Round the World with Ann and Katie

We have now made it as far as Geraldton, the largest place we have been to since Hong Kong. In a couple of days we will be in Perth so our outback adventure will be over which is very sad. Already the scene has changed a lot and we have been driving past fields of sheep and crops: it looks a bit like the south east of England in a very bad drought year.
But on our way down the coast we have been doing lots of snorkelling. We went on the trip in the glass-bottomed boat that I mentioned in my last bulletin. The coral was rather different to what I thought it would be as I was under the impression it was all brightly coloured. There were some coloured bits (blue, purple and red) but in the main it was a sort of grey colour. But the fish were spectacular. Dozens of different types of fish, all colours and sizes. The water was rather cold though and we had an hour to snorkel so we shivered all the way back to the beach in our wet things. On the way out to the coral reef though we saw a humpback whale with a calf really close up. So we did the coral tour and the whale tour all at the same time! Back at the campsite we bought a mask and snorkel each so that we could have a go whenever the opportunity arose. Exmouth also had a mini-golf course, something which we have always felt was an essential part of a holiday.
The next day we drove down to Carnarvon, stopping off at Coral Bay on the way as it promised some good snorkelling. As we drove into Coral Bay it actually rained! The first rain we have had since arriving in Oz. But it brightened up and although the water was cold we did go in and were rewarded with a huge variety of beautiful fish. We needed a coffee and a piece of cake afterwards to warm us up.
In Carnarvon we went for quite a long walk in the afternoon. This culminated in One Mile Jetty which actually is about a mile long. There is an old lighthouse there and a lighthouse keepers cottage and a train museum (we didn’t go in as it is not really our thing). The jetty was rather ricketty but there is a little train that runs along to the end. We walked though: it goes out over mangroves and then out over the sea. It was very windy but our experiences in the Cairngorms served us well and we battled our way to the end. On Wednesday (10th) we went to Blowholes which is about an hours drive north of Carnarvon. We went passed a huge dried up lake with salt flats. The coastline was dramatic with huge waves breaking against the cliffs. In a few places the waves had made holes through the rock and these formed water spouts (the blowholes) when big waves came in. Then we went on to a more sheltered beach and did some snorkelling. This was our best snorkel so far as there were lots of different coloured corals and brightly coloured fish and anemones. But again the wind was very strong and the water was cold. However we did go in twice if only for about 10 minutes each time.
On Thursday we drove down to Denham: it is actually twinned with Denham in Bucks! On the way we stopped at Hamelin Pools where they have some of the world’s only living stromatolites. They are made by cyanobacteria which have survived in that particular place because the water is so salty that the snails which normally eat them can’t survive. They produce weird rocky structures in the water. They were the original form of life on earth and produced oxygen, thus changing the atmosphere so that other forms of life could evolve – including us! You can bubbles of oxygen rising up through the water. In the same place there is a shell quarry where they remove blocks of small shells for building. The rain water dissolves calcium carbonate out of the shells and then sticks them all together like cement. Our next stop was Shell beach, which is made entirley of the same small shells, in places 10m thick. In Denham we went to the Shark Bay World Heritage Centre which provides a very good display explaining why Shark Bay is a world heritage site. There is a wide variety of different habitats there both marine and on land. One particular feature is a huge area of seagrass which apparently supports all the other creatures in the sea in the area. There are lots of sharks and rays and dolphins and dugongs and varieties of fish that don’t occur elsewhere. On land there are many rare animals and plants. They are trying to reintroduce some of the rare species and are getting rid of foxes, feral cats, rabbits etc. A lot of the interesting bits are only accessible by 4WD. We toyed with the idea of hiring one but were talked out of it by a guy at the visitor centre. So we booked a 4WD trip for the next day and went up into the Cape Peron National Park.
Initially the track was quite good and we stopped off first of all at the Peron Homestead which until quite recently was a sheep station with 15-20,000 sheep. We looked at the shearing shed which was still in working order and at the accommodation for the shearers. The we carried on up the peninsula. I was really gad we hadn’t tried to drive it ourselves as the track was very narrow and went through really deep, soft sand. We also drove across some gypsum clay pans (called birridas) which have a crust of hard salt on the surface and then underneath it is just soft mud. So if you break through the surface you get bogged down and it is very difficult to get out. At Skipjack Point, the most northerly point of the Cape, we saw dolphins, sharks, rays, a turtle and a sea snake. Then we walked along to Cape Peron (about 1.5km) where we had lunch. The flies were terrible so I wore my Scottish midge net. Unfortunately we didn’t see any dugongs.
Next day we went o Monkey Mia, about 25 km from Denham. Dolphins come into the beach to be fed there and when we arrived they were already there being given fish. You can paddle into the water and they swim up to you and you give them fish. Then we went for a bird walk and saw the most rare bird in Australia – the thick billed grass wren. In fact we swa 4 of them. They are quite big as wrens go – certainly a lot bigger than ours at home.We laos saw white-winged fairy wrens and some bar-tailed godwits. And pelicans. We like pelicans but it seems that if you are a proper birdwatcher you shouldn’t like pelicans. We did some more snorkelling but there wasn’t much about under the sea at Monkey Mia. But the water was warmer!
The next day we drove down to Kalbarri. We stopped off on the way to look at the Murchison River but the flies were appalling so we didn’t hang about. The river flows into the sea at Kalbarri and there is a picturesque estuary and then beyond that huge waves breaking on a reef. We walked about 3 km along the cliffs to a seahorse sanctuary where they breed seahorses – but it was closed. So we went to parrot breeding centre instead. In the evening we went to Finlay’s which is quite an institution in Kalbarri. It is a restaurant in a tin shack sort of place and they mainly do barbecued sea food. We bought a bottle of wine and walked down and had a huge platter of sea food (two different types of fish, prawns, mussels, rice, chips etc). Everyone here seems to eat very early so by about 8pm we ere about the only ones left in the place.
The next day we went to the beach to watch pelicans being fed. About 6-7 of them turned up for some fish and the woman in charge gave an interesting talk about pelicans. I don’t know why people don’t like them because they are quite fascinating really. Children are then given pilchards to feed them with. After that we went to Blue Holes where there are sheltered rock ppools which are good for snorkelling. We then toured on down the coast stopping off at places of interest along the way. There are huge sandstone cliffs all along the coast here and the waves crash in and send up lots of spray. The last major feature of the day, as we drove down to Geraldton, was Lake Hutton which is bright pink (and I do mean shocking pink) because of the algae in it.
Tomorrow we head down to Cervantes and then the next day should see us in the Swan Valley, near Perth. Katie wants to do a wine tour – I will just tag along out of interest!
By the way I have discovered a new musical genre – Australian country. It is all about gravel roads and utes and faithful dogs and rounding up cattle and so on. Great stuff! I have even bought a CD. It was our only CD for a few thousand km but I bought a new one yesterday.
And I have written a poem: what do think? Pam Ayres had better watch out!

OUTBACK TRAVELS

Travelling through the outback
On the road since break of day
Highway stretching straight and clear
To the blue sky far away

Past tortured trees with blackened bark
Through a land parched, dusty and red
Looking out for straying cattle
And kangaroos on the road ahead

Past termite mounds and dried up creeks
Black kites circling the sky
Past flowers purple, yellow and blue
Clinging to life through the dry

Past desert oaks, acacias and gums
The green of their leaves defying the heat
Clouds of dust fill the air
Where gravel and bitumen meet

The sun dies orange in the west
The moon and stars our only light
As we lie safe in our swags
Listening to the sounds of the night

Tags: Travel, Tag Index

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