We were up and out of the caravan park by 7 this morning in anticipation of our Manta Ray swim cruise. Manta Rays are in the Ningaloo area all year and there are currently around 1500 Manta Ray residents in the reef area. The day was sunny and the wind much lower than yesterday.

We started our day with a lengthy snorkel out at the reef, with our eco tour guide pointing out anything of interest. We saw a couple of turtles, a shark and a lot of fish on this swim.

Then we moved out of the reef area and waited on the plane overhead to guide us to any rays. It took quite a while, but eventually the call came through and we motored over to the spot. We were all in group 1 so were fully decked out in all our gear sitting at the back of the boat while the guide and photographer went in for a recon before we all slid into the water. Unfortunately, the Manta went for a dive at this point and after waiting we were forced to abandon the swim. We continued on and after an hour and a half of searching, the plane finished up and we were told we wouldn’t be seeing the elusive Manta today. Disappointing, as they are almost always seen on these trips – however that is nature. We had a lovely lunch spread and continued looking out for the rays from the deck of the boat as we slowly worked our way back. Bob, Sue and I spent some time up on the top deck for the afternoon session.

Then it was a final lengthy guided snorkel on the way back. There were more sharks, a rare turtle that I missed, heaps of fish and a large sting ray (but no Manta 🙁 ).

We arrived back at shore around 330pm, still a little deflated, but the day was still enjoyable. Then it was a mad dash to hit the road and knock out 272km to our destination of Quobba Station.

Jase and Sue have changed their booking to avoid gravel roads and are staying at Quobba Blowhole, while we have met up with Karen and Kieran at the station. We joined them at the fire tonight after arriving in the dark. They have explored the area and snorkelled at the blowhole today.

Tomorrow we are camping without the van at Red Bluff. We have a bit of packing and organising to do before we go though.