Every boat in the marina was tied up with as many ropes as it could take.
Exmouth started with the Second World War, as a submarine refueling post. There were some daring raids on Singapore from here - we visited the site from where they were launched. This was a combined Australian and American post, so after the war, when the Americans were looking for somewhere to base submarine communications, they chose North West Cape, and Exmouth was founded to support the US base. Gough Whitlam changed it to a US/Australian operation. With the recognition that Ningaloo is the world’s largest fringing reef, and the subsequent expansion of tourism, Exmouth has become a tourist hub as well. The navy pier is one of the premier land based diving sites in the world.
We saw Cape Range from the boat as we came into port,
And went to look at the Badjirrajirra Canyon, which was within Cape Range, but outside the closed national park. It was very impressive, with views along the coast.
At the lighthouse, you could see the coast and the Ningaloo fringing reef.
It was an extremely hot day, and because of the ex cyclone, all the shade cloth had been taken down, so there was very little shade. However, we went to a beach and cooled down before we went to the Discovery Centre. This was really well done. Downstairs it had lots of displays with aquariums and various marine life from the area, and upstairs they had life in Cape Range. There are quite a number of cave dwelling creatures endemic to this area, some of which are endemic to individual caves.
There are also many endemic species above ground, including some reptiles. We were fortunate enough to be there when the lizards were being fed with mice and things related to cockroaches. The eight lizards in this display fought over their dinner.
We went back to the ship and saw sunset at dinner.
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