Our days drive back to Cowaramup was exceedingly wet so not much to report as we did not linger. It's possible the bandicoots that yellow triangles were warning of were out there, but we did not see them through the rain.
Our focus today was inside the car where we listened to Dorothy's early show on Albany community radio until she faded out of range. 1950's songs and the occasional band of pipers were from her home collection and the weather is sponsored by Albany Meat and Poultry, (we think they need to pay more and get someone who will bring better weather).
Our new cd, The Very Best of Australia, then had us singing merrily through the WA countryside. We are now pretty familiar with songs like Waltzing Matilda, Along the Road to Gundagai, Home Among the Gum Trees, Where the Dog Sits on the Tuckerbox, and my two favourites Aussie BBQ and Have a Beer with Duncan. Watch out Honiton Memory Cafe I feel an Aussie singalong coming on!
When I talked about the whales yesterday I forgot to mention the sharks. The whalers were in constant danger from the Great White Sharks who followed the boats and closed in to feast on any captured whales. Consequently the sharks were killed in vast numbers. When the whaling stopped in the late 1970's Australia protected the whales. Western Australia became one of a handful of places in the world to also protect the Great White Sharks.
Over the past 100 years only about 12 people have been taken by Great Whites off the WA coast. Sadly in the past year there have been 5 fatal shark attacks locally. No one knows why and it is the cause of much debate. On this evenings news the State Government announced that these big sharks will now be killed if they come within a certain distance of the shore. There are many people who support this but a lot that don't. The coastal waters are a great attraction to this part of the world tourism being a major industry. The debate will continue I'm sure.