Road trip from Perth to Shark Bay and the Hutt River Province - 7th - 10th April

We collected our hire car which was equipped with "roo bar" and paid the extra for "animal insurance". Our trip would cover of 2,000 kilometers along Australia's most perilous stretch of road (so we were informed on our safe arrival back in Perth). No wonder Tim looked a bit worried as we collected his brother-in-law, Paul. Paul joined our adventure into the bush!

Not a single kangaroo spotted, even after I laid down a generous reward of $5. Kirsten reckoned she had seen a wallaby in a bush, but I needed a verified sighting before parting with that sort of cash. Was quite disappointed not to hit anything! Always the way when you pay extra for that special insurance!

Eight and half hours later, after plenty of red road and with four sets of red eyes, we arrived at the metropolis of Denham, our base for the next 3 nights. A few questions sprung to mind; Why are the palm trees bent double? Where do you find somewhere to eat around here? "Is it me, or are the folk here a little odd?"

We took in the sights of Denham. Five minutes later we placed a rush order at the fish and chip shop as they were about to close for evening, along with everything else. It was ten to eight. At eight o'clock we headed back to our "resort" bar where the local band, Inferno, were playing. I thought they were ok, perhaps the drums were a little on the loud side, but the boys decided a few episodes of the West Wing in our family room preferable.

We awoke early to reach Monkey Mia in time for the first dolphin feeding.

Above: Beautiful beach at Monkey Mia

Above: Adam picked from the crowd to hand feed a dolphin, even after my best smiling and eye contact with the ranger.

Above: Dolphins look above the water line to focus in on their feeders. I am sure she is smiling at me!
Above: The regulars come in to feed in at Monkey Mia around three times a day. Dolphins are recognised by their dorsal fins, which are very individual due to markings, (scratches or bite marks), from inter dolphin scraps or run-ins with sharks. Nikki is the oldest of the provisioned dolphins at around 30 years old and she is known for being a terrible mother. Her latest baby followed other pod members into the bay around 15 minutes after her arrival.

Only a small number of 'provisioned' dolphins are fed snack sized fishy portions. However, this does not stop other visitors, offspring and friends trying their luck and coming regularly into the bay. This controlled feeding allows researchers to closely study Bottle Nose Dolphins, whilst the dolphins are still required to feed themselves naturally. It is certainly a magical experience to be so close to these beautiful creatures.

Above: Australian Pelicans take it easy on the beach at Monkey Mia. The tips of their beaks are to be avoided, sporting a sharp hook. Also a little intimidating when they give you the eye.

Above: After the dolphin excitement, we headed out on a boat trip in search of Dugongs, which feed on the vast area of seagrass found in Shark Bay. We spotted a few as they surfaced for air, along with some Leather Back turtles and a Sea Snake (over 3 times more venomous than any land snake).

Above: Dugongs, the largest population in the world are found at Shark Bay, sadly not my photo.

Above: A homestead hot tub in the middle of the bush. We wallowed in the murky bore water as the sun went down. A very nice experience if not a little scary as we tried to recover our clothes in the pitch dark.

Above: Hamelin Pools - a very special geological site, home to stromolite formations. What are stromolites I hear you cry? Stromolites represent the oldest form of life on earth and Hamelin Pool contains the most diverse and abundant examples of stromolite forms in the world. They are limescale deposits formed by the first algae populations. The algae released oxygen into the atmosphere enabling the creation of all other life forms. Pretty important, so stop thinking they look like giant cow pats!

Above: Kirsten and I enjoyed a long stroll along Nanga Beach

Above: The kind of dunny where it is advisable to lift the seat. You never know what could be lurking.Above: A very quick visit to Shell Beach, which although beautiful was infested with flies which crawled into our eyes, noses, mouths and ears. Yuk. Corked hats would have been very handy.

Above: Eagle Bluff - Overlooking Shark Bay. From this point we watched sharks, rays and Dugongs circling the bay. Shark Bay, as the name suggests, is in fact populated by vast numbers of sharks, varieties found include; Tiger, Bull, Reef, Hammer Head, Sand and Lemon Sharks.Above: Our last evening in windy Denham where we enjoyed a lovely meal in a tiny restaurant constructed with compacted shell bricks. I had catch of the day, which was Mangrove Jack - delicious.

We broke up the journey back to Perth by stopping off at several sights on route. First stop for lunch was Kalbarri, a beautiful seaside resort.

Above: Views over Eagle Gorge on peninsular of Hutt River

Above: Hutt Lagoon. "That can not be natural" I cried. Well, in fact this bright magenta pink lagoon is naturally coloured by algae forming beta carotene, which is extracted for food colouring. Nature never ceases to amaze.

Above: Scenes from the Hutt Province. Statue of Prince Leonard, Prince Leonard stamping Adam's passport and us behaving very respectably in the Hutt Province Church.

Our last stop, and not exactly on route, was to the Hutt River Province. In a nutshell, a nutcase, His Royal Highness Prince Leonard, found a legal loop hole, which enabled him to form his own country within Australia. He did this in 1970, promptly declared war on Australia and surrendered four days later. Why? To avoid paying tax on his wheat crops and to satisfy his enormous ego. He has his own laws, police force, government offices, civilians, currency etc. He stamped our passports and gave us a nice little tour.

We arrived back in Perth at 10pm. Kirsten missed the grazing roos as she was driving and luckily I missed the hundreds of giant road trains that hurtled along Highway 1 in the dark desert. Glad we made it. Would I ever want to drive around Australia? Never!