Day 34 Coral Bay - 2/4/11

We  headed off from Carnarvon and took a detour 24kms north and then 49kms west to go to the Quobba Blowholes. 

Quobba Blowholes 

Sadly, the holes weren't blowing today however the scenery was amazing.  Firstly when you get there there is a big sign warning you to beware of the killer waves.  Down from the cliffs are some rock ledges where several people have been killed while fishing when a king wave has swept them off.  We were able to walk to the edge of the cliffs and you could clearly see the huge waves crashing onto the rock ledges.  There is no way I would even venture onto one of the ledges.  Normally, when conditions are right, a powerful jet of water is forced with terrific pressure through a hole in the rock, sometimes to a height of 20 metres.

You can see the rock ledge where fisherman have been swept off 

Another view

One kilometre south of the blowholes is a great beach protected by a coral reef with tropical fish and shells.  You can camp there but there is no fresh water so you have to carry your own.  There were a lot of caravans and campers there.

We continued on and refuelled at Minilya Roadhouse where diesel was 179.9 cents per litre.  Here we turned off the North West Coastal Highway on to the Shark Bay Heritage Drive to Coral Bay.  As you drive to Coral Bay you pass the Tropic of Capricorn.  The scenery is pretty ordinary and then you come to Coral Bay, go over a hill and there it is - paradise! 

Coral Bay

Coral Bay is the southern gateway to Ningaloo Marine Park.  The reef forms a natural lagoon at Coral Bay and runs for 80kms and is only 300 meters off the beach.  The water is crystal clear and full of a variety of fish and lots of coral. 

We stayed at the People's Place Caravan Park which is right opposite the beach and is the only one with fresh water in the showers.  We were lucky enough to get a site in the second row from the beach and we had a great view.  We couldn't get over the number of grasshoppers.  As you drove along it disturbed them and hundreds flew up out of the grass.  They are eating the leaves of the palm trees and the grass as well.  You can see them all over people's vans and they are always flying into you when they swarm.  We had to make sure we kept the door closed on the van so they didn't join us.

The view from our site

You can see some of the grasshoppers on the annex

We went for a walk along the beach and then we saw people looking at something in the water and we went over to have a look.  It was the daily fish feeding which happens at 3:30pm every day.  Large Spangled Emporer Fish come into the shallows and are fed with fish pellets.  They are amazing.  You stand there and they swim between your legs and go crazy when you throw the fish pellets in.  Once the food is all gone they hang around for a little bit and then they swim away.

After that I went for a snorkel.  It is just amazing, you wade out past the shallows and then you are on top of the reef.  The coral and fish are just amazing.  Peter sat on the beach and made sure I didn't disappear.

That night I walked over to the beach to watch the sun set.  Lots of people were there taking photos.

Sunset at Coral Bay

Coral Bay is one of the highlights of the trip for me and should be a must see on anyone's list. 

cheers
Pete and Roz