Week Two: Ningaloo.

Not James Bond (I wish!) but GK snorkelling at Turquoise Bay

We have just arrived in Onslow and I am spending a very exciting Mother’s Day catching up on our washing as we have been off road for three days and everything, including us, is covered in red dust. That’s all we have to whine about as the rest of the week has been fantastic. Oh apart from GK running over his glasses (don’t ask) and our TV antenna being wrapped around a tree at three in the morning in gale force winds in Exmouth. It wasn’t a pretty sight as I wrestled with the tree in my nightie on a stool on one side of the caravan while GK grappled with the awning, which was threatening to wrap itself over the roof of the caravan on the other side. As you can imagine the expletives were flying thick and fast. We managed to batten down the hatches and no harm was done except to our pride in having to parade around the caravan park in our PJs. I must get a longer nightie.

The view from our campsite at Mesa overlooking the Ningaloo Reef

Mesa Bay

As I said, the rest of the week was fantastic. We had the most exhilarating time snorkelling on the Ningaloo Reef at Turquoise Bay and visiting all the other stunning bays along the Ningaloo Coast World Heritage Area. Our camp was at Mesa on the northern end of the Cape Range National Park. It overlooks a small north facing bay which was a life saver as the weather was in the mid to high thirties. It was wonderful to wander over the sand dunes and fall into the crystal clear water when we arrived. At night we watched the glorious sunsets perched on a rock overlooking the ocean. Bliss.

Beautiful sunsets at Mesa Bay

GK at Ningaloo

The Ningaloo Reef is internationally recognized as one of the planet’s last great ocean paradises and we couldn’t agree more. It is among the largest coral reefs in the world and can be accessed from the beach and that’s exactly what we did at the perfectly named Turquoise Bay. The water is the most amazing colour and is once again crystal clear. Perfect for snorkelling. The bay is famous for “The Drift” where the current flows in a northerly direction and carries you over beautiful coral gardens teeming with very colourful tropical fish. Ideal for my second attempt at snorkelling.

It is easy to see why this pristine beach is called Turquoise Bay. 

It has been over six years since my first go at Green Island on the Great Barrier Reef so to say I was a bit rusty, not to mention extremely apprehensive was an understatement. I plucked up the courage to go in and after my initial flailing, gasping and spluttering, I mastered the art of ‘breathing’ with the snorkel and overcame the fear of drowning even when my goggles filled up with water. There was no stopping me once I got the hang of it. It is definitely one of the highlights of our trip so far. I am so proud of myself and can’t wait to go again. Hope it isn’t another six years.

In between swims at Turquoise Bay we had a picnic lunch on the beach huddled under our umbrella watching all the gorgeous young backpackers cavorting on the beach and in the water. Everyone is so friendly and we struck up a conversation with fellow travellers from Victoria. By coincidence their names are Sheryl and Graeme. We gave each other some razzing about the misspelling of their names but they were insistent they were correct. Whatever. It was all in good fun and as we are travelling in the same direction we are going to look out for each other on the track. 

GK at Oyster Stacks on the Ningaloo Coast

We were reluctant to leave the magnificent Ningaloo coastline but had to call back through Exmouth to see if we could get GK’s glasses fixed. A tough call after being run over by the Pajero and the caravan. We found them in three pieces outside the bottle shop (where else?) where he had dropped them as he packed the Engel. He has a spare pair but they are a weaker prescription so it will mean a phone call to Laubman and Pank to have a new pair sent through to Broome. Ho hum. Some mothers do ‘ave ‘em. 

Little Green Bird flowers

Speaking of mothers, the receptionist at the caravan park here in Onslow gave me these two beautiful green bird flowers as a gift for Mother’s Day. Their botanical name is Crotalaria Cunninghamii and they resemble little green birds drinking on the stem of the plant. I think they are fascinating. Isn’t Mother Nature incredible? Another unintended ‘mother’ connection on this lovely day. 

To all the mums out there we hope you are having a wonderful day surrounded by your loved ones. I have had phone calls from the three kids filling us in on their news so feel very special. The washing is dry so I will bring it in, fold it and put it away while GK cooks tea and pours me a lovely chilled glass of wine. Time to put my feet up. Until next week, stay safe and love to all.

Emouth's Big Prawn

We had coffee at Ningaloo Beach Resort in Exmouth. 

Osprey Bay