Swimming with a Manta ray at Coral Bay

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After 16 days of travelling together we left Pat and Marian to enjoy a few more days at Ningaloo National Park while we moved on to try to swim with Manta rays. Travelling together has been a lot of fun but now our schedules diverged.

Greg had always wanted to swim with Whale sharks and Manta rays. Since the Whale shark season had passed we turned to the permanent population of Manta rays at Coral Bay.

As we Exited Exmouth we bought another MSA rated whole rump from the local butcher. The previous one that we had bought in Alice Springs had turned out to be fantastic so the opportunity was too good to resist. Of course this meant that our first job in Coral Bay was to cut, pack and freeze the rump.

The Coral Bay caravan park was a surprise. Firstly it was full of young children, and we had seen relatively few recently. The second surprise was the water which came from a 3.8km deep bore. As a result it was scaldingly hot and also very salty; definitely not drinkable and corrosive in a caravan hot water system. The park used a special type of salt tolerant couch grass and very fine spray sprinklers designed to cool the water before it cooked the grass.

In the morning we boarded the boat Utopia and headed out to the reef. The first dive was in relatively deep water and I suspect that it was a chance for the crew to sus out the capabilities of the customers. At this spot we swam with a turtle, saw giant clams and also got to watch a reef shark circling to get his teeth cleaned by special little fish. With all our past history with sharks it was a strange feeling to hover 4 metres from a decent sized shark.

Back on board and after morning tea we went searching for Manta rays. The spotter plane sent us in the right direction and the chase was on. Manta rays do not stop for visitors so we had to get in very quickly and swim after it. The 4 metre wide Manta ray was graceful in the water as it seemed to fly with no apparent effort. It was reminiscent of an eagle of the wing. After swimming over it for a while Greg became exhausted and broke off the chase, but he had swum with a Manta ray.

Lunch was toasted ham, cheese and tomato sandwiches with lemon cordial. We had barely finished the last mouthful when it was in for the final dive. Whatever happened to no swimming for 30 minutes after eating! However the final dive spot was stunning. The combination of clear water, awesome coral and lots of fish made it a magical spot.

Happy but totally exhausted we climbed into the 4wd for the drive to Carnarvon.

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Comments

[Angela Reimann]

Double Sigh
The manta ray! How wonderful. The coral is glorious, like the dome one with the little fish.

[Sheila]

Wow!
Hi Jan & Greg, Enjying your blogs. You are sure seeing & doing much. Love the underwaterr photos - reminds us of when we dived in Qld. Only 4 more days befre Brian retires! You both look so fit & healthy - the lifestyle seems to suit you. S & B