The Coral Coast / Ningaloo Reef (Exmouth – Cape Range National Park – Coral Bay)

The last week has been incredible as we have had the opportunity to snorkel with some amazing aquatic life including manta rays, reef sharks, green sea turtles, blue spotted fan tail sting rays and so many different species of fish it is impossible to name them all. However before I recap the last week, I mentioned in the last blog the diversity and change in landscape as we drove from Tom Price to Exmouth and I have included a few pictures below which hopefully capture the change in scenery as we traveled towards Exmouth.

  

Just outside Paraburdoo

The vegetation became sparse as we turned off the North West Costal Hwy  towards Ningaloo

The final 60 km into Exmouth  from Ningaloo- a big day of 650Km

As we arrived into Exmouth last Monday, we all of a sudden came to a screaming halt as the car and caravan in front of us hit the brakes. We soon saw why when an emu and a baby emu chick wander slowly across the road in front of us. Unfortunately we were not quick enough with the camera and the girls were very excited to see an emu so close. Little did they know that 24 hours later Bella would be hand feeding an emu that walked into the caravan park at 5pm looking for food.

Bella hand feeding an emu just along side our campsite!

It was nice to finally reach a place where we could clean the trailer so that we could remove some of the red dust and dirt from Karajinni which covered you ever time you touched the trailer to pack or unpack.

The red dirt from Karajinni is very hard to get off clothes!

We stayed 2 nights in Exmouth as we were unable to book a site on line for the National Park despite trying numerous times. Fortunately we were able to get one night eventually at Pilgramunna camp ground which was fantastic on Wednesday night. After our first night at Exmouth we set off reasonably early (8am) for Turquoise Bay in the Cape Range National Park. On the way we visited the Exmouth Lighthouse and Turtle observatory as we headed towards the National Park some 40 kms down the coast.

The Exmouth Lighthouse

When we arrived at Turquoise Bay at about 9am we were surprised to find no one else there given that we were unable to book a sight in the National Park. As we walked down from the car park on to the beach at Turquoise Bay, this was the sight that greeted us.

Turquoise Bay as we found it!

 It was unbelievable – the turquoise colour of the water along with the white sand was stunning. 

Could it get any better? – The answer yes!. As we all hit the water to snorkel around the reefs some 10 m off shore, the marine life blew us all away. The number and variety of fish was spectacular. All you could hear was the girls trying to talk through their snorkels with sheer delight as they saw a new species of fish.

Sophie snorkeling at Turquoise Bay

 It was a fantastic day with perfect weather. The highlight for Sophie and I was finding a green sea turtle and been able to follow it around as it swam around the bay. Unfortunately we have not got our photos back from our time in Cape Range National Park so it will be great to finally get them processed when we get the opportunity. In the afternoon we headed around the point from Turquoise Bay to a place called the “Drift”. Here you walked about 500m up the beach and then snorkelled back with the tide. Again the aquatic life was spectacular.

Heading in to snorkel the "Drift"

Bella at the "Drift"

The next day we packed up early and headed to Pilgramunna which is a small campsite within the Cape Range National Park. It was a great spot with only 9 campsites and the view from the tent is shown below.

Campsite to water - 75m away.

 The wind had strengthened so we spent the morning exploring the rocks around the campsite and the girls found heaps of these green crabs crawling around the rock pools. They were amazed they could scrape salt off the rocks where the water had evaporated. 

In the afternoon we ended up returning to Turquoise Bay which was quite protected. Again the snorkelling was wonderful so everyone was quite happy to have a quieter day in the protection of the bay.

Sunset at Pilgramunna

We had been waiting for a higher high tide so we could snorkel at an area called the oyster stacks. Unfortunately this meant an early start to pack up and get to this area to take advantage of the high tide. The wind was still blowing yet we all took the opportunity to clamber over the rocks to snorkel around the oyster stacks. The fish life in around these rock stacks covered in oyster shells was incredible. There were literally hundreds of fish sitting under the rock ledges and it was worth braving the challenging entry and exit to see this area.

Late morning we set off for Coral Bay some 150 km south of Exmouth. We arrived and checked into the People Park caravan park which was right on the beach at Coral Bay and was a great spot to set up camp. The afternoon was spent snorkelling out off the front bay which was disappointing after our experiences at Cape Range National Park. Much of the coral was dead and the marine life was limited.

Coral Bay

The three wind generators which supply the town of Coral Bay with power

This disappointment was quickly nullified the next day when we had had the opportunity to speak to some locals who told us to walk around to the left of the point and then snorkel back to the main bay. The cabbage coral was huge and we found an area referred to as the “Lavender Patch” which was a large area of lavender coloured coral – superb! I just hope my photos work out with the disposable underwater camera I was using. Again the colour and clarity of the water was fantastic which allowed us all to have a great day snorkelling off the beach at Coral Bay.

Each afternoon at 3.30pm there is fish feeding that takes place in 1 foot of water in the main bay. The girls could not believe the size and number of fish that swam through their legs!

After much deliberation we decided to take a tour out to the outer reef with the hope of snorkelling with Manta Rays, reef sharks and green sea turtles. This turned out to be an unbelievable day and the marine life and coral that we got to see and snorkel with / over was worth every cent. We all have not stopped talking about our day yesterday and it is one we will never forget. To swim with three Manta Rays no further than 3m away, to see a hammer head shark, to swim with turtles and reef sharks – let alone all the other species of fish is something that was very special. The girls did a great job snorkelling off shore and we were all rewarded with life time memories.

Fortunately we had a guide who was able to capture much of what we all saw using a proper underwater camera. I have said enough about this so I will let the photos do the rest!

One of the outer reefs we snorkeled on

Bella and Lucie Snorkeling

Cabbage Coral

Green Sea Turtle

Dugong

Manta Ray

An all black Manta Ray - apparently very rare to find or see!

The blue spotted fan tail stingray

Fish under the tour boat

A hammer head shark - again apparently very rare in these water - the speed at which this shark could turn 180' was incredible.

The end of a great day - the whole Manifold Family : ) 

Today we packed up and left Coral Bay to head to Denham (25km from Monkey Mia). Tomorrow we will head to Monkey Mia so we can hopefully feed the dolphins. This is something that the girls have wanted to do since the start of the trip so I just hope it lives up to their expectations! It is hard to believe we have hit the first day of September – if someone knows how to slow time down or even better to rewind time – please let me know!