Exmouth 2025

Osprey Bay

Our stay at Osprey Bay was amazing. After 4 weeks of fairly constant driving and 5 000 km we had a very relaxing 7 nights there.

It rained one day so we went to Exmouth for some shopping — it was bucketing down there, but not so much at Osprey Bay.

Enjoying fresh Exmouth prawns and bubbles — We enjoyed some fresh Exmouth prawns and bubbles

Local wildlife taking shade under the car — The locals needed to get out of the sun, taking shelter under our car

The drift snorkelling at Turquoise Bay is world famous, so there are always lots of overseas tourists as well as Aussies enjoying this special place. Finding a parking spot on a sunny day is almost impossible! After donning flippers, goggles and snorkel, you swim out to the reef and let the tide carry you along the beautiful coral and fish below.

Sounds easy, but the swim back to shore can be a real test because the best coral lies furthest out. If you misjudge the exit point you risk being swept out to sea — next stop South Africa!

Last time we did this snorkel we had Alexis with only one flipper, sharing the pair with Jayne. Jayne couldn’t manoeuvre properly and almost had to be rescued by the beach spotters. We were exhausted after that “easy” exercise.

The Exmouth Cycle Path – talk about extreme! — The Exmouth Cycle Path — talk about extreme! Would that be enough to stop Russ riding?

Whilst at Osprey we heard about flooding at Ningaloo Station, where South Lefroy and Winderabandi Point campers had to be evacuated. We’d tried to camp there this year but couldn’t secure a site — lucky for us, we stayed nice and dry at Osprey.

Water behind normally dry sites at Ningaloo Station — Look at the water behind these normally dry sites!

Road totally overtaken by flood water — So much water — it totally overtook the road!

Campers had to evacuate their beachfront spots and were stranded when the access roads became impassable.

Flying back to Sydney

We planned a week in Sydney to catch up with kids and friends. The flight from Exmouth leaves at 6 am and it’s an hour’s drive from the campsite to the airport—definitely an early start! After a 2‑hour hop to Perth, 5‑hour transit, then a 4½‑hour flight to Sydney (plus 2‑hour time difference) we arrived shattered.

Gee it’s a big country.

It was wonderful catching up with Justin, Mel, Casper and Dash.

Dash with an oversized spoon of avocado — Dash loves his food, so Jayne made sure he had a really big spoon for his avocado!

Casper playing his new guitar on his 6th birthday — Casper got a guitar for his 6th birthday

Bundanoon

For the King’s (formerly Queen’s) Birthday weekend we traditionally head to Bundanoon with Chuck, Sue, Russ and Lisa to celebrate the start of winter. Being in the Southern Highlands it’s certainly cold — Lisa always warms us with roasted chestnuts (Alan’s favourite – not!).

We usually camp in the National Park in the freezing cold, but without the caravan this year we stayed at the historic Bundanoon Hotel just up the road. We love our dinners there together.

The National Park has many great walks and we enjoyed two lookout hikes.

Bundanoon lookout in winter fog — Does it look cold? Yes, it was.

Second lookout view at Bundanoon National Park

Bundanoon campsite setup with heaters under table

Monday was Jayne’s birthday, so the Sunday night became party night! Lisa made a special dessert.

Bundanoon friends rugged up against the cold — Our clothing definitely shows how cold it was!

Under the plastic‑covered woollen blankets are two heaters keeping us toasty while the plastic protects against spilled drinks (there may be one or two clumsy people…).

Parking safely on the cricket practice pitch at Exeter Markets — Parking at the Exeter Markets was at a premium! The cricket practice pitch meant no door dings — maybe the odd rogue cricket ball though.

Yardie Homestead

On Tuesday it was time to fly back to Exmouth. A 3 : 30 am wake‑up, two flights totalling 7½ hours, a 2‑hour Perth transit and a two‑hour time difference landed us back at 28 °C after Bundanoon’s chill. Winter 2025 is done and dusted for us!

Our van had been safely left at Yardie Homestead, near the entrance to Cape Range National Park.

Real‑estate signs revealing Exmouth prices — Exmouth has plenty of Perth and east‑coast money — real estate is pricey and the number of big boats is surprising for such a small town!