After having such a wonderful time swimming with the whale sharks the 5 of us decided to go with the same company (Coral Bay Adventures) and swim with the manta rays the next day. The day started off the same with a morning snorkel before the spotter plane took off to spot the manta rays. That snorkel was definitely the most incredible one I have ever done. First I saw a reef shark...which was a bit scary to be honest. And then I saw a giant loggerhead turtle. It was the most peaceful, majestic creature I have ever seen and it was a privilege to have swum with it. After we got out of the water one of the guides told us that she had been doing this tour and diving in the area for 5 years and she had only swum with loggerheads three time, so we definitely got lucky.
Our turle
It was huge!
Can you tell I really liked it?
Right after we got out of the water and got under way again the captain came down to tell us the spotter plane had seen some manta rays. It didn't take us nearly as long to get to where the rays were as it did to get to the whale sharks so we didn't have too long to get nervous. Soon we were in the water, looking down this time, and searching for the rays. The manta ray that we spent the next hour or so with was about 3 meters across with a beautiful pattern across its back. Our guide told us that manta rays are often very curious and social. The rays can only see to the side and down when they are swimming upright so when they turn upside down underneath you its so they can look at you. This manta ray was very social and kept turning to look at us and came right up to us several times. After a while it settled down on the bottom and headed to a cleaning station where the little fish clean out its mouth. We watched it for nearly an hour just swimming around on the ocean floor. After a while we decided to let it be and headed back in for another lovely lunch, another snorkel, and then back to shore.
Upside down Manta
Our Manta
The day with the manta rays was another incredible experience. To be honest I think if I had the choice to only do one thing in Coral Bay it would be to swim with the mantas. The whale sharks were wonderful but it was such a hectic experience, whereas the day with the mantas was so calm and you really go to spend time with the animals.
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A day or so after we did the manta ray tour Andrea, Lauren, Rachel,Leroy and I decided to take a three day trip up to Exmouth. Exmouth itself is a pretty small dumpy town but about 20 k's out are some gorgeous beaches. Because of this we decided to rent a car for one day (cost about $30 each). Renting the car was definitely the way to go because we couldn't have found enough to do to spend a whole day in Exmouth. We spent the day driving up the coast, stopping at all the beaches and snorkel sites. It was very pretty and a good idea of something to do if you're on your way up there but not a necessity by any means.
Sandy Bay in Exmouth
All of us in Exmouth
Next on the agenda was a few days in the sunshine and then the 19 hour bus journey to Broome. The bus journey was very very long with the most interesting thing being all the kangaroos we hit during the night. It was rather difficult to get to sleep because every 20 minutes or so you would hear a loud thump and we ran over yet another kangaroo. Its so strange to think about how much we love kangaroos in the states and yet in Australia they are considered nothing more than pests and are killed in the thousands every year.
Eventually we did make it to Broome and then to our hostel in Cable Beach called Cable Beach Backpackers (about 10 minutes out of the actual town of Broome). In Cable Beach we met back up with John, who had left Coral Bay while we were in Exmouth, and had a bit of a reunion party at the local pub. Most of our time in Cable Beach/Broome was spent sunning ourselves on the beach and generally being bums.
Beautiful Cable Beach
Easyrider out on the town
Towards the end of the week it was time to say goodbye to all of our Easyrider Crew. First John left to head back to England, then Rachel up to Darwin, and finally Lauren off to Brisbane. It was hard to say goodbye to them all. Even though we had only spend a few weeks together it felt like we had been friends for ages and ages. By that time all that was left of the group was Andrea and I. We decided to treat ourselves and go to the hostel next door called Beaches of Broome. It was $2 more a night to stay there but it was definitely worth it. Since it is both a hostel and a resort you get to use all of the resort facilities but only pay hostel prices, and it was brand new so there hadn't been time for the backpackers to turn the bathrooms and bedrooms into a real hostel.
We spent another two days lounging around and exploring the town of Broome. There isn't a whole lot to see in Broome unless you like and can afford to like pearls but we had a good time window shopping. All too soon it was time for Andrea and I to go our separate ways. Andrea was heading up to Darwin by bus and I was on my way to meet my family in Brisbane. So we said our goodbyes, promised to keep in touch and were off.
Tomorrow I'll update on whats been going on since then. I am still currently with the family although we are now in Cairns having a great time and seeing all the sites including the Great Barrier Reef tomorrow!
Until then!
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