Our Trip WA - Central 17-Denham / Monkey Mia
| 17-Denham / Monkey Mia |
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3rd July 2008. Stromatolites:Once again, I was reminded of how little I know about life and this planet. Stromatolites were the first forms of life to appear on earth some 3,500 million years ago and remain the longest living organisms on the planet. Hamelin Pool is the location of the best examples in the world of living marine stromatolites and is a World Heritage site. The water of Hamelin Bay is twice as saline as usual sea water because of a bar across the Bay's entrance plus the rapid evaporation from the shallow water. For more info visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamelin_Pool_Marine_Nature_Reserve . Also visited the original Post Office here established in 1884. And I thought I was old.... Hamelin Pool is also home to the shell stone quarries. Shell's have compressed and turned into solid rock like formations and most of the early buildings in Denham were built out of these blocks. Some of these original buildings are still standing today. Unfortunately Marlene took photos of everything but the quarry, good thing I got it all on video. Monkey Mia:We've heard so many negative reports about Monkey Mia but decided we needed to find out for ourselves. Anyway, decided to take a boat trip out of Monkey Mia in the afternoon to see all the dolphins, dugongs, turtles, sea snakes and sharks as advertised in their brochure. Paid the $74.00 each for the 3hour cruise and once we boarded the vessel, were told by the skipper / tour guide that there was not very much to see as it was winter and the waters had cooled to 16 degrees and most of the things we had come to see had migrated to warmer waters (19 degrees). Pity they didn't tell us that before we handed over our money. All we saw was a few dolphins from a distance plus the Pearl Farm. Overall, a very disappointing trip and waste of $148.00....     Early 5am rise the next morning to head back to Monkey Mia to see the dolphins come into the beach at 7:30am and watch them being fed. Captured some awesome footage of the sunrise and mist on the hills from the in-car cameras on the way there. .... As soon as we arrived, surveyed the scene remembering the reports we'd heard and decided to set up on the jetty overlooking the beach, rather than on the beach where all the tourists were waiting in anticipation, it was the right decision. The dolphins arrived at 7:30am and the guide / commentator talked for over half an hour before 5 lucky people were picked from the crowd to step into the water to feed the dolphins one fish each, then another 5 people were picked. If we had come here as tourists expecting to all be in the water feeding the dolphins, we would have been disappointed. It was a good result for us as we had come to film the tourists and the dolphins. Although you won't get picked to feed them, the jetty definitely offers the best views of the dolphins. Francois Peron National Park:A most enjoyable trip only accessible by 4wd vehicles. We covered such a variety of terrains from thick mud, salt flats and sandy beaches to granite and rock climbs and it was well worth it to see the views, cliffs and bays. Shark Bay Coastline:I was amazed at the number of bush camps along the coast that allowed 24hr camping / caravanning. First time we've come across such beautiful sites right down on the beach. .... Ocean Park:Heard both good and bad reports on the park. At $12.00 each, we thought it was a bit much for what it offered. Not very good facilities and it all looks a bit run down. Probably the most exciting thing we saw were the road signs coming up the road..... Shell Beach:It's a 55 ks drive from Denham, so suggest you either stop here on your way in or way out of Denham. Although it's unique, There's not much to see. It's basically a beach with not a grain of sand in sight. The beach is just shells, shells and more shells. I was surprised when walking barefoot that the shells even felt almost like sand. I was expecting them to be sharp and uncomfortable. It is estimated that the shells are over 10 meters deep. .... Life On The Road:For the first time so far on our trip, we've noticed the caravan parks are full by lunchtime. We were told today that the further north we get, the worse it gets. Some caravan sites are so busy they won't even take bookings, so you have to get there early in the morning and chance your luck to get in. Marlene's whingeing again coz the bakery is not up to much........ yes, saved some more money In an effort to save money on diesel, we decided to slow down from 95/100ks an hour to 85/90 to see the difference and what savings we could achieve. We used 2 litres less per 100 ks. An overall saving of approx $4.10 per 100 ks, $41.00 per 1,000ks. But must admit, it is a lot harder driving slower than sitting on that magical 100, coz at least at the faster speed, you have more momentum to maintain speed up the hills etc and you remain more alert. |
