Karratha

Yesterday we left very sadly our wonderful spot at Exmouth to travel on to Karratha. We stopped the night beside the Robe River at a free camp together with more than 25 vans! We certainly felt very safe there and had a fantastic night’s sleep.

In the morning we set off for Karratha and caught up on the shopping and had a quick look around. A mining town it is and for us not all that exciting. Expensive at the caravan park at $50.00 and we were very pleased to have only booked one night.

Our next stop is at Point Sampson which is only 50kms further on but we’ve been told swimming is great so that will be something to look forward to.

I forgot that we had taken some great pictures of Turquoise Bay so am putting them up today, especially after Pete’s comments on seeing his father in a rashy which I thought he would have applauded as excellent sun protection. There is no pleasing some is there? Just wait till he sees Suey in hers ….. maybe not!

The Whale Sharks

We were a little concerned as we started out our day with an early departure at 7am from the caravan park. The guides were quite upfront in telling us that the weather was not great and that when we got out, if the wind didn’t improve there was a very real possibility that we may not even continue and if we did continue we may not see any whale sharks.

It’s a bit disappointing, but as we knew they are wild creatures and not at our beck and call so what would be would be. It was pretty rough and we all had to have a trial snorkel to test our gear and to ensure we were able to cope with the conditions. No pressure! So we made sure we looked confident, even though it was a lot harder than our two previous tame sessions at Turquoise Bay which probably lulled us into a false sense of security.

We had heard from some other campers at the park that on the previous day they had to wait 5 hours to see any sharks and even then only one so we were not exactly filled with a great sense of optimism. We enjoyed a couple of cups of coffee and investigated the onboard toilet, lucky its small or you could fall over, so we vowed to reduce the intake of liquid.

Suddenly a shout went up “Manta Ray” and we were into our gear like well oiled machines. At the given command of “go, go, go” we were off to see a giant manta ray up close and personal. It was fantastic and they are incredible creatures as they travel effortlessly through the water and oblivious to us. It was wonderful and we all clambered back with Suey looking somewhat undignified, that being a very good reason for not buying the reveal all video!

We all agreed that even if we didn’t get another opportunity we had had a great time and had nothing to complain about. We were then served a lovely lunch which we were enjoying as the spotter plane worked hard overhead. This is no small operation and there are a lot of overheads and charges which we now understand add up to the costs to everyone. Then unbelievably up went the shout “whale shark”. Stuff lunch we can have that anytime, whale sharks we can’t have again, so down with lunch into the bin and into our gear as we waited impatiently for our boat to get into the correct position. There are very strict protocols which we are briefed on a number of times. It is quite obvious that all the operators want this to be a sustainable industry and that they are deeply committed.

Only ten people are allowed in the water at any one time from the boat and we were divided into two groups. Ian and I were in the first group in and it was spectacular. We were able to snorkel alongside this fantastic creature from about 4 metres away, if you could keep up that is! With the clarity of the water you had a very detailed look at the 7 metre long Whale Shark which the crew were very excited about at as this was longer than they had seen for a while. We were so lucky. In no time our appointed 10 minutes were over and we made our way back onto the boat to enable the others to have their time. Back on board there were high fives all ‘round as we shared what we had seen.

As we were on a faster boat than many out today (and to our good fortune at the right place at the right time, as others had to come from the other end of the watch area) we had arrived at the site quite quickly and then as luck would have it we were given another opportunity and back in we went for another look. It was more than we could have hoped for. After we left the site the whale shark retreated to the lower depths and the other boats which arrived shortly after we had finished, missed out. Their whole day was possibly over then as they waited patiently for it to resurface whilst we proceeded back to the beach.

On the way back a whale emerged and breached within our sight.  What a way to finish the day.

In case you have the opportunity, check out  www.ningaloowhalesharkndive.com.au  . I guess if we had a bucket list, this could well have been on the top! But, boy  are we tired and sore tonight now we are back!

We have some photos taken today and will have to wait to get the underwater camera photos developed. (Great hint Julie!)

Exmouth

Well settled into a park at Exmouth and off to explore. The snorkelling here is supposed to be superb so that is what we tried first.

As you can see we both have flippers, masks and snorkels and had a fantastic day. The water is so warm and clear and we were only 10 metres from the beach and seeing so many fish of different sizes and colours just too beautiful to describe. We swam twice each day for the first two days at Turquoise Bay which was highly recommended by Julie and Sebastian and they were absolutely right. We now feel quite confident with the snorkelling and tomorrow, also on Jule’s recommendation we are taking the big plunge and going to snorkel with the whale sharks!

Coral Bay

OK so we didn’t stay at the station! The day started with rain and continued with more rain. As we drove up to the station we noticed that both the entry roads we had been told to use were closed and the only road left open we knew was heavily corrugated and not suitable. So plan B which is what we do because we don’t really have a plan A most of the time, saw us happily ensconced in a park at Coral Bay, surprisingly not meeting Karen and Allan this time.

At last swimming is our pleasure and the water is unbelievable here. The west coast is amazing and we are really thinking this is the place for swimming and can’t wait to go up a bit further as we are told it only gets better, hard to imagine.

After this we are on to Exmouth for more swimming and perhaps even something extra special.

Carnarvon

We arrived in Carnarvon yesterday and as we drove into the caravan park …. There were two familiar faces as we made our way to our spot. Allan and Karen are now accusing us of being stalkers!

We set off to stock up on fresh fruit and veg. which from here on it is quite plentiful. A kilo of bananas for $5.00 is quite good and a bag of tomatoes for $4.00 is good too! So we are stocked up and looking forward to seeing more fresh fruit which will be lovely. Not too many food miles for fruit around here. We have picked up a “Gascoyne Food Trail” brochure which is a great guide to finding the best retail and food stops along the way.

This park comes well recommended according to the book and its star attraction seems to be the bowling green only twenty metres from our door.  Today there was an announcement over the loud speakers (never had them in a park before, this is a trip of firsts!) to tell everyone to put their names down for the afternoon game commencing at 1pm. You could borrow bowls if you didn’t have your own and from the noise emanating from the Bowling Green now (4.10pm) the competition is fairly fierce!

Also a reoccurring theme here is the arrival of the film crew we met at our last stop who were here filming another episode and spent another day crouching on the bowling green espousing the virtues of lawn bowls and how fantastic caravan parks are! By the way this park isn’t even the designated “retirees” park. Yes there is a park in town which specialises in retirees. Old as we are we bypassed that one.

Whilst out and about today we explored the Lighthouse Keepers Cottage Museum which was interesting and never fails to show something original which an ingenious person has thought out to meet a need. In this case it was a petrol motor powered water pump which originated in Norwich, England, and uses a chain to bring water to the surface from any bore or well. These were often carried by drovers, and early settlers.

We also went to Gwoonwardu Mia which is the Gascoyne Aboriginal Heritage and Cultural Centre where we were lucky enough to see an exhibition of local indigenous artwork and weaving which we really enjoyed.

Tonight we are having a BBQ with Karen and Allan and leaving tomorrow for Warroora Station at 14 mile Beach which is 155km south of Exmouth. Notably we’re being forced to book a bit ahead now and have booked right up to Kununurra.

Monkey Mia

Today we drove 25kms to Monkey Mia to see the dolphins but unfortunately we found out when we arrived that we needed to be there at 7.45am for the briefing and then the feeding takes place anytime up till 12 o’clock. However the dolphins were still there cruising up and down without being fed so we were well satisfied.

Just so we didn’t feel the trip was without wildlife up close and personal, there was an Australian Pelican propped on the beach just waiting for his photo to be taken and striking a number of poses including an acrobatic one worthy of a gymnastic which we didn’t manage to capture. None the less we reckon these are pretty good too. For those interested in facts the bill will hold up to 10 litres, and they can live for up to 25 years in the wild.

We know you are probably sick of hearing how beautiful the water is here but that’s just the way it is and we drove out along a lagoon on our way back and the water is so clear you can see the small fish all along the shore.

Off tomorrow, after thinking how lucky we were to get a spot here.  The park is completely booked now, and today they filmed an episode of a WA Travel Show and talked to the people next door who are here for three months each year, not a bad gig, but there is still so much more to see so we’re happy to be on the road again.

Denham

We are getting a little nervous about getting into parks as we are being told by a number of people heading south of passing 100 or more vans heading in the same direction as us. Our theory of not booking is looking a little shaky to say the least, but at least we are well set up if we can’t find a suitable park and if last night is any indication, we’re better off not in a park.

However we were into town at 9am and so lucky to find a great park for two nights overlooking to ocean and within handy reach of the attractions we are keen to look at.

Having set up we had a quick lunch and went to Ocean Park Aquarium at Shark Bay which was fantastic. We took a guided tour through all the aquariums and the large lagoon containing the sharks. Suey was just thinking it is nearly warm enough to dip into the sea but thanks to our guide Ed, the shower is looking a better option for getting wet. Its scarey how many nasties there are out in the ocean just in front of us!

We’ve learnt the difference between poison and venom (either way, it’s not nice!) and that applying hot water as hot as you can stand is the best remedy for both! Ahh sweet comfort … not!

We met Bob the loggerhead turtle who turned up on the Albany beach, way too far south and way too cold. He has come to the aquarium to recover and fatten up before being released again.

We also saw a stone fish and hope that is as close as we get to one. One really nasty fish! It was a really interesting place to visit and we’re looking forward to Monkey Mia tomorrow.