Day 114 - Ningaloo Station (Wed Aug 15th)

Today was another windy day, which consisted of whale and dolphin watching, swimming and chilling on the beach. 

  

The day was topped of with another awesome sunset which featured a huge splash from a whale breaching just as the sun dipped below the horizon!

Day 113 - Ningaloo (Tue Aug 14th)

We've been away for 16 weeks today, and we're still lovin it!

It was a typical WA windy day today, WA stands for (Windy Always). 

We drove along the beach to the other end of our bay, and did some exploring.

Taking a stroll along South Lefroy Bay

South Lefroy Bay

Then it was off over the dunes again to collect some water from the wells, Sienna enjoyed her special job.

We took a walk over the dunes to the coast, and came across a lone camper with the pick of the spots all to himself. Tucked away amongst the sand dunes. It was whilst we were standing here we were talking about coming back for a month or more, but this time with our boat and Damon's windsurfing gear. It's a special place that we will definitely be coming back too. Meanwhile the kids were having a ball running down the sand dunes.

What a top spot he has

Weeeeeeeeeeee

Day 112 - Ningaloo Station (Mon Aug 13th)

We woke to a cold, windy, overcast morning. 

But by 10am the sun came out and it fined up. We heard about some water wells over the sand dunes, which people go and collect water from, using their own pumps. So we went for a drive to check it out, and also the ruins of the whaling station at Norwegian Bay.

Some local residents

Over the hills and far away

Whaling Station Ruins

Whilst swimming in these crystal clear waters, we had a visit by some dolphins that were feeding on mullet. One came racing past us, right up to the shore, poor Sienna got a real fright, but it sure was amazing to see a dolphin so close!!

Camp Storey - Ningaloo Station

Our dolphin encounter inspired us to make our own 

Kickin back waiting for sunset

 

Ningaloo Station - Day 111 (Sun Aug 12th)

A magic day was had for our first full day at Ningaloo! It composed of whale watching, snorkeling, swimming and paddling about on the surf board.

We met some lucky families that have been camping here for 3 weeks, they were so chilled out!

Some people actually come and camp here for months, they get themselves well set up with wind generators and vege gardens. They bring their boats and live on fresh fish. We would love to come back for a month or so with our boat, and windsurfing gear etc. Maybe one day.......

The view looking south - from the breaky table

The beach right in front of our camp

Looking north - from camp

The day was topped of with a very special sunset, just as the sun dipped below the ocean, we saw a large whale spout in the exact spot the sun just disappeared from, it was just perfect!

Day 110 - Exmouth - Ningaloo Station (Sat Aug 11th)

After a quick trip into Exmouth to fill our water tanks at the visitor centre we were off on our way south to Ningaloo Station.

Ningaloo Station is a 50,000 hectare pastoral lease (sheep and goats) in North Western Australia which has been managed by the Lefroy family since 1934.  

http://www.ningaloostation.com.au/

They offer 5 different camping areas, in different bays on the station. Each campsite has direct beach access, and at some points the famous Ningaloo Reef is only meters from the beach. We had booked a site at South Lefroy Bay for 7 nights. On arrival to the station, we checked in at the Homestead, grabbed our map and key for our designated area. There are no facilities here, so people need to be fully self sufficient. We hired a chemical toilet for our stay @ $10/night. We were charged $20/person per week. They didn't charge for the kids, so it was only $40 for the week. Plus the chemical loo hire, and they require a $100 bond which we got back.

Our home for the next 7 nights was at the beach, our campsite was literally right on the beach! Awesome stuff, our stay at Ningaloo Station was one of the highlights of our entire trip!!

We experienced a very heavy dew on our first night, the condensation was dripping onto our faces the following morning. Some of the nights were really cool, and some days were stinking hot, so the thermal fly we put on the camper after that first night was fantastic!! Inside the camper was beautiful and cool during the heat of the day, and warm at night during those chilly nights. The dew stayed away once the fly was on too.

The flies were pretty bad during the day, and the bugs at night were a little annoying, but none of this put a dampner on our time here. 

Our Throne in the dunes