After the disappointment the previous day we left Coral Bay early in the morning to get to Exmouth before noon. Again the drive was a long distance straight ahead with not much to see. What sounds boring turned out to be quite relaxing. You can’t drive faster than 110km/ hour and we enjoyed the trip chatting and planning.
As we reached Exmouth early in the day we decided not to stop at our holiday home for the next two days but drive right past it. Instead we continued up the East coast of the peninsula and then down again on its West side- the only way to reach the Ningaloo reef on the top part of the North West Cape. This area, located within the Cape Range National Park, is known for its easy access to the Ningaloo reef. You can go snorkeling directly from the beach in many locations.
In the National Park we stopped at the Milyering Discovery Centre to get some advice on the best snorkeling areas and to hire fins and a diving suit for the day.
As we were approaching high tide we made directly for Oyster Stacks. On this beach snorkeling is only possible when the tide is high as the corals are right under the water’s surface. Swimming at lower tides would damage the corals. The fotos you see here were taken when we stopped at Oyster Stacks at the end of the day to see the difference between the tidal levels.
The current was quite strong in Oyster Stacks and instead of fighting it we drifted with the currents and once out of the water walked back to our belongings. We saw lots of coral and fish in this spot but with the strong winds and resulting currents it was quite a challenging experience to snorkel in this location.
We changed into dry clothes and continued to Osprey Bay for a more relaxing time and some lunch.
Next stop was Sandy Beach. All the beaches we visited were different but one was more beautiful than the next. This one was smooth sand and turquoise waters.
After we returned our suit and fins at the Milyering Discovery Centre we wanted to stop at one last beach and chose a spot right behind the center. We ended up at T- Bone Beach and took a last stroll along the shore.
The perfect ending for this wonderful day was tacos, some delicious beer and live music at “Whalebone Brewery” in Exmouth.
