19 July 2024
Nicole and I had been looking forward to Exmouth, home of the Whale Shark, Ningaloo Reef and Cape Range National Park. Our first impression upon arrival? This place is BUSY! It was the second week of the WA School Holidays, with the town teeming with families with schoolkids, backpackers, grey nomads, and not-so-grey nomads (like us). I think I counted 0.36 gazillion 4WDs.
The caravan park we stayed at (Ningaloo Caravan and Holiday Resort) was nice enough and quite central, if not a bit crowded.
Whale Sharks
On our first full day we did our Whale Shark Tour, but as observers. When we booked (fairly late in the piece) there was only availability for observers, meaning you got to do the everything on the tour (including two snorkelling opportunities on the Ningaloo Reef) except swimming with the Whale Sharks. Only 10 divers are allowed in a group at a time to view the whale sharks (can Whale Sharks count?) and so, by including an extra couple of people on the boat outside those numbers, they can recoup some costs.
We didn’t really mind, as seeing what was involved to get in with the Whale Sharks made us a little glad we didn’t. There was an extensive briefing on how to obey instructions quickly, snorkel quickly, make straight line and U formations as instructed, stay a certain distance away, not get in front of the Whale Shark etc etc etc.
The snorkelling opportunities were great though, with the Ningaloo Reef sitting right on the coast. There was a marine biologist / photographer on board who took a lot of underwater photos, and for $50 we got access to download them all. So, photos below of the Whale Sharks were from there.
As a bonus, we also got to see some Humpback Whales having a great time frolicking in the nice warm waters. All in all, a really great day.
Cape Range National Park (Indian Ocean side)
Early one morning we set out to explore the Indian Ocean side of the Cape Range National Park. First stop was watching the sun rise from Vlamingh Head Lighthouse. What an amazing place to watch the sunrise. And, you can watch the sun set from exactly the same place — although we didn’t as we had heard it would crazy busy up there in the afternoons.
Support and funding for the lighthouse was initiated as a result of the wrecking of the SS Mildura off the North West Cape in 1907, however the lighthouse is no longer in use.
We then proceeded to make some stops at beautiful beaches all the way along the coast. We didn’t stop at all of them, but those we did stop at all had stunning views of the beautifully clear water and waves breaking away from the coast on the reef’s edge.
One spot particular, Oyster Stack, was so busy it felt like trying to find a car park at Chermside Shopping Centre on a Sunday morning.
Yardie Creek
At the bottom of the drive along the coast was Yardie Creek, a lovely spot where a creek running out of a gorge runs straight into the ocean.
It was a Category 4 walk and a little tricky in places, but well worth the effort.
SS Mildura Wreck
As mentioned above, in 1907 the SS Mildura was wrecked off the tip of Exmouth.
The SS Mildura was a cattle ship on its way from the Kimberley when it got lost in a cyclone in 1907… The Mildura was wrecked on March 10, 1907 when it clipped the North West reef. The crew was rescued by the SS Burrumbeet but all the cattle on board were left to die. (Source: mastermariners.org.au)
The wreck is still largely still there today and is a very popular diving site (apparently).
Charles Knife Canyon and Shothole Canyon
On our way out of Exmouth we drove up to the top of Charles Knife Canyon for a spectacular view of the sunrise and the canyon. What a view!
Then we made the short drive to Shothole Canyon, which had a much rougher road and wasn’t nearly as interesting.
As I was trying to look up to the top of the gorge from the floor of the canyon, I noticed a huge vertical crack in our windscreen that had been hidden by the large rear vision camera clipped to the rear vision mirror in the motorhome. We had heard a big ‘crack’ on the windscreen on the way into Tom Price but hadn’t noticed the crack in the windscreen.
So, it was a few hours spent talking to our insurance company and finding the nearest place to get the windscreen replaced. We landed on Carnarvon, which was to then be our next stop after Denham.
Overall, Exmouth was a wonderful (if not crowded) place to visit which we would recommend to everyone. However, just watch out for the massive prawns that climb upon and attack your vehicle!
← ← Previous · Contents · Next →