JUne Solstice: Exmouth, Ningaloo, Whale Sharks, success

From here on out, the trip is a success. We got what we came for. 

We arrived in Exmouth yesterday after a stately drive from Carnarvon on Saturday, via Bullara Station whee we tried its 'famous' scones. I will suggest that they are famous only because no one else around is doing scones at a cattle station on a convenient lunch stop to Exmouth because in reality they were pretty ordinary scones. The pies were sensational, but you can get pies anywhere. 

We somewhat collapsed after checking in and did nothing much with the afternoon other than tour the town. It's effectively the support town for a US Military Communications Base built in the 60s, and it looks like one. The town now survives on tourism and that's fine. There are moves to build an export terminal in the gulf (Eastern) side of the peninsula, and the locals do not like it. They like it slightly daggy, but very functional, and I don't blame them. I like the people here. 

The true wonder of the area is the fringe reef on the western side of the peninsula, as we discovered today. We saw 3 different whale sharks, one of which was 8 meters long, which is about three quarters the length of an Adelaide bus. The other two were a meter or so smaller and swam less quickly, so we were able to keep up with the a bit better. The tour operators drop you into the water in lines of 8 to 10 people and then you remain in line and watch while the creature swims past you, just a few meters below the surface of the water. They tend to swim in a straight line because they can't steer very well. You can try to swim after them if you like but they get away from you after about 90 seconds. You pay a lot for those 90 seconds. The tours are not cheap, but, as the boat crew keep reminding you, you are swimming alongside the world's biggest fish, and it really is pretty amazing. The creatures basically ignore you, and its your job to get out of their way otherwise they can swim right at you. On the first jump of the boat, this is exactly what happened to me. I ended up with the toothless mouth of the 8 meter whale shark about 1.5 meters from me and I had to back away quickly so I didn't run into the poor thing. They are totally harmless. Their most common cause of death globally is boat strikes, which is sad. I rather like their slow-moving, straight-line, vacuum-feeding approach to life. 

We also saw Humpback Whales, including a tiny calf which was only the size of our hire care, and yellow bellied sea snakes, and dolphins, and LMK saw a manta ray, which I missed because I had had enough shivering excitement by then. (It was a tad cold). But my reward for my early exit was to spot a Wilson's Storm Petrel, one of the smallest of all pelagic birds, instantly recognisable for being about as big as a sparrow, but, miles out to sea. 

Great day. We're back at the ranch now celebrating by vegging out on the internet and preparing for scuba diving tomorrow. The plan to come here and see whale sharks has worked, even it if did take 6 years longer than expected. Happy 50th birthday to me, 6 years late, and, happy Winter Solstice to all. 

In other news I hit 250 birds today. The 250th spot was something called a Flesh-Footed Shearwater, which is not a bird to write home about, but they all count. 

PS: neither of us have functional cameras at this point so I have used the photos from the Kings Whale Shark Company.