We had 600km of travel to reach Exmouth, a stroll in the park compared to some of our recent efforts. We left the red soil of the Pilbara behind us & as we approached the North West Cape, welcomed the sandy scrub of the Coral Coast. After an uneventful trip we checked into the Ningaloo Caravan Holiday Resort. An advantage of touring in the low season are discounted prices & here we took advantage of their summer special. The 'pay 3 nights & stay 4' deal rounded out at an economical $24 per night, a substantial saving on the $49 they charge during peak times.
First impressions count & we immediately noticed how pleasantly cool it was here. The temps were nudging the mid 30's but it was heavenly compared to the fiery hell pit that was Point Samson. Throw into the mix some shady trees & a cracking resort-style pool & you had some very happy campers right here. The unexpected presence of emus also caught our eye. They strut around the caravan park and evidently the whole town without a care in the world. Whilst driving you need to keep a keen eye out for the large, feathered traffic hazards. They amble across the road without a modicum of urgency, seemingly oblivious to the danger they place themselves in. Their relaxed gait probably increases their life expectancy though. They're so slow it gives the motorist an opportunity to spot them early & apply the brakes. Contrastly, the humble kangaroo will wait immobile as a statue by the side of the road before suddenly launching itself into your path at the most critical time. Among the regular visitors to the park are a brood of chicks & their father. He's a single dad. It's his job to defend the chicks & teach them how to find food, which he will do for up to 7 months. He is very protective of his kids & will attack if felt threatened. They have a particular dislike for dogs as well & will attack them at random so I reckon Shaka's dodged a bullet there.
Once settled in, we surveyed the town. The first stop and conveniently across the road from the caravan park, was the visitor info centre. This is the home of the Big Prawn, although thats using the term 'big' loosely. Despite being a realistic & tasty looking imitation, it stands at just 4 metres, a far cry from the authentic Big Prawn that is Ballina's 9 metre behemoth. The town centre has everything you would expect from a remote tourist town - supermarket, pub, bakery, post office etc. and we knew we could easily spend some time here.
Not far from town & dominating the skyline is the Harold E. Holt Naval Communications Base. It's a series of thirteen towers (the largest stands at a whopping 387m) that provides submarine & naval radio communications for the US and us. I'm usually not one for conspiracy theories but putting on my tin foil hat, I ask you this. If a prime minister wished to fake his own death by mysteriously disappearing during a swim, would a secret rendezvous with a submarine not provide the means to do so? I think so but then again, maybe I've seen one too many Bond films.
It was our belief that we broke the air conditioner in the sweltering mire of Point Samson, the task too great for the less-impressive-than-it-sounds, Aircommand Heron 2.2. An appointment was made for a professional contractor to assess the problem. On the eve of their arrival, I flick on the switch & lo and behold it’s working, the cool air embracing me like a long lost friend. I gladly cancel the appointment, thankful to save some coin. The feeling of gratitude was short lived however, when just a few days later it spluttered and groaned before shutting down altogether. I sheepishly contacted the air con company to convey the message that we indeed required their services. Not before I had a bit of a tinker myself though. Armed with the instruction manual & a screwdriver, I blindly tugged at a some cables when all of a sudden…Hurrah…it kicked into action. The master technician had done it again! Tomoko had been out and missed my great feat so when she returned & with some ceremony, I proudly hit the switch...only for it’s silence to mock me. I shone the torch in there (if only to give the impression I had some clue) and discovered a mass grave of dead ants. They were tiny...they were red...they were the dreaded Singapore Ants. The Trichomyrmex destructor (coolest scientific name ever by the way) had welcomed us to Exmouth with open arms but it was an unwanted invitation. It didn’t take them long to find their way into the van & attempt to eat us out of house and home. They even chewed through unopened sealed packages, rice & muesli bars their preferred snack. Their initial point of entry was via the caravan's stabiliser legs. There are commercially available devices to prevent this. Attached to the caravan legs, they use water as a barrier and are said to be effective. Using the same principle, I placed plastic takeaway containers underneath the legs & filled them with water. It worked but they are a determined lot and soon found the alternate entrances of the power cord, water hose and sullage pipe. I was in the midst of devising a way to keep the sullage pipe off the ground when a fellow camper approached with some friendly advice, suggesting I use baby powder as a deterrent. 'Cover every entry point into the van with the stuff and it'll keep them away' he said. Well...It worked like a charm. Occasionally the elements of wind & rain would create a small gap for them to encroach but twice daily inspections prevented any further incursions. Now getting back to the air con (I got a bit distracted there) we also heard that the ants like to chew through electrical components and this was our greatest fear. The air con tech agreed it could be the cause but on closer inspection, couldn't see where they had damaged the system. He eventually diagnosed a faulty capacitor but having no parts (or the means to get them) we would have to do without for the time being.
Despite being content with our accommodation, we were still keen to stay in the Cape Range National Park, the allure of beachside sites with direct access to Ningaloo Reef too irresistible to ignore. However, with Tomoko suddenly inundated with work projects, finding a half decent wifi signal was a deal breaker. Despite good phone coverage in the area, the Telstra coverage map showed the campgrounds to be located in a narrow black spot. I thought I would try out the wifi antenna one day just to be sure though. The fact that this day coincided with sunny skies, light winds & good tides (in short - perfect snorkelling conditions) was pure coincidence.
The go-to spot at high tide is the Oyster Stacks – a series of three columns situated just metres from a rocky shore. Entering the water, I was instantly blown away by the superb water clarity, array of coral and variety of colourful fish. A large selection of parrotfish graze in the open water while the larger species of mangrove jacks, sweetlip, emperors and cods find sanctuary under the stacks. I’ve done many a day trip to the Great Barrier Reef out of Cairns and whilst superior, it often takes a good 1½ hours to get out there. To have this quality of reef so close is to shore is just brilliant. I swam a little further afield from the stacks and encountered a small turtle. We swam together for a good while and he (I named him Terry) was happy just to cruise alongside me. Totally absorbed in the underwater world, I lost track of time and came in for lunch when I tired, returning for a second session before the tide dropped & became too shallow. Not far away lies Turquoise Bay. Regarded as one of Australia's best beaches, it's defined by two distinct areas – the drift & the bay. As the name suggests, the drift allows the current to propel you over the reef. The water clarity here was far inferior to the stacks so I tried the bay next. The bay is protected from the southerly but the calmer conditions did little to lessen the turbidity. After four snorkelling sessions I felt a pleasant exhaustion, nostalgically recalling summer days of past when I would return home from surfing all day and blissfully collapse on the lounge. Oh...and I did check the wifi signal at two of the campgrounds, but Telstra's coverage map was accurate. Back at the van, Tomoko was non plussed when I showed her the day’s GoPro footage, in particular vision of Terry. Despite gaining her PADI license, she has never seen a turtle & I promised to take her on the weekend.
The weekend rolled around and as promised, we returned to Ningaloo reef. We had time to kill before the tide filled in the stacks so we first tried our hand at Lakeside. It was exposed here, the strong wind and current making for unsuitable conditions. I was concerned the wind would do likewise to the stacks and was relieved when Tomoko, armed with new goggles and noodle (apparently man's greatest achievement) gasped in delight at the clear conditions. We met some folks who told us of secret turtle mating ground. Following some rough directions and a hike over a dune that wouldn't look out of place in the Sahara, we found it. Here too was exposed to the wind and it was blowing a gale. There were turtles though. They were doing laps up & down the beach just a metre or two from shore. Wading in the shallows I tried to get some underwater footage with the GoPro but visibility was too poor with sediment stirred up by the stiff breeze. I did return on a calmer day though & it was all happening. Turtles played flirtatiously, even giving each other a piggy back ride on occasion. I waded in the water just a few metres away. I felt a little intrusive with my voyeuristic presence but the turtles didn’t seem to mind and there wasn't much evidence to suggest their passions were bridled. I spotted a big guy beached on the sand in the distance. He was motionless & I feared unwell but on seeing me approach he scarpered post-haste. Having witnessed conception, I would have also have liked to see the next stage of pregnancy but with the egg laying season still weeks away, doubted I would get the chance.
Mid way through our stay here I strained my lower back, ironically doing back stretches with the sole objective of preventing such an occurrence. I guess it wasn’t prepared for all that snorkelling. In addition to regular icing, I was forced to take it easy for a bit. By chance, I came across a surfing spot. The tidy little right hand reef break would have been a perfect spot to ease my way back into surfing. I hadn’t been for a paddle since early June when I tackled the icy conditions at Winkipop & I'll definitely need some more power in my arms if I'm to have a crack at Red Bluff or Gnaraloo. I had to settle for watching from the impressively shaded viewing platform, the best I’ve seen.
Exmouth is a fisherman’s paradise. There are many spots to fish and lots of variety too - reef fish such as spangled emperor and coral trout, pelagics including tuna, mackerel and queenfish, sport fish like sailfish, right down to your bread and butter species such as flathead, bream & whiting. Being land based, it narrows down the options though & I enviously eyed the many boats in the area. Despite this there are still many choices for the land bound fisherman, the final decision usually dictated by wind direction. If there is a downside to the low season here, it is the wind. It’s very windy, often surpassing 20 knots this time of year. It’s not unlike spring in Ballina when the persistent nor easters set in (though it's southerlys here – everything is backwards in WA).
My early efforts were focused on the areas adjacent to the sanctuary zones. I fished with soft plastics and surface lures with just some small undersize cod and flathead to show for it. I did a reconnaissance mission on the Exmouth Bay side to Learmonth Jetty. On arrival, I came across three blokes in a hire van who managed to get themselves hopelessly bogged on the pebbly beach. By the looks of things they had been trying for a while to remove themselves from the situation. I hadn’t yet used the snatch strap I purchased for the trip & was secretly stoked to get a chance to use it. I put it around the tow ball (though a bit of a no no apparently) as I wasn't sure where my recovery points were. I expected it would be difficult to pull them out but barely felt any resistance. Turns out they were in the military and were very thankful I had rocked up to give them a hand. I was just glad to do my bit for queen and country.
The Learmonth Jetty was also the scene of my greatest victory. One morning the ingredients for success all came together - a high tide coinciding with dawn and light, variable winds. As the sun rose I could see pelagics feeding in the distance. I looked on longingly. Oh if only for a boat. There was a large bait ball suspended in front of me though & all that was needed was for the fish to come my way. Suddenly the water erupted in a frenzy of fleeing bait fish and bite sized splashes. I quickly cast into the maelstrom and was rewarded with an instant hookup, landing what turned out to be a blue mackerel, my first of the species. With the light winds holding, I then followed up with a mid morning session at Bundegi Beach. I saw some big whiting under the boat ramp here but it was a big flathead I hooked on a Zerek. After a spirited fight he took me under the jetty where my 6lb line had little chance of enduring the oyster lined surface. I caught a couple more small ones before landing a 37cm keeper. We had the flatty for sashimi that night but even Tomoko's culinary magic couldn't transform the mackerel into a palatable dish.
In order to break up the marine based activities we drove to the top of the range. There were great views here of Charles Knife Canyon with the waters of the gulf providing the perfect backdrop.
After 12 days here, it was time to 'do the Harold Holt' and visit our next destination - Coral Bay. On the morning of departure the wind was up again and with the weather forecast suggesting it would soon calm, postponed to make it an even 2 weeks in Exmouth. Until next time...adios amigos.