Back again , the last couple of days have been wet - nothing like the drenching the east coast have been copping however . If we got 10mm over the 2 days , I'd be surprised !! but other places have been getting much more , with the highway being closed today north of Minilya Roadhouse and all traffic diverted onto Exmouth / Coral Bay Rd .
Hopefully all my old work mates are getting home to their families safely from all the repairs they are carrying out to the fallen power lines !!
Back to our activities , yesterday , in between showers , we walked up the beach to the north , toward the shark breeding area . We negotiated the rocks , wandered along the sandy section , climbed a sand dune , then came back down , before wading through the water to miss another section of rocks . You then arrive at Skeleton Beach - there is a line of eroded limestone rock that goes off into the shallow lagoon .
Apparently , in the breeding season , you can walk along the edge of the lagoon and the baby sharks will follow you along !!
Breeding season is September to March . Something else to come back for !!
As you can see , the skies were threatening , and did decide to open up on us , fortunately we had our jackets with us .
The ridge of limestone stretches beside the beach as well - fortunately it was low tide or we would be on the other side .
Whilst wading through the water , we could see many Leopard Rays swimming around , they weren't overly worried about us unless you got closer than 4m from them !!
Today , we decided to go on a 4wd adventure - in a Can Am Buggy !! The trip we wanted to do was to the north , but was cancelled due to the rain - too muddy apparently , so we had to be satisfied with the trip south to Turtle Cliffs and 5 Finger Reef , and if time permits a snorkel on the reef as well !!
We headed over to the shopping centre at 12:15 for 12:30 departure . Helmets fitted and a safety rundown , away we went out onto the road and off toward the boat ramp , before turning onto the sand tracks and having some fun at up to 40 klms per hour . Doesn't sound fast until you're skating over the top of corrugations that were trying their best to throw you through the roof . Fortunately there are safety mesh screens to keep you inside the buggy , as well as seat belts !! There was also a foot pad to brace against on the drivers side as you try to keep to the tracks . Banked corners , tight corners , up hill , down hill , we did it all , laughing and smiling all the way , having a ball !!!
First stop was on top of a huge sand dune overlooking the dunes and Ningaloo Reef .
The waves are breaking on the outer reef which protects the lagoon area .
Next stop after more corrugations and wild corners was Turtle Cliffs . Here you can see turtles feeding in the shallows . It is better at high tide , but we missed that by 3 or 4 hours , but we did see 5 or 6 turtles come up for some air !!
The cliffs are at the boundary of Waroora Station ( pronounced Warra ) - it's another place you can go and camp - after paying the appropriate money !
Back in the buggies again , heading back north to 5 Finger Reef Beach . Dropping down onto the beach , we expected the track to smooth out , nope , not a chance , still bumpy & corrugated till we headed around a large sand dune and stopped on the beach . We had some time to spare , so we headed in for a snorkel over the reef . It is shallower than back in Bills Bay and has different coral , as well as lots of fish - from very small to dinner plate size !!
I'll let the photo's explain the coral & fish .
The starfish was huge - about 300mm across !!
Out of the water , a quick dry off , and back in the buggy for the return trip , Woohooo !!!! This must be where everyone comes to play in the sand judging by the tracks !!
Back in to Coral Bay and the ride was over , probably just as well , felt a bit like a cocktail - shaken not stirred !!
After dropping some stuff back at the van , we headed down to the bay again . There is a feature in the bay called - Ayers Rock !!! I found out where it was from one of the locals , and decided to try to find it - the tide was low , so it would be easier to find . I was right , it was easy to find - you could see it from the beach , it was about 150m out from the beach . I discovered a whole lot of other coral on the way out that I hadn't seen before .
I came across a feeding frenzy , parrot fish all madly chewing on coral . In the photo you can see them swimming away , if you look in the bottom left corner you can see them still chewing away !!
More coral and more colours , not to mention more fish !!
Onwards I go , checking my direction occasionally , you get a bit off line when you are looking everywhere you can !!
Finally I had arrived to find a massive structure , not sure whether it is a rock covered in coral or just one big lump of coral - I'm thinking coral as it is about 5m diameter and at least that in height . The fish like it as well , with a wide variety seemingly calling it home .
I swam around it and marvelled at the smooth coral finish on the sides , on top there was your more typical coral types - as you can see in the next photo .
The elation of finding this was great , no one else was out here , the other snorkelers were too busy back near the beach !!!
I made my way back , reaching the sandy edge , 5m from the beach I stopped as there was a school of large fish - probably the ones we watched getting fed the other day . Out into the breeze wasn't the best , the wind cooling me down . We high tailed it for the park , the cold front looked ominous with dark threatening clouds approaching quickly . We only got a few spots out of it , but later the wind arrived from the south - rather gusty as well !
That's our day done , see ya !!
