Our first 6 days at Ningaloo – wildlife, snorkelling, fishing and WIND!

North Lefroy Bay, Ningaloo Coastal Park

Tuesday 27th September - Monday 3rd October

We spent our first 6 nights on the Ningaloo Reef camped at North Lefroy Bay – not our first choice of camp area, but the best place we could get into when we booked 2 months ago (as it is school holidays at the moment). We were lucky enough to get the van into the sandy campsite allocated to us, and it turned out to be a lovely spot with ocean views and some protection from the strong coastal winds, which blew most of the time we were there. We had 1 and half perfect days, but even on the windy days we still managed to make the most of our time at this amazing part of Western Australia.

Some of the highlights:

• -          Seeing turtles, dolphins, stingrays and sharks swimming in the bay just in front of our campsite. It was lovely to sit out on the beach with our morning coffee and watch for activity in the bay.
• -          Snorkelling the reef off the beaches at Winderabandi and South Lefroy Bay (several times each) and marvelling at the huge array of coral and the abundance of tropical fish.
• -          Getting to swim with turtles when snorkelling (this happened a few times for all of us)
• -          Seeing sharks when out snorkelling (we all saw sharks at different times, but thankfully they were not interested in us!).
• -          Daniel and Jackson went out on the kayak to go spearfishing several times. During one of the times Jackson had the experience of being in the water with Daniel when he shot a fish. Then the reef sharks started getting interested in the catch, so Daniel ordered Jackson to get back in the kayak quickly!
• -          Eating lots of fresh fish thanks to the boys who fished off the beach and kayak, and also went spearfishing.
• -          When Daniel hooked onto a big shark out the front of camp – it was a shovel-nosed shark so he let him go.
• -          Fishing off the rocks at a remote beach further north of our camp. Daniel hooked onto a Giant Trevally and Jackson reeled it in like a pro. Unfortunately, when the fish was only a metre from shore, and Daniel was about to grab it, the swivel broke and the fish was set free. Apparently it is very rare for a swivel to break, almost as rare as hooking on to one of these big fish from the shore! The boys were understandably very upset at losing their chance at this once in a lifetime catch.
• -          Seeing the HUGE turtles swimming near the rocks a remote beach we visited (the same one as above), then spotting a dingo on the drive back (he kindly waited on the edge of the track so we could get a good look!).
• -          Enjoying a fire down on the sand (in a fire drum) one night, the rest of the nights were too windy so fires were banned.
• -          Going on a huge walk with Emilia to get to a reef for a snorkel. We (I) underestimated how long it would take us to walk there, then swim out to the reef. 3 hours later we finally got back to camp, and we’d only snorkelled for 30 minutes!! We were exhausted and very hungry.
• -          Walking along the beach at low tide and saving starfish.
• -          Wandering along many different beaches, looking at all the shells and other ‘treasures’.
• -          Enjoying the spectacular sunsets over the beach.

Ready for a snorkel (in the wet suits we managed to score at op shops. We'd forgotten to bring mine and the kids' suits from home so had to buy some, as you get very cold snorkelling for a long time. Emilia's was only $8 and mine was $20 -though it is one size too small so it is a team effort to get it on me each time we snorkel).

Trying for some squid. He hooked on to a few, but wasn't quick enough to reel them in and they got away.

After our snorkel at South Lefroy Bay there were some amazing clouds that just had to be photographed.

Kayaking hard against the strong current. Jackson went out spearfishing with Daniel, he was in charge of keeping the kayak near Daniel, ready for the fish.

Exhausted, but very pleased with their catch.

The 4 Snook they got, which were lovely to eat

Sharp teeth!

Beach fishing at its best, this was just in front of our camp.

While Daniel fished, Jackson tried to get the squid he missed the night before.....

.....and Emilia and I just enjoyed the sunset.

His hair is going very wild with the salty water.

The long rows of clouds made for an amazing sunset.

Enjoying some footy in the dunes.

He took his hand spear out on one of the snorkels to try his luck, and learnt how hard it is to spearfish.

It was SO windy before we went in for this snorkel at South Lefroy Bay (as you can tell by my crazy hair)

At South Lefroy Bay you begin the snorkel at the southern end of the bay then let the strong current take you down, before walking back. The current is super strong and takes all of your strength to swim against it. This time we snorkelled all the way to the end of the bay so it was a big walk back.

He just hooked on to a shark.

The Shovel-nosed shark. It was a bit of an effort for Daniel to get the hook out as the shark was thrashing about wildly.

A quick pic before Daniel pulled him back in to the water. You can see how sandy the shark got as it fought Daniel.

Returning him to the water. The shark came back a few times and cruised around the bay, he clearly didn't learn his lesson.

One of the many starfish we found washed up at low tide. This one had made an attempt to move back towards the water....however it still had about 1.5 meters to go, so we helped it out.

Emilia with a couple of the many starfish we saved each morning.

Ready to kayak out to the reef straight out from camp to try for some fish. It is quite far out so they waited for a day with less wind. When they left it was calm so I followed on the paddle board. Whilst we were out there the wind picked up. It took all my strength to paddle back to shore.

This is the boys coming back from their spearfishing adventure (listen to the wind in the background)

Pretty pleased with these two Sweetlips.

This is the rocky ledge where we spotted heaps of huge turtles and some sharks. Daniel caught a Grey Nurse Shark (that he released as they are endangered).

The rocky ledge where the boys hooked on the GT (that sadly got away).

Going out for another paddleboard- it was a bit easier this day than it had been the last 2 days, although the wind did pick up at one point and I fell in (but thankfully I didn't lose my sunglasses)

Another successful morning out, even though the conditions weren't great.

Our custom filleting table!

The big Sweetlip they got on the last morning. Jackson was in the water watching when Daniel shot it, so was super excited to show me the fish when they got back in!

We had a wonderful time at North Lefroy Bay and enjoyed all the delicious fresh fish. The wind got a bit hectic at some points but it was still pretty incredible to see the ocean from our caravan. I am looking forward to a proper shower though! We still have another 3 weeks along the Ningaloo Coast and know we will have many more great snorkelling and fishing experiences on the reef. 

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.