Advertisement
Published: April 27th 2006
Edit Blog Post
Stromatolites....
Wow, i hear you gasp in amazement! Stromatolites, Celebration, Living The Dream, Face The Fear, Big Fish, , Decisions.
Leaving Shark bay we make a short stop at another world famous scientific attraction, the oldest living organisms on the plannet, they live for 4000 years, they grow a millimetre a year, they are the Stromatolites! Hoorah. Well really they are a bacteria / amoeba that creates calcite ‘bommies’ in shallow saline water, check the picture of these strange things , not a great kite surfing spot!
From Sharky we head north for a big 600ks to be in a good place for me to celebrate my 25th anniversary of life! Exmouth is the destination, set on a peninsula of national park and ringed by the Ningaloo reef it is a huge tourist destination. On the day in question I celebrate by spending a really chilled day on the beach with Jimmy making tasty food and bringing cold beer upon demand, we snorkel and would have kited if the wind was with me. In the evening its to the local pub, the Pot Shot for a few tinnes etc…
The lack of wind on my birthday is made up for the next 4 days being absolutely
Our Beach!
Our Dream, Our Parradise... perfect. We hit the national park and find ourself a secluded camping spot right on a Kiteable beach, everything works, we get a good shady campsite, the wind kicks up in the afternoons, there is a great snorkelling spot 200m from our camp, it’s the dream, and we lived it!
Food and Water are our only real issues, with limited bore hold water that is only good for showering and washing up, we must take lots of drinking water that is sweated out rapidly in this heat. We get fresh food for a bout 48hours in the exky before it gets too hot and we have to move onto the tins. Showering under our camp shower is a novelty that wares off fairly quickly, while were in town today to stock up on food water and ice were going to sneak into a campsite to get a good shower and shave, bloody luxury!
Kiteing the same beach four days in a row is a great confidence builder, and I finally managed to get over the fear of being upside down, aerial, and attached to a fast moving kite. After a few face plants I finally made the bankroll,
Faceing The Fear...
New Tick, the Reverse Rail Grab! its parity cool and easier than I thought once I got the confidence to commit to the trick.
One of the most busy attractions in the Ningaloo reef is the Whale Sharks, these Behemoths troll the outer reef eating coral spawn, and for a few hundred bucks we charters a boat to take us to swim with the biggest members of the Shark family. The boats have a spotter plane that identifies the Sharkes and directs the boat to them. We then jump out of the back, after a 10 second count down like SAS paratroopers. The boat usually dropped us in front of the shark , so I would hit the water in a flurry of excitement only to see nothing but blue in every direction. Then suddenly out of the murk comes an 8 meter long shark shaped fish heading directly at us, time to drop jaw and move. We swim alongside the Sharks keeping pace with them and the host of other fish that live with these monsters. At one point Jimmy and I are at the back of the group having given up keeping pace with the Waleshark to take piccys, when we look behind
Faceing The Fear...
New Tick, Back Roll!!!! Yay us we spot a 6ft White Tipped Reef Shark heading straight towards us. My mind goes pretty blank, all I can see is Teeth attached to something that is in its element and interested in me! The Reef Shark checks us out while my panic grows, it finally decides were probably a bit big for it and retires (to find its mummy?), Jim and I also retreat to the safety of the group and the bigger fish, though I spend the rest of the day looking behind me!
From Exmouth we have a real decision ahead of us, this really is half way round, 6500ish K and the same again (without detours), to make it back to Sydney, it’s the point of no return. Shortly after Exmouth were in Broome where we hope the stinger season is over and there are no more deadly jellyfish, or it’s the end of our Kitesurfing. After Broome we have some more geology with the Bungle Bungle and the Kimberly ranges.
Are we going to make it all the way round? Is Jimmy going to get eaten by a Crock? Will I ever make it totally Postal and get the Double Back
Faceing The Fear...
Jimmy with that Envlope again! Roll? What will Jim Moon through next? Will the intrepid Englishmen turn Bush? Find out in the next exciting instalment of: “”Insert Title Here”” (Click Add Comment and enter your title) (p.s. Send me Email!!!)
Advertisement
Tot: 0.098s; Tpl: 0.01s; cc: 14; qc: 56; dbt: 0.0442s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
"Aunt Rosie!"
non-member comment
Barnett Bros
"Barnett Bros and Betty - The battle of the bushmen !"