We are back in Australia and continue our journey up the west coast, where we have already been able to visit two wonderful places. Now we are north of Kalbarri and Kimberley and heading towards Ningaloo Reef, but there is still quite a way to go. And since the way up there was actually a very important part of our trip, we were looking forward to everything we would see and marvel at.
Today I want to show you a small but colorful selection from different places, which had all brought the Australian feeling that I was looking for at that time.
But let's take a look together at what there is to discover today....
The first two images may not seem so spectacular at first glance, but they show one of the oldest life forms in the world, stromatolites. These biogenic sedimentary rocks were formed in part by the trapping and binding of sedimentary particles and are often composed of fine layers of limestone. The simple and very primitive life forms found in Shark Bay, Western Australia, continue to grow to this day and thus can provide scientists with insight into the origin of life on Earth.
For a amateur like me, there would be nothing too special to see here without any explanation. I would assume these are some interesting rock and stone formations, and not some of the oldest life forms on this planet. The brown stromatolites stopped growing about 500 to 1000 years ago, when the water level dropped and they were exposed to the air.
Australia once again shows its more rustic side, from which there is a lot to discover on this continent.
We then went on to a campground in Monkey Mia, where we wanted to watch a little spectacle the next morning. The campground was, in contrast to our previous overnight stays, quite well visited and compared to the last nights almost luxurious. Of course just almost, because we camped on rather hard ground there again.
As you can see in the pictures, we found one of the tour groups was using a rather interesting selection of motor vehicles, which they probably acquired from the former stock of the Australian army. Pretty special and quite an eye-catcher, which will probably attract attention everywhere. At least it worked for us.
And what else was there to see here? I'll show you in the next pictures, because the next morning half the campground (or probably even more) met early at the beach.
The next morning, as on many other days of the year at this place,, we were allowed to witness the spectacle of a dolphin feeding. I am not talking about trained dolphins in an aquarium, but about wild dolphins in a bay that opens to the Indian Ocean.
For many years there have been special protection programs for various sea creatures and in this context the behavior of the dolphins has been studied. And in order to bring us ignorant people a little bit closer to this wonderful animals, in the morning some dolphins are fed with fish and the waiting public is taught a little bit about their behavior and life. Except for the "drill master" we all had to wait respectfully on the beach and were not allowed to enter the water at this time. Even though the dolphins didn't put on a great stunt show, it was impressive to see these clever sea mammals up close.
The dolphins didn't seem to show any fear and probably knew that they were in a safe area for them, where they can get something tasty. I couldn't take any great pictures, I would have had to be right next to them in the water, but I still enjoyed it as a bystander.
And not only the dolphins were lured in, also some pelicans wanted to try to get a small bite of the big fish. And if I compare both animals in front of me, I rather go for aswim with a dolphin than a pelican, the large beak is not so appealing to me.
At the end of the show we were allowed to come a little closer and some chosen ones, mostly small children, were allowed to throw a fish to the dolphins. For the small ones certainly the highlight of the day, the dolphins I guess were rather indifferent, from whom they get their fish thrown into their mouthes. And tomorrow there will probably be something to fetch again anyway.
Here is a view of the place of my nightly rest, where i actually found some good sleep. Touring in Australia I slept mostly wonderfully, I even endured a long time in the tent on an air mattress. Of course, now and then a bed is also not to be despised, but even these were usually rather less comfortable and I was rarely alone in the room. So I was really praising my tent, as it had served me faithfully for several weeks in a row and had accompanied me through several corners of the country.
There is more to see in the area around Shark Bay, for example at Shell Beach. The name says it all, the whole beach is covered with a thick layer of small white shells.
Due to the high salt content of Shark Bay, a special kind of shell can thrive and spread so wonderfully here, that theri remains stretch over a long part of the coast, which consist of trillions of shells. In total, there are about around 100 kilometers of coastline that boast a layer of mussels up to 10 meters thick.
A very impressive view, but you should not forget your beach sandals, otherwise you will not get far on this beautiful beach and you can only marvel from a distance.
On the first meters away from the water the shells are still very loosely piled up, but further away and deeper in the ground the shells have solidified extremely. The rain has dissolved calcium carbonate from the mussels and then cemented them. In earlier years these layers were mined in shell quarries and used as building material, for example for the church in Denham. But since about 30 years this area is now protected and also the mining of the shell blocks has ended. Everywhere I am able to learn something new!
Our journey led us then away from the Shark Bay and further to the north and on the way we found this interesting formations. These are termite structures, which can be several meters high.
Probably millions of termites must have been busy at work here to build this mound. Termites eat not only wood, which is lacking especially in this corner of the country, but also other organic material like grass and plants. We didn't dare to get very close to them, it is better to avoid unpleasant acquaintances.
In the middle of nowhere we suddenly saw this traffic sign, which had put us quite in astonishment. "Attention pedestrians" - Really? Where? To the left and right not even a building, who should walk around here?
Probably the sign was meant as a prelude to the settlement a few kilometers away, which we seemed to be approaching. And which I will then introduce to you in the next chapter of my journey through West Australia, when we will look around in the Ningaloo area. I wish you all a wonderful weekend, let's dream together of the big world and what else we will discover some day.
See you soon....
[//]:# (!pinmapple -25.800034 lat 113.695994 long Stromatolites, dolphins and lots of shells - Another Highlight in Western Australia d3scr)