Oz Cirumnavigation

Tantabiddi inside Ningaloo Reef WA 12/7/09

The trip up from Carnarvon was an overnighter and we found a beautiful spot behind the Ningaloo Reef at the top of North West Cape, which is the most western part of our island continent.

Ningaloo Reef

Tantabiddi is a spot where tourists come to to see the famous Whale Sharks who migrate at this time of the year very close to the shore.

Tantabiddi is famous for whale sharks

We are starting to see many whales who like us are heading to the Kimberley where the whales calve and mate before heading back down south to the Antarctic.

Whales gliding past our boat

We had the good fortune yesterday to meet the occupants of the whale research vessel "Whalesong" which is owned by two scientists Dale Jenner and his wife Micheline, and a team of young Marine biologists who are tagging whales with transponders to research their migratory patterns as well as many other projects. www.cwr.org.au

Apart from hearing the interesting stories about their research, they kindly gave us some valuable advice about places to see and where the best spots are to anchor. They are moving Whalesong north following the whales, and we will be catching up in the Kimberley which we look forward to very much.

Yesterday was a big day attending to maintenance issues and we topped off our water by running the watermaker most of the day.

In an hours time we are slipping our mooring and look forward to a short trip of 46 nm up to Surrurier Island which was recommended by Curt and his friend Dale who have stayed there many times.

Rainbow at Ningaloo Reef