Exmouth & Cape Range N.P

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It was 7am, the sun was already burning our skin and the eggs were almost frying themselves without the need of our gas cooker. We had driven 10km on dirt roads jarring our bones to reach Shothole Canyon. 10k doesn't sound much but when rocks and slippery shingle mean you can't pass 20kph it sure feels it. It was, however, worth the rattle and the heat, we enjoyed our breakfast alone in this huge chasm and clambered to the peak to take in stunning views along the long, dry river bed.

At 11am we were waiting outside the Exmouth Novotel for our friend Unik to finish her shift. It had been 12 months since we first met Uni and her boyfriend Joni in the ferry ticket queue on Havelock island in the Andamans. We've all travelled a long way since then but here we were on the west coast of Australia meeting again. It was great to see our super smiley friend again and we spent a happy afternoon picnicking, whale watching and generally catching up at Exmouth's Town Beach.

Exmouth is a friendly, small town with plenty of jobs and a fantastic coastal location, it therefore draws a large working traveller crowd, who slot into the local community well. The money is good and Ningaloo reef is just around the corner in Cape Range N.P what more could you want?!

The following day Uni was free from her work commitments and so we loaded into the car and set off for a day of beaching. Snorkelling topped the agenda, along with an attempt to keep sun safe in this land of no trees. We dove beneath the waves, with most success at the somewhat murky waters surrounding the Mildura Wreck. Peering into the churned up sea Lewi spotted what he thought was an anchor chain, on closer inspection it turned out to be a gigantic stingray! He beckoned me over, I clocked it, and was out of there like a shot. This time with Uni and her underwater camera in tow, Lewi went hunting again, and not one but two huge stingers were spotted. Impressed we all sat back and observed the above water show, turtles constantly surfacing to catch a breath above the swell. It was evidently a great day for wildlife, with snorkel addict Lewi plunging in for round three only to be chased out of the water by an overly curious shark. By now we were all starving, spaghetti cooked at the lighthouse was slurped while reminiscing about Uni's Indonesian homeland as the sun slipped beneath the waves. It had been a great day capped off with star gazing outside our tent.

This remote spit of land is blessed with stunning shores on both it's east and west, with the rugged Cape Range running down it's centre. Twenty kilometres around the coast from Exmouth we entered the National Park and then drove another fifty-five kilometres to it's end at Yardie Creek. We had zoomed by a plethora of jaw dropping beaches along the way but we weren't worried, we'd see them on the way back up, as there is only one road in and out of this park.

Yardie Creek was a great spot to pitch our canvas house, the gorge walk was stunning, rock wallabies and eagles call it home and finally we'd found some trees to shade us from the relentless sun. We shared this place not only with the cheeky kangaroos who knocked over our dirty dishes in the night, but with a Sydneysider named Rich who entertained us over dinner with stories of his naturalist escapades.

Up early with a brisk wind that threatened to knock our tent down, we relocated to the sheltered sparkling shores of Sandy Bay, for breakfast. Alone in this paradise we swam in the almost too blue sea and gawked at it's beauty. Having had a full day without snorkelling Lewi was getting withdrawal symptoms and with so many excellent coral outcrops to explore along this Ningaloo Reef it was time to get serious. First to Oyster Stacks while the tide was high enough, and then onto 'The Drift' at Turquoise beach. Both gave excellent underwater displays of marine life big and small, from a small but still shockingly fast reef shark to a delicate little starfish. You become so engrossed in this other world that only your beating heart reminds you of your landlubber presence. The added bonus of 'the drift snorkel', as you may have guessed with it's name, is the lack of effort required, you just float along with the current until you wash up at a sandbank, marvellous! And on this sand bank I remained for the rest of the day, lounging on the white sands of Turquoise Beach in a blissful state of happiness.

The only slight problem with Cape Range N.P is the complete lack of fresh water. We hadn't showered in a few days but worse our drinking water was running out, we calculated that we'd last another two days before washing and water were in desperate need. Another thing that normally wouldn't bother us was the absence of phone signal. We had planned to meet up with Ali and Caren here, but now had no means of contacting them, we attempted to use a public phone box but to no avail, we just had to leave it in the hands of fate.

The next day we flitted between the amazing yet sparsely populated beaches and explored the bountiful tropical waters, all the while keeping an eye out for two English people in a wicked camper. Still no sign by 3pm, we switched our location and began driving north...a people carrier appeared on the horizon with what appeared to be a kangaroo leaning out of the sunroof. "That's not a kangaroo, that's Caren" Lewi exclaimed. We beeped and waved and both pulled over, thanking fate for it's helping hand. Happy to be in each others company again we set off for the only remaining snorkel site on our list, Lakeside. Lewi must have had his shark radar on for the past few days, as no sooner than we entered the sea than a shark was spotted and the boys gave chase. Caren and I stayed nearer to shore and were rewarded for our lack of daring by the sight of a beautiful hawksbill turtle cruising around. Before long another spectacular sunset was about to begin and so we set off to find a campsite for the evening.

Normally in Australia we abide by the golden rule of motoring, "Never drive at sunset" as this is when all the kangaroos come to the road to soak up the warmth from the bitumen and obviously can cause serious damage to ones car and the roo. However on the traffic free roads of this N.P and at a leisurely cruising speed of 10km we experienced a Kangaroo Safari. It was incredible, everywhere we looked marsupials bounded and in the colours of a blazing sunset it seemed unreal. It all was real though, even the sight of an impromptu boxing match between two adolescent males. Finally with the glowing embers of sunset dying we reached Pilgramuna camp area, ate a tasty meal and chatted until late with a glass of 'Stanley' wine in hand.

Ali and Caren soon fell into the Cape Range way of life; breakfast at Sandy bay, snorkel all the way along the coast, and soak up the endless sunshine. We could have done this forever but by now my hair was crystallised with salt and our water canisters were empty, so we had to depart saying "adieu" until Sydney.

We called in at Uni's house on the way through town where she welcomed us with open arms, a freshly prepared curry and unlimited shower usage. The last few days had been absolutely wonderful, not only did we get to catch up with some great friends but to do so in this beautiful part of the world was truly special.

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