WILD WEST: Cocky emus and colourful coral
Ningaloo Reef or the Great Barrier Reef? It’s a no brainer...Western Australia is a magnet for twitchers (fanatical bird watchers) and without really looking we’ve seen quite a few feathered friends already on our travels up the Coral Coast.
Pretty Zebra finches, Eastern reef egrets plus a few eagles and kestrels hovering along the roadside, not to mention seabirds including hungry pelicans and noisy Pied oystercatchers. We even spotted a family of tawny frogmouths perched on a tree branch in a caravan park.
But we weren’t prepared for the ‘resident’ emus that scavenge for food among the campsites at the RAC Exmouth Cape Holiday Park, close to the northern end of the Ningaloo reef and our 'home' for a few days.
Like oversized seagulls, they’re unafraid of humans and will brazenly venture into annexes or caravans if the door’s open and they see something tempting like a loaf of bread. One even took a large peck at the New Age Wayfinder’s fold-down picnic table when they mistook some matches for food!
However, it’s the underwater delights of the Ningaloo Reef, not pesky emus, that draw thousands to the laidback coastal town of Exmouth over the warm winter period.
We’re a couple months’ late to swim with the migrating whale sharks, but there are plenty of other coral attractions on offer so we grab some snorkeling gear from one of the local shops and take the 30 minutes' drive around the point into the Cape Range National Park.
Over three days we enjoy some of the best shore-based reef snorkeling anywhere in the world, dropping into local hot spots including Lakeside, Oyster Stacks and the stunning Turquoise Bay.
All offer a wide variety of pretty fish and different coral types within metres of the shoreline, most within hand's reach when floating at high tide. We don’t spot any of the local manta rays or reef sharks but do get up close to a sea turtle, giant clams and a fast-moving school of spanish mackerel.
While we can’t definitively answer the age-old pub question of which is better, Ningaloo or the Great Barrier Reef, having snorkelled near Queensland's Lady Musgrave Island last year, we can say both are spectacular but there’s something special about accessing coral straight off the beach rather than spending an hour in a boat to get to them.
A bit hot for bushwalking in the national park, we settle on a brief stroll on the wheelchair friendly trail along Yardie Gorge, which follows the river through red rock cliffs to deliver some ripper coastline views.
We’re a bit envious of the caravanners that have snagged one of the hotly sought after beachside camping spots within the national park, but aren't complaining when we're enjoying the convenience of a concrete slab and ensuite powered site at the RAC park close to town, even if it is setting us back 110 bucks a night.
Besides, we’re only a few minutes drive from Bundegi Beach, which offers superb, sheltered swimming and refreshments at the Beach Shack café overlooking the white sand.
Exmouth offers a few other creature comforts, including two craft breweries (we’d highly recommend the ‘You’re Driving' IPA from Froth Craft!). We’d also recommend the fresh but pricey ‘Blue Lips’ fish and chips, the delicious coffee and sushi at the Bamboo cafe, and the authentic pizza and pasta at the bustling BBQFather family restaurant. There’s also two IGAs if you prefer 'home; cooking.
The 700km drive from Monkey Mia to Exmouth was broken up with stays at the very ‘classic’ BIG4 Plantation Park in Carnarvon, where we stocked up on supplies at the large Woollies. Disappointingly, we couldn't walk down Carnarvon’s 122-year-old One Mile Jetty after it was closed earlier this year, but we did enjoy the weekly Gascoyne Growers’ Markets in town, where we picked up some hand-made mango chilli relish and some super-fresh basil to whip up pesto pasta back at the caravan park.
Also well worth it is the 45 minute drive from Carnarvon out to the ‘Blowholes’, a spectacular sight at high tide as the ocean swells force water through the rocks to deliver big sprays up to 20 metres high.
Not far up the road, just past Quobba Station, is the other famous ‘Shell Beach’ along the Coral Coast. Unlike the one-shell beach near Denham though, this one is a treasure trove for shell collectors with countless brightly coloured shells, including many tiger-spotted cowries.
We also drop by the small coastal town of Coral Bay on the way through, which is also at full capacity thanks to school holidays but a great spot if you fancy walking straight from the caravan park into the coral reefs.
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