Hello everyone
After my last blog I left Coral Bay and headed to Exmouth which was about 2 hours drive away. Once again the scenery between the two places was pretty barren. Exmouth is a little bit bigger than Coral Bay and is The place to swim with whale sharks, which are the biggest fish to inhabit our oceans.

First thing I did when I got there was sign up to a tour to swim with these creatures. Bit of a treat as it costs $360 per trip and you are not always guaranteed to see them. Stayed in a local backpackers where a friend who I had met in Singapore was also staying. She had recently been swimming with the whale sharks and had an amazing time even though a tiger shark also appeared in the water with them. Eek. I have heard mixed things about tiger sharks but either way would not like to take the risk.

It was a little rough on the sea the day I went out but I felt fine the entire day. We managed to swim with 3 whale sharks – the largest being around 6 meters long. It was a strange feeling jumping into the water and looking down and seeing this massive creature swimming towards you. In total we swam with whale sharks for around 36 minutes, which beats the industry average of 14 minutes. The last one I didn’t manage to see as it was just too quick for me to swim with and also battle against the swell. It was definitely a once in a life time experience. During one of our fun snorkels over some coral we also had a visit from a humpback whale. We saw them breach out of the water and I don’t think I will ever forget the size of the tale! They swam between us on the boat and I have never felt so small! Loved every moment of that day although I am still not a fan of deep water and just have to jump off the boat and not think about the evils lurking underneath.

I had a few more days in Exmouth before moving on to Broome and decided to hire a car with a few other girls at the backpackers and explore Cape Range National Park. I drove part of the trip, which was fun as I had never driven an automatic before. So strange not having to change gears all the time. On Monday I had an overnight bus to Broome. We first got a bus to a dirt track lay-by where we met another coach and jumped on. Majority of the 19 hour trip was through the night which helped pass the time and luckily it was not too busy and so had 2 seats to myself. Managed to sleep a little although the drive was a little bumpy especially when you hit a Kangaroo! They are so dangerous over hear esp at dawn or dusk as they just jump into the road out of nowhere. We had a pretty chirpy pair of drivers who put DVDs on for us to watch that also helped pass the time.

Arrived in Broome on Tuesday evening around 5:30pm. Been staying at the Kimberley Club which is a really nice backpackers although the mice tend to eat your food if you leave anything out over night. Apparently this is a problem everywhere. Had mixed feelings about Broome initially as you have to get used to seeing aboriginal people everywhere who are drinking and shouting at each other. They also ask you for cigarettes which when you don’t smoke causes a few issues. I didn’t feel safe walking around here on my own but luckily I knew quite a few people in the backpackers so was never really on my own. Been sharing my room with 5 guys which has been pretty good – mainly because you know they are not going to steal any of your stuff unless of course they have a fetish for women’s clothes! Backpacking certainly thickens your skin as you have to get used to random insults now and again for example I have been called German several times recently – apparently I even look German (whatever Germans look like!) also when I was having a wardrobe dilemma for a night out I asked the guys what I should wear and they said my dress looked like a tea cosy. I did not expect that at all! Hehe. All good fun though, but it also means you get threatened with being thrown in the pool every time you walk past!

There is a lovely beach here in Broome called Cable Beach and it just stretches for miles and miles. The temperature here has been around 33oc everyday, which has been really nice. Heading back to Perth today and as I couldn’t face 38 hours on a bus I decided to fly which only takes 2 hours! I am heading back to Perth mainly to find some work and to hopefully meet my old housemate in August to head south of Perth to explore the wine region:). Also going to look into doing some farm work as if you want your 2nd year visa you have to have done 3 months work in the outback i.e. farm work or volunteering. I have already been here a months and can’t quite believe how quickly it is going! So much still to see.

Hope all is good with everyone at home! xxx