Exmouth & Cape Range N.P. Ningaloo Reef part 1

Saturday 8th - Tuesday 11th September

 

The trip from Onslow to Exmouth went through a lot of rather barren, arid country with very few flowers…mostly dominated by Spinifex; one area was almost bare red dirt… overgrazing the cause? It was fenced, indicating stock, while the other side of the road was unfenced and covered in low vegetation.

 

The Ashburton River was beautiful.

 

We saw big flocks of Budgies and Cockatiels...both were in big numbers at Exmouth too.

Look at the price of fuel at Nanutarra Roadhouse!

The first views of the sea at Ningaloo were breathtaking they were so beautiful

… it’s hard to believe the colour

and the water was so calm and  crystal clear.

 

We had a snorkel every day, at various beaches.

– warm water and lots of brightly coloured reef fish within easy access. An absolute treat!

We checked out lots of the beaches  – Rob chatted to fishermen

but still hasn't been fishing yet!...after all the discussions re Ningaloo and fish when James was young, we feel there's pressure to do so!....maybe tomorrow.

 

The coastal vegetation behind the beaches was very arid with a few Acacia and other small plants, and dominated by Spinifex. Few flowers, but there were some Sturt Desert Peas that were much paler and didn’t have black centres….interesting!

There was a mangrove cove with a bird hide – not many birds at this time of year, but would be good to view the waders in the summer.

We saw some good views of the Reef Heron there.

 

On the Bundegi beach, which is on the Exmouth Gulf side, little Fairy Terns were often on the beach in large numbers.

One day we saw a Dugong there! Only about 5m from the shore…just saw its head when it briefly came up for air. It stayed there in the shallows in front of us for aout 15min.

 We saw tracks of a snake in the dunes several times

 

and tracks of a goanna

Emus were common,

 

and this little dragon  posed for us!

 

The Charles Knife Gorge and the walk there, were unexpectedly beautiful…we felt as if we were looking at the Grand Canyon!..the Exmouth Gulf is in the background...stunning views.

 

The weather was perfect : 20⁰ at night and 25⁰ – 30⁰ during the day, and usually a gentle breeze which made the walks easier.

We decided to stay an extra couple of days, so ....to be continued.