Perth to Kangaroo Island

June 14-15

On our way to Kangaroo Island in Southern Australia we once again overnighted in Perth.  This time we had an opportunity to get out and explore a small part of this WA capital city on foot.  Our hotel was one block from the Swan river and about a 40 minute walk to Kings Park and Botanical Gardens that overlooks the central business district.

Huge grassy park running alongside the river

Boys resting after a race across the grass

Waiting for mom to make it up the 242 steps of Jacob's Ladder-
an exercise loop on the way to Kings Park

We made it to the lookout-
what a great view!

Perth's ANZAC War Memorial 

We have no idea what this building is but liked the lights and the kangaroo sculptures

Not many fast food options in AU but Ross got his burger & "chips" fix at the airport

Whale Shark Swim

Friday, June 12

The western coast of Australia is one of the few places in the world that the migration of the mysterious whale shark is somewhat predictable. This largest fish in the ocean comes up from the middle depths of the sea to feed on the abundance of krill due to the coral spawning along the Ningaloo reef between the months of April and July.  We dedicated one full day to trying to come upon these gentle giants and swim alongside them on their way to breeding grounds further north.

We were excited and nervous not really knowing what to expect but Jimmy our skipper and the crew lightened the mood and put us at ease right away.  Soon after boarding, we knew the day would be fun and we would be well taken care of even if the whale sharks were scarce.

The well-honed operation went like this:  a spotter plane went up to guide the skipper while the crew educated and instructed us about the sharks and the swim and we donned stinger proof wetsuits, masks & snorkels.  Separated into two groups we waited for the call that a fish had been sighted.

Jimmy warned us that occasionally they would have to travel an hour's worth of nautical miles before catching up with a whale shark...
We were very fortunate and the call came in less than 10 minutes when we were about 7-10 miles offshore--- the action begins!!!

Each group then "loaded" on the back deck of the boat and at our turn with the call "Everybody in!" we slid into the 250-300 ft. deep water, lined up with our crew guide then put our faces down.  As soon as the giant's pectoral fin passed we began to swim (fairly quickly) along with him.
It truly seemed surreal to be in the water and swimming with this magnificent sea creature that is almost the size of a bus!

For a full 2 hours we were dropped in the water 9 different times to swim with 5 different whale sharks (a couple of them twice)-What a thrill!!

Almost ready to get in the water and swim-
just need to geared up 

Diving to see what's down under and to make sure all gear is up to snuff

Large school of fish

All Good!!

An octopus swimming around (photo by Nash)

Ready for sharks! 

Whale Shark #1

Whale shark #2

Waiting for the boat to come back around & pick us up for another go

Whale shark #3

Family photo:
(L to R-Nash, Matt, Kelly, Ross)

Whale shark #4

Whale Shark #5 (Nash in the foreground)

Practicing a trick that Frankie taught 

Frankie-expert crewman, master diver, & super swimmer!
He made sure that we were all safe in the water and that the boys had a great view of the big fish. 

Relaxing after a full day's work

View of the whale shark from the deck

Ross celebrated with his new "usual" drink-
a Cranberry cordial flavored water 

Goodbye Sal Salis & Ningaloo Reef...
Fantabulous!

Ningaloo Reef- Sal Salis

June 10-14

After our "tiniest plane" deposited us safely back to Darwin, we flew to Western Australia and spent the night in Perth before heading to the northwestern coastal town of Exmouth. From here we travelled to another remote camp literally steps away from the Ningaloo Reef.  This is another long anticipated portion of our trip because of the opportunity to snorkel in the Indian Ocean and a chance to swim with the biggest fish in sea-the whale shark!
I hesitate to say this because we have seen beautiful places and have had fantastic experiences ( I have typed, deleted and retyped this sentence multiples times) but....
maybe because of my childhood days of tent camping or the hint of similarity to a tented camp the four of us stayed in before or because I love the sound of the ocean at night and birds in the morning...
For me, our time here, in this area, this experience and in these accommodations may be my top.  I realize we are not at the end just yet and I reserve the right to revise this statement in the future but Sal Salis & the Ningaloo Coast is a very special place on earth.

The weather and conditions could not have been better- warm but not too hot, cloudless skies, gentle breezes, gorgeous sunsets, literally millions of stars and the milky way viewable in the night sky, no mozzies, no crocodiles, delicious food, good company and a soft bed...hmmm...

To steal the word used by of one of my favorite musicians- "FANTABULOUS"!!

Our tents on the beach

Footie on the beach before dinner

Ample time to lounge in the hammock

A beautiful sunset every night

Ritual card game and canapés before the communal lodge dinner-
*each night Chef Lou prepared a 3-course meal and the whole camp ate together

Short walk to Nursery Bay for a drift snorkel-
*photos below are also from Coral Gardens  & Turtle Holes snorkels*

It was very exciting to explore a new reef-  We saw some familiar as well as some new sea creatures. 

Rock lobster

In snorkel gear again but on the opposite side of the continent!

Blue Linkia sea star

Fish hiding in the coral

I just love these clams

Colorful puffer fish

Nash doing a flip

We swam with this green sea turtle for a while-
He kept circling back to play

Black tip reef shark

We also encountered land animals that we had not yet seen along with some unique to WA. (Not pictured are the echidna found right outside our tents & the emus that ran along side the road.)

Wallaroos at dusk

Cape Range National Park

Walk to Pilgonamon Gorge-
to hunt for wallabies

The endangered Black-footed Rock Wallaby-
a mom & her joey

There are only about 300 of these cute little guys left in this region-
Our guide Will challenged the boys to beat the sighting record of 23 spotted during one walk with a prize of extra dessert...  the new record is 32!! The boys revelled in their extra ice-cream.

Come on & have a sit with me!

NEXT UP: WHALE SHARK DAY