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Sat 16 Dec
Got up at 5am for the pickup for the trip to Monkey Mia. 17 of us on the tour altogether and we are the only Brits which makes a nice change. Had the usual introductions where we had to go to the front of the bus etc. but then we also had to write our name and draw our favourite animal on the window next to us.... hence the photo in our albums. A prize for the first person who can guess what our badly drawn animals are! We headed up the Batavia Coast to the Nambung National Park. Our furst stop was the Pinnacles Desert - thousands of weird yellow, pillars in the desert. The sand was very yellow but in the distance there was also some very white sand, apparently 'new' sand! We then headed off again on the tour bus. We saw our first skink (lizard) at the side of the road. We had a picnic lunch at Jurian Bay (much to the dismay of some of the older members of the group who moaned about having to make a few sandwiches.... grr!). After that we went to our hostel, via the Cliffs of Kalbarri and a bottle shop. You may be amazed to learn that this was our first night in a dorm room, eight to a room, one toilet and one shower. It wasn't too bad apart from the snorer in the corner!
Sun 17 Dec
6.15am start then we headed to the Kalbarri National Park 1000+ square kms set around the Murchison River. We walked down the Z Bend Gorge, glad we set off early as it was really hot by 9am. Amazing scenery, we also saw worm casts and scorpion tracks fossilised into the rocks. Jess the group leader decided to take us the harder way back up. This involved climbing up some big roicks and even up a ladder which was very handily positioned half way up! We then had a short drive and a short walk to 'Natures Window', a rock formarion with a hole in the middle of it so it looks like a framed picture. Another quick stop off for lunch on the Murchison River - the flies were unbearable and it was really hot so it was good to get back into the air conditioned minibus. From there we drove to Shark Bay Wprld Heritage and Marine Park. We went to Hamelin Bay where we saw the stromatolites, the oldest living lifeform on the planet. There are only three areas in the world where they still exist, and without them we wouldn't exist (they give off oxygen which is apparenlty how the earth became a place that humans could exist on). After that we went to Shell Beach, quite literally a beach 10 metres deep in shells. We had a paddle in the sea, but were told not to swim as it is too salty and wouls make us itch. We stopped off at Shark Bay - someone pointed out some sharks in the water but they just looked like shadows so we couldn't really claim to have seen sharks. Another night in a hostel. We had a BBQ and a few drinks, then went to bed.
Mon 18 Dec
Another early start so that we would be in with a chance of seeing the dolphns at Monkey Mia. We saw two lots, the second time about eight of them came in together. There were also lots of pelicans on the beach - they have to feed them separately when the dolphins come in otherwise they try and steal the fish that is given to the dolphins. We then went on an aboriginal walk of the area - we learnt how to spot kangaroo & snake tracks, as well as how plants were traditionally used for food and medicine. We then drove to a place Called Ocean Park. The owner showed us round - turtles, algae covered stone fish, lots of other fish and sharks. We then headed off to the Northbrook Farmstay (not as bad as it may sound, it even had a swimming pool) where we were fed kangaroo casserole. We sat up and played silly games (ask us about the vegetable game - it is very funny... especially after a few beers).
Tues 19 Dec
Today we visited the Hutt River Province (and have been teaching Australians about it ever since!). In the late 60's the government introduced wheat quotas which one farmer didn't like the sound of. He found a loophole in the law that allowed him to withdraw from Australia and form his own province and in 1970 the Hutt River Province was declared. Prince Leonard and Princess Shirley still live there (with about 30 others), we met them and got a stamp and visa in our passport in their Government Offices! We also visited to Post Office, chapel, and gift shop. If you ever visit this part of the worl you HAVE to visit. We then started the long drive back to Perth. On the way we stopped off at the Greenough Wildlife and Bird Park - unfortunately they could not bring the snakes out as there was a massive thunderstorm just as we arrived. We sheltered in a metal shack for about 30 minutes whilst we had lunch. We then had a quick look round, Lisa got to feed a joey (baby kangaroo) with milk in a bottle, and we fed the other kangaroos, dingos, emus.
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