However, this was going to be my first dedicated dive trip away from the wife and kids for more than just a weekend. To say I was excited was probably an understatement as I had heard so many great stories from others of the awesome diving Exmouth had to offer.
There were seven of us that were going to make this gruelling 1270km trek north for this Diving Safari. This was no ordinary dive charter, we were going to be 'roughing it' for 5 days camping on one of the distant islands that are peppered around the Exmouth coast. The diving around these islands are some of the best Exmouth has to offer. Not many operators venture this far as it is simply too far to go for day charters and for this reason our diving was going to be in some of the most pristine waters any of us had ever experienced.
The Trek
Alarms were set for 4.30am but I must have been awake for at least an hour before the alarm was due to go off. My mate and I had a quick bite to eat to settle our stomachs while we awaited for our other companion to arrive. With the 4WD all packed we were ready to head off on our long journey. The plan was to get to the Cataby Roadhouse by 6.00am where we would meet up with the others and enjoy some fine cuisine of Red Bulls and a toasted egg and bacon sandwich.
Once all our stomachs were satisfied we hit the road with a couple more Red Bulls by our sides and Billy Birmingham's 12th Man - Wired World of Sports 1 & 2 playing on MP3 player. We all took turns driving while the front passenger rode shotgun to ensure the driver didn't fall asleep and lend an eye to ensure the livestock & wild life were safe from our menacing Landcruiser.
We reached Exmouth in about 15 hours and headed to our accommodation, the Pot Shot Hotel. Seven of us in one room with 5 bunk beds....I bagged the top bunk with the idea the air may circulate alot better than the lower ones. Seven blokes in one room after a few beers and red meat from the Pot Shot Resorts restaurant could have some serious repercussions not only for the o-zone layer but my health as well.
A New Day Dawns
You would think with 15 hours of driving the day before (Saturday) that a well deserved sleep in was the order of the day, after all Sunday is a day of rest. Not a chance, some bright spark thought it would be a good idea to watch the sun come up over the Shothole Canyon and I was foolish enough to agree to it.
6:00am the alarms start ringing, cameras are packed and four of us are off to the canyon while the other three sleep in. We get to the Shothole Canyon to watch the sunrise. It was well worth the early rise as it was quite a spectacular moment.
With our stomachs feeling empty it was time to hit the local bakery for some more egg and bacon sandwiches before doing the tourist thing having a bit of a look around Exmouth and a snorkel at Lakeside Bombies before we meeting up with the dive charter operators (Ningaloo Reef Dreaming) to get the run down on what was going to happen on our dive safari.
At around 5:00pm we met at Ningaloo Reef Dreaming's headquarters which was a nice little cafe/dive shop they run in town, the name of which now escapes me. We met the owners and the skipper and they gave us the game plan. After all the formalities were over we went down to the mariner to drop off all our diver gear and stow it on the boat. The boat is a 30ft purpose built dive boat and apparently the fasted dive charter boat in Exmouth reaching a maximum speed of 32 knots and aptly named 'Splash'.
Time to head back to the Potshot Hotel for dinner and to get some shut eye for our early start the next morning. There was an air of excitement amongst us all and probably a few restless souls.
The Adventure Begins
"Beep" "Beep" Beep" "Beep" There's that bloody alarm clock again chirping a merry tune. Did I get any sleep last night ? seems like I only just got to sleep. No point whining about it now as it was time to get up, get showered and pack up our remaining gear. There was certainly a feeling of excitement amongst us all as we had all been waiting a good 12 months for this trip to come around.
We met the skipper Dave down at the Exmouth Mariner about 7.30am (I think it was) to load the rest of our gear on the boat which was mainly our bags of clothes and a few cartons of the amber fluid to keep us healthy. Once we were all squared away the engines were started, a few last minute checks were done including a body count and we were away. You could virtually taste the excitment now as we headed out past the mariner entrance.
Skys were blue and not a cloud in the sky and the wind factor was practically nil, Dave said it was probably one of the best days he has seen in ages and according to the weather reports it was going to be like this for the next few days.
There were are few cheers and wooo hooo's from the boys as we made our way to the Murion Islands our first port of call to wet the diving appetite.
Day 1 - Murion Islands/Flat Island
Murion Island - Thresher Reef
Within about 30 minutes we reached the location of our first dive, a place called Thresher Reef and as the name implies this location is home to the allusive Thresher Shark. Dave the skipper ensured us that we are not the food source out here and not to worry about the sharks as we are going to see alot more of them on this trip. For most of us that wasn't a concern or at least nobody was letting on. However, it was cold comfort for one particular diver (who will remain nameless) who brought along his trusty Shark Shield to fight off the nasties. We bagged him for most of the trip up to Exmouth and a fair bit of sledging was going on in e-mails prior to us even going to Exmouth, but something tells me the first sign of any shark he will become everyone's best friend.....fickle lot aren't we ?
Time to gear up and get into that water and see what we have only been reading about, the excitment was almost too much to handle as we clambered over each other putting on fins and washing masks...it was organised kaos but we finally managed to all get in the water. Instead of diving in buddy pairs we chose to dive as a group, not sure if thats a good or a bad thing but it worked for us.
With my camera at the ready I was ready to explore some of Exmouth's rich reef systems and I certainly wasn't disappointed. The reef was teaming with life from small Damsels to big Trevally and Mackeral. There is such a diverse marine environment here that it makes diving in Perth seem so baron and Perth diving before now I thought was pretty cool.
There were lots of ledges to peer under and some great swim throughs. There was a little bit of a current but nothing to sinister. From a photographers perspective there was lots to photograph from nudibranches to Anemone Fish. Black Tip Fusilers seem to follow us around every corner.
Maximum depth on this dive was 16 meters and a total dive time of around 50 minutes. I seemed to be consuming air at a fast rate, faster than normal. I had just had my regs serviced so not sure whether that had something to do with it as some of the settings on the airflow bits may have been altered.
Time to surface as I only had about 25 bar left in the tank but not withstanding that it was a great dive to start off the day, a sentiment that was shared by all and sundry. Once we were all on the boat we pulled anchor and made our way to a small bay to have a break and to eat some well deserved lunch.
Thought it would be prudent at this point to mention that the lunch spread these guys put on was awesome. Not once did we go hungry and there was plenty left for seconds. Most importantly it was all good quality food. They had this potato salad that came from their cafe in Exmouth and it was out of this world.
Flat Island - Vigilantes Passage
After a fairly descent surface interval of about 3 hours it was time for our second dive of the day. This dive was to be a drift dive at a place called Vigilantes Passage located on the eastern side of Flat Island.
This dive was probably rated as one of our best dives of the Safari, water was clear and the reefs were again teaming with fish. Managed to get up close and personal with a couple of fairly large White Tip Reef Shark's.
Maximum depth on this dive was around 13 meters and a bottom time of 48 minutes. Very little current which made this dive very enjoyable and relaxing. Still sucking the O2 which is a little concerning.
Once we were all out it was time for a cup of tea and some biscuits before heading off to Long Island, which was to be our base camp for the week. Along the way we would troll for some pelagic action and hopefully catch something worth eating for tea. Again there was no disapointment here, wasn't long before we started pulling in the big fish like Trevally and Spanish Mackeral. Most of what we caught was thrown back we just kept what we needed to eat for tea. On one of the earlier dives we caught a couple of Painted Crayfish to bung on the BBQ along with the fish.
Long Island - Base Camp
It was about 5:00pm when we reached Long Island to set up camp. We loaded the Zodiac with swags, sleeping bags, pillows and some clothes. We opted not to take the tents and thought sleeping under the stars would the best way to finish off the day. The swags were fairly comfortable and had nice thick foam mattresses with plenty of room for a sleeping bag and pillow.
Once we found our patch of sand to sleep on we all took off to explore the island and look for some firewood. There really wasn't much to explore as the island consisted mainly of small scrub and not much else. There was a sea eagles nest up on one of the rocky outcrops and that was about it. The re
st of the time we spend gathering wood, fortunately there was lots of drift wood to use for our fire. We dragged it all back to the campsite ready to use that night, we had enough wood to keep us going for 2 or 3 nights........or so we thought !!Around 6.30pm the Zodiac came back to pick us and take us back to the main boat for dinner. I have to mention here that around this time the sun was setting, we had some of the most amazing sunsets I had ever seen and the photos just don't do it justice.
Long Island - Old Stoney (Night Dive)
However, before dinner we doned the wetsuits and tanks again for a night dive in a location called Old Stoney, aptly named due to the Stone Fish found in this location and a potential hazard to the unobservant diver as the venom from this rascal was potentially fatal. This was a fairly easy dive as there was hardly any current. The reef was alive with fish from Grey Reef Sharks, Black Tip Fusliers and lots and lots of Christmas Tree Worms. Overall it was a very pleasant dive.
Maximum depth here was only 10 metres with a total bottom time of about 45 minutes, I still think I was consuming air faster than normal but that aside it was a great dive and a good dive for some of the guys to test out their homemade HID cannister torches and 50watt halogens.
Dinner pretty much consisted of fish that we had caught whilst trolling in between dives (Spanish Mackeral) and what the skipper had speared during the day (Balchin Groper & Coral Trout) We had also caught a few Painted Crayfish to bung on the barbie along with the fish.
There was a variety of salad and bread rolls to compliment the fish and crays and certainly alot of food to go around to feed us all after a hard days diving.
Once the food had settled we manouvered the boat into a prime location as tonight we would witness the sun setting the same time as the moon rising. I believe this is a rare occasion and it certainly ended the day on a high.
Time to head back to our campsite for the night while the skipper stayed on the boat with the deckie (also his girlfriend). So we piled back into the Zodiac and hit the shore once more. Two trips had to be made to transport this motley crew to and from the main boat.
Once ashore it was time for all of us to reveal the inner child or more accurately the firebugs in us. We initially had trouble lighting the fire as the wind was rather strong and we forget to get some paper.
So we hunted for anything that might work, finally we got the spark that was required and a nice warm fire was well on it's way.....hmmm but boys with fire generaly spells trouble and the pyromaniacs in us saw us use the entire stock of wood collected that day to create the mother of all bonfires. You could have seen this fire from Tasmania. Once we got over the inital thrill we settled down for a bit of a chat and a laugh and hit the sack as tommorrow was going to be a full on day.Sleeping under the stars with the sound of the waves crashing ever so slightly on the beach was a great send out from a magical day of diving and fishing. Can't wait until tommorrow to do it all again. Guess we will have to scour the island for some more wood since we used every last bit.
Day 2 - Flat Island
The start of a new day was rather nice waking up to the sound of the waves and not a cloud in the sky. It was going to be another fantastic day for diving. I slept okay when I eventually got off to sleep, the swag was fairly comfortable but didn't realise how much moisture there would be on the island. Perhaps we were too hasty in getting rid of the tents ? Our swags through the night were soaking wet from the moisture which penetrated through to the sleeping bags, fortunately the dampness didn't get into the sleeping bags so we all remained nice and dry. Couldn't say the same for our pillows though as they did get wet except for where our heads were.
Some of the guys who brought their own fishing gear were up early (about 6.00am) and thought they would try their luck at some fishing. Wasn't long before they were hooking up to some action. Amongst the contenders were Queenfish, Rankin Cod, Trevally and some Mackeral not bad for shore fishing. Everything was done the Rex Hunt way, a little peck on the fish lips and then they were sent on their way to fight another day.
The Zodiac picked up at around 7.30ish to take us back for breakfast most days we had cereal and toast. Except I think on the Thursday we had pancakes....very nice !!
From here on in I won't go into the everyday ins and outs other wise I'll never get this story finished but most days were really repeats of the last. Mainly diving, fishing and bonfires at night and enjoying the sunsets.
From this point on I'll just list the dive sites that we visited and provide a conclusion at the end as I have now left it too long to give adequate descriptions of the dive sites we visited
..........TO BE CONTINUED
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