Our 8 day trip from Broome to Perth didn't start well. 2 of the girls that had been with us since Darwin had to be dropped off at hospital on the way, as one of them, Lannie couldn't drink and swallow. It turned out she had an abcess on one of her tonsils. We later found out that after being admitted to hospital, she even stopped breathing briefly. She's recovering after an operation though. Great news.
In the end we managed about 650 Km of the intended 950 Km, and spent the night on an old cattle station where we were royally welcomed and Ellie joined me in the night in my swag bag. Ellie is the pet dog. We joined a tour group from the same company heading in the opposite direction, and in the morning we all went to a rock hill on the station to see some 20,000 year old Aboriginal drawings scratched into the rock (Petroglyphs). These are different to the modern Aboriginal drawings (only 15,000 years old or younger) as they don't have to be constantly repainted to maintain them. It's a bit weird to realise that their culture has remained so much intact that these drawings survive, as originally painted, over thousands of years. They are used to illustrate stories passed down by the elders, to the young, to teach ethics and morals, and to keep their fragile societies intact.
On the way back to the homestead, we passed our first kangaroos, as well as the station's pet camel.
We finally arrived in Karijini National Park in the afternoon, where we were able to walk Dales Gorge, swimming in both Circular Pool and Fortescue Falls.
On Wednesday we visited more Falls and Gorges with a hike and a swim, then for Andy and most of the group came the scary 'Miracle Mile'. This is actually about 5 Km, and after jumping into the pool at the end of the first section, there is no option to turn back. We then had to make our way through ravines, cracks in the rocks, sometimes swimming, sometimes clinging to narrow ledges 20m above the ground. After stumbling down a steep descent that morning, Jo wisely decided to volunteer to take photographs from the top of the gorge. Those of us who attempted the challenge all emerged unscathed, apart from some missing patches of skin, and one waterlogged camera. We slept well that night!
Thursday - A few hundred kilometers of driving, and in time to arrive at a long gorgeous and nameless beach near Exmouth, which we had to ourselves most of the time, apart from the dolphins and tuna out at sea. If this was beach in the Med, it would be constantly packed.
We reluctantly dragged ourselves back to the bus for the last little stretch to a lively resort in Exmouth, where we had dinner, then played pool in the bar with locals.
Friday, and a stroke of luck. We first had a short drive to Coral Bay , a nice spot where all kind of activities are available, based around the 400 km Ningaloo Reef. We tried to go on the Manta Ray/snorkelling cruise, along with our Belgian friends Frank and Lise.Fortunately there where only 3 places left, so Jo and Lise went on the cruise, and Andy and Frank were allowed to go on the quad biking trip. Jo and Lise got to snorkel above some massive Manta Rays, saw lots of turtles from the boat, and spent some time snorkelling over great coral.
Andy and Frank first drove South on the quad bikes to watch turtles just off shore, then after lunch went North to snorkel where coral reef came right up to the beach, then again at a second spot where Andy went out twice, and got to swim with a turtle each time. This plus driving over dunes at up to 69 km/h. What a great day for all of us, topped off in the evening by walking along the beach to watch reef sharks swimming just a few metres out, then flying fish and a great sunset, as we walked back. The only thing that spoilt it was a group of young guys starting a party at 2.30a.m. . It reminded me of a few English campsites. Even after a couple of people, including our guide, spoke to them the music went on. Somehow, Jo, coccooned in her sleeping bag and swag bag, managed to sleep through the whole thing. How?
Saturday morning found us sitting in the bus again (or in Andy's case half-sitting. According to the doctor it's just a slightly bruised coccyx), on our way to Shark Bay. First stop was to see the Stromatolites, the oldest type of organism still living, which when it was widespread, pumped enough oxygen into the air to enable complex life forms to develop, which then ate most of the Stromatolites as a way of saying thank you. Nearby, a layer of shell, 10m deep, is compacted enough to quarry and use as building blocks, but this has now been banned, except where needed for maintenance. Also at this site was an old telegraph repeater station, so for somewhere in the middle of nowhere, there is quite a bit to see. We then had a quick stop at Shell Beach, before completing today's journey to Monkey Mia. There we had a sunset cruise on an ex-racing catameran, and late in the evening, an astronomy tour. It's amazing the stars you can see when there's no background light pollution from towns and cities. That night we slept on the beach in our swag bags.
Sunday morning we got up early for one of the highlights of the tour - feeding the dolphins. Some visitors are picked to feed the dolphins, that come in especially for free food, while everybody else stands in the water and the dolphins swim around their ankles. Unfortunately the dolphins must have made other plans for the morning, and didn't show (for only the second time in our guide's 94 visits). To compensate, the guide took us to Eagle Bluff to watch sharks and rays swimming in the sea below.
The delay while waiting for dolphins left us with only just enough time in Kalbarri National Park for a quick trip to 'Nature's Window', a squarish hole in the rocks with a nice view through it. In the evening we had our first night in a tent, as there was a bit of rain about.
Monday was mostly driving, but we did get to see the amazing 'Pinnacles' desert, before continuing to Perth. Shortly after, Jo and I reached our apartment in Fremantle. Both the apartment and Fremantle are great, but more on Freo in the next update.
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