Day 12 - Sunday 15 July - Bucket list stuff

Day 12

Sunday

15 July 2018

Exmouth - Ningaloo Reef

Alarm bells rang at 6.15am, heralding the need to get and ready for our tour. It was still dark, so neither of us was in any great hurry. We waited out the front of the park, with our beach bag in tow, for the minivan to collect us and shuttle us down to Tantabidi Jetty. 20 guests from Perth, NSW and Germany were on board and there was a quiet excitement bubbling over what the day held. 

We were ferried out to the Drawcard, 7 at a time, then we found ourselves a patch to hole up for the day, stuffed our things into the dry bins and listened up to the usual safety run down and crew intro. Noss, was our captain, while Jake was in charge of the tender. Georgia, Amy and Sam were our guides for the day. 

The boat was then pushed into go and we were taken to a place land side of the reef, where we were told we would be jumping in to do a drift snorkel over the coral and would enable us to test our equipment. I was a little apprehensive, as I always seem to be when getting back in the water for the first time in a while. The water was chopped up at the surface from the wind, which didn’t make it easy to navigate. 

Once I had my face in and was glued to the undersea world, I was much calmer. I happily drifted over the coral bombies, watching the fish dart about. There were plenty of tiny, bright blue fish and a larger pink one. Someone even spied a ray hiding in a cave. We made our way back to the boat and one by one returned to the deck.

Once on, we began the journey to the outer reef in search of whale sharks. We were warmed with hot drinks and a delicious morning tea. This helped soothe the grumbling bellies. I moved between the deck and the bow, checking out the view. There were plenty of boats out on the water and a number of spotter planes in the air. 

Once out in open water, the swell took over. It was long and rolling and there were times we could see nothing back walls of water, but the nervous anticipation was out waying any thoughts of the rocking boat. 

We eventually got the call and Amy was in the water to spot the whale shark. Sam had us sitting on the marlin board, gear on and ready. While we watched Amy bob about, we saw a banded sea snake gliding along the surface of the water, his little head sticking up as tall as it could, navigating the swell. In the end we didn’t jump in, as Kinky took off below. I wasn’t phased, as I didn’t want the snake getting too close. 

We moved on to another spot, stopped, saw a manta ray just cruising about on the surface and then it wasn’t long before we were given the call again. Amy was in, Sam was directing us on board and then the call came, slide in the water, keep in line and your head above water and then …masks in. 

I did as I was told to see the whale shark sliding away into the distance. Hmm. Paul didn’t see much more than the tail disappearing. The guides soon realised this was a dud too and we were called back on the boat. The boat was repositioned and we started all over again. This time it was far more successful, with the whale shark doing a cruise by. We had been told to swim and keep up with it, yeah right! The 5m giant was far too quick for me, especially with a pool noodle securely tucked under my arms, my safety net. 

We were told to stop swimming and returned to the back of the boat. In the meantime, group 2 were in the water with the shark. When they were back on the boat, group 1 were called to the front to be ready. 

The boat moved on to a spot further out to sea, where it was hoped the water would be less murky so invisibility would be improved. With the call coming over again, we were back in position, watching the shark just off the back of the boat. Amy gave the signal and we all plopped into the big blue sea. When the call came to put our faces in the water, I was stunned to see the mouth of the beast right there. I attempted to back pedal and clear off but it was pushing through. If I was allowed I could have reached out and touched the 9m beast. It was incredible. 

We were hauled back onto the boat, every time flippers come off and I was getting abrasions on the top of my feet. We thought we would get a rest, but it wasn’t the case, instead we were called once more and we were straight back in. Once again the whale shark passed by me within a meter, all the little remora fish taking shelter under the big white belly. It really was an amazing experience. 

Each time we were told to stop swimming, group 2 were jumping in for their go and we were left to bob about as a group and wait for the boat to come and get us. I didn’t like to think about it at the time, but it did cross my mind that we were in the deep blue with god knows what other creatures. I curled up in a ball, but if something wanted to eat me I guess it could. 

With our 5 dives complete, we were back on the boat for good this time. We began our drive back towards the inside of the reef. It was too rocky to have lunch here, so we were served cheese and crackers to tie us over. I stood on the bow for a bit, to be told there was a hammerhead shark lolling about. Hmm so that could have eaten me! We also spied a smaller whale shark. 

Once on the inner side of the reef, we were able to have lunch, a delicious spread of salads and cold meats, more than enough to keep us going for the day. We then spent the remainder of the afternoon watching for other sea creatures. We spied humpback whales making the journey north and a minkie. I saw a sea turtle pop up its head and then we had a playful pod of dolphins hanging about the boat. We thought there were at least 2 calves with them. 

Our Novacastrian Travel buddies, Carmen and Neville

The afternoon sun was warming on our bones, though the wind off the water was still cool. We made our way back to the jetty, were ferried to shore and onto our minivan once again and then we had the 30min journey back to our van for 4.30pm. Phew what a day. 

I was exhausted and was keen for a shower. It was so refreshing. For the next couple of hours, we sat recovering, made dinner and went through the day’s shots. By 7pm, Paul was looking for bed, I wasn’t far behind.