Ningaloo Reef

This is so tough – no electricity, no running water, no phones – all we can do is snorkel and swim all day! We go to bed when the sun sets and get up when it rises and we have never been so content and happy. The toughest decisions are how long to stay in the water and what to eat next. The pale aquamarine sparkling water allows incredible visibility of the splendid array of marine life all on our own white sandy beach that stretches as far as the eye can see. Our van actually looks out onto this picture postcard beach that looks like it belongs on ‘lifestyles of the rich and famous’. How much? $14 a night for all five of us. There is a maximum of 28 day stay and we heard about it from people further north who had booked in for three nights and stayed the full 28. We thought it was worth a look and it has turned out to be a definite highlight of the trip. We got to the stage of not knowing what day it was and when I said to Rachel at one stage ‘I wonder what time it is’ her reply of ‘who cares’ summed it up. This is really living. Already I am trying to work out how many paintings I’d have to sell to fly back to Exmouth and stay the full 28 days on the reef! Yes folks – we even used the bush shower that I reluctantly packed.

It was like being shipwrecked on a deserted island but with loads of food and great company.