Advertisement
Published: December 2nd 2011
Edit Blog Post
Ningaloo Reef has been such an incredible treat for us. While the Great Barrier Reef is, well, great, it is not a patch on the Ningaloo experience. Over the past few days we have swum with turtles and giant manta rays, snorkelled amongst some amazing coral outcrops and colourful fish, walked (yes walked) alongside reef sharks, watched massive turtles come on shore to lay eggs, and observed male emus nurturing their brood along the roads of Exmouth.
Exmouth gave us our first taste of Ningaloo, being the northernmost tip of this fringe reef. The only downer was that you had to drive at least an hour to any of the snorkelling sites, but the drive was well worth it. Here, you had a maximum five minute swim to the most stunning snorkelling sites, with water so clear that you could see quite a distance. Perhaps our favourite was the Oyster Stacks, but the drift snorkel at Turquoise Bay also rates highly. For the boys, Turquoise Bay was great as once they tired of snorkelling, the beach itself with its white sands and shallow waters was great for them to play in. I felt extremely privileged to also snorkel
three times by myself with turtles - as at the Great Barrier Reef, I totally forget myself when I swim above these gentle creatures, as they glide through the water. I even stayed with one as it serenely ate along the seabed, slowly picking its way through small clumps of algae. Truly wonderful. One evening Paul took Oliver and William out to Mauritius Beach to see if they could watch a turtle come in to lay eggs (I stayed behind with Quinn). They were not allowed to take torches, and it being a moonless night, the beach was very dark, but their patience won out and after two hours waiting in the dark, stubbing toes on the rocky outcrops, they heard the sound of sand being flung about, and were able to watch a turtle dig a hole and then lay eggs. They said the sound was like stones clonking together. They returned at 11pm wide eyed with excitement and exhaustion. The next day we drove out to the site to see if we could find the nest, which we did, and then Paul and Oliver decided to dive into the water to swim with the turtles. At this particular
site, the entry into the water wasn’t so easy, and the water was very choppy, but they managed to see some turtles. As this area was where the turtles actually mated, it was populated by massive turtles (at least two metres wide) and Paul did confess to feeling a little anxious about swimming amongst these giants, particularly with a young boy. But Oliver emerged exhilarated.
Exmouth itself is a small coastal town with a resident population of about 2,400 (though the population swells to 6,000 during the tourist season). Originally set up in the 60’s as a support town for the United States Naval Communications Station Harold E Holt, it is a functional town which pretty much comes to a halt as far as tourists are concerned during the off season (there were no tours or dive trips on offer while we were there). We had read that emus roam the streets of Exmouth, and I guessed this was a fable, just like kangaroos roaming the streets of Perth. But at Exmouth, they really did! And we had a lot of fun spotting emu dads (yes, it is the dad that looks after the young) and counting
how many chicks (?) they had. One proud dad had seven emu chicks, and they walked down the street as if they owned it (there was almost a cowboy and western feel to this encounter).
After five days, it was time to move on, and we decided to head to Coral Bay, a small, laid back community at the heart of Ningaloo Reef. Here the reef was not as close to the beach, so we decided to take a boat trip out to the reef. We boarded Coral Bay Eco-Tour’s Kurni Ku and headed out for a 15 minute cruise to the reef. Unfortunately we arrived just as the winds did, but we still managed to get some great snorkelling in. During our first dive, we saw reef sharks, turtles, and again, brightly coloured schools of fish, and some great coral gardens. The highlight would have to be the second dive, where we swam with giant manta rays. Wow. This was truly amazing. What majestic creatures, so graceful, so peaceful. We were following a female, and at one stage a male came up and made contact with the female, tagged along for a while, and
then, with a quick swish of his wings, was gone. The tour itself was also great, with a cheerful enthusiastic team on board, and we were fed constantly. Can highly recommend it.
Coral Bay itself was, we felt, a much nicer place to stay than Exmouth, more intimate, and we were lucky enough to stay at a caravan park on a site where we overlooked the bay. In fact, Coral Bay is so small and isolated it only got electricity a few years ago, prior to that, everything operated off generator. Oliver convinced us to buy him a Skim Board which he started to practice on. He admitted it is much harder than it looks, but he is making progress. One morning we decided to go for a long walk along the beach, and our timing was perfect; we reached one of the bays, a shark nursery, in time to see about 30 reef sharks swimming closely together, slowly, constantly circling. As we continued to walk along the beach, we watched as sharks came within a few metres of the shore, swimming alongside us, so close that we felt we were walking with the sharks (though at
other times, I envisioned they had spotted juicy Quinton and were just waiting for an opportunity to seize him). Again, another magical experience at Ningaloo.
We were very tempted to stay on at Coral Bay, but it was very windy, and with some time pressures (my sister’s baby is due on December 16) we decided to move on and slowly amble down to Shark Bay. We are currently in Carnarvon, which was touted as an agriculture mecca, with fresh fruit and vegetables in ample supply. We were therefore expecting something like Kununurra, which was so green and obviously fertile, but Carnarvon is a lot drier, a bit more industrial, and not as beautiful. We were also advised to spend as little time as possible here. However, the caravan park gave us a stay for three, pay for two nights, and we took them up on this offer, and we are glad we did so. Not only did it give us a chance to do a serious clean out of the caravan and car (that sand gets everywhere) but it is a very relaxing town. Yesterday we went out to Rocky Pools, a large freshwater pool about 50kms
outside town. The boys had read that they could fossick for fossils and other treasures washed down from the Kennedy Ranges. We arrived, and they immediately set to walking up the dry river bed looking for these treasures. I also went for a walk, admiring the beautiful ghost gum trees, imagining what the river bed would look like once it started raining, and just enjoying the peace and quiet. Today we drove out to Quobba to see the blowholes which was totally amazing, then we did some more snorkelling, and then this evening, we went into town to join in the Christmas festival, complete with Santa. The kids had a lot of fun, as, actually, did we. It is a very different crowd here in Carnarvon! Oh yes, while we were at Rocky Pools, we met Nick Nickolas and his daughter Ruby (the only other people at Rocky Pools). We got to chatting and discovered that Nick is a magician and comedian, here from Melbourne for the festival, together with his wife who is a 3-D pavement artist. We watched Nick tonight and he really was fantastic - the boys can’t stop talking about him. They too will be going
to Monkey Mia tomorrow, so the boys are ever hopeful that Nick will let them in on a few trade secrets!
Today in two weeks we will be in Perth - I can’t believe it. We shall definitely be making the most of this last stretch on the road, but what a beautiful way to end our trip. Tomorrow, it’s off to Monkey Mia and Shark Bay, to see dolphins, more manta rays, and if we are really lucky, the shy dugong. And I hope to do more snorkelling - I am addicted.
(PS The underwater photos were taken by the crew of the Kurni-Ku)
Advertisement
Tot: 0.142s; Tpl: 0.014s; cc: 13; qc: 58; dbt: 0.1044s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Jeanette and Tom
non-member comment
Saving the best for last
Thank you once again for all the photo's and sharing your wonderful experiences. The sea looks so inviting and compared to all the crowded beaches, you guys have found paradise on those quiet sands!! Lots of love. See you soon!