Exmouth - Swimming with the Whale Sharks

Thurs 9 May to Wednesday 15 May

After two weeks of constant coastal winds and the one night of extreme stormy weather I decided that it was time to check into a van park to get out of the wind, do some washing and re-stock supplies.  The Rippons decided to stay at Warroora station and we moved on to the Big 4 at Exmouth.

When we arrived we saw a familiar tent camped next to us - our fellow Cub campers who we had met at Perlubie Beach - Bill, Sal and Bridget.  The boys had fun hanging out with Bridget and other friends they had made in the park.

As we spent mothers day in Exmouth the boys cooked me up a scumptious breakfast of eggs, hash browns and mushrooms.  Lachie and I also enjoyed a walk into town where we sampled a fresh mango slushie from the local health food shop.  The boys spent many a night in the camp kitchen watching the AFL with the other fans from around the country.

The boys cooking up a Mother's day breakfast

Our 'one night' van park stay turned into 6 as Craig and Adam decided that a trip to Exmouth wouldn't be complete without a swim with the whale sharks, and picked a day that the weather looked to be at its best. A couple that we met at the van park, Shane and Sarah, also came for the adventure.  According to the boys it was one of the most fantastic experiences of the trip so far.  The thrill of jumping into the water and watching the massive beasts gliding gracefully but quickly through the water was incredible.  Even though the sharks looked to be swimming effortlessly Craig and Adam had to snorkel furiously just to keep up.

Another bucket list item ticked, and it was time to move inland towards Tom Price.

Worroora Station

Wednesday 24 April 2013 - Thursday 9 May 2013

After a very hectic day of getting organised we finally left Canarvon and arrived at our next destination “Worroora Station”.  As we arrived late we did not know if we should visit the care takers before setting up camp but we decided that we should.  The residence caretakers Lesley and Ross  were fantastic and drove us to a camp spot behind the dunes.  We asked about camping on 14 mile beach and they told us that in a couple of days two spots would be available. 

The first day we had a swim down at the beach and we watched a fisherman catch a decent size Golden Travelly off the beach.  After swimming for a while the grey nomads told everyone to get out due to the resident Tiger Shark coming in for a shore visit.  The tiger shark also visited later on in the week while the kids were swimming and I very calmly got them out of the water.

The next day we got our camp spots on the beach where we were to spend the next two weeks.  We quickly met all our neighbours and we all got along extremely well.  The first night 3 of us girls sat on the beach and had a few drinks and eventually the boys and the rest of the neighbours joined us.  This was the start of unofficial sunset drinks and nibbles which continued every night for the next 2 weeks.  The kids also met many friends and had lots of fun playing secret kids clubs, doing artwork and running around the sand dunes.  Lachlan spent many hours practicing his handstands.

 

 

 

 

On a visit to Telstra Hill a message came through from Tammy to say that they missed us and would like to come camping with us at Warroora.  We arranged a beach camp site for them and gave them a great welcoming party when they arrived.  The next day was Russells birthday and had a camp oven cake and evening birthday drinks with the neighbourhood.

 

We took a day trip into Coral bay and luckily for us it must have been the pick of the days with pristine waters and no wind.  We all enjoyed a snorkel and the Spangled Emporer were swimming at our feet.  We also enjoyed lunch and refreshing ale at the local pub.  We watched the local fisherman fillet some huge red emporer that they had caught that day.

 

One day we went for a short drive to Turtle Rock - so named for obvious reasons.  The kids enjoyed seeing the turtles bobbing up from time to time.  We also snorkelled with the 3 huge turtles and some reef sharks at the lagoon.

 

 

Coral Bay

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One night Ross and Lesley came to tell us all to batten down the hatches due to a big storm coming through the station that night.  We prepared ourselves as well as we could, although we really didn’t know what was to come.  Around 1.30 in the morning we woke to very destructive winds and rain battering in the windows.  The camper got fairly wet and we all ended up getting a very bad night sleep in mum and dad's bed.  It was actually quite scary but we had to be brave for the kids.  The next morning we watched a group of campers trying to winch in their boat which was being battered by the huge swells.  The boys also dug a trench to ensure the wave did not reach the camper trailers and wash everything away.

 

 

 

The torrentional Storm ...