Not a lot happened today. We returned our rental car at the domestic airport in Perth and flew 2000 Km east to Alice Springs. We heard from Hertz that the car we booked was not available as it was involved in an accident, we were than given a choice of 3 other vehicles. We choose the “smaller” one, a Toyota Kluger Highlander 4WD, 3.5L. By the time we arrived at the B&B it was already getting dark but we were still in time to see the kangaroos (or more correct, Euro’s, a smaller kind of kangaroo) and cockatoos in the back yard.
Tomorrow we’ll have an early start for a drive through the “red center” of Australia.
We left the guesthouse at 9 for Fremantle where the 10 o’clock ferry brought us to Rottnest Island. It only takes 30 minutes to get there and a little later we were ready to go on the rental bikes. We made a tour of half the island looking out for scenic views and wildlife. We saw 2 bobtails and several skinks (lizard type reptiles) and a lot of Quokka’s. The quokka is native to Rottnest and looks like a very small kangaroo. When we stopped to eat our lunch we were suddenly surrounded by 6 of them begging for food. Since it’s illegal and more important since they can get sick from human food we didn’t feed them. Several of the quokka’s had joeys (babies) sitting in their mothers pouch.
All too soon we had to return the bikes and get back on the ferry to Fremantle where we strolled the historic center until it got dark. An half an hour drive got us back to the guesthouse where we started to pack for tomorrows flight to Alice Springs.
200 Km south of Dongara are the Pinnacles. We had the choice of doing a 1.2Km walk or a 3.8 Km drive. The drive covered a lot more ground so we decided on that and as there were pullout spaces about every 50m there was ample place to stop for pictures. We ate our lunch here and continued our trip 3OO Km south to Rockingham, near Perth, just stopping for a few roadside geocaches.
During the afternoon we logged number 600.
We started the day with the daily pelican feeding in Kalbarri. After the feeding we hired a motorized boat to make a 1 hour trip on the Murchinton river. By the time we returned the boat it warmed up considerably and when we arrived at Kalbarri NP hiking to the different lookouts it was already hot, not bad for a winter’s day.
When we left the park we found that a part of the bush was ablaze, the smoke could be seen from 10 Km away and we saw flames next to the track.
From the park it was a 200 Km drive to Dongara with a stop in the Geralton MickeyD for a late lunch.
We’re moving again. Leaving the hotel at 8:30 we bought some food and filled up the car and started our drive south. First stop was Shell Beach. As the name suggests the beach is made of small white shells. Further south we took another side road to the stromatolites. These “rocks” are live organisms believed to be the source of life on earth. We were able to see oxygen bubbles coming up from some of the stromatolites. We soon turned onto highway 1 until we crossed the Murchinton river. A few kilometer further we exited Highway 1 in the direction of Kalbarri. We drove into the park to Ross Graham lookout and Hawks Head lookout.
We checked in our hotel and drove through the town to Red Bluff a lookout over the Indian ocean. Shortly after we arrived there we saw the sunset. It was then time for dinner and retreating to the hotel and preparing for tomorrow’s drive further south.
We slept in today. After breakfast we went to the visitor center in town to stroll the Shark Bay exhibition. We then took the car to drive to Ocean Park. This is a small operation with only a few tanks with different species of fish and two larger pools, one with large fish, the other with sharks.
During the tours many of the fish are fed and so were the sharks. However, in winter sharks need little food as it’s too cold to digest.
After our visit we found the only remaining geocache in the area. We then continued to Eagles Bluff from where we had an overview of the bay while having lunch. After a short hike we returned to Denham for a rest.
At 18:30 the Didgeridoo Dreaming tour started in Monkey Mia. “Capes”, an aboriginal who organizes this tour took us on a short walk in the bush where a fire was already burning. He told us about the aboriginal spiritual way of life .
On the way back to Denham we had the honor of doing a breathalyzer test for the local police. During all those years of driving rental cars it had to happen sometimes…..
Around 8 in the morning a pod of dolphins shows up at the Monkey Mia Resort begging for food. We made sure we were there in time to see the feeding and hung out at the beach afterwards hoping they would return when there were less people around. It didn’t take long before we saw the first one arrive and minutes later the others followed. This time we could have a better look as they came within 2 meters of the beach. Afterwards we hiked along a trail looking for emus and other animals but we only found birds.
We went back to Denham for lunch, shopping and laundry before going to the airport for a 40 minute scenic flight. We got an eagle’s eye view of Denham, Shark Bay and Zuytdorp Cliffs.
Katie from Monkey Mia Wildsights picked us up at 8:30 for a tour of Francois Peron. Only the first 6 Km of the park are drivable in a normal car, after that the tires of the 4WD vehicles are deflated a bit so the ride on the very fine sand is more comfortable and the chance of getting stuck is minimal. Along the way to the end of the park we stopped at most viewpoints for pictures and wildlife viewing. We saw several rays and dolphins, all kinds of birds, a kangaroo and a few bobtails. Katie informed us about the many plants and gave information what plants were used by the aboriginal people to cure all sorts of problems. By 17:00 we were back at the hotel thinking we could relax for the rest of the evening, however Katie called us to say that the Astronomy on the beach tour we wanted to do but were told wasn’t running, would be going that evening in Monkey Mia. So we went out for a quick dinner and drove the 26 Km road in the dark watching out for rabbits and kangaroos that cross the road after sunset.
It was Harvey, the owner of Monkey Mia Wildsights who explained us about the night sky pointing everything out with his laser until the moon began to light up the sky. The presentation than continued in the resort’s conference center until it was time to head back on the pitch black road.
671 Km was the distance to cover so we got on the road by 8 o’clock. After a little over 200 Km we stopped at the Blowholes, a coastal rockformation eroded by the ocean so water is pushed through holes and blown up under pressure. It’s a special spectacle that’s worth the 100 Km detour. 70 Km further south we stopped again in Carnarvon for lunch and a visit to the one mile jetty. A small train brings visitors to the end of the jetty and back again. Before leaving Carnarvon we went to see big satellite dish used during the 1969 moonlanding. From here it was a non-stop to Denham. The stretch of highway was littered with dead kangaroos and a few goats, a reminder it’s best to keep your eyes firm on the road. By 17:45, just before dark, we arrived in Denham.
We booked a 2 hour ATV tour in the morning to get another view of the Ningaloo Reef. We followed tracks in the dunes with regular stops to take photographs and to look for whales and sea turtles. We hadn’t planned anything for the afternoon and first thought to rent some snorkeling gear and go swimming in the bay but the company that does the ATV tours also does glass bottom boat tours in the reef with two stops for snorkeling so we decided to do that. We could see turtles underneath the boat a few times and almost the entire trip we were just above the coral. The snorkeling was excellent again and at both spots we saw sharks.
