Whale watching at Exmouth

Exmouth (and a roadside free camp the day before)

Friday 23rd - Tuesday 27th September

On route to Exmouth, we had an overnight stop just off the road, at a cleared area looking towards an interesting flat top rock. Being so remote, and as the night was so clear, the stars were incredible. We were all sitting out in the dark enjoying the night sky when Emilia got up- within a few steps she screamed and ran towards me as she felt something under/over/next to (still not 100% sure) her foot, then heard a lot of hissing (thankfully she was wearing boots). ‘Get the torch,’ she screamed, whilst standing behind me frozen in terror. I waved the torch around in the area she’d run from but saw nothing. A second later I felt something go over my bare toes (I was wearing thongs). I squealed and quickly lifted my feet up. I then shone the torch down and saw a massive (about 1.5m) snake slithering away. Emilia jumped back up onto her chair and we both sat their shaking whilst Daniel took a head torch and followed the snake (and Jackson followed Daniel!). It certainly freaked us all out and we sat with our feet up for the rest of the night. The next morning we spotted some of it’s tracks and once we had internet reception we searched it up and discovered it was a Western Brown Snake. They are venomous but not as much as their Eastern cousins- I’m still glad we didn’t get bitten though. That’s as close as I want to get to a snake for the rest of the trip!

We left early the next morning to make sure we made it to Exmouth in time to watch the Grand Final. Although the game was very one-sided it was still a fun afternoon.

During the rest of the time we were in Exmouth we:

• Watched the migrating Humpback whales – there were so many and some came quite close to shore and gave us a great show.
• Bumped into a family we know from Yarrawonga. Our kids all went to school together and Jackson was good friends with their son, so he was stoked to see Archie.
• Marvelled at the natural beauty and sheer size of Charles Knife Canyon as we did the scenic drive and stopped at several lookouts.
• Wandered up Town Beach at low tide and collected beautiful shells.
• Went to see the SS Merimbula wreck (which you can view at low tide) and explored a few of the remote beaches up that way.
• Watched the sun set (and the whales) from Vlamingh Lighthouse (and tried not to blow away).

The view from our roadside camp on the way to Exmouth

Calm and happy enjoying the view...not knowing the fright that was to come a few hours later!

The snake track we found in the morning just next to camp..this was from the big snake Emilia stood on.

Ready to watch the Grand Final in at the caravan park in Exmouth.

This emu strutted through the empty campsite next to ours several times, with smaller birds' dive bombing it every time.

Daniel said hello (whilst the little bird got ready to attack the poor emu again).

Turtle tracks going up and down the beach at one of the beaches north of Exmouth where turtles nest.

Whale watching from the Vlamingh Lighthouse.

Charles Knife Canyon - such an unexpectedly incredible sight.

Trying hard to pose for a photo, but the wind was FULL ON

Then the setting sun was too bright! Great scenery though.

Looking down the canyon and over to the town of Exmouth from the lookout at the end of Charles Knife Canyon.

The binoculars got a workout.

Even the Landcruiser appreciated the vastness of the canyon.

The wreck of the SS Mildura. As you can see by Emilia's dress, it was quite windy!

Beachcombing at low tide at a remote beach north of Exmouth.

It was windy and cold, but the sunset and the breaching whales were worth nearly getting blown away for.