Exmouth: A Truly Inspiring Place Even Without An Eclipse

Travel Article

Before April 20, only some people heard of Exmouth, Western Australia, a town of 3,000 people. Then, because of its geographical position jutting into the Indian Ocean and astronomical destiny, Exmouth came to world attention due to a total solar eclipse. This is where the moon passes in front of the sun, and it quickly plunges the area on the earth’s surface into darkness.

This once-in-a-lifetime event lasted for 58 seconds. People in the thousands flocked from all over the world for this experience, and some locals charged exorbitant rents for the privilege.

Exmouth is a long way from anything, a 13-hour drive from Perth or two hours by air. You would need a good reason to go this distance to this town on the eastern side of a peninsula. One great reason is the whale shark, the largest fish in the world. They appear on the western side of the peninsula. From approximately April through to August, you can swim with these beautiful, gentle giants, which we did in 2019.

It’s a fantastic experience that allows you to get right up close to one of nature’s most majestic creatures and experience the incredible beauty and diversity of the Ningaloo Reef, which straddles close to the coast in this part of Western Australia.

Here I am, waiting to go for my first swim.

Above spotter planes identify when a whale shark is present, radio the location and the tour leader yells, “In the water”. We slid off the rear ramp of the boat. Nothing quite prepares you the first time you see a giant, beautiful whale shark approaching. This is the largest fish in the world, some up to 20 metres (63 feet) in length. At first, you may be taken aback by the size of this magnificent creature. Still, most noticeable is how calm and gentle these giants actually are.

We were instructed to keep our distance because if you happened to get struck by their tail, you wouldn’t do too well.

They are the only marine creature in the world allowing such a close, prolonged, wild interaction without being disturbed or changing course. It’s almost as if they enjoy having people around.

Their large mouths are nothing to fear. While they could swallow you whole, they can’t really chew—their teeth are tiny. Their mouths and gills act as a filtering system to ingest plankton.

Scientists have also discovered that they dive a few thousand feet down by putting electronic trackers on whale sharks.

Here I am, racing, trying to keep up with one. Some chance!

Whale sharks aren’t the only attraction around Exmouth. Along the Ningaloo Reef, there is abundant fish, and you can snorkel at places like Turquoise Beach below.

Not too far from Exmouthlies Yardie Creek. We took a boat tour passing by reddish-orange cliffs with lots of bird life, including ospreys. An occasional kangaroo was perched on the rocks.

Nearby, on the peninsula's western side, is Cape Range National Park with its striking Canyons.

For my American friends: Just north of Exmouth was a slice of Americana. Originally a submarine communications centre, the base operated as an American town using U.S. currency and driving on the right side of the road—the wrong side in Australia as we go on the left. The 300-metre-plus communication towers are very evident, but today are solely used by the Australian Navy.

There is so much to see and do here in and around Exmouth, and you can just want to chill out; the world's problems seem so far away.