about it and decided to give it another try. I got to see some lovely coral but got concerned about the strong drag and where Kerry might be. I was startled to see her swimming out away from shore – I swam after her. I wasn’t that far out, just wanted to see a bit further out as there wasn’t that much coral close to the beach.

We got out after that and carried our stuff around to the Bay area. This is lovely and protected but there does not appear to be a lot of coral. I went in to one area but only found some dirty sand, little coral, but lots of fish. Then I came to a large bommy and the fish around that were amazing.

I got out and walked to the north to see if there were other areas that may be better. I tried a couple of spots but they were not that good. So I went back and went around the bommy again. We then decided to go back around to the drift area, taking photos on the way. Stunning beaches.

Back at the drift, the tide had gone out a fair bit and I went in to try it. The drag was far less and you could almost walk to the coral – but not quite. But I did get over some great coral and got some reasonable video. Kerry had decided to sit out the rest of the day – it had been a mistake to go to the drift first – should have started at the Bay to get going again as we not regular snorkelers.

We stopped at the Tantabiddi boat ramp and it is quite impressive. There are walkways on both sides out into the water and with a lowering sun this provides a good photo opportunity. But as I get Kerry set and everything is lovely and calm, in come 2 jet skis and ruin everything. I guess that is what they do best – ruin everything for everyone else.

Back at Yardies we decided that we would really like to stay here another day (another month more like it) so Kerry rang Coral Bay and got them to change our date. The lady wasn’t happy, but agreed to change our booking to the following day. This gives us Sunday to do some more snorkelling and exploring. We had drinks and nibbles at Lilian and Jon’s place, and were joined by a couple (Angie and Michael) that they had met at their last Station. A very good extended happy hour was enjoyed by all. Lillian and Jon had also booked the whale shark tour with us for Saturday.

Day 3 – 24 August – More amazing beaches

The wind is a bit softer in the morning so we went to see what Oyster Stacks had to offer. We knew that we should only snorkel at this site during high tide (minimum 1.2m) when there is sufficient water over the reef. We got there at high tide, which was at 10am. The rock shore is not so good but the coral looks very close to the shore.

We talked to some people there and they told us that there were currents that would take us to the south, so we should get in towards the north. This we did and had the best snorkel yet. The fish and coral were simply amazing and it was such an easy experience after yesterday’s strong drag at Turquoise. The sea level is clearly dropping – we should have got here about an hour or less before high tide. But it as still a magical experience for both of us. There is no drag out to sea here, just drifting along, an easy swim further out, then ended up on the sandy beach to the south – where I almost put my hand down on a sting ray – thankfully I saw it in time.

From there, on a high, we went down to look at Sandy Bay and Osprey Bay – both renowned as the picture perfect places. But the fierce northerly wind now blowing put paid to that. Both Bays face north so have the winds howling right into them. But we can see that, on a calm day, both are also incredibly beautiful. Osprey Bay would be a great place for kayaking, swimming and snorkelling – there is coral close in. It is also surrounded by rocky outcrops and platforms- a really interesting place.

Sandy Bay would be incredible on a calm, day – the colour of the water is stunning against the white sand. It is literally all about sand and water and the pleasure of both. A wonderful place. If this wind ever relents we must come back for even better photos.

On the way north we called into Bloodwood Creek to have a look around. There is a lookout over the creek, which was not running, but also yet another lovely beach. This one had an interesting piece of white driftwood to photograph.

We had lunch back at Mobi, then as low tide approached we went back down to Turquoise drift section. Low tide was at 3.30. The wind had really ruined any change of a lovely calm snorkel. But I am determined to give it a go, even in the conditions. I got my fins on and backed into the water pulling my face mask on as I went. Then the head strap broke – just what we needed. Kerry adjusted hers to fit me and that was ok. So in I went and it was pretty good. Lots of fish and good coral (see video) – in fact the fish were awesome. But it was just not a pleasant snorkel with the wind and the waves – I was getting pushed around a lot. So it proved a quickie. But was warm-as sitting on the beach wrapped in a towel.

We went around to the Turquoise Bay area to have a look and it was very choppy. We could also see the waves breaking over the outer reef and this looked very rough. Hope we will be ok on the whale shark tour tomorrow.

Back at Mobi, Lilian and Jon and been looking around in the afternoon, but were really put off by the wind and the thought of getting Dutton as Prime Minster. We can’t blame them. Kerry phoned the whale shark company and was assured that the trip was on and that the trip that day had found a whale shark.

To see some lovely photos of Ningaloo beaches and bays – click here

Day 4 – 25 August – Whale shark tour

Note that most of the photos and videos used here were provided by Exmouth Dive, the company we were out with. Their photographer Sean took some great shots.

It was a brilliant morning with only a little breeze. We were ready and waiting at 7:20 as instructed but the bus was delayed (backpackers late getting up). I think we all had some doubts about the day as we had heard a few times that it was too late in the season for whale sharks to be around. But I had spoken to some of the young campers that morning who had been out the day before and they had seen and swum with a whale shark.

For us it is only a short drive down to the jetty – the bus had started in Exmouth but the Tantabiddi jetty is on the western side. We were quickly tendered out to the big boat. This was a wide-bodied boat with a small foredeck, a small cabin, a helm up top, and a large open area which was half covered. This is where the action is. We were given a wetsuit and any equipment we needed. We had left our snorkelling gear at home so were fitted out with a mask and snorkel and flippers. More people joined us and we ended up with 20 people in all. With everyone geared up, we had the safety talk from the skipper, and then, as we had the day explained to us, we got underway.

We got divided into 2 groups – we were in Group 1 and our leader was Scott, who had picked us up in the bus. A spotter plane was to be up at 9.30 and this would most certainly find a whale shark we were assured. Our fingers were well and truly crossed.

We were told that we would get into the water in our groups. The skipper would position the boat in the path of the whale shark and then we would scramble out quickly and get lined up near Scott as the whale shark approached us. We would then start to swim with the whale shark, and Sean would be flipping around everywhere taking photos and video. Whale sharks swim close the the surface, although they can dive deep and often stay down there for long periods.We were also told the rules – no touching, no obstruction, no duck diving, keep behind the gills and do not do anything to make it dive and ruin it for everyone else. I must say the crew were excellent.

Still within the reef, we had a practice snorkel. Group 1 were told to get ready – get our gear on. We sat at the back of the deck in 2 lines of 4, and then the remaining 2. Group 2 were getting ready behind us. We squirted our face mask with some solution and dipped it into a bucket of water – this kept the glass clear. Then we were told to quickly get into the water – it felt a bit like like a war mission with us poor soldiers being told to go, go, go. Kerry was in the first line and I saw her sliding in as I scrambled out behind her.

We assembled with Scott and then he told us to do some snorkelling but not to wander away. The reef there was not as good as the others we had been at, but the fish were brilliant. I saw what I thought was a very large grouper, but maybe it was something else. I spotted a lovely turtle as well as some brilliant fish – some quite large.

The hardest part of the whole day for me was getting back on board the boat. the rear platform was some height above the water so we had to grab that and haul ourselves on board. I made it that time. I also had more trouble getting back on board – don’t know why they don’t have a lowering board.

With all aboard – one of many name checks for the day – we headed out of the reef and then turned to the south. We could see the plane up there doing its job. It was not long before we got the message – we were approaching a whale shark. Oh the excitement!! Group 1 got ready for the first swim – we were told as this is the first one it will be relatively short – about 5 minutes. It was then go, go, go as we again scrambled into the water around Scott.

He directed us to form a line as best we could and then started to swim off. But I was caught in a bit of mass of swimmers and could not see anything. Then I turned to my right and there it was – this monster fish slowly meandering past us. I swam with it, although I was towards the rear. But it was a truely exhilarating experience to watch it glide along. I was in a bit before Des and saw this massive behemoth rising up towards me. I backed off to give it space. What a beautiful colour it was too – tan with white spots as it headed upwards, and as it neared, I could see a mass of little fish swimming underneath it. I kept up with it for a bit as it wasn’t moving fast then swam around the other side. Unfortunately, Sean the photographer missed me, but what an experience. It was incredibly difficult getting back on board as the waves were getting rough.

As we went along Scott swam in the lead staying with the whale shark with his arm up bent and pointing forward. When we had to stop he signalled and we all backed off and formed a group around him. We could see Group 2 now in the water getting into position. Back at the boat I struggled to get up and on – I just could not get my legs our from under the duckboard. Eventually one of the crew hauled me up, so I could join a very excited group of people.

But as soon as Group 2 were on board, we were told to get ready to go again. Kerry sat this one out. This time I was in front of the whale shark and could watch in wonder as it drifted past. This is a different, larger one. I swam to keep up, but I did not have to swim that hard. I again got my photo taken by Sean with the whale shark in the background.

Back on board we were told we could have a break as they were “sharing” this whale shark with another boat. But we quickly did another swim I sat this one out too – the sea was getting rough. And once more we were told to get ready – only 7 of us left in Group 1, then go, go, go. This swim started off like the others but was much longer and at one stage the whale shark dived and we just bided our time. Then it was back again and I was getting tired – quite relieved when it dived again and we had to stop. Back at the boat I again struggled to get on board but assistance was at hand. But unfortunately for Group 2 their final swim could not happen.

The skipper then gave us 2 options – go inside the reef and do some snorkelling, or go and see some whales. Most people called for the latter. So we steamed away towards a few other boats in the distance. This took a while. We passed places where massive wavers were breaking over the reef. As we approached them we could see the tell-tale signs of whales – spouts of water and lots of splashing. This was actually 2 or 3 whales and they did put on a bit of a show.

Then the skipper said he had seen some large ones further out to sea. It took a while to get out there, but as we approached we could see at least a couple of large whales frolicking on the surface. They kept this up for a while but then moved closer and closer to the boat. By this time Kerry was on the foredeck and me on the main deck.

I loved being on the bow watching the whales. A couple swam under the boat – the dark water turned turquoise as one neared the surface, then as I was leaning way over the rail, I could see one coming up rapidly – its head emerged so close, I said “hello darling” and it kept coming up – I could have touched it as its head was only 1 metre away from me. What a magnificent creature. We were so lucky – especially that Jon was standing right next to me with his camera and caught it all. Thanks Jon for the close ups.

Meanwhile out back, I could see the whale swimming under our boat – we thought it must have nudged it. Sean got a shot of the whale diving. Then it came up right alongside us, lifting its head to have a look. Incredible to be that close!!! They then played some more before disappearing to find something else to play with. What an experience.

After that we had lunch – cold meats, salads and bread rolls. We were both starving. As we ate, we began the journey back to shore. Then Scott gave us a talk on the whale sharks, the biggest conclusion being that there is so much that we do not know about these fish – such as where they migrate to, the birthing process (one was killed in Malaysia and when the womb was opened it contained many babies of different age and size The one in Malaysia had 300 baby sharks inside, in 3 different sizes – presumably these amazing creatures can give birth to a selected few, although it may be that the larger ones eat the smaller ones. Nobody seems to know.

We were then served soft drink, beer or champers. Capped off a perfect day.

Back at our mooring, we were taken ashore and then dropped off at Yardies. What a day!

To see photos of our Swimming with Whale Sharks, click here

To see the wonderful Exmouth Dive video of swimming with whale sharks, click here

Just after dark, a strange bird made an appearance right next to me – obviously looking for some food. As I took photos with the iPhone, it almost looked as if it wanted to see its photo (or eat the phone). Turned out it was a “Bustard”. Quite beautiful, with soft, fine gold feathers on its back (yes, it let me pat it on the back).

Day 5 – 26 August – Snorkelling & beautiful beaches

The wind has eased overnight, though it is a tad cold to start with. Our aim was to snorkel Oyster Stacks around high tide at 10:30. Lilian and Jon wanted to be in the water by 10. But first we have to go into Exmouth (again!). I need a replacement head strap for my face mask, and we also need to pick up all the photos from our whale shark experience at the dive company shop. We went there first. While the photos were loading I got a replacement strap for $10. Next we went for some fresh bread rolls (some for Lilian as well) before heading back to Mobi and to change. In our rush we forgot to take our underwater camera.

Oyster Stacks was a bit blowy when we got there and the high tide made the rock edge a fair bit tricky. I got in and found that there was a current pulling me south. The fish and coral are awesome – I faced up to the current and, with some swimming strokes, I could hover above something special. I let myself drift down until the rocky shore had petered out and could easily get out on the sand.

I was by then about a hundred metres south of Kerry, who had waited before getting in. Lilian and Jon were also there and Lilian had been in for about ah hour – Jon was really feeing the cold of the water. But Lilian really struggled to get out over the rocks. I persuaded them all to move down to the beach area where it was so easy to get in and out of the water. There is also the same short distance to the coral. In any event, as soon as you hit the water you start to see exotic fish.

We all had a snorkel there and Kerry loved it. A very relaxing snorkel this time – no strong current, great coral and some magnificently coloured fish of all shapes and sizes.

On the way back to Yardies, we went in to have a look at Lakeside – one of the other snorkelling spots. There is a small lake there and the beach is beautiful. It has a stony uniform ridge, about 2m above the water, facing you as you walk up from the lake. To the left is a rock outcrop along the water’s edge. This explains why we were told us to walk 500m south to get into the coral. We walked about half way down to a point and could then see the coral. We talked to a family that had snorkelled there and it seems the coral is a long way out. I think the ridge mentioned above is at least partially coral – looks like a bit of Montgomery Reef sticking out of the water (but much smaller, of course).

To the right of the stony outcrop is another lovely beach without rocks. A really pretty place.

We had been talking to the woman in the van site next to us – she is an amazing person. Wendy is mid 70’s and despite having lost 2 husbands, each year she tows a small caravan up from Perth and spends about a month at Ningaloo. She asks people for help from time to time, and she truly is an inspiration.

We went to the restaurant for dinner with Lilian and Jon. It was Sunday roast which, disappointingly, was chicken. But we all ordered that and it was, disappointedly, lots of bones and not much meat, But the veggies were good. After dinner Jon spent some time with me and my camera showing me some of the basics I should have known a long time ago, and giving me tips for better photos. Thanks Jon, really appreciate that.

To see some lovely photos of Ningaloo beaches and bays – click here

Day 6 – 27 August – Coral Beach

Today we are going to Coral Beach, at the southern part of Ningaloo Reef. We were only able to book one night at the van park, and were lucky to get that, we were told. This is one of the most popular places on the coast – some people book 2 years ahead! From Yardies, it is a bit less than 200km.

We got away at 7.30, saying good bye to Lilian and Jon, and also to Wendy who is going home today. Lilian and Jon have decided to stay at Yardies for a couple of more days – we also would have liked to stay on. We hope to catch up with them again further south. At Exmouth we filled our water tanks with drinking water as the water at Coral Bay is also not great. Then we refuelled as the fuel there was a good price. We had driven 419km since our last fill at Lighthouse so had been driving without Mobi on the tow. Our economy rate of 14.31L/100km was very disappointing, in fact one of our worst so far. We put this down to barrelling along close to 100 most of the time we were coming and going to the beaches and into Exmouth – it does use up the fuel.

We had covered much of the drive on our way to Exmouth, so the sandy, coastal scrub landscape was familiar to us. This continued for all of the drive – oh to see a tree.

Coral Beach town does not present very well. Buildings look all squashed in and unplanned, and there are 2 van parks on the left as we drive through. Everything looks packed. But we could see glimpses of a beautiful bay – so there was also much promise. It was about 10:20 when we rolled up at out Van park – the People Park (dreadful name). We presented ourselves at the the Office but were told to go for a wander around and come back in half an hour. All parks say check in time is 11:00, but this was the first time we had been refused immediate entry. Fortunately we could leave Mobi in the driveway.

So we wandered around town a bit, purely to fill in time, but there is not much to see – we did not want to go to the beach until we had set up. Anyway, we were back in the half hour, and were given our site, and were told that Chris would be there to guide us in. But as we pulled up at our site we saw that a mobile home was still there. Chris was quickly on the radio to the office and then just as quickly chasing a young Asian couple off the site, telling them that check out time was 10:00 – nearly an hour ago. The pair scurried around like ants disconnecting power, collecting items off the site and doing stuff they should have been doing hours ago. When the woman started shaking sand out of her shoes, that was the utter limit and Chris called out “do that later, just leave. Now!”.

Although Chris was not so good at guiding us in, he did quickly see that we could actually drive through as the people in the van behind us were out so their car space was empty. So I drove around the block and quickly had Mobi on site.

After we had set up we walked down to the beach – the colours are amazing – white sand, turquoise water, and brilliant blue sky. We went up to the lookout and the bay on which Coral Bay sits is wonderfully crescent shaped, with sandy hills holding the bay together.

We walked around the point to the south of the lookout, and then along the next beach constantly amazed by the colours. Back on the main beach, it looks so inviting we headed back to get out snorkelling gear. Literally, you walk across the beach, through 20m of ankle deep water, then tumble into the reef.

It was so easy to get into it. The coral is really special but there seem to be fewer fish than what we had seen up north. Maybe it was just a feature of the tides. It felt cold so we had a break and then went back in for another snorkel. There was a slight drag to the north but nothing to worry about. Now this is my kind of snorkelling – only a few feet away from the beach, not too deep, loads of magnificent coral of many different types and colours… perhaps not as many fish, but still quite a few and no massive current pulling you all around. I also had a go at taking the underwater photos and got some pretty good ones I think.

We walked around the beach a bit then went back to Mobi. Later we went down to see the sunset, which is right over the ocean. Stunning colours.