Shells, snorkeling and scabies 20.6.12 - 5.7.2012

If you were a mad dog surfer travelling Oz in search of waves, you would have heard of the large surf break off Jacques Point in Kalbarri. Those huge waves were pumping the afternoon we set off to explore the coastal sights in and around the National Park and town of Kalbarri (including Eagle Gorge and Red Bluff), approximately 150 kms north of Geraldton.
Too big for Mike to tackle, we just watched as seasoned board riders made those waves their own, doing re-entry after re-entry and taking those huge waves in their stride. And while Mike stood watching, at low tide with the sun hanging low in the sky, I found some great shells in and around the rock pools.

Eagle Gorge

Eagle Gorge (pity we didn't get a pic of the big waves at Jacques Point)

Next day found us walking the trail at Ross Graham that winds its way down to the Murchison River, and out to the lookout at Hawks Head, which offers great views of the Murchison River Gorge.

Murchison River Gorge

From Kalbarri we hit highway one again, turning off at the Overlander Roadhouse toward Shark Bay, famous for the Hamelon Pool stromatolites and the Monkey Mia dolphins. We loved the whole Shark Bay Marine Park World Heritage Area, including various marine nature reserves around its shores.

Shells at Shark Bay

Stromatolites - Hamelon Pool

The links I've included of Shark Bay are worth the time to check them out. This area supports some amazing diverse flora and fauna, with an estimated population of 10,000 dugongs alone in its waters. If we had of had more pennies and more time we would have loved to explore more of the park by boat. People say that Monkey Mia is ho hum, but I didn't find it that way at all. We loved interacting with the dolphins that come in daily to check us humans out. There is no shortage of food in the Bay for them to eat and it seems they love to come in to interact with us. They were very special.

The dolphins watch us on shore as they swim by.

Mike walking on a large sand bar, somewhere near Whalebone Bay.

A very tame pelican on the beach at Monkey Mia

Mike has mentioned briefly our overnight camp at Whalebone Bay where we met Roz and Dale, the Innisfail girls. What great girls they are. We hope to catch up with them again when we get around to the east coast, and visit their fair town. They told us of a great camp spot at a place called Point Quobba and recommended it. So after stocking up at Carnarvan, and making our calls home to family, we set off in that direction. Our friends Glendon and Rachael had discovered it as well and were already set up there the day before we arrived. Mike took off for the Ranger's station and parted with a whole $16.50 for three nights stay.

Wow! What a great spot. We had three full and fun days. Rachael drove me further up the dirt track out of the marine reserve (no fishing, no shell collecting) to a great spot called Two Mile, where we found the most cowrie shells I have ever seen in one place at one time. It was shell heaven for Rachael and I and we spent lovely meditative hours walking and collecting.

Glendon and Rachael are two avid, passionate even, snorkelers. Before we left home they convinced us to buy snorkeling gear for the trip. We are so glad that we did. While at Point Quobba they coaxed us into the beach just down from our camp site where a shallow reef runs along a small bay which is enclosed on one side by a small island. This area, they assured us, was a wonderland. From the shore you would never know what was below. I buddied up with Rach and Mike with Glendon and in we went. I have never seen so many different species of fish together in my life - all colours, shapes and sizes, and lots of them. We would just drift through whole schools of bright blue, yellow, green, striped black and white and any number of colour combinations you can think of - simply breathtaking. Mike and I will never be as passionate about mucking about in water the way our friends are, but they have opened our eyes to a great wonder and we are very grateful for that.

Point Quobba.

Who would have thought that beneath the surface of this there would be such a wonderland.

Mike and Glendon at Point Quobba.

From Quobba we headed to Coral Bay, the most southerly point of the Ningaloo Reef (famous for swimming with the whale sharks). By the day the weather was improving, and once we'd settled into the Caravan Park we went snorkeling straight off the main beach. A lovely town, if a bit too touristy, Coral Bay afforded us great snorkeling, coffee and cake, dinner and beer at the pub, hot showers (bore water though) and some sweet, delectable sunshine and beach time.

From there we went to Exmouth and the Cape Range National Park. All the sites in the Park were full (school holidays and nomadic southerners from Perth) so we decided to make do with two nights in town (Exmouth) and two nights at the Yardie Creek Homestead Caravan Park, which was just before the NP. We were able to take off for the day and call in to all the spots along the Ningaloo Marine Park and explore. A great spot for snorkeling was at Turquoise Bay where you hop in at one end of the beach and snorkel out a short distance to the reef and let the current take you to a point further down where you get out and walk back up the beach and do it all again. They call this drift snorkeling. Mike and I had lots of fun.

Turquoise Bay - Ningaloo Reef.

I had to leave the shells on the beach at Ningaloo.

Mike paddling, me reclining.

Build up of coral and shells.

Turquoise Bay

Yardie Creek.

We lost contact with Glendon and Rachael for the moment (no phone range) but no doubt we will catch up with them again down the track, which seems to be what happens with us. They do their thing and we do ours and somehow we meet up again to share some of our journey together.

One last word. Scabies! The less said about this the better. Mike looked like one of those kid's pictures where you join the dots. I was luckier. By the time he had passed them to me we had fronted up to the chemist in Exmouth and got insecticide ointment. I had only a couple of dozen itchy spots to Mikes 200 or so. It was horrible, but as the pharmacist told us, there's a lot of it going around these parts at present. Just our luck.

Ooooooh! Coodies!

Mike and I think it was Anton the Swede from Ellandale Pool who he played uke with, but we will never really know how we got them.

Meet Anton the busking Swede. (I'm sure he's scratching)