Saturday 21st November 2009
HERALD BIGHT 25°37′ 03" S 113°33′ 32" E
MEADE ISLAND 25°59′ 58" S 113°11′ 53" E
It was an early start to enable us to get as far as possible toward Shelter Bay (Steep Point) before the forecasted 20 – 30 knot winds.
Paul and his “manky” hat, skippering on the bow, playing air guitar listening to country music!
At 9.10am Paul lost his “manky” hat overboard and we had to heave-to to retrieve it. This hat is faded, sweat stained and has definitely seen better days. But Paul is insistent that this hat makes it for the whole journey from start to finish, so it MUST make it to Perth!
As we were passing Cape Peron we were perplexed to see hundreds of little crabs swimming by the boat on the surface. At first we thought they were bits of seaweed floating in the water. Then we saw turtles everywhere, snacking on the crabs. The turtles would swim up to the crab lift their heads out of the water and CHOMP! It was a very bizarre sight to witness. It was like a turtle drive thru “McCrab”! We bailed out for Meade Island when the 20 – 30 knot winds blew in, preferring the shelter of the bay to slamming out in the waves for another couple of hours. As we approached Meade Island we were intrigued that there was a large building on the mainland of Dirk Hartog Island.
It turned out to be a homestead now run as a tourist operation. It was closed for the season, but the caretakers David and Margaret came out to invite us ashore. We spent a lovely evening in their company.
We had hot showers, sundowners drinks and nibbles and even stayed for dinner! The boys kicked a football for the first time in ages, out on the green grass.
Friday 20th November 2009
MONKEY MIA 25°47′ 29" S 113°43′ 16" E
HERALD BIGHT 25°37′ 03" S 113°33′ 32" E
We went ashore to watch two of the morning sessions of dolphin feeds. In the first feed the “kids” were having a ball playing. Fin and Flute, in particular, go ballistic chasing and nudging each other and weaving in and out the jetty pylons. A couple of pelicans landed in the water and proceeded to swim to the beach. One of the dolphins playfully swam underneath and nudged the pelican out of the way. The pelican was most alarmed by this treatment, but the dolphin was clearly letting the pelican know who was the star of the show.
On the beach after the feeding session, the Pelicans soaked up the limelight, posing for the cameras.
The second feed only had Nicky and her calf Fin. The heavily pregnant Puck was not in for the feed so there was some speculation that she might be giving birth. Apparently just before a dolphin gives birth she stops feeding. In the last couple of feeding sessions Puck was accepting the fish but not eating them. So it could be a sign that there might be a cute new arrival on the beach at Monkey Mia very soon. At lunchtime we said goodbye to Monkey Mia. We needed to be at Shelter Bay by Sunday, as there was a weather window approaching for a passage to Geraldton – the first in a couple of weeks.
The shores of Monkey Mia and the Resort.
The stark contrast of the red cliffs of the Peron Peninsula and the azure blue waters. A Pearling Farm is in the foreground.
This was a wildlife spotting cruise, with turtles, manta rays, a sea snake and 16 dugongs! The Shark Bay region has the largest number of species of seagrass of any area in the world and has some 4,000sq km of it. It also has the largest seagrass meadow in the world, the Wooramel Bank. So with a smorgasbord feast there for the munching, it is no wonder that there are so many dugongs. They are really quite a funny beast and you can see why they are called the sea cow. They are a slow and lethargic creature and life runs on their slow time. We anchored overnight in Herald Bight to shelter from the 20-30 knot winds that had blown in.
Thursday 19th November 2009
MONKEY MIA 25°47′ 29" S 113°43′ 16" E
We woke this morning to find the cockpit filled with a swarm of resting swallows. Apparently the next door fishing boat was their normal haunt, and when it left for the morning, Wendera looked like an inviting hotel foyer! We also had rain last night! The first real downpour since leaving Cairns. It was wonderful cleansing rain, washing down the last of the remaining Dampier dust from the top of the mast and the sidestays. Unfortunately this resulted in a muddy mess on the decks. We went ashore for the dolphin feeding. It was wonderful watching the dolphin calves playing out the back while the mothers were being fed. It is almost as though ‘while Mum’s away, we will play’! They jump out of the water, splash and wrestle each other and tail slap the water. They really look as though they are having a blast and it was a joy to watch.
Nicky and her calf Fin.
Only female mothers are fed, and they must be descendants from the original Monkey Mia beach dolphins. They are only fed 1/4 of their daily feed and this is spaced over a maximum of three feeds until midday. When they come into the beach they are fed 25 minutes later, so they are encouraged to still have a normal wildlife routine. They choose when and if they could into the beach. If one of the dolphin comes in for the second feed, she doesn’t get the extra fish from the first session. You are not allowed to touch the dolphins and can’t wear sunscreen as it hurts their eyes.
Mary and Nicky.
We then met Mike and his dog “Miracle” (or Mirror for short). We sailed past Mirror and Mike in their Wharram as we were exiting the channel yesterday. Actually Mike was the only witness to our little sandbank embarrassment. Then after a wander around, the boys and I went for a camel ride along the beach, which was fantastic. The camels were very affectionate and were nose peg free (well only a tiny bit whiffy!). For most of the ride I had Ellie cuddling into me.
I’m on Digger, Tim is on Ellie and Ben is on Camelia who is the Mum of both Digger and Ellie.
Camelia “talking” to Tim
The boys were disappointed that we had to go back to the boat and do school – responsibility is a drag!!!!! I was sitting on the deck watching the second dolphin feeding session and noticed lots of dolphins just by the boat. Tim quickly put the kayak in the water and paddled over to them. He spent the next 45 minutes paddling beside the dolphins as they played and interacted with him. He had a “whale” of a time with them, definitely a once in a lifetime experience. On his return it was back to the grindstone!
Wednesday 18th November 2009
CARNARVON 24°53′ 25" S 113°39′ 13" E
MONKEY MIA 25°47′ 29" S 113°43′ 16" E
CARNARVON TO MONKEY MIA PASSAGE
We left early this morning with 0.1m of tide. We got past the last starboard marker on the way out with no drama and thought we were set, only to run onto a sandbank 50m on, where we spent the next half hour or so kedging and dinghy pulling the boat into the deeper part of the channel. Very embarrassing, fortunately it was early morning so there weren’t too many observers to Paul being in the water pushing!! And now our dirty little secret is out and luckily it was a sandy bottom so it was a free hull cleaning service! After such an adrenalin pumping start, the rest of the passage was lovely and relaxing. It was also a real wildlife spotting cruise, with dolphins playing on our bows, whales breaching on the horizon, turtles and even a dugong feeding on the water surface. Just as we anchored at Monkey Mia we spotted another dugong just off our stern.
Tuesday 17th November 2009
CARNARVON 24°53′ 25" S 113°39′ 13" E
After school work was completed, we went for a walk to the One Mile Jetty.
The footbridge into Carnarvon
The boys were walking along the (disused) train tracks, when suddenly a train whistle pierced the silence. You should have seen the boys jump and quickly scamper from the tracks. We soon saw the source of the noise. As we rounded the curve we saw an old steam train being restored at the Jetty Train Museum and the whistle had been given a test blow.
One Mile Jetty is the longest jetty in the Western Australia. Unfortunately you can only go out 800 metres, as a fire destroyed the rest and is currently still being restored.
The view from the top of a disused water tank.
We took a train out the 800 metres, which was an enjoyable ride.
The boys provided a “free track cleaning service”. Your should have seen their feet!!!
The owner of the Souvenir shop had a cute little puppy called “Jetty” that the boys immediate took to and had fun playing with. Tim was tempted to ‘dogknap’ her!! When we got back to the boat, we moved further up the channel, as we were planning on an early start tomorrow and didn’t want to navigate the shallow channel in the dark and at low tide.
Monday 16th November 2009
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TIM
CARNARVON 24°53′ 25" S 113°39′ 13" E
WOW! Tim’s 14 today – where has all that time gone? It just seems like only yesterday that I was holding him in my arms for the very first time. We had a BBQ burger lunch in at the playground today with Quoll II.
Tim received a packet of water balloons as part of his birthday present from Quoll II, so the boys enjoyed the next three hours having a water bomb fight. What better way for a boy to enjoy his birthday, and of course later there was birthday cake!
Sunday 15th November 2009
CARNARVON 24°53′ 25" S 113°39′ 13" E
Carnarvon
Our school work, play and domestic routine continued today.
