Coral bay to Carnarvon

Coral Bay is a 2 horse town, but those 2 horses are Pharlap and Black Caviar. It sits on the south end of Ningaloo Reef which is the big attraction. Our trailer is set up about 200m from the bay where coral sits only 20m from the shoreline. Large fish swim around your ankles and stingrays cruise the shallows. 

Tour operators offer whale watching and snorkelling with turtles, dolphins and dugongs but the snorkelling close in is outstanding. 5 nights here feels like Christmas. The sun packs a punch but there is a breeze which picks up in the afternoon for a cool evening.

Showers here are welcome relief even when the water gushes from the tap warm and salty. I don’t think I would ever get used to the strange sensation of rinsing with salt water after brushing my teeth. Kael and I looked on in disbelief in the men’s shower block as a German woman marched in saying: “Ze wimens showver is occupied unt I cannot be vaiting”. My mum always told me never to argue with a determined German.

Stopping in Exmouth on our way to the National Park we spent the afternoon at Bundegi beach inside the Exmouth Gulf. It was magical weather as we fished from the jetty. Big schools of Mullet and Buff Bream did laps of the beach with Long Toms cruising the surface. 

With my snorkel I spotted plenty of bream and trevally around the jetty so we cast out with little hooks. Everyone caught a fish, even Naomi’s spool of discarded fishing line hooked a bream.

Cape Range National Park covers the western side of the North West Cape. The park is long with campsites and beach access to Ningaloo reef. This is the same reef as Coral Bay with waves breaking about a kilometre off shore leaving the beaches sheltered. It is a windy time of year with southerly winds buffeting our tent most of the time. Breakfast overlooking the reef is calm, but the wind has been chopping up the surface by lunch time.

Camping by the ocean presented the opportunity to spot turtles cruising close in. As the family yelled instructions, I set off after a big Loggerhead. He was in no mood to chat but I caught up and Kael and I successfully encountered a Green Turtle. When the wind blew a little too strong for swimming Kael and I cast out some bait at some Long Toms we spotted near camp. After catching a couple of the long toothy critters we each hooked a bigger beast. Kael landed a Shovelnose Shark and I hooked a similar beast only much bigger. This thing was as long as me and I spent 20 minutes bring him closer until he cut himself loose.

Tourquoise Bay is aptly named and provides a sheltered bay and a snorkelling drift over some beautiful coral. I can’t get over how nice the reef is right at our fingertips. Around the corner at Lakeside campground the deeper water held some schools of big GT, Mackerel and Herring and reef shark.  

On our last morning, disaster struck as Naomi tore her middle toenail right off. Chasing Kael through the dunes barefoot, she encountered a sharp rock and Ouch! She is the toughest little rooster in our chook house. She is back on her feet, no fuss.

From the Lighthouse North of Exmouth you can spot the Humpbacks as they leave the sheltered harbour on their long migration south. The Gulf provides a resting place for the 11000 who are bound for the Southern Ocean.

WA is so vast and so sparsely populated (even on the coast). The gaps between towns are huge and a typical response on arrival being: “is this it?” But this is the state where the desert rolls into sand dunes. You can be on the east side of a hill and have no idea that the Indian ocean lies on the other side. 

We are camped at Quobba Station on the steep stretch of coastline north of Carnarvon. The deep water below the cliffs make it a mecca for fisherman who want to catch big Game fish from the land. Big live baits are sent out under balloons with the aim of hooking a big Mackeral or Tuna. Getting the fish in before a shark dines out is the first obstacle, then hauling the catch up the cliff is the second. I will be looking for something smaller if given half a chance.

It is a wild old place with snakes, lizards and rabbits populating the dunes. 

A morning fishing the Quobba rocks was overshadowed by some Humpback spotting as Before Kael and I cast out our first bait a mother and baby came close in to the shore. As much as I love fishing, the sight of a Humpback breeching close by trumps most fishing trips. Big schools of fish were spotted out wide but managed to hook some big Long Tom and 7 Spotted Dart for the table. This Quobba coastline is an awesome sight.

The swell picked up as we left making the Quobba blowholes quite an impressive sight. Everyone likes a blowhole.

Carnarvon is banana country and Perth’s food bowl. It is not remarkable for many other reasons save the 1 mile jetty. Naomi sharpened her casting skills and managed to hook a baby bream on the sand flats. The Beave wrestled with a monster from the deep and a little flathead became dinner.

Later on, I took the opportunity for a sneaky caravan park oil change while the kids played in the pool. Squirting 1.4L of oil into the front diff with a 25ml medical thermometer made for a fun afternoon. I'm sure that's how they do it at the garage, right?