Our time in Shark Bay is coming to an end. We are so pleased to have spent a longer than usual time in one place. There has been so much to see and do.
Part 2: Francois Peron National Park (NP), Sunset cruise and Ocean Park Aquarium.
03/05/2021 was another early morning to drive out to Cape Peron at the top of the Francios Peron NP. It’s another 4WD but not as corrugated as Steep Point and a lot more sandy with lots more people to encounter along the single track roads 🤣.
We walked the 3km trail along the cliffs from Cape Peron to Skipjack Point. Hard walking on sand but fabulous views of the headlands and out to sea.
We started travelling back towards Denham visiting the many beaches. First stop was Gregories where we had a snorkel. Not the best as the visibility was poor and it was a tad cold, but still enjoyable. The second stop was Gregories South for lunch in the car on the beach. Too many flies to sit out.
After leaving Gregories South we encountered 2 young female Japanese tourists whose Suzuki Vitara was struck in the sand. Ok it’s meant to be 4WD but it’s not high clearance and their tyres were not deflated enough. So we helped them to deflate tyres and towed them out. By this time there were cars in both directions blocked by us. As soon as they tried to drive, they were bogged again, it seemed their 4WD was not working. So we tried to tow them out but we did not have enough traction in the sand to tow the dead weight. In the end Paul drove their car in reverse with me towing it with our car in reverse. To begin with I was reversing past a car but it was too close for comfort so we asked him to move so we had the road to ourselves. Luckily we were only 300m from some hard ground. After packing away our recovery gear, they said thanks (arigatou) and we surprised them with a Japanese goodbye (sayonara). They said they were going to go back but I wonder if they tried again. We were not staying around to find out!
We got back to the van for a quick cuppa and showers before heading out to a sunset cruise. I’m not sure what possessed me to agree to a 2.5 hour boat trip to see dugong, rays and dolphins as I am a useless sailor. We were so lucky, there was hardly any wind or swell. We saw dugongs (sea elephants), well, tails disappearing in the distance (they are very shy), masses of dolphins (I think my best dolphin experience ever) and we got a good sunset as it was cloudy.
On 04/05/2021 we had a lie in….. to 7.30am 🤣🤣. Rain was forecast so we decided to head to the Ocean Park Aquarium which is mainly inside. They do a great job, lots to see with great guides and the ability to wander around the pools on your own after the tour (fell in love with the box fish).
We headed back into town to see the HMAS Sydney 3D video which describes the “battle” (sneak attack) from the Germans who were so damaged that they had to scuttle the ship after sinking the Sydney with no survivors. The show included very moving pictures of the wrecks discovered in 2008 off Steep Point in 2500 metres of water including many shoes alone on the sea bed. Very sobering.
05/05/2021 it was good to wake up to blue skies and get a chance for everything to dry out. We went for a walk along the bay in Denham and then a snorkel to a sunken barge off the beach which we’d been told about. Unfortunately the visibility was dreadful due to the rain. Good swim though! In the evening we went to dinner at The Old Pearler, the only restaurant in the world to be made of seashells, and shared a seafood platter. Still not convinced about oysters….
06/05/2021 we had been given another snorkeling recommendation so on we headed out of town to Eagle Bluff and found the dirt track to the location. Bit tricky getting down to the water but the visibility looked good so we decided to give it a go (so glad we did). Loads of fish in the shallow waters hanging around bomies. Saw a couple of jelly fish which Paul assures me where not irukandji but may have been box jellies. Don’t like jelly fish at the best of times but deadly poisonous ones are definitely not my thing.
07/05/2021 we are having a chore day (washing, cleaning ….). Tomorrow we head further north to Carnarvon for 2 nights.
