A whale of a time.

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We are thoroughly enjoying our time in Exmouth. We have had four days here, and both agree that it is somewhere we would happily holiday for a longer period of time. Exmouth, with Cape Range National Park and Ningaloo Reef on one side of the peninsula and Exmouth Gulf on the other, has so much to offer holiday makers. Navy Jetty, which is a working jetty owned by the Department of Defence, is rated as one of the top ten dive sites in the world. We are told that the marine life there is amazing, but it is a restricted site available only to certified dive tours. No snorkelling there for us. There are fishing charters providing a game fishing experience. For the more casual holiday makers like us, the are many sites to fish from the beach. Success comes with local knowledge, so befriending the locals comes in handy.
There are many sites both outside and within the National Park for sight seeing. Today we went for a drive through Shothole Canyon and Charles Knife Gorge, two very different landscapes. Shothole Canyon has large rock formations dotted with cave-like holes, and windows through the rocks. At Charles Knife Gorge, we viewed a beautiful wide, deep gorge winding it’s way through the landscape.
During the Whale Shark season, there are boat tours providing the opportunity to swim with the sharks. At this time of the year, it is humpback whale viewing time. Every year 36,000 humpback whales pass by the Exmouth area and rest in Exmouth Gulf. This evening, we went out on a whale-watching tour in the gulf waters. As well as viewing several pods of whales fin and tail slapping, we listened to mothers and calves communicating with each other when the skipper put the hydrophone in the water. It was a very special experience.
To conclude our Exmouth experience, we snacked on some yummy local king prawns fresh from the seafood processor.

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