The Coral Coast & Meeting Mates, Exmouth, WA

Sunday the 9th of December.... We set about to explore today. Although we had been to Exmouth many times, there were still places the kids and I had not seen in the region, because our Exmouth trips are usually devoted to fishing.

After brekky we picked up a coffee and some crusty bread in town and headed off towards the Bundegi and Tantabiddi boat ramps. The water was still choppy, too rough to put the dinghy in.

We then headed back in the opposite direction, stopping for these Emu's along the way...

An Exmouth local

Emu's seem to love Exmouth, they happily roam the main street and seldom stop to look for cars as they cross the road.

We have always seen the hills from afar heading into Exmouth but have never been up and into them. So we headed off into Shothole Canyon....

The car at the end of Shothole Canyon

The next stop was at a monument we had passed on the way in. It was in memory of Operation Potshot, set up by the Americans during WWII.
It was interesting to learn that most of the streets in the town are named after the American ships and submarines that were stationed here.

Operation Potshot Memorial

Lunch was at the Learmonth Jetty where we had fresh Kailis prawns and crusty bread with cocktail sauce, it was simple but yummy.

The boys then fished off the jetty while Nina added to what's becoming a vast shell collection.

The trip home was via Charles Knife Gorge.

The road leading to the top of the ranges was amazing. With views into the Exmouth Gulf in between lunging, deep gorges. 

The view on the way up to Charles Knife Gorge

One of the deep Gorges

Getting the the top was a non event but the scenic drive to get there was worth the trip. This monument had had its plaque stolen so we were unable to read about the Gorge...

No comment

We then headed back into Exmouth, calling by to see whether our friends Jim and Kim had arrived back from Perth.
Jim owns Wilderness Island, off the coast off Exmouth, so we were hoping to catch up with them before we left. Sure enough, they had just driven into town, so we had a quick catch up before arranging to meet at our favorite  (yes Mark, favourite) Exmouth Restaurant  for dinner....

Harry, Nina, Sonia, Jim, Kim, Pete (Kim's brother) and Richard at dinner

Monday the 10th of December.. We woke up after planning the night before to stay another day in Exmouth but and hour later we were packed up to leave (welcome to my life). It seems Richard had changed his mind overnight. So while Richard and I packed up, Jack and Nina took off to make a few quick bucks... selling their shells.
They came back with $2.50 each and forever more will like people in Britz vans, because they brought their shells.
We were going to stay to help Jim & Kim pack up house but they seemed to have it under control. So instead we met them for a nice brekky before we were on our way.

It was sad to be leaving Exmouth. It always is... We all love it there, even if the boys didn't get to go fishing this time around.

We stopped in at Coral Bay and were almost lured to stay the night with the sparking blue waters like a magnet, but we resisted and continued on.

Back on the Manilya-Exmouth Rd, I had to take a photo of the Tropic Of Capricorn Sign, only a few months ago we were directly east in Longreach. 

While we were in Longreach,  Jack (reading his map) had made mention that Exmouth was directly west, and here we were. 

By around 1 o'clock we had reached Minilya Station.

Off to visit our bulls

We pulled off at the sign to the homestead to meet the people who had earlier in the year brought a couple of our Red Angus Bulls, Felix and Fazio.
Minilya Homestead was very pretty with lots of workers quarters but driving in we couldn't help but notice how harsh and dry this country would be for a couple of Bulls from the lush green paddocks of the south west.

Milnilya Station Homestead

We were lucky enough to meet the station owner and although we would have loved to have seen our bulls, part of us were glad we didn't. I think we all would have rounded them up, packed them in the caravan and taken them  back home with us.  They certainly didn't come to greener pastures!

Some of the Minilya residents

The Red Angus to the right grabbed our attention on the way out. It looked exactly like one of our heifers Red Wing... the ears were identical. It may well have been one of her offspring. 

The odd emu and feral goat was the only action between Manilya and Carnarvon. The first banana plantation told is we were getting close to Carnarvon.

Banana country, Carnarvon

We were initially planning to spend the night there but after filling up the car we decided to continue on. We set up camp for the evening at The Lookout, about 150 kilometers south of Carnarvon.
We had spent a night there 18 months ago with the Vitalone family, on the way to Exmouth. It was still beautiful.

We found what we initially though was a tourist monument  where people had written their names on rocks, but it turned out to be a monument to people who had died. It seemed as if anyone who had lost someone had written on a rock and placed it on the monument.

A garden gnome memorial, The Lookout

The Lookout View

A second memorial

Jack was excited when he found that the pushbike jump he had made with his mate Anthony 18months ago, was still there. 

We watched the sun set which was gorgeous, as always, before dinner and bed.

Another perfect end to the day

The rig at the Lookout

Richard takes in the view

While Nina admires her shell collection

Tuesday the 11th of December...we woke, took in our view and were on our way this morning. 

Not long after leaving The Lookout, a sign told us we were also leaving the north-west of WA, along with  the red pindan and the hot temperatures. After months of high 30s to mid 40s we were now in the low 20s. This was going to be an adjustment.

Our first stop was the Overlander Roadhouse for brekky,  before we took the turn off to Shark Bay.

Shark Bay, here we come

This was a first for all of us. We had driven past the turn off many times on the way to Exmouth but had never been to Shark Bay.

Our first stop was Hamelin Pool, where we took a walk along the board walk and were taught all about stromatolites, one of the first living organisms on earth.
They look like reef but produced enough oxygen billions of years ago to allow other life forms to develop. Interesting stuff with an amazing view....

The picture perfect, Hamelin Pool

Jack, Richard, Nina & Harry, Hamelin Pool

We continued on, stopping in at  Manga Bay, which is simply a caravan park with some accomodation and an amazing turquoise blue bay.
The water was so crystal clear that from where we were standing on a hill, we could see the marine life happily going about their business in the water.

We continued on, being amazed by the beauty of the area. It was a true scenic drive.

Beautiful Shark Bay

Finally we arrived in Denham, again... so pretty. My Uncle Bert and Aunty Ange have a holiday home here. I could fully understand how they fell in love with the place.

We were going to stay in Denham, but after speaking to the ladies at the information centre, decided to head towards Monkey Mia for a couple of nights, before heading back via Denham.

So off we continued, still gobsmacked by the beauty that surrounded us, with bays on both sides, it was breathtaking.
This lagoon, called little lagoon, separate from the ocean... grabbed my attention, I figured it would be the perfect, safe snorkelling spot... No wildlife haha!

Little Lagoon

We arrived in Mokey Mia and set up camp... Again we couldn't believe how pretty it was and how, as Western Australians, it had taken us so long to get here....

Beautiful Monkey Mia Beach

The dolphins come in here

The kids busied themselves collecting shells and playing on the beach and swimming, while Richard and I set up camp and ventured over to the resort for an afternoon drink, which turned into pizza for dinner.
Tomorrow morning we meet the famous Monkey Mia dolphins.