Shark Bay continued

We tried to get an early start to see the feeding of the dolphins, but two things held us up. First, the beautiful orange and pink dawn with the full moon shining like a spoon (it also captivated me last night as it rose over the hill). Second, a minor maintenance issue with Delvy. Phone a mechanic was available for helpful advice so we were soon on our way to Denham en route to Monkey Mia.

However, we just missed nine dolphins being fed but I did see two swim past me right beside the jetty. Other wildlife viewed was two camels (saddled up and ridden by tourists on the beach), an emu (as we drove into the park), a pelican (showing off on the beach), dozens of welcome swallows (flitting all around us) and a loggerhead turtle (bobbing around some metres away in the distance).

 

The scenic drive through Denham on the return leg was indeed scenic: it’s a tidy and pretty area with several yachts moored in the azure waters, a couple of shell-block buildings along with the ever frequent modern seaside Mcmansions that are popping up all along the west coast, artificial grass on the medium strip and the usual array of tourist and service shops with bright coloured flags flapping in the south east breeze.

 

We pressed on out of the Shark Bay World Heritage Area (WHA), stopping at the Shell Beach lookout for a bite of lunch. Onward to the North West Coast Highway junction, where we enjoyed being held up by some road works just for a break in the scenery, and we were back heading in the direction of Coral Bay.

The Shark Bay WHA is a 300km round trip off the highway with great distances between each of the visitor sites. It feels like we are all on a tourist conveyor belt, each making the predictable designated stops in each of our own modes of transport, one after the other. We keep seeing the same handful of people/vehicles that obviously have the same time schedule as us: we are camped with two of the same from last night. It reminds me when I was backpacking around different places in Europe; ticking things of the list. That’s being a tourist I guess!

We stopped for a cold drink and ice cream at the Wooramel Roadhouse, getting swamped by a senior’s 4WD tour group just as we pulled up. They came and left in about ten minutes, returning the place to its sense of being in the middle of nowhere: hang on; we are in the middle of nowhere. Geraldton is 352km to the south, Carnarvon 120km to the north. The only sign of life are the countless feral goats and mangy sheep grazing on the side of the road. People talk about the Nullarbor, but they don’t say much about the North West Coast Highway. Hmmmm….

 

And so we are camped at another 24 hour roadside rest area, this time at Edaggee (named after a station 34kms east on a 4WD track), and it is our last freedom camp for Mum and I (the only mother/daughter combination travelling together that we have seen over the last two weeks!). It is the last night for me sleeping on the super-model berth (Delvy’s lounge) as I’ll be joining my husband tomorrow night (yes, I do really have one) in Coral Bay.

 

So, we’ll have a drink to our final desert sunset. Cheers, Mum!