We had a wonderful time in Coral Bay today. While we love to be out on the road, it’s a nice change to have a whole day with no kms to cover! At dawn we all headed up the sand dunes above Coral Bay to watch the sun rise ...
... and celebrate Ion’s birthday.
The tall turbines with their spinning propellors stood majestic against the golden rising sun.
Happy Birthday, Ion!!
Being a scheduled rest day, many of the team members relaxed ...
... while the hardier souls took to the water for more snorkelling.
I describe them as hardy because – hard as it is to believe – Coral Bay had a cold overcast windy day. The previous day had been crowded on the beach but as we headed down to the water, myself and two companions had the beach to ourselves ...
At Coral Bay the Ningaloo Reef is at its closest point to the shore. You can actually walk about 50 metres through the clear turquoise water right out to the coral reef ...
... and swim among the fish!
(something you definitely cannot do in Mongolia!)
Emily had good fun using the underwater features on her camera for the first time, and got some shots of cute little fish …
... cruisin’ big fish …
... IS THAT A SUPER DUPER MASSIVE FISH?? Oh wait – it’s just Amalendu :-)
We seemed to come across a lot of wildlife here – kangaroos at dawn ...
... crested pigeons ...
... a big flying bug ...
... and the most exotic of all ...
... seagulls!
As well as swimming, we made good use of the rest of our rest day. Anubha (our Western Australia Coordinator) did a lot of great work organising schools and ceremonies for the next couple of weeks – here briefing Team Captain Amalendu on our schedule for the coming week ...
... organising and cleaning the vans ...
... spruicing up the Torches ...
... and sorting out the food supplies into new containers ...
... the next few days for us are running between roadhouses with very few towns, so it’s important we have enough to feed our hungry team!
(no, not you!)
Speaking of feeding … it’s dinner time!
This evening's excellent meal was cooked by Emily and Tavishi ...
... with a crowning glory being a surprise dessert created by Udayachal, with support from Lumir and Pathik ...
... in honour of Ion's birthday ...
... Ion was delighted with his extra-large serve which came in a lunchbox complete with sparklers.
We rounded out the evening with a rare team meeting, to ensure we have everything in place between now and our next scheduled "rest day" – a full week away in Broome!
