22ND MAY 2013 - EXMOUTH, & CAPE RANGE NATIONAL PARK, NTH WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Headed to Exmouth early to stock up with the necessities of life & have a quick look around, but enroute we saw 1000’s of large red termite nests about 1mtr round the base & 1mtr high ending in a pointed top which made them look like a city of tents in the red desert & at one point we saw some red sheep, who matched the surroundings well. Also passed the very large RAAF base & ‘civil’ airport situated next to each other. Exmouth is a comparitively new town established in 1967 as a support town for the Naval Communication Station, a joint Australian & USA Government venture. Despite being hard hit by tropical cyclone Vance in March 1999 it soon bounce back better than ever. It is also in the record books for a record wind gust speed for the Australian mainland of 267km p.h. Despite this Exmouth has year round almost perfect weather with no wet season. It’s main attraction is the Ningaloo Marine Park which stretches 260kms along the coastline from Coral Bay to Exmouth. The reef system and surrounding waters are home to 220 recorded species of coral & 500 species of temperate & tropical fish. The might whale shark can be seen from April to June, along with Dugons, Manta Rays, dolphins & humpback whales & turtles.

Exmouth turns out to be much smaller than we had expected but very busy with two caravan parks absolutely ‘chocker’. This coming weekend is their ‘Whale Shark Festival’ as it is a this time that the Whale Sharks start to return to the area. They are the world’s biggest species of fish & can grow up to 12m long & the Ningaloo Reef is one of the only places they regularly appear in large numbers for the mass coral spawning. The chance to snorkel with these gentle giants is a chance in a lifetime but naturally it is expensive & one needs to be a confident swimmer & snorkeller & I don’t feel I am either these days through lack of practice. Humpback whales also appear here from June to November & many of the females give birth in these warmer waters, so we are hopeful of a sighting before we leave the coast. Manta Rays are in the area all year round but in more prolific numbers between May & October & right here on the beaches we will visit in the next few days, turtles have their nesting season around November. As you can tell it is a very special environment & I wish I were richer & younger in order to really experience it. It is a diver’s heaven. Historically Exmouth is quite interesting as there was a secret base here during WWII. It also was the site of the first significant oil flow on the mainland of Australia at Rough Range.

We have just learned that to swim with the whale sharks costs $400 per person!!! We’ll give that a miss I think. The area is also WA’s most prestigious game fishing destination. Naturally the caravan parks here are extremely busy & expensive but we are more interested in staying in the Cape Range National Park which stretches about 80-100 kms along the coast. There are 16 camping spots set up within the coastal section of the park with lovely clean toilets but no water or power, so it is imperative to be self contained. At only $14 per night it is lovely with all sites right behind the sand dunes to the beach. We had booked in for 4 nights but this in itself proved to be difficult as it is only possible to book online & must be done 48 hours in advance. Our problem was that we hadn’t had internet for some days so had to wait till we did. That meant that once we had booked we had to fill in two nights somewhere which was how we ended up in the farmstay, then another night in a caravan park just before the National Park entry. The latter was a real ‘boatie camp’ being situated quite near to the only boat ramp & was really busy. On arrival there as Stu was backing into the site our ‘neighbour to be’ on the site right behind us, leapt out to guide him into the space despite the fact that it was not a difficult one & I was standing there to do so anyway. Well, what a bossy boots! He told Stu in no uncertain terms when to ‘right hand down, left hand down, stand on your head’ etc. Had him going backwards & forwards & poor Stu was red in the face with both embarrassment & annoyance. At the end he stated that HE could have got us straighter. I just laughed it off but we certainly didn’t get into conversation with him. Nevertheless, we had to listen to him ordering others around at the top of his voice. You do meet some ‘interesting’ people - so thank goodness we were only there for one night. Next to his site also backing onto us was this huge brand new looking boat, two huge motors & a fabulous slide-on caravan which went onto a brand new looking truck which matched. The slide-on had custom-made awnings all around it & I would have loved to have seen inside. On the door of the truck was the name ‘WA RV’ & also on the back of the van, so our assumption was that he owned the RV company. The money the whole outfit must have cost??? We were happy to leave the loud & wealthy next morning & head for the quiet simplicity of the National Park.

Mandu mandu Gorge

 

After settling into our site we explored the beach & in the afternoon donned our walking boots to walk the Munda Munda Gorge close by. An enjoyable walk which took about us about an hour despite the sign which said to allow 2 hours. It wanders along the base of the gorge over beautiful coloured smooth rocks, predominantly all shades of pink, and also white, cream & grey. It then ascends to the top of the red rocked gorge, a little more challenging in that it is a climb up & a bit of a scramble down again, but all in all quite a moderate walk. It was made more pleasant by the overcast day which for me at least means it was not too hot. The next day after a windy night, it was a lovely 28deg, so we drove to the end of the camping sites to Yardie Creek, with a beautiful beach & another gorge walk to keep us fit. This one proves to be much prettier & interesting with a river running through it & we were lucky to spot grey, blackfooted rock wallabies clambering along the cliff faces. How they manage it is amazing. These are not very common, only seen in a couple of places throughout Australia I believe. On the way back to camp we poked into the other campsites down this end of the park, mainly looking for our expat kiwi friends we have been meeting up with here & there, the ones with the motorhome. We did find them & spent an hour or so with them.

Yardie Creek

 

 

Black footed rock wallaby at Yardie Creek

Yardie Creek

 

 

Overnight from out of nowhere we had very heavy rain & wind. We didn’t realise until the morning how much rain until we drove down to some of the snorkelling sites & found a couple of roads & campsites closed. Apart from that everything else looked as if there was no rain at all. We spent an hour or so touring the snorkelling sites but the sea was a little too rough & there weren’t people snorkelling, so we didn’t attempt it either.  However, by next morning we struck it right & had a lovely morning of snorkelling at what is called the 'drift loop'.  This means starting up at the top of the beach & letting the current bring you down while watching the lovely marine life as you go.  The current is really strong but we had hired 'flippers' which makes it all so much easier.   It's important to check where you are now & again, but being cautious we ensured we didn't venture out too far & still enjoyed the experience.   It's all within a large lagoon surrounded by the Ningaloo Reef, so we both felt quite secure, though a fisherman told us later that out by the reef itself there are lots of reef sharks???  Apparently they are quite harmless but glad  I didn't know at the time.  After a break for lunch we had a second attempt but it wasn't as nice as the morning due to the change of tide.
 

Native Crested Pidgeon