Table of Contents
Monkey Mia to Ningaloo Reef
Shark Bay Aviation - Scenic Flight
We made an early start today on our journey from Monkey Mia to Ningaloo Reef so we could take a pre-booked early morning scenic flight with Shark Bay Aviation. Their “bargain” flight is 40 minutes long and is a really great way to get a different perspective on this vast and largely inaccessible wilderness area. You get superb views of the huge salt works, lagoons, Dirk Hartog Island, Steep Point (the most Westerly point of mainland Australia), sea clliffs and the wondrous crystal clear blue spectrum of the Indian Ocean.
Flora and Fauna
The road to Monkey Mia to Ningaloo Reef (Exmouth) is just too far to tackle all in one go. Stopping off at Coral Bay still means a six hour slog up Highway 1. We stayed one night at Coral Bay and completed the journey to Exmouth the following day – see Coral Bay to Exmouth.
The only way to do this is to make the journey a fun part of the holiday … and … guess what Tim cleverly spotted sitting right by the side of the road, posing for a photo …
Fascinating Facts
Termite Mounds
On the last part of the road into Coral Bay, we saw man sized termite mounds – there were LOADS of them.
Termites live in large social colonies comprising kings, queens, workers and soldiers. They are generally large, whitish or brown in colour, soft-bodied, avoid sunlight and build large clay mounds called termitariums that can sometimes also be found on rock faces or engulfing parts of trees and stumps. As well as hosting their millions of residents, termite mounds are often also inhabited by a variety of other species: geckoes, lizards, pythons, ants and spiders, and even birds, like the kingfishers and other species found nesting in excavated outer walls and crevices in the mounds.
Early pioneers used them as ovens – the aborigines used them to bury their dead – the termites closed the holes left by these activities pretty quickly!
Willy Williy
We also saw the start of several willy-willies – sand dust storms. Thankfully, they weren’t big enough to cause us any problem.
Lowlights
Crosses on the road marking the sites of fatal accidents.
Several dead roos – roadkill.
