04/05/12 – Stromie action #2

Nature's Window

Cliffhanger auditions

Murchison River

The real Kalbarri National Park treats lay inland, so that was our first few stops – fun and games in and around the rocks at Nature’s Window, sweeping views across gorges and then a lovely picnic on the Murchison River. Also saw our first hitchhikers here – wouldn’t even have been able to squeeze their backpacks into the Beaut – were quite glad we had our pimped up wheels!

The fun you have at roadhouses...
And no, we didn't kidnap the kids!

The Stromie story

 A bundle of kms later, we headed off the main north west coast highway to Shark Bay, and got our second batch of stromatolite action – these ones were around 5000 years old, but fossils dating 3.5 billion years old have been found in Australia. Shelly beach was next, where Tony used his artistic talents in sending a birthday message, then a spot of marine life spotting at Eagle Bluff – no joy.

More stromatolites

Birthday messages

Dinner time!

We’d read about the iconic restaurant in Denham made from the shells of the beach we’d recently enjoyed, so headed there for a couple of delicious seafood starters and a cold one or two. Decided that we wanted to see the dolphins first thing the next day, so braved the drive in the dark to Monkey Mia. This time we weren’t so fortunate, but a large swerve meant the kangaroo hit the side of the car rather than head on – again no damage to the Beaut but not sure how the kanga fared… Weren’t finished with the wildlife there though – decided to enjoy the remainder of our 6 pack on the beach and were rewarded with the company of dolphins playing in the shallow waters.

 Key Learnings
  1 WA tourist radio (88FM), despite being advertised regularly, doesn’t work – that we’ve found, anyway!