SEGMENT 6
Out of 600 Aboriginal tribes
only about thirty use the famous Didgeridoo. It was actually an Irishman
who gave it this name to describe a "long flute". The Aborigines
have different names for it according to their languages such as "iIpirra".
Monday, April 10: Our first destination after leaving Perth was Lancelin
from where we followed a 4x4 track north through the sand dunes as recommended
by our new four-wheeling friends. The route meandered parallel to the
beach and connected to Wedge, a semi-official shack settlement (pic01)
of fishermen.The scenery was beautiful and we had the trail all to ourselves.
When we reached Nambung National Park we explored the famous Pinnacles,
bizarre limestone formations created by erosion (pic02). Some of these
are up to 12 feet (4 meters) high and take on the most interesting shapes.
In Geraldton, we ran into Steve and his family, who were on an exploration
of Australia for 18 months. On our way to the coast, we stumbled upon
an intensely pink lake. There are several of these oddities in Australia,
caused by bacteria capable of living in extremely salty waters. Then we
visited Kalbarri National Park which is split in two parts: coast and
gorges. The coastal area offers dramatic cliffs edged away by the incessant
ocean waves. After enjoying this stunning scenery, we decided to chill
in lovely Kalbarri, a small village which had been badly flooded only
a month ago during a cyclone hundreds of miles inland. The river mouth
was still full of silt and the brown water provided an interesting contrast
with the deep-blue ocean. The next morning, we continued to the park's
gorges section where the Murchison river has carved deep trenches in the
colorful limestone.
Pushing on north, we reached Shark Bay in the late afternoon. We were
headed for the westernmost point of mainland Australia. On our way, we
stopped at Hamelin Bay, supposedly one of only two places in the world
where living stromatolites exist. These bacteria are the oldest known
organism and believed to be the source for life on earth. Some traces
of stromatolites were found which are dated over 350 billion years! Being
such a basic lifeform, they don't look like much: all you can see is little
limestone humps in the shallow water.
The going was tough in this area: severe corrugation rattled our bones.
The views were spectacular, though. There were several long coves with
turquoise-blue water. We drove over sand dunes and across beaches. Finally,
we reached Steep Point (pic03), the westernmost point. After turning around,
we took a long, relaxing swim in the beautiful water and then headed back
east. Our last stop was Francois Peron National Park with its red sand
dunes, abundant wildlife and phenomenal scenery. The gorgeous bays and
lagoons invited for a swim in their clear, warm waters. Not far from here
was Monkey Mia, a highly popularized tourist area where daily dolphin
feedings in the shallow water attract animal and men alike. As much as
we'd like to see these intelligent creatures that close, we decided to
skip this touristy arrangement.
After driving for hours on severe corrugation, our Jeep had taken some
beating: the gutter mount of the roofrack had torn through the gutter
and ripped a big crack into the roof. Not only did we worry that our roofrack
might wander off at some point, this also made a terrible rattling noise
when driving. To relieve stress in that area, we decided to move the roofrack
forward by about 8 inches (20cm). Needless to say, the roofrack was incredibly
heavy and so we had to come up with a creative solution: we parked the
Jeep in front of a signpost, and with the help of a strap and snatch block
attached to the sign, we redirected the winch cable back to the roofrack
and pulled it forward (pic 04). The project was successful and we were
good to go for now. In the next larger town, we were hoping to find a
mechanic who could weld the roof back together.
On April 17, a Monday, we reached Coral Bay, a small beachside community with access to the famed Ningaloo Marine Park, a reef and sanctuary for all kinds of marine life. It was Magdalena's turn to become a year older and we celebrated over a fresh fish dinner. Coral Bay was full with Australians spending their Easter vacation at the seaside and the mood was relaxed. The next day, we went snorkeling for hours along the reef; there are many great snorkeling spots out here and we walked south along the beach, entered the water and let the current carry us back into the bay. The reef is not as spectacular as the Great Barrier Reef since it consists mostly of hard coral which doesn't offer the vibrant colors associated with reefs, but we saw lots of interesting creatures, most notably a large sea turtle and a 7-foot (2 metres) long blue-spotted lagoon ray. We enjoyed the calm, warm waters for the rest of the day and treated ourselves to another nice meal at the oceanview restaurant. This area is also famous for whale sharks feeding on the spawning coral and tours offer highly regulated swimming excursions with these gentle, harmless giants, the largest fish on earth. Not surprisingly, these tours are very expensive ($340 a person currently), and so we decided to let the whale sharks be. Then we pushed on north to Cape Ranges National Park at the northern end of the Ningaloo Reef and enjoyed another relaxing beach day. "... their fine sands and windy weather sometimes makes sunbathing into sand-blasting", runs a candid remark in our Let's Go guide. Thankfully, it wasn't windy but we both found a few jelly fish (not the dangerous kind).
After all this rest, we were fully recharged for a long road trip and started heading east (inland) with our destination: The Pilbara!
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for more pics click here