Week thirteen:  Carnarvon/Monkey Mia/Kalbarri

The most amazing things happen sometimes when travelling.  Considering how big Australia is (and especially Western Australia) it is amazing that we should accidentally bump into - at a Roadhouse between Exmouth and Carnarvon - our good friend's Greg and Tegan's sister and brother in law Brenda and Pat...and that they should be destined for the same caravan park as us in Carnarvon!  So, it was great to have some familiar faces to catch up with for drinks and to hear about their adventures...Brenda and Pat are on the road for 6 weeks and their turn in life has come to have done some wonderful tours on the way; tours that have been out of our league financially and because we have younger children in tow.  Our turn will come...when the boys are older!
We had opted to head straight for Carnarvon, rather than free camp at Quobba a night (as had been the original plan) because, quite frankly, the water at Ningaloo Lighthouse Caravan Park had been awful and I needed to wash, wash, wash!!!  We did so the first afternoon at the lovely caravan park in Carnarvon and then spent the next day doing a day trip to Point Quobba and also exploring the town of Carnarvon.
The view from the Lighthouse at Point Quobba was amazing and the Blowholes themselves were fascinating, if not a little scary...considering the massive sign warning us that 'King Waves Kill'.  It was with some trepidation that we stood close enough to the edge of the rocks to appreciate the full majesty of the blowholes.

 We had a lovely picnic lunch further down the beach near the free camp spot (me feeling quite relieved that we weren't camping there, it was packed!), then headed back into town.  We stopped at Bumbak's for some chocolate covered frozen bananas and stopped at a couple of different farms for some fresh eggs and then for some bananas (at $7/kilo a real bargain, and YUMMY!!!).  We took the boys for a ride out on One Mile Jetty on the quaint little Coffee Pot train- which the boys enjoyed very much. 

The next day we headed for Monkey Mia.  Another long drive along a highway and then onto a peninsula, this time Peron Pensinsula.  We stopped at the Hamelin Pool to look at the stromatolites (unfortunately the tide was up, and it was quite scary walking out onto the ocean pontoon, we are told there are more further south that are easier to see).  The sunny weather in Carnarvon was the last we were to see for a while, it seeemed, and we have had on again, off again rainy weather ever since. The other disappointment is that Monkey Mia Resort is a creative use of the word 'resort', the place is in dire need of having some money spent on it.  We were right amongst where all the researchers live, in hodge podge style permanent van set-ups, the sandy roads are full of pot-holes that filled up with rainwater, and it was yet another place that had not told me when booking that they did not have fresh water on tap.  It just makes life that bit trickier when you have to keep going and collecting water.  Nevertheless, it is a beautiful spot and the dolphins remain to be a huge drawcard. 

The benefit of staying at Monkey Mia, rather than at Denham, is that each morning we were able to walk down the beach to the designated dolphin interaction area.  This is a very regimented interaction, with strict rules about contact and when you can step into the water...the dolpins come very close and are fun to watch, then you wait anxiously to see if you can be one of the lucky souls chosen to feed a fish to a dolphin.  Charlie was chosen the first day (thank goodness, I think he would have been quite devastated to have missed out), and I was chosen the second day.  The second day was really special as the dolphins hung around the jetty for ages between the first and second feeds, so we got to see them playing. The dolphins of this area are especially fascinating as they have developed a method of using a tool (ripping sponges out and holding them in their mouth) to lift sharp rocks and search around coral to unearth particular fish that they favour.  This is called 'sponging'.  Some weeks ago we saw a BBC production called 'Dolphins of Shark Bay' and some of the researchers featured were staying right next to us.  On one occasion while at the toilets, I stood right next to Janet Mann, a world renowned dolphin resercher, but felt too shy to tell her how much we had enjoyed the documentary...what a geek I am, who knew I would be 'star struck' by a scientist!?!

Charlie's big moment!



And mine...it's all over in a flash.  Charlie and I both fed 'Suprise'
who has been coming to the beach for many, many years.  Smart girl! 
This volunteer was also a scientist and we had been chatting heaps before this session,
he even lent me his jacket.  A very nice and fascinating man. 



After the dolphins, what do you do??  Play on the beach, of course!

 The day we left Monkey Mia, we stopped by at Shell Beach on the way out.  This is a fascinating beach full of tiny shells, making it look like snow.  Quite sharp on the feet, though, so you have to wear shoes!  The boys thought it was great fun and enjoyed building with piles of shell. 

It was a rainy drive to Kalbarri, but the day we arrived was quite sunny in actual Kalbarri itself...it has just rained on and off ever since!  However, we have managed to see a bit of the place, but not the National Park where the Murchison River winds through, as these roads were closed due to the rain.  We have been satisfied with the coastline as it is fascinatingly beautiful, especially with the heavy swell.  Cloudy, moody weather is also quite good for landscape photography, so it is not all bad news! 

Red Bluff

Sunrise at Blue Holes

This snapped using my iPhone, seconds before a horizontal rain storm!

Today we ventured out to Rainbow Jungle, which is a very well managed and populated parrot exhibit, with a big open aviary in the middle.  It was very colourful and fascinating. 

Despite the weather we have really enjoyed Kalbarri, and have had some wonderful company here with our Motor Home neighbours Rob & Julie, Peter & Marie.  It will be with some sadness that we move on tomorrow...but Jurien Bay and Swan Valley await!!