Kalbarri WA

Another nice place by the sea.  Sort of a bigger version of Denham.  Unfortunately I did not get many photos.

Met up with Paul and Nicki Matthews... gliding friends from Sydney.  We had a most pleasant afternoon BBQ.

Denham, Monkey Mia WA

Stromatolites... ask Mr Google!

Denham is a small seaside village not far from Monkey Mia.  It's a very pretty spot with a park and wide walking track for the full length of the foreshore.  Denham is as far west as we go and is not far from Steep Point which is the most westerly point on the Australian mainland.

These bricks are made from compressed shells found at the stromatolites site. They occur naturally and are cut with a crosscut saw.

Built from the shell blocks.

Monkey Mia was an early start.  Was cold and windy.  Hard to get good shots with so many people there.

The stromatolites are near Hamelin Pool at the bottom of Shark Bay.

Carnarvon

Another nice place.  Not bustling like the mining communities further north.  More canal development so there is money around.

Wild flowers Karratha to Shark Bay

This flower was tiny... petals maybe 5mm long or less!

 

Sturt's Desert Pea.  Karratha.

Found this at Exmouth.

Really pretty in places but I think we are a little early.        

Exmouth

Another attractive place in a desolate area.  Exmouth only came into existence in the 1960s as a US communications base.

We did a trip in a glass bottomed boat over Ningaloo Reef.  Sorry about the reflections.

Saw lots of whales but not close enough to get good photos.

SS Mildura wrecked in 1907

Lighthouse installed after Mildura wrecked!!  Base of RAAF radar station built and bombed in WW2.

It is actually a sea turtle.

In the boonies.

A new estate has canals like the Gold Coast or Sylvania Waters.  Big bucks... close to a mil we were told for a place with water frontage.

Karratha and Dampier

 Spent one night in South Hedland.  Nothing much to report except there is a lot of money being spent!  Not an attractive place.

K and D were also having a lot of money spent but have a nicer look.  We had dinner one night with Paul's niece and her husband.  Very nice to chat and partake with a fellow home brewer!

The houses in this region from Broome down are quite attractive and use a lot of Colourbond steel in the walls as well as the roofing.

Sturt's Desert Pea is the floral emblem of SA.  Grows on the side of the road here.

   The port of Dampier.

Eighty Mile Beach

Nice spot after a rough drive for 10k off the highway.  Everything covered in red dirt!

Kimberley Cruise Day 2

Some local rock art.

This DC3 crash landed at Vansittart Bay in 1942.  It is in remarkably good condition.

One passenger had an attack of gall stones and had to be flown off by this Cessna Caravan seaplane to a nearby RAAF base where they were met by the Flying Doctor.