Ningaloo Reef

06/12/10

I’m sure some of the peeps back at home will be happy to know I made the disappointing decision to shave and thus will not be growing the Rolf Harris-esque beard whilst travelling this time. I suppose I need the boyish look this time to combat the accumulating greys on my head. People are actually guessing my age in the upper twenties nowadays, and I can’t be having that can I?!

So for today we had some free time to fill as we pleased. I really wanted to dive in the Ningaloo Reef after all the hype that had been splayed on everything I’d read. It is said to be in the top 10 dive sites in the world, so I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. I donned the gear and sunk into Lottie’s Lagoon. It was nice enough without being as spectacular in terms of sheer numbers of fish life as that in say Indonesia, but for the price I paid, I certainly wasn’t disappointed.

The second stage of our package deal was far more satisfying. I’ve never seen wild Manta Rays before, but with a plane flying over head to pick them out for us, I saw an abundance and jumped into the water to swim close to the wings. Such a gentle giant, but with stealth movement to show off its elegance. I really enjoyed that debut. I would have happily of swam all day long if I had the energy, but with a lunch break and a second dive on the cards, I got out and ate. Unfortunately I drank too much tea as well, which served to make the next day rather more uncomfortable. I was swimming with Reef Sharks as well, and so didn’t have the guts to use the biggest of all toilets! Before the dive though we were treated to sightings of the masses of turtles in the bay. I couldn’t see them at all apart from when their heads popped up for air, but then the boat’s captain gave me his Polaroid glasses, or X-Ray vision glasses as I prefer to call them, I could see the abundance of them; it really is a beautifully varied area.

The second dive was fabulous. It was through a coral labyrinth and the amount of colour and life down there was superb.

07/12/10

With the diving box nicely ticked, I was content to snorkel the Exmouth seas for the second day, and squeeze in a trip to Yardie Creek. It’s these creeks and gorges that make the west coast so much more pleasantly scenic than the East. I would say to anyone going to the area to see them, see as many as possible; and take your time; the area deserves patience.

Snorkelling proved to be great as the Ningaloo Reef actually begins just a few metres off the beach, and you can see a variety of marine life in a relatively short space of time. The drift is strong enough to allow you to effortlessly float along and concentrate on correct breathing and seeing what actually is down there. I saw turtle and lots of other fish, but reef sharks aren’t rare for the area either. Good luck with that one though!