Roadtrip and snorkelling time

Road trip!

Had my first self-cooked breakfast this morning - barbequed toast, scrambled eggs and poached mushrooms, washed down with water and a carton of custard for pudding :-) I then bought in some supplies (cooking utensils, plates, white fuel for my stove and a cool bag with ice to keep butter and eggs from cooking in the car.

Where the earth meets the sky...

Goodbyes said, blog updated and tourist information centre raided for maps, leaflets and tour company fliers, I was ready for my first drive in Western Australia. The road to Coral Bay from Exmouth required precisely two turns, but this didn't mean I didn't stop to have a look at the incredible scenery - far greener than would normally be expected at this time of year, due to the unseasonable rain they'd had in recent weeks. Looking at the roads, which dipped frequently to pass through dry river beds, one could see that it hadn't been raining that much...in fact the ground looked the usual Martian Dust red and the air was bone-dry.

Massive mushrooms?

Yet the lushness of the vegetation belied first perceptions. On closer inspection, this greenery was mostly composed of spinifex - one of the most hardy and indigestible plants on the planet. Dotted throughout the tussocks and tufts of this spiky, coarse grass, were great mounds that were very reminiscent of the fairy chimneys of Cappadoccia in Turkey. This time though it wasn't volcanoes and erosion that had shaped the eerie mounds but nothing other than good old termites. These structures seemed a little less planned and regimented than those of the magnetic termites as seen on TV...but nonetheless, created from spit and mud/dust, these cathedrals of insect architecture are a marvel of self-cooling efficiency.

Termite version of the Sydney Opera House?

With the trance blaring out of my bright orange Nissan Micra, I made short work of the 135km to Exmouth and rolled into the breezy little beach town in under an hour-and-a-half. I went straight to Ningaloo Reed diveshop to book my diving trips for tomorrow and then got myself fixed up with a campsite at the Bayview Resort. Facilities weren't quite as luxurious as at Ningaloo Resort in Exmouth...but beggars can't be choosers and the pitch had soft, grassy earth to poke my tent pegs into.
Once I'd taken a look at my maps and worked out how long I wanted to spend at my next destination in Karijini National Park (away to the east), I decided to go for a snorkel in the Ningaloo Bay Marine Park.
There was a stiff breeze and the water was cool enough to make me wish for a wetsuit...but this was soon forgotten as I floated along on a gentle current, wafting me inexorably back up the beach to the car. Unfortunately, a lot of the reef close to shore was dead - but there were encouraging signs of life from new corals and no shortage of fish and marine life. I saw several species of wrasse, the ubiquitous parrot fish in several varieties, gurnard, jack, trevalley, giant trevalley, a very cute, curious catfish, beautiful butterfly fish, a bumphead parrotfish and, the piece-de-resistance: a beautiful 2-metre long leopard moray eel! Happy Days.
I've just popped into the only internet cafe in town to update before they shut in 7 minutes. Depending on weather, tours and the need to move on, I'm not sure when I'll be able to update next, as I know for sure that I will have no internet access at Karijini. See you when I see you...:-)

THE ORANGE TRANCE BUBBLE - my Dutch relatives would be proud :-)