Yardie Homestead

Last night we had some high winds in Exmouth. This created a restless sleep and we heard a few campers cranking in their awnings and hammering in extra pegs at 11.30pm. The wind continued today as well so we were glad that our drive today was only 35km to the other side of the Exmouth Peninsula. On this side there are more sand dunes and a number of surfing beaches before the reef begins. The camp let us set up very early at 10.30am so a coffee etc at the on site cafe was called for. Tomorrow night the cafe does a Sunday roast in the evening so we are keen for that.

There is mainly sand between our toes here and not red dust. This afternoon as Regan was walking to the toilets he came face to face with an emu. It was running away from some other people and slowed down as it moved right and Regan moved the opposite way. They are big birds and as it was at pace it was a bit of a shock to see.

We drove out to Torquise Bay for a snorkel and swim. This is one of the areas on Ningaloo reef. We missed high tide which is safest as this beach has an outlet to the sea which creates quite strong currents. We got our snorkelling gear on and braved the sea in the high winds which didn't make it such a pleasant experience . There were a few fish and some larger ones too but the currents dragged us around a bit so after 15 minutes we gave up and found a sheltered spot in the beach to dry out..

Back to the camp for a shower feeling a bit wind-burnt. Hopefully the wind will ease overnight as we will plan our next day on the reef to be safer and more enjoyable.Read more