Under the Sea (Exmouth, Coral Bay, Ningaloo Reef, WA)

The original intention had been to drive straight to Exmouth because the day involved 8 hours behind the wheel. After Carnarvon, however, our discussions led us to make a detour to Coral Bay so that we could check out the location of the departure point for the Mantaray Snorkelling tour we had pre-booked for the next day. So there is no prize for guessing today's title is associated with the snorkelling trip, Under the Sea, that Disney classic from The Little Mermaid. The original animated version, I haven't seen the latest iteration.

Coral Bay

While we didn’t expect Coral Bay to be overly large, the instruction we had was to meet at Shop 12 in the shopping arcade. The rendez-vous was for 8:15 am which was going to mean a very early (for us) wake up as we would be driving back from Exmouth, 90 minutes away. Additionally, given we were going to be gone all day so we needed to locate a parking spot.

Coral Bay has one up on Monkey Mia. While it is still basically a camping and caravan “resort”, it also sports one restaurant next door to a circular shopping arcade, which comprises a supermarket, a nursing post, a bakery and multiple surf, dive and tour shops that all offer the same bewildering array of Ningaloo Reef experiences and merch opportunities. 

Out of sequence - looking to the shore form Utopia.

The uniformity of the tour shops made it imperative to locate the shop numbers so we could find our tour operator. We had the paperwork and so we were also looking for the company logo on each shop, a task made more difficult because each shop had an inner shop front and an outside shop front around the circular arcade. 

After two circumnavigations, we managed to locate shops 1 and 11, but no shop 12. How hard could this be? We are not talking about a centre the size of Miranda Fair. At this point, Jayne spotted an ‘I” information sign on one shop front and went in to get some directions. As it turns out, the company logo we had been searching for was on display, BEHIND the counter so we realised we had stumbled onto to shop 12 by accident. Halleluja!!!

So many great photos.

We checked with the girl at the register about the tour arrangements for tomorrow morning and then, having established that we could park our car at the arcade carpark all day, we drove the hour and a half to Exmouth. We felt pretty relieved that we had not turned up on the morning of the tour without having reconnoîtred the location – it would have been panic stations at an ungodly hour of the morning!

Exmouth

We rolled into the resort just after 5pm to be confronted by the tragic news that a pipe had burst in our pre-booked one bedroom suite, overlooking the beach. We would have to be re-housed for the duration of our stay. Sadly, there was only one spare unit – no other options available as the resort was fully booked due to the school holidays. Happily, this luxurious two bedroom apartment, with spa bath, also overlooked the pool area with Exmouth Beach views. The upgrade found us enjoying a space bigger than our own home. Welcome to Exmouth!

Living area/kitchen

Master bedroom

We booked a late dinner at the restaurant and adjourned to our apartment to enjoy its facilities. Unlike Monkey Mia, The Mantarays Ningaloo Resort is actually a proper resort.

Bathroom

We were awoken by an unholy ruckus at 6:15am – it was my alarm. Time to get ready for the drive back to Coral Bay. Although the drive itself was uneventful, the early morning light provided a completely different perspective of the surrounding landscape. The colours seemed softer and had more depth, without the harsh glare of the sun.

The view to the beach.

The verandah.

Ningaloo Marine Interactions

After our perfectly executed arrival at the arcade, we reported to shop 12 to sign the agreement that we would not hold them responsible if the wild marine creatures did not co-operate and turn up for the tour. We were then told that, in maybe 15 or 20 minutes, we would need to gather on the outside of the shop to meet the guides and bus to take us to the jetty for the boat departure. Hmmm, not quite the military timing precision indicated in the instruction email. Oh well – it gave us time to queue up in the bakery to ensure that we followed one of my grandfather’s golden boating rules: never go to sea on an empty stomach.

17 tourists and 3 girl snorkel guides (all blonde, tanned and tattooed) gathered and boarded the minibus for the short drive to the Coral Bay jetty. We were met there by skipper Fraser and his boat Utopia. Hopefully the day would not turn out to be orchestrated by Tom Gleisner, Rob Sitch or Santo Cilauro … come on, you know what I mean. This was the same boat that took Tim Winton out to swim with the manta rays in his recent 3-part doco on Ningaloo Reef and Exmouth Gulf (check it out on ABC Iview).

After an onshore briefing which included handing our shoes in so they would not present trip hazards on the decks (unlike the flippers and snorkels which people left lying everywhere when they were not in use), we boarded the boat and Fraser himself welcomed us, as well as providing the mandatory safety briefing about what to do should the boat sink. Very reassuring.

After that, it was time to get kitted out with short sleeve/short leg wetsuits (spring suits) and any other snorkelling paraphernalia if people had not brought their own. Once in our suits, we were taken out to a reef spot that was to be used by the guides to conduct a guided snorkel to ascertain how competent and comfortable the group was in the water.

Snorkel 1 - Practise

The day was totally sunny but there was a breeze on the water that made it feel pretty cool on deck. Sunny skies would mean optimum underwater viewing but we were expecting the water temperature to be okay. We were instructed to stay as a group in the water and to follow the guides around the drop zone. We were also told to slide off the platform at the back of the boat so as not to disturb the reef and its inhabitants.

Proof.

The initial entry into the water was a bit bracing until the water inside the suits warmed up and we started to snorkel around the spot. One of the guides had an impressive underwater camera which she used throughout the day to capture the marine life, the reef itself and our tour group’s experience. The photos have since been emailed to the group to use.

The turtle.

I had my Gopro underwater camera as well to try to capture what we saw. I have had this for many years so it is not the latest in technology. It is brought out infrequently and therefore requires a review of its operation each time to refamiliarise myself with how to use it. While it can be mounted on helmets etc, I was using it as a hand-held device on the tour with varying degrees of success so we were glad that the company offered a photo record of the trip as part of the deal. Their photos feature in this post.

How colourful.

On this first drop, we were immediately aware of the difference between Ningaloo Reef and the Great Barrier Reef as well as other snorkelling spots we have been to in the South Pacific. The corals here are more muted in colour but they are far more diverse and robust in form and the amount and variety of marine life here is astounding. We saw a turtle (who quite happily swam around with the group), a sting ray, white tipped reef sharks snoozing under a rock, and so many iridescent fish of all different sizes, colours and patterns - it was truly like swimming in an aquarium.

Just resting under a rock. Promise I won't bite you.

Snorkel 2 - the Manta Ray

Once back onboard, we were served morning tea while Fraser liaised with a spotter plane to try to locate any manta rays nearby. The wind seemed to have picked up or maybe it was because we were in wetsuits but it felt really cold so we were all pretty keen to get back into the relatively warmer water. Luckily, we didn’t have too long to wait as Fraser managed locate a ray before the spotter plane could. As he headed to the next drop, the guides used the time to educate us on the manta ray and to instruct us on what we would have to do to be able to see and follow the ray.

Hi, my name is Rastas.

The rays are huge creatures (wingspan of up to 8 metres) which come into the reef to filter feed. They have no natural predators and so generally live over 50 years, unless they are hunted by humans. The Utopia is part of a ray audit team that records the movement of the rays by identifying each one through its unique markings underneath. If a new ray is spotted then the tour group names the ray for future reference. Our ray today turned out to be #41, named Rastas, who is at least 35 years old, with a wingspan of 4 metres.

Belly roll for the camera.

On this drop, we were divided into 2 groups to alternate snorkelling twice over the feeding ray so as to give everyone a clear view. Again, we were cautioned not to dive down but to swim on the surface above the ray. 

Upon entry into the water, it took some time to adjust our vision because the water where the rays feed is slightly cloudy with the food particles. After a moment, the massive creature seemed to emerge underneath us, gracefully and majestically making its way along the seabed, almost entirely black, with white tips on its tail and horns. At one point the ray flipped over, exposing its white underside with the unique black markings, revealing its identity. This behaviour was part of the feeding pattern but also allowed it to look at us above it as its eyes are underneath its body  – with no predators, it has no need to keep an eye out for possible attacks from above.

After the second drop, we were provided with hamburgers for lunch as the Utopia criss-crossed the reef area in search of marine life to show to us. This strategy yielded sightings of dugongs, turtles, dolphins and humpback whales.

Dugong and calf.

Over lunch we chatted to David, a surgeon, who turned out to be one of the Manly Sea Eagles’ doctors. He spoke about his involvement with both Manly and the Blues which was interesting.

Humpback whale.

Snorkel 3 - SHARKS!

After lunch we made our way back towards the Coral Bay area of the reef for one final drop, this time to see black tipped reef sharks at a known “cleaning station” in the coral where the sharks come to have their skin and teeth cleansed of parasites by an army of wrasse. 

The cleaning station

The station also apparently attracts tiger sharks to avail themselves of the cleaning service. I was quite thankful that today was not their day – the 8 large reef sharks that were there, were enough for me. The sight of one swimming up towards you with its mouth wide open to allow the wrasse to get at its teeth, is unnerving despite the guides’ assurances that we were safe because we were in clear water and couldn’t be mistaken for anything sharks might want to eat.

They're real.

It was truly an amazing experience and by far the best snorkelling I've done. WA is proving to be well worth the effort of getting here. We will be back.

After this drop, it was time to head back to the jetty, reclaim our shoes and drive back to Exmouth for a dinner of cheese, biscuits and leftover pasta, while watching the 3rd Ashes Test. After a long day, sleep came easily.

Until next time.

You're the Voice (Monkey Mia - Denham to Carnarvon, WA)

Welcome back dear reader. Here is the promised cultural experience. Sorry, there are no specifically related pictures.

Wula Gura Nyinda Eco Adventure

We were keen to join the Wula Gura Nyinda Eco Adventure indigenous experience, Didgeridoo Dreaming, partly because it had been highly recommended to us by Hayley, my massage therapist at the Redfern Physiotherapy and Sports Medicine, who has previously been a WA tour guide and provided several useful tips for travelling North. We were also looking forward to the night to hear custodians of the Nanda country share their story.

We were supposed to meet at reception at 7pm for a 2 hour experience but a last minute email pushed the start time back to 7:30pm at which time, we gathered with about 20 other people, including a group of Brits on a guided tour and a French Boy accompanying his great aunt, plus other Sydneysiders and some Melburnians.

My favourite Monkey Mia friend, a Spiny-cheeked honeyeater.

Our leader was Capes, a Nanda man who is allowed to conduct these experiences because he is initiated into Nanda law and custom. His depth of knowledge was clearly evident as he wove a bi-lingual story of country, practices, kin, flora and fauna into our journey. 

Everyone in the group was given a local name which Capes used frequently throughout the night – our names were bestowed almost immediately after we said we were bringing greetings from Hayley. We were given the local tribe names of Nanda and Malgana. 

We were taken on a short walk away from the well-lit resort to view the night skies and specifically, to identify the Southern Cross, along with its pointers and the voids in the Milky way that together make the dark emu, central to spirituality of the Nanda people. Then we were led to a campfire area where a fire, built out of acacia, kept us warm and prepared a bed of coals to cook mullet for us to eat while we yarned and learnt to play the didgeridoo accompanied by clapping sticks. 

Not such a dark emu.

Some mastered the musical challenge better than others but the process provided a platform on which to reveal the foundational importance of song and ceremony to First Nations people passing their laws, stories and knowledge across generations for millennia. Although I'm sure the spirit ancestors cringed every time I raised the didg to my lips.

A map of country was drawn in the sand as the mullet cooked and Capes used his own family experiences to engage us in truth telling of how their culture was in danger of being lost but in fact only went to sleep for a time.  His work now invites us to be part of the re-awakening of the complex richness of the connections that are the core of First Nations people. Vote yes to the Voice people. Which obviously brings us to today's title, all the way from 1986, John Farnham, You're the Voice. Think about it. You know it makes sense.

The mullet sat on the coals and was turned once. They were whole fish, unscaled and not gutted. Once ready to eat, the scales and skin peeled back to reveal perfectly cooked flesh. It was delicious and juicy. I would never have thought to cook fish like this. Major rethink.

By the time the fire, the stories, the songs and the food had been shared, 3 hours had passed and we made our way back to the lights of the resort. Once more in our apartment, we went out to the balcony to shake the sand out of our shoes. On the grass below us, was a grey cat stealthily prowling the resort precinct – admittedly the first cat we have seen but clearly there is still a bit of work to do in eliminating the predators of the native fauna, despite the peninsula fence. 

Abalone shells on the beach.

The next morning, we checked out of Monkey Mia to head onto Exmouth via Carnarvon but first, the usual breakfast pie at Denham before leaving the peninsula. The pie was highly rated. The pastry wasn't up to Kalbarri standards, but the filling was excellent. We set off, backtracking the way we had come, to re-join the North West Coastal Highway.

The journey North was fairly uneventful except to note the massive number of goats (actual wild creatures, not idiot drivers) that were herding on either side the road. They are obviously in plague proportions but can survive in this pretty harsh terrain by grazing on everything including whatever low foliage they can reach, by standing on their hind legs. We expected to see more of them featuring in the roadkill but sadly, dead endemic wallabies, the bigurda, far outnumbered the goats.

The view to François Peron National Park

Carnarvon

Our brunch stop, at Carnarvon was a welcome opportunity to stretch our legs and wander up the main street, once again in search of a toastie and a coffee. We stopped at the Café Fascine, named after the construction method they have used to shore up the banks of the mighty Gascoyne River as it enters the ocean here.

The fairly pedestrian toasties and coffee (in actual crockery cups) were partially compensated for by the entertainment, provided by a family, walking down the street: parents and 2 older siblings trying to deal with a pretty impressive tantrum from the youngest child. Breaking away from the family, she ran ahead, screaming and crying and threw herself down next to a sculpture outside the town civic centre. The rest of the family tried to walk on nonchalantly, occasionally looking back to see if she would follow. Who would blink first – Dad or daughter? Sadly it was Dad, who called the still huddled child and then, after being ignored, stomped back to grip her arm and resolutely march her along to catch up to the others. I know it's wrong, but a well placed slap ... Ah, school holidays ...

We glimpsed the same happy family, sulkily seated at another café, as we walked down to the end of the main street to look at the Gascoyne. In the riverside park, there is a monument to the HMAS Sydney II, which in 1941, was torpedoed and sank off the coast of Carnarvon, with all crew lost. There is wall in the park which houses 648 plaques, naming each sailor who died.

Back in the car, it was time to head to Exmouth which will be our base for the next 3 days.

Until then.

Dolphins (Monkey Mia, WA)

And the day dawned for a breakfast of cold pizza. No coffee. Sigh. It's not always the perfect life, being retired. The pizza, dear reader, which was far better than expected last night, held up beautifully for breakfast.

How is my back you ask? Thank you for caring, compassionate reader. It is surprisingly good. I have become religious again and that seems to have helped. Sorry, I didn't mean to mislead, I meant religious in my back stretches and exercises. Not the other sort. It really has surprised me. I've had a lot of time behind the wheel in the car and so far it's all good. Touch wood, as the superstitious reader might say.

This trip was always meant to be an exploration. We have covered a lot of ground and investigated options at the places we have visited, so today we thought should be a kick back and do nothing day. Until tonight when we have a pre-booked indigenous cultural experience.

Doing the flipper thing.

Let's get this bit out of the way immediately. We did not, at any stage, entertain the concept of joining a queue to sit on tiered bench to watch someone feed a dolphin 50 metres away. It may be popular. It may be why the tourist park, sorry resort, exists, but no. The dolphins actually swim along within a metre or 2 of the shore and you can see them much more clearly just by walking the beach. Or if you prefer a more distant view, from the safety of your balcony, glass in hand. Or camera if you prefer. Or if you multitask, both.

However, the title song today Dolphins, is from the brilliant Tim Buckley (the father of Jeff for you youngsters). If you haven't heard of Tim, you should have, just listen. And that's not even his best work.

Close to shore and no crowd in the way.

I digress. After our leisurely breakfast, the next activity for the day was a walk along the beach. Toward the western end of the peninsula where there is a series of red cliffs within the François Perron National Park. Sadly only accessible by 4WD. Yes, I know I have a hire car and they can be whatever you want, but again, no.

The walk was not fun. The sand-shell beach was soft but sharp underfoot and the wind had not abated from the previous day. Our reef shoes were still sitting unworn in our unit. They would have made the journey much easier. Despite such adverse conditions, we pressed on. 

Looking for a spot to sun bake.

Emus, as opposed to dolphins, seem to be ubiquitous with Monkey Mia. They wander everywhere throughout the caravan park. Sorry, resort. Even on the beach. Following the emu encounter, Jayne decided sitting on the sand and enjoying the sunshine in a reasonably sheltered position was the way to go. I soldiered on because I wanted to photograph the red cliffs.

Would have loved to get closer to the cliff.

Finally I joined the growing number of people succumbing to the wind. One of the canoes pulled into the shallows and dad got out and began walking the canoe towards their picnic spot. The children on board did not seem to mind the change. Out came my camera, a couple of clicks later and I had the wind at my back.

I love the colours.

We whiled the afternoon away on the balcony, watching the dolphins and the passing parade of holiday makers. Do you know the best thing about school holidays, dear reader? Watching parents deal with their sullen, miscreant, whining children. And the worst thing about the school holidays? The sullen, miscreant, whining children and their parents. And crowds. 

The cultural experience was to commence at 7:30pm which meant a late lunch/early dinner. It was the Monkey Bar (see what they did there? genius), again, this time to sample their burgers. No beetroot! Shouldn't be surprised, there is not an Australian working anywhere here. I can't imagine how places like this struggled after COVID when the borders were open. It must have been incredibly difficult to find staff. Sorry, where was I? Oh yes, no beetroot on my hamburger. Despite that it was pretty good.

I will save the cultural experience for the next post.

Until then.