A Question of Timing

As I mentioned in the last post, our timing for a visit to Australia was not the best as tourist destinations were crowded because of the school break. It was also the wrong time of year since the seasons are reversed in the Southern Hemisphere and Australia was in the middle of their winter. We knew this and expected Perth to be cool (and it was - and rainy too) but thought the temperatures would warm up as we drove north. After all, we were destined to drive across the Tropic of Capricorn four times so most of our time in Australia we would be in ‘the Tropics’.
Didn’t quite work out that way. The first night at Cervantes was very cool (13 C) and the house had only one small, portable heater. We had to move it around from room to room, depending on what we were doing. Getting a shower was a challenge as the heater was easily out-worked by the bathroom exhaust fan which came on with the light. Nice choice - shower in the dark but keep warm or see what you’re doing and shiver.
Even in Coral Bay, though the days were nice, the nights were very cool. Too cool to sit around outside without a sweater or jacket. We hadn’t packed for fall-like temperatures. And, though walking the beaches was very pleasant, it was too cool to get in the water so we didn’t get to snorkel here. As for the manta rays at Point Maud and the reef sharks at Bateman Bay - familiar refrain - ‘wrong time of year’. Heard that again when we checked out Eagle Bluff at Shark Bay Marine Park.
Our biggest disappointment awaited us at Exmouth when we learned that the whale shark season had pretty much run its course and sightings in recent weeks had been few and far between. The excursions were too expensive to undertake with no guarantee we’d be able to snorkel with these creatures. It’s a good reason to come back. Other than this disappointment, Exmouth was a very interesting area and well worth exploring. We did get to snorkel at Oyster Stacks and Turquoise Bay while we were in Exmouth so we didn’t have a complete wash-out with regard to the Ningaloo Reef.
There were some great drives in the Cape Range National Park. Yardie Creek Gorge was not quite as ‘spectacular’ as the guide book indicated but Charles Knife Canyon drive was way better than expected. Vlamingh Head Lighthouse offered spectacular views and a nice, if crowded, sunset spot. Doreen loved the tide pools at Surfer’s Beach and the sunset here was even better with surfers in the water trying to catch that last wave.
On the drive back, we stopped in Denham for a couple of nights and checked out the dolphin feedings at Monkey Mia. It was somewhat underwhelming, probably because we’ve been lucky enough to swim with large pods of spinner dolphins on several occasions in Hawaii. After you’ve been in the water with dozens of these creatures, watching 8 or 10 come close to shore to be fed doesn’t really cut it. Nice, but.
We also stopped at Kalbarri National Park and checked out the views. ‘Nature’s Window’ was spectacular - well worth the visit - Hawk’s Head was great and the Z-Bend was interesting. Wish we had allowed more time to explore the park. Especially since, when we got to Perth, it was cold and rainy and our plans for a walking tour of the downtown area of the city got shelved. We spent our last afternoon in a motel room out by the airport watching the rain hit the parking lot. You might say our Australian adventure ended with a whimper.