MONKEY MIA - KALBARRI

Our beautiful babies at our beachfront site at Monkey Mia

At Eagle Bluff along the coast of Denham Sound

A moment for the chicks on Shell Beach

Bridgie testing the "warm" water of Shell Beach

Ben admiring this unusual beach-without-sand

Here are the cockle shells of Shell Beach

Tessie testing the water

The kids all 'praising' the Stromatolites, without which we humans would not be here!

Sarah and Alanna trying to hold on to the last of the warm weather

How can Violet think she is Little Miss Sunshine?

Violet, Alanna, Kevin, David and Laurence at our 'riverview apartment' at Kalbarri.

Luke, Bridget, Caleb, Beth, Ben, Gerard, Tess and Tess enjoying fish and chips - Kalbarri

DAY 79 – MONKEY MIA – KALBARRI                                      Monday, 19^th September

Off early this morning for the trip to Kalbarri.  Packed up the van, said goodbye to Elaine and Ross and their little dog, Charlie, and drove away from this beautiful bay.  The colour of the water was just stunning again this morning.  Such a special place.  We farewelled each of the dolphins by name!

The first stop was Eagle Bluff which has a fantastic view of the coastline over Denham Sound.  Alanna had said they had seen sharks there yesterday but alas, just seagrass today!  Beautiful view.  We then stopped at Shell Beach which is made entirely of cockle shells.  This is the only place where this happens.  The water needs to be extra warm and salty.  The cockle shells are 5 metres deep and are considered a renewable resource so mining of the shells is allowed there.  Further down the road at Hamelin Pool, the hardened cockle shells were cut with a cutsaw into bricks and were used to build houses because of the lack of available timber or rocks.  Now they are only mined to provide maintenance for historical buildings in the area. 

At Hamelin Bay are the Stromatolites.  Stromatolites started forming approximately 3.5 billion years ago and are small towers of sediment, trapped by blue-green bacteria (single-celled organisms) and are of great geological significance.  They are the oldest living organisms and grow only in Shark Bay and the Bahamas.  Fossilised stromatolites tell scientists that things like the angle of the sun and the length of our day used to be different.  They also provided the first form of oxygen, allowing other breathing organisms and plant life – and ultimately human life – to begin.

AND THAT IS SARAH’S TRANSLATION OF DAVID (GEOLOGICAL FREAK)’S EXPLANATION.  COUNT YOURSELVES LUCKY.

It was actually very kid-friendly and the kids loved seeing the explanation that, if the existence of the earth is measured by two arm’s breadth, with stromatolites on the elbow of your right arm, dinosaurs on the wrist of your left arm, humans would be a nail length on your left pinkie finger!!  Pretty amazing!

Straight on to Kalbarri.  The wildflowers with their pinks, purples, yellows, reds and whites are just spectacular and the countryside has really changed.  It is much less coastal and more rolling green hills and wheatfields.  Dying to get out and take some photos of all the beautiful flowers.

Spent the evening with the Tedescos and the Pattersons.  All the kids just had a ball playing together at the caravan park and then down at the park.  They all get along so well.  We shared travelling stories and had Kalbarri fish and chips (WA fish and chips are so much more expensive than Melbourne!)  What a great night!  Unless we are able to catch up somewhere on the Nullabor, this will be our last night together.