Exmouth

It is only an hour and a half drive from Coral Bay to Exmouth, so we took our time relaxing in the morning before setting off.  Exmouth is our final stop in the northern part of Western Australia.  We will be here for five days (the longest amount of time we will be in any one place for the rest of our travels in Australia!).  Once we leave Exmouth, we will be driving back down towards Perth with a couple more stops before leaving the West Coast. 

I’m not sure I’ve mentioned this on the blog yet, but one thing which really surprised me about the Western Coast of Australia is how remote it is.  The space between towns is endless with desert appearing to extend for miles and miles and we rarely pass a car on the road.  On our drive to Exmouth, we passed by tons of termite mounds.  We did not see this anywhere else along our route before Coral Bay.  They were really tall and I read they can last upwards of 100 years!

This termite mound was taller than Alex!

Before checking into our Airbnb, we stopped at Vlamingh Head Lighthouse, located 20 minutes from the town center.  Built in 1912, it sits high above the hill and overlooks Lighthouse Bay.  The water was an amazing turquoise color and we spent some time admiring the view below. 

I have been looking forward to our time in Exmouth ever since planning our itinerary back in January for one particular reason.  The Ningaloo Reef is one of the few places in the world where you can swim with whale sharks.  Whale sharks are the largest fish in the sea (they can reach lengths of 30 feet!) and can live up to 100 years in the wild.  We chose a small boutique operator Live Ningaloo and from the start they made the experience one I will never forget.  Part of the reason we went with them is legally only 10 people are allowed at one time in the water with a whale shark and Live Ningaloo caps their group at 10 people.  Other tour boats can have upwards of 20 or more people.  This means only half of the people can be in the water at one time and then the groups switch off.  Alex and I both wanted to maximize our time in the water in the hopes of spotting one of these beautiful animals, so we made it a point to go with the smaller tour boat.  Much to our delight and surprise, there were only five people in our group for the tour, so it made it extra special and intimate!  The crew was wonderful, knowledgeable, helpful and clearly a well-oiled machine.  There was a photographer on the crew and I’ve posted some of his photos below.  He did an amazing job capturing the fun and beauty of our day.

When we first got on the boat, we spent a little time on Ningaloo Reef snorkeling and getting comfortable with our masks and fins.  The crew wanted to make sure everything fit properly before getting into deeper and more open water.

After our time snorkeling among the corals, we made our way to open water where whale sharks are typically spotted.  Within the first 15 minutes of being out there, we had a live one!  We all lined up along the back of the boat and at the signal of our guide, slid into the water.  Honestly, I’m not even sure I can describe the feeling of seeing a whale shark up close.  They are beautiful, huge, and surprisingly fast swimmers.  I had to swim and swim to keep up.  It was awesome and once the whale shark dove down into the depths of the ocean, we boarded the boat and waited for another one to come.  The tour groups in Australia really focus on “eco-tourism” and making a point to not interrupt the animal’s normal behavior.  They position the boat in a way where we are lined up to see the whale shark pass by us, not get in its way or inhibit where the whale shark wants to go. 

Our group waiting for the signal to get into the water (I'm the one in the middle and Alex is hiding behind me!)

Alex (looking cool, calm and collected)

Me (looking less cool and calm and most definitely not collected)

After we were back on the boat, Alex and I both agreed if that was all we saw, we would be happy.  But, it just kept getting better and better!  At one point, there was so much krill and food in the water, we could see two whale sharks at one time in addition to three Mobula Rays (also known as Devil Rays).  It was so chaotic in the water that half the time I had no idea where to look.  There was a period where I was watching one whale shark when the other must have changed direction and was heading straight for me with its mouth wide open.  Luckily, I was next to the guide and she helped me (pulled me) to get out of the way faster than my legs could kick!  Our guide mentioned she has only seen two whale sharks at one time twice in the two seasons she’s been doing the tour.  The crew said this was one of the best experiences they’ve ever had, and I could not help but feel so fortunate and excited to be part of it.  Even four days later, Alex and I cannot stop talking about it.  Best. Day. Ever.

That's Alex and I in the top left!

Our group is in the top left corner

Monday, we headed into Cape Range National Park to make our way to Turquoise Bay.  This beach is consistently voted amongst the top three beaches in Australia due to the white sand, crystal-clear water, and the Ningaloo Reef just footsteps from the beach.  It was very windy on this day and not soon after we set up our beach umbrella, it flew into the water and Alex had to swim in and fish it out!  Oops!  We made sure to bury the post deeper into the sand the next time!

Since Alex was already wet, he decided to do a little snorkeling while I relaxed and read on the beach.  Unfortunately, the current was really strong, so it ended up not being the best day to see the reef as the water pulled you pretty quickly.  Alex also mentioned there were tons of jellyfish which made it difficult to navigate.  I posted some pictures below of the jellyfish which washed up onto the shore.  Even though the snorkeling wasn’t great, the water is such a pretty color and we ended up spending the afternoon enjoying the beautiful view and soft sand.

Jellyfish

Tuesday, we switched gears a bit and did a short 1.5-mile hike through Yardie Creek Gorge (part of the Cape Range National Park).  The trail follows the river and up and over the limestone rocks.  Once you scramble to the top, we could see out into the ocean and the Ningaloo Reef.  It was a beautiful morning and we went early as to avoid the heat.   As a side note, on our drive into the park, we saw a dingo walking alongside the road!  Dingos are native to Australia and as of yet, we had not seen one, so it was a pretty exciting find so early in the morning.  I did not have my camera ready (dang!), but let me tell you they are not the prettiest of creatures!  They look like a mangy and tough dog.

After our hike, we drove to Sandy Bay.  The wind was so strong in this area we did not stay long, but spent some time combing the beach for shells and admiring the blue water. 

All those red circles are jellyfish which washed up onto the shore

We spent the rest of the afternoon back at Turquoise Bay, where the cove was a bit more protected from the wind.  Not a bad way to spend the day!

On our last full day in Exmouth, we decided to drive through Charles Knife Canyon.  The road winds through the canyon and up to the Thomas Carter Lookout.  We stopped the car several times along the way to admire the views of the surrounding landscape.

Before heading to the beach, we made a stop at some large sand dunes.  While parking, there were a couple of fisherman putting their equipment back in the car and mentioned it would be windy at the top of the sand dune.  Alex and I can attest they were not lying!  Once we got to top of the hill, sand was blowing EVERYWHERE.  It was in my hair, eyes, nose, mouth and pelting our skin.  We were only up there for a couple of minutes before we were covered in sand!

Alex at the top of the sand dune

We ended the day at Mauritius Beach where we hit the jackpot beach combing.  There were so many shells, sea urchin remains, and other skeletons.  It was exciting to see all the different colors and shapes.  Until we arrived, we did not realize this was a “clothing optional” beach (this happened to us in Portugal too!), so we had to laugh about that.  The wind was really strong on this day and the ocean swells were much higher than we've seen previously. 

We left Exmouth this morning and are making our way back towards Perth.  We had so much fun in Exmouth, particularly being able to swim with the whale sharks.  It will be an experience we will not forget.