Exmouth

I loved Exmouth.  There isn't a whole lot to recommend it on the surface.  It's remote and arid.  But I liked the town, liked the very laid back atmosphere, and loved the National park and reef and beaches.   We spent a lot of time in the park visiting all the beaches.  Some were rocky, some had fantastic sea shells, some had perfect white sand - Turquoise Bay was glorious for a leisurely soak in the warm clear blue water. 

We joined a glass bottom boat tour out to the reef the morning of our first full day.  It was great fun with a knowledgeable guide who'd been conducting the tour for about 6 years so he knew where to take us.  We ooohed and ahhhed appropriately over the colorful fishies including clown fish, Moorish idols, angel fish, and a largish leopard shark.   We had a very nice snorkel experience and I loved finally getting a nice long swim in the Indian Ocean without freezing.  It was only after we were back in the boat that he told us about the 15 ft tiger shark that patrols the area.  But not to worry "she's harmless".  He hadn't seen her for about a month but told us a great story about loading up a tourist trip and seeing her right up near shore eating a turtle.  Apparently the tourists were a bit reluctant to go in the water that day.

The first hint that you're arriving in Exmouth is this:

Who doesn't love a giant prawn?

And then we saw this:

A giant whale shark submersible?   Awesomeness!  You can spend vast sums to swim with whale sharks in Exmouth but we decided not to pester them this trip.

And then there were the beaches with the reef break right offshore: 

Finally there were the animals we got to see:

Echidna

Emu

Galahs at sunset

Crested pigeon at the campground

Honey eater perched on my chair

I would very cheerfully go spend a week in Exmouth just puttering from one beach to the next with no particular agenda and a cooler full of cold beer and sunscreen.