Arriving at Learmonth Airport in Exmouth, Western Australia, I drove a hired car to approximately 155km South to a tiny town called Coral Bay. As part of the Ningaloo Marine Park, the first thing I got to do was to experience riding an All Terrain Vehicle (ATV) fondly known as Quad-Bike here, through the hilly & rugged terrain along the coastal line. Aptly called the Sunset Quad-Bike Tour by the Coastal Adventure Tour company, our guide called Sam & his successor, Brett, took us on a two-hour ride into the countryside weaving along zig-zagged routes & climbing hills & sand dunes for the thrill of skidding down. I hadn’t ridden a bike before except as a pillion & taking on a four-wheeled monster was a bit daunting at first but somehow with the donning on of a safety helmet, I didn’t feel so vulnerable wrapping my legs on this oversized bumper vehicle.
The handles operated like a bike with the brakes on the left & the acceleration button on the right thumb. Setting out at 5pm, we were given a full brief on how to operate the ATVs & before long, the group of us including three other customers took to the bushtracks along the wonderful clifflines of Coral Bay to watch the spectacular view of the isolated coastline. The tracks allowed us to weave left & right after a practice round of flat & straight road getting to the dunes.
As we passed the shoreline, the many wildlife that we expected to see hadn’t come out of hiding yet but there were two spots where Sam & Brett brought us to see turtles feeding on seaweed in the water & to watch insects that loved nectar!
There were animal tracks on the sand & as we made our way further inroad to the rugged terrain, the dunes got higher & bigger! The absolute thrill was to be able to ride down the highest sand dune which was rather safe despite the height of the drop. As the sun began to set, kangaroos came out to play! They were too quick for me to whip out the camera & take a shot but it was great seeing them hop about in the wild.
The ride took about 2 hours & we got back just before it got dark. The Sunset Quad Bike Trek is one thing that you must not miss when you are in Coral Bay.
This tour was made possible courtesy of Tourism Western Australia & Tourism Australia in Malaysia.
That’s me feeling exhilarated! 🙂
Next blogpost:- the Coral Bay adventure dive tour!
