Western Australia – the north bit

It’s better in the West

Post 1 of 6 – 1 May 2022

Why not was my thought when my friend Aditi, about to embark on a road-trip around Australia on her own, asked if I was interested to join her for a leg of the adventure. Why not? I reckon it’s a great question to help you make the most of opportunities and challenge your routine.

So here I am with Aditi in Exmouth WA relaxing in the shade after a swim in 27 degree water with salty skin and a belly full of fresh crab. Ah, holidays. They are what I’m made for!

Since she left Melbourne in early February, Aditi has travelled over 13,000kms across the south of Australia and up the west coast to Exmouth. If you are interested, Aditi has some awesome tales and photos on her blog – Wander Down Under. I will be travelling with Aditi for about 5 weeks which will take me to the top of WA and across to Darwin.

Exmouth is 1250km north of Perth and is home to about 2500 permanent residents. Locals estimate that in 2021 the population swelled to over 10,000 as a result of the WA border closure and Perth people not being able to do their usual winter trips to Bali and beyond. Visitor numbers are reportedly back to normal in 2022. Phew!

I ran into a couple of notable Australians in my first few days of holiday – Andrew Forrest popped into Exmouth airport on his private jet to collect some visitors and the WA Governor General, Kim Beazley, was in town to say hi. I couldn’t spot a celebrity if they were in front of me, but I can sniff out a politician or policy influencer anywhere – not a great skill, I admit.

Our Exmouth accommodation is amusing. It is a long thin fibro structure on steel pipe stilts which was likely built in the late 1960s for workers at the US Naval station about 20kms north of town. The fan in my room won’t turn off, the ensuite is the size of a broom cupboard, the windows are battened down perpetually ready for the next cyclone. Ah, I love Australia and its regional quirks. (Cyclone season runs from November to April so we have missed any of that drama fortunately).

Exmouth sits on the peninsula which is home to the Ningaloo Reef – a world heritage area. Up here the climate is subtropical which means snorkelling is potentially a daily activity. Emus have the right of way on the streets, while a gazillion Corellas rule the skies. The town is simple and friendly, the landscape is colourful and sparse, and the underwater world is busy and beautiful.

Ningaloo Reef runs 300 kms from Exmouth south to Carnarvon and is home to a huge range of wildlife. While snorkelling I followed an octopus as he trundled across the ocean floor, I meandered with some turtles as they snacked in the shallows on various tasties, and I was engulfed by a big ball of juvenile striped catfish as they hurried to their next destination. I was also fortunate to swim with whale sharks – the world’s biggest fish. It was nothing short of fantastic.

Next we are heading inland to Karijini National Park for a camping adventure which will no doubt involve significant amounts of red soil, mind-blowing scenery and a lot of kilometres.