We had a busy day ahead of us today, so we made for an early start, packing the dogs into ‘The Beast’ and taking them along with us. The caravan park here in Exmouth isn’t amenable to us leaving them alone in the van, so they have to join us in everything we do.

Our first stop therefore was at the visitors centre, to see what there is to do around town. We had a fair idea, but just wanted to confirm our thoughts. The lovely lady sitting on the other side of the counter was less than helpful however. Upon asking her what was recommended to do in Exmouth, she threw a brochure across the desk, which we already had a copy of, open to the page of the best things to do in Exmouth. “Do them”, she helpfully stated. We walked out no better off than when we walked in.

A fishing shop was next, where I picked the brains of the great blokes there for where to throw a line in. Apparently any of the waters around here can be fruitful, even on light gear like what we brought. So we bought a pack of bait and a lure that he assured us was almost guaranteed to be successful.

Shopping in the main shopping area followed, where we came across a place boasting fresh prawns, straight off the boats this morning. Being that it was getting onto lunch time and we were getting hungry, we decided that a kilo of sweet King Prawns would do the trick. They also stock freshly caught fish here too, but that wasn’t due to be delivered until later in the afternoon. Without coming back then, there was no way to know what would be available, as apparently it changes on a daily basis. They wouldn’t even tell me what the catch generally consists of. Not that it will matter, when we bring back our own hefty swag of fresh fish later tonight.

Elsewhere in the shopping centre, I wandered into the little bottle shop, ideally planning on buying myself another bottle of red wine. The previous bottle I had purchased, cheap as it was, didn’t last me all that long. On the way into the store I spotted a couple of lonely bottles of the Matsos Ginger and lime cider Bec so much enjoyed in Broome before they ran out. I grabbed both, as well as another 4 from out the back, for $5.00 a bottle less than in Broome.

Without so much as looking at the wines, I hurried back to where Bec was browsing through another store, to show her the prize I had found for her. She was as excited as I was, although wanted to go back and immediately buy up every last bottle that they had.

It was back to the van then for a quick, but delicious luncheon of freshly cooked prawns. Yum, the freshness was undeniable, an unmistakable soft crunch with every mouthful. Or, was that just the bits of shell Bec had missed when she peeled them? We were in a bit of a rush by this stage, as 2:00PM had been specified as the best time to hit the beach today for a bit of a fish.

So, with the prawns reduced to little more than a smelly bag full of heads, shell and legs, I loaded the fishing gear into the back of ‘The Beast’, piled the dogs back in, and off we went. I was working on a confused, hazy memory of where the guy in the tackle shop recommended, so I’m not sure if we hit the mark, but in any case, the beach we ended up at was beautiful. Out near the end of the Exmouth peninsula, on the eastern side, the coarse, yet soft white sand led down to a sea of aqua blue water. The gentle swell was rolling onto the shelly foreshore, a little coolly for our liking, although since swimming wasn’t our aim today, it mattered naught.

I set up the rods, hanging a prawn off of Becs line, while I decided to give the lure a flick or two. With Bec and the dogs watching on, I cast the prawn into the wind before handing the rod off to Bec. I then grabbed the second rod and gave that a flick of my wrist to see the lure go sailing all of about 2 metres, before splashing down with more force than I expected, as my hands became tangled in a horrid birds nest of slackened line, coiling in great tangles around the reel. Hmm, not such a good start.

Here we go. Getting the hang of it now.

It took me a while, but I eventually got enough line wound back onto the reel, tightly enough to prevent for the most part any further snags, then made a start on flicking it back out into the water. No luck was to be had however.

Bec gave up the ghost and turned her attention to her phone after about ¾ of an hour. I continued, alternating between flicking the lure and tossing in some bait, all to no avail. The closest I got was when a fish of decent size swam almost right between my legs. I dropped a prawn right on its head, for which I received a thank you in the way of it daintily eating the bait before spitting out the hook! It then hung around for the next ten minutes, as we threw bits of bait and the lure in. He was smarter than that though, seemingly sniffing at the lure, ignoring the plastic delicacy, while continually nibbling the bait from around our hooks.

A couple of squid also did a swim by in the shallows, while out a little further a decent sized sea snake made an appearance. The snake had the effect of clearing all of the bathers from the water quick smart, for good reason. Apparently they aren’t known to bite humans too often, but their venom can be lethal.

Disappointingly, the fish cleaning station as we drove out of the car park was a hive of activity. A couple of blokes had cleaned up, a pile of a dozen or more Garfish and a few good sized Bream.

Hello. Anyone home?

Across the other side of the peninsula, we checked out the Vlaming Head Lighthouse lookout. A fantastic view across the peninsula was to be had from here, as well as out to sea, where several pods of whales could be seen frolicking about. To the naked eye, little spurts of water were all that could be made out, but viewing through binoculars brought the whales into clear focus as they breached through the waters surface, or flicked their giant tails about in the air. We spent ages sitting here, excitedly exclaiming each new whale sighting, even if it was just a spray of blowhole expelled water. So many were there, the sprays of water looked like smoke being sent up from exploding mines.

Searching for whales

There’s one now.

We made one last stop on the way back to the van to view the rusting remains of a ship wreck, where Bec had to rush back to ‘The Beast’ after being attacked my a marauding swarm of mozzies.

When we did reach the van, after a long day of running here, there and everywhere, our planned home cooked dinner was put on hold. Having an award winning restaurant, Pinocchios, at the caravan park gates, we choose the path of least resistance by ordering takeaway. A pizza and a serve of pasta to share, ready in 15 minutes, and no washing up to boot, was too good an offer to pass up. Not only that, but it was up there with the best pizza and pasta that we’ve ever had.

Until next time, stay safe, have fun and don’t forget to write.