So… after spending a week in Exmouth and getting to know Sandy and Gary a bit better we headed 150km down to the small coastal town of Coral Bay. Unlike Exmouth, Coral Bay is directly on the western coastline.
The first thing you notice as you approach the township is the three compact wind turbines that generate a about 70% of the town’s electricity needs. They were situated directly behind the Peoples Park caravn park where we were booked in for five nights.
Our site was towards the back of the park in what was known as the ‘Pioneer Section’ and we had it pretty much to ourselves including Sandy and Gary who had arrived a few days before us. The park has a water view section at the front and the pioneer section at the back. We figured that the pioneer section would be more protected from the winds that were making themselves known as we continued down the Western Australian Coastline. It’s no wonder that wind turbines are in use here.
We only overlapped here with Sandy and Gary (The Seagulls) for a couple of days so we enjoyed a dinner and drinks with them at the Reef Cafe. It was a great meal with excellent company it a beautiful little tourist town that punches well above it’s weight in terms of things to do and see.
Based on the Seagull’s recommendation we looked up the local quad bike tour and booked in for a tour for a shared bike. We also decided to do a snorkelling cruise the day before. We booked both trips with Coral Bay Tours who were so good to deal with and helpful with our schedule.
Everyone we dealt with in Coral Bay seemed to be happy and why wouldn’t you be living beside the Ningaloo Reef with warm crystal clear turquoise water, full of coral and marine creatures, and beautiful coastal dunes and fishing spots. Despite its remote location the township has everything you need and our five days there were just idyllic; the more so because it was low season and tourist numbers were low. Coral Bay really was a little slice paradise…
Although we had previously done the glass bottom boat snorkelling cruise in Exmouth we decided to do another snorkelling cruise in Coral Bay. Although it wasn’t Whale Shark season to opportunity snorkel again on the Ningaloo Reef was to hard to resist.
The difference on this trip was that it was a half day trip on a sailing catamaran, stopping at three different spots and included a bbq fish lunch. It was a perfect day with a light breeze and it so nice to have the sails up once we left the dock and cruise between the snorkelling spots on wind power alone.
We met a young lass named Jess on our trip who was working for Coral Bay Tours and as such gets to go on the trips for free on the days that she wasn’t working. She had thrown in a real estate job to move down to Coral Bay for a lifestyle change. Jess helped usover the following days get our Quad Bike Tour sorted, which was in danger of being cancelled due to lack of numbers.
The water around Coral Bay was cool without being cold. Probably a bit warmer than the NSW South Coast in the height of summer. We spent about 45 minutes snorkelling at each of the three locations and by the end of each swim we were both starting to feel slightly chilled… a small price to pay for such beautiful snorkelling experience.
We both agreed that the snorkelling at Coral Bay was much better than at Exmouth. This was because the water was calmer on the surface and the diversity of corals and marine life was much greater. Jo got to tick off a bucket list item when we got swim with a Green Turtle for a minute or so as it went about its business.
As with Exmouth, the corals around Coral Bay are mostly dull in colour but the size and variety makes up for that. Some of them were like little alien cities and the variety of tropical fish was quite a visual treat. The Parrotfish in particular came in a variety of colours and patterns. We learned that the Parrotfish, in particular, are known as reef builders. They munch away on the corals feeding on the algae and excreting it as sand thus cleaning and creating the reef.
Another unexpected bonus was seeing a couple of giant clams nestled amongst the corals. The closest we had come to giant clams was a sculpture made from giant clam shells back at the Northern Territory Wildlife Park in Darwin. It was actually quite a thrill to see some living ones and marvel at the size of them.
A couple of people were lucky enough to encounter some small reef sharks and swim with them. We weren’t so lucky but we still saw a great diversity of fish including some very tasty looking Snapper. Luckily we didn’t have catch our own fish for the bbq but we did have a very good fish sandwich on the catamaran and some hot tea and coffee to warm us back up.
Snorkelling on Ningaloo Reef was a real experience and despite not having the opportunity to swim with whale sharks it was still worth every cent. The corals, the fish, the turtles and the turquoise water make for a truly memorable time and when it is combined with knowledgable and experienced operators it becomes an experience…
So we booked the Coral Bay Tours quad bike tour at the same time as we booked the snorkelling cruise, which also gave us a $70 discount. Jo was happy to pillion behind Rob on the same bike, which also reduce the price. The catch was that they needed at least two bikes for the tour to go ahead. They assured us that the quad bike tours were very popular and that someone else would book in the two days before the tour was scheduled.
We kept checking with Jess, who we met on the snorkelling trip only to find that no other takers had booked. They were very surprised but tourist season was waning before the expected post-Christmas upsurge. Jo even went full sales mode in the shop when another couple wandered in to check out what trips were available. Alas they didn’t commit.
When it came down to the wire on the evening before our booking we bit the bullet and paid for the extra quad bike so that Jo would be riding her own. We didn’t want to miss out on this experience based on the Seagulls recommendation and also remembering a quad bike tour we had done years ago in the South Island of New Zealand.
The day dawned bright and sunny (like every other day in Western Australia) and we headed down for our trip. We were met by ‘Etty’ (Ettiene) a young French ex-pat who has settled in Australia and living a very enviable life in Coral Bay. Etty was one of those people that you instantly warm to because they are friendly, interesting and easy to talk to and listen to.
After donning our helmets and doing the obligatory safety and induction briefing we jumped on our quads and followed Etty along the main street before branching off onto the dirt and tracking into the dunes. The quad bikes were quite large but very easy to handle being automatic with thumb throttles. All you really had to do was steer and watch your speed. Etty did ask that we stay below 40kph but that was a guideline and there were a few spots where we nudged it up a bit.
Etty guided us around the tracks of the coastal dunes some of which felt like a slot car track with steep sand banks on either side. Jo was a little hesitant at first but was soon tearing along behind Etty and channeling her ‘inner biker chick’.
We exited the dunes onto a ledge area a few metres above the water from which we could see turtles cruising along the shallows, which thrilled Jo no end. Etty told us a bit of his story as well as explaining the various forms of marine life that inhabited the area.
We once again took the the quads and headed back along the dune tracks emerging at Five Fingers Reef, a broad expanse of white sand merging with the turquoise ocean water. Etty told us a bit more about himself and how one of the best moments of his life was snorkelling with a tiger shark not far from where we were stopped. He had no fear of sharks and put his faith in not behaving like food when you’re near them.
From Five Fingers Reef we headed back into the dunes for a bit more slot car riding until we came back in view of the wind turbines signifying that we were heading back into town at the end of the trip. It really was a an excellent tour and we were glad that we decided to upgrade to a quad bike each and have Etty all to ourselves for a very personalised and attentive experience.
Etty and Jess from Coral Bay Tours told ud about the Shark Nursery area just around from the main beach at Coral Bay. It is signposted but there wasn’t much information about it. On their recommendation we took the walk around to it for a look and it turned out to be well worth the effort.
After a walk over a rocky ledge area, that was interesting in itself, we cam to another sandy spit beach area. Ahead of us we could see a long shallow inlet of the atypical clear turquoise water that is characteristic of the W.A. coast.
As we approached the water we could see a small dark shadow cruising around the shallows, which turned out to be a 1m juvenile reef shark. It was right in the shallows and only a couple of metres from where we stood. It was so shallow that its dorsal fin and tail were out of the water.
We followed the water’s edge for a way until it became beach again and were stunned to see dozens of baby sharks ranging in size from ½m to 1½m cruising around in the wash right on the beach line. We also came across a few sting rays about 1m across that only became noticeable if the waves washed off their sand camouflage.
It was something of an experience to be so close to so many baby sharks and rays. You could walk into the shallows with them but they were quite skittish and quickly moved away to a safe distance if you did so. There’s something weird about a shark nursery area being so close to the main swimming beach but it’s fair to say that the larger parents are all out hunting beyond the reef and it’s only the juveniles that are cruising around in the relative safety of the shallows behind the reef. To be honest, accidentally stepping on a sting ray would be far more dangerous that getting nibbled by a baby shark.