We went to snorkel Lakeside... a quiet and calm beach where there is a mix of coral and sea grass further out. Dugongs apparently frequent the area, although we didn't see any. The water was colder than we thought it would be, as the water we were wading in at Tulki Beach was pleasantly warm, like the beach at Broome. Tilda decided it was too cold and stayed out. Rory had “learned” to ride a boogie board at Town Beach in Exmouth the day before so he insisted on riding his boogie board, even though there were virtually no waves, and the water was on the cool side.
I
had bought him a blow up board with a clear panel in it last year and
I hoped he would be able to use it to look at the reef. The reef was
just a bit too far off shore to take him out to, especially as he
doesn't seem to want to stay on the board but prefers to jump on and
off. He had a great time in the shallows and I supervised him and
built sandcastles with Tilda while Greg snorkelled.
I had convinced
Tilda to come snorkelling with me (although in all honesty I was
pretty scared and wasn't sure I could even do it) by the time Greg
came out. Tilda and I got rigged up and headed out towards the first
patch of reef, about 10m off shore but her snorkel got filled with
water and with no blow valve and in the deeper water she got a
bit spooked, so we headed back to shore. I had caught a glimpse of a Banded Humbug and the first piece of coral just as that happened, so
decided I would get her safely to shore then head back out. Once
Tilda had cleared her snorkel she wanted to give it another try. As
she's never snorkelled before, except as a practice in a pool or very
shallow and calm water, she was doing her best. As we got the reef we
hit a very, very cold patch of water and Tilda decided she didn't
want to snorkel. I don't blame her and in all honesty, the water was
a little bit turbid (only a little bit of sand really) and I was
starting to feel quite spooked, so we went back to shore and let Greg
do some more snorkelling. I was proud of Tilda for trying as it is
quite scary the first time you snorkel in deep water, where you can't
see a long way away... and we hadn't reached the coral to be
distracted by its beauty.
The next morning we headed out in the canoe for a look around Tulki Beach. It was a bit windy so there was chop on the water, which had been perfectly calm the day before, so visibility wasn't great. The first animal we came across was a turtle, probably a Green Sea Turtle. It popped its head up and saw us, freaked out and swam away. We thought we'd paddle after it for a closer look but it took off.... and gosh those turtles are fast! I had no idea they could swim so fast but he was long gone in no time at all! We saw a big grey sting ray settled on the bottom. It was probably about 1.2m across the wing span. We also saw another smaller grey stingray and a blue spotted one. We watched 2-3 whales doing big tail slaps just beyond the breakers and that was a sight to see! It was amazing and awe inspiring the way they slapped their tales and fins and put on a great display. We saw quite a lot of turtles as we paddled around. One came up and it looked like it popped its head up deliberately to check us out, as it came up quite close, stared at us for a bit and then calmly went under and swam away.
In the afternoon we went to snorkel the Oyster Stacks as you can only do this at high tides over 1.2m and the tide was 1.22m – the last day for snorkelling there while we were staying at the NP. The Oyster Stacks aren't little kid friendly, and when we were there, there was quite a choppy swell, coupled with increasing winds. The “beach” is sharp rocks and the entry requires climbing over rocks with small waves breaking over them. Rory and Tilda played on the rocks, and I have to give credit to their good imaginations as it kept them entertained while Greg and I took turns snorkelling. The Oyster Stacks are one of the most popular spots for snorkelling as you are on the reef almost the minute you set foot in the water. As you snorkel towards the coral you pass over a sandy bottom which is covered with sea cucumbers, sea stars and a multitude of fish are swimming right there. There were all sorts of reef fish, and any thought of the cold water disappeared the minute you saw the corals and fish. The colours of the fish are amazing and it is absolutely fantastic to be able to walk straight off the shore and snorkel at a reef with such a diverse population of fish and corals. I saw a clam in amongst it all and a host of fish that I couldn't identify as they were hiding in nooks and crannies. I saw probably 30-40 different species of fish. It was so amazing and beautiful! The coral isn't as brightly coloured as the Great Barrier Reef, as the water isn't tropical year round, so most of the coral is brown in colour except for blue tipped Staghorn coral, but it is beautiful nonetheless. We took photos using Tilda's underwater camera, so I'll let that show some of the things we saw, even though they are not great photos as the day was overcast so the light wasn't bright enough to really pick up all the vibrant colours.
This little guy seriously kept photo bombing me - everywhere I turned he was nearby looking at me and the camera!
We also got to see lots of whales at play beyond the breaking waves. At one point I looked up from playing with Rory to see the hugest splash and a tiny bit of whale disappear back under the water. I would have loved to see the whale breach that created that splash! It would have been beyond amazing I think.
We met a lovely German family staying at our campground. It was great to talk to them because it is always nice to meet other travellers and hear their stories and because they have done many of the off road journeys that we are interested I but haven't been able to do, like the Simpson Desert and Gibb River Road. They went to Windjana Gorge and Tunnel Creek; two of the things I wanted to do but we didn't because we were all so sick. They have a 13 year old boy and he, Tilda and Rory all played together in the sand dunes and had lots of fun. We let them borrow the canoe and go out for a paddle while we were wading in the shallows to see the reef sharks again. They got lucky... they had a pod of dolphins come up very close to the canoe and got to paddle along near them for a while! How amazing is that? I know dolphins are common in Port Stephens and we see them a lot but I was so pleased for them to have that experience as they don't have dolphins near Germany.
On our third day we went to Turquoise Bay. Turquoise Bay is simply beautiful but the wind was quite strong and it wasn't particularly pleasant at the beach. The kids played happily in the shallows of the sandy beach while Greg did some snorkelling. He snorkelled the drift. This is where a south-north current pulls you over the coral so you don't even have to swim, but you do have to get out of the water before the sandspit or the rip current takes you out towards the outer reef. He said it was very pretty, with lots to see, but he felt like he was in a washing machine. As I am still getting over my fear from the Coffin Ray, and the fact that there was only one person braving the wind and chop to snorkel there, I gave it a miss. While I was disappointed in myself for not overcoming my fear, I had to trust my confidence in myself and it is still a bit shaken so even though I could have gotten in the water, I doubt I would have enjoyed it.
The sunsets over the ocean continue to amaze... our second night was particularly spectacular as there were lots of clouds to turn pink.
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