The Humpback Highway at Exmouth

Yesterday we went on a fantastic whale watching tour on the boat Aliikai which is a 20m vessel. We saw so many Humpback whales we lost count and a couple came to within 15m of the boat, obviously making contact with us, putting on a bit of a show, moving from one side of the boat to the other.

I was so busy enjoying the whole whale experience that this is my best still photo which shows only part of the animal's back.

This little video taken with my very ordinary digital still camera is my attempt to catch a glimpse of what it was like to be there.

These massive mammals spend their summer in Antarctica filling up on krill and then head to the waters off the Kimberley coast to breed and calve. They snort as they come above the water. We saw them breech, give the pectoral wave and tail slap as well as just move their humps above the water.

Today we moved south of the Tropic of Capricorn. Blessings to you all and I will post my highlights of Carnarvon next week.

Millstream Chichester NP to Ningaloo Reef

Since the last blog there have been several highlights on our journey south along the west coast of Australia.

From Karratha we took a one-day trip into Millstream-Chichester NP where I walked the “camel trail”. This was a trail set up by cameleers in the 19^th century to get from one watering hole to another. I walked an 8km section between Mt Herbert and Python pool. It was a walk amongst the Spinifex topped Chichester ranges where often I could see forever. It was a wonderful experience to be out there on my own walking along rugged tracks and imagining what it must have been like for people who didn’t know there was a car park 8km away with someone who had a picnic lunch ready to eat!

While we were in Karratha we spent a considerable time trying to digest the enormity of the North West Shelf Gas Venture. The enormity of the project is mind-boggling.

We are currently in Exmouth home of the Ningaloo reef which is a place I have been waiting to see. I had hoped to see the massive whale sharks but they left at the end of July. The marine life here is so diverse and prolific that one can’t really be disappointed. You can see the Humpback whales frolicking in the ocean with or without binoculars. Tomorrow we are going on a whale watching cruise so I will update this page if I get my very own close up photos.

Yesterday we went on a reef cruise and snorkelling tour. The boat was a glass bottom boat so we were treated to some wonderful viewing of the coral and fish even before we got in the water. Before we had moved away from the beach we saw a ray swimming around in the shallows.

Being under water with the coral and the fish was a remarkable and spiritual experience for me. There were schools of pretty fish just swimming around doing what fish do best. They didn’t bother about the people swimming above them. Everything was so quiet, peaceful and beautiful. I swam away from the boat a little and around some enormous coral “bombies”. These were alive with fish, some as small as a 1-2cm in length.

These photos were taken in parts of the Ningaloo reef by Aleksander Nowak. (alekandgina@hotmail.com)

As we head south towards Perth and my flight to Melbourne on the 8^th September we will be visiting Carnarvon, Monkey Mia and Kalbarri before meeting up with friends not far out of Perth. Blessings to everyone.

Karijini National Park ~ 11th-13th August

On the way from Tom Price to Karijini NP we stopped to take a photo of the mountain I climbed. (Well nearly all the way up! I am at last finding the uphill muscles which never seem to get a workout in Koondrook.) This is Mt Bruce.

So here we are in Karijini National Park. We have discovered a fantastic place where mountains and gorges fill the landscape. We set up camp in Dales Campground and headed straight for the gorge.

The first view from the lookout really took our breath away. The cliffs are beautiful and the gorges really deep and scary. A lot of the rock is layered like slate and we walked down to Circular Pool where some people were swimming in the very cold water.

We walked and clambered on up the gorge a few kms, marvelling all the way at the beauty of our world and loving just being here, past lots of Snappy Gums and Paperbark trees, to Fortescue Falls and Fern Pool where more people were swimming in equally cold water.

Back up on top we looked down again at where we'd been. Here you can see Fortescue Falls.

The next day was the day for the challenges of the gorges in the Weano Recreation area.

Once again we marvelled at the view from the lookouts and then made attempts to walk into some of the gorges.

They get wet, slippery and dangerous as this shakily taken photo shows. It is a view of the handrail to help you get into “Handrail Pool” in Weano Gorge. If you want to go any further you have to swim through the pool of very, very, very cold water and enter territory where you need skills that I don’t have!

Hancock Gorge was another beautiful place. To go all the way down this gorge one needs to get wet, too.

The sides of the gorge are truly stunning and are sometimes reflected in the water which flows down the gorge.

During our third day at Karijini NP we explored the lovely relaxing gorge called Kalamina.

We walked for about 3kms enjoying the flat rocks which made for easy walking and the beautiful pools which accompanied us on our journey.

This dragon lizard took up an interesting stance near our campsite. Cute little thing isn't it?

Blessings to you all and we will be in the Pilbara for a little while yet.

Mining in the Pilbara ~ early August

Everything in mining in the Pilbara is massive – the companies (Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton), the trains, the trucks, the machines which work the mines, the piles of iron ore and salt, the ships and the monthly payroll. It is easy enough to find out information about mining here so I have not tried to go into any detail; rather I offer you my simple photos of massive things.

A ship being loaded with iron ore at Port Hedland.

The salt has been washed and is poured out into large stockpiles for drying at Port Hedland.

A machine for putting putting a pile of iron ore onto a conveyor belt at Tom Price mine.

We went on a tour of the Tom Price mine. David got into a disused "bucket".

I am standing next to a small front end loader. See the ladder which come down to enable the driver to get into the driver's seat.

The three locomotives of a train coming from the Marandoo mine near Tom Price, heading for Dampier.

We are now off to explore the ranges and gorges of Karrijini National Park, still in the Pilbara, so take care and I can assure you all, my loyal followers, I think of you often and will always remember my friends and family. Blessings to you all and we will see you again on the west coast.