World Signia

We arrived here eight days ago and Elizabeth is as pleased as punch, running around with a smile on her face all day long. When you look at the video, you can hear her giggle to herself in delight at being here.

We had a great flight down from Melbourne to Hobart, followed by a quiet Easter Holiday dominated by our jet-lag, which made us get up around 03:00 or 04:00 local time. By now we manage to sleep until 08:00 in the mornings again, making the whole experience much more bearable. Until we arrived here the weather was hot and lots of sunshine. Ever since we have been here the weather has been changeable to say the least, some of the UK weather must have slipped into our suitcases. Needless to say that even when the weather is not so good in Tasmania, it is still better than good weather in the UK.

We went to all our favorite sites, Mt. Wellington, Mt. Nelson Signal Station Cafe, Bruny Island, Port Arthur and the Tasmanian Devil Park. The best day for me was the day on Bruny Island, as we saw an Echidna close up and I could take lots of photos of this young guy. He decided at one pint to walk straight between my legs, talk about not being worried about humans. You may be excused to think this is a kind of hedgehog, but it is not. This little mammal lays eggs and eats ants, by sticking it’s sticky tongue into ant-hills and getting the ants stuck.

Another favourite of mine must be the Tasmanian Devil, having watched the cartoons about them when I was a child, it is fun to watch how stereo typical the description of these little animals was. While they look fairly harmless on photos, seeing them alive leaves you in no doubt why they have been feared by travellers during the last few centuries. They have been know to attack ill or sleeping humans and kill them. These guys are certainly no pets. When we visited the park, it was mating season, which makes them even more aggressive. The photo will hopefully give you an idea about their attitude towards others, believe me they know how to use those teeth to devastating effect. Sadly their existence is threatened, due to a infection that is terminal and is spreading fast. Several measures are being taken to safeguard their survival.

This following week will be more about business, so we will only spend a few days travelling for pleasure, but I will report on the trips taken during the next week.

On our trek Down Under for some R&B (Relaxation & Business) we stopped over in the Lion City aka Singapore. It always amazes me how clean Singapore is and how friendly everybody is here, too.

We are certainly not doing this great city justice by using it as a stop-over for 24 hours, jet-lagged and tired we dragged ourself out of the Grand Hyatt Hotel and had a little sight-seeing trip around the city, for four hours before we had to get back to the Singapore Changi airport – and it all had started so well the night before.

We had arrived on Good-Friday at about 20:00 hours local at the hotel, after a 12.5 hours in a 747 from London. By 21:00 we sat in a great restaurant the StraitsLitchen, inside the hotel:

StraitsKitchen is a Singapore-inspired restaurant presenting the best of local cuisine in a contemporary market place setting. Indulge in an endless parade of hawker favourites from the halal Chinese, Malay and Indian open kitchens including Singapore Laksa, Nasi Goreng, Hainanese Chicken Rice and Roti Prata with Chicken Curry. The open kitchens take centrestage as chefs prepare all orders a la minute upon request. StraitsKitchen provides the ultimate Singaporean dining experience for guests who wish to savour local dishes in one seating. Celebrate local food and discover a uniquely Singaporean showcase of taste, sight and sound.

The food was spectacular – that is bad, very bad – as we did enjoy a large selection of different foods and that certainly did not help our plans for the following day. We wanted to get up at 10:00, get breakfast – a very small one – and then see the city.

Instead, we woke up at 05:00 hours, for the first time and only for an hour or so and then went back to sleep – big mistake. When we woke up it was 12:00 noon and now we were very late for our sightseeing plans. At least we did not have breakfast, making up for the StraitsKitchen experience.

We still managed to show Becky the Sri Mariamman Temple. We – Liz, Chris and I – had been in 2002 to this temple already and thought she would enjoy it as much as we had done, sadly some of it was closed for what looked like repair work. As luck would have it, right next door was a typical street market, so we spend an hour in there looking at the “products” everyone needs.

After that Liz was hell bent to get to the Jurong Bird Park, we only learned later that she had penguin withdraw symptoms and she had found out that they had an Antarctica exhibit. Never the less we had a mono-rail ride around the park, saw the penguins and I got some pictures at the same time. I would have liked to stay longer, you could easily spend four to six hours in there. The flamingos (top photo) are just so colorful and the number of species in the bird park is incredible.

Unfortunately we had to check in for our next flight to Hobart, via Melbourne in Australia. Our next bed would be in The Islington Hotel in Hobart, and we could not wait to get there soon enough. The Qantas service had been great including the lounges, but these flights really take it out on us.

[Los Angeles/USA] Thanks Qantas! Great flight all the way across the Pacific Ocean. The Video on Demand (I’ll ignore the slight hiccup) entertainment system kept us all happy for almost twelve and a half hours (with pauses to eat very good airline food). I can’t get over it I had a great flight! Going to Antarctica on an icebreaker has somehow cured me of my flying nerves. Well almost.

On landing in LA couldn’t see much due to fog/smog or something the locals call the marine layer(?). LA after the laid back Aussies was a real shock to the system. Glum and missing Tasmania (did I mention that before?) we arrived at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel (shown in the movie Pretty Woman) in Beverly Hills. Things started to look up when I spotted a stick thin chick with an enormous cleavage. Not only had I travelled through time (our flight left at 13.30 on 15th and we arrived in LA at 09.45 on 15th so I had two Tuesday 15ths) but people defy gravity here. We threw ourselves into bed to start the inevitable jet lag torture.

We decided to throw ourselves into sightseeing and ignore the jet lag. Went for a walk down Rodeo Drive luckily the shops were still closed. So we got a driver to show us the highlights of LA. We went all over Beverly Hills saw the Hollywood sign down to Hollywood Boulevard to see the stars in the pavement (my son’s favourite was Kermit the Frog) and where the Academy Awards are held. Bel Air, Brentwood, Westwood, Venice, Santa Monica (we had lunch here in the Lobster Restaurant and walked to the end of the pier), down town and finished up at the Dodgers Stadium to see a baseball game the LA Dodgers vs the St Louis Cardinals. We had great seats in the first row behind the dugout (thanks to Rick the Concierge at the Beverly Wilshire). The baseball was superb. My favourite player was Randy Wolf (no, that’s his name!). You could order food at your seat and I had a Dodger Dog with all the toppings (cheese, chilli, onion, mustard and ketchup). Baseball was new to me – but is in my opinion – essentially rounders for posers. Each hitter and pitcher has a different style and posture. Very entertaining. I think the price of the ticket was so expensive because they keep hitting the ball into the crowd and facial reconstruction surgery doesn’t come cheap (only kidding!)

But the absolute high point of the whole day was the tour of the celebrity residences. Or should I say a tour of the very high gates and hedges outside the celebrity residences. Here are the ones I can remember: Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, Nancy Reagan, Elizabeth Taylor, The Osbornes (apparently up for sale), Keanu Reeves (he wasn’t home as he is having some work done on the house – I got a peek of the inside of his garage (I’m still shaking with excitement or possibly laughter) and the hall (very “matrix” kind of place- I can see him strutting up and down in a full length leather jacket with shades in there), Nicholas Cage, Dr Phil (I don’t know who he is), The Beckhams (well their drive), The Playboy mansion (Huge Hefner + 3) and next door the ex and kids, Spiderman (Toby Maguire?), Jennifer Lopez, most of the cast of Friends, Paris Hilton (complete with paparazzi and 3 police cars), Leonardo di Caprio (lots of expensive cars on the drive – can’t he afford a garage?), Cher and Elton John have condominiums and finally Stella Mc Cartney’s shop.

Actually the real high point of the day was the “Broadway show” at a mens clothing store here in Beverly Hills. The guy in charge of the store was having a bad day and we couldn’t help overhear several shouted telephone conversations he was having. It was like Grace Brothers but in American. And Mr Humphries has put on weight!
Back to the Hotel for some well earned rest and people watching.

Tags: Beckham, Becks, Bel Air, Beverly Wilshire Hotel, Brentwood, Cher, Elizabeth Taylor, Elton John, Friends Cast, Hollywood Boulevard, Jennifer Lopez, Katie Holmes, Keanu Reeves, Kermit the Frog, LA, Lobster Restaurant, Los Angeles Dodgers, Nicolas Cage, Paris Hilton, Pretty Woman, Randy Wolf, Rodeo Drive, Spiderman, St. Louis Cardinals, St. Monica, Stella Mc Cartney, Sunset Boulevard, The Osbornes, Tom Cruise, Venice

[Sydney/Australia] The flight to Sydney was delayed due to fog in Melbourne, where the plane originated. But the flight was nice. I saw most of Tasmania from the air and we flew right over Flinders Island. The Bass Strait from the air looks like a spit of water and we were flying over Victoria in no time at all. I saw Canberra mapped out below then the Blue Mountains and down in to Sydney. A short flight only 1.5 hours.
We sat and had lunch over looking the harbour and Sydney Opera House. Watching all the comings and goings in the harbour was entertaining. But I moaned that it wasn’t the same as Tasmania.

A friend from our cruise to the Antarctica very kindly spent some time with us and took us to the zoo. It has been a long time since I enjoyed a visit to the zoo. Sydney zoo is wonderful and I don’t think I can remember a zoo so well organized and packed full of happy healthy looking animals. The bird display, I expect, is unequalled. The great apes are always popular with me as I can empathise. I was watching a gorilla tucking in to his lunch when my husband arrived – chaos broke out inside the enclosure – the gorilla grabbed all of his vegetables to him whilst glaring at my husband then shot into his sleeping quarters keeping a close eye on my husband and hitting the top of the entrance door with his fist. I understand he was acquired from a zoo in Germany. Does anyone have an explanation for this odd behaviour? The Sydney zoo occupies a hill side over looking the bay and out to the city. Take a look at the photos in the gallery for a better idea. We took the ferry back over to Circular Quay and walked back to the hotel. We went to dinner at an Italian restaurant overlooking the harbour and the Opera House joined by our friend and had a lovely evening.

The following day was just as nice we were driven (the poor long suffering friend) over to Balmoral in the Suburb of Mosman and watched a pod of dolphins swimming in the bay. We had a lovely lunch in the Bathers Pavillion. The weather was kind to us on both days and we enjoyed the Autumn sunshine. After lunch we went for a sightseeing drive and walk to the former naval grounds. Unfortunately, travel fatigue hit us and we missed the last hour of sunlight available and went back to the hotel to pack and get room service in preparation for our long haul flight to LA the following day.

Tags: Balmoral, Bathers Pavillion, Circular Quay, Sydney, Sydney Zoo

[Hobart/Tasmania] The Bass Strait has a bit of a reputation as being one of the world’s roughest pieces of water. This is due to the fact that the deep Southern Ocean hits shallow water off the western coast of Tasmania causing large westerly swells in the Bass Strait not assisted by the strong winds that prevail in the area. The weather forecast for the Bass Strait for our crossing was a gale warning with 40+ knots of wind and a swell height of 3-5m plus a wind wave height of 3-5m (helpfully the forecast always adds a disclaimer stating that the maximum wave height can be up to 40% higher than predicted). I did briefly think about getting a flight over to Hobart and leave the boys to the Bass Strait. But I got on the ferry and luckily for me the wind was coming from a north-north-westerly direction with a westerly swell so even though it was really rough we had a following sea which rushed under the boat even though the Spirit of Tasmania II was doing 23 knots. It was a night crossing in the dark but there was a full moon so I watched the tempest from our porthole in the forward facing cabin. The boat was really stable in the water and we arrived in Devenport on time. As we left the harbour I was handed a freebie newspaper with a heading which stated something like “Gale damage to northern Tasmania”. So if it was headline news in the local paper in wind swept Tasmania it must have been bad and not just me. Did I mention my husband slept like a baby throughout.

Well the wind persisted for a couple of days with a wind speed of 153 km/h recorded on Mount Wellington. We drove from Devenport to New Norfolk and left the camper trailer (I celebrated). The Autumn smells and sights in Tassie were wonderful and I smiled all of the drive down. It was so nice to be back in Tasmania. It felt quite cold after the tropical north and hot centre but I loved it.

We dashed down to the little fish restaurant “Flatheads” for lunch. We all tucked in to Flathead and chips for lunch. Tassie has the best fish & chips ever.

The following day (Saturday) I went for the final time to the markets in Salamanca. There are street musicians and displays – one was local Alpacas. The stalls are a mix of art, crafts, organic foods, local delicacies (from the hot sausage stand, local wines, cheeses, honey i.e my favourite Tasmanian Leatherwood honey to the Valhalla ice cream), Tasmanian produce abounds and all of the whole range of delights is produced in the cleanest air and water on the planet and you can tell. There is a bottled water in Tasmania from up on the North West Coast called Cape Grim. It is bottled rain water and is only bottled at certain times when the air pollution is very low. I drink Hartz bottled water from the source in the south western wilderness a world heritage site. My son and I went into the town centre for a look around and I feigned thirst and we ended up in the Nourish Cafe for organic cake and tea. The waiter took pity on me and served me with both cream and ice cream with my healthy organic non flour non fat non cake cake. Much to the disgust of my son.

Later on Saturday we drove up Mount Nelson to the Signal Station Cafe and had afternoon tea (my son went to the gym instead) in the late afternoon sunshine looking out over the Channel. A wedding celebration was in full swing and a Scottish theme was evident. Kilts in Tasmania. But not an uncommon sight as there is a local bagpipe band which I have often seen in the harbour seeing off large cruise ships and at the Salamanca market on a Saturday.

In the evening we went to dinner at a local gem of a restaurant – Amulet. Just a shop front on the main street (Elizabeth Street) but the food is all really fresh and good.

Sunday we had friends join us for lunch at the hotel and had our own lamb. Afterwards we went for a drive down the coast and visited places like the Eggs and Bacon Bay and came back up to Hobart via the Huon Valley. I’d bat on about how beautiful it was but I think most people know how much I love Tasmania. The Huon Valley has lots of fruit farms and the trees were groaning under the weight of the harvest. I saw a couple of contented pigs eating the fallen apples in one orchard. As the evenings were drawing in and getting a bit chill lots of open log fires were being lit and the smell of wood smoke and late flowers mingles with the colours and sights of autumn leaves along the banks of the Huon River. Combine this with no traffic on the roads. Ooops, sorry I’m off again!

We went on the car ferry over to Bruny Island on Monday. Well the weather was gorgeous we bought big chunky filled rolls in the Mermaid Cafe in Kettering and ate them from the look out over Adventure Bay. I always look out for the Pied Oystercatchers on the beach. We drove on over to South Bruny to Cape Bruny and walked up to the light house. Looking out over Storm Bay is always uplifting and on a windy day even more so. We finished the day off with a meal a the Ball and Chain the steak restaurant in Salamanca.

On Tuesday we went on the tour of the Cascade brewery. The site of the brewery is interesting and packed with history – Australia’s oldest brewery. We sampled the brews after the tour in the bar with a replica Tasmanian Tiger in pride of place above the bar. Maybe I should have found time for breakfast before the visit. We had lunch looking out over the former deer garden. We drove up Mount Wellington to admire the view for the last time before our departure.

The rest of our stay passed in a whirl with a lovely dinner in Blackman’s Bay and a farewell dinner at the hotel. It was nice to spend our last evening in Tasmania with some of our friends. I was dragged kicking and screaming to the airport the following morning.

Tags: Amulet Restaurant, Cape Grim, Cascade Brewery, Flatheads Restaurant, Huon River, Islington Hotel, Mount Nelson

As you already know the Kimberley was still closed for the most part, due to flooding. My dear wife and son had enough of the heat and humidity – I was fine (!) – so we went back to Tasmania, stopping over for a few days in the Sails of the Desert Hotel near Uluru or Ayres Rock.

We drove the longest stint in one day 2000 km and arrived after 18 hours at the hotel around 22:00 hours. We had stayed in this hotel before, it is the most expensive hotel we stayed in during our whole trip so far. It was also one of the worst hotels we stayed at, the service was terrible.

I had to ask Elizabeth to find someone to give us “a” hand with our luggage, she performed this duty to the letter, as the Duty manager had the “other” hand in a bandage, but he tried very hard, which is more than can be said for his colleagues. However, it took quite some time to get the luggage to our rooms, so we missed the room service deadline.

Which is where our next problem starts, I asked for something to eat for us, so we had a loaf of bread, butter and some fruit delivered to our room, the bread was still in it’s plastic wrapping, we collapsed laughing when we saw that. This is a five star hotel owned by Voyages Hotels and Resorts. Who gave this place five stars or did they just buy a sticker set.

The next thing was, I made a reservation for the a la carte restaurant for the following evening for 19:15 hours, later I checked and what a surprise I had no reservation. It was suggested that I had not made a reservation. I looked at the list and you could see 19:15 had Tip-Ex applied, so I asked to hold the sheet to the light – I did not give them a chance to object to my request – and then you could see clearly my name under the Tip-Ex. What a place. No apology or anything, it was incredible.

They did not make up our room for three days, I was asked whether I had requested that my room should be made up. I have to admit this question left me speechless, which is quite a feat. Even after I told them I would write about this – exaggerating the importance of my travel blog just slightly – I only got: “Can I help you with anything else?” I knew suggesting to her to come over to make our beds would not work – you just know sometimes, even without asking.

Somehow I was happy that these sails are in the desert, if this was the sea, we’d be sinking and we were happy to leave this sinking hotel. Somehow I think we are going to sail by the other “Resorts” of this group.

Anyway we were pleased to see Ayers Rock again, it always surprises me how big it really is.

From here we went to Adelaide and Melbourne, to the usual Hotels (Hyatt) and then on to Tasmania. Elizabeth is writing those posts as we speak.

Related Items: Photo Gallery Northern Territory

UPDATE: I cross-posted this example of great customer care to my The Small Business Blog

Tags: Adelaide, Australia, Darwin, Melbourne, Northern Territory , Sails in the Desert, sme-blog.com, Uluru – Ayers Rock, Voyages Hotels & Resorts, WinWeb, world-signia

[Broome/Western Australia] We arrived in Broome after a long days drive from Exmouth. We stayed in Mc Alpine House. It was built in 1910 for pearling master Herbert Kennedy. The house was purchased in 1982 by Lord Alister Mc Alpine and was his residence in Broome for a decade. Today the house is owned by one of the Paspaley family. The Paspaley pearls are world famous. Just outside Broome is the Willie Creek pearl farm.

On our first evening we went to Zander’s restaurant to have dinner and watch the sunset over Cable Beach. Barramundi is what you want to eat if you like fish. The local wild Barramundi is delicious.

On the second night of our stay we caught up with Jaye and John from our trip to Antarctica. We ate at Matso’s which is a micro-brewery in Broome. I had a large blonde. Beer of course – not what you were thinking at all! My husband had an alcoholic ginger beer.

On our final day Jaye and John very kindly sacrificed their Sunday off to escort us up to Cape Leveque. Cape Leveque is 220km north of Broome on the Dampier Peninsula. The road is unsealed and had recently opened after the main wet season. The conditions on the road were dusty and bumpy. We stopped off at Beagle Bay and Lombadina on the way up. These are indigenous communities. We visited the church in Beagle Bay which was decorated inside with shells lined with mother of pearl. Not many residents were at home and the place was very quiet. We also popped into the church in Lombadina which had an interesting bark roof and was very different to the first church in Beagle Bay. Mosquitos were very much at home here.
Near the Cape at the top end the road is sealed again and driving becomes less hazardous. We got to the Cape just in time for lunch. It was extremely hot and humid for us – I sat under the fans and had Barramundi and chips for lunch looking out over the bay. We went for a very short walk on the swimming beach then drove over to the west beach to have a look at the red rocks. It looked a bit like rain so we decided to make our way back to Broome.

On the sealed section of the road we had a short tropical shower (this would be classified as a thunder storm where I come from). The side of the road flooded instantly but only for about 2-3cm. Luckily for us the rain was very localised and the unsealed section – the longest part – was still bone dry. The red dust clouds billow out behind the car. But a few weeks earlier the road must have been a muddy river. The locals drive along the road at break neck speed oblivious to the jarring bumps and corrugations. We all felt a bit stiff the next day.

Broome in April is still very hot and humid. Visiting the Kimberley region is probably advisable from May (possibly June) to October in the dry season. The days are warm max 25 C and the nights cool. The humidity is gone and so are most of the nasty insects. During the wet season the roads are closed and the humidity and insects drive you insane. A large insect jumped down my cleavage in the hotel luckily it fell out into the swimming pool. My story that the thing was at least a foot long was ignored by my husband and son. The small insect found floating in the pool the following morning had in my opinion shrunk in the cold water.

We drove the following day to Darwin on the Great Northern Highway through the Kimberley region. It was the only road open that goes all the way across. We drove (well Stefan did) for 18 hours. Right through the Kimberley region. From Broome to Fitzroy Crossing, Halls Creek, Turkey Creek, past the Bungle Bungle range, Kununurra and Katherine up to Darwin. The sights were both spectacular and worrying. We saw Boab trees and Savannah – red outcrops of gorges and deep croc infested rivers. The landscape is compartively lush as the wet season is coming to an end. We also saw loads of bush fires along the road – it was very disconcerting to see plumes of smoke ahead and only one road. Luckily the fires were small and we tried to convince ourselves they were planned burn-offs of vegetation before the dry season starts. If we saw a car every 50 miles or so the drivers would wave cheerily so we thought all must be well. Stefan ran over a large snake in the dark and I tried not to panic that the thing had been whipped up into the car. At the next petrol station in Katherine we got a torch and had a look under the bonnet. A passing police car had a good laugh when we told them what we were doing. Poms mucking about!

Well in the relative safety of the town of Darwin I stayed in the air-conditioned shopping malls after lunch down at the Buzz Cafe in Cullen Bay Marina. Went for a walk on Anzac Day to the Cenotaph. There is a navy vessel in port and all of the bars are full of sailors watching the footy (Essenden are playing Collingwood in the AFL). Walked along the Esplanade past Parliament House and Government House. Had a quick look out to the Port and then back to the hotel and the air con. Hot again up here in the Northern Territory. We have a nice view across the Harbour and it is nice to watch the boats out in the bay from our room on the 20th floor.

Tags: Beagle Bay, Broome, Bungle Bungle Ranges, Dampier Peninsula, Darwin, Fitzroy Crossing, Halls Creek, HWY 1, Kimberley, Kununurra, Lombadina, Matso’s Restaurant, McAlpine House, Northern Territory, Paspaley Pearls, Turkey Creek, Western Australia, Will Creek Pearl Farm

[South Muiron Island/Western Australia] We got up at 05:00 hours to go diving for the morning. We had 20 knots S-SE wind and a 2 to 3 meter following sea on the way there. So we had a little bit of a bumpy ride in our 12 meter dive boat. Our guide for the day was Jutta, a fellow German, who had the good sense to leave Germany for good, when she was 16 with her parents to settle in Oz. The above photo was taken by her.

The Muiron Islands are about 14 nm north of the Exmouth peninsular, it consists of three islands. The islands are not much to look at from the sea, there is not much vegetation on the islands. That is very different below the waterline, a lush coral garden and a amazing diversity of fish make this a very special place to dive.
We had two great dives, even-so the visibility was not great due to the weather. But on my birthday I was proud to have the opportunity to dive with my son twice in this amazing region. We had a great time and the trip back was much calmer. Once again Village Dive of Exmouth has provided us with a great crew and service for the day.

We arrived back at about 15:00 hours and Elizabeth came to pick us up so we went snorkeling in Turquoise Bay for the rest of the afternoon.

Tags: Australia, Exmouth, Muiron Island, Turquoise Bay, Village Dive – Exmouth, Western Australia

[Exmouth/Turquoise Bay/Western Australia] Turquoise Bay is half an hours drive from the town of Exmouth on the Western side of the coast. Here you can access the Ningaloo reef from the beach. At Turquoise Bay there are two sides to the bay. On the west side of the bay there is the drift snorkel loop. You access the water about 300m up on the left from the beach access. Swim out as far as you dare – bearing in mind that the sea conditions and the wind conditions will dictate how far this is. Then let the current drift you across the coral reef with its beautiful fish. Exit near the sand bar. This is essential as the current will pull you out to sea via a gap in the coral reef a little further along. The current is due to water being dumped by waves hitting the outer reef into the bay – which fill the bay with water. This water exits the bay via a gap in the outer reef further down the bay. If it is windy from the right direction this accelerates the current towards the gap.

Around the corner the other bay is much calmer although tidal currents do occur. I swam in both bays and the fish were great on both days. Although on our first visit the bay was full of brown jelly fish. Strangely on our second and third visits the jellies had all disappeared – which is just as well as my husband and son complained of minor stings. The great plus side of this area is that you can access the reef from the beach. The water is wonderfully clear and there are loads of fish to see. Turtles and reef shark can also be sighted. I think there are sea snakes – but I hope not.

I’d bought all new snorkel gear in Fremantle. Having left mine on the boat in Sardinia. I had a struggle with the fins in the current – kept drifting sideways instead of straight. Got the snorkel cap the wrong way round for the wind and kept filling up with sea water. So my husband decided to hold me straight by grabbing me around the waist. What a sight! My husband standing waist deep in water holding me the right way so that I could watch the fish. Around in the other bay I had more fun as the current wasn’t dragging me along and I had time to linger over bits of reef and watch more closely what was going on. The only down side to the wonders of Turquoise Bay is the heat and flies (we were here in April).

The landscape is very sparse desert but there are loads of animals wandering around. We spotted emu, goanna, kangaroo, horses, cattle and snakes. There is a visitors centre where you can see jars full of the local snakes.

Moored in Exmouth harbour are the prawn fishing fleet. When my husband and son went diving to the Murion Islands they were able to sample some of the first new prawns. The new season was about to get underway.

Exmouth is compartively new. Seven years ago the town was hit by a tropical cyclone and lots of the town has been rebuilt. The town is really small mostly RAAF staff from the air base and there is a VLF (very long frequency) station on the cape. Which boasts an array of antennae that can withstand winds of up to 500 km/h. There is also a solar observatory not far away.

Tags: Australia, Exmouth, Ningaloo Reef, Turquoise Bay, Western Australia

[Exmouth/Western Australia] Another killer drive – 1368 kilometers in one day – we got there at midnight. The thing about driving in Australia at night is all the wildlife, kangaroo, emu, camel, horses, cows, goannas seems to go to the nearest road while you try to get through. It’s a dangerous business, especially after a long day.

The temperature kept on rising into the high 30’s, but at least it was not humid. We stayed at the Novotel Ningaloo Resort, which only opened in November last year. It has to be one of the best accommodations in this area, although the internet in the room did not work. Darren the manager arranged for me to use the office connection instead, but somehow we ended up in the local internet cafe for our daily internet fix.

We went snorkeling in Turquoise Bay, but Elizabeth is going to write about that. A day later Christopher and I went diving and in search of the whale-sharks. For this purpose we hired a dive boat from Village Dive in Exmouth and a dedicated and professional crew (see photo). Kelly was our guide for the day and, from right to left, Jason the skipper, Chris deck hand and dive support and Craig – Jack of all trades. I had bought all new dive equipment in Perth, including a 3 mm wet-suit, so I needed some time to to get everything sorted in and out of the water. I nearly had a heatstroke since the water temperature was min. 27 degree Celsius. But we had a great dive otherwise, with as many fish as I have ever seen in one place.

Then we had to make a choice, another dive or try to find a whale shark. We decided the later would be our choice and then looked for about 1.5 hours until finally we found one thanks to Jason and the spotter plane. You are not allowed to dive around these fish, as they will dive when the air bubbles hit them from below.
When I first saw this biggest fish in the sea I must have forgotten to breath, it is an unbelievable sight. Each encounter is only about a 1 – 2 minutes, as “usually” the sharks just keep on going straight. That was until this whale-shark saw me, even so I was trying to keep my distance (3 meters) this fish clearly wanted to meet me, so it altered its course several times until it was less then an arms length away (mind you, not that I had my arm stretched out). It must have realized that there was a real danger that the local water quality could imminently take a turn for the worse, so after what seemed an eternity, it went on it’s way. I had given Kelly my underwater camera, so she took a photo of the incident. She and her husband are professional underwater photographers and videographers.

When we came out of the water, Jason had found another whale-shark for us and we did it all again, this time without incident and so we saw two in one day. We were lucky to have such a great crew and we thank them for a great day.

Just one final note, there are only about 3000 of these wonderful fish left and some countries (China) still kill them – when will we ever learn? If you are interested you can track “my whale-shark” on the ECOCEAN Whale Shark Photo-identification online library.

Tags: Australia, ECOCEAN, Exmouth, hdvunderwater.com, Ningaloo Reef, WA, Village Dive – Exmouth, Wags Kellys, Western Australia, Whale-shark