Our first adventure at Coral Bay is the Manta Ray Swim Tour with Ningaloo Reef Dive & Snorkel.

An 8.15am meet at the tour office and fit-out with wetsuits hoping to find one that didn’t look too much like a seal and attract sharks. We already had our rashie’s and swimmers with us but wetsuits make for increased buoyancy and any help with that is welcome, especially in deep water.

After a bad wave bombing experience while snorkelling on our last visit to Vanuatu, I chose to have a practice in the warm, shallow waters of our local Bill’s Bay but I was still a little apprehensive as the continuing Southerly wind was predicted to create choppy waters and a fair swell out in the more open water.

Two mini-buses took our group out to the marina where we boarded our boat and headed out to the reef through a narrow navigation channel. The wind had already picked-up blowing small waves across the surface of the sea making it harder to identify the reef below. The team know these waters well though and we were soon mooring to the buoy at a dive site called Blue Maze, named for its shades of blue created by the varying depths of water and the white sand on the sea bed.

Blue Maze

Following those choosing to scuba dive, we slid into the water quickly realising it wasn’t that warm and grateful for having the wetsuits. Unlike the tropical waters of the Great Barrier Reef, Ningaloo Reef is sub-tropical and along with that classification is much cooler water, less colourful and mostly hard coral species. Here there are fewer forms of coral (200 compared to the 500 of the Great Barrier Reef) but blue-tipped staghorn, brain, boulder, mushroom, cabbage and plate corals are common.

Visibility was around 10-metres but much of the deeper reef lacked colour as the level of sunlight faded. Still, there was plenty to see with schools of tiny bright blue fish, Parrot fish, blue and yellow Dory’s, orange Nemos sheltering in the safety of their favourite sea anemones, Angel fish, Maori Wrasse, Box fish, Butterfly fish, and a Stingray that Peter Wandmaker, the resident professional underwater photographer, dived down to photograph. Not quite on the scale of the Great Barrier Reef but impressive all the same.

I have to admit that the choppy water and strong current at times left me feeling a little uneasy and I opted for the assistance of one of the tour guides with a tow-float – I still hadn’t shaken my Vanuatu experience. But I persisted, I didn’t want to miss the opportunity of later snorkelling with the Manta Rays further up the coast. However it was cold and my back was starting to ache. Fortunately it was time to head back to the boat – everyone had been in the cold water long enough.

Once onboard everyone was shaking from the cold and even a hot cup of coffee didn’t appear to be helping me warm-up, nor did a hoodie. I decided it wise not to continue any further and risk the cold water putting my back into spasm again. I was disappointed to miss the opportunity to swim with the Mantas but safety comes first and at least Catherine had other people in the group to snorkel with.

With most of our group warming-up and the divers returned, our boat headed North to the lagoon where the Manta Rays were expected to be found. We arrived as several other boats were on the lookout and the spotter plane was circling above giving directions to follow. It was pretty hectic chasing the fast swimming rays and no sooner had one boat sighted a ray and dropped their snorkellers, the Manta they had located changed direction.

The larger female Manta Rays, almost 4-metres tip to tip, were being closely followed by the males but she was just interested in food and followed a feeding pattern where she swims in a line filtering plankton before performing a barrel roll and returning back along the line again and again.

I was watching with some amusement from the fly deck as the lead snorkeler kept showing the change of direction while everyone tried to keep up. And the boat captains were having just as much fun trying to position one group ahead of the line feed and recover the other while keeping a close eye on the snorkelers from other boats, communicate with the spotter plane and the boat crew.

The wind had increased even more as had the swell but Catherine at last got to see two Manta Rays, one line feeding and the other doing barrel rolls before it was decided to call it a day chasing these huge creatures and head to calmer water for lunch.

Sharks!!

The final snorkel and dive site proved to be the most productive for spotting larger fish though Catherine too had now chosen to stay onboard and keep warm. Ten grey reef sharks were circling around the reef giving our photographer some great shots.

A leisurely cruise back to the harbour and another warming coffee rounded a great day out on the reef. The crew were excellent and made sure everyone had an amazing and safe experience. There are few places in the world where Manta Rays can be found so close to shore and have an almost guaranteed opportunity to swim with them.

Coral Bay here in the Northwest of Western Australia is one such place and if you are ever in this area an adventure with Ningaloo Reef Dive & Snorkel is a must but we would recommend earlier in the dry season when the water is a little warmer and less windy too.

For more details visit: Ningaloo Reef Dive & Snorkel

A special thanks to the highly talented Peter Wandmaker for his excellent underwater photography on our trip. His photographs taken on the day are published on this post.

For further information:

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Exmouth is our home for the next week or so. By far the largest town anywhere nearby, it is a modern, well provided and friendly place on the North West Cape, even winning the 2019 Best Town in Western Australia. Praise indeed.

Our choice of campsite, of which there are a few, is the RAC Exmouth Cape Holiday Park. A large site with good facilities and plenty of trees to offer some shade from the sun and a little protection from the wind. It is located on entry to Exmouth adjacent to the new Ningaloo Visitor Centre and close to Town Beach and it’s jetty.

Exmouth is known for, among many other things, its Emu population and true to form as we first drove into town a male Emu with 3-stripey chicks was wandering along the roadside. And not to be outdone the caravan park has its own resident birds paying regular visits around the site.

Normally Emus and wild Goats are a common sight throughout the whole of the North West region but this year they seem to be increasingly scarce according to conversations we’ve been hearing and possibly related to the continuing poor wet seasons and lack of fresh vegetation.

Exmouth Past and Present 

Exmouth grew as a service town for the US Navy refuelling ships and submarines during the Second World War. However much of the infrastructure was destroyed by a cyclone in 1945. In the early 1960’s, during the Cold War, Australia and the US signed an agreement to build a naval communications facility to plug a gap in submarine communications in the South Pacific. The near complete purpose-built town of Exmouth and the communications station were officially opened in 1967. In current times, although no longer operated by the US Navy, the Harold E. Holt Station is still in use and creates an awesome sight with its enormous array of towers, the largest reaching upwards 387-metres.

Still present is the equally enormous 3KM runway at RAAF Learmonth 36KM south of Exmouth town. Used at one time for the General Dynamics F111 bomber defending a perceived threat from Indonesia, it is now a standby bare-base ready for action should the need arise. However, it has an earlier history dating back to June 1944 when Qantas used the airfield as its first hop stop on the Kangaroo route to the UK and marking the first time the now famous Kangaroo image was placed on the tail of its aircraft.

Beach Shack Cafe

As may be obvious by now we like cafe’s especially those that serve good coffee and great food and close by the Naval Communications station is such an example – The Beach Shack. A short stroll from the beach, this delightful beach-themed cafe is right up there with the best on our recommended list.

Both of us agree, the Beach Shack serves the best fish and chips we have ever eaten – Gold Band Snapper being the fish of choice. Coming from the land of fish and chips, that is true praise. And, of course, there’s the prawns. And the coffee? That’s at the top of the list too.

The Beach Shack also offers good views into the bay where you can spot Humpback Whales breaching just off the coast. The cafe has a set of binoculars available for a closer view.

Town Beach

A pleasant stroll down the beach from the cafe is Town Beach, a safe and shallow spot for a swim, snorkel or just sitting in the clear, warm Indian Ocean. A jetty and boat launch facility is also located here and a popular location for fishing. A small mobile cafe provides refreshments but, unusually, it’s opening hours are 6.30am to 11am.

Cyclone Hit

On 22 March 1999, Tropical Cyclone Vance reached category 5 status creating the highest ever recorded wind gust on the Australian mainland at 267 km/h while making landfall just 35KM south of Exmouth causing major damage to the town. And not to be outdone by strong winds, in April 2014 Exmouth was hit by a massive flash flood, nearly destroying the caravan park and seriously damaging much of the town’s infrastructure causing a severe blow to the tourism trade that the region now depends on.

Now recovered and the town centre shopping precinct having recently been renovated, it is a pleasant town and highly noticeable for its friendliness. Everyone appears chatty and always happy to help out whether it is at the local newsagents, the popular Bakery, camping store, fresh fish shop or either of the two well stocked IGA supermarkets. Unlike Derby, Exmouth is a town very much alive and kicking.

The Giant Prawn

As well as the Naval base and the communications station that Exmouth served it also had a highly successful prawn fishing industry where many prawn trawlers could be seen in the gulf. However, following Cyclone Vance the industry was hit hard while waiting for the Reef and its sea life to recover. The family that first proved prawn fishing was a sustainable and profitable business was the only one to survive and MG Kailis is still in business today, though their factory has since closed and all catch is frozen while still at sea.

The business is now recognised as one of the world’s best managed, sustainable fisheries and to honour them a plaque has been erected in town sitting beneath a giant tiger prawn catching the eye of everyone that passes by and no doubt frustrating a great many hungry seagulls. It is so big that it has to be taken down for the duration of the wet season and its often damaging cyclone activity.

Vlamingh Head Lighthouse

High on a hill at the Northern end of the Cape Range National Park is Vlaming Head Lighthouse. Long known as one of the most dangerous coastlines in the world, it took a board of enquiry 4-years and the wreck of the Mildura before a location was finally agreed upon and construction could begin. It was by no means an easy project with the build team suffering through dysentery caused by contaminated drinking water and all building materials and supplies had to be shipped by sea from Fremantle 1250KM to the South. Almost a year to the day to complete, the Lighthouse first became operational in November 1912.

Using kerosene as a fuel, it required two Lighthouse Keepers to keep the light aflame, which could be seen as far as 40KM away. The Lighthouse continued operation until 1969 before its function was replaced by a light mounted on Tower 11 at the Naval Communications Station just to the East.

During the Second World War a radar station was constructed near to the Lighthouse to help protect the Naval refuelling operations. Extensive damage to both the Lighthouse and radar station occurred during a cyclone in 1953 with repairs to the Lighthouse carried out by the Lighthouse Keepers themselves.

Today the mast for the radar station still stands and remains surrounded by sandbags that have survived, largely intact, since the 1940’s. An excellent interpretive display was recently constructed telling the story of the Lighthouse, Radar Station and Naval Communications Station as well as the wildlife of the Ningaloo Reef that borders the coast here. And thanks to its elevation, the Lighthouse  provides an excellent location to spot Humpback Whales as they swim along the coast.

Caravan Service

We haven’t said much about our Jayco Silverline Outback caravan for a while mostly because it has been travelling well and the tyres show very little sign of wear despite 15,000KM on some less than ideal roads. From a distance it still looks clean and shiny but close-to it’s in need of a good clean after all the red dust of the Kimberly and Pilbara. However, the majority of available water has been from bores and the very high mineral content leaves white calcium stains wherever it settles and dries. The same goes for the car too. And not forgetting to mention we haven’t seen rain for nearly 5-months now so there has been no chance of a shower washing away the dust – especially on the roof where the solar panel needs regular cleaning to remain efficient. Unlike large motor homes a roof access ladder is rarely fitted – it needs one.

Our arrival in Exmouth coincided with the need to get our caravan serviced and unknown to us at the time the service centre was just 100-metres from where we camped. Having said that Exmouth is not by any means a big place. What we can say, though, is that Exmouth Caravans has without doubt provided the best customer service we have experienced for a long time. From the initial phone call, dropping the van into the workshop and pick-up on completion, was just how a business should operate. The service centre also has the best stocked store we have seen and all the more remarkable for its remote location in Northwest Australia. Very highly recommend.

Situated between Karijini National Park and the World Heritage Ningaloo Reef, Cheela Plains Station Stay makes an ideal overnight or longer break from the road. Well signed and just an easy 1KM gravel road leads to the campsite. It’s suitable for 2WD vehicles, caravans and campervans.

A welcome break

Having driven through so much arid land in the Pilbara, Cheela Station Stay is like an oasis with a large circular green lawn surrounded by trees that opens out to the extensive dry surrounds of the 188,000-hectare station. Powered sites are arranged around the lawn on level ground with plenty of space also available for tents. It can be really hot here, as it was during our visit, and having sufficient power to run air-conditioning is an unusual and very welcome feature on station stays.

BBQ Evening

We were certainly made to feel welcome by all the staff and Robin the co-owner who dropped-by during the evening BBQ burger meal at the camp kitchen. Meals are available most evenings and are a great way to relax and make new friends with fellow travellers.

Nothing is ever too much trouble; a resistant hose tap connector was very quickly replaced with a new tap. The friendly staff are always eager to offer help, advice and knowledge of the station, the station’s wildlife and what to look out for in the night sky.

Just behind the the campsite a marked walk leads to the viewpoint above the station, which gives some idea just how big the station is. The walk is a must first thing in the morning or at the end of the day to watch the sun set over the plains.

An unexpected bonus is the cafe where fresh coffee and homemade cakes can be enjoyed indoors or under cover in the shade of a gum tree.

Astro Fest

The dark night sky at Cheela Plains Station provides a perfect location for budding, amateur and seasoned astronomers with clear skies and a full 360-degree horizon. Each year Cheela Station hosts a 3-night Astro Fest event with self-contained accommodation available in addition to campsites for caravans and tents. We were a couple of weeks too early for the event but there will be plenty of opportunities to see the stars as we continue our travels throughout Western Australia.

https://www.cheelaplains.com.au/astrofest.html

While wandering around the campsite we noticed an impressive sign near the camp kitchen that had been hand cut with a gas torch. It was positioned in just the right place to be backlit by the setting sun. Needless to say, it was well photographed by all during Happy Hour.

Due to continuing poor wet seasons and lack of grass the station has unfortunately been de-cattled, not for the first time sadly, with only the cows and their young remaining.

Bungarras

Wildlife still remains active on the station including several sizeable Bungarra lizards that can be found wandering around the campsite. Though best not to approach too closely, especially during mating season, they’re quite happy to pose for a photograph or two.

A form of Perentie lizzard or Goanna, and the largest lizzard native to Australia growing up to 2.5-metres long. They are the fourth largest lizzard in the world and closely related to the Indonesian Komodo Dragon, though fortunately not quite so large.

We really enjoyed our stay here and not being restricted with power was a big plus. It also gave us plenty of time to recharge our caravan batteries following our stay at Karijini National Park.

For more information or bookings check: https://www.cheelaplains.com.au