To get from town to town in WA, there was a whole lot of road with not much to see. We were very grateful for all the wildlife that we did see. The locals warned us that they would be rare. (We didn't know what this strange anteater-like thing was though.) Shark Bay is one of only two places in the world where living marine stromatolites exist. These living fossils contain microbes unchanged from those found 3.5 billion years ago - the earliest still existing ...

At 7.30am, the 3 Island Whale Shark Dive crew picked us up from the hotel. We met others and headed out to their boat on Ningaloo Reef. We spent the first part of the morning snorkeling in the inner reef. After morning tea, their spotter plane radioed that they had found a whaleshark. They quickly zoomed outside the reef and positioned us in front of the whaleshark's feeding path. With masks and fins on, we jumped out and flanked the magnficient creature a...

Ningaloo Marine Park protects the world-famous Ningaloo Reef, Australia's largest and most accessible fringing reef. Turquoise Bay was one of the shallow beaches that we snorkeled in. (Yes, we bought our own snorkel gear!) It had dazzling white sandy beaches, clear warm water and incredible sealife. On the way back to Exmouth, we spotted a perentie, Australia's largest reptile and second largest in the world next to the komodo dragon. It surprisingly w...

Exmouth! When northwest Australia was considered to be under threat from Japanese invasion in World War II, this area became a focus of attention. Operation Potshot was launched in 1942 to establish a military base in Exmouth Gulf. We didn't know there was American presence here. The street names like Washington Drive should have gave it away. At one time, up to 1000 U.S. servicemen were resident in the area with a supporting airbase, anti-aircraft guns, and...

Kalbarri National Park surrounds the lower reaches of the Murchison River, which has cut through the red and white banded sandstone to create formations such as scenic gorges, soaring sea cliffs, and sandstone buffs that plunge more than 100 metres to the ocean. One afternoon, we explored Rainbow Jungle, a parrot breeding center. A local told us that another Canadian teacher was on exchange here. Too bad we didn't know otherwise we would have possibly met up ...