To finish off my mini adventure in Coral Bay I decided to head around the coast on my last day to check out the reef shark nursery. I had tried the previous day after my last post but it was really windy and the water was soooo choppy so I could see black shapes in the water but couldn't distinguish what they were. On my return trip it was a gorgeous day and I approached the area where I had seen the black shapes & I could definitely see that the black shapes were moving. As I watched I could see the odd fin pop out so I ditched my shoes and waded in to just above my knees and watched mesmerised as they moved gradually closer until a couple of them (I counted around 40 or 50 of them) swam a couple of meters away from me every now and again which was pretty flipping awesome. Shark nursery does make it sound like something man made but it is completely natural. There is a big natural sand bar so the adult sharks appear to leave the kids to play while they grow up before heading out onto the reef. I probably stood there for about 30/45 minutes just watching. It was really fascinating. Also had a couple of blue spotted rays swim past that were pretty small as far as rays were concerned (probably no longer than 50cm's from tip to tip) but certainly interesting looking creatures. Such a lovely place.
I then joined my new group to head up to Exmouth & then off to Karijini & I have to say - what a stunning group. They were just so friendly and welcoming. They all spent the following day in the Cape National Park while I did washing, got a floppy hat and all that boring malarky and we then headed out to the MAGNIFICENT Karijini National Park the next day.
I can't say the journey there was the most amazing experience as we had a couple of loo stops on the way at Dunny's. Anyone who has had an experience of these up in the baking heat will know what I am talking about when I say UUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH. How I never threw up from the 'aroma' is a miracle especially the second one that had been baking for a good couple of hours. OMG the stench was so bad BUT the good news is that I am still here which means I survived it :-)
We started off the following morning at the visitors centre where there was heaps of info on the aboriginal culture from the area, plants, animals etc. Really interesting. We then headed off into the heat (it was already pretty darn warm at 7.30am when we were having breakfast) to have our most magnificent experiences of the gorges of Karijini. When you are driving around to get to the gorges it doesn't look like much as the area is flatish, dryish & full of red dust but then you get to the gorges that are truly magnificent. The rock is a gorgeous red & very layered with lots of bits sticking out which makes them perfect for walking across and climbing up and down. We started off going down into the gorges, heading to the Circular Pools by which stage I was about to burst into flames from the walk, scrambling over the rocks & the heat. I was absolutely boiling BUT the freezing cold pool that we swam in was like a slice of heaven. We then headed back across to the Fortesque Falls which was not quite so cold for another dip, across to the Fern Pool and then back up a whole heap of rocky stairs (torturous for the unfit) to the bus to head back to our campsite for some lunch. We then walked to the Joffre Gorge in the afternoon for some more awesome sights which was a fair climb down on those jutting out rocks I mentioned (definitely not for those with height issues) & had yet another swim in another gorgeous freezing pool. Just amazing. We then headed back to the campsite for a shower, dinner, a chat and a good nights sleep in our swags. The stars were truly something to behold. As there is minimal light in the park the stars were out in force. Absolutely stunning.
On day 2 we went back into the gorges again to get nice and sweaty and dirty while we climbed around to Kermits Pool via the Spider Walk which I have to say was really scary at one point when it felt like my legs & arms were stretched as far out as they could go and then coming oooohhh so close to going slip sliding on the way back which gave me a tiny moment of panic but we all got there and back with no casualties and all in dry shoes feeling totally exhilirated. We then headed back up the killer 'stairs' for lunch & then on a nice longish walk back into the gorge to the handrail pool which I opted out of as I was concerned that I might slip and smack my knees on the rock which could have put a serious dent in my trip so I chose not to on this occasion (I met a Scottish girl at the hostel in Perth who had slipped on her way in and out and smacked her calves on the rocks which was probably not the best information to have). Chicken I know but I'm a cautious sort and prefer to take my time and be careful & safe rather than sorry. I will probably get more courageous as I go along.
Once back at the campsite I met my first huntsman spider although lucky for me he was bunched into the corner on the outside of the bathroom door and I noticed his furriness as I closed the door and decided not to investigate further. I mentioned it to 2 of my group who I passed on their way to the loo and they caught him in full hunting motion. I suspect he was scrunched up like that so that he was less conspicuous to the moth he had for dinner. They described the spider to our guide when they returned who confirmed that it was in fact a huntsman. Yucky yuck.
After a great nights sleep we left this magnificent 3.5 billion year old ancient place for our trip back to Perth via a sheep station where we had the pleasure of sleeping in our swags in a shearing shed. Now if that is not an authentic Aussie experience I don't know what is.
Magnificent, fantastic, awesome, stunning, amazing trip. Just loved it.
