Our trip up to Exmouth.
Trip Start
Aug 31, 2005
1
58
60
Trip End
Feb 16, 2006
Exmouth,
Australia
Thursday, February 9, 2006
The downside was that most days started at 7am and we arrived at our final destination at about 6pm, at least 8 hours of this was spent on the big yellow bus (what with the big yellow boat in Fiji and now the big yellow bus, I hate yellow!). We did however get to watch Troy and Outbreak on Pete's (the guide) DVD which ran out of battery half way through so had to watch each over 2 days!
Day 1 - Perth to Kalbarri
So off we went on our first day, there were about 8 of us (7 girls and 1 boy) and our driver/tour guide Pete. Our first stop was the Pinnacles which were quite cool (they are made of limestone), I only expected to see a few but there were hundreds. Our next stop was a place called Hangover Bay (very pretty) where we had lunch before going for a swim, well 3 of us did the rest chickened out as it was too cold! Following that there was a long drive to our first hostel and to watch a beautiful sunset over the water. We all went out for dinner, fish and chips (and some alcohol) and the headed back to our room for an early night.
Day 2 - Kalbarri to Denham
Another early start and a short drive to the Z-bend gorges where some of us decided to go absailing (this was one thing I was upset not to have done in NZ).
01 The Pinnacles.
So we did 2 absails down the gorge which was fantastic fun, I actually was not as scared as I thought I would be but I did chicken out of going down front ways. After that we scrambled up rocks, in the boiling sun, to a lookout where we had a great view of the gorge. We then went to a gorge called The Loop where we walked to Natures Window where again we had a fantastic view of the gorge, very impressive. Our last sight of the day was the Stromatolites (things like coral that were the first things to produce oxygen apparently), have to say I wasn't very impressed. We finally made it to our hostel, had a quick swim, joined the other for steak, wedges and wine, then to bed for another early night.There are flies everywhere, they drove me mad!
Day 3 - Denham to Coral Bay
We started off the morning at Monkey Mia where dolphins choose to come up to the shore because they get fed. They only get fed a small amount so they still have to hunt for themselves. I was very lucky and got chosen to feed one of the dolphins so I held the fish up, the dolphin swam up, took it in her mouth and then decided she didn't want it! So even though I didn't actually feed her it was still a cool experience. There were also loads of pelicans which were huge. After that we had a quick stop at Shell Beach where we posed for photos and paddled! We also stopped at Ocean Beach a place that one man is building where he has fish etc and gives tours round. Quite impressive, we saw turtles, loads of cool fish (my favourite was a Long Tom), sharks and a very poisonous sea snake.
Following a very long journey we got to our hostel, Simona and I were separated from the rest, sob! But after a home cooked meal of pasta we joined the others in the bar and actually managed to stay there until closing (after 11pm).
02 Hangover Bay.
Day 4 - Coral Bay to Exmouth
Woken up nice and early by the worst snorer ever, ended up getting out of bed and reading outside! One girl got up and was pushing him in the back and he still snored away. That day we started off with a snorkel at Coral bay, to be honest I was not that impressed especially as after 5mins I felt a sting on my ankle, not long after that everyone else also got stung, apparently it was a Blue Bottle - a relation to the jelly fish! After the snorkel we had to say goodbye to 2 of the girls (Katie they were from Cambridge) as they were staying a few nights longer (the tour was a jump off, jump on tour so people could stop when they wanted which means we constantly had different people on the tour which was good). We headed to Exmouth, checked in (stayed at a caravan park) then went to Turqouise Bay. This bay was lovely, we went snorkelling and this time it was fantastic. We saw loads of gorgeous fish including a Long Tom and some fish were absolutely huge. After that we sunbathed for awhile before heading back. Dinner was in the pub with some more alcohol and another early night.
Day 5 and 6 - Exmouth to Perth
The next two days basically consisted of driving back to Perth so we spent the days on the bus with only stops to use the toilet and buy food/drink. Oh what fun.
So all in all I had a good time but am glad to be off the bus!
