Australia 2004

All images © Laurie & Kairen Wilson 2004


 

From Perth to Monkey Mia

The drive from Perth to Monkey Mia is some 1000km, and we took 3 days to get there, splitting our journey at Kalbarri.

The highlight of the first leg is the amazing Pinnacles Dessert where literally thousands of limestone pillars emerge out of the sand resembling termite mounds, some only a few cm high, others over 5m.

 

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Pinnacles Desert

This piece of desert close to the sea is a fantastic collection of rocks jutting out of the sand floor.  There are literally thousands of them.  It is also famous as one of the many places that Billy Connelly danced naked in his TV series.

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Kalbarri

A carefree seaside resort at the mouth of the Murchison River.  The sand was white and the sun hot. The sea is the Indian Ocean.

 

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...someone's got to do it!!!!

 

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Kalbarri National Park

'Nature's Window' on the Murchinson River 
(the flies were awful)

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Shark Bay World Heritage & Marine Park
...with its spectacular beaches, important sea grass beds and dolphins.

The first recorded landing of a European on Australian soil took place in Shark Bay in 1616 when Dutch explorer Dirk Hartog landed on the island which now bears his name

 


 

Stromatolites in Hamelin Pool 


Within the World Heritage Area of Shark Bay, Hamelin Pool is famous for its living stromatolites. 
Stromatolites are formed from one of the earliest life forms—single-celled organisms called cyanobacteria—which use sediment and other organic material to build the rock-like stuctures. Slow growing, a 1-m (3 ft) high stromatolite is estimated to be 2,000 million years old. Although stromatolites are found in fossilized forms, Hamelin Pool is one of only a few places on earth where living stromatolites can be seen.

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they don't do a lot!!

but I suppose after 2,000 million years growing, our 15 minute visit was unlikely to prompt any great activity!

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Those pesky flies!!!!

 

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A shell quarry.  Stones are only cut now to maintain historic buildings in the area

 

Shell Beach

This is a stunning beach with the shells some 10m deep in places. In the past they were used for building materials.  The water is only knee deep up to about 100m out.  The hypersaline water, typical of the whole of the Shark Bay area was very warm.  We disturbed a couple of 1 metre plus sharks whilst paddling, but the seemed more scared of us!

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Laurie was embarrassed! 
(you would be with a figure like that!)

 

 

 

 

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There were a couple reef sharks (3-4 feet) basking in the warm water waiting for unsuspecting paddlers to step on them

 

 

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There it was...gone!

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don't ask !!!

 

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Eagle Bluff

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