Snorkeltastic
Hello. It's not been a huge amount of time since our last update but it feels like ages for us because we've been busy having a lovely time. We left Exmouth and headed north around the cape to visit the Ningaloo Reef Marine Park - the west coast's answer to the Great Barrier Reef.
Although it's nowhere near as well known, it does have a lot in common with the world famous barrier reef but there are some very important differences. The most important one is that to get to the great barrier reef you need to get on a boat and drive out to see it - our trip took 2.5 hours. The Ningaloo reef, however, took us about 2.5 seconds to get to since it's about 10 metres from the shore.
So we bought ourselves a couple of cheap snorkels and put them to good use, swimming out to the coral and watching an incredible number of fish that live there. Within seconds of being out there, a sting-ray kicked up the sand on the bottom of the ocean and swam off. From that moment, we knew it was going to be a pretty amazing couple of days.
One of the more popular snorkelling spots is Turquoise Bay, which has a strong but handy current that drags you along the coral. Without flippers it was a bit of an effort to swim out but then you just relax and let the water carry you along the reef, while you ooh and aah at the amazing marine life below you.
That night we camped at a spot called Lakeside in the national park, just off the beach. With it being (almost) valentines day, we sat on the beach and watched the sun go down while eating cheese and crackers and drinking wine; a recreation of our night on the other reef. Good timing eh!
Being next to the beach gave us the opportunity to be the first out the next morning so we wandered along to the recommended snorkelling spot. On our way, still half-awake, we almost stood on a poor turtle that had managed to get itself stranded on the pebbles sometime during the night. We considered running back to get the camera but the poor thing looked pretty knackered so we put her back in the water and watched her swim away.
The day took a turn for the worst when the car didn't start due to a flat battery. Our auxiliary battery had died and so our fridge had drained the main one. Luckily we were given a jump start by some other campers and we got on our way to Coral Bay.
We arrived in Coral Bay not expecting a whole lot but found a beautiful little town with a fantastic beach and plenty going on. We had heard about a place where you can go and see sharks so we walked along the bay and another couple told us where to go and what to do. There's a little bay that they call a shark nursery, and it's where the young sharks stay while the mums and dads go out to scare snorkellers. You can't swim with them but you can wade out and if you wait long enough they start to swim near you. Any movement scares them though and they shoot off like a bullet. They're not really dangerous but since they're called 'sharks', it's hard not to be a bit unnerved as they swim towards you. Incredible experience though!
That evening was valentines day so we decided to use some money that Charlotte's mum had given us months ago, and treated ourselves to a nice meal. The next morning the car was dead again so, thanks to a bit of that famous Aussie hospitality (somebody always comes to help), we set off for our next stop at Carnarvon.
First thing we did there was buy a new auxiliary battery for the car. The second thing we did there was the medicals for our Visa applications. The third thing we did, was get back on the road and head for Monkey Mia.
Monkey Mia is one of the most famous places in the world for seeing dolphins. They've been coming into the shore to be fed since the '60s and it's one of the big draws on the west coast. We stopped in a town just down the road called Denham which seemed to be the windiest place in the world but was also very nice. The following morning we headed off to get to Monkey Mia in time for the feeding, which happens three times every day and they feed up to 5 dolphins each time, although many more come in with them just to be sociable it seems.
We had a nice morning there, saw all three feeds and then went back to the campsite to relax for a bit. It's exhausting travelling at this pace!
We can feel your pity.
We visited a few other sights in the area, some lookouts and an old sheep-shearing homestead, and then it was back on the road for another 3.5 hour drive to the next stop, and our current location - Kalbarri. It's another beautiful little town, quite like Narooma on the east coast but set right inside a national park featuring all the views you would expect of a system of gorges and rivers.
Our next stop should be somewhere near Geraldton and then we'll finally have made it to Perth. This past two weeks we've been on the road for well over 30 hours now, and we must have covered the length of the UK - from the north coast of Scotland to the south coast of England - a couple of times over at least. It's a bloody big place this!
Piccies, in a kind of reverse order (with a bit of randomness):
The shark nursery at Coral Bay - the dark blobs in the water are reef sharks:
Charlotte feeding Surprise, one of the dolphins at Monkey Mia:
Charlotte at Nature's Window in Kalbarri NP:
The view from Charles Knife Canyon Road, in the Cape Range National Park:
Charlotte and the Ningaloo reef - the coral and the fish are the dark patches:
A shovel-nose ray at Ningaloo:
The national park campsite just off Ningaloo, shared with just 6 other people:
Although it's nowhere near as well known, it does have a lot in common with the world famous barrier reef but there are some very important differences. The most important one is that to get to the great barrier reef you need to get on a boat and drive out to see it - our trip took 2.5 hours. The Ningaloo reef, however, took us about 2.5 seconds to get to since it's about 10 metres from the shore.
So we bought ourselves a couple of cheap snorkels and put them to good use, swimming out to the coral and watching an incredible number of fish that live there. Within seconds of being out there, a sting-ray kicked up the sand on the bottom of the ocean and swam off. From that moment, we knew it was going to be a pretty amazing couple of days.
One of the more popular snorkelling spots is Turquoise Bay, which has a strong but handy current that drags you along the coral. Without flippers it was a bit of an effort to swim out but then you just relax and let the water carry you along the reef, while you ooh and aah at the amazing marine life below you.
That night we camped at a spot called Lakeside in the national park, just off the beach. With it being (almost) valentines day, we sat on the beach and watched the sun go down while eating cheese and crackers and drinking wine; a recreation of our night on the other reef. Good timing eh!
Being next to the beach gave us the opportunity to be the first out the next morning so we wandered along to the recommended snorkelling spot. On our way, still half-awake, we almost stood on a poor turtle that had managed to get itself stranded on the pebbles sometime during the night. We considered running back to get the camera but the poor thing looked pretty knackered so we put her back in the water and watched her swim away.
The day took a turn for the worst when the car didn't start due to a flat battery. Our auxiliary battery had died and so our fridge had drained the main one. Luckily we were given a jump start by some other campers and we got on our way to Coral Bay.
We arrived in Coral Bay not expecting a whole lot but found a beautiful little town with a fantastic beach and plenty going on. We had heard about a place where you can go and see sharks so we walked along the bay and another couple told us where to go and what to do. There's a little bay that they call a shark nursery, and it's where the young sharks stay while the mums and dads go out to scare snorkellers. You can't swim with them but you can wade out and if you wait long enough they start to swim near you. Any movement scares them though and they shoot off like a bullet. They're not really dangerous but since they're called 'sharks', it's hard not to be a bit unnerved as they swim towards you. Incredible experience though!
That evening was valentines day so we decided to use some money that Charlotte's mum had given us months ago, and treated ourselves to a nice meal. The next morning the car was dead again so, thanks to a bit of that famous Aussie hospitality (somebody always comes to help), we set off for our next stop at Carnarvon.
First thing we did there was buy a new auxiliary battery for the car. The second thing we did there was the medicals for our Visa applications. The third thing we did, was get back on the road and head for Monkey Mia.
Monkey Mia is one of the most famous places in the world for seeing dolphins. They've been coming into the shore to be fed since the '60s and it's one of the big draws on the west coast. We stopped in a town just down the road called Denham which seemed to be the windiest place in the world but was also very nice. The following morning we headed off to get to Monkey Mia in time for the feeding, which happens three times every day and they feed up to 5 dolphins each time, although many more come in with them just to be sociable it seems.
We had a nice morning there, saw all three feeds and then went back to the campsite to relax for a bit. It's exhausting travelling at this pace!
We can feel your pity.
We visited a few other sights in the area, some lookouts and an old sheep-shearing homestead, and then it was back on the road for another 3.5 hour drive to the next stop, and our current location - Kalbarri. It's another beautiful little town, quite like Narooma on the east coast but set right inside a national park featuring all the views you would expect of a system of gorges and rivers.
Our next stop should be somewhere near Geraldton and then we'll finally have made it to Perth. This past two weeks we've been on the road for well over 30 hours now, and we must have covered the length of the UK - from the north coast of Scotland to the south coast of England - a couple of times over at least. It's a bloody big place this!
Piccies, in a kind of reverse order (with a bit of randomness):
The shark nursery at Coral Bay - the dark blobs in the water are reef sharks:
Charlotte feeding Surprise, one of the dolphins at Monkey Mia:
Charlotte at Nature's Window in Kalbarri NP:
The view from Charles Knife Canyon Road, in the Cape Range National Park:
Charlotte and the Ningaloo reef - the coral and the fish are the dark patches:
A shovel-nose ray at Ningaloo:
The national park campsite just off Ningaloo, shared with just 6 other people:
posted by Kev & Charlotte at
6:18 PM
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