Exmouth is our last port in Australia and another one that was not on our original itinerary.  It’s a small resort town on Western Australia’s North West Cape.  Population of this small town is only 2,500.

It’s a gateway to nearby Ningaloo Marine Park with its coral reefs, colorful fish and migratory whale sharks.  Cape Range National Park has kangaroos, sheer cliffs and red, rocky gorges.  On the Cape’s northwest coast, Jurabi Coastal Reserve’s tidal rock pools, beaches and seasonal nesting grounds for marine turtles.

We arrived in Exmouth early in the morning and dropped anchor.  We took the tender to a small marina and then a shuttle bus to the information center.  It’s a very hot and sunny day.  I was expecting a small building for the information center, but it was a big, multistory building that held their aquarium.  We learned this area is very famous for whale sharks and they will be migrating into this area soon.  We saw some amazing pictures of people swimming with these gentle giants.

We proceeded to the information desk and asked if there were any private tours available.  Why yes, Annie can be here in 30 minutes.  Perfect!

Annie arrived and we did our introductions.  Again, we explained we’re looking for a tour to show us the town and local sites.  The four of us got into her nicely air conditioned van and off we went.  We quickly left Exmouth and proceeded down the coast.  It was not until World War II that a huge airport was built and in 1963 that a naval town serving the US Naval Communication Station, Harold E Holt and the Learmonth RAAF Base were established.  The base is known for the huge ‘Very Low Frequency’ towers that are over 1,200 feet tall (communications with submarines).  In 2002, the military left (we were told approx 1,000 US military) and this is now operated by Raytheon Australia.

Just a short distance away was the Learmonth Solar Observatory.  The station monitors solar activity and is part of.a worldwide network of similar stations.  The area boasts an excess of 3,500 hours of sunshine each year and this makes it ideal for observing the sun.  The isolation also means that it is largely free from interference.  The facility is jointly managed by the Space Weather Services and the United States Air Force 557th Weather Wing.

Annie drove us through the old military base.  You could see many buildings (barracks, hospital, bowling alley, etc), baseball field (surely there were American’s here once if there was a baseball field) that were mostly run down.  Some buildings were still being used and Annie said a few years ago they had a 50th reunion where many returned.

We then drove to the coast, walked up and over the sand dune.  Amazing, glorious, clear turquoise water for as far as we could see.  One person on her paddle board with her big dog swimming along side her.  We walked into the warm water of the Indian Ocean.  Annie said this area is an underwater paradise for dolphins, manta rays, turtles and humpback whales, to the largest fish in the ocean, the whale shark.  There are 500 species of fish and 200 varieties of coral.  What an amazing hidden jewel!

Next we drove to the lighthouse, with the air raid warning tower and magnificent views over the ocean.  We spent some time just gazing over that magnificent view with the warm, no….hot ocean breeze blowing on our faces.

We left the lighthouse and headed back towards Exmouth.  We stopped at the Jurabi Turtle Center and learned about the types of turtles that return to their beaches to lay their eggs.  We walked up and over the sand dune again and went to play in the warm ocean waves.

We left the beach and headed back.  We said our goodbyes to Annie.  She was a great tour guide and showed us much more than we anticipated from this small, sleepy town.  We boarded the tender and back to our ship.  Went and had a cool drink and watched as we pulled up anchor and left Exmouth.

Good-bye Australia!!!  You were all so kind and showed us a good time.  Thank you for your hospitality.  We hope to visit again someday.  We knew this was our final port in Australia and have a week ahead of open sea in crossing the Indian Ocean.  More adventures, star gazing and crossing the equator for the second time.  We have a great routine for our days at sea and look forward to spending them together and with the many new friends we have made.