Pinnacles and Monkey Mia

Red Bottlebrush

Our western Australian adventure began with a road trip north from Perth to the rugged coastline of the Shark Bay area of the Coral Coast. The arid landscape of this part of the continent makes it unique with massive sand dunes, low lying vegetation, distinctive red soil and amazing rugged coastlines. We were fortunate enough to travel through this area in spring with its amazing floral displays of the most unusual and unique plant life, from orchids to kangaroo paw plants, with flashes of color bursting from the dry soil.

Our first stop along the west coast was Namburg National Park or more commonly called The Pinnacles. These surreal statuesque limestone formations seem to grow out of the endless sand dunes. There are literally thousands of these unique formations scattered through the park in a very concentrated area, and of course Laurence could not stop photographing these unique statues. The rock formations are over 6000 years old and are formed by the wind-driven sand over time. It was like being on another planet with very little vegetation, as you dealt with the worst fly infestation I have ever experienced. The blow flies were everywhere and you inevitably swallowed a few while enjoying the amazing pinnacles.

The Pinnacles

As we headed north we traveled through the small town of Port Gregory with it most unusual pink lagoon. The whole lagoon is naturally a most shocking colour of pink caused by the presence of beta-carotene in the water, which is now harvested for food colouring.

From there we passed through Kalbarri National Park with its distinctive rock formations, gorges, cliffs and amazing sea views. Here we stopped along the rugged shoreline to take in the views, fight off the flies and watch whales and dolphins play in the ocean. We seemed to be the only two people in this part of the country as at every stop we alone in this magnificent landscape.

But the most amazing experience on this road trip was our first morning at Monkey Mia in the middle of the Shark Bay Marine Park. It was here that at the beach at 7:00 AM we were greeted by a baby dolphin and his mother in only two feet of water, we were only feet away from these most amazing animals. Just Laurence and I and two dolphins in one of the most beautiful blue bays I have ever seen. Monkey Mia is known for its dolphins that visit the beach every morning for a visit and continually come and go from the public beach area all day long. We spotted dolphins almost every time we headed down to the beach to take in the amazing views.

Laurence @ Kangaroo Point

We also took a boat cruise out into Shark Bay to visit a pearl farm and view the marine life in this picturesque bay. Here we saw several pods of dolphins and also got to see several dugongs, rays, sea turtles and even sharks. Shark Bay is home to the world’s largest concentration of dugongs with over 11,000 in the bay. These ``sea cow`` or manatee type animals are easy to watch as they graze along the shallow bottom of the bay, only 4 feet at times, in the warm waters of the Indian Ocean.

Monkey Mia in Shark Bay is truly one of the most amazing places I have had the privilege to experience; nothing I have been to is like this place, OMG.