Travel News - Western Australia
11 October, 2005 - 15 October, 2005 - Exmouth - Ningaloo Reef
|
After packing up our camp at House Creek along the road between Karijini and Exmouth, we watched a Blue Kingfisher for probably an hour. Her nest was in a tree just beside our tent. She was very careful about watching predators and would approach the nest only when she thought it was safe. She came back with a large gecko and kept breaking off bits to feed the young in the nest. The nest was completely closed in with mud, so we couldn't see the chicks. |
. |
|
Eventually, we were back on the road again heading for Exmouth. We arrived in the afternoon and first stop in Exmouth to do some shopping and get some information from the Visitor Centre. Then we drove around the peninsula to Cape Range National Park. The Ningaloo Reef fringes the beaches right along the coast of the Cape Range National Park. When we arrived it was blowing a gale. We set the tent up in the wind and managed to last through the night, but the wind actually got stronger. The whole following day we were tired and frustrated from the wind. We found a better camping spot that was more sheltered and spent another 2 nights at Ningaloo. Luckily the wind died down on the 2nd day and we could do some fantastic snorkelling just of the beach. |
. |
|
The currents and rips around Ningaloo are very strong and can drag you out to sea. One of the best spots for snorkelling is "The Drift" at Turquoise Bay. This is a stretch of beach where you can hop in at the southern end of the beach and snorkel with the current a few hundred metres to the northern end of the beach. It has some good coral here and thousands of fish. I got some great shots. |
. |
|
We saw some really beautiful fish at Ningaloo We swam the "The Drift" 3 or 4 times. When we swam the last time the camera battery was empty as I entered the water. I knew something interesting was going to happen, because I wouldn't be able to take a photo. The first thing was we saw a small stingray, and shortly after Regina saw a shark. I didn't see it, but if the camera had been working I would have tried to get a photo. Instead, we swam back to the beach like sensible people. |
. |
|
We had a fantastic day snorkelling, but still were interested in doing a boat tour around the reefs. The next day we packed up and returned to Exmouth and booked a tour. This tour included snorkelling, swimming with Manta Ray and whale watching. We are not such tour freaks, but this tour was really good. It was relaxed and we did some great stuff. We were able to snorkel at one of the reefs in the Exmouth Bay which was a bit different than the Turquoise Bay experience. |
. |
|
In addition to snorkelling, we got to see turtles and Manta Rays. We came across a group of 15 Manta Rays and jumped in and swam with them. The water was freezing, but it didn't matter. The Manta Rays were about 4-5 metres across, but can grow to 7 metres. They are very graceful swimmers. They look like they are flying through the water. It was hard to get close to take a good underwater photo. The best photo was from the boat. We also saw whales breaching out of the water a couple of hundred metres from the boat. That was also fantastic. Didn't but any photos of that here because the whales are just a speck on the photo and the whole experience of seeing whales is being there. They are simply beautiful creatures. |
. |
|
. |
. |
Next Report : 16 October, 2005 - 23 October, 2005 - Across Australia in 7 days (Exmouth to Rockhampton)