Coral Bay, Western Australia - blue on blue

created from an image I took at Coral Bay

We have just returned from two fabulous weeks at Coral Bay on Western Australia's spectacular Coral Coast. The weather was warm, but not too hot, the water temperature was perfect, the snorkeling was fantastic, there was lots of people about enjoying the sun, we had a wonderful time with our friends who came to stay with us for a week and my husband got to do some fishing and bring home some fish - AND the relaxing relaxing relaxing - morning and evening walks on the beach, stunning sunsets, sitting under an umbrella on the beach reading a book, flopping around in the warm water snorkeling amongst the beautiful fish, taking heaps of photos, trying out my new underwater camera housing, having our meals out on the veranda, not bothering about TV or news or work or computers. A wonderful holiday all round. 
read on for more..........

CORAL BAY

Bikini girls tumble out of painted vans

Sun-kissed laughter and languages merge

In a kaleidoscope of sound

Mazarine ocean sandwiched between yellow sand and sapphire sky

The fringing reef a tumble of white on the horizon.

Bring the picnic baskets and spread out the beach mats

Sunhats and sunscreen and rainbow umbrellas

Buckets and spades

Build sandcastles on the beach

Families and children mingle

Grandmothers under sunhats read from beach chairs

Grandad tips buckets of water into the moat

Boys running send seagulls squawking from their patch of sand

Little girls in frilly bathers

Brown skin baking

Ice-cream dripping over chins and fingers

Kayaks cutting through the sparkling blue.

Pull on goggles and snorkel

Wiggle into flippers

Transport you to another world

Filtered light creating patterns on the rippled sand

Flashes of silver and gold just out of reach

Weave through their underwater garden

Little stripy peers at you through the glass

An open clam waits

A spreadeagled star fish guards his collection of shells

A turtle glides across the coral floor

Following his mate into the approaching shadows.

Time to shake the sand from wet towels

The last glows of light

Turn the sky pink, red and purple

Couples entwined linger

A guitar softly strums its love song

A heron stalks the shallows

Golden ripples whisper on the sand

                                                               by Jill Harrison May 2012 

Blue, so bright and crystal clear it is startling. Its warmth envelopes me, calm and soothing as I float in another world, weightless. Floating with the current, absorbed by the sights around me I can only hear the sound of my own breathing.

Fish swim around me in shoals, parting and reforming, flashes of silver and gold in the sunlight. Tiny fish in a myriad of colours and patterns dart in and out of their underwater garden.  I am close to the shore in only a couple of metres of water but the underwater world of coral and brightly coloured fish around me is amazing.

I am snorkeling on the Ningaloo Reef at Coral Bay.  For someone like me who has never dived and has rarely snorkelled, the underwater experience was amazing, (made even more special by my new underwater housing for my camera!) and goes to show that nearly everyone can experience the reef. 

  

The Ningaloo Reef which stretches 260 kilometres along the North West Cape and covers 5,000 square kilometres, is the jewel of Western Australia's Coral Coast. It is one of the largest fringing coral reefs in the world, home to 250 species of coral and 500 species of fish and a prime conservation and sanctuary area as well as one of Australia’s great nature based tourism locations.

It is also one of the few places where you can swim with the world’s biggest fish, the Whale Shark which visits Ningaloo Reef from late March until July each year following the mass spawning of coral. Exmouth celebrates by holding its bi-annual Whale Shark Festival.

The Coral Coast and the Ningaloo Marine Park can be easily explored by staying at Exmouth at the top of North West Cape, or its smaller neighbour Coral Bay, 155 kilometres south. Both towns are geared towards tourism, but Coral Bay exudes a more casual relaxed holiday feel.

Most of Coral Bay’s small population is directly involved in catering for the hundreds of tourists that come here every year to catch the winter sun, experience the reef and relax on the beach that is only a stones throw from the front door of your caravan or holiday cottage.






Any time of day you will find people sitting on the beach, swimming or snorkelling on the reef that starts only metres from the shore. The town beach provides safe swimming for children and fish can be seen swimming in shallow water near the shore line, making it a favourite place for families. It also attracts many “grey nomads” judging by the number of retirees you can see sitting on the beach or in the water talking about their travels around Australia.

Dive tours are conducted daily from Exmouth and Coral Bay, but you can also experience the coral gardens of the reef by taking a tour on the glass bottom or submariner boat. For non divers, the submariner and their informative guides bring you in close contact with the underwater world. It is also great for children, who love seeing the fish through the glass. 

At days end ...... sunset walks along the beach......

Golden ripples whisper on the sand

these few words from the WA Department of Environment and Conservation sum it all up - Marine parks and reserves protect Western Australia's underwater wonders from top to bottom. We need marine parks for the same reasons we already have national parks on the land. Together they protect our precious plants and animals, above and below the water line.  
To learn more please go to Nature Base



Do you like the postcard at the beginning of the post? - I created this from one of my images, manipulated in Photoshop Elements with a technique taught in one of Kim's Beyond Layers e-classes.  To check out Kim's classes please go to her blog by clicking here - kimklassencafe
 

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you have enjoyed these images and excerpts about Coral Bay.  I would love you to leave a comment - I look forward to hearing from you.

I am linking up to Mosaic Monday at Little Red House - please click on the link to see the work of other wonderful contributors. Mosaic Monday at Little Red House

The power has been off all day today, so I am a little late in connecting! and I know I wrote this a week or so ago - but I so wanted to share some of Coral Bay with you!

I look forward to hearing from you.