Saturday, October 31, 2009

Weird and wacky

Rain. Full bodied drops of camper cleansing rain. Aaaahhh bliss. Nothing like a rainy day, gazing out to sea as the wind whips its fury across the crest of a wave. Passing through coastal cray fishing towns we landed at Jurien Bay. A smaller town than we had presumed, but a great vantage point to discover the weird and wacky of WA.

It's raining- on our way to Jurien Bay

Stockyard Gully National Park- a natural gully once used to yard droving cattle, is home to some secret caves. A walk along the gully floor leads you 300 metres through the main cave. Armed with torches we trod the sandy floor- it was seriously pitch black inside.

Inside the Stockmans Gully Cave
Stockmans Gully, leading to the secret cave

The old limestone walls were nothing special to look at, but the sheer size of the cave, which appears out of nowhere was pretty cool. Lucky the day was rainy, as a swarm of bees have set up camp at the far entrance, but where stilled in the wet weather.
Returning home, we detoured through the ‘drive through’ Lesueur National Park. We have now seen many wildflowers along our travelling route, however the wildflowers in is park where pretty special. The park actually contains 10% of WA’s flora, including plants found nowhere else in the world.
Lesueur National Park

Sweeping valleys of shrubs and flowers are enclosed by a ring of hills and plateau’s, segregating the plants from beyond.
But it was Nambung National Park that had the wackiest feature. The Pinnacles- limestone pillars rising like gnarled fingers grasping for air out of the yellow sand dunes. Scientists are not really sure how they formed and the mystery of these thousands of structures may never be solved. We had both heard of the Pinnacles, but were shocked to see how many there were and how yellow the sand, given the surrounding white sand dunes.

The Pinnacles

The weird and wacky delights continued with a viewing of more stromatolites and their cousins- the thrombolites. Were stromatolites grow in layers, thrombolites grow in clusters. They all end up looking pretty much the same though- like lumps of rock.

Stromatolite and Thrombolite

Things are not always as they seem though- the lumps of wood lying on the road were actually Bob Tailed Skinks, there were so many of them, we were constantly dodging these slow lizards so as not to run over them. Some we had to stop to move out of the way, although they were not always agreeable to being moved off the warm road.

Bob Tailed Skink- not happy about being moved out of the way

As we head south, to the bottom of WA, we have truly left the outback behind. Although we still peer out of the window to endless countryside, it is no longer the wild Australian bush. We have now entered the ‘country’ with her man made fields, chopped trees and livestock. Our drive south, was a big one covering nearly 500 kilometres in one day. Weary and in need of a warm shower, we decided to stopover at Kojonup for the night. The brisk evening added to the Blue Mountains feel of this town, but 1970’s style buildings and plentiful sheep had us elsewhere.
Refreshed it was onto Albany. Now at the southern most point of WA, the coast is broken up into many bays with granite islands rising out of the sea. It is a spectacular coastline and was the last sight for many Australian soldiers who were to die at Gallipoli.

View across to ANZAC monument and out to sea

Albany is actually the town where the first dawn service was held in 1918, now a tradition of every ANZAC day. Mt Clarence, rising majestically above the town, was where the people of Albany gathered in 1914 to watch the convoy of ships destined for Egypt. The soldiers were then trained there before landing at Gallipoli. Now it hosts a monument to those who will never return to the harbour and a poignant spot, reflecting the ANZAC spirit.
Albany and her surrounds are full of natural beauty, including Little Beach. Finally, I had found a great beach.




Little Beach, Albany




The water was so clear and blue it looked like a jelly slowly wobbling, as the waves lapped the shore. Alas, the weather was not commensurate to my beach ideal. So, it was off to admire the coastal cliffs. With surging seas straight from Antarctica, the huge granite boulders of the coastline have been weathered into many interesting formations.

Natural bridge formation, Albany coast

A wind farm takes advantage of the weather here, the turbines towering above the mesmerising granite strewn landscape. The granite strewn Albany coastline

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Our parents are aliens

Kalbarri is a popular seaside holiday town and the nearby Kalbarri National Park is where the famous WA wildflowers run rampant. Although now at the end of the wildflower season, the National Park still delighted us with many diverse blooms and colours on show.












Wildflowers, Kalbarri National Park

Gorges are the main feature of this park, with many rock formations having been carved over millions of years from the strong winds. Natures Window, the most famous, is a magic spot to take a photo framing the Murchison River below.

Nature's Window- Kalbarri National Park

With many options available Dave and I played tourist and visited all the ‘must do’s. Rainbow Jungle breeds all number of endangered (and some not so) parrots and native birds. Meandering through the ‘jungle’ we encountered many colourful birds we have seen in the wild and those that are now only seen in captivity.

Rainbow Jungle friend

The Black Cockatoos and Macaws were a favourite, but boy do they have a squawk on them.

Black Cockatoo, Rainbow Jungle

The Seahorse Sanctuary was set up for conservation purposes, to stop the pet shop trade of taking seahorses from the wild. Not used to eating ‘frozen shrimp’ most wild caught only last 6 weeks. However, there are no protection laws for these fish and up to a million are collected from the sea each year.

Seahorses!

At the sanctuary they are bred and then taught to eat frozen shrimp. Thankfully, many pet shops globally, are now sourcing their stock from this sanctuary. So if you are in the market for a seahorse, make sure you demand one that has been bred in captivity! We were also lucky enough to see the bubs- seahorses that had been born only 2 hours prior! Less than a centimetre long, they were miniature replicas of Dad, who had given birth to them (yes, Dad gives birth).

Baby seahorses

An afternoon drive took us along the cliffs surrounding Kalbarri. The scene reminded us of the Great Ocean Road, complete with a bridge and island (apostle) formations formed by the fracturing and decaying of the cliff. With a southerly wind gaining strength and making it rather chilly, we also felt like we were back in Victoria too.


Kalbarri Coastal cliffs

This part of the coast is home to much European history, with many ships having become wrecked in the uncharted waters. A small inlet near Kalbarri can boast to be the site of the first European’s settling on the mainland of Australia. Dutch sailors Wouter Loos and Jan Pelgrom de Bye, survivors from the shipwrecked Batavia, were marooned here on November 16, 1629. They were mutineers, however being of a young age; the Captain took pity and did not implement the same death sentence their comrades received. They were given provisions and materials for shelter yet it is a mystery what became of them- did they perish, or did they survive with the help of local aboriginals?
Leaving Kalbarri, we also left Australia- just for a short while, as we entered the Principality of Hutt River. Back on April 21, 1970, having seceded from the Commonwealth of Australia, the Principality of Hutt River became an Independent Sovereign State. Located 595 kilometres from Perth, the principality is about 75 kilometres in area (about the size of Hong Kong). We met with HRH Prince Leonard, who showed us around, having processed our passports in the Government building. This building and the Post Office displays all the stamps, coins and other memorabilia from the past 40 years of existence.

Having my passport stamped by HRH Prince Leonard

It was here we also learnt that our parents are aliens. In 1948 Great Britain withdrew citizenship from Australians, probably worried that we would all journey back to the mother land to settle. We had become British Subjects, or Commonwealth Citizens without citizenship. Therefore, on January 26, 1949 Australia’s Citizenship Act gave citizenship to everyone born in Australia after January 26, 1949. Then in 1973 Australia’s Citizenship Act deleted recognition of ‘British Subjects without citizenship’. This means that unless persons born in Australia before January 26, 1949 are naturalised, they are by law ‘aliens’!!
Bidding farewell to the Price, we were soon back on Australian soil, and stopped for a coffee in the historic town of Northampton, on our way to Geraldton. As Geraldton is our first big town for a long while it was time to stock up the pantry. However, Dave took me somewhere special first- to the local Health Clinic for a Swine Flu vaccination. So romantic..... (hee hee).
With the story of the HMAS Sydney fresh in our minds, having been found only last year, we visited the memorial. It is an impressive tribute to the 645 men who lost their lives, when attacked by the German Kormoran in the Second World War. A visit to the museum enabled us to view pictures of the watery grave, where all on board had lost their lives. The attack of this ‘Pride of the Australian fleet’ was kept quiet for 12 days, and with only accounts from the German survivors much conspiracy prevailed.

HMAS Sydney Memorial












The museum also houses many relics salvaged from the Dutch Ships, which became wrecked in the 16 and 1700’s, off the coast of this uncharted land.
The Francis Xavier Cathedral, built in 1916 (but not completed until 1938), is an impressive Roman style building in the heart of town. Not of a religious nature, we still like to view these beautiful buildings and feel the spiritual power within. However, the Francis Xavier Cathedral makes you feel like you have entered a lolly shop. The entire inside of the church has been painted in grey and white stripes with an orange and white stripe trim!



Inside Francis Xavier Church





With the winds having abated, we continued hugging the coast and are settled in the fishing town of Dongara. Our home is 20 metres from the town beach, however we couldn’t miss the opportunity to stroll around to South Beach- one of Australia’s Top 10 beaches. We didn’t make onto this beach, the raw stench of huge piles of rotting sea grass made us retch. Possibly it is not always like this, but I am still on my quest to find a good beach in WA.

Sunday, October 18, 2009

WOW WEE

West Australia is huge with vast uninhabited areas of ‘nothing’ spreading across her belly. Distances between towns cover many miles. It is much like the landscape of Central Australia; only the sea is ever present, offering some cool relief.

We pulled off the road to let this one pass

Mining is expanding the remote towns, but infrastructure has to be trucked, on oversized trucks, from far afield. With only a narrow two lane highway, it is easier to pull off onto the verge to let these oversize trucks pass.
However, upon arrival at the World Heritage Shark Bay area, the sights on offer assured us the journey has been well worth it. Hamelin Pool, makes the mind boggle. This is one of the few places in the world, where you can view Stromatolites. Stromatolites are literally the first life forms on earth. Made of cyanobacteria, they lived alone on earth for 3.5 billion years, happily growing ever so slowly in the hyper saline waters, at a time when oxygen was scarce.

Stromatolites!

As the stromatolite colonies expanded they released more oxygen, raising the level to 20% of all atmospheric gases. This led the way for breathing life forms to evolve and ultimately us! Without these rock like formations, we would never have existed. WOW.

They look just like rocks in the water....

Over 60 years have passed since Hamelin Pool housed a jetty to load wool onto awaiting dinghies. Back then the importance of these ‘rocks’ was not known, and growing at a rate of only 1cm every 30 years, the camel wagon tracks can still be clearly seen criss-crossing the Stromatolite formations.

Camel wagon tracks in the Stromatolites

The Shark Bay World Heritage area has many world exclusives. Although similar fish species are found in other waters, many, like the Pink Snapper, have adapted to the hyper saline waters, making them unique to this area. The tiny Cardiid Cockle is also only found here. Waves constantly wash these shells ashore in such large quantities that Shell Beach, is quite literally solely made up of these tiny shells. Dig down 10 metres and you will still only find shell! Having being washed ashore for the last 6000 years, they cover a decent amount of area. Small quantities of calcium carbonate within the shells dissolve in rainwater and then dry to become a white crystal, which binds them together. The resulting soft limestone is called coquina.

Shell Beach



Coquina Shell quarry

This coquina has been quarried to construct buildings in the town of Denham- Australia’s most westerly town. A very pretty little town, with friendly locals, the caravan park even had its own mascot- a huge Newfoundland dog!
Francois Peron National Park also lies within the Shark Bay World Heritage area and many features within the park contributed to the World Heritage listing. Offering views of the coastline out to sea, you can see dugongs, dolphins, turtles and rays. Unfortunately on the day of our visit only the rays were on show. The land based critters proved to be more prolific. Having followed a goanna track, we were soon eye to eye with him. It was nearing lunchtime, so I guess it was acceptable that he had caught a small furry ‘thing’ and was slowly devouring him live.


Goanna has some lunch

Poor little critter.... We walked along the rust red sandy cliff top, which reached down to the white sand beach and out to the aqua blue sea, making the whole scene a spectacular sight.

Red cliffs lead to a white sandy beach and aqua waters in the National Park

The national park was actually once a pastoral station, with the homestead now a visitor’s centre. The original artesian bore, which had been made into a hot tub, has been maintained and was great for a soak in after our long walk. The water is a constant 44 degrees, so we did not stay in for too long though.

Relaxing in the hot tub

It was well worth the drive out here, even though the red sandy track was very soft in sections up and over sand dunes and tested Dave’s 4WD skills.

But, the most famous attraction of this area is Monkey Mia. Setting the alarm, Dave and I awoke early to be ready for the 7.30am ‘feeding of the dolphins’. As we walked down the beach, we were accompanied by a couple of dolphins, leading us to the interaction area. Standing ankle deep at the water’s edge, the dolphins swam in close to check us out.

Dolphins popping over to check us out

Even the calves swam up to our feet under the watchful eye of Mum. These dolphins are Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphins- smaller and cuter than the Common Bottlenose Dolphin. After half an hour of playtime, buckets of fish were brought down. Only 5 dolphins are fed, and if those five don’t turn up, there is no feeding. We didn’t realise how lucky we were to have all the feeding dolphins and an additional eight turn up, until the next day, when only two were on hand. To ensure the dolphins’ still hunt in the wild only a small amount is offered. This means only a handful of people from the audience are chosen to ‘give a fish’. I was very fortunate to be selected and fed a dolphin named Surprise!

Me feeding Surprise!!

Monkey Mia is a very pretty spot, and I could have sat under the palm tree watching the dolphins frolic all day.

It is not just the dolphins who enjoy excellent fishing in these waters. Our neighbour, a regular at Monkey Mia, took his boat out fishing daily and supplied us with Mackerel, which he filleted and Blue Swimmer Crabs. Confirming that we both liked Chilli, he even cooked them for us!
Alas, with more of this World Heritage area to see, it was time to say goodbye to our dolphin friends.

The most westerly point of Australia!

Steep Point has the claim of being the most westerly point of Australia. Having been to the most easterly and southern, it was a photo we had to have. We were told the road out was 4WD only, covering sand dunes and a rough track. We were quite happy to discover the road in good repair, with only one hair raising steep sand dune. In fact, we really enjoyed the 180 kilometre trip out to Steep Point. What we hadn’t been told was how breathtakingly beautiful the journey would be. The colour of the water, the virgin sand dunes, and the collage of different coloured bushes left us with a lump in your throat feeling. This pristine wilderness will become the Edel Land National Park in the future and well worth a visit. Being a narrow point, we had beaches on one side and cliffs on the other. The Zuytdorp Cliffs tower 170 metres above the water, however the waves below crashing were sending spray almost to the top!
Water shooting up the Zuytdorp Cliff illustrates why "King Waves Kill"


The Shark Bay World Heritage Area is our favourite destination to date. Alas, after a week exploring her delights we were on the road again. We (finally) left the Outback Coast and watched the scenery became increasingly lush until a path of wildflowers lined the highway to Kalbarri.

Friday, October 9, 2009

The not so big banana

Supplying 70% of WA’s winter vegetables, Carnarvon is in located in the heart of the food bowl, on the Coral Coast. However, we feel this stretch should be renamed the Windy Coast. Alas, from August to March each year winds gust along this stretch of coastline, making our outdoor lifestyle a little more indoors. Most of the trees here grow at 90 degrees! Still the winds have not been too bad and we have enjoyed some wind free time.

The Big Banana, Carnarvon

The region is akin to a smaller version of the Sunshine Coast, complete with a ‘Big Banana’. That is the Sunshine Coast of the 1950’s, before development took over. We had plans to catch a movie, but with only one film shown once a day at 11.30am, it was not to be.
Carnarvon is famous for the HMAS Sydney II, which was sunk by the German Raider, the Kormoran, killing all 645 on board. The coastline here is rough and perilous, so one can only imagine the terror of that fateful night in 1941. Yesterday’s enemies are today’s friends and monuments of both the Sydney and Kormoran make a poignant reminder to the waste of human life.
The heritage precinct of Carnarvon gives a taste of life in the late 1800’s, when a one mile jetty was made to transport wool and livestock to awaiting ships.

One mile jetty, Carnarvon

We could only walk about three quarters of the jetty, a fire having destroyed the remainder (however it is being restored). Perhaps just as well we could not walk out to sea any further, it was a long way and it was very windy. The precinct also showcases the lighthouse keeper’s cottage, furnished from an early moment in time. The railway shed displays a lifeboat from the Kormoran, the only relic to have been found, until the discovery of both the ships last year.

Lighthouse keepers cottage, as seen from the water tank

With a rare still day, we set off for the Quobba Blowholes, 75 kilometres north. Powerful ocean swells force water through sea caves and out of narrow holes in the rocks. The subsequent jets of water project high up into the air and it was like watching a firework display. We may not have had the pretty colours, but the sheer force did produce the requisite accompanying sound.

Quobba Blowholes

The coastline was serene but very rugged, however we managed to find a grotto to plonk our bums for a picnic lunch. No need to do a whale tour here- while we ate a pod of whales where breaching a mere 50 metres from the shore.

Snorkelling lagoon at Quobba Blowholes

With the winds still at bay, it was off to Miaboolya Beach. The beach is not really one for sunbaking, but is popular for fishing. However, having snorkelled and been privy to the underwater lives of these tasty morsels, we found ourselves not able to fish and ‘kill’ them. Instead, we walked the beach collecting rubbish (which we even recycled). What are we becoming? Lucky Dave shaved off his mo and beard, I may have thought he was turning alternative.

Collecting rubbish, Miaboolya Beach

This morning we actually awoke to liquorice coloured clouds and knew that our 6 months with no rain was finally over. The first few spots arrived and we got a little excited. Alas, the drizzle was soon over and the sun was beaming down once more. Still it gave us an excuse to drive to a few plantations and purchase fruit and veg.