4 Stray Katz: South Lefroy Bay - the good (crayfish, incredible snorkelling and fresh fish) definitely outweighed the bad (wild wind and masses of mice)

South Lefroy Bay, Ningaloo Coastal Park

Monday 10^th- Sunday 16^th October

This was one of our favourite spots on the last trip, so we were all very much looking forward to getting out here again. Unfortunately we were quite disappointed for the first few days as the wind was so strong that we couldn’t do much. We were camped on the beach so we couldn’t even open up any windows as the soft sand swirled everywhere and then came through the fly wire. Daniel did a great job making windbreaks, so we could get in and out of the caravan, but we still had to eat in the van to ensure our food was sand free!

Despite the windy weather we still managed a few things during the first 3 days:

The boys had a fish off the beach whilst Emilia and I walked along the shoreline (with sunglasses on so the sand didn’t get in our eyes!).
Daniel, Jackson and I did a few snorkels – the visibility was still pretty good under the water, though the current was very strong so we had to be careful.
We played with the vortex on the beach and tested our strength throwing against the wind.
Daniel took the kids exploring over the vast sand dunes nearby (he even let them both do some sand dune driving which they were super excited about). They visited the ruins of an old whaling station, saw a huge nest from a seabird and found the ‘hidden beach’ we’d heard about.

On Thursday we awoke to silence – the wind wasn’t howling anymore and the day was perfect. We all took advantage of the great weather and perfect conditions. Emilia and I did 3 snorkels over the day, each 1 hour or more long. We were exhausted but so pleased with what we saw – heaps of turtles, reef sharks (including a pregnant mother with a juvenile shark who was not happy to see us), stingrays, so many fish and some incredible coral. The boys spent a lot of the day spearfishing and ended up with 2 Sweetlip, 1 Trevally and 1 Snook.

Friday was another awesome day. The highlights of the day were:

Paddleboarding in the morning – Emilia got to paddle next to a huge old turtle.
The boys got a Golden Trevally when the kayaked out to near the breakers.
Emilia and I snorkelled some coral bombes (that we found when paddleboarding) and saw a huge stingray.
We all visited the hidden beach- whilst Emilia and I snorkelled the inner reef and saw lots of turtles, Daniel and Jackson went out deeper and found a crayfish. Jackson found the first one but it was a female with a lot of eggs so they put her back, then the next one they found was a keeper! This was the first crayfish of the trip- it was worth the wait!

On Saturday the boys had another successful spearfishing adventure – they got a Trevally, a Sweetlip and a Leatherjacket. Emilia and I did another 3 snorkels, even though the wind picked up in the afternoon and the waves got big. That evening we were allowed our first fire (as the wind died down) and we all enjoyed sitting around the fire drum enjoying the sun setting over the ocean, whilst eating another delicious dinner of freshly caught fish.

As both Daniel and I like to push it and do as much as possible wherever we are, we decided to do one last snorkel on the morning we were leaving. We went over to the hidden beach again and did a long snorkel where we saw turtles, stingrays and reef sharks, however the highlight was a massive Giant Trevally that swam by – both Daniel and I had to move out of the way as it swam straight for us. It was incredible to see as they are so big.

After a speedy pack up (as the next people who’d booked the site had already turned up) we headed off to Bullara Station for the night. It was predicted to be exceptionally windy so we decided a night inland would be good. We enjoyed our time at the quirky Bullara Station, especially the coffee and scones from their ‘Woolshed Café’ (they even had gluten free scones) and a long hot shower. We stocked up on their meat (we’d heard it was great) before we left as we’d been eating so much fish we were all craving red meat!

Although it didn't start off as well as we hoped, we ended up having a great time at South Lefroy Bay and we are looking forward to more time on the Ningaloo Reef as we head to Osprey Bay in Cape Range National Park.

Enjoying the sunset from inside the van on the first night - it was too windy to go outside or you got covered in sand.

Still enjoying ourselves despite the crazy wind.

Below are some photos and videos of Daniel and the kids doing some sand dune driving on a windy afternoon.

Exploring the ruins of an old whaling station. It was the first shore based whaling station in WA and ran from 1915 to 1957. Horrible to think about how many whales were slaughtered here, but it prompted an interesting discussion about history and making choices based on the best information available at the time.

The first visit to the 'hidden beach'. Thanks to the GPS and Wiki Camps we found it. We visited a few times as the snorkelling was great.

A huge seabird's nest we discovered on a mound in the dunes.

The two different mouse traps Daniel and Jackson set up. The one above involved a wine bottle, oil spray, peanut butter and a bucket 1/4 full of water. The one below was just a deep bucket in the sand with some bread in the bottom. Turns out the simple bread one was all that was needed. We only set the traps for 3 nights (the nights that weren't windy). The haul was:
First Night: Jackson - 14 mice, Daniel - 11 mice, Shovel - 3 mice
Second Night: Jackson- 15 mice, Daniel, 1 mouse, Shovel- 3 mice
Third Night: Jackson- 5 mice, Daniel- 2 mice, Shovel - 0

This was the gross bit the morning after when they threw the mice into the water and the seagulls had a feast (disgusting but this is what we were asked to do by the camp host). The kids thought it was hilarious!

MOUSE SLAYER

Filleting by the water after one of their successful mornings out spearfishing.

One of the many Sweetlip they caught.

At the hidden beach there were HEAPS of birds (Terns) lining the shore, when we drove up they all took flight at once - it looked incredible.

They got a cray! Jackson was so pleased he swam all the way back in holding the crayfish in the snare.

Once we got back to camp everyone wanted a photo!

Nearly the same pic - 6 years apart!

Crayfish and bubbles- living in luxury!

The view from our campsite.

Just a few of the fish they boys caught on their daily spearfishing adventures.

We had a few freshwater showers using a 12V pump shower and a bucket of freshwater - unfortunately the charge ran out just after Emilia put conditioner in, so she had to put her head in the bucket (very ungracefully) to wash it out!!