My itchy feet have been scratched

After staying in the town of Denham dog-sitting for a week, I had pretty itchy feet and was surprisingly keen to get driving and sleeping in the van once again. Leaving Shark Bay meant a stop at a pretty amazing beach. It covers an area of around 120km and on 'Shell Beach' the tiny cockle shells are up to 10 metres deep.

Shell Beach, Shark Bay, WA

I made tracks slowly north and stayed at a few great camp spots along the way to Canarvon. Where they have a BIGish banana.

BIG Banana, Canarvon, WA

They also have some smaller ones....

Canarvon, WA

Canarvon was flooded in December last year when entire homes were washed away, no people died but 2000 cattle are thought to have perished, and damage has been estimated at $100million. The town seems to be getting back on track, but evidence of lost industry is still very visible. 

Luckily though, the BIG egg survived!

Along the Food trail, The BIG egg, Canarvon, WA

 I called in to the local radio station which not only is covered in security bars, but is also located directly next door to the mental health service. Seems to make perfect sense to me.

There I met Rosie who was and is, the only person at the station. She came over from the UK backpacking when she landed a job at the local pub. There, she was approached about doing a shift on air. 3 years later she does the breakfast show, is the only local sales rep, works reception, and if there are any technical issues gets instructions from someone on the phone in Perth. I suppose it's one way to get in to radio, and score a residency visa! Everything else for the station is done from Perth.

Hot Hits/Classic Hits, Canarvon, WA

Although the town isn't currently a hub for space age technology, it actually once was. It was from the OTC Dish that Australia received its first satellite television broadcast. The dish also participated in the space race and helped put man on the moon in 1969. After assisting in tracking Halley's Comet in 1987 it closed down, but it's still a pretty impressive site, and it's from here you get a panoramic view of the town and surrounding beaches.

OTC Dish, Canarvon, WA

So, on the road again, and off to the Blowholes. These weren't the first I'd been to see, but they were the first that were really doing their thing!

Blowholes, WA

It's at this site that a plaque reads "Is fishing worth risking your life? These people lost theirs......." It goes on to name ONE person, but has plenty of space left below for more names to be added. Guess their pretty optimistic that someone else will get unlucky!

So here's how it could go. One minute you're casually casting your line over the cliff edge.......

Blowholes, WA

Then WHOOOSH!!!

Blowholes, WA

Just 1km south of here is the very calm, coral filled lagoon of Point Quobba. Thers a campsite here that many people have made their semi-permanent home. And it's easy to see why.

Point Quobba, WA

The drive back on to the highway takes you from beautiful beaches to other spectacular sites.

And thankfully it seems, they just keep on coming!

A few simple stats FYI:

Days since departure : 53

Kilometres travelled : 6107

Kangaroos hit : 0

It's about the people you meet. Shark Bay, WA.

I haven't driven very far since my last blog. About 30kms to be precise! The great thing about doing this trip is I can pretty much take as long or as short a time in a place as I like, and after leaving Monkey Mia I was keen to stay around the Shark Bay area a little longer. The perfect opportunity was right there in the General Store window. A notice advertising for free accommodation in return for taking the owners dogs for daily walks. Plus a few more unmentioned chores. So, meet Bella & Noah!

I met up with *Bob to see what the job involved and what I discovered was that I had actually met up with the local eccentric; by his own admission. Bob, an Englishman who has lived in the area for 40 years was heading away for the week, and with his wife away in the UK, he needed the dogs walked, fed, and kept company. Then there was the cat. Plus the caged birds, and chooks to feed, water and eggs to collect. For a weeks free accommodation in a beautiful area of WA, I was more than happy.

The view from the driveway.

As great as the opportunity was, it was the priceless chance to interact with the man that in his own words, you 'either want to shoot, or will find entertaining'. Although I can understand both options, thankfully I found him entertaining. In his early 70's, a one time soldier, merchant seaman, a sometime Gospel preacher, marriage celebrant, tour guide operator and small town journalist. He's also written this book.

In 1974 he built what is claimed to be the only shell block restaurant in the world...which is also the most western restaurant in Australia.

One of the shell bricks in the 'Old Pearler'

His own home is also his own handiwork. It has a real Spanish feel to it, with the kitchen and one living area on one side of a walled courtyard, and another living area plus bedrooms to the other side. With 2 front doors, I asked whether they had the same key for both. Hmmm, so apparently there are no keys, in fact, the doors don't even shut!!! Got to love small town trust.

My home for the week

Before Bob left for his week away, we didn't just go through my list of chores, we also went and met what felt like everyone in town! He's a very good talker, and felt the need or want to explain my back story to the butcher, hairdresser, chemist, mechanic, baker, newsagent, and the lady in the gift shop. 

Bob is the local 'go to' guy. Any unwanted clothes or bric-a-brac get put in to one of the caravans he has on his property, and whatever doesn't get taken by locals, gets delivered to an Aboriginal community near Canarvan. So after meeting the town, we took the ute to do a bit of a collection around town, and this is when I managed to score a little something for myself.

I had planned at the next major town I visited to get a new mattress for my van, as the foam one just wasn't cutting it. So I thought, why not just throw the idea out there to my new friend. Within 10 minutes of my ask, I had a fantastic new innerspring mattress!!!

So not only do I now have a very comfortable new bed, I also have fresh eggs daily, HUGE snapper fillets from his freezer every night for tea, the use of his ute to drive around, an account to use at the servo & General Store, but I also get this view as I take the dogs for their daily stroll.

This IS Shark Bay, but there hasn't been a shark attack in over 100 years, the sharks have plenty of other food so don't need to bother with people, So yes, even I have been brave enough to have a dip. Well, it is an average of 24 degrees each day. In winter.

*Bob is not the real name of my new friend. I'd prefer not to name the person who leaves his house open, and keys to the ute on the dash. For privacy reasons as you'd understand.

Monkey Mia *may contain dolphin

Wula guda nyinda - you come this way.

For a long time I have wanted to visit Monkey Mia. A remote area between Geraldton & Canarvon on the coast in the Shark Bay World Heritage Area, the traditional home of the Nhanda & Malgana people.

My initial impression was a reminder of Italian shores, with its warm clean air and turquoise calm waters. But a bottle of Toohey's extra dry in the outdoor bar next to a blonde dreadlocked grommet certainly brought me back to Australia!

I'd heard Monkey Mia was a beautiful place, where bottlenose dolphins freely visit each day for a feed, and you can get an experience that you don't get in any marine park. The dolphins are wild so there are no guarantees, but they've been coming in to shore almost daily since the 60's (some of the regulars are in their 30's), and upon my visit they kept up their routine.

The morning ritual is not a lonely one. Everyone lines up on the grassed area near the beach, then upon instruction steps on to the sand. Then slowly you make your way in to the water. The sound of 50 or so people jumping in the water all at once is apparently a bit loud for the poor creatures, so it's a slow and steady walk.

In their own time they make their way close to shore, and only a few certain dolphins get fed each day. The resort staff have buckets of fish and choose a couple of people to make their way deeper to actually do the feeding.

It's a pretty nice way to get the day started, but I have to say, I enjoyed the next bit more! I booked a ride on the 'Shotover' to head out in to Shark Bay for a closer look at the wildlife.

View from the Shotover looking back in to Monkey Mia

There's no guarantees as to what you'll see, but dugong, turtle, shark, sea snake and of course dolphin are on the wish list. Apparently it's a bit too cold at the moment for dugong, so no luck there, and no sea snake either.

We DID however see turtles AND a tiger shark. Zoom in, trust me, that's a deadly fin right there!!

The experience of being so far from shore and the water being this incredible clear colour and these creatures swimming freely all around was just amazing. The boats engine turned off, and complete silence apart from the dolphins popping up for air. Just beautiful.

Another impressive sight on our journey was Australia's largest dedicated sail training tall ship the Leeuwin II.

Katie, a girl I'd got to know in my days here was heading out the next morning to sail for 6 days back to Perth. She suffers from motion sickness. I wish her well!

The Monkey Mia Dolphin Resort itself is a pretty interesting place. It used to be just a caravan park but has transformed over the years and offers all sorts of accommodation.

Monkey Mia Dolphin Resort

 There's no free camping in the area, so it's this place or nothing! I decided to skip the beachfront villa's and instead took the unpowered camp site option. All glamour! I have to say, not incredibly impressed. It's basically a very small gravelled car park which when it rains (which it did) floods, and to get to the toilets/laundry you have to stomp through the rough.

 If you do stay here at any point, don't be too put off because it is bearable, but just. There is no space between vans, and nocturnal noises from my neighbours kept me awake and disturbed for more hours than I'd hoped. Oh, and girls, the toilet on the far right has a redback spider living in it, and the one the far left is home to a big black furry hunstman. Just warning you to keep an on eye on them so you don't get bitten on the bum!

I did actually have something unexpected happen while I stayed here. As I looked in the window of the massage place, a sign was put up 'Massage Therapist Wanted'. I laughed because it had literally been put up in front of my face. The therapist came out and asked if I did massage. I told her my story and she was incredibly keen to sign me up. The work however wouldn't start for a couple of weeks, and would go on for a month. For reasons that will become clearer later on in my journey, I am actually on a bit of a deadline and had to turn it down. Will be very happy if this kind of opportunity springs up again later in my trip though!

Monkey Mia was certainly an experience I won't forget, and would certainly recommend you visit if you ever get the chance. More than just dolphins, there are camel rides on the beach, the pearl farm, and of course...sharks!!

The view on my last night from another trip out on the boat was pretty special, so I'll leave you with that. Good times :-)

Leeuwin II

From Perth to Monkey Mia

After almost a week in Perth, my journey north began on a VERY windy and wet day. As I woke in the morning the tent next to me was completely flooded out, and I wondered whether I should just stay another day. But apparently the weather gets warmer as you head up the coast, so I pushed on. My plan was to go to New Norcia and spend the night camping on the oval of the Benedictine Monks Monastery. New Norcia is the only monastic town in Australia, and the motto of the monks there is Pax - a Latin word for Peace. Unfortunately for me, there was very little of it that day. Putting on my raincoat, I stomped through red mud puddles to enquire at the visitor centre (which had quite a calm to it, a smell of frankincense, and a LOT of Mary MacKillop memorabilia), only to be told that the oval was on a low ground and much water was being pumped out. Not an ideal camping spot, and really not a good day to look around. So one quick photo and I was off!

New Norcia, WA

Now for anyone doing this trip, the natural progression would be to make their way west again and visit the Pinnacles in the Nambung National Park. It wasn't an option for me. The weather was actually quite scary, and the drive from New Norcia a long and hilly one. Jean Claude (Camper Van Damn!) was running on gas and going up those hills farted his way to the top...just! Stalling on an up stretch while fearing an exposion from the back end made for a pretty interesting day. Mum actually called me on this drive and asked where I was. "I have no bloody idea!' I screamed. "But if I have signal when I get there I'll call and let you know". I didn't have signal when I got 'there', but thankfully the camp on the roadside somewhere between the Pinnacles & Geraldton was calm and treated me well for the night. I later discovered that the weather in Perth had ripped roofs from houses and flooded some roads. I'm not surprised!

With the bad weather behind me I slowly made my way to Geraldton via Jurien Bay & Greenough. A campsite at Ellendale Pool is well worth a visit if ever you're coming this way. About 30km off the highway.

Ellendale Pool, WA

Along the way I called in to the home of one of the largest rock lobster fleets in WA. Port Denison did its best effort with a BIG Lobster, but I'm pretty sure I know where there's a bigger one!

Port Denison, WA

While I'm on the subject of BIG things, I must admit I was quite remiss in the very early part of my trip. Passing through Kimba Sth Aus, I passed the BIG Galah and didn't snap a picture. So thanks very much to Daz who was there last week and helped my add such beauty to this blog!

The BIG Galah, Kimba, SA

So back to the trip. I made Geraldton home for the next few nights, and apart from the wind, it was a great place to visit. It was where I got to see my first REAL sunset on this trip, and it was absolutely stunning.

Sunset Beach, Geraldton, WA

I met some people who were also on their way north, but doing it at a much faster pace than I am. They'd done this trip before so they gave me a suggested itinerary of what I needed to see along the way.

First, there was Port Gregory with its 'Pink Lake', so coloured because of the carotene secreted from alga. It's quite a sight to see, and is apparently best viewed close to sunset. I was there early, and unfortunately the photo doesn't do what I saw justice.

Pink Lake, Port Gregory, WA

And next was the coastal town situated on the edge of the Murchison River, Kalbarri. From the moment I drove in to town I knew I wanted to stay a while. It took a lot of restraint not to take photos of the sunset each night, there's only so many variations you can have right? Days walking along the beach and finding a nice spot to sit and read, a paddle down the river in the canoes ($15ph...pretty good right?) and  decent walks in the National Park. There was only so much I could take!

Kalbarri, WA

Kalbarri, WA

Back on the road again and my little camp spot for the night along the way....

Somewhere just off the highway between Kalbarri & Monkey Mia, WA.

The drive to Monkey Mia, my next destination felt like quite a long one. It was only 380km, but there were long stretches of nothing, and the sun had quite a bite to it. I called in at Hamelin Pool as I got closer to my destination, and saw the amazing Stromatolites.

Hamelin Pool is one of only a few places on earth where the living stromatolites exist, dating back 3.5 billion years. 

Hamelin Pool, WA

Hamelin Pool Telegraph Station, WA. Almost as old as the Stromatolites!

The sun was on it's way down by this stage, so I made my way as fast as JC would take me to Monkey Mia. I made it just in time for another pretty damn good sunset, and by 8.30pm on the last day of summer, the temperature was still 24 degrees. 

Monkey Mia, WA

It's not too bad a feeling on a warm....but not annoyingly hot night, to know that the next morning my day will begin with a dip in the Indian Ocean as the dolphins make there way in to shore for their morning feed. Yes, this'll do me nicely!

Next blog: Monkey Mia