Warroora
We were excited to be back in the familiar anchorage at Sandy Point. Knowing we would be here for a month, we set about getting the boat set up for an extended stay. This of course mainly involved breaking out all of the water sport toys… putting fins into surfboards, pump up the sups and assemble the foil!! Ready to go in whatever conditions come our way :)
The afternoon was spent getting everything sorted on the boat, with one eye on the surf of course! No opportunity for a quick, late arvo surf, so we used the opportunity to take advantage of some chill-time by catching up on some reading.
The next day, we were out for our first surf. Although it was pretty small, conditions were fun and we were both keen to get some wax under our feet with a few warm up surfs to break in the ribs and the shoulders before the swell turned up. Awesome to be back in the warm waters of Ningaloo and getting some surf time.
The Warroora routine is pretty simple… weather and tide check in the evenings and then wake up to the sun at about 7am. Surf check with the binoculars – how do the waves look? How many dinghy’s are parked up at the break? How many people in the line-up? Cup of tea/coffee and some breakfast whilst catching up on emails and news of the day, then we make a call what time we will surf and structure the day around that call.
Surf is our priority here and, as it turns out, for the 35 days we were here we surfed 29 days! Pretty good average and each surf is generally a minimum of 2 hours, sometimes pushed into the 3 – 4 hour mark, and, if really good, then two sessions for the day!
One of the great things we love about our travels is that you run into people or crew you have met previously, or at other locations. This stint was no exception. Paddling out for our first session we reacquainted with Seamus, who was here last year and is a top fella. We introduced ourselves to some new faces; Lucas, who was nearly three months into being Sandy Point Camp host, as well as Lucas and Elle, a couple of Queenslanders travelling Oz and loving Warroora.
Lots of awesome conversation ensued, as well as invites back to Singularity for a coffee, a beer or some top-notch banana bread where we traded notes on locations around Australia and further afield.
We enjoyed hanging with Chris Surman who is fondly known as the Birdman of the Abrolhos, having dedicated most of his life to researching birds on the Islands. With a wicked sense of humour and plenty of energy, we got along famously and had some very funny surfs together, as well as a lot of post surf coffees and lunches.
Chris has published a book, ‘Houtman Abrolhos – A Natural History.’ It is a really fantastic, detailed book that gives a great insight to the nature of the Abrolhos, backed up by beautiful images and comprehensive data collected over approximately 30 years. We can’t recommend this book enough!
The Mickles were staying about a 40-minute drive away at Stephens Camp for a couple of weeks, so it was great to be able to catch up for drinks one afternoon followed by a little surf the following day. Always fun to catch up with your good friends in a location like this. We have been doing surfing trips with the Mickles since before we had kids and we still love the surf stoke!
There was, of course, some socialising with the yachtie crowd… Paul and Rose on Arabella, Nic and Heather on Zarfarse, and Ray and Jackie on Solitaire. A couple of sundowners were had as we discussed sailing plans for the rest of the season along with a few fishing stories from the past few months. In true cruising fashion, boats came and went and we got to meet some new faces, including Beau & Casey on Chasing Eden and Ted & Tina on On the Double. We also got to catch up with Graham on Kome Over, whom we met on this coast last year. Paul and Tracey on Halcyon Days arrived the afternoon before we were leaving which was a bit of a shame, but we did manage one quick catch up over a beer or two on the evening before we sailed. All great crew and super friendly which meant many an afternoon spent on back decks with a drink and nibbles talking about life. We love this cruising gig!!
The Walker clan of Rob, Sue, Tom, Riley, Claudia, Winnie and Ruby arrived and we spent some fun evenings around the campfire. The Walkers came armed with a boat and a jet ski, so a few fishing missions were mounted, resulting in plenty of tuna and mackeral dinners. Great to catch up and share a few surfs with these guys. It brought back memories of the many times we holidayed together on the east coast whilst our kids competed in surf club events. Fun times!
On one of the windy mornings (there were many this season!), we joined the Walker clan for a quick jaunt into Coral Bay. This enabled us to do a quick restock of fruit, veg and cold items, as well as treat ourselves at the Coral Bay bakery. In a true sign that it is 2023, Claudia even managed to sit two of her exams on Singularity, utilising our internet coverage. Uni life, eh!
We were, however, most excited that Kalani would be coming up to visit for about 10 days and were really looking forward to sharing what Sandy Point is all about – surfing, diving, fishing and relaxing!
Kalani arrived ex Drew and Gosia’s place in Carnarvon and came armed with some fresh fruit and vegies as well as a few other goodies. However, our excitement soon waned when we realised that she had forgotten to get the chocolate… the single most important item on the list!! Luckily, we hadn’t completely exhausted our supply, so no time to panic…yet!
An awesome time was had, with Kalani taking to the waves with her truly natural style like she had been surfing every day since our family trips to Gnaraloo many years prior. Super fun sessions with father, mother and daughter sharing and trading waves and generally having a hoot! Topped off with some fun snorkeling sessions where we got to show Kalani the wildlife, including sharks, turtles, dolphins and of course the huge variety of fish that call Ningaloo home.
The first week we were at Sandy Point we didn’t see a whale. By the end of the second week they were steaming up the whale highway every day, often just 100 metres off the back of the break. We picked a calm day and took the dinghy out behind the reef and just sat and waited. Within a few minutes, we had a pod of four whales gently sliding past us in close quarters. Super awesome and something we probably take a bit for granted because we see so many – but always special in any case, especially great to share it with Kalani.
Scrabble was the evening priority and many games were had, with Nicky dishing out a few lessons, as per usual. Lots of time to sit and chat and re-connect; we love our family time, so it was very special to have Kalani on board for an extended period.
With Kalani due to leave in a few days, we started eyeing off the weather map. We were in a strong south easterly pattern and had been copping some cold nights and mornings (4degs!!), so we were really thinking about making tracks north to new ground and warmer climes! The Ugg boots and tracky pants were packed as a ‘just in case,’ so we weren’t expecting to be wearing them on a daily basis this far north.
The day came to say farewell and we escorted Kalani down to the turn off, where, after some tearful hugs, we walked the 4kms back up to the Point and our boat. Love you Kalani and can’t wait to have you back on board again!
Thursday arrived and, after enduring a south easterly howler, the wind abated a little and we managed a fun, if not chilly, afternoon surf. Another round of socialising and then it was time to get the boat in order for a morning departure north.
Our plan was to travel to Norwegian Bay, about 40+ miles north for one night, then onto Yardie Creek for a few days, before heading to Exmouth.
We were underway at 7.30 the next morning and to give an indication of the temperature, it was beanies, jackets, gloves, Uggs and socks!! Ridiculous….
After nearly five weeks, and more than satisfied with our haul of waves, we were north bound once more, excited about the prospect of new explorations north of Exmouth.