South Lefroy Take 2 - We saw an Eagle Ray!!!

South Lefroy Bay, Ningaloo Reef, WA

Friday 21st - Monday 24th October

We managed to book one of the best sites at South Lefroy Bay (site 15) for our second time at this magical place. We spent our time doing much the same as we did last time we were here; snorkelling, spearfishing, catching mice (the kids did this- not me!) and enjoying the serenity.

Memorable moments were:

• When Daniel and Jackson went for a spearfish on the last day. They went to their usual section, a deep area in between the reefs. However when the hopped in they noticed an abnormally high amount of reef sharks. Visibility was pretty bad so they already felt a bit uncomfortable, however when they spotted 2 massive sharks (3m+) that was it, they got back in the kayak quick smart! There was no way they were going to try to catch fish out there, we would rather do without!
• I was lucky enough to encounter a huge amount of Convict Surgeonfish (1000+) go on a feeding frenzy. It was incredible to see so many of them move from one bit of coral to another, then all start gnawing on the coral. The sound of them biting the algae off the coral is actually quite loud so it was a full sensory experience, especially as I ended up in the middle of them. It happened on the morning when I went for a snorkel on my own (bad visibility and a bit scary due to a few reef sharks that I could only just see in the haze), then again when Emilia and I went for a snorkel at Hidden Beach.
• The best experience though was at Hidden Beach when Emilia and I were fighting the very strong current to get back in to shore. We were getting pulled quite strongly one way so were using all of our strength to try to swim straight. I popped my head up to check where Emilia was and the current must have taken me a bit. When I went back under there was a 2 metre wide Eagle Ray just near me (I only learnt it was an Eagle Ray afterwards, I originally thought it was a Manta Ray until I saw it's head then I had no idea what it was..until I Googled it). It was so impressive. I called Emilia over and she was also lucky enough to view this amazing creature.

Enjoying another lovely sunset on the beach. Our van was just behind the dunes- we certainly got the pick of the spots this time.

We loved this campsite- the dunes gave us heaps of protection when the wind picked up.

Having fun with some sunset sandboarding....

.....although this time it didn't end so well!

Jackson and Daniel dug a massive hole (as you do) and even dug in steps!

The weather was pretty good most of the time we were there so we could enjoy the beach all day.

Below are some of the great shots Emilia took with her underwater camera. Nothing quite captures how breathtaking it is along the reef at South Lefroy Bay, and unfortunately Emilia didn't bring her camera on the snorkel where we saw the thousands of Surgeonfish eating and the Eagle Ray- we will just have to remember those experiences!

Emilia let me use her camera to get a picture of her with one of her favourite coral bombes.

These are some pictures I got from Google of Eagle Rays - I hadn't heard of them before, but now feel so privileged to have seen one in the wild.

Chilling with the turtles at Osprey Bay

Osprey Bay

Monday 17^th- Friday 21^st October

After escaping the wind for a night at Bullara Station we headed through Exmouth and around to Cape Range National Park where we were booked for 4 nights at Osprey Bay Campground. The bay is home to many turtles who feed on the grasses and weed that grow close to shore. Every time we got in the water we saw turtles (8 was the most we saw in one snorkel). The turtles are so used to humans they let you float nearby and watch them eat or allow you to swim near them as they glide through the water. We made the most of the great weather doing the following:

Tuesday:

• Drifting down Turquoise Bay looking at the lovely coral. We saw 2 turtles, heaps of large schools of fish and a shark under some coral- there was a hole in the coral up the top so you could see the shark’s head (safely).
• Snorkelling around the big coral bombes at Lakeside. Strangely enough, we saw a turtle get bullied by a fish. The fish kept lining the turtle up, then swimming straight for it, bumping roughly into it. It was very unusual to watch. We also saw some huge fish, 3 reef sharks and Jackson found masses of sea urchins living in a section of coral he looked under.
• Watching the turtles feeding on sea grass at Osprey Bay. We spent about an hour swimming around watching these lovely creatures up close.

Wednesday:

• The boys went on a fishing charter – check out their catches on the ‘Reeling in a big one’ post.
• Emilia and I kayaked and paddle-boarded to a mooring site out from Osprey Bay. The snorkelling was awesome, with amazing coral bombes and such a vast amount of fish. On our way back to the kayak we spotted a big (2m+) shark under some coral. We swam up as close as we dared, and we are pretty sure it was a Bronze Whaler shark. On the way back we spotted a few turtles popping their heads up for air, and I did a spectacular fall from the paddleboard but thankfully I didn’t lose my hat or sunglasses!
• Emilia and I spent the afternoon snorkelling the bay at Osprey again as we couldn’t resist spending more time with the turtles.

Thursday:

• Daniel and Emilia kayaked and paddle boarded out the deep snorkelling site and had another wonderful snorkel out there.
• Jackson and I did a snorkel in the bay and we saw 7 turtles, 1 stingray, an eel (I think it was a Moray eel) and heaps of Emperors. One poor Spangled Emperor we saw had 4 big chunks taken out of its back! The funniest thing from this snorkel was when Jackson disturbed a small fish (about the size of his hand) that got very angry at him and tried to attack him! It swam right at his face and he had to retreat quickly. He tried a few times to get close, but every time he got within a metre of the coral that the fish was guarding, the fish attacked. We were laughing so much our snorkels filled with water.
• After utilising the internet at the nearby Visitor Centre, Emilia and I did another snorkel at Lakeside. The visibility was terrible and the current was super strong, but we still managed to see 2 turtles, a big reef shark and heaps of really big Catfish. We had a hard time swimming against the current, and it was made even harder for me as I had to hold my bikini top in place. We’d decided not to wear our wetsuits which was a bad idea as the current kept pulling my top off! Luckily it was bad visibility otherwise I would have given the other snorkellers a bit of a show!!
• Back at camp, Jackson and Daniel spent the afternoon in the bay. They saw 8 turtles in just one snorkel, as well as 2 massive Giant Queenies (over 1 metre).

Friday:

• Once again we were ambitious and decided to squeeze in another snorkel before we left. Emilia and Daniel kayaked and Jackson and I paddleboard to a coral bombe about 500m out from shore. The wind and waves were pretty strong so the paddle out was hard! After attaching the kayak and paddleboard to Daniel’s wrist we all snorkelled around the pristine coral. I decided to swim back to shore to make it easier (the paddleboard is much easier with less weight). It was certainly a long swim in but I saw heaps of turtles so it was worth doing.
• After packing up we parked in the day use area so Emilia, Jackson and Daniel could get back in the bay- with the aim being to get a photo of Emilia with a turtle. They succeeded and she was super happy.
• As we were about to leave an old Kombi pulled into the carpark. Daniel recognised it from some YouTube videos he’d watched. Karstan and Maxine (from The Block fame) have a channel documenting their journey around Australia in their 1968 Kombi. Daniel had a good chat with them and they shared ‘Kombi’ stories.

We decided to do the Yardie Creek Crossing as it wasn’t flowing and it was only a bit of soft sand that Daniel was confident he’d get the van through. Before crossing we did the short walk up Yardie Creek Gorge and were surprised to see a colony of bats in the mangrove trees. We spent an amusing 15 minutes watching them stretch their wings, curl up like Dracula then stretch out again, whilst continually screeching and squealing. The kids were highly entertained by one of the larger male bats, who proudly displayed his rather large tackle every time he stretched out! We were lucky enough to see a few baby bats as well.

The crossing itself was trouble free and we saved ourselves 2 hours going this way, instead of the whole way around via Exmouth.

Osprey was just as good as we remembered it, and we were certainly blessed with good weather for the 4 nights we were there.

Ready for a snorkel at Lakeside

Emilia loved using her underwater camera for the first time.

Some of the stunning coral we saw during our snorkels at Turquoise Bay and Lakeside.

Some of the many turtles we had the privilege of seeing during our time in Cape Range NP.

We all love it when the turtles poke their head out to get a breath, we always snorkel up with them and pop our heads out too!

Enjoying the delicious beef patties we got from Bullara Station. We haven't had red meat for a while (been eating fresh fish instead) so we were all craving it. The burgers were the incredible!

Sunset over Osprey Bay.

The photos below are from our kayak and paddleboard out to a deep snorkel site.

Emilia took over on the paddleboard after I fell off! Clearly she has better balance than me.

Snorkelling selfie at Lakeside

Ready to snorkel with the turtles at Osprey Bay.

All set to paddle out to a coral bombe on our last morning at Osprey.

There was heaps of dried up salt in the rocky area around the bay - Jackson made a layered castle (salt and sand) with it!

Daniel, Jackson and Emilia doing one last snorkel with the turtles on the morning we left.

The 1968 Kombi that Karstan, Maxine and their daughter are travelling Australia in.


Checking out the hundreds of bats at Yardie Creek.

Crossing Yardie Creek - easy peasy when there's only a trickle of water flowing through.

Reeling in a big one

Fishing Charter off Exmouth

Wednesday 19^th October

We’d been trying to get the boys on a fishing charter since Cape York, but everywhere was always booked weeks in advance. We managed to get them booked in at Coral Bay, only to have the charter cancelled the day before! After no luck with all the charter companies in Exmouth we were giving up hope until Daniel got a call from one of the guys he’s spoken with. The guy (Corry) wasn’t running a formal fishing charter, but was taking his dad out for the day and offered to take Daniel and Jackson (and another man who was on a waiting list) along with them. The boys were stoked to finally have their chance. The weather was predicted to be great so they went to bed very excited for the day ahead. They left the campground early (6am) and didn’t get back until 5pm. Jackson was full of excitement as he regaled the day’s adventures to Emilia and I. They certainly had a memorable time. 

Below are Jackson’s recollections of the day:

• We went on a fishing charter and at the start we were catching heaps of Emperors, but they were all undersize then I hooked a school Mackerel and pulled it in.
• I hooked a big Chinaman Fish and it nearly pulled me overboard so Dad had to take over and we got it in. It was huge!
• When we went out deeper (at the start we were fishing in approx. 20m of water then we moved to approx. 50m depth) we all hooked up onto Spangled Emperors and I was the only one who got my fish in (out of 4 people) because sharks attacked theirs!
• We saw a huge Hammerhead shark (between 4-5 metres long). The dorsal fin was massive and it was circling the boat- it was scary!
• My dad hooked up onto a good size fish, then a 1.5m reef shark came and ate the fish (and got hooked). Dad was busy fighting the shark to get it to the surface but it wasn’t just a shark….a massive Cod had the shark in it’s mouth, but the cod didn’t get hooked (luckily because huge cod like that can die if they come to the surface too quickly). The cod spat the shark out and Dad finished pulling the shark up – then we released it. That was one very lucky shark!!
• By lunchtime my arms were killing me, I had a bruise on my tummy from resting the rod there and I’d been nearly pulled into the water by massive fish a few times….it was an EPIC day.
• We arrived back at camp at 5pm exhausted but exhilarated from our fantastic day. We had the Mackerel for dinner that night – it was really yum.