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Happy Hippos on Holiday
Hi everyone!
Welcome to Western Australia! Four out of seven weeks of our Aussie tour are to be spent in WA. Most people's knowledge of Australia is centred around the trio of rock, reef and bridge so here are some lesser known facts about the West: Stretching from the foot of SE Asia to the Southern Ocean, WA has an area of 2.5 million sq kilometres (one third of the Australian land mass) yet only a population of 1.9 million - basically it is one big mamma of empty bush land!
Our first couple of days were spent in Fremantle, just south of Perth. Renowned for its café culture we thought this would be a great spot to relax in. However, persistent rain and howling winds combined with a noisy hostel drove us out and onto Perth earlier than planned. With a nicer hostel and better weather, we were much happier here. Not only were we able to see the main sights but we also succeeded in getting numerous rolls of film developed and in arranging car hire and tour for our onward journey up the West coast - a most productive few days in a most delightful city!
After picking up our Hyundai hire car (affectionately known hereon in as Hyacynth) we set off on what became an epic 4,600km road trip up the coast and through the outback arriving in Broome 12 days later. We paused for a pit stop at Zena's aunts' just north of the city and then continued on to the small town of Cervantes. This initial leg afforded us our first of many kangaroo sightings ... albeit as road kill! ... though we did see a live one eating leaves at the roadside soon after. From that moment on, the passenger was given the important task of 'roo-watch. We figure we saw around 100 of Skippy's friends and family en route ... though at least 80% of these were road kill!!
The next morning we were up early to experience sunrise over the Pinnacles, thousands of wind eroded peculiar limestone pillars (see postcard picture). Unfortunately there was no sunrise - it merely got light and started to rain so we quickly continued our northward journey in search of sunshine. A long day of driving took us to Kalbarri National Park which boasts a wonderful climate with rain never falling on two consecutive days ... until we got there! Due to this abnormal weather, roads in the park were waterlogged and therefore closed to all vehicles other than tour buses. Luckily, we arrived at the tourist office moments before it closed and we managed to sign up for the following day's tour. We spent the morning enjoying the parks' highlights, though try as we might to escape the rain, it stayed with us in the park and as we continued our drive north, finally letting up when we arrived in Shark Bay World Heritage Area.
Things looked up the next day as we awoke to clear skies and eagerly made our way to Monkey Mia, hopefully of some interaction with its famous wild dolphins. We got there in time to catch the early morning "feed" - whenever it takes their fancy, the dolphins swim up to the shore and, following a 30 minute talk by the rangers during which tourists and dolphins can observe each other up close, the feeding begins. A few lucky people are chosen from the crowd of onlookers to step into the water and give a fish to one of the dolphins. This happens up to three times a day though they only receive a small proportion of their daily food requirement in this way so as to discourage dependency on humans. By chance we caught all three feedings and, on separate occasions, were each fortunate enough to have been chosen to feed Nicky, a smiley dolphin with a nick in her dorsal fin (see photos!).
We were also fortunate with our accommodation in Shark Bay and ended up in a suite with exclusive use of kitchen, bathroom and lounge as the other adjoining rooms were unoccupied both nights we were there. It was a real treat to cook and eat dinner in front of the TV ... and leave the washing up until the next morning!
Another long drive the next day took us back into the tropics for the first time since our sejourn in French Polynesia. More on our tropical adventures in the next postcard...
Hope you are all well!
love,
Kirstie & Zena
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