Perth to Coral Bay - part 4

Day 4 -  DENHAM TO CORAL BAY via CARNARVON
570km - 9,00h

After a wonderful morning learning and interacting with the dolphins in Monkey Mia, it was time to go back to the town of Denham where we would be spending another night.

On the way we stopped at the Little Lagoon for some photos.
The Lagoon, which is not so little after all, is located 5km from Denham, with very calm turquoise waters, ideal for swimming and fishing. There are barbecues and shade shelters, as well as a walking trail to Denham.

The calm waters of Little Lagoon

The next stop was at the Ocean Park Aquarium, where we spent almost 2 hours on a very enjoyable guided tour around the park. The tours are given by trained Marine Biologists, who teach us about all the marine creatures they have in the park, and are happy to answer all your questions as well.

The have a big variety of sea creatures, such as: eels, a three legged turtle, clownfish, (remember Nemo?), sea anemones, blue spotted stingrays, snapper, tiger sharks, hammerhead, lemon sharks, reef sharks...

The three legged turtle

2 Blue spotted stingray

Lionfish with their toxic fins (fishindexblogspot.com)

We learned about the Lionfish and the very ugly Stonefish....I was already wary of the sea, but I think that after hearing this talk I was pretty scared of putting my feet in the water...

Ufff!! Lionfish have spines in the dorsal fins with a toxic poison, and if you step on them, they release that into your foot. Pretty painful, but the pain  can be relieved by submerging the foot in hot water to inactivate the venom and improve blood flow to the area.
You might need to see a Doctor to get a tetanus injection and to check if no broken spines are in the foot, or check for infection.

Stonefish, are one of the most dangerous and venomous species of fish and their sting could be fatal to humans if untreated within 2 to 3 hours. 
They inhabit shallow waters along the Australian coast, and are well camouflaged in the ocean, often resembling an inoffensive rock. They have 13 sharp dorsal spines on their back that release the toxic venom.

Stonefish  (Synanceia Verrucosa) look like inofensive rocks

The main attraction is of course the live shark feeding, done every hour, with everyone standing on the walkway over the shark pool, the guide dangling a big fish over the water, and the various sharks ripping out bits of it. Scary!!

Some of the sharks in the Shark pool

Dangling the fish over the shark pool, while we watch

Can you see a piece of the fish?

The park is also eco-friendly being powered by the largest private solar installation in Western Australia, (273 kilowatt hours a day) that helps with the reverse osmosis desalination unit to generate fresh water, the park's lighting and pump systems.
Entry to the park costs $20 for adults, and $15 for children over 5, and is certainly a worthwhile place to visit. 
Back to Denham, 7km from the Ocean Park, and we parked the car at our residence, and took a walk around the town.
The local church made of Cockle Shells, as well as a local restaurant - "The Old Pearler"  were duly photographed, and after having a look at the menu we booked a table for 4 for dinner.
As I photographed the church, I saw an Emu "walking" along the road, crossed the street and eventually disappeared into a vacant block of land... (photo below). Strange sight...

Denham church made of cockle shells

An Emu crossing the road, across from the Church

The Old Pearler Restaurant, also made of cockle shells

The restaurant, which claims to be the only restaurant in the world made of cockle shell bricks, has a nice atmosphere, good service, food was also quite enjoyable, prices above average. 

The Grilled Seafood Platter for two was $98 or $53 for one, included whiting, prawns, squid, oysters and crayfish. I went with the Chicken with mustard seeds, served with chips $32, which was quite a plateful, and I needed some help to finish!

If you drink take your own alcohol or go across the road to the Bottle store, as the restaurant doesn't have an alcohol licence. The 4 of us shared two desserts, but I was a bit disappointed with my choice - Mango and Marsala cheesecake, which didn't taste of mangoes at all.

Bring your own alcohol, or buy at the Bottle store across the road

Inside the Old Pearler Restaurant

After a good night's sleep, we were on the road again at 9AM, after having topped up the tank, at Denham, this time paying $1,749/litre (previous one had been $1,699).



First stop for a photo of the crossing of the 26th Parallel, which we hadn't photographed on the way into Denham.










Next stop, Eagle Bluff, 18km out of Denham, named after the Sea Eagles which nest on the rock islands just offshore. It has a boardwalk over the ocean from where you can see marine life on the shallow waters below - fish, rays, turtles, dugongs...  We didn't see anything, but it was still a nice place to visit.
Eagle Bluff is also the place where Captain H.M.Denham, carved an inscription on a rock in 1858. The rock is now in Pioneer Park in Denham.

Eagle Bluff boardwalk

Eagle Bluff - no marine life seen in the waters...

Back in the car for a quick hop to Shell Beach, 36kms away. It's apparently one of the world's two Cockle Shell beaches, and it truly is an amazing sight!! 
Miles and Miles of tiny shells! 
These shells known as Hamelin Cockle (Fragum erugatum) exist in prolific number because of the high salinity of the water and lack of predators. The beach is up to 1km wide, 110 kilometres long, and the depth ranges from 7 to 10 metres.
The water is crystal clear in tones of blues and greens.
Over time, the shells formed a limestone known as Coquina - as used for the construction of the Church and Restaurant in Denham. The Coquina is no longer mined, since Shark Bay became a World Heritage Site.
On the down side, Eagle Bluff and Shell Beach were the first areas where the flies were in abundance and quite pesky. The temperature was already 37.C at 10 A.M!

Miles and Miles of Cockle shells in Shell Beach

Close up of the shells, they are tiny!

Another 50kms down the road, towards he North West Coastal Highway and we drive past the Hamelin Pool turn off. Two of the troupe were already sleeping in the back seat, and we decided to carry on and give it a miss. 

The attraction would be the Stromatolites - living fossils in old rocks. We would be going to see the ones near Cervantes on our way back to Perth...

We reached the highway and turned North on our way to Carnarvon, and stopped again 70kms later at the Wooramel Roadhouse, for a pie and ice cream.

It was now 42.C at 12 o'clock!

140kms and one and a half hours later we arrived in the town of Carnarvon.

Just before arriving the temperature had climbed to 44.C!!!

In Western Australia they say - in winter go North (there is no winter in northern W.A) and in summer go South (it's cooler), and they are quite right!

The temperature as we reached Carnarvon!

We looked around for a place to eat a quick lunch and settle on the Carnarvon Hotel Pub, in Olivia Terrace, overlooking the sea. It was cooler inside, and we ordered fish and chips and burgers. Everything seemed to be fried and accompanied by chips! The portions were generous and surprisingly tasty, and reasonably priced at an average of just over $20 each including drinks.

Carnarvon, a town 900km north of Perth, lies on the mouth of the Gascoyne River on the Indian Ocean.

The town is know for it's fruit production - bananas, mangoes, tomatoes, for the salt mining, fishing (prawns) and cattle, sheep and wool.

The Mile long Jetty, as seen from the Carnarvon Hotel

Before leaving town we drove into a fruit farm on the outskirts of town and bought bananas and the last of the mangoes. I wish the farmer had more as they were very sweet and tasty.

Banana plantation

In the 1960's, Carnarvon was the centre of NASA's communication, with a tracking station built there on the hills, to support the Gemini and Apollo space programs. It was closed in the 1980's.

The dish in Carnarvon

We didn't have time to climb up to see the dish or the view over the town, as we wanted to reach our destination 240km away, before night fall.

Another quick stop at the Minilya Roadhouse, 145km after Carnarvon, to fill up the tank, petrol costing $1.809/litre, up again from the previous time in Denham, at $1,749/litre.

We reached our destination in Coral Bay around 6,30h just in time to see a beautiful sunset on the beach.

Next Post - our 4 day stay in Coral Bay and my snorkeling attempt.

Perth to Coral Bay - Part 3

Day 3 - MONKEY MIA

We woke up early to be able to be in Monkey Mia, (21km away) for the 8 a.m dolphin feeding.

Monkey (from a pearling boat called Monkey or after pet monkeys owned by the Malay pearlers who lived in the area) Mia (aboriginal word for shelter or home) is located 800km north of Perth. The reserve is within the Shark Bay Marine Park and is a World Heritage Site.

Of course the main attraction of Monkey Mia is the daily feeding of the bottlenose dolphins that have been coming to shore for over 40 years. In the 1960's a fisherman and his wife began feeding the dolphins when returning from sea with their catch.
As news of the dolphins visits spread, the visitors started coming. In 1985 an information centre was built and in 1988 roads, carparks and facilities were built.
The Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) supervises the process and manage the Marine Park. In 1982 researchers started a lab to study the dolphin's behaviour and biology.

The visitors centre also shows movies about the dolphins and history of the area

My daughter and I in front of the entrance

The visitors gather at the edge of the water and trained rangers in the water give talks about the dolphins. Suddenly a couple of dolphins swim close to the rangers. The rangers pick a couple of visitors to go further into the water to feed the dolphins; they take a fish out of a bucket and the dolphin takes the fish from their hand. A truly magical experience, and this is all free!

The day we were there, there were only 8 dolphins around, but this number varies daily. Of course the rangers know their names and can identify them just by looking at their tail fin.
They get fed up to three times each the morning, but only the same 5 dolphins get fed. They only get 1/3 of their required daily requirement, so that they can also fish for themselves and not just rely on their carers. That morning we got to see them come close to shore 3 times.

Three of the dolphins swimming around

A volunteer feeds a dolphin

A ranger talking about the dolphins

The bucket of fish for the dolphins

another volunteer feeding a dolphin

Hurry up, I want my fish....

Daily recordings about the dolphins - we were there Tuesday 12th, up to 8 dolphins showed up.

There are also a few Pelicans around trying to steel the fish meant for the dolphins, so they get lured to the sand and given a few fish too, so the dolphin feeding goes undisturbed.

Emus were also on the beach

A few Emus were also around on the beach and around the restaurant trying to steal food from the unwary.
After the second dolphin feeding, we went to the Boughshed cafe/restaurant, right there on the beach and ordered a continental breakfast that only cost $15 each. 
We sat down on some comfortable wicker couches outdoor and enjoyed the breakfast, the lovely beach and sunny weather. Of course we had to keep an eye on our food as the Emus try to stick their beak through the fence, or if you leave your food unattended a seagull will sweep and take something from your plate.

The Boughshed Restaurant

Monkey Mia beach

Other activities you can do in Monkey Mia are:  organized four wheel drive trips, Aboriginal cultural tours, fishing tours and of course swimming in the beautiful clear waters of the bay.

Hope you enjoyed seeing the photos of the dolphins.

I was thrilled to have been able to see them close by, although I wish I had been chosen to give them a fish so I could be even closer. Maybe next time...

Perth to Coral Bay - part 2

Day 2 - GERALDTON TO DENHAM, via KALBARRI
532km - 8h with stops

Leaving the town of Geraldton, we got on to the North West Coastal Highway, the Brand Highway having ended at Geraldton. (Both highways have only one lane in each direction and overtaking lanes every 20 or 30kms).
Although not too busy with traffic, we came across a couple of road trains that we overtook. Road trains can be up to 36,5mt long.

A road train - 5km ahead an Overtaking lane

Overtaking a road train

In Northampton, 52km north of Geraldton, we turned left to take a coastal road, the George Grey Drive, that took us to Gregory, 44km away where we stopped to see the pink waters of the Hutt lagoon. I had seen photos and was curious.

Hutt Lagoon is a salt lake 14 km long and 2km wide, just north of the mouth of the Hutt River. The lake has a pink or red hue due to carotenoid producing algae, which thrive on the lagoons high salinity. These algae are a source of B-carotene, a powerful anti-oxidant, and commercially farmed as a food colouring agent, for dyes and Vitamin A supplements.
The same company also raises brine shrimp (Artemia) that get freeze dried for fish farms or to feed aquarium fish.

Hutt Lagoon

The pink waters of Hutt Lagoon

Beach in Gregory - a van is being loaded with lobster from a fishing ship

After taking photos we went into the tiny town of Gregory 6km away, to have a look at the beach, where we saw a truck being loaded with lobster from a fishing boat.
My husband inquired about buying lobster, but was told it was all accounted for and no private sales were permitted. 

We had no time or inclination, but if you are into "royalty", halfway between Gregory and Kalbarri you can turn right into a road that leads into the "Hutt River Province" where you can meet Prince Leonard and Princess Shirley, in their self-proclaimed Principality of Hutt River. 
Yes, can you believe it? There is a small kingdom of 75 square kilometre within Western Australia.

Back on the road, and another 51km north to our next stop in the town of Kalbarri.
We had travelled 150km in 2,45 hours, and it was time for lunch.
We settled on the Kalbarri Motor Hotel restaurant, having arrived just 15 min. before the kitchen closed.  Ooops...
We could see that the waitress at the counter wasn't pleased with the late arrivals, but my husband made a joke and she managed a smile.
We ordered fish and chips and beef burgers from the menu of the day, and the food was reasonably good.

Kalbarri beach

Eagle Gorge - there is a small beach down there

Nature's Window at the Kalbarri National Park, with dry Murchison river

A fee of $11 has to be paid to enter the Kalbarri National Park, if you want to visit the big rocks of Z-Bend and Nature's Window or walk the nature tracks. The 30km road to reach these huge rocks is untarred and slow driving.

Leaving Kalbarri  via the Ajana Kalbarri Road we again joined the North West Coastal Highway 65km later.
Looking around us as we drove, we found there were lots of discarded bottles - glass and plastic - on the sides of the highway. I cannot understand why, as at about every 10 to 20km there are rest stops and all of them have at least one rubbish bin! So why would people litter the road?
Also road carnage was very much in evidence! Lots of kangaroos and goats on the side of the road, or sometimes the middle of the road.
We also saw a few wild goats crossing the road or just munching on the verge. If we hooted they would scoot away into the bush. Only once did we actually have to stop while 3 or 4 goats crossed the road in front of us.

We had to stop for these wild goats to cross the road

179km north of Kalbarri, Billabong Roadhouse was our next pit stop for coffee, toilet and leg stretches. There is a motel and bar in the building next door.

Billabong roadhouse - for coffee, food and petrol

48 km later and we stopped again at the Overlander Roadhouse to fill up the tank. The petrol was now 1,699$. Back in the car, we turned left into Shark Bay Road, our destination now only 129km away!  Yippiii I shouted!!

At times the long straight stretches of road can be a bit boring and when just sitting next to the driver I found myself shutting my eyes frequently. For the driver the concentration and constantly being on the lookout for suicidal kangaroos or crazy goats or cows is also quite tiring!
A few years ago we had an "encounter" with a huge kangaroo on one of our trips to the southern coast of WA, and our car was greatly damaged and we had to fly home (luckily it was a company car!). So we didn't want that to happen again, even though most kangaroos came out of the bush at sunrise or sunset, and we made sure we weren't driving at those times. 

The straight and long roads made for boring driving

We arrived in Denham 8 hours after leaving Geraldton and 5 hours after leaving Kalbarri, having travelled a total 440kms. 
We settled on a 2 bedroomed cottage at Shark Bay Holiday Cottages, costing $130 night, which we booked for 2 nights.

The cottages are across the road from the beach and within walking distance to the town centre, but were quite minimal and the furniture in need of replacement with some broken wicker lounge chairs, minimal tv reception, we had to use a chair as a side table in the bedroom as I didn't want to put my bag or mobile/alarm on the floor...but still at this price for 2 couples we couldn't expect fireworks! The landlady was very friendly and helpful with information. (the interior must have been very uninspiring because I didn't even take photos)

The Shark Bay Holiday Cottages

After we unpacked, we went across the road to use the under cover barbecue facility on the grassy area in front of the beach, and grilled some steaks and sausages we had in our cooler box, and sat down to dinner right there.

There was also a strange contraption next to this bbq area which I discovered the next day to be a fish cleaning area. So I presume there must be lots of fishermen here. Once again no lobsters available to buy!

The barbecue area in daylight, 2 grills and 2 tables with benches and was illuminated at night

The fish cleaning area, with running water and brushes

The grassed area by the beach with the bbq and fish cleaning huts

After dinner we were ready to have a shower and jump into bed for an early rise the next day to travel to Monkey Mia 21 kms away, to watch the dolphins being fed from 8 a.m.

Watch out for my next post about Monkey Mia and the dolphins.