Post #10 Dolphins to Hot Dogs

The dolphins at Monkey Mia are famous, having been visiting the shoreline there since the 70's. In brief, one turned up back then, got fed loads by humans, would not leave. Scientists got involved and said 'this won't do' and now they are fed circa 5% of their daily food needs, only when they show up and only up to noon. (ie it's not really worth their while coming in from a food angle). They are wild creatures and no one knows if they will show up on any given day but most days they do. Extraordinary.

They are 3 or so generations on from that original one; they've provided the longest scientific study possible to date and they have integrated the beach into their daily foraging sites. They get between zero and 16 show up and females even bring their new born calf in, without fail, within 48 hours of birth!





She is at my feet in water not much above my ankles and she had her 3 week old calf with her! Great.

After getting there for 6am I fancied a relaxed afternoon so headed to a point I'd had recommended for some fishing... Stupidly got bogged on a soft sand track and so, in the mid thirties, had to do a fair bit of digging! (no Chinese in sight to help...) No fishing in the end...

In my defence I missed this sign...




Not the one about not running over small children but the one hidden in the bush telling you to deflate tyres. In my prosecution... I could see it was sand!

Moved on and had a fantastically relaxed few days at Coral Bay, Ningaloo Reef... Australia's largest fringing reef, easily accessible from the beach for fantastic snorkelling. A bit of fishing too and taking it easy! To get here I'd crossed the Tropic of Capricorn so it's getting hotter... 42 here consistently.




Crazy Ant Hills...





Some stromatolites (very very important in getting us to where we are today!) just for you Matt (these are living and only 5000 years old or so and are not the 3.5 billion year old ones in the Pilbara).





Probably my favourite fuel station so far (at least top three)...





Am now back on the road and heading towards Broome. Suddenly the landscape is very different again...





Then to the outskirts of the Pilbara...





Yesterday I crossed a number of significant bridges and beneath each was nothing but dry, sandy river beds. The rains are coming however but its impossible to think they they will all be running full very shortly or even flooding.

Yesterday the official temperature here was 53.4 although guys at the Nanutarra Roadhouse were claiming 55. Forecast for today, anyhow, is 55. Roadhouses are bizarre and fascinating places... Nanutarra yesterday was like something out of Pulp Fiction with everyone going slightly crazy in the heat. Drivers of the road trains are a hardy and slightly crazy looking bunch!





6am and got to make tracks before it's too hot to move. Spent the night in Karratha, a town built in the 60's by a mining company and lots of mining/energy business going on still.

Yesterday was pretty uncomfortable and even walking around to the fuel filler cap was a chore (on that note there were people arriving there with tanks pretty empty and the pressure build up was so great in the heat that when they opened the cap, fuel shot out for metres!)

Beyond the heat, the humidity is outrageous! Crazy people living here. Still, all good fun!

Off to Broome via Eighty Mile Beach and then into the Kimberley's.

Merry Christmas!


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Location:Karratha, WA