Autumn was upon us but you’d barely realise it up at Ningaloo, although the nights started to cool down the days were still beckoning to be explored and made the most of, and that is what we did as we ventured out for our first full 9 day ultimate Ningaloo trip.
After a couple of days spent to the south of Coral Bay at one of our favourite spots, Sandy Point, we started heading north on the outside of the reef under full sail, the lines were out in an attempt to catch something for lunch and It didn’t take long before our guest John had landed a nice Yellow fin tuna. Sashimi and fresh tuna steaks for lunch it will be then!
It was a glorious evening for a sunset sail in Batemans Bay and what better way to enjoy it than with some tasty sunset snacks and some cool West Australian white wine.
After a brief respite and tidy up of the boat on Day 4, we were off again and this time heading North towards Norwegian Bay. As we passed through Batemans Bay we were not disappointed by the wildlife. Turtles, Dugongs, Dolphins and our favourite, the Manta Ray were spotted. David & Irene’s first ever Manta Ray was a large black female Manta, a few scars near her tail didn’t stop here as she cruised backwards and forwards line feeding at the surface.
On our journey North we stayed the night at the “Bungles”, a site Luke had nick named because of the all the large coral bommies that seemed to pop up everywhere. Irene hadn’t had the fishing line in for long before she had caught a decent sized Sand Snapper, not that great eating though so this one was thrown back to fight another day.
North we continued and we made it to Point Cloates, an area quite infamous for a number of Western Australia’s shipwrecks prior to modern navigational equipment. Shore Thing was safe and sound though, in a perfectly selected anchorage whilst the crew got some sand beneath there toes as they went ashore to check out the view from atop some of the dunes that lay at the foot of the historic Point Cloates lighthouse.
The next day saw us cruise into Norwegian Bay and explore the ruins of the whaling station. Our personal mission this time was to try and locate the head stone of 3 Norwegian Whalers that died around 1914. Unfortunately though it still evades us and has probably been covered by dune encroachment.
That afternoon though we discovered a new snorkeling site that was teeming with life. It has been nicknamed “The Nursing Station” due to the 3 Tawny Nurse sharks that were discovered sleeping there. Not only were there tawny nurse sharks but also some other Reef Sharks and plenty of Turtles. Unfortunately though the turtles were quite shy and easily evaded our cameras as they shot off at a rate of knots!
Norwegian Bay was really at its best, crystal clear waters, wildlife galore and not another soul in sight. It is such a special privilege we have exploring these waters that time again, show us nature in an untouched state, this time we were graced by the presence of 2 adult dugongs and their young calf as they fed on the sea grass close to the anchorage of Shore Thing.
And so we started heading south again towards home and Coral Bay. As we cruised back through the Coral Gardens into port David’s response sums it all up. Asked how his 9 days had been, his answer “… I could do another 9 days right away!”
There you have it, 9 days isn’t even enough as you explore the Ningaloo Reef in style aboard Shore Thing!
Check out the website at www.sailningaloo.com.au to see when our next 9 day tour is departing.
