Other than a geriatric campsite with an unsavoury odour of sewage occasionally wafting across from the drains, and caravans cheek to jowl in every spot of space, Exmouth has been fantastic. I have to say, I felt a little underdressed going to the campsite toilets in my pyjamas when all the other women wore matching velour dressing gowns and slippers.

Back to the important stuff …

Hiking around gorges cut by water and millennia into the ranges. Being informed about how all the layers of colour formed, by my own geologist guide ! Watching as the colours changed in the late afternoon light.

Seeing the first oil well drilled in WA, ok finding that exciting does mark me as a nerdy engineer. The well didn’t strike black gold …

The next day, snorkelling at Ningaloo reef, watching humpback whales and almost ( but not quite) getting blase about yet another whale sighting. Many of the humpbacks had calves which just added to the sighting.

The really sobering part of the day was just how much the coral has bleached, in the nearly 2 years since I last snorkelled here. The fish were gloriously vibrant, but the corals drab and shades of cream and grey. I remember blues, greens, pinks. Warming sea temperatures are certainly impacting here. Also, those calves with the humpback whales ? They should be be born until the whales reach the warmer water if the Kimberley, another demonstration of warming seas.

So while it was a great day, there were some sobering reminders of climate change.

And to end a great day, dinner in a funky little brewery with a great mural.

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