Exmouth
to Geraldton
WA's
Answer To The Great Barrier Reef
A Long Way To Nowhere .... The trip from Karratha
to Exmouth is 541 kms of 'nothing' and I guess this is one of the less
desirable parts of travelling along the west coast. In this
distance there are only two road houses, the Fortescue River RH and the Nanutarra
RH. If you care to take a 160 km return side trip then there is
Onslow, on the coast, but our "geriatric gypsy report"
indicated that there is not much at Onslow so we decided to bypass it and head
straight for Exmouth. The road however is excellent and easy
driving, so we decided to split it into a two day trip, staying at
a roadside stop on the Yannarie River about 220 km from Exmouth.
Exmouth, Isolated Opportunity..... Exmouth, with a population of
about 3000 people was only established in 1967 to support the US Naval
communications base which, along with tourism, is the main source of employment
for the town. Exmouth is built on the west coast of the Exmouth Gulf
and on the opposite side of the cape is Cape
Range National
Park and the Ningaloo
Reef Marine
Park. This is the
regions 'claim to fame' and in the future will provide untold eco tourism
opportunities as it's full potential is developed. The advantage that the
Ningaloo Reef has over the Great Barrier Reef
is that much of it is accessible from the beach and still offers the
magnificent coral and an abundance of marine life.
Oh
No! More Gorges..... Our first full day in Exmouth was spent familiarising ourselves with
the region and exploring the Gorges on the eastern side of Cape Range National Park. Quite
different from Karijini as the gorges here have been formed by erosion over
millions of years which gives them an entirely different appearance. The
region, interestingly enough, is devoid of much vegetation except for small
shrubs and bushes. It appears that trees have trouble surviving in
this area due most likely to soil conditions, lack of rainfall or weather
conditions. One of our discoveries whilst exploring the gorges was the
Kaillis Fisheries prawn farm. After parting with $17.00 we were the
proud owners of 1kg of beautiful fresh king prawns which we delighted in
eating over the next two nights along with some fish that the people next door
gave to us. Very tasty.
Just
Cruising..... We decided that to get a good look at the reef, we would book a full day
cruise that combined both the inner and outer reef, the opportunity for whale
watching, snorkeling and with luck swimming with the manta rays and whale
sharks. Our choice, after much research, was the 'Ningaloo Deep' cruise which offered
everything we wanted to cover in a full day cruise. There was no promise
of sighting whale sharks as it was outside there normal season of March to June
but there had been reported sightings recently. The cruise
commenced with pick up at our caravan park at 7.30 am and we returned
about 5.45 pm, so a full day. The boat, a 20 metre long Catamaran,
'Kharma IV' was skippered by Peter
Lake. He and
his crew were just fantastic making the 11 passengers feel welcome and making
sure we were well looked after and obtained the most out of the day.
First The Whales, Then The Rays.... Not long after setting sail and passing through
the reef we sighted our first humpback whales heading north to calve in the
warmer waters. After our first sighting it seemed they were all
around us, some as close as 30 metres from the boat. Great photo
opportunities if you are quick with the camera. After an hour of whale
watching we were kitted out with wet suits and snorkeling gear for our first
venture into the water about 2 km from the shore and outside the reef.
Our ever alert captain spotted the first of the Manta Rays and we all jumped
into the water approximately 2 metres below deck level. Within seconds we
were swimming with three giant and graceful manta rays, some with a fin span of
3 metres. They were quite happy to just circle around us and observe just
as we were observing them. The only person not to see the rays was Liz
who was getting over the shock of the 60 metre deep water, the large
ocean swells and the surf breaking on the reef about 100 metres from
us. She was more interested at that point, in survival, than taking
in the scenery. When back on the deck our captain Peter realized Liz had
missed these beautiful creatures, so making sure that everyone received
value for money, Liz was back in the water with one of the crew for a personal
introduction to the manta rays. This time around Liz had an
individual birds eye view of these magnificent creatures.
Swimming
With The Sharks, No Kidding..... To sight the whale sharks it is necessary to
send up a spotter plane as the sharks seldom break the surface of the water
with their dorsal fin. We were in luck, and we were soon back
in the water for our chance to swim alongside a 7 metre whale shark. The
first time around all eleven of us swam with the shark and although a little
crowded we did experience swimming with this giant fish. For our next
opportunity we split into two groups and this time around we had a great
opportunity to swim alongside this gentle creature for a considerable amount of
time. I (Rob) came face to face with the shark and had it's giant mouth,
1 metre wide, within 30 cm of my face. Wow! Liz and I then swam alongside
the shark for several minutes with an uninterrupted view of this great
creature. Definitely the experience of a lifetime and one we will never
forget.
After a sumptuous lunch we
travelled back inside the reef for snorkeling around the coral. Another
unforgettable experience seeing all the different colour corals and thousands
of fish of every variety imaginable. Liz and I spent 1 1/2 hours in
the water just circling and observing. An amazing day with both of
us having this fantastic experience to remember. Not wanting the
day to end we went back to the van, showered, had a light dinner and then to
the pub with all the backpackers that we had met on the cruise. They made
us older folk feel very welcome and we had a great evening with them.
Just
Round The Corner .... We then moved from Exmouth on the eastern side of the Cape Range Peninsula around to the western side to Cape Range National Park and Ningaloo Marine
Park. There are
several camp areas set up along the coastline in the National Park, and once
again we took the recommendation of our roving gypsy reporters and selected
Neds Camp. This was our base for the next 4 days to explore both the
national park and the marine park. Once again nice clean pit toilets
but no water or other facilities so it was back to basics. Extreme care
is necessary when travelling in this Park particularly around dusk.
In a 10 km stretch, whilst returning to our camp late one afternoon, we sighted
75 kangaroos along the side of the road, and that is not counting all the road
kills.
A
Reef Encounter Of The Great Kind ..... This side of Cape Range
boasts another couple of gorges, the best by far being Yardie Creek Gorge,
which we took time to explore, but the main attraction is the reef.
This really is a spectacular part of the Australian coastline, and sadly, is
probably known better by overseas tourists than by Australians. Our pick
for snorkeling to see the coral and marine life was Turquoise Bay
and trying what is called the snorkel drift. To experience the snorkel
drift you walk 300 to 400 metres down the beach in a southerly direction, enter
the water and swim out about 50 metres. You then let the current
carry you northwards parallel to the beach whilst you take in the abundance of
coral and marine life. Hundreds of different species of fish as well as
turtles, squid, sharks, sting rays and crayfish swim past you as if you are not
there. Just an amazing experience and all from the beach.
The
Loaves & Fishes Trick... After making a couple of loaves of bread in the morning, our final day
at Cape Range was spent with a young couple,
Tony & Chris, we had met who were also staying at Neds Camp.
After a morning tea of fresh oysters we moved on to Tulki Bay
to try our hand at fishing for a few hours. It is amazing that in the
sanctuary zones there are literally thousands of fish of every variety, but
just outside these zones where you are allowed to fish, they seem rather
scarce. Do they really know where the boundaries of the sanctuary zones
are? It was not until late in the afternoon that Tony finally
had luck, and what luck. He had caught a reef shark about 1.5 metres long
that put up a real fight and all whilst Chris was out snorkeling about 30
metres away. At one stage the shark was no more than a few feet
from her. What's more, as he was pulling it in, another 3 or 4
sharks of similar size were hovering around looking for a feed. 'Reel'
excitement. The shark, after having it's tail cut off to bleed, was expertly
filleted by Tony, providing us with dinner, along with a loaf of our bread, for
that evening as well as another couple of meals each. In the end a great
afternoon of fun and excitement followed by an enjoyable evening.
Southward
Ho! ....
Our next destination, still on the Ningaloo Reef, was Coral Bay.
Mixed reports from the "gg's" on this stop but we are now determined
to see for ourselves. Coral
Bay is a small community
(120 people) consisting of 3 caravan parks, a few shops and a small hotel/resort.
Interestingly the entire village is built on private land, part of the Cardabia
Station. The Ningaloo Reef system is within 5 metres of the
shoreline at Coral
Bay.
Unspoiled expanses of white beaches, the reef and great offshore fishing make
this a unique place. There is ample opportunity to snorkel off the
beach, take a glass bottom boat to view the coral and marine life or take a
charter boat for off shore, deep sea fishing. Our choice of caravan park
was Peoples Caravan Park
which is the closest to the beach and as it turns out by far the best park
although a little more expensive than the others.
After a market survey of what tours were offered we decided to take a 2 hour
glass bottom boat coral viewing and snorkel cruise on the Sub Sea Explorer.
At $30 per head it seemed value for money particularly as they allowed free use
of the snorkel gear for your entire stay at Coral Bay.
The boat is fully enclosed so there are no reflections on the glass which
allows uninterrupted viewing of the coral and marine life. An hour of
coral and marine life viewing from the boat allowed plenty of opportunity for
photos. It is interesting that the fish actually hang around the boat
looking in through the glass at all the people. A real role reversal.
It was then time to don the snorkel and flippers and hit the water. After
3 days at Coral Bay, sadly it was once again time to
move on. One day we will come back to this region and spend more
time. It really is unspoiled beauty at it's best. Let's hope that
the developer's are prevented from turning it into a disaster like parts of the
east coast.
Feeding
Time .....
Our next destination was Shark
Bay (Denham) where we
stayed for 3 nights. Denham with a population of 500 people is a
small fishing, holiday and retiree destination. It is located in
the Shark Bay World Heritage area. 25 km from Denham is the world
famous Monkey Mia where the wild dolphins come into the beach to meet the
tourist and be fed fish. This usually happens two or three times a day in
the mornings. Liz and I were both lucky enough to be asked to
feed a fish to the Dolphins which was a real thrill. This was
such a unique experience that we ended up staying all morning and were lucky
enough to have the dolphins come back twice more to meet the tourists and be
fed. We were told by the National Parks Officer that this is the
only place in the world that dolphins come in on a regular basis like
this. Really unique.
Kalbarri, It's Business Is Holidays .... From Shark Bay
it was on to Kalbarri, 372 kms further south. We arrived at Kalbarri
without a caravan park booking and luckily picked up prime position for one
night only overlooking the beautiful Murchison River
on which Kalbarri is situated. A move in the morning meant that we were
back one row but still OK. Kalbarri is a very attractive town with lots
of West Australians finding it a nice spot to prop during the winter and not
too far from home. It reminded us of a smaller version of Merimbula
with a picturesque coastline and boating and fishing being a popular pastimes.
The Kalbarri National Park is just
full of wildflowers at this time of year which include, banksias, grevilleas,
hakeas, star flowers, smoke bushes wattles, etc., all adding colour to the
scenery. There are a couple of extended walks which can be done right
down into the sandstone gorges or shorter walks to the lookouts which give
great views of the Murchison River and the
spectacular gorges. We only made it to the lookouts this time (must
be getting lazy), but well worth visiting. The photo inset shows
Rob standing next to "Natures Window", a sandstone feature at the top
of "The Loop" which is part of the Murchison
River gorge system.
From Kalbarri it was time
to move on to Geraldton. With a population of 25,300 this is the
largest town we have been in since leaving Melbourne on April 29. It is the
key port and administration centre for the mid west region of WA. After
restocking the pantry and cellar we continued our southward journey.
Whilst the days are still warm there is now a real chill in the air at night
and the water is much colder so I think the swimming has finished and we can
pack the bathers for the rest of the trip.
The highlight of this section:
Without doubt the Ningaloo Reef
and our cruise on "Kharma IV". Swimming with the
Whale Sharks was not only the highlight of our entire trip but also of last
years trip. It is one of those lifetime experiences that you will never
ever forget. To be able to swim alongside this 7 metre long gentle
giant of the ocean is an unbelievable experience. Ningaloo Reef is
the only place in the world where the Whale Sharks frequent on a regular basis
so if you ever get the opportunity to swim with them then don't hesitate.
Until our
next update.
Regards, Rob & Liz
Our
Competition
For
those that entered our competition in the last report, thanks for your
entries. The winner was John Holland from Brake Parts Australia who
responed with the correct answer, Exmouth. Your prize is in the mail.
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