Swimming with Turtles at Exmouth
We had a wonderful time around Exmouth at the end of January. Our car rego was due, and after ringing all the places qualified to check a NSW car for its rego in the area, (we are one of the only states that need to be inspected before the rego can be paid) where we were working and trying to book the car in only to find that their inspectors were overseas, or they were booked through until April, or for some other reason, generally that their inspector was away for months. We finally, found a place at Exmouth 600km away that could see us just before our rego was due. After I finished stressing, we decided that this suited us as we had planned to go to Exmouth and the nearby Coral Bay on our way south.
We ended up deciding to stay at a spot right by the beach in the national park, Osprey Bay.
I'm so glad we decided to make that our base, the place was lovely, with a view of the water and easy access to the beach in front of us and mountain ranges behind us. The spots were distanced from other campers so that you couldn't really hear them and didn't feel as though they were right beside you. I had been worried as school holidays weren't over for another couple of days that the area may have been packed but instead everywhere we went there weren't many people. In fact we often had whatever beach we went to, to ourselves or with only a couple of others on the beach in the distance. The sand along the nearby coast was beautiful, it reminded me of the sands of the Whitsunday Islands off Queensland. It was fine white sand that contrasted beautifully with the turquoise blue of the calm waters.
As I said we based ourselves at Osprey Bay, we made the plan at the beginning to snorkel at four to five of the places we liked the look of and take two walks into the more mountainous interiors where there were amazing views of the gorges. Also to go to the Vlaming Head lighthouse and take some sunset photos there. We loved the snorkeling so much though that in the end we only drove to a lookout over one of the gorges, we did still make it to the lighthouse though for some sunset photos.
We still had time the first day to go for a swim in the late afternoon on our way to our campsite.
We went to Lakeside which apart from a fisherman who was packing up when we arrived was deserted. The wind was blowing and the water a little rough but it wasn't enough to really hinder our visibility. Just off the beach within 10 metres we were already seeing so many fish and corals under the water.
Everywhere we looked were different formations of coral and a multitude of different fish with colours and sizes varying until it was hard to know what to focus on.
No sooner had you focused on one scene than a new fish swam past and caught your attention or you'd drifted towards something else that drew the eye. Magpie was better than I at staying focused on what was there and staying in one spot for awhile before moving on whereas I seemed to flit from one thing to another like a pinball.
We were surprised to see reef sharks a couple of times just swimming casually past. Magpie at one point came up to me and said "I just saw a shark it was the scariest thing" and "the sharks with the black tips don't come after humans do they?"
I also saw a turtle in the distance and was very excited as it was closer and clearer than the one I'd seen at the Great Barrier Reef. We swam for a couple hours that afternoon before deciding that we'd swallowed enough salt and were getting cold. We arrived at our campsite with the sunset and set up camp in the fading light before going to sleep early ready for a full day tomorrow.
I woke up before sunrise the next day and enjoyed the quiet morning before Magpie stirred and we set off early for a day of snorkeling. Our first destination was Turquoise Bay. Said to be one of the best places to snorkel in Australia it was amazing.
We walked along the beach for quite a way before entering the water and drifting with the current to see everything around us, the recommended way to take in that part of the bay. The current definitely pulled you along but it wasn't so strong you couldn't stay in place or swim against it if you saw something you wanted to see more of. In fact at times I wasn't sure it was moving me at all until I swam against the current.
The water was clearer than the previous day but that could have been because the sea was also calmer as was the wind. There was even more to see at Turquoise Bay than there had been at Lakeside, as fish weaved in and out among the coral formations my eyes and camera darted to follow them.
All along the sea floor you could see sea cucumbers keeping the sand that white golden colour that delights the eyes.
In truth anywhere you turned you'd see colours, shapes and formations to delight the eye. A few fish pecking at the coral here, a school of fish swimming past there, interesting coral formations everywhere.
Some of the fish were hard to see as they had amazing shades of colours that merged with the background behind them. The hardest ones to see were the ones that blended in with the sand.
Magpie and I made our way down the Bay and when we got closer to the more dangerous currents we chatted as we waded out of the water of the things we'd seen. It was as we were nearly out of the water that we noticed some nearby sharks just swimming in the shallow water. Quickly pulling our cameras out again we started snapping photos afraid they'd soon be back in deeper water. Instead they stayed close for over ten mintues, two black tipped sharks swimming in the warm shallow water while we took photos.
It was when we had packed up and were heading along the beach that we had another exciting encounter. Just as we were walking by, a bloke called out to us and said that just off shore where we could see some other snorkelers they had found a Hawksbill Turtle who'd wedged herself in the reef. We jumped back in the water to take a look. There we found a turtle right where he'd said and we loved looking at her. As we were watching, and taking more photos, passing my old camera back and forth as the only one with a working battery, she moved and came up to take some air before making her way back to the ocean floor. You would think from the somewhat awkward looking shape that she'd be clumsy but instead she just glided through the water, taking off from the bottom in a glide to the surface, taking a breath of fresh air and heading back down again with smooth powerful strokes of her flippers. Not wanting to disturb the turtle further we moved away soon afterwards feeling thrilled that we'd got to have a proper look at a turtle and not just a glimpse as it swam by. Not only that but from the definite beak on the turtle we were sure the man on the beach was right and it was a Hawksbill which are critically endangered.
Feeling like we had just had a once in a lifetime experience we moved onto the next spot where we had lunch and waited for the tide to come up more. Oyster Stacks our next destination is so shallow that it can only be snorkeled at around high tide. After seeing the turtle Oyster Stacks had to be amazing to keep our attention and it was. Although all the beaches we swam from were close by each other and we were snorkeling on the Ningaloo Reef system every time we went in the water it was different.
In some ways it's hard to say just how the views before us and the feel of the water and currents differed. Each snorkeling spot had a palpable distinct feel to it. All through the time we were at Exmouth Magpie and I kept debating which snorkeling spot we liked the best.
Of the three we'd been to so far; Lakeside with its wildness and secluded beach,
Turquoise Bay with its continual changes and current,
now Oyster Stacks with peaceful shallow waters it was hard to decide.
Oyster Stacks reminded us a little of the last snorkeling site we'd been to at the Great Barrier Reef. The shallow water provided the same clear views of the sandy bottom broken up by colourful corals. The coral shapes mostly looked like boulders, tangles of bushes with no leaves just the sticks and round dinner plates.
We were tired by the time we headed back to our campsite but while Magpie rested in our campsite I went for my final swim of the day at Osprey Bay, the bay we were camped beside. I was looking forward to hopefully spotting another turtle or if I was really lucky a dolphin or dugong which I'd read had been spotted in Osprey Bay before. I swam out straight from the shore into the middle of the bay. There was no real coral as it was mostly seagrass beneath me.
There were a lot of sea cucumbers, it seemed that wherever I looked I could see at least one sea cucumber, sometimes as many as five within two square metres. I had gone rather far out and was close to giving up as I'd seen nothing but seagrass and some fish that I wasn't really interested in after the multitude I'd seen that day. With a sigh I turned back for shore when I was surprised by a massive turtle nearby.
At least three times the size of the other turtle I'd seen previously that day. She ignored me as I swam around her, snacking on the seagrass that makes up part of her diet, going up to take a breath, giving me no notice. I left her in peace after awhile, heading to shore again ready to tell Magpie all about it when I came across another large turtle of a similar size on my path. Once again I spent some time beside her feeling truly lucky to have seen two turtles in the space of 5 minutes.
When I reached the campsite I was surprised to see someone talking to Magpie, she was there to check our booking. After pulling up our booking confirmation, I burst out with "I just saw two massive turtles" a common sight in the bay I was assured.
Wanting to see some of the photos we'd taken today I pulled out the laptop and began transferring them across to our hard drive. I moved all mine across and as I was deleting them from the SD card remarked to Magpie that I like double checking that they've all copied properly before deleting them. Then grabbing Magpie's SD card began copying them across. As the first lot transferred, just some old ones from weeks before of a sunset I started looking through the photos she'd taken that day looking for the turtle photos. I was amazed by some of the photos I passed in my search and called out to Magpie that she had some good shots, interested in how many she'd taken I took a look at the file information and informed Magpie that she'd taken over one thousand four hundred photos. I found the turtle photos and spent awhile admiring them. I tried to show Magpie three of the particularly good ones taken as the turtle had neared the surface for a breath of air, however the sunlight glared off the screen so she couldn't see.
I looked for awhile longer getting ready to give the laptop to Magpie so she could take a look. I deleted the photos off the SD card, went to pull up the best turtle photo and pass the laptop to Magpie and cried out "NO! Magpie I think I just deleted all your photos" after searching for some time I came to the conclusion that the photos were totally gone. With just one press of the delete button I'd deleted all the photos Magpie had taken that day and the previous one. I was devastated. In fact Magpie took it better than I did, philosophically saying that at least it had happened on the first full day we were there and she'd be able to take more tomorrow. She'd had my camera for the shark photos and that as she hadn't looked at how any of the photos had turned out she wasn't particularly attached to any but the turtle photos of which I was the most devastated to lose as well, especially as I'd seen those turtle photos and they looked amazing. There was nothing to be done however except I have made a resolution to not just double check but triple check before I delete anymore photos.
We went to the Vlaming Head lighthouse with it's 360° views to watch the sunset. I was surprised to have some phone reception there and checked my emails for one from the mechanic to finalise our rego. It had come through but after having difficulties paying the rego online we decided to wait for the morning when I could call NSW. I can't say I saw all of the sunset from that windy hill but the views were great even if the sunset was nothing extraordinary.
We went to a beach nearby where turtles come to lay their eggs and waited for awhile to see if we could spot one coming out of the water. After waiting for awhile I convinced Magpie to give up it was cold and windy and even if a turtle was moving up the beach we'd be unable to see it as we had seen some other people settle nearby to also keep watch and we couldn't see them let alone a tiny turtle in the dark.
I woke up the next morning well before sunrise at four in the morning after trying in vain to get back to sleep I moved out of the tent and began my morning. I enjoyed the quiet of the morning before anybody else was astir. Our plan for the day was to pack in as many snorkel spots that we could. Our feet had hurt by the end of the day before from the flippers but we wanted to go back to all the places we'd been so far as well as the other side of Turquoise Bay where there wasn't any real current. Magpie had my new camera today so she had the ability to take clearer photos. Photos that I was determined not to delete. Our first destination was Lakeside, however we stopped off at the information centre that was nearby as they had phone reception around the building to finalise our rego. It was a relief to have the rego sorted as it was now the day it was due.
Lakeside was a bit different that morning than the first time we'd been. It could have been that it was calmer, also that it was early morning not late afternoon but the experience was distinctly changed. In some ways it felt like diving from a different beach. I was surprised when I swam past a small cluster of coral to glance back and spot a turtle wedged in between the coral.
She blended in well, with the sunlight patterns breaking up the coral and her shell in similar ways until she merged with what was around her unless you were looking from the right direction. I think she was a green turtle.
She was just laying there, resting her head on a smaller piece of coral, taking a bit of a break as some fish swam around her and cleaned her shell.
I tried to catch Magpies attention a few times to come take a look before she heard me from where she'd been taking photos of a school of fish.
Turquoise Bay was our next destination where we decided not to walk as far along the beach before getting in the water as we'd found the most numerous and interesting parts had been as we were getting out of the water the day before, near the beach access point which is just before the dangerous area where there are strong currents pulling towards a gap in the outside reef. We drifted with the current as on the day before, once more surprised by just how much action is packed into that part of the reef system.
After drinking some water and applying more sunscreen we were back in the water for a second look at life under the surface at Turquoise Bay. The second swim went much the same as the first with wonders in every direction. I swam a little further out this time so saw different vistas under me.
It was intriguing to see the difference swimming metres further out and the water only a little deeper can make in a change of corals. Large fish were seen close to shore but were more numerous further out. Magpie saw the biggest fish of the day saying that it was nearly as big as she is!
While walking out of the water I spied a snake nearby in the clear shallow water. I'm glad I didn't step on it. After looking it up I believe it is a banded sea krait.
We walked along the beach, taking in the gorgeous colours as we went, of the turquoise ocean meeting the fine white sand following the beach around the point to the other side of Turquoise Bay where we dived back into the water to see the still side of the bay. It was disappointing. After days of dazzling underwater scenes, colourful vistas with brilliant fish darting around. We were confronted with murky water broken up with small bits of dull coral half covered in sand and stringy bits of algae. Occasionally you'd notice a fish in the gloom but there was nothing like the superb displays we'd come to expect. We only swam until we'd covered enough ground to know the view wasn't going to magically improve before we headed back to shore agreeing that this spot was our least favourite.
Now that the tide was high enough we drove to Oyster Stacks. The shore at Oyster Stacks is rocky with barely any sand, however it wasn't a downside for us as we didn't really spend anytime on shore, quickly finding a spot away from others to leave our stuff, we were in the water. It was as stunning as the day before. With something going on in every direction.
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The shallow sandy bottom was perfectly visible as sunlight filtered through the calm waters, highlighting vibrant fish and corals as it played along the seabed.
We were starting to make noises of getting out of the water, you can only swim on a hot summer day for so long in salty water before you need to go back to the beach for water and to apply more sunscreen, when Magpie called me over. She had found another turtle. I have no idea how she spotted it as it was mostly under a large coral 'bush' with just is shell showing.
We were lucky to see her leave the "bush" of coral and swim to the surface for air a few times before she swam away. We left the water then feeling like nothing could top that sight in the moment.
Although we had been in the water more than the previous day we still had one more spot to go to. The bay by our campsite Osprey Bay. We went straight to the water, not wanting to set up camp and feel too tired to go swimming again.
However as the water was only a hundred metres away we left our water in the car and just took our snorkeling gear with us to the water. We were putting our face masks on when Magpie said "that's a turtle floating by".
Sure enough a turtle was just lazing along the surface a couple of metres from us as we were preparing to jump in.
We followed the turtle along for awhile watching as it ate grass and swam up for air.
We left it alone after awhile not wanting to disturb it too much.
After such an exciting start I was prepared to see turtles everywhere I looked. However we didn't really see much as we swam out to the middle of the bay. Osprey Bay is mostly sandy with seagrass on the ocean floor perfect habitats for turtles but without much coral to lend interest to the seascape when they are proving elusive.
We swam to the left of the bay when we were far enough out and hadn't spotted anything interesting to draw our attention. I spied a few things in the distance but they were far enough away that I would just have a glimpse and think that I'd seen a shark or once a large turtle before they were gone again.
When I saw the turtle I told Magpie soon afterward, she said she hadn't seen it but had seen a shark swimming behind me for a bit but I hadn't turned around. It was as we reached a rocky ledge with coral growing around it that suddenly the scene changed.
Whereas before it was mostly seagrass with the occasional fish suddenly there were multiple fish and nooks and crannies where anything may be hiding.
It was here that I suddenly saw a turtle swimming by, not only that but as I looked for Magpie to show her, the turtle swam to the seafloor and wedged herself under some coral nearby.
I think our eyes must have adjusted more to the look of things underwater, we were getting quite good at spying turtles now.
As I took photos I noticed only metres away some manta rays laying on the sand. I didn't know what to look at or take photos of first, what if they swam away and I could only see them briefly.
Thankfully the manta rays never moved while we were there.
We spent a long time looking at the turtle and watching it as it went up for air
and then came back down wedging herself back in place.
After the exhausting day we'd had our evening was quiet as Magpie transferred all the photos of the day onto our hard drive checking twice and even calling me to take a look that they were copied over before deleting the photos on our SD cards ready for the next days adventure. We had snorkeled at five different spots that day and we were glad to go to bed on our last night at Exmouth.
Although we had had a full day the day before knowing that it was the last chance we'd have in awhile to see the reef we had plans to go to all our favourite places again for another quick look before we left the area. We started with a swim by our campsite at Osprey Bay.
When we got down to the water we were disappointed to find it very shallow. We hadn't considered that it would be low tide. We didn't enter the water where we were but instead walked to the sand point on the right where the water would be deeper and planned to swim from there to the other side.
We were about to enter the water when we saw dolphins fins in the water. It was amazing to think we'd be swimming in the same water as the dolphins. Unfortunately neither of us managed to get any photos. I also saw a shark just as I got into the water, I had no sight of him from the surface but as soon as I stuck my head under the water he was right in front of me. Once more Osprey Bay had given us excitement in the first minutes of being in the water. Several times I thought I saw a glimpse of a turtle and once I saw one as it pushed off from the bottom swimming away from me. Magpie and I followed a shark for a bit before I started following another one that had just crossed paths with the other shark.
There seemed to be plenty of activity happening this morning. It was soon after I'd given up on the shark that I spied a manta ray swimming by close to me. It was majestic. I would have thought a manta ray would be clumsy as it swam. It looked so unwieldy the day before laying on the seabed but as he swam past he just seemed to glide through the water.
After taking a few photos I called out to Magpie that he was coming her way and to look behind her. She didn't look immediately and I was worried that she'd miss the sight, she later on told me that she thought I was saying dolphins and was looking above the water for fins, however before the manta ray had gone past she'd put her head under the water and seen not far from her the manta ray smoothly swimming past.
We continued swimming across the bay, now heading for the reef ledge we'd seen the turtle at the day previous. As before the area was full of movement, this time there was a school of large fish they swam around us and even for a time with us.
There is something amazing about swimming with a school of fish.
There were small rays on the seabed near where we'd seen the larger manta rays the day before.
Some of them more covered in sand than others.
There were so many of them close to each other.
They had small black and white fish that seemed to be cleaning them.
We were cold by the time we got out of the water. Unlike yesterday it was overcast and the water was several degrees colder. Wanting to see everything again today we set off in rapid succession to Lakeside, Turquoise Bay and Oyster Stacks.
Maybe because of the cold, brought about by the overcast sky or simply because we'd become overloaded with exquisite sights, the seascape on this, our last day didn't seem as magnificent as the previous days.
It was still a gorgeous scene but we were driven rapidly out of the water by the cold spending half the time at each site than on previous days. I did still spy a turtle however it was wedged under a massive coral boulder that made it difficult to see.
We ate lunch up at the lighthouse wanting one last look at the breathtaking views from above of the coastline we'd been exploring. Although the views were beautiful the wind made it difficult to eat as blew in great gusts almost blowing your hat and food away.
We hadn't gone on the two walks we had planned because we loved the sea and its underwater life so much but we did drive nearly to the start of the walk to the Charles Knife Canyon Lookout where we saw a magnificent canyon landscape.
I'm nervous with heights and so often hid my face on the drive unable to look as it seemed we went very close to the edge on the windy drive to and from the lookout. Magpie however told me there was nothing to worry about.
The view was stunning but also heart-stopping as the cliff seemed to fall straight down in a sheer drop.
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