Hey everyone,
Well we left Albany on Monday after a great Sunday spent snorkelling and boogy boarding.. The gear was loaned to us free of charge by the hostel which was nice.... Carl had a great man sized boogy board and I had a bright red childs 'Clifford the Big red Dog' board which went down well with the local kids I think. I'm pretty sure they thought I was the epitomy of cool... Surely they couldn't have been laughing AT me could they?! We had a great time and loved being outdoors and in the water.. We're very jealous of the Aussies and their outdoor life.
We drove a long distance on Monday from Albany to Cervantes (The Pinnacles) North of Perth. We stopped off en route in Guildford for some lunch and took some photos, both for the folks in Guildford back home but also for my Grandma who was born in this Guildford, Australia. We were amazed en route how the scenery changes and how easy it is to drive 3, 400 km without a break because the roads are dead straight and there's no traffic. Lots of "Road Trains' though which can be up to 36.5m long..... Oh and road kill which is pretty messy...
We arrived in Cervantes at about 5pm and decided to head to The Pinnacles for sunset because we were told that was the best time to visit... What a great, and weird, place...! Similar geology to the moon with hundreds of shards of rock sticking out of the ground as if one giant rock has exploded... It was great at sunset too because the rocks cast these amazing shadows so the pictures are great.... Driving back from the Pinnacles we saw some emus running along the road and also a gorgeous roo which didn't mind its picture being taken!
On Tuesday we headed North again to Geraldton, the largest town between Perth and Broome, and to be honest it's not even that big!! We had a nice time shopping for new bits and bobs and I had a cheapo hair cut which felt like luxury! In the evening we went to the cinema to watch 'The Golden Compass' which was nice to see because it meant not playing cards around a hostel table.. again!
Wednesday we headed even further North up to Denham and Shark Bay... Shark Bay is a World Heritage site and is pretty incredible with the bright red earth and turquoise water next to each other. En route we stopped off at Hamelin Pool, a site of Stromatolites, some of the world's best known rock formations which are almost identical to organisms some 19 million years ago. It was a pretty hot walk, I'd say about 42 degrees, to get to the rocks and there were also lots of flies. But great to see nonetheless.
We also stopped off at Eagle Bluff, a recognised spot for shark gathering... We saw about 50 medium sizes sharks swimming in the water below us. Sadly we were on the top of a cliff so couldn't get close to them... I didn't want to but Carl did!
Our hostel in Denham, near Monkey Mia, was a great place with a swimming pool and our own kitchen and bathroom between only two rooms, almost like a self catered apartment in the Med!
Thursday we had a lazy day at the beach and also watching the cricket on TV with a few beers.. well it's what the locals do and we need to fit in don't we?!?!
Today (Friday) we got up early (0600) and headed 30km North to Monkey Mia . Monkey Mia is where dolphins come to feed in the mornings and whilst we knew it was pretty touristy we still wanted to see it.. It was a great experience. The dolphins were beautiful. You weren't allowed to touch them but they swam very close to the shore and you were allowed to be shin deep. Got some great pictures which we still haven't uploaded but will do soon. We're always on the move!
Tomorrow we're going to head to Fremantle and spend the day getting back into city normality! The outback has been an incredible experience but neither of us has ever experienced such remoteness before. In some stretches of road we didn't see a car for up to an hour.. Worrying if you break down but fortunately we're very close to Perth now so near enough for help if needs be!
We're off to Alice Springs by plane on Monday and have hopefully been accepted on a 3 day tour of Uluru, camping out under the stars 1 night! Can't wait.
Love to you all cobbers!
Becs and Carl xxxx
