Lots to report since my last post..
On Sunday, Jen and Jason took me out for the day. First stop Kings Park in Perth which is a lovely place (bigger than New York's Central Park apparently) with great views back over the city. Then we drove on through the centre of Perth and down to Freemantle (or Freo as Aussies call it because they like to shorten most words) which is a town about 20km south of Perth on the coast. Freemantle is a very laid back place, quite hippyish, lots of street performers, markets, quirky shops, etc. We then took a scenic drive home along the coast past Cottesloe and Scarborough beaches. A lovely day out - thanks for having me to stay guys!
Monday - an early start and a 15 hour bus trip up north to Coral Bay and the Ningaloo Reef. Why so far? Well, I had been trying to decide what to do with my two weeks in WA given it is a vast place and I don't have much time. However, I have always wanted to see manta rays and you are pretty much guaranteed to see them on the Ningaloo Reef so that was my mind made up. I am so used to long travelling days now that 15 hours doesn't seem so bad to me anymore. Lots of time to gaze out of the window and contemplate life. It also gives you the opportunity to see more of a country. What I got from this bus trip is that WA is huge, mostly bush / desert and very few inhabitants. You could drive for miles and miles before you came across a very small settlement or perhaps just a roadhouse (kind of like a service station but on a much smaller scale). The other plus to heading north is that it is warmer since it is only spring time in Perth.
So I arrived in Coral Bay at 11.30pm where I am staying at the backpackers. Coral Bay is simply stunning - beautiful beaches stretching for miles on end and the colour of the water is just amazing - better than anything I came across in Africa. Backpacker life is good. After travelling on an organised trip through Africa, it is quite refreshing to be by myself fixing my own agenda and travel plans. Hostels have definitely gone upmarket since my student travelling days. They are now a lot cleaner and smarter with different dorm options. Since I'm not a student anymore, I really don't want to share a dorm room with lots of random strangers. Most places in Australia seem to offer 4, 6 and 12 bed dorm options so 4 bed dorms for only an extra $2 a night is the way to go... you meet more discerning travellers rather than students on their gap years!
Coral Bay is a tiny place. Basically just one road, a couple of shops, a dive centre, a few restaurants. Sunbathing, walking on the beach, swimming and snorkelling have been my main sources of entertainment for the past few days. Yesterday, I went out on a boat trip and got to snorkel with manta rays three times and do two scuba dives. Seeing mantas was fantastic!!! They are up to 4 metres across from wingtip to wingtip and just glide through the water so gracefully. On the first snorkel, we saw one but it was in quite deep water so it wasn't a clear view. The second time, the manta was more obliging and swam really near the surface so we really got to see the white underside of its belly clearly (they are black on top, white underneath). The spotter plane pilot then called the boat to say they had found four mantas swimming in very shallow water. It was fantastic because the water was crystal clear and only about 4 metres deep so we got to see them so close up and swim along with them for ages. The diving was also great later in the day - beautiful unspoilt coral. The Australian girl I am sharing a dorm with and dived with says that Ningaloo Reef is way better than the Great Barrier Reef, so there you go. If you are going to dive in Australia, come to Ningaloo - it is stunning. The diving does surpass anything I did in Africa and is up there with diving in the Caribbean.
Also worth mentioning is the shark nursery. A walk up the beach and there is a really shallow area where all the little reef sharks gather in schools together to capture fish. You literally just stand on the beach or in the water and the sharks are swimming around just metres away from you. There were about 10 there today but sometimes there are 50+. Very cool to watch!
So now I am playing a waiting game as my bus does not leave until 12.35am tonight - well tomorrow morning technically. Luckily the backpackers are nice enough to let us use their showers and facilities even though we officially checked out this morning. I am heading south to Denham, the most westerly town in WA. The bus journey is around 6 hours to the Overlander Roadhouse. The bus stopped here on the way north for the evening meal break. I have to say that the Overlander Roadhouse is grim - only revolting deep fried food on offer. So I am hoping that the tranfer vehicle onto Denham is ready and waiting because it would be a depressing place to have to spend any length of time! Two other people in my dorm are heading that way too though so at least we will be waiting around together. Plus travelling through the night saves a whole night's accommodation cost. Given Australia is very expensive, that is a plus. Food and drink is almost double UK prices. Even a dorm bed in a backpackers is 15-20 english pounds a night so money doesn't go far here. Probably a good thing I'm only in Australia for a month..
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