26  Coastal Camping,  Four Wheel Driving and more Down the West Australian Coast.

Warroora Station was so different to so many stations in that we were very isolated from other campers with little sign of other life.  We camped between large sand dunes butting the Indian Ocean.
The road in was daunting, getting narrower and steeper with no chance of turning around.

Not sure what the bones were but they seemed far bigger than anything alive today. 

Driving into the site and getting worried towing the van as the road kept getting narrower, steeper and sandier. 

Over the big dipper and down the other side. 

Camp sites, sand-hills, our own reef lagoon and the Indian Ocean. 

4WD is a necessity.
So too are sand shoes. 

Taking in our reef lagoon.

A walk and a snork in our private reef lagoon.
Face lifts by face masks. 

Our Warroora Campsite
No issues with neigbours or trees here. 

What are those grey fluffy things in the sky?
Clouds....indicating we are heading south and the weather pattern is changing. 

Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.
(The Choral Symphony)
The blend of the waves breaking on the reef and waves washing up on the beach as the orchestra; joined by sea gulls as the voices, was akin to the B9.
The feel was more like the first movement of the Pastoral Symphony, the B6. 

When the going gets tough the tough get going!

Waiting expectantly. 

Quobba was a detour to see the famous blowholes and possibly do some more snorkelling.
We, however, moved straight on down to Carnarvon in order to try and get out of the wind.  There had been just one too many bad hair days.

Salt pans bordered the road towards Quobba. 

Algae giving a different hue. 

Quobba Blowhole
Like a fossilised whale.  

Warning signs told of loss of life here and hence suggested not going too close and never turning your back.
These folk are trying to win a Darwin Award by removing themselves from the gene pool. 

Crows Nest
Most of the poles in the area had wheel rims attached for bird nesting.
Crows had taken up most of them.
Osprey came home to roost in other rims on other poles.  

Carnarvon gave us respite from the wind after being buffeted for what seems like weeks.
It was also a time to reflect on the battle between the HMAS Sydney(II) and the Kormoran which occurred on 19th November 1941, resulting in the greatest loss of life in the history of the RAN, as well as being the loss of the largest allied ship with all hands during WW2.

Carnarvon is also known as the Fruit Bowl of Western Australia. We enjoyed touring through the orchards and stocking the pantry.

Memorial to the Sydney(II)  form WW2 which went down with loss of all 645 sailors on board off the WA coast near here.  

Kormoran Memorial. 318 of the 399 on board made it to shore or were recovered at sea. 

Beautifully prepared memorial plaques in alphabetical order, one for each lost soul from the HMAS Sydney(II). 

Kormoran life boat at Carnarvon.
This boat made it to shore north of Carnarvon.

Carnarvon had so many other standout features.

Hardy locals growing out of very infertile soil. 

We were enchanted to see some of our indigenous cousins spear fishing in the shallows of Carnarvon.

Aid to Japanese Whale research. 

What could be better than seeing a Rainbow Bee-eater in the wild?

Seeing two Rainbow Bee-eaters; and being seen by one. 

The train was late!!
WA for Western Australia also means Windy Always and Wait Awhile.

Francois Peron National Park bordering Shark Bay is unique in that no tour buses enter the area, with only high clearance four wheel drive vehicles allowed, provided that tyres are deflated to 20psi at the start. We later deflated to 16psi, as did many others to avoid the embarrassment of becoming bogged.
Perched on top of the cape, we sat for morning tea and watched life pass us by in the ocean. Sharks, rays, dolphins, a Dugong (sea cow) and calf.  All in crystal clear water.

The track seemed endless, 140kms round-trip, much of it in soft sand. 

Thorny Devil rescued from the track.
Thorny Devils can live for 15 - 20 years provided they don't sunbake on tracks frequented by vehicles. 

Skipjack Point at the NE extremity of the Francois Peron National Park. 

Volunteers checking the foundations of the viewing platform seemingly built on a sand cliff. 

There is always someone waiting to photo bomb a shot. 

Zoomed out through necessity. 

Red and white somehow segregated. 

A Dugong and calf photographed from the cliff top.
At least the bird stayed out of the water to make photographing easier. 

Dolphins formed part of the parade. 

If a large red starfish could be imagined on the centre of the beach, this image would be the same as the flag of Yugoslavia from 1918 to 1992

Falling away from the cliff edge to live another day. 

The colours were so different and completely unmixed.

The long and winding road disappearing over the horizon.
The sand is soft to walk on, however it still forms corrugations which at 40kph are as hard to drive on as a hard gravel road. 

The WA government is investing incredible amounts of money on infrastructure for tourism.
This again is in an area only accessible by 4WD. 

In 1922, a bore was struck to the depth of 540m at the Peron Homestead to provide water for livestock, domestic uses (but not drinking due to the saltiness) and recreation.
When uncapped, it flowed at the rate of 170,000 litres per day at a constant 40C.
We left the National Park and entered the old station to soak away the sand from between the toes.

A 40C tub to conclude the day at the Peron Station.

After sitting in a 40C tub following 140kms of sand driving, it was time to call it a day.
The same applies to this blog.
Wishing all well as we continue south.

Cheers, Don and Carrol.

25 Swimming with Manta Rays, Turtles, Dugongs, Whales, Sharks, Coral and Fish in Coral Bay. What a day!

Having the week before shared the ocean with magnificent Whale Sharks, we thought nothing could come close to the thrill.
How wrong we were.  The amount of fish, corals, colours and grace of the Manta Rays was amazing, all very much complimented by amazing professional photos which showed the true colours so much more than the previous blog.

Aquatic ballet of massive ballerinas of the sea. 

As per our previous voyage, we travelled on a boat porpoise built for the job, allowing quick travel and ease of offloading and reloading swimmers.

Waves breaking over the reef, our boat, and the wind having blown the seagull off the bollard. 

Our photographer dressed ready for a formal. 

The township, or shiptown of Coral Bay.
One of the three wind powered generators is lying on the ground.  They are designed to be dropped in event of a cyclone.
The palm trees are receiving a battering from the wind.  They also drop, but not intentionally.

Dressed for the occasion as we speed out to the drop zone.
The excitement is hard to contain.   

 Our snorkelling was complemented by some air breathing mammals, including the world's only vegetarian sea mammal, the Dugong, along with a Humpback Whale Mum and its young; together with dolphins and turtles.

A  Dugong, or sea cow in the area grazing on the sea grass.

10% of the total number of Dugongs in the world live in the Ningaloo Reef.
As mentioned in our previous blog Ningaloo Reef is Australia's biggest fringe reef.

Endangered and tasting like chicken. 

Humpback whale sharing the reef area. 

The young one learning synchronized swimming.  

Meanwhile, ready for disembarkation.

Prepared to drop off the stern.
Swim caps stop the head from becoming burnt. 

In the water and off to see the sights. 

We were not alone though!
A quick look around revealed how healthy the reef system is.

 What you looking at??
Fish naturally know about the perils of too much sun; hence sought the shade of our boat at every chance. 

Not the place to suffer from ichthyophobia.

Carrol, Don and friends. 

Looking more like oil colours than water colours.
 The clarity of the water once more due to lack of rainfall runoff from the desert. 

Corals of all sizes and shapes. 

Varying depths of coral, some breaking the surface. 

As we swam we spotted a ray.

A Bluespotted Ribbontailed Ray. 

We were fortunate enough to see and swim with turtles.  At one location, a bale of four of these wonderful creatures resting on the floor of the reef.  They were all so brilliantly peaceful, but swam with such a grace, speed and ease.

Akin to flying through the water. 

Fish eye view of Don, Carrol and the turtle.
Don was watching underwater. 

Meanwhile this is the view Carrol had swimming alongside. 

Diving down for a rest. 

Resting on soft sand. 

More uncomfortable than sand but the coral prevents slipping away with tide and current.

Resting on an amalgam of sand and coral.
Some degree of comfort and security. 

Don with snorkel above, Carrol alongside and turtle below.

Manta Rays were found by the spotter plane, then advised our boat of their location and direction of travel, whereupon we dropped into the water and waited for them to pass us by.
The Manta Rays literally flew past under us with all the grace and style of slow soaring ballerinas.
Despite the slow beating of their wings, their speed through the water was far too quick for the swimmers, hence each time we saw them only for short periods of time before they disappeared from view.
The dancing is part of luring a mate, with the female leading the way, and the male following suit.

Mantas are black on top, white underneath highlighting the dance. 

The four metre wing span is difficult to be appreciated without anything to give sense of scale.  

Marine Batman. 

Beautiful flexibility. 

And the dance continues.

We finished our swims with the Manta Rays and went searching for other life and found from above the water a 4m Tiger Shark enjoying a fishing expedition.
We were asked if we wished to swim with the shark, to which a few opted for the chance.
We took the view that staying out the water at that time would be the best long term option for our holiday and life.

A great shot of the Tiger Shark and our boat.
This day we were swimming in Ningaloo Reef was the same day as that of the 2nd shark attack on consecutive days in the Barrier Reef. 

Tiger stripes.

We undertook a snorkel further out in a different area of the reef, swimming out through mind blowing coral and fish.

Carrol and Don swimming near Bikini Atoll.
Fortunately, Nuclear testing ceased in 1954. 

We then swam through a narrow shallow passage from the reef to the open ocean.  The passage experienced a change of direction in and out the reef every five minutes or so.
It was impossible to swim through against the flow, and required patiently waiting for the flow to turn favourable, then swimming hard to get through before it changed again.

When on the outside of the reef, we swam to an area known as a "shark cleaning station" where we encountered a school of about five 1.5m grey reef sharks down below.  A cleaning station is a neutral zone where attacks don't take place.  Hidden in the cabbage coral are cleaning-wrasse.  They wriggle their way out of the skeleton structure of the cabbage coral.  Slowly and stealthily the sharks glide upward over the scrolled coral patch with opened mouths...inviting the cleaning-wrasse to pick off scraps of bacteria and parasites from their teeth, gills and body. 

Shark teeth cleaning station.
The area is a neutral zone for cleaning. 

Powering through the channel back inside the reef.
Don wears a green rope belt for towing assistance of Carrol when the going gets hard.
Meanwhile Carrol streamlines and kicks.  

Turtles however always make it look easy. 

Imitating a turtle.
Just have to master holding the breath longer.  

Finally it was time to head back to shore after an incredible day on and in the water.
We were so grateful to Alex Kydd of Coral Bay who took all the phenomenal underwater photos.

Back to the boat away from the reef, and Carrol can be seen stepping off fish onto the boat ladder.
This was the first time Carrol had stepped on the scales since leaving home.  It was quite a shock!

A truly memorable day with some unforgettable experiences and challenges.
Time to head off south.

Happy voyaging.
Cheers, Don and Carrol.