Coral Bay, WA.

 Heading to world famous areas, I get nervous. Is it going to be any good? Is it going to be too busy? Will we get sick of all the people? We were very lucky to get a booking at one of the 2 caravan parks in Coral Bay. The word on the street was that they were booked out. All the station stays along the Ningaloo reef were booked out so I took whatever I could get when ringing around.


When we arrived we were surprised to see that the town consisted of only 2 caravan parks and one resort and 1 small shopping centre. But it was absolutely packed with what seemed like every person in Western Australia. 

The caravan park was full of families with lots of kids and it was well equipped to keep them all occupied - jumping pillow, 2 playgrounds and a pool. The kids made friends straight away with another family and they played together for the whole trip. Lyla and Sophie and their family were travelling from Perth and we had great fun getting to know them.


We drove to Five Fingers Beach and tried fishing, but didn't catch anything. Kylie, Zara and Elsie went snorkeling and saw some fish and big coral. It was still a little bit cold, but thankfully plenty of water and no coral cuts today. We made friends with a little girl at the beach called Harriet and Elsie and Harriet found some crabs and built sandcastles.


We went swimming/splashing/snorkeling every day at the Coral Bay beach which was just a short 5 mins across the road. The weather was a bit up and down, very windy mornings, cool evenings but on our last day it was magnificent. It was clear and warm and perfect for swimming and playing at the beach. The kids enjoyed exploring and having fun with their new friends and they were even lucky enough to get a ride in an inflatable boat. So much fun!!


The stars aligned yet again for us to meet up with some friends - Roger and Maree arrived at Coral Bay the same day as us and it just so happened that we were staying at the same caravan park and our sites were on the same street!! It was so great to see them and chat and swap stories and tips about our travels so far. We are headed in different directions so we swapped good places to go.


On our last day, the kids played on the playground all afternoon, so Kylie snuck across to the beach for a snorkel by herself, and it was amazing. Cuttlefish, aligator garfish, normal garfish, parrot fish, rainbow fish, and lots of small colourful fish and so many more. Being such a calm day, Kylie went out quiet far and didn't even realize until the coral literally doubled in size and it was like swimming through a coral forest. After looking back to shore and seeing how far away it was, the fear of sharks set in so it was time to head back. A few weeks ago, there was a boy bitten by a shark at Five Fingers Beach so the fear was real. Having made it back to land in one piece, that swimming experience will remain a highlight for Kylie for a long time.

After 5 days at our busiest caravan park yet, we can happily say we didn't hate it, and actually really enjoyed it!! The only down side being the 2000% mark up on everything - we bought a box of ice creams at the supermarket that we would normally pay $5 at home and had to pay $12. 

There aren't many photos because it was just fun and relaxing and quality beach days. 



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