Exmouth

This morning started off a bit slow after last night’s beers. We walked over to the bakery and picked up some breakfast and a smoothie before driving to the caravan park to rent wet suits for the day. From there we headed around the tip of the cape and onto the west coast. After about 60km we came to my favourite spot on earth – Turquoise Bay.

It was a bit windy and choppy at the bay but as we walked around to the drift snorkel area, it was a bit more protected. There were already quite a few people on the beach and in the water. Elyse was absolutely blown away by the colour of the water here and spent most of her time taking pictures as we walked along the beach. The three of us struggled into our wetsuits (see photo) and hit the water with our snorkels and fins. Thank god for the wetsuits because the water was freezing. We couldn’t believe that people were snorkeling without them.

Just a few steps into the water and we were surrounded by coral and fish. We snorkeled out further and saw schools of parrot fish and a ton of other aquatic life. Elyse even saw a shark and a small sting ray – we didn’t though. The further out we went, the choppier it became and after about an hour we decided to head back in. We stood around warming up before de-wetsuiting and lay on the beach soaking up the sun for a while.

As we left, the beach was packed with people – a good time to leave. We drove down the coast further to Mandu Mandu Gorge where we parked Bessie and packed some supplies before hiking up the gorge. The view from the top of the cliff on the way back was amazing as you could see all the way down to the water. We enjoyed our lunch with a beer and great views before heading back to Bessie.

We began the drive back to Exmouth and stopped at a spot with amazing huge white dunes for a last look at the coast as the sun got lower in the sky. It was beautiful lying on the pristine white sand looking out at the turquoise water.

Back in Exmouth we dropped off the wetsuits and went back to the hotel to shower and change before heading across the road to the bar again. This time we were early so we snagged a table under the gas heater and enjoyed our sparkling shiraz as the sun set. We all ordered fish for dinner which was amazing and sat drinking the night away and, believe it or not, playing some more Shithead. About 9 we called time and headed back to the hotel for our last night in Exmouth.

What a fantastic day out in one of the most beautiful places on earth.