Second stop: Exmouth, WA (Western Australia (June 23-July 3)

After a 5.5 hour flight to Perth, a very short layover, and a 1.5 hour flight to Learmonth (Exmouth), we arrived at our second destination: Exmouth, Western Australia! We were here in early 2019 and hoped to come back!

Day 1: we checked into the Osprey Holiday Villas (https://www.exmouthholidays.com.au/accommodation/osprey-holiday-village-unit-118/), hit the local IGA (grocery store) and the pool, then went out for veggie burgers, mostly to force ourselves to stay awake as Exmouth is 2 hours behind Brisbane and we didn’t want to go to bed at 6pm! We made it and fell asleep almost instantly. 

Day 2: Exmouth sites

We saw a ton of cockatoos, Ibis and a DINGO!!! Early morning adventuring has its advantages. 

A young dingo pup chasing birds! 

After some breakfast, we went to the Ningaloo Discovery Center (https://www.ningaloocentre.com.au/), then to the library, where we got a temporary library card so we can check out books! The kids were thrilled!!

A well recommended spot (Social Society) for lunch and to read books checked out from the library:

Then more pool time and another IGA trip for dinner stuff. Even though the air temp is 75F/24C and the sun is sunburn strong, the pool is not heated because this is the coldest time of year and the hot season gets to 120F/50C. Glad the kids have wetsuits!

Day 3: we got up early, had breakfast and headed out to the Yardie Creek Gorge (first past some termite hills). Yardie Creek is the only natural fresh water source in the entire National Park. It was about an hour drive and worth it. We saw endangered black-flanked rock wallabies and fruit bats on our hike. 

Next stop, Oyster Stacks for snorkeling. Snorkelers are only allowed to snorkel during mid to high tide to protect the coral in “the shallows”. 

Reef shark!

Back to town for some relaxation (awesome Exmouth splash pad) and dinner - Geoff grilled for us!

Day 4: another early morning as we got to snorkel the outer reef with a tour (https://www.exmouthdiving.com.au)! We stopped at 3 different snorkel spots. The outer reef is a deep and mysterious place teeming with life. We saw 3 green turtles and a hawksbill. Four reef sharks and a nurse shark. Three rays, a lobster and a million fish.

Lobster! 

Day 5: another early morning with Exmouth Dive (https://www.exmouthdiving.com.au) and was it worth it!!! We got to swim with magestic whale sharks. Whale sharks visit here annually after the coral spawning which feeds plankton, which feeds the whale sharks! Our tour had a professional photographer on board (and included) working we can’t wait to see those pictures. We also saw humpback whales, dolphins and dugongs!

Humpback whales. They are migrating and their numbers are increasing rapidly at this time of year!

A dugong coming up for air!

Day 6: we had a very chill morning of sleeping past 7 for a change, having breakfast and relaxing. Then we headed out to play on Town Beach 

Next stop was the Ningaloo Sky Festival, and a Cape Range and Cultural Talk by two Aboriginal leaders and a University of Western Australia archaeologist. We learned of the history of the “country” and about the “mob” of people who lived here dating back to 50,000 years ago. 

More of the Ningaloo Sky Festival, now just fun and games and a little ice cream! The entire festival is free and open to all!

 

After some pool time and dinner, we headed back to the Ningaloo Sky Festival for a very special drone show called “A Journey to Now” about the history of the area. 

Followed by a quick workout at what we have learned is present at every small tropical Aussie coastal town: a sandy workout zone!

Day 7: we had another chill morning before heading out to snorkel. The Ningaloo is wonderful for many reasons, including that one can snorkel straight off the beach. Our first stop today was Osprey Bay:

Next stop, Turquoise Bay! We snorkeled here as a family in 2019 and got one or our favorite family photos ever (scroll down: https://5onwalkabout.blogspot.com/2019/02/some-highlights-feb-1-3.html?m=1)

Turquoise Bay did not disappoint today. 

We stopped at the visitor’s center on our way out of the park and said hello to cockatoos. They’re everywhere here!

Then we checked out the Ningaloo Lighthouse and learned more about the area. 

The soil is so so red!

Day 8: we had to change from one airb&b to another today because when I booked this - in January! - I was already too late to get a booking for as long as we hoped to spend in Exmouth. After we packed up and left, we went to Adrift Cafe for breakfast. Our first breaky out and it was terrific. 

Then we headed to the Charles Knife Gorge. We had been seeing it from Exmouth this whole time but now we drove to and up into/onto it. It was lovely!

Back to Exmouth and a photo of a ridiculous sign we remember seeing in 2019. And a sign we don’t remember but love!

Back to our new spot for the daily avo swim. This pool is SO COLD!!! Our new spot is on a boat slip that’s a newer part of Exmouth. 

Day 9: we woke up early and headed out on another snorkel tour, this one in Coral Bay, about 90 minutes drive each direction. The landscape is pretty sparse, made up of shrubs and termite hills. 

There is even a rest stop / campsite dedicated to viewing them!

But the destination is paradise!

This tour had us swimming with MANTA RAYS!! Mantas are curious, smart creatures with no natural predators so they could not have cared less that we were there! We got to see them “barrel roll” feeding, which they do when the food is plentiful. The murkiness of the water is … food!

We got to swim with a young male first: 

Next, a melanistic male. Melanistic means their spots are so plentiful that their bellies actually look blue. 

Our captain was a marine biologist called Frazier. He has lived in Coral Bay for 25 years and started the “Manta Project”, a mission to identify and photograph the thousands of manta rays who visit throughout the year. He was so incredibly knowledgeable and chill!

We learned that because Coral Bay is so so remote and has no real rainfall, the coral is very protected from any human pollution. As a result, it is exquisite and filled with life. Coral Bay has mostly and naturally brown and purple coral. 

We had some special guests we got to see from the boat: a dugong, two tiger sharks and a juvenile whale who was sooo curious about us!

Having left home at 6:50am and getting home at 5pm, we chilled with home made pizza and a movie (“Hook”)! Tomorrow is our final full day before we fly out on Thursday. Next stop is Darwin!!

Day 10: our last full day here. Everyone slept in and I took a pre-sunrise walk to a fancy hotel to get a delicious coffee. Then we had breaky at the house before heading into town for errands: return the wetsuits Geoff and I rented, mail postcards, do some shopping and eat some vegetarian Aussie pies! Tomorrow we fly back to Brisbane (BNE). We overnight at the airport hotel then head to Darwin the next day. Darwin is in the state called the Northern Territory (my first time *ever* there) and on a time zone that is *30 minutes* behind Brisbane and 1.5 hours ahead of Exmouth. Wild!

Osprey (huge birds of prey) are absolutely everywhere here. 

Exmouth has a large prawn industry and a steel sculpture to prove it! This is put in storage from December to March, aka cyclone season. 

We randomly found a track meet happening. It’s school holidays (winter break - 2 weeks). 

Yummy vegetarian (curried lentil and vegetables) Aussie pies, with “toe-mah-toe sauce” of course!

Even the cockatoos approve!

Watch out for emus!

More swimming in the frigid pool …

Followed by dinner at the fancy Manta Rays Ningaloo Beach Resort …

Where Sydney tried an “Exmouth bug roll” … yes … bugs … (it was actually delicious) …

The girls did their own henna …

More dinner photos …

Followed by a nice walk back to our house over a lovely pedestrian bridge where an Osprey lives and bats were circling. 

Tomorrow we fly to Darwin (with an overnight pit stop first in Brisbane). 

Day 11: some storm clouds this morning made for a gorgeous sunrise. They moved on quickly without a drop of rain. 

Our flight out of Exmouth was delayed enough that we missed our connection - remember how short it was on the outbound? It was shorter this time! But it worked out great because instead of flying all the way to Brisbane (4.5 hours) just to overnight there and fly tomorrow morning out of Brisbane to Darwin (4 hours), we now get an unexpected stay in Perth and a direct shot to Darwin (3.5 hours) tomorrow. And yay for travel insurance and super helpful agents here in Perth. Now we get to explore Perth, a city we LOVED in 2019!