Break 1 - Day 9 Snorkel at Lakeside

Kyle had been feeling under the weather for much of the trip. Given his general discomfort when driving, it could be that, or it could be something he is fighting – at any rate, he decided to stay home for the day and read while we ventured out (or maybe he just wanted a break from us :-).

So Mike & I headed off for another snorkel. We took a drive back to the reef side of the point, and decided to visit a couple of other sites first.

Again we spotted several wild emus. These ones were much less accustomed to humans and scurried away as soon as we left the car. We paid a visit to a local shipwreck (after a couple of wrong turns to other interesting spots). The ship was a cattle ship which wrecked around the turn of the century (1901 that is). It was salvaged for wood to build local houses, and then was used for bombing practice during the second world war. We then checked out a point to see the lighthouse, then to lakeside for a snorkel.

Lakeside was a bit more effort to get to, but was worth it. We had to travel a few hundred metres up shore from the parking lot. All along the way the beach was covered in jellyfish. The winds had shifted and they were being blown in shore. There were lots in the water too, but once you got out into the reef they were not as dense. Despite the numbers, we were extra careful and only Mike got stung, just once.

At one point, all the fish in the area where I was swimming darted in away. I decided not to find out why and followed them. Mike meanwhile was over a bit and caught the cause for concern - a large reef shark had come in. Reef sharks pose no threat to humans, but still trigger the natural response to a shark . Once you let your brain take over, it's neat to watch them cruise. Actually, the reef is so healthy here that most of the fish don't panic much when the shark approaches - they just saunter away.

Again there was lots of diversity of fishes. Puffer fish were quite common (photo'd at right). The little fluorescent blue ones which we had seen in Turquoise Bay were common here also.

There were some larger fish also - may have been mulloway (same as we saw caught off the jetty in Carnarvon).

We also spotted several rays - you have to be careful closer to shore since they blend in with the sand and you have to watch not to step on them (they sting).

Having snorkelled the Great Barrier Reef it is difficult not to constantly make comparisons. I really had expected the experience to be the same - but am surprised at how different it is at Ningaloo. We are lucky to have seen both to see the diversity.

And after a fair amount of searching, I finally found our anemone and clown fish. They are different here than the Great Barrier Reef, so it took me a while to spot them. These are tomato clowns and the anemone are much shorter and duller in colour. But their behaviour is the same - the clowns hover around the anemone for protection and anytime a threat comes near, they hunker down into the anemone.

We've decided that after our 2 days in Coral Bay, we'll head back to Mandurah - we're getting vacation saturated :-) But for tomorrow it's off to Coral Bay and more adventures!

Break 1 - Day 8 Yardie Creek

For something a little different, we decided to check out Yardie Creek. We stopped and picked up info on the trail at the tourist centre – where they also had lots of info about the park in general and the flora and fauna.

On the hike in we came upon these roos resting under the bushes. We stood observantly watching them but most of the locals don't even give them a second look. Kangaroos here are about like squirrels in Canada - some people pay them attention, but mostly they are regarded as cute pests.

It was not a long hike – many flies, but great scenery. The first section was paved, but then we continued further up the gorge. The path was well marked, but you did need to watch your footing. All along the path, you could look down into the gorge and onto the facing wall. Only one side of the gorge is accessible - the other is protected for the wildlife. Rock wallabies often rest in the caves along the gorge walls, so we watched keenly hoping to catch a view.

It's funny that this should be called a 'creek'. It's the most substantial body of inland water we've seen despite having passed numerous dried up lakes and driven over many dry riverbeds - all which appear large on maps and bear significant names.

Kyle really wanted to head back due to the flies, but we plodded on to hike down to the water level. As we ventured down to the water level we saw some more kangaroos. We could see fish in the water, but alas we failed to spot any rock wallabies on the facing wall in the caves. There is boat tour you can take into the gorge, but having walked down into the gorge, we didn't bother taking the ferry as we saw the full route it takes.

The trees were quite amazing in their survival though - you can see the exposed roots. Given the limited rain and constant winds and sun, I'm not sure how this one here survives.

Kyle was not feeling well - he seems to be coming down with something - so after the hike, we headed back and changed hotel rooms. For minimal extra charge, we moved from a single motel style room to a 2 bedroom with kitchen and sitting area - MUCH nicer - wish there had been availability the whole 4 days, but things book up quickly here (I booked back in beginning of February!) We even had our own little patio with bbq and patio set – very comfortable. And we were closer to the pool – which Kyle spent many hours in over the 4 days here. So we sat back and enjoyed a bbq dinner and chilled out for the rest of the day.

Break 1 - Day 7 Ningaloo Snorkelling at Turquoise Bay

Side note – we have visited several places with photography exhibits and postcards, and Kyle always is drawn to the clown fish in the anemone. Our room has just such a photo in it by chance. Now off to see if we can find some on the reef!

We had breakie in our room and then headed out for our first snorkel on the Ningaloo Reef. The brochures (and Cindy) recommended Turquoise Bay for starters, so off we went. Of course photographing under water is a different 'kettle of fish' (sorry). Mike has done his best with the 'regular' digital in it's 'baggie', but the quality of these photos is naturally not the same as his Nikon, and it is much more awkward to use. Regardless, I was quite pleased to see that he was able to capture as much as he did.

We headed straight into the waters and as we have come to expect, we were not to be disappointed. The corals were very diverse – lots of different types. And there were LOTs of different fishes - many familiar from the Great Barrier Reef, but some new ones too. Compared to Great Barrier Reef, both Mike and I agree that there seems to be more volume and variety of fish, but the colours are not as dramatic. The GBR consists mostly of soft corals where the Ningaloo reef is mostly hard corals - which results in a subtly different environment. The best difference, is that Ningaloo is accessible from the shoreline - so you just walk into the water and are in the reef!

Right away Mike spotted a Manta Ray in the shallow waters. Kyle and I were just getting in and missed it, although we saw from above the water at a distance. Later both Mike and Kyle spotted other rays in the sandy bottom, but I was not so lucky (or possibly observant). I did spot an octopus though which was interesting to hover over and observe as he (or she) sat blinking and observing us.

There were lots of sea slugs, butterfly fish, angel fish, parrot fish and several other species I could not name. Kyle did get a small sting from a jelly fish – but not enough to scare him out of the water (luckily several folks at Rottnest had experienced them also, so it was less ‘unknown’).

It was fun to swim amongst schools of darts as they perused the reef. One woman on shore spoke of how they even nibbled on her to see if she were edible. The darts along with many smaller minnow-ish fish went into very shallow waters and were easy to play along side of.

After a rather long first snorkel, I was feeling very queasy – not sure if it was the salt water getting up my mask into my sinus’ or what. Anyway, we broke for lunch but were anxious to get back at it. After lunch we snorkelled over to the right and the coral diversity was even greater. I was again nauseous, so headed back early. By the time Mike came in, he felt the same. We passed out on the beach for a bit as Kyle played with the small schools near shore. Then we headed back to our room for a rest to try to regain our mobility, which we did. Kyle was not nauseous right off, but did feel it later. In hindsight, we think it may have been the snorkelling gear which came from China coated in an oily film. Susbequent snorkelling has been fine - we think the oil was the problem.

We had a bit of a relax back at the room where Mike did some work and I did some documenting (it takes time to write all this stuff down - there is just too much to remember till we return!) We had a nice Chinese dinner in between writing sessions.

Alas, no clown fish or anemone today - that will be the quest for the next snorkelling day. Tomorrow we plan on visiting Yardie Creek and its gorge (the only one with water right now).