Perth, Australia Travels
Another long drive today through the desert to a coastal national park, Shark Bay, a bay that is over 100 miles long with a large peninsula going up the middle. We turned off the Northwest Coastal highway to head west to a town up on the land spit called Monkey Mia. The origin of the name is hidden in the mists of the past perhaps having something to do with sailors having monkeys long ago. Mia has Aboriginal origins.
On our way, we stopped at an old, weathered historical area called Hamelin, formerly a telegraph relay and post office. Now it is a museum, and a place to stay with a restaurant. There seemed to be lots of people there, but probably it was because a large tour bus had stopped for lunch. It was a restroom break for us and we didn’t spend too much time there. It was only a short distance to view the stromatolites at Hamelin Pool, Shark Bay, living fossils dating from the earliest origins of life on earth. If you have seen the recent PBS series on the origins of Australia, you would have seen these in the first episode. After a short walk across the sand dunes, there is a board walk out over these life forms. The water is twice as salty as ordinary sea water since little water flows into the bay at this point.
On our way, we stopped at an old, weathered historical area called Hamelin, formerly a telegraph relay and post office. Now it is a museum, and a place to stay with a restaurant. There seemed to be lots of people there, but probably it was because a large tour bus had stopped for lunch. It was a restroom break for us and we didn’t spent too much time there. It was only a short distance to view the stromatolites at Hamelin Pool, Shark Bay, living fossils from dating from the earliest origins of life on earth. If you have seen the recent PBS series on the origins of Australia, you would have seen these in the first episode. After a short walk across the sand dunes, there is a board walk out over these life forms. The water is twice as salty as ordinary sea water since little water flows into the bay at this point.
Boardwalk at Hamlein Pools
A little further down the way was Shell Beach composed completely of small white shells. In places they were 30 feet deep. These shells are common on Australian beaches and we often saw them in concrete walkways probably for decoration and to provide some traction. We saw blocks that had been cut out of shells and carved into large sculptures.
Shell Beach
Shell beach ... close up
Data processing center.
Our room at Monkey Mia
Feeding the dolphins
Early the next morning we went out at the first feeding of the dolphins that come in 3 times a day to be fed. They have been studied for 40 years now and feeding them fish is a way to have them come in to be photographed, named and monitored. They are identified only by the spots and especially the condition of their dorsal fins. Some have been bitten by sharks, or caught in fish nets or hooks making each one different. The young woman talking about them, identified some of them, in one case pointing out 3 generations. The oldest one would have been in her thirties. She had a microphone and there were speakers behind us so everyone could hear.
A pelican swimming by hoping to get some of the fish.
People gathered along the shoreline and were invited into the water to see the dolphins up close. Young volunteers, each with a bucket, spaced themselves along the line and invited individuals to hold out a fish for the dolphin to take. Joel and Levonne were asked to do it, but declined in favor of parents with kids. Everyone was very polite and calm and followed directions very well.
People gathered along the shoreline and were invited into the water to see the dolphins up close. Young women, each with a bucked, spaced themselves along the line and invited individuals to hold out a fish for the dolphin to take. Joel and Levonne were asked to do it, but declined in favor of parents with kids. Everyone was very polite and calm and followed directions very well.
When they were down to the last fish, they raised their hand as a signal to the dolphins that the end was near. After the last fish, they turned the bucket over and the dolphins began to drift away. Later in the day, we saw many dolphins playing around.
Dolphins have to turn their head to the side to look up as this one is doing.
Several times we looked out the door to see an emu walking by.
The resort had a newly opened restaurant, and there were swimming pools, tennis and volleyball courts, a sports bar, small grocery and many opportunities for tours by land or sea.
Camels called in the afternoon. There were only 3, so we don’t think too many booked a ride. In all our time in Australia, it can be very hot in the daytime, but always cooled down at night. Here people put on jackets as the sun went down. It has been quite windy. We packed plenty, but probably could have used heavier coats. In most of the places we’ve been, they are getting to the end of the tourist season. It will be much hotter.
Our first short stop after leaving Monkey Mia was the small fishing village of Denham at Shark Bay across the spit.
Kalbarri is another fishing and tourist town of about 1700 on the Indian Ocean. As all the others we have visited in the northwest, it is isolated. As we arrived, so did the winds and it was on the cool side. The town is at the entrance of the Kalbarri National Park.
Our home away from home in Kalbarri
The War Memorial commemorating all Australians lost in various wars.
We have seen many rigs like this with a shallow bed. We asked about why they had those and the response was that they’re practical in the bush and traditional pickup side panels would just get beaten up.
Outside the window of the motel. Until now, we haven’t seen any kangaroos. We were told that we should go out about 6:30 p.m., and we would see some come out to graze. Sure enough. A ranger came by and stopped to talk. He said that most of them would be up at the golf course; they love golf courses in any town. He said that cars hitting them was a big problem especially at dusk. As an animal control officer, he has to deal with wounded or dead roos. He wouldn’t have a gun normally, but they gave him a .22 to put them out of their misery. If people would only slow down, it wouldn’t be such a problem.
Elaine and Levonne met a retired Kalbarrian. He made a trailer so he could pull his kayak on with his bicycle.
According to the ranger, they have had more rain than usual and it has really greened up the area and brought out the flowers. Big bushes of pink, red, yellow. We notice many had a fuzzy looking bloom as in the picture.
It was suggested by the Visitor’s Center that we spend a day driving out to the Murchison River Gorge. There were some nice short walks to viewing platforms to see the river below.
At one point there was a trail down to the river. The Murchison River which empties into the ocean at Kilbarra, winds through the park in a gorge. At times it dries up, but can also rage after a cyclone or tropical storm.
A symbol of Western Australia is Nature’s Window occurring high above the river. It would not do for people who have problems with heights. One had to walk along a ledge to get around to this point. Elaine and Levonne elected to wait for the pictures.
Oct 8 Cervantes
On our way from Kalbarri, we made a quick stop at the mouth of Wittecarra Creek. Apparently, Dutch ship, the Batavia ran aground and the crew was put on an island while captian and 20 other went to Java to find help. When they returned, some of the crew had set upon the men, women & children who had survived and killed over half them in a plot to take control of the treasures from ship. The captain had some of the culprits executed and two young ones were castaway by the commander here as punishment. It is thought that they might have married Aboriginal women and some of their lightskinned features are evident today. This is from what little we have read or heard about the subject. This sketchey version of the story doesn’t do it justice.
The monument for the castaways.
The Pink Lake along the highway leading to Port Gregory. It is caused by bacteria trapped in salt particles.
Port Gregory is surrounded by 3 miles of exposed coral providing a protected harbor. We stopped by the small grocery and found out that the town has 47 people. There are a number of vacation homes as well.
Levonne & Rick Gano, Tom, Joel & Elaine Daniels
Port Gregory
Coffee (tall black large) and computer time at a new McDonalds at Geraldton, “Sun City.”. Tom is talking to Roberta and sister Barbara on his cell phone.
And at a shopping center adjacent. Elaine has finished her workout at the fitness center and rewarder herself with an ice cream cone.
A variety of 80 year old fig trees, not the fruit variety, forming a bower over the street in Dongara. These are not the fig trees we are familiar with but more like a ruibber plant.
This length would be over 118 feet, longer than our house. Today we turned off the North West Coastal as an alternate route to Perth, the Indian Ocean Drive. We saw much more farming than we have so far, huge fields of wheat, cattle and sheep. There was hay in the large round bales. We saw more farmsteads. There are some more towns, but still far apart.
This store is in Cervantes and this picture is for cousin Roger. Guess what they sell here…
This is called “salt & Pepper” calamari (squid).
We may need to read some of these after all of the fish and chips.
Fish is big on the menu here. Everyplace sells fish and chips, and this time it had a salad. We have been missing our fruits and veggies. A sign said "If it's on your plate today, it came out of Cervantes Bay." ... or their freezer, they should have added.
All of the places we have stayed have electric teakettles, coffee, tea. Most places have had a refrigerator and toaster so we can make our breakfast with some bread and cereal. An inexpensive coffee press we bought makes a welcome change from the packets of instant. With some snacks along the way, we get by until a fairly early supper at a restaurant. After almost three weeks, it still seems late by 8 p.m. and we are inclined to go to bed early unless we want to stay up watching the Australian version of Dancing With the Stars, or the X Factor. Ugh! We have watched quite a bit of news, but rarely is the United States mentioned. They usually list the Dow along with other world markets, a particularly gruesome murder, or a cataclysmic weather event, but not one word about US politics or the election. Sports is only about Australia, soccer or Aussie football. We are so happy to have a break from the relentless election cycle.
We knew there was going to be a total lunar eclipse here in Australia last night. We went outside at 6:25PM to see it and only saw clouds in the sky opposite a beautiful red sunset. We went back to our motel room. A little while later someone we had talked to came and knocked on our door. Miraculously, the clouds had disappeared and we had an unobstructed view of the eclipse.
Leaving Cervantes we drove a short way into Lake Thetis, a small saltwater pond with an interesting nature walk. We saw a bob-tailed skink and a small snake, who slithered into the grass. There was a nice walkway and path all along the shore. Two very large black birds with orange beaks landed on the water. Black swans?
The walkway is corrugated plastic, a good way to save the landscape.
Some more stromatolites (like the ones we saw in Hamelin.)
This morning was windy, which was a blessing. The flies are out and would be all over us otherwise. They land on your face and eyes and are a nuisance. We experienced them at Kilbarra the other day. Our "fly nets" were safely packed in our suitcase, but we could do as we saw others do and pick a small branch of pine to swish over our faces.
The next stop was Nambung National Park where we could drive through the pinnacles. They are spectacular as you can see, and stretch into the horizon. They haven’t been studied much, and there is disagreement over how they were formed. One school thinks they were caused by cementing the sand together in places making it more dense hense were left standing when the sand blew away. Another thought is that they represent the remnants of a forest, somewhat like petrified wood. They remained relatively unknown until the 1960’s.
Joel and Tom outside the rented Kia van.
There are various shapes and sizes. We had fun naming them, especially those that seemed to have faces. The white on top looked like some type of lichen.
Levonne and Rick
Joel and Elaine
Tom
In the background you can see white sand dunes and the Indian Ocean with a coral reef a ways out. They had a wonderful road winding through the monoliths just in the sand outlined with rocks so that it didn’t spoil the affect.
This is our van and the road we drove on through the Pinnacles.
Elaine at an especially tall pinnacle.
These are called grass trees. One has a flowering spike. There are many varieties and they are very slow growing. Some start the blooming cycle after a bushfire.
We saw more farming today, lots of sheep. In one place there had been some fires. We concluded that they were controlled burns since they were defined with fire trails and right now the fire danger is set on green (low danger). We feel very lucky to be here during the flowering season. The desert has been in bloom. As we drove into Perth City, the roads had more cars, and they turned into a freeway about 18 miles out. Soon we were back at the same hotel we left several weeks ago. We have several days here until we start the trip home.
On Friday morning went to the Bell Tower down at the harbor to see and hear a demonstration of bell ringing. We went down early and spent some time iooking at the displays before it was time to learn how it’s done.
The bell ringer led us into the bell ringing room where she began to demonstrate how it is done. She warned us that the ropes to the heaviest ones should not be touched. There are 18 bells, one of the larger collections anywhere, and the ringers learn to ring them in changing patterns somewhat like a round. They sound best if properly timed, a difficult feat.
We were invited to do some chiming. Normally the bells are swung a full 360 degrees and sound when they stop in an upright position. We were told that , was too difficult for a beginner, and we should allow them to swing back and forth and giving a jerk to make them sound. What fun!
The ropes hang down in a large circle where the ringers stand, some on platforms if they are short.
Click here to see Elaine ringing the bells from St. Martins in the Field ... The bells are now hanging in the Bell Tower in Perth. It is stored on YouTube. Click your browsers back button to return to these photos.
The larger bells are left in this fashion, probably so they are easier to get started the next time. These bells are popular and people travel from all over to get a chance to ring them. Australia has 50 bell installations nationally, and the U. S. 50. The nearest ones to us in Oregon are in Seattle at the University of Washington.
View from the tower
As we may have said before, these old historic bells came from St. Martin in the Fields in London. They were a gift for Australia’s Bicentenary in exchange for Australia sending metals back to London for their replacement. They were too heavy and placed too high in St. Martin’s and were damaging the church.
They are building a new esplanade, Elizabeth Quay.
Bell sculpture on the sixth story observation deck in the Bell Tower
These bells are a part of a clock system that came from Ascot, England. They sound the Westminster Chimes on the quarter hour. Other old clock systems are here also.
Travel adventures.
In the afternoon we drove down to Freemantle to walk around a very interesting shopping and eating area. The architecture is old and reminds you in some ways of New Orleans. Scads of people were out on the last day of spring vacation. Many were probably students from Notre Dame University in the area.
This is the Esplanade Rydges Hotel in Fremantle which is a "sister" to the hotel where we’re staying in Perth (an old restored building?).
Another old building in Fremantle.
Oct 11 Caversham and Hillary Boat Harbour, Perth
The fearless five on a tour to Caversham Wildlife Park at Whiteman Park about 20 miles North and East of downtown, a great place to see a large variety of Australian wildlife.
They come in all sizes and colours. There was a bucket of pellets for us to use to feed them.
Joeys climb aboard when quite large (7-8 months).
Out he comes a few parts at a time
That’s him!
Koalas don’t live in wild in these parts because it’s too hot and the right variety of eucalyptus doesn’t grow here.
We were told to not touch the eucalyptus leaves because the Koala would smell it and refuse to eat them. We also were told to pet the Koala with the back of our hands.
This is for Lena: "Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree…"
Close up with a wombat. He seemed quite happy to sit there for a long time.
An olive python from Queensland in the east of Australia. They get to be 18 feet long
An unusual colored bushy-tailed opossum
Another wombat.
A pair of dingoes. A free-ranging dog of Australia. Although the origin is disputed, one thought is that they came to the continent thousands of years ago introduced by Asian explorers. These put up quite a howl. We were told they only threaten humans in areas where they are fed, a poor practice.
We drove to Hillary Boat Harbour to have lunch with Stacy, the sister of a Tom's Oakland friend Barry. She and her family emigrated to Perth a almost 20 years ago. She gave us lots of information about the country and ideas on how to spend the rest of our time here.
We met at a seaside family recreation area had many shops and restaurants as well as a water park and beach for swimming. Lots of families were out enjoying a pleasant Saturday. We learned that workers start out with four week vacation and eventually earn a 3-month time out. Worker’s salaries may be a little less than American, but they make up for it by being family-friendly. They can look forward to medical care, a pension and a 401k-plan with a mandatory 9% paid by employers. Since businesses normally are open only until six weekdays and for a half a day on Saturday, it would take some getting used to by Americans.
Hillary Boat Harbour.
The Kowloon Park is just a block north of my hotel. I'm staying at the Citadines Hong Kong which is on Ashley Road It has to be one of the shortest and narrowest streets, lined with many restaurants. Last night I had Bi Bim Bap at a nearby Korean restaurant in an underground food court.
Kowloon Park, 1 block from my hotel.
There was a sign saying it was prohibited to put fish and turtles into this artificial lake. Later I found out that you may not take animals, birds nor chickens on the subway trains.
The smallest MacDonalds I've ever seen!
I took this pix of one of the pools in Kowloon Park swim complex ... just before I saw the "No Videos or Photos" sign.
On my way to the MTR station, I ran into a lot of people who are occupying and closing parts of 2 very large streets (Waterloo Rd is one). I thought all of the protests were on HK Island. It turns out the protesters have 3 locations: The Admiralty, Waterloo Rd (Mong Kok) and Causeway Bay.
The TV news is filled with this protest. There is some push-back from other groups. The TV news makes it sound like this movement is not supported by most of the people ... but I would be skeptical of that.
Bamboo baracades have blocked this street.
Hong Kong Police watching.
This sign was in the MTR station telling you which exit to use. I saw "D (exit) Carnarvon Road". Carnarvon is one of the West Australia towns we stayed in and it's also a town in South Africa.
I found this in Wikipedia: George Edward Stanhope Molyneux Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon, was an English aristocrat best known as the financial backer of the search for and the excavation of Tutankhamun's tomb in the Valley of the Kings.