Dolphins & Turtles & Sharks, Oh My!


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May 30th 2007
Published: May 30th 2007
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Shaped by wind and sandShaped by wind and sandShaped by wind and sand

The Pinnacles at dusk in Numbung National Park, WA
First off, I have to say hi and thanks to Martin and Kylie for making this entry possible.

So the three of us hired a car and drove up the west coast during a 1 week roadtrip. Yay roadtrip!!!

After getting over the initial shock of the vehicle we were provided with (a Hyundai Tucson, which is one of those fake SUV's...damn SUV city drivers!), we gathered the camping gear we were borrowing (for such a large vehicle, you would think there'd be more trunk space!) and set out on our trip. We discovered a few things about our "car" as we made our way up north...firstly that it was gutless, which made passing trailers and boats quite a nerve-racking experience (and road trains? Nah, not enough power to pass them!). Two of us also had to get over the mental challenge of driving on the other side of the road...which we delt with fairly well, except when it came to signaling our turns! It would've been less embarrassing if it was raining.

Our first stop: Cervantes and Nambung National Park, where we saw the Pinnacles at dusk. Eerie sight...can't really describe it other than eerie. We were surrounded by
Gorge formed by the MurchisonGorge formed by the MurchisonGorge formed by the Murchison

One of the gorges in Kalbarri National Park
odd limestone pillars of various shapes and sizes, rising up out of the yellow sand and sparce vegetation. And the only sounds were our footsteps and the wind blowing through the sand dunes. That night we stayed at the Cervantes Lodge, which was clean and spacious and has by far the most well equipped hostel kitchen I've ever seen. Although, it was bit odd due to the crop circles photos everywhere (much eye-rolling and laughing ensued).

The next morning we were off to Kalbarri. We drove along the Indian Ocean Drive, occasionally getting a glimpse of the ocean. It was raining and the view was rather grey, but we decided we had to pull off at one of these lookouts to get a better view...unfortunately we didn't slow down enough and the tires didn't like the change from pavement to gravel...so off into the bushes we went. We managed to miss the tree, but we had to dig out the front tire...it was a slow process but we eventually got the car out. We all kept our cool and proceeded to ignore the resulting dent.

So we continued on, stopping for lunch near the sand dunes outside Geraldton
Another beautiful WA sunsetAnother beautiful WA sunsetAnother beautiful WA sunset

Sunset at Kalbarri, WA
and soaking up the warmer sun. We reached Kalbarri in time to set up our tents at the Tudor Caravan Park, then drove out to the rocky beaches to watch some very experienced surfers get pounded by the waves as the sun set. The gallahs loudly greeted us upon our return to the tents that evening. After a tasty (and spicy!) curry for dinner, we wondered what to do...camping in winter does have the disadvantage of the sun setting early!
The next day was devoted to Kalbarri National Park. We saw Nature's Window, marveled at the layers upon layers of red rock formations, climbed down to the Murchison River, where we saw some feral goats, then continued onto the Z-Bend, where we followed the track down to the river again. We sat there for a while, enjoying the fact that we had this gorgeous place to ourselves. I love WA.

After watching a beautiful sunset at Red Bluff lookout, a good night's sleep and packing our tents, we were off. Well, not quite as we decided that feeding the pelicans would be good fun. After tossing a few fish to the pelicans, we set off for Hamelin Pool and the stromatolites.
Our original source of oxygenOur original source of oxygenOur original source of oxygen

Stromatolites at Hamelin Pool, Shark Bay, WA
Now a lot of people may say Hamelin's not worth a visit, but you must realise that life on earth as we know it wouldn't be here without the stromatolites! And we managed to see them at low tide, which made for some artsy photos. And we supported the locals by buying multiple ice creams and cheesy bumper stickers.

Then we continued onto the Monkey Mia resort at Shark Bay, where we split the cost of a cabin on the beach and watched the dolphins play in the bay at sunset. The next few days we spent going on walks along the sand dunes, exploring the beach, feeding dolphins, and going to research talks about the ecosystem of Shark Bay. We also went to an exhibition on WWII in Denham, and got a ride on a catermeran in hopes of seeing some wildlife (we spotted a few turtles and dolphins, but no dugongs or sharks). It was very relaxing, and I was sad to leave. Shark Bay is such a beautiful area, and I hope to go back and help out with the research there.

But alas, we had to return our vehicle to Perth.

On our way back south, we stopped at Shell Beach and marveled at the millions upon millions of tiny white shells covering the very wide beach. We then continued our way south, reaching Cervantes that night. The next morning we decided we had to see some more stromatolites at Lake Thetis before continuing onto Perth. The drive was rather long, as there was a lot of traffic (darn road trains and dumb drivers) and a lot of rain...but we made it and returned the car with only one tiny little dent. (Of course my credit card didn't find it tiny, but it was worth it!)

Yay roadtrips!




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