Turquoise Bay

Well, we reached our furthest point North in WA before turning around, due to time constraints, and heading back towards home. And what a place to finish! Turquoise Bay. THE MOST beautiful place to top off this journey. It is UNREAL!!

What Coral Bay promises to deliver, Turquoise Bay does. This place is much more our thing. The same deal... “Where the desert meets the reef” but minus the tourist town. Set in the Cape Range National Park, the coastline is dotted with wilderness campsites, perched right on the Ningaloo Coral Reef, which you can walk straight into off the beach.

We stayed at the Yardie Homestead, a campsite set in the dusty red desert, but with mod cons like power and an ablution block because Daph likes a real toilet. Just a short drive to Turquoise Bay where... WOW!! The most crystal-clear azure water and miles of spectacular coral reef, with thousands of tropical fishes of all shapes and sizes waiting for you to come and swim with them. A-MAZ-ING!!

We planned to spend a whole day at the beach enjoying this smorgasbord of marine life. The sky went on forever... the most vibrant blue with not a cloud in sight. Daph loves these kinds of days. Ern just thinks about how best he can enjoy it without frazzling in the sun to a burnt crisp. Ern gets sunburnt in the moonlight. But that wasn’t going to stop us from getting the maximum out of our time here. We hired a pop-up tent for $20 so Ern could relax in shaded comfort and protect his delicate, freckly skin. Best $20 ever spent. We could set up camp on the beach for the day, Daph enjoying the sun, and Ern in the comfort of his shade. Yin and yang. Perfect.

Ern thinks we must always look like we’ve had an argument because we sit apart. Even at the campsites, Ern sits under the shade and Daph sets her chair up miles away in the sun. What looks like disharmony to onlookers is perfection to us, working together but apart to enjoy the best for both of us. We spent all day flitting between soaking up the views from our own comfortable spots and strolling into the coral reef straight from the beach. It was magical!

Despite the balmy 30-degree day, the water was a tad chilly. Daph bought a $20 second-hand wetsuit and was so glad she did. Daph is a sookie-la-la[1] when it comes to being cold. But having the wetsuit meant she could stay in the water for hours. Daph thinks THIS was the best $20 ever spent. Ern, being the veteran body boarder that he is, was just “well ’ard”[2] and didn’t need extra layers. Again, yin and yang. But making it work. As we do.

Looking professional (Daph thought so) and feeling like Scuba-Dive Action Man, Daph bombed it through the water. Darting in and out of the reef, playing kiss chase with the fishes, and lost in the magic of this underwater paradise. She bombed it right into Ern, who was around the other side of the reef, lost in his own little world. This resulted in a hilarious underwater head-on collision. Yes! You can laugh through your snorkel underwater! And talk!

Daph: *Underwater, through the snorkel, like a ventriloquist trying not to move her lips too much in case she lets water in, “Oh! I luuuuuuuurve you beautiful little fishes! This is F**KING MENTAL!!”

We could have paid a small fortune to go on a chartered boat out to sea and swim with the whale sharks at Shark Bay, but we had our own breathtaking personal aquarium here to enjoy for free. Even though the whale sharks would’ve been amazing, the beauty of this underwater world right here at our fingertips was already enough to bring Daph to tears. Note to self: crying underwater with goggles on is not a good idea. You can’t wipe your eyes. And it fogs up your goggles. But Daph couldn’t help it. The absolute joy of this place was too overwhelming. Words cannot describe how majestic this place is. And the bloody long drive to get here is so worth it. Highly recommended.

We would’ve loved to have travelled inland to visit Karijini National Park. But unfortunately, the Kombi won’t make it without at least another week to take it slow through the dusty desert and dirt tracks. We just don’t have the time right now. So, it will have to wait until we come back another time. After we manifest that lottery win and can fly over and hire a four-wheel-drive. It gives us an excuse to return to this absolute gem of a place.

But now we begin the fabulous, long journey back home. We still have another three weeks for adventures on the way back, but there’s a sad feel to it. We don’t ever want this to end. We have the BEST life. And anyone out there thinking, “I wish I could do that” ... YOU CAN!! It’s the best decision we ever made.

Life is gifted to you. The best thing you can do is to LIVE it!!

And, boy, are we living.

[1] An Australian term for a cry-baby or a whinger. [2] Well ’ard (hard with the “H” missing, as a Londoner would pronounce it) is an English expression meaning somebody of a tough disposition.