4 Stray Katz: 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!