Day 3 Adelaide to Perth - Fowlers Bay

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After a good nights sleep we woke to a breakfast of pancakes at 7am, then it was time to pack up the van and head over to the dolphin and Sealion swim.The bay where we would be swimming was only a 15 minute drive from camp, so we arrived at around 9am and although it was predicted to be 37 degrees later in the day there was still a chill in the breeze at that time. We changed into our wet suits and all climbed into the little tin boat with Alan, our captain and Mick our deck hand. We were swimming in a bay so it was partially protected from the elements but there was still a large swell in some areas. On the ride out to our swimming spot Alan told us that we should all stay close to Mick as he was wearing a sonar device on his ankle which would send our electro magnetic pulses to deter the sharks, but it would only cover a 14 metre diameter. Mick then also told us that there were a couple of sharks that had been spotted in the bay 2 weeks ago. But it was too late to turn back now so we headed out to find some dolphins. It wasn't long before we spotted a pod of dolphins swimming in the larger waves that were breaking just at the edge of the bay but it was too dangerous for us to swim in that swell so we had to use the boat to try and coax the dolphins in a little closer. After 10minutes of spinning the boat around in circles and playing chase with the dolphins it seemed they weren't ready to play yet so Alan took us over to the other side of the bay where we would find the Sealions. They were ready to play as soon as they saw the boat swimming along side and doing somersaults in the water. We all got our snorkels and masks on as quickly as we could and jumped into the water to go and make some Sealion friends. They were like puppies of the sea all mischievously checking us out and playing with the rope of the safety bouy in the water. Mick was a pro with the Sealions and they would follow him diving under the water and doing flips and turns. There were about 4 sealions who stayed around and wanted to play all the time, swimming right up to our faces and even having a nibble on Terry's foot. The water was pretty chilly though and Jo's wet suit was a little big so after 30minutes or so she headed back to the boat to warm up whilst Will played a few more games with the Sealions. Back on board the boat we had hot chocolate and biscuits to warm up before heading closer to the shore to see more Sealions bathing on the beach and rocks. Next it was time to see if the dolphins were now willing to play so we headed back over to the other side of the bay. The tide had stared to come in by this time and there was now a large swell in the bay. But the dolphins were ready to play so we put our masks back on and jumped in. This time we all had to stay very close together and follow Mick who would lead us to the dolphins. It was a tough swim in the waves especially with 11 other people huddled together and bumping into each other as the waves washed over us. Our efforts were rewarded just a few minutes later as the dolphins swam right through the group only a couple of feet from us. Interestingly we heard the clicking of the dolphins before we actually saw them; Will now thinks he can speak dolphin! The tide was coming in and the waves were getting bigger so Alan called us back into the boat but we still had a chance for the dolphins to swim amongst us a few more times first and the mum even brought her baby dolphin over to see us. Back on board the boat we were all beaming - a definite highlight of the trip! We motored back into shore and changed out of our wetsuits before heading to a nearby picnic spot for lunch and then on to a town called Streaky Bay where Simon took us into a tourist center in the petrol station and showed us a replica of the largest white tip shark ever caught in Australian waters by a rod and 24kg line! The shark was 5m in length and it took 5 hours of playing the shark until they could attach a stronger rope to toe it to shore, which took another 3 hours. We were glad we learnt about this after the swimming!Next we drove to the Cenduna aboriginal arts and culture centre where we met Beaver Lennon who's an up and coming local artist expected to become internationally famous for his artwork of australia. The centre manager also explained a little to us about aboriginal history and culture.After filling up all the buses fuel tanks for the long days of driving ahead of us we headed to Fowler Bay where we'd be sleeping under the stars for the night at a caravan park. We arrived to be greeted by a large number of Australian caravaners touring the country; some from as far away as cairns! We settled in for a few beers before dinner, then continued to socialise before heading to bed.

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