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Coral Bay
Main street, and only street!Coral Bay
11
th May
This place is the stepping stone for tourists to visit the Ningaloo Reef and that is what Coral Bay is famous for and the only thing that maintains this small towns existence. The landing of the schooner Maud in 1884 at what is now known as Maud’s Landing, (wait for more on this spot!) is the earliest recorded European activity in the Coral Bay area. The town has a ‘permanent population of about 190, but at any given time of the year it could swell to as high as 5000, this is a tourist mecca on the west coast.
Lying at the southern end of the Ningaloo Reef which stretches for over 260Klm to the North, it is the only coral reef in the world found so close to a landmass. At Coral Bay and at many close by beaches all you have to do is slip on the flippers and facemask and swim out 50 mtrs and you can be snorkelling amongst the coral. Coral Bay is famous around the world as a destination where you can snorkel with Whale sharks, Manta Rays, Turtles, Dugong and over 250 species of coral. The reef
supports over 500 species of fish and I can tell you that the experience of snorkelling here is fantastic. The main draw card is the Whale Sharks and from April to June visitors can swim with these gentle giants. The caravan parks (2) are flat out and you tend to be on top of one another as they squeeze more vans in, but hey, across the road is the most beautiful bay with crystal clear water and white sand. A couple of shops supply most daily basic needs and “Magic” Johnny’s (see Warra Blog) Café (Fins) and restaurant (Reef) serve fantastic meals and snacks.
Now back to Maud’s landing, a beach we were told was fantastic and great for dogs, so off we went. And yes, it was fabulous, long stretches of white sand with big sand dunes as a backdrop and that beautiful sapphire blue water. We set up and sit back to enjoy the ambience before a swim, time to go in now as we are pretty hot after playing with Jackie and sitting in the sun. One step into the water, ankle deep, and there it is, a Tiger shark cruises right past us in no
more than a couple of mtrs deep of water. That is the end of that so we decide to head back to safer waters at Coral Bay but before we leave, he is back so we go down to watch him, he is now in probably a metre of water and obviously intent on getting ‘out’ !! It is then we see a dead snook, ( a fish), at the edge of the waterline, yes it is a big one but it is basically on the sand, so we watch to see what happens next, he is obviously waiting for it to wash back out with a wave so that he can grab it but this is not happening. So, if you were a hungry 2 mtr Tiger Shark what would you do to get this tasty morsel? He beaches himself on the next big wave! Snaps this thing up and flips about until the next wave and heaves himself back into the water!!!! And I had no camera!!!
Having decided now that I was not going to swim with the Whale Sharks, too deep, too far out (what is down there 50 metres below you?), I took the
Coral Bay
looking from Coral Bay Resort easy option and went out with a snorkelling tour of the reef, only reef sharks to deal with here, much safer! And it was fantastic, we swam with turtles, rays, 100’s of fish including a big school of Nth West Snapper (Emperor) as well as seeing all the coral and it was amazing. This is a crowded
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MattyV
Matty V
Coral Bay better than Byron Bay?
It was interesting reading this article (http://tiny.cc/ck26ew via The Age Melbourne) after reading your blog, and also talking about it on the phone. The photos from The Age article definitely look stunning, and can't wait to see your photos on here! BUT, there does seem to a slight problem with things in the water that can eat you...and a 2 metre Tiger Shark cruising along the beach a few metres offshore would be enough to keep me out of the water until I got all the way back around to Portsea in Melbourne! And now as you move further North you will have bloody saltwater crocodiles to contend with as well! Stay out of the water!!!! Love you both xx