The tiny town of Exmouth sits halfway up the remote coast of Western Australia. It’s surrounded by a huge desert on land and a huge coral reef in the sea
Over on my Travelhappy’s sister site Divehappy, I’ve been writing about the whale sharks at Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia. Whale sharks are the biggest fish in the world, measuring some 6 to 10 metres in length, but they are harmless to humans – they only eat plankton. You don’t need to be a scuba diver to see them, either – expeditions that run from the tiny town of Exmouth to find whale sharks only permit snorkelling to see the whale sharks. Everyone can see these amazing creatures!
While the whale sharks are the star attraction, I also wrote about the desolate beauty of the desert around the town of Exmouth – it’s a really interesting region to explore if you’re interested in different things besides the usual tourist stuff. If you like landscapes and emptiness, you’ll like this. My one regret when I was there 3 years ago is that I didn’t go on one of Neil McLeod’s Ningaloo Safaris. Neil has been running trips out into the desert surrounding Exmouth for years and knows where all the spectacular scenic spots and unique Aussie wildlife are. You also get to sample some of his mum’s cake – real bush tucker style…
I’ve subsequently found a fascinating page at Australian newpaper The Age’s website which details the history of Exmouth, the tiny town perched on the edge of the reef and the desert. The whole reason Exmouth exists is because it was initially a US Navy base – and indeed, there are still thirteen huge radio masts which monitor the movements of US warships in the Indian Ocean and western Pacific operational in Exmouth. Critics of the US base argue that in the event of a nuclear war it would be a prime target… The Age gives a full rundown of the town’s history and also the discovery and exploration of the desert around it in the 19th century.
See also my posts about the whale sharks of Ningaloo Reef and Geoff Taylor’s book Whale Sharks: The Giants Of Ningaloo Reef.
