Monkey Mia - Hamelin Pool Station - Denham - Shell Beach - 18 September 2017

Monkey Mia

We had an early start for the drive to Monkey Mia.  Lorraine was keen to swim with the dolphins - we figure the dolphins don't know where the "imaginary exclusion line" is - but there weren't many dolphins at the early feeding session.  To protect the dolphins and ensure they retain their ability to search for their own food in the wild, only two people are offered one fish each to feed to the dolphins.

Tourists patiently waiting like school children!

It was a bit cool so we watched a couple of the "feeding sessions", enjoyed a caffeine fix and headed back to Hamelin Pool Station for a Devonshire Tea.

Hamelin Pool Telegraph Station

Hamelin Pool Devonshire Teahouse.

Hamelin Pool Station 

The shores of Hamelin Pool are dotted with stromatolites, the world's largest and oldest living fossils, and they are among the most diverse in the world and show us what marine ecosystems would have looked like three billion years ago. Because of this, life in Hamelin Pool is one reason for Shark Bay's World Heritage status. 

Hamelin Pool Stromatolites

We walked the boardwalk over the stromatolites and from the information boards we learnt that, "For a long time scientists knew that microbial mats influenced the evolution of life on Earth, but they have learnt more in recent years. They have found that microbial mats are diverse and complex ecosystems where different species work together in communities that depend on each other."

Boardwalk that protects the stromatolites

"These colonies of micro-organisms resemble the oldest and simplest forms of life on earth, dated around 3.5 billion years old. However the Hamelin Pool stromatolites are relatively new colonies, about 3,000 years old.  They thrive here because of the salinity of the water, the occurrence of calcium bicarbonate and the limited water circulation."

We crossed into the 26th Parallel and crossed over again leaving Hamelin Pool area.  

And again, shared the roads with wild emus.

Denham

We've been to Cape Byron, the most easterly point in Australia, and now we've been to the most westerly town in Australia. The Shark Bay region was once known for its fishing and pearling, and the streets of Denham were literally paved with pearl shells. In the 1960's however, the local roads board poured bitumen over the pearl shells! What a tragedy. 

The local Saint Andrews By The Sea Church bricks, inside and outside, are all made from these tiny cockle shells - and it is simply exquisite.

Eagle Island is an important nesting site for coastal birds like pied cormorants, silver gulls and rock parrots. The island was once buried under centuries of guano - bird poo - and being rich in phosphate guano was a prized fertiliser around 1850 when ships arrived and stripped Shark Bay bare. 

Cockle Shell Beach is a series of waves of tiny cockle shells that stretch to over 150 metres before you reach the water's edge.  We have never seen anything like it. 

Cockle Shell Beach.

A close up of the cockle shells.