Shark Bay

We moved on, reluctantly, from Coral Bay, passing through Carnarvon. This is the first town we have come to on the west coast located on a river, the Gascoyne River, and therefore has some farming and cultivation around it. We saw mango and banana plantations, as well as various fresh vegetables - a nice change. However when we crossed the bridge across the river, it was completely dry. Apparently the river mostly flows underground, and irrigation happens through bores. It seems to work.

The main claim to fame of the town is a long jetty with a train that runs down it, which used to carry sheep and supplies, but now mostly carries young kids for fun. The train runs to the end of the jetty, but then the rails run out. It used to go into town, but not anymore. Its other claim to fame is a large dish antenna which was used by NASA for the moon missions. There was a museum about all this, but it closed at 3 pm, so we missed it. Took a photo with the dish though.

Next stop was the Shark Bay World Heritage Area, a large and interesting region covering two peninsulas and two bays, on the westernmost part of Aus - the bit that bulges out to the side. The best way to get your head around it is to imagine a large 'W'. The right arm of the W is the mainland, the middle bit is a long thin tongue of land over 100 kms long and between 3 and 30 kms wide. This is where most of the interesting bits are, including the towns of Denham and Monkey Mia - famous for its dolphins. The left arm of the W is another long thin tongue of land, but is completely undeveloped, containing only a few 4 WD tracks. This is the most westerly point of Australia, but is very difficult to get to. We settled for Denham, the most westerly town in Australia, and the Shark Bay Hotel, the most westerly pub.

Between the arms of the W are two large bays. The one to the right is very shallow, and has a large sandbar at its opening to the sea. The result is that water comes in with the tides, but can't come out very well. Being such a warm dry climate, most of the water just evaporates, leaving the bay very salty. This is the perfect environment for something called stromatilites, a very ancient type of bacteria or algae which is thought to be billions of years old, probably the oldest life form on the planet. They actually look a lot like rocks, but if you watch them carefully, they produce oxygen, and bubbles are continually coming up off them.

The other unusual thing here is the shore, made up of billions of tiny shells. With time and pressure, these have been compressed and formed a solid mass. Blocks of this substance were quarried and dug out, and used to build many of the buildings in this area.

Denham is a really nice town, on the west coast of the "middle bit." It has a nice beach, a marina, and the most gorgeous sunsets. About 25 kms from there is Monkey Mia, on the east coast of "the middle bit." Of course everyone has heard of Monkey Mia and its dolphins, and because of that I was not expecting much, especially after Tin Can Bay. Generally if there is a lot of hype, I find I am often disappointed.

I was actually pleasantly surprised, I was not as disappointed as I thought I would be. Entry fee was $12 per vehicle, which was reasonable. There was a "Dolphin Centre" with information and displays, but then we stepped into the water up to our knees and waited for the dolphins to come. They did, a pod of about 5 or 6, playing and cavorting in the shallows. Only a few people were picked out of the crowd to feed a dolphin, and I was one of them. It was not as personal as Tin Can Bay, where the girls knew each dolphin by name, and we could be touched and nudged by them. Here it was a lot more "professional" and stand offish, but then there were a lot more people. So overall it was quite nice, but not nearly as good as Tin Can Bay.

After Monkey Mia, we checked out another place close by called Ocean Park, which is like a large aquarium showcasing all the local sea life. The thing about this is you are guided around the whole thing by the two young men who set it up, and they are actually marine biologists, and very knowledgable. We met a man who knew them and told us their story. They were keen to set up something like this, and applied to all the shires in WA for years before anyone would let them. Then they finally got it off the ground, but only asked for a gold coin donation, which really didn't work. This guy gave them some business advice, and it has developed well since then, even including a cafe and souvenirs. The shark feeding was particularly fun.

GeorgY's bit

The train on the jetty used to run a serious task, loading ships over a long tidal port. I think it was originally powered by horses or camels, and later mechanized. Now the museum houses relics of machinery and some pictures collected and displayed in a large shed. The train is powered by a Victa engine and, apart from the wheels on the track, had nothing authentic. It was slower than a hippie on a late night, and apparently decorated by one.

Shell beach is made of small shells, tons and tons of tiny shells that fill everywhere you go. But, for some reason someone had been given the important task of putting a sign with "Do not pick shells." I decided to take some, but then could not be bothered.

Monkey Mia also served hot buffet breakky for $25 but we opted for a lighter meal and enjoyed the serenity and the beauty of the place.