Coral Coasting
We are more in-tune with colours than we ever remember being. The vibrancy of the red sand and cliffs in stark contrast against the greenery and blue sky. This is how I’ll remember Francois Peron National Park. We’ve seen flocks of green birds and in the waters of Coral Bay, green fish. Others that are neon blue, fluoro yellow, so silver, the darkest of reds, and the brightest of reds. Colours you never expect to see and sceneries that are constantly changing - purely amazing. The next one too, in a totally different way. We've been in crystal clear beach waters and murky artesian bore water spas at 40 degrees boiling Rio's cajoulies off and Johnny wondering how they make drill bits long enough to reach the 540m depth it comes from.
Marine Life
Rio has been enthralled by the marine life and animals – sharks, stingrays, an emu, an echidna – he says it was too fast to take a photo of it, like Sonic the Hedgehog. Our home schooling excursion to the Ocean Park Marina was such a welcome eye opener as a parent – watching your children as students learning and absorbing everything they are hearing. Only 20 minutes before our tour started the kids were running around like hyperactive crazy monkeys and I already felt sorry for the grey-nomads in our group who’d be subjected to them, but from the guide’s first words to her last, an hour later, they were captivated. Rio asking questions about where they live and what they eat. Massimo spitting back facts like if a flat-head stings you with it’s poisonous spikes, it’s anti-venom is on it’s stomach so rub it’s belly on you. Starfish spit out it’s stomach which encloses itself around food and then re-enters its body. And whilst many know that if it’s leg falls off, it grows another, but maybe you didn’t know that if that single leg is still healthy, it grows into whole new starfish. The sharks and stingrays were by far the standout attraction even more when they saw them for real in Coral Bay. We swam with a baby Manta Ray flapping it’s wings flying through the water. Scintillating.
Feeding frenzies and snorkeling
In Monkey Mia Rio was chosen to feed the dolphins. It’s like winning bingo. Only four people get to do it and only two dolphins get fed all in the name of conservation and encouraging them to find their own food. Jipped! In the good old days, everyone got a turn and fed as many as they could all eat. Luckily Johnny saw a pod of dolphins late afternoon engage in a feeding frenzy, clearly demonstrating they are indeed very capable of fending for themselves. We saw another feeding frenzy at 14 Mile Beach only half an hour after me snorkeling in the same waters as a shark going crazy over a school of fish. Rio had snorkeled and tumbled joyously through that school of baby mullet in only knee deep of water and although very capable swimmer going out to the reef with me, was scared of the deep, and after that shark, I was too. We loved snorkeling so much though that we went to Coral Bay to continue in safer, shallower waters. One stop on our trip we didn’t plan on doing, having been there and done that, but it never get’s old, every snorkel amongst fish is like the first, exhilarating time all over again.
Snagging sharks and octopus
That same shark we shared snorkeling waters with caught onto Johnny’s fishing line – a short thrill before it escaped and he missed out on reeling it all the way into shore and getting to dangle the 1.5m Bronze Whaler by the tale in victory. Victory came in another marine form instead. So much excitement comes from the prospect of catching something to eat. As soon as we’d arrived at The Ridge on 14 Mile Beach we saw a guy jigging for octopus. We wanted to catch one too. The sneaky suckers live in holes with a rock pulled over them so are very hard to spot and even more difficult to grab. They recede further with any attempt. The guy who had caught three explained how to kill them and turn their heads inside out to carry them in order to avoid their beak (who knew octopus had a beak to bite?!) all the while he kept peeling off the tentacles wrapped around his arm. So sticky and freaky, yet I was determined – and unsuccessful. Instead I played poppit with the suckers of his octopus tentacles. So gratifying. Being given a bucket of cockles in Monkey Mia brought back so much nostalgia of collecting them in my youth with my mum who was so full of excitement with each handful. That plate of pasta, cooked like my mum had taught me, was definitely a holiday highlight and then, on the very next day, John was successful in snagging not one, but two octopi and we got to char grill those babies – a gastronomical delight.
It’s funny, as much as I’m in awe of snorkeling and loving that feeling being surrounded by fish, I have the most burning desire to have a net to capture them all, or a spear gun to snag the biggest spangled emperor, that’s the greatest thrill and the anticipation of dinner that night. We are so happy and supportive of Massimo’s latest passion of fishing. He actually had a dream about his footy team being a fishing team now. He asks to go fishing every day, he’s so happy doing it and we’re so happy eating it after.
Bogs and bugs
It's all been happy days and with only two weeks into our trip we have only had to overcome two easy hurdles. At New Beach we bogged the caravan for the first time. I started shoveling, the manly man (self-titled) took over and proudly got us out in a couple of minutes. I chose the location based on the name, but the beach foreshore was a swamp and swarming in bugs after dark and when we left our caravan door open they got inside our caravan. Quick thinking Johnny had our Aldi special buys rip off Dyson hand vac at the ready and sucked them all up! We are totally pros at this camping thing!
