Day 34 – WE SWAM WITH WHALE SHARKS. I swam with a whale shark – I nearly drowned but at least I swam with one and saw it swim by under water, trailed by many little fish, jelly fish and a gaggle of tourists.
Cath and the girls swam again and again with a number of whale sharks. We nearly had to drag Kiara out. They also swam around the coral seeing a host of other amazing creature. We sighted a dolphin and a dugong and paced two male humpback whales as they tried to catch a teasing female. It was an amazing day.
Day 35 – we headed south towards Monkey Mia stopping at Coral Bay to see the clear blue water and white sand, drove over ancient sand dunes and spotted our first wild goats. Those Dutch have a lot to answer for. Ant hills are back in many vary and strange forms, before petering out again. We are passed by a number of wide loads as buildings and big gear head north. Weather started to turn and rain began as we arrived at Carnarvon, staying within sight of the radio telescope.
Day 36 arrived wet and cool as we head south again. Packing a wet tent is no fun. More old sand dunes, salt planes, cattle, sheep and goats and more goats. Weird. We also pass by the widest of our oversized loads and have to actually pull of the road. The mining game is obviously going strong. We stop at Red Bluff for our first view of Shark Bay and a slightly spooky gnome monument. Then we stop in at Hamelin Pool to view the stromatolites. Crystal clear waters and a hazy horizon gave a magical view. The beach is also shell not sand which is a bit noisy but seems standard for Shark Bay. Stop in for Devonshire tea at the old telegraph station there as well.
Pass Useless Loop Road – leading to the salt mines at Useless Loop, finally reaching Denham and settling in for a few days as we air our wet tent and gear, do some washing and settle back for sausages and mash.