The Lighthouse Song (Sal Salis, Cape Range National Park)

No breakfast for me to begin the day, dear reader. I was up at 5:30am, to dress and gather my gear to slip out away, as quietly as possible. Told Jayne to go back to sleep as I zipped up the tent flap to ensure the flies didn’t carry her away while I was gone. It wasn’t the most restful night for either of us. The wind had picked up from the east again and ripped at the fly over the tent. It sounded at times as if someone was trying to get into the tent and at others, like there were wild animals scratching at the door. Just like the people in the The Lighthouse Song by Josh Pyke.

No need for a torch.

I was at the Lodge before 6:00am, gathering with the other early risers who were joining the sunrise walk to Mandu Mandu. In the local language it means “meat meat”, a good place to hunt.

We walked the path back to the South Mandu carpark and on the way, I snapped a few shots of the sleeping resort with the full moon as a backdrop, hovering above the sea. After one snap, I saw a shooting star. Magic. We were soon on the bus for a 5 minute drive to another carpark where we commenced our walk down the old river bed, through the gorge and up the hill.

First light in the gorge.

En route, we passed through black footed wallaby territory and a few of them stopped to pose for us. The gorge walls were stunning as the sun rose and they changed colour to create a paint chart of shades of red. 

The walk down the river bed was surprisingly easy.

We walked at a pleasant rate, intent on enjoying the surroundings and listening to the natural world wake. The view from the top was as brilliant as expected. A sweeping vista across the valley, out to the sea and the reef. Sal Salis was clearly visible as was the reef and the whales beyond it, breaching and fin slapping.

Nice pose. Excellent contrast of colours.

The walk back to the car park was as benign as the climb up to the top of the hill and we were soon back at the resort ordering breakfast. Jayne was waiting for me in the Lodge and once breakfast was done, we went back to the tent to change for another drift snorkel. On the way back she regaled me with a Tinnitus story. Apparently, his wetsuit was the wrong size and he wandered into the Lodge talking about the problem with the suit. Interestingly, he was alone.

The view from the first rest stop.

Down on the beach, we prepared our gear for the snorkel. The swell had almost completely gone and the sea was much calmer than the last few days. As we were readying ourselves, we were approached by a random traveller, Adrienne, who was snorkelling alone and wanted to alert us to this fact. We also learnt where she placed her bag and where her phone was that contained the emergency contact. Overshare. It turned out that Adrienne was not a guest of Sal Salis; she was in a campervan, on holiday from Cairns. In theory she should not have been there. While the beach is not privately owned, the resort site is and her access to the beach was through the resort. Queenslanders!

The Lodge in the distance and the beach where we snorkelled.

Conditions today were excellent. The visibility had improved and the current had dropped slightly. We walked to outer end of the resort and put our gear on and drift snorkelled back to where our gear had been left. The number and variety of fish astound me every time I stick my head into the water. I won’t try and name the varieties, but the colours defy description on a day where the sun ensures iridescent sparkling. Azure blue to sunshine yellow, purple to green to silver, every colour was accounted for somewhere on a fish or coral growth.

A singing honey-eater (I was told).

The drift back to base occupied about 15 minutes and we were not wearing wet suits, so came ashore to warm ourselves in the sun. Adrienne had completed her second drift by this time and stopped for another chat before heading into the water for the last time. We walked up to our starting point and hit the water again, this time heading further out into the coral before drifting back to our gear. The second drift was over 20 minutes and that was enough time in the sun for us. Time for a shower and change of clothes.

A Cape Range Grevillea.

What is next? Lunch of course, dear reader. Not that we were hungry, but you know, it’s on offer. Today vongole in garlic and butter served with a baguette. And in our case, wine and beer. As we discussed the options, Tinnitus was in the corner talking. Incessantly. “Do they ever shut up?” asked Jayne. It’s like any thought that comes into their head needs to be verbalised. Following lunch, I edited the photos I’d taken, blogged a little, watched some newbies arrive and then repaired to the tent for some reading. Dinner tonight is still a mystery as the board hadn’t been placed up before we left, but we do know we are leaving Sal Salis tomorrow at 10:00am. Sad face.

Fortunately the white shouldered wrens that I'd been stalking down at the Lodge, appeared next to our tent in the fading afternoon light. While they weren't totally co-operative, I wanted the male in the sun to show off his sparkling colours, I understand that he had other things on his mind. Well, he is male.

White shouldered Fairywren looking for romance.

A different dinner that evening, same concept, three courses with paired wines. Curiously, from my perspective they paired the pork belly entrée with a Sauvignon Blanc. Yeah nah. We went with the Pinot Noir. As did the two couples we had been chatting with prior to dinner. All of the wines are from Denmark. The West Australian area, not the country, and are cold climate wines.

We had plenty of laughs over dinner as tales from the day were recounted and we shared stories of our lives and travel. The moon is only just past full and once again proved to be too bright for the sort of night photography I was chasing so it was time for bed.

Until tomorrow.

 

Stranded (Perth - Learmonth - Sal Salis)

The flight from Perth to Learmonth was uneventful and surprisingly the plane was not quite full. One of the air stewards informed us there had had been major issues in Sydney due to storms and many flights had been cancelled. So glad we flew out a day earlier, otherwise we could well have been stranded too. The inspiration for today's title, Stranded by the Saints, the first real punk band.

The flight landed on time, dear reader, but the singular baggage handler wanted to make his presence felt by moving with the speed of a glacier in an ice age. 40 minutes after disembarking the plane, our bag came through the carousel flap. Erin from Sal Salis was waiting for us and we were soon on the mini-bus heading for the resort. There is no road across the Cape Range due to its environmental and ecological significance. A surprise for the mining state. The range is riddled with caves, 500 plus and counting, that are being mapped and explored, revealing new species after new species. The scientists have enough work for many years to come. The road trip from the airport requires driving up into Exmouth and down the other side of the Cape Range. A trip of around 90 minutes.

Camping, but not really.

The resort is a series of 16 glamping tents, complete with ensuite and a communal lodge where meals and refreshments are enjoyed. After the usual ‘onboarding’ experience, we were shown to our tent, number 13, and unpacked our bags. It being close to canapé time, we then adjourned to the deck attached to the Lodge to enjoy a wine. Open bar - free pour as they say in the cruise brochures. Nice.

Home for the next four nights.

Canapés were delicious and we sat and chatted with other patrons as dinner approached. A three course delight with paired wines. The chef is French. Or at least he speaks with an outrageous French accent. The food was delightful, as was the dinner company, a couple all the way from, well, Ultimo. We’re almost neighbours.

The first sunset.

The moon is approaching full, but stars were difficult to spot due to the cloud. The night brought a rain storm which sounded spectacular on the canvas. I just rolled over and pulled the doona cover a little tighter. Ah, bliss. Not a siren to be heard.

Our start in the morning was relatively early. We needed to be at breakfast by 7 for a 7:45am departure for our mega-fauna tour. Although I’m sure those that left for the 5:45am sunrise walk would say we had it easy. There was quite an array of options for breakfast, fresh fruit, an açai bowl, the ubiquitous bacon and eggs and so on. Suitably sustained, we jumped into the golf buggy and headed for the carpark at Mandu South to pick up our lift to the boat ramp. Smooth as silk. Unlike the water this morning. 

The morning break.

The storm that hit Perth as we were leaving yesterday, side-swiped us and the swell was running at about 3 metres. Not enough to stop the trip but enough to make things interesting. In contrast to our Manta Ray swim last year, the boat we were on had only 7 passengers and 4 crew. A nice ratio.

A random flower. Pretty.

Safely on board we headed for a lagoon snorkelling spot where our guides could surreptitiously check out our ability levels. The water was a delightful 25° and I did the first swim without a wetsuit. Visibility was extremely poor and as an event, the first snorkel was forgettable. But today we weren’t here to snorkel in the lagoon and soon the boat was pointing north, out beyond the reef, looking for a Whale Shark.

This is what a whale shark looks like.

After the usual safety talk, we were soon sitting on the marlin board on the stern of the boat, eagerly anticipating our first sighting. The water was still warm but we all had on steamers on and lined up as we’d been told. Into the water, into another line and then the call, “face in water” and out of the gloom emerged a whale shark. Just brilliant. It moved so languidly, carrying so many sucker fish. A slight movement of the tail propelling it forward; the swell buffeting it as much as it did us. The turquoise spots reflecting the sun. And then our time was up and we returned to the boat.

This guy dropped by too.

We were one of 7 vessels chasing a whale shark sighting at that spot. There were two or three other sightings but the whale sharks there weren’t being particularly cooperative and submerged as people came close. The result for us, was a highly coordinated ballet of bodies, moving into and out of the water to spend their time swimming along with this behemoth of the seas. 

Beyond cool.

And so we did. Five times. On the fourth pass I was at the end of our line and the last to put my head into the water. Unbeknown to me, the shark had changed direction and was moving directly toward me. I submerged to see it within in a metre and half of me, much closer than expected and had to swim backwards to avoid a collision. He rolled onto his side as he passed, attempting to protect his soft underbelly.

About 5 metres in length.

Our fifth swim saw the water more clouded and the shark was less clearly defined. Compounding this was the fact that he’d had enough and began his descent from the surface back into the depths of the Indian Ocean. Unfortunately for the group next in the water, they would see little more than a murky shape. As it eventuated, this particular group had made numerous attempts to see a shark throughout the day. This was their last, and another failed attempt. We had been so fortunate.

Celebrating the day.

Back on shore, Kate drove us back to the pick-up point where our golf buggy chariot awaited. A hot shower and a change of clothes meant it was time to adjourn to the Lodge for the afternoon, rosé and some nibbles. Ah, paradise.

The gang.

We met some new people in our attempt to find dry seats. The unexpected deluge from last night had left all the outdoor furniture cushions wet. A couple from Tasmania. Like everyone else we have met so far, there was an amazing back story … time spent working in Antarctica. Incredible. Dropped into the conversation like you’d say, “I’m off to the shops. Do you need anything?” Another brilliant three course meal followed. Prawns, gold banded snapper and passionfruit tart. With paired wines, of course.

That's all for now.

Until tomorrow.

 

Lakeside (Exmouth to Karratha, WA)

The day dawned as Saturday. This was probably no surprise to most people dear reader, but occasionally we are unaware. We drove down to the Exmouth shopping centre to be absolutely amazed by the number of people and cars. Parking spaces were at a premium. The markets were on opposite the shopping centre. OK, that makes sense. We wandered the area to see what was there and to locate the bottle shop, supermarket and bakery for future use.

The queue, almost out of the bakery door, ensured we went without breakfast and instead, headed for our first snorkel of the day.

We had identified a number of areas for snorkelling through Jayne’s research. This was supplemented by chats on board the Utopia yesterday. Cape Range National Park was the destination, first stop Lakeside.

That made the choice of song title too easy. Lakeside by Australian Crawl from their 1981 album Sirocco.

Amazing coral.

The road was sealed all the way to Lakeside despite the regular dirt tracks off either side of the road on which we were travelling. The jury is still out about the naming of Lakeside. There was a pond behind the dunes but to reference it as a lake was a bridge too far. The snorkelling here is about a 500m walk south from the carpark toward the marine sanctuary.

A colourful clam

Once again, the snorkelling did not disappoint. We braved the 23° water without wetsuits. The coral had more colour and the diversity of marine life was still there. My GoPro captured the underwater action. I’d be happy to return there time and again.

After 30 minutes or so in the water, we returned to the car to check out the Oyster Stack. This was highly recommended by David from the Ningaloo Tour yesterday. He and his family had recently spent some time there. It is a tide specific place and can only be enjoyed a couple of hours either side of high tide. 

After finding a car spot, not easy, we followed the track to the ‘beach’. It was an absolutely stunning spot. Sorry, no photos. The sea was several shades of blue and the major bommies were still above water level. It was postcard perfect. Except the only immediate way into the water was from the rock shelf that lined the beach for about 500 metres. This was neither a viable entrance or exit point for Jayne. Well it could have been. At first it would have been amusing until an injury occurred. This one is listed for a return visit where we will walk to the edge of the shelf and use the beach for access and egress.

Nemo lives here.

Back to the car, next stop was Turquoise Bay. Unsurprisingly the snorkelling is highly rated here as well, however, there are concerns around the strength of the current. If you start at the Loop the current takes you to the Point where you leave the water and walk the beach back to your starting point. We applied the sunscreen and hit the water. The current was much stronger than expected and after 5 minutes or so of fighting it we decided to call it quits.

We drove back into town and straight to the bottle shop and supermarket for supplies to see us through to Broome. We weren’t really sure what would be available between here and Broome.

Back at the resort, post showers, it was time for champagne on the verandah before our final dinner in Exmouth.

Everything about the Mantarays Ningaloo Reef Resort is smooth and on point. I am seriously keen to return and explore the area further, as well as returning to places like Lakeside and the Oyster Stack. When I do, our choice of accommodation is obvious, it will just be outside of school holidays.

Tomorrow we drive to Karratha.

Until then.