Around 8 in the morning a pod of dolphins shows up at the Monkey Mia Resort begging for food. We made sure we were there in time to see the feeding and hung out at the beach afterwards hoping they would return when there were less people around. It didn’t take long before we saw the first one arrive and minutes later the others followed. This time we could have a better look as they came within 2 meters of the beach. Afterwards we hiked along a trail looking for emus and other animals but we only found birds.
We went back to Denham for lunch, shopping and laundry before going to the airport for a 40 minute scenic flight. We got an eagle’s eye view of Denham, Shark Bay and Zuytdorp Cliffs.
Katie from Monkey Mia Wildsights picked us up at 8:30 for a tour of Francois Peron. Only the first 6 Km of the park are drivable in a normal car, after that the tires of the 4WD vehicles are deflated a bit so the ride on the very fine sand is more comfortable and the chance of getting stuck is minimal. Along the way to the end of the park we stopped at most viewpoints for pictures and wildlife viewing. We saw several rays and dolphins, all kinds of birds, a kangaroo and a few bobtails. Katie informed us about the many plants and gave information what plants were used by the aboriginal people to cure all sorts of problems. By 17:00 we were back at the hotel thinking we could relax for the rest of the evening, however Katie called us to say that the Astronomy on the beach tour we wanted to do but were told wasn’t running, would be going that evening in Monkey Mia. So we went out for a quick dinner and drove the 26 Km road in the dark watching out for rabbits and kangaroos that cross the road after sunset.
It was Harvey, the owner of Monkey Mia Wildsights who explained us about the night sky pointing everything out with his laser until the moon began to light up the sky. The presentation than continued in the resort’s conference center until it was time to head back on the pitch black road.
671 Km was the distance to cover so we got on the road by 8 o’clock. After a little over 200 Km we stopped at the Blowholes, a coastal rockformation eroded by the ocean so water is pushed through holes and blown up under pressure. It’s a special spectacle that’s worth the 100 Km detour. 70 Km further south we stopped again in Carnarvon for lunch and a visit to the one mile jetty. A small train brings visitors to the end of the jetty and back again. Before leaving Carnarvon we went to see big satellite dish used during the 1969 moonlanding. From here it was a non-stop to Denham. The stretch of highway was littered with dead kangaroos and a few goats, a reminder it’s best to keep your eyes firm on the road. By 17:45, just before dark, we arrived in Denham.
We booked a 2 hour ATV tour in the morning to get another view of the Ningaloo Reef. We followed tracks in the dunes with regular stops to take photographs and to look for whales and sea turtles. We hadn’t planned anything for the afternoon and first thought to rent some snorkeling gear and go swimming in the bay but the company that does the ATV tours also does glass bottom boat tours in the reef with two stops for snorkeling so we decided to do that. We could see turtles underneath the boat a few times and almost the entire trip we were just above the coral. The snorkeling was excellent again and at both spots we saw sharks.
At 8:30 we were all set at the Ningaloo Experience office to get our wetsuits and snorkel gear. Soon all other people were there too and all 8 of us were taken by bus to the jetty where the boat was already waiting. We got on board and after getting away from the harbor we anchored near the reef to snorkel. The water was clearer than in Exmouth and the coral was more colorful too. A lot of fish gathered around the boat and didn’t appear to mind that we came within reaching distance from them.
We continued north and after a while went snorkeling where the chance of seeing sharks was high. Just minutes into the water we saw a small shark and a turtle and a bit later a 2.5 meter shark swam beneath us. Back on board we were told that the latter one has been known to attack people if it felt threatened.
We continued our trip looking for whales and again we soon found a humpback with a calf that was probably about a month old. First we saw the whale breaching and when we got closer we saw her slapping her big fin in the water to scare away sharks. We slowly followed the whales and saw the calf breaching a few times too, I only managed to get a photograph of it once as there is no warning to where or when they will put up their show. Next was a place where manta rays hang out and again just minutes after we got in the water we saw a ray beneath us. Following manta rays is hard to do as they swim faster than the occasional snorkeler.
Back on board we headed towards our starting point via a turtle sanctuary. Sea turtles spend most of their time beneath the water only to surface for a short time so they can breathe. There were a lot of them so we saw a few heads come out of the water before it was time to get back. Close to the harbor we anchored the boat again and we could snorkel one last time. Again, this was an excellent place with very good visibility and lots of coral and fish.
Since it was still early we walked across town (about 300m) to the bakery for some cake and to check on the status of our ATV tour tomorrow. It seems we were the only ones booked and they would not go out with just us but after seeing we made our reservation in February they called the owner to ask if it would be OK to go out anyway and fortunately he agreed to make the tour.
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We had a snorkel and dive trip planned but the company called us that they had to cancel because their boat broke down. So instead of getting up early we could sleep in and have breakfast before loading up the car and checking out. We used the time freed up by the cancellation by driving to Cape Range and visiting a few of the spots we didn’t have time for on the 4WD tour. First was the SS Mildura wreck but this was hard to see because of the high tide. We returned there a few hours later before leaving for Coral Bay.
Most of the points of interest here also have geocaches so we could log a find and see the sights in one go. The last geocache we went to was near a water tap about 300 meters from the main road. As we got closer we noticed 3 emus nearby. This was a great photo opportunity but soon we noticed that there were 5 and then 6 emus near our car. I still had to get out and look for the cache about 70m away but I wasn’t sure if any of the emu would react if I was on foot. I just took a chance and kept the car between me and the big birds and that seemed to work. After finding the cache I walked back and saw that there were now eight emus and 2 of them were in my path. As I got closer they decided to move away so I could get back in the car. Still further south on the main road we visited the exhibition of the visitor’s center and ate our lunch at the picnic tables.
We headed back to Exmouth, filled up our tank and got on our way to Coral Bay. There are no services between Exmouth and Coral Bay (159 Km). When we checked in at the hotel reception we were informed that our trip for tomorrow (snorkeling with manta rays) was canceled because there were not enough people taking the tour and we should contact the office to reschedule. When we called they said they got a late reservation and the trip was back on schedule.
We took a quick stroll through Coral Bay (takes 10 minutes) and it was time for dinner.
At 6:30 the 4WD of West Trek safaris arrived in front of the hotel to pick us up. It was still dark as the sun would only rise at 7. We made our way to Shot Hole Canyon via a track for 4WD only. We saw the sun rise as we walked up to a viewing point in the canyon. We headed back to the main road and a few Km further we got onto another track, Charles Knife’s road. We returned via the same track to the main road and continued south to once again turn into another track. This was a long track that meanders from the east to west side of the peninsula. It took about 3 hours to make the crossing as the some parts of the track can only be done very slowly as the 4WD crawled over rocks. THe views along the way were spectacular.
Once we were near the ocean again we continued south for a short while to Yardie Creek. We saw a few Rock Wallabies hiding between the rocks there while going on a short hike. After the hike we had lunch near the beach.
By now it was getting close to 3 o”clock and we began to make our way back north. As I already picked up a few geocaches during this trip our guide and drive made a few stops where other caches were hidden. At Turquoise Bay we went snorkeling for a while and then had our “afternoon tea” before continuing the drive. Right before sunset we were at the Vlamingh Head lighthouse to see the sun go down. Then it was time to get back to the hotel.
This was a trip that took almost 12 hours but it was well worth the effort. We went places we would never have seen on our own as the rugged terrain would be a no-drive for any rental company.
We had another early start. We had to get up and be ready by 7.30 to be picked up for a whale shark trip. As there was no jetty we had to board a small boat that took us to the main sightseeing boat. Once all 20 of us were on board we left the “harbor” we anchored down so we could get in the water for a 30 minute snorkel. This was nothing spectacular although we saw a lot of small colored fish and some coral. We then cruised further along the Cape Range coast southwards seeing humpback whales.
At 10 o”clock the spotter planes take to the skies to radio in the location of the whale sharks and the boat then heads that way. Once the destination is reached a group of 10 people get in the water right in the path of the shark. Once it gets closer the group splits to the right and left to let the shark pass and the continues to swim alongside. These are magnificent creatures and the ones we saw today were 6-7 meters long.
As the whale shark is an endangered species, it”s illegal to harm them in any way and we had to stay 3 meters away from it’s body and 4 meters from it’s tail (seems logical as the tail of a full grown whale shark can weigh 1 ton).
After we had 4 opportunities to swim with these sharks it was time to return. On the way back we had some bottlenose dolphins swim in the bowwave and a few humpbacks were seen breaching out of the water.
We had to get up early as we had a 733 Km drive ahead of us and we wanted to be in Exmouth before dark. Traffic on the highway was light and we made good time so we stopped for a few geocaches along the way. We passed a few road trains and got the opportunity to see a couple up close at the roadhouses. We noticed that it’s best not to wait to long to fill up on petrol (gas). We had lunch and filled up at Carnarvon and found the next available petrol station to be 140 Km away with the next another 223 Km further north.
Along this highway it’s clear that driving in the dark has some drawbacks, we must have passed over 100 dead kangaroos and goats next to the road.
After dinner in Exmouth, driving 5 Km back to the hotel,we had to stop for 2 smaller kangaroos that crossed the road. At highway speeds there would have no way to avoid them.
As the distance from Perth to Exmouth is more than we cared to do on one day we picked The Riverside Sanctuary as a stopover. It was still a 530 Km drive and we planned our route so we would arrive at the Sanctuary by sunset.
We left Perth via the highway until we got to Jurian Bay from where we took the scenic route along the coast. 15 Km south of Geralton we stopped at Greenough where many of the trees are growing near horizontal because of the winds blowing in from the sea.
When we arrived at our cottage for one night we were just in time to see the final daylight that colored the western sky. There was nothing more to do than have dinner and preparing for tomorrow.
Brussels, BELGIUM