Tag Archives: Winderabandi Point

Across Australia Trip, Animals, Destinations, Family Happy Snaps, Landscapes, Our Rig, Photography, Travel Journal

Day 82: Winderabandi Point – 9 Mile

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Friday, 23 August 2013                                                                                                    80kms

We woke to not a breath of wind. I was beginning to doubt B.O.M, so I checked it again and Willy Weather. They both said it was going to be windy…. We didn’t start to pack up as we were considering pulling the boat back off the roof and staying. However, before long the wind started, and it didn’t take long until it was blowing!

Packing up in the wind was terrible. The kid’s bed end was blowing out while we were packing it down. Their bedding blew off the mattress, out under the canvas and onto the ground behind the van. Then the awning ripped out of my hands, flipped over the van sending a pole flying into the sand dunes, snapping another and ripping one of the brackets out of the wall of the van. Not Happy Jan!!! After wrestling the awning and the kids bed, and got the van down, Nath had to walk on the roof to get it to shut. We then had to dig out a big hole to get the car down to the height of the hitch as the sand has moved that much while we have been here.

Pete, Karen and Annalea left first heading north to Broome. We said goodbye to Peter and Sandy and headed to the homestead to drop off the keys. On the way we saw a sand storm blowing over the sand dunes. There is a lot of sand on the move today.

The crest to the homestead still had the Wow factor even if it was wind chopped. We then headed south along the coast track which leaves from Coral Bay in the south to Cape Range National Park in the north, as the name might suggest, along the coast. We saw lots of breathtaking spots along the way. This coastline definitely has a spectacular beauty.

We finally made it to 9 Mile after a couple of stops. $60 for the week camping fee, awesome. We managed to score a spot down on the point. Apparently one van pulled out of here this morning and now the 3 of us have squeezed into it. While we were setting up camp the wind started to pick up. We got the boats off, had some lunch and ran out of water in the tank.

We headed out in the boats to have a look around in the afternoon. We caught 2 box puffer fish instead of squid. One completely engulfed the squid jig, it was not pretty, bent the spikes out of shape. Headed back to camp with nothing. L Trish, Al and Holly caught 3 squid, lucky people.

We emptied the bladder into the tank so now we have water again and schooled Elokin in the late afternoon. We also met our neighbours Bruce and Elaine.

All of the kids went chasing crabs in the dark tonight. There are sand and ghost crabs everywhere. We have been warned to put everything with rubber, plastic and foam up off the ground where the crabs can’t get them as they will put holes in it. This includes the end of the rods and they tear them to pieces.

 

Until next time…. Happy and Safe Travels.

Across Australia Trip, Destinations, Our Rig, Photography, Travel Journal

Day 81: Winderabandi Point

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Thursday, 22 August 2013

Between 4am and sunrise it went from completely still to absolutely blowing a gale. It was only supposed to be 17 knots – hah! More like 40!!! We started packing things up as sand is blowing on everything and things are blowing away. Sho and Jo’s camper started to blow over! Literally. I made the call to leave tomorrow as Saturday and Sunday are supposed to be calm. I figured better to leave on a windy day and enjoy 2 good days at the next spot on the water.

We saw 2 kite boarders (that’s how windy it was) come down the beach and around the point. So we went and joined Jo and Show watching them and cheering them on whenever they did cool tricks.

In the afternoon Peter came over to show us the photos he has taken while here and the Tiger shark that came into the bay that he chased away with his boat. He has some awesome photos. I went back to his camp to see the photobooks he has made over the last few years. I was very, very impressed!

I finally made my way back to camp at sunset, oops. Happy hour had already begun at Pete and Karen’s camp. After dinner we sat around the camp fire burning our cardboard rubbish and chatting. At 11pm we head to bed.

The boat is back on the roof ready to do the final pack down in the morning. The wind has died off now.

Until next time…. Happy and Safe Travels.

Across Australia Trip, Destinations, Family Happy Snaps, Landscapes, Photography, Travel Journal

Day 80: Winderabandi Point…. continued

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When the boys got back we ate lunch and then went snorkelling. We saw turtles on the way, so I jumped in with them. I only found one, and it was sleeping on the bottom, but I disturbed it by being there, so it swam off.

We then headed to a shallow reef for Elokin and Hendrix to have their first ever snorkel. We gave them a noodle each so they could stay afloat without having to work at it. It was awesome. They were so excited, especially Hendrix, he was squealing with delight! Elokin got in first without flippers but refused to put her face in. Nath even dived under water to try to coax her into watching him, but she wasn’t falling for anything. Eventually, after much encouragement from us, at the edge of the boat, she looked under water for a split second. It was awesome!

It was Hendrix’s turn next. He was adamant he was wearing his flippers. Again, he too refused to put his face in. This time Nath headed out over some coral. When Hendrix finally stopped looking at El, me and the GoPro, turned around and started looking at where he was going, he shrieked when he saw the dark stuff in front of him under the water and swam away from Nath at a million miles per hour. I have never seen that boy move so fast! Nath caught up to him and took him over it again letting him know it was just some coral and to have a look under the water. He reluctantly went over it, again without looking under the water and this time as frozen as ice. I think we must have worn him down with constantly telling him to look under water, because he finally did. And wow, the excitement returned. He would look under the water and then pop up to tell El and I what he was seeing. Then look under again and pop up again to tell us what he saw. He repeated this process constantly until they came back to the boat and all of us went in together.

Both Nath and I are so proud of our children for the effort they put in today learning to snorkel and actually giving it a go. Even they were surprised with what they saw; loads of fish, a massive clam and heaps of different kinds of coral. We even saw a big white tip reef shark – on their first dive! Elokin swam off after it, so Nath went with her but eventually had to put an end to it and head back to the boat. It is quite funny watching the way they snorkel. Elokin likes to be lazy and get a tow while Hendrix swims frantically doing dog paddle and refuses to get any assistance. Too funny!

We then caught up with the other boats and went for another snorkel near the reef opening. Nath and the kids sat this one out as they were cold. I wasn’t the one cold for once, so I went in with the others. We saw another white tip reef shark, which to tell you the truth still freaks me out. I know I will get used to it, eventually, I hope.

The tide was really low by now and we had a hard time getting back to camp. The reef was out of the water in some parts, and the sandy channel that we normally cruise along was really shallow. We had to be very careful.

Sandy and Pete from up the point came over in the afternoon to watch the sailfish movies. We also had a long chat which was nice.

In the late afternoon, Elokin and Hendrix played with their boogie boards and noodles in the water. I would have thought it too cold by then as the sun had almost set, but they were having too much fun to care about the temperature of the water. While watching them, we suddenly noticed that there were boats drifting away behind them. Dolly and ShoBoat had broken anchor and were heading across the bay. Pete walked out and rescued ShoBoat and handed her over to Jo to walk home, and then went to fetch Dolly who had gone somewhat further, and handed her over to Al. I don’t think the punishment Al gave her the other day had worked!

The full moon rose just after the sun had set for the day, and we basked in all its glory. Spectacular. There is no wind tonight and we are having an early night.

 

Until next time…. Happy and Safe Travels.

Across Australia Trip, Family Happy Snaps, Photography, Travel Journal

Day 79: Winderabandi Point

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Tuesday, 20 August 2013                                                                                         297.8kms

Nath and the boys were supposed to get up and head into Exmouth for supplies. It wasn’t too windy so Nath decided to go in the boat instead. Showy went with him. They were supposed to be 1 ½ hours.

Ken and Anne left at 8.30am. Al and Pete went to the gate with them to make sure they didn’t get bogged. The wind finally eased off at 11am, which was a welcome relief. I schooled Elokin and got Hendrix to do a bit as well before he went and played Lego with Jo. I had a huge fight with Elokin trying to get her to do English. It was not a fun day.

Nath and Showy finally arrived back at 10 minutes to 12pm. And there was no victory lap! And they were wearing life jackets which is not something Nath does unless it is hairy out on the water. They did see a marlin jump in front of the boat which was the only good thing that happened.

They then got organised and left for town in separate cars for refuelling. Hendrix also went with Nath. Elokin finally did some school work, (yay) and then played with Holly and Annalea on the caterpillar in the water. Elokin giggled and squealed and had a blast! It was awesome to watch.

Showy, Nath and Hendrix arrive home after 7pm, but Hendrix had fallen asleep on the way so we had to wake him up for dinner. After that we sat around the fire and then had an early night as we plan on having an early morning tomorrow. It is supposed to be a cracker!

 

Until next time…. Happy and Safe Travels.

Across Australia Trip, Animals, Destinations, Family Happy Snaps, Photography, Travel Journal

Day 78: Winderabandi Point

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Monday, 19 August 2013

This morning it wasn’t too windy, so Elokin, Hendrix and I went out with Nath in the boat. Trish and Al, Pete and Showy went too. On the way out we went over what I thought was a shark on the inner reef. We turned around and went back for another look. We lost what I had seen, but then all of a sudden a dugong broke the surface of the water for air, right next to the boat. We were so excited. Our first dugong! We followed it around and videoed it with the GoPro. After a bit it did a somersault and took off in the opposite direction. I was hoping that I got the evasive manoeuvre on video at the time.

We then continued on our way and headed out through the passage. We started trolling in the hope for a Spanish mackerel or something similar. We saw whales which was fantastic. They really are an awesome sight. A mum and baby whale came up close to the boat which was a real treat. We also saw a massive turtle. We didn’t catch any fish though. It then got pretty choppy so we headed back into the lagoon.

Trish and Al stopped all of a sudden, so we headed over to them to make sure they were ok. Turns out they had a squid jump over their boat again, so we stopped with them for a squid fish. Again, we didn’t catch anything.

We kept heading back to camp and then saw another turtle. Trish and Al didn’t catch anything either. Pete hooked a blue marlin but it snapped him off in an aerobatic display.

For something a bit fun for Elokin to do for school, we decided to get her to do a photo story/video tutorial of learning how to snorkel. We got her to show all the steps needed for setting up your goggles and then how to snorkel. She did really well. To make it a bit easier for her, she lay on her boogie board to stay out of the water and that way she only had to concentrate on the breathing part and not worry about floating or swimming. The only problem with that was she was leaning over the edge and her snorkel end would go under the water and act like a straw. We sorted that by turning the snorkel which solved that problem, but then she complained that the snorkel was leaking and the bottom was getting water in it. Turns out, that was her drooling into it and it was her own spit! We told her to not let the spit run out of her mouth and that would solve that problem. It worked.

This evening we had happy hour drinks at Trish and Al’s, followed by dinner and a farewell drink around the fire with Ken and Anne as they are leaving us tomorrow. They have had enough of the wind, and rightfully so. It has been pretty horrendous. We finally made it to bed after 11pm, which I so wasn’t expecting it to be so late. Bugger! We were hoping for an early night.

 

Until next time…. Happy and Safe Travels.

Across Australia Trip, Animals, Destinations, Family Happy Snaps, Photography, Travel Journal

Day 77: Winderabandi Point

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Sunday, 18 August 2013

It was blowing a gale again this morning, even though we were told it was going to be calm. Bah! We decided we were best to stay inside rather than venture out into the sand storm, so we went through our photos.

The wind did eventually dip off, it left completely. It turned out to be an awesome afternoon. We took Elokin and Hendrix out in the boat, and El drove. We went to the drop off and had another snorkel. Again Elokin and Hendrix stayed in the boat. I saw my first shark and it scared the crap out of me. I am not sure what kind it was…. BIG and GREY! Does that help?! By then I was cold so I thought it best to get out of the water and headed back to the boat.

We then pulled up the anchor and headed to the other side of the drop off channel, to the outer reef. It was shallow on this side, not a steep drop off like the other. The reef was almost out of the water and we could see reef tip shark fins out of the water. There was a cool ledge to snorkel around, a place for tomorrow.

On the way back to shore, as we were cruising very slowly over the now very shallow reef, we spotted a huge ray on the shallows. We headed over to it and eventually Nath got out with the GoPro and swam the rest of the way as it was too shallow. He got caught on the coral and it undid his shorts. The ray wouldn’t let Nath get too close to it and always put its tail between itself and Nath. It was massive and very cool to hang out with. I then had trouble getting back over to Nath when it was time to pick him up with the tinny and he had trouble swimming over it as it was too shallow. We did make it back together and he safely got into the boat, with some difficulty.

We then made our way back to camp and once off the coral, Elokin drove again. She almost threw herself out of the boat going over the wake from Showy’s. We all thought it was quite funny. Nath and Pete then went fishing in our tinny as the wind was still absent. Pete caught a cod of some kind, but Nath accidently let it go on the way back in to shore when letting some of the water out of the bucket as it was splashing everywhere. Oops.

For something a bit different Nath took the tuna carcass out and found a shark with it. The GoPro died, so he didn’t get any footage, but he thinks it was a Tiger shark. It was very timid.

For dinner we had a cook up of tuna and potatoes and then sat around the fire. The wind has started to pick up again now that we are going to bed.

On a side note, we were almost out of water today so we emptied the water bladder into the tank and now the water tastes Yuck! Next time we won’t let the water sit so long in the bladder before using it and see if that helps.

 

Until next time…. Happy and Safe Travels.

Across Australia Trip, Animals, Family Happy Snaps, Photography, Travel Journal

Day 76: Winderabandi Point

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Saturday, 17 August 2013

It was blowing a gale this morning. When the wind finally died down around lunch time, the boys went fishing. Before they had returned the wind had picked up again and started to blow in the other direction, which is very typical of WA.

Nath was the first back and yes, he did a victory lap. A Blue Fin Tuna! It was a very hungry fish and had completed inhaled the lure. Nath broke the bib off it trying to get it out of the fish’s gills. The blood in the bottom of the boat looked as though there had been a full blown massacre. The other fellows returned while Nath was filleting his fish. While we were standing near the bank still, Dolly broke anchor and started drifting away. By the time we actually noticed, she was a fair way out, so Pete and Al borrowed Showy’s boat to do the rescue mission. Once she was safely retrieved and fairly punished by Al, all of the families headed back over to the drop off for another snorkel. Nath and I decided to stay in camp and have a cuppa and some lunch.

While we were sitting enjoying the scenery, fisheries came flying in the 4wd track, 2 people got out, ran up the dunes, and hunkered down with binoculars to spy on our friends. When the boats returned to shore, the 2 fisheries officers came over and went through their boats. The search returned nothing so, all good.

Tonight was roast night to celebrate Jo’s 40th Birthday, the reason they had returned to Ningaloo. Even though Jo’s birthday isn’t until September, there is no harm in celebrating a big milestone more than once. I made a chocolate cake in Trish’s oven and put Nutella and whipped cream in the middle. It was delicious. It was a big night, well for everyone except Nath and I, who don’t normally drink, and well after 2 nights ago, I decided that I would NEVER do that to myself again! We did participate in the lip-sip-sucks which was compulsory for the celebration. And after a few shots, I was thankful that by the time I went to bed I was still sober.

 

Until next time…. Happy and Safe Travels.