DAY 4 ~ Wednesday Got organised early so that we could get on the road, as well as to stop and see the pelicans being fed. We arrived early and there were three enormous pelicans waiting on the beach. They waddled towards us thinking that we had their fish breakfast. They are fed daily by
DAY 4 ~ Wednesday
Got organised early so that we could get on the road, as well as to stop and see the pelicans being fed. We arrived early and there were three enormous pelicans waiting on the beach. They waddled towards us thinking
that we had their fish breakfast. They are fed daily by a group of volunteers, who take turns. The chap we had was Scottish and very knowledgeable about these comical, but also imposing creatures.
We were sad to leave Kalbarri, it was a lovely little town, my favourite place along the way. I could’ve stayed there quite happily for a
week, or maybe for good! But we had to head back toward Hwy 1, and to our next adventure at the World Heritage area of Shark Bay. We had a brief stop before leaving the park, at a couple of viewpoints – the fantastic Hawkshead. It was so peaceful. Otherwise not much to see along the way, vast areas of scrub. To ease the monotony, we took turns driving.
Stromatolites
Eventually we turned off the main highway and arrived at Hamelin Pool, where we stopped for lunch and had a look at the Stromatolites, one of the first forms of life on the evolutionary ladder. These tiny creatures are part of what helped Shark Bay to achieve such high status as a World Heritage site, one of only twelve sites in the world to fulfil all four criteria.
This is mainly due to the abundance of seagrass, which has caused raised salinity in the bay, thereby creating the conditions for the survival of the stromatolites. Furthermore, the high salinity created a population explosion in a type of small cockle, due to the demise of its predators (who did not thrive in the overly salty water). These shells were deposited on the shores in vast numbers and in some places rainwater caused them to adhere together into a solid almost breeze-block mass. At Hamelin we visited the shell quarry where the blocks had been cut with saws, and used to build houses. Indeed the shop there was made of the stuff. Intriguing.
On up the peninsula, to Monkey Mia and its famous dolphins. We secured ourselves a campspot and went off to explore. It was nice to be somewhere warm and “beachy”. We paddled along the shore toward the Visitors Centre, and just as we were reading the sign about how to interact with the dolphins, what should appear – but the dolphins themselves! Ian got really close, about 2-3 feet away in the shallows, but they didn’t hang around long, went off to fish for their supper.
That was a great surprise and treat. We were stunned that we’d been there less than an hour and already had a glimpse of the dolphins. They are, in fact, wild though for about 20 years they have been choosing to come up to the shore to interact with people, though with the added incentive of some yummy fish! We couldn’t wait till the next morning when we hoped to get a longer look. Yet again, we enjoyed another fantastic sunset, on the beach.
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Wednesday
Week 2