21st October
We have had a wonderful week at Cape Range National Park, snorkelling every day on Ningaloo Reef. The water here is the most beautiful turquoise and you can snorkel straight off the beach.
Our campsite at Kurrajong Camp was nestled in behind the sand dunes.
We had a stunning beach and beautiful snorkelling just 50 meters from our doorstep. Just out the front we saw a big white tip reef shark, sting rays, eels, big pelagic fish and beautiful reef fish. My favourite was a lovely old turtle who we saw a few times. He had so much moss growing on his flippers the colourful reef fish swam beside him eating it from him.
There were lots of other bays and beaches to explore.
Oyster Stacks just north of us had fabulous snorkelling and it was a nice easy drift just metres from the shore. The highlight here was the massive schools of huge Trevally and other pelagic fish. We also saw a couple of little black tip reef sharks and a lovely Wobbegong.
Another couple of kilometres north was Turquoise Bay – a beautiful white sandy beach with water the colour of its name. It was great for swimming and there was sheltered snorkelling in the bay with clown fish and other pretty reef fish. The other side of the bay had a good drift snorkel with lots of pelagic fish and a huge sting ray.
Just to the south of us Osprey Bay was very pretty and had a lovely sandy beach on one side. The snorkelling here was on sand rather than reef so not so colourful but the kids liked it because they saw a turtle. We had friends staying here so had a few afternoons with them watching the sunset.
The National Park itself is very beautiful, with the ranges virtually meeting the sand dunes. There are also a few gorges and rivers within the park. The colours are pretty, especially in the afternoon light.
There are plenty of kangaroos and wallabies around. With not much shade, they use tables, water tanks – or our caravan – to hide from the heat of the day.
We got to see our first echidna in the wild which was pretty cool. I actually saw two. The first in the day when I was walking. The other was on the road at night. Much rarer to see than I would have thought!!
Sunsets at our place were divine sitting up on top of the dunes, although a little chilly by the seaside, especially after being in the sun all day.
We are all sun-kissed and relaxed after our week here.
The Travelling Dixons 