Here we go again, this time from Exmouth! Hope everyone is keeping up, the last blog says that the location of Coral Bay is in the Northern Territory but its actually just South of Exmouth. Damn computers!

Day 58:

We were keen to get the whole Whale Shark thing sorted so we managed to be on the road by 7.30. Thats impressive, trust me. It is cold at that time! Took us about 3 hours to get to Exmouth & we did some shopping to start with cos we were low on food & the ice was now sloshing about in the coolbox. On the way out of the shopping centre we noticed 'Exmouth Diving Centre' & took a look to see what they offered. Within 10 mins we booked to snorkel with the whale sharks once again, this time it was $20 more, but didnt care!

We checked into a campsite & sorted ourselves out ready for the big day! We looked at playing some mini golf but thought that £5 each was too steep. It was tiny.

We took the offer of free internet at the dive shop with every booking & updated the blog briefly & added a few pics on.

We went fishing once again at Bundegi Beach this time. Same results as the last 2 attempts lol. No surprises there. Did catch a rock each, mine was slightly bigger & put up a better fight!

Day59:

So today was a better start than at Coral Bay, we got the go ahead to take the boat out!! We were both a little pessimistic at this stage because we didnt notice that this dive shop has any sort of reputation in town, whereas a few of the others did.

We had our briefing on the bus & geared up once onboard the boat. We went for a snorkel on the reef to test the equipment & probably so the divemasters could check we were all competent. Berg saw a white tip reef shark & most of the other people did, but I missed it lol. Too busy 'Finding Nemo'. Ha, I did a funny. By the time we got back on the boat the spotter plane was in the air looking for Sharks for us to dive with.

Within 30 mins we found our first shark. Were told it was around 3.5 metres & it certainly looked it when you're stood on the boat!! We were in group 2, so group 1 jumped in & swam for about 5 mins with the shark & then we took over. It was unbelievable. To start with they drop you in the water right in the path of the shark. So you just have to swim aside quickly & then swim alongside it no closer than 3 metres. They are so gentle & slow, you barly have to kick to keep up so it's relaxing & just surreal. There is no way to describe it.

We had about 10 mins with the shark then we decided to move on. Within minutes of being back onboard, a HAMMERHEAD shark swam right up to the boat! It was about 7/8 feet long but not aggressive, just casually swam on by. It hit everyone then, that we had to get back in the water if we saw anymore whale sharks! You could see the tension.

We did see more, 4 more & we got to do 5 more dives with them. The biggest was 6m (20 feet) which only group 1 & me saw cos it was a fast one & left the rest of the group behind!! So glad I can swim, it was amazing to be that close to something that big & graceful & not have other peoples flippers in your gob or an elbow in the ribs every 2 seconds. When I got tired of keeping up, I was a little bit on my own in the middle of the ocean which was pretty scary. Anyone seen 'Open Water'?! Wasnt that bad but you get the gist.

The last shark we dove with actually chased Berg in a 360 degree circle, not with any intent or conviction but it is still a frightening sight, considering that even a baby could easily fit a whole human in its mouth with no worries!!

On the way back up the coast we stopped for a buffet lunch, which was superb, then the crew asked if we wanted to do some 'whale watching' or have another snorkel over the reef. Everyone was shattered by now so we went with the whale watching.

We saw loads of humpback whales less than 50 feet from the boat at times which is stunning. They were really playful as well, bashing the water with their tails over & over. Most people pay over $100 just to whale watch & we got that for nothing. In the end we got a great deal & saw far more than we could ever imagine. Best day yet!

We celebrated with a T-bone steak each & a 6 pack of cider!! Just to top it off!!

Day 61:

Today was a far cry from yesterday but productive & saw some more sites, so cant complain.

We did our crappy stuff first, laundry, shopping, blah blah then drove to the 'Cape Range National Park'. We were a bit disappointed that we couldnt get a campsite there as they were all fully booked but we still got to see some really awesome things during the day.

On the way through the park we noticed a couple taking pictures of something at the roadside, so we pulled over to have a closer look. It was a 'Echidna', like a hedgehog, but way bigger & cuter too!! We chatted to the couple from Perth while taking pics & headed to Turquoise Bay, they were going there too. It's supposed to have legendary snorkelling there, even better than the Great Barrier Reef some say. We cant compare just yet. But we will!!

It was sensational, just a snorkellers paradise. Saw everything but a shark I think!!

On the way back through to Exmouth we stopped at the Mandurah shipwreck, which was ok, something to see I guess. We stopped in Exmouth to cook but the BBQ was broke. So we drove 3 hours to Coral Bay & that BBQ was broke. So we carried on South to a roadside free campspot & cook up some grub there on the back of the van. We were starved by that point.