Dolphin Video

Dolphin Video from kris on Vimeo.

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There are more videos. Check out the links to the right.

Wendy's Last Days in Geraldton

I returned to a busy work week. Wendy amused herself with a day trip to Kalbarri and a return trip to Shark Bay (Denham and Monkey Mia). She had a great time but ran out of petrol (gas) on the way home (25km from Geraldton). She was assisted by two nice guys who I think work for the Dept of Conservation.

Yesterday we took a drive out to the Geraldton Spy Base.  It is nicely sign posted and even has a lookout.  I guess that it isn't a secret spy base.   We were treated to a kangaroo sighting and some great wildflowers.  

Afterwards we took a scenic drive to Ellendale Pool.  I had never been on the road before but thought it looked interesting.  That is was.  It changed from a nice paved road to a gravel road to a very muddy dirt road.  The upside (besides the general pretty scenery) was that we saw several ring- necked parrots and a huge flock of ibis.  Unfortunately, we couldn't get any photos as they were pretty skittish.  

Ellendale Pools was a pretty place but quite noisy with a huge flock of white cockatoos.  It was also extremely muddy.  There were a few people camping there and we couldn't figure out why.  An added bonus to the place was that there were huge signs warning about Ameobic Meningitis.  

We moved on to Greenough River to do a walk along the river.  It was very pretty and we saw another echidna.  They are cute little things.  It walked under a bush before we could get a photo.  

Today we were planning to go back and do another section of the walk but it is pissing down rain.  Too bad for Wendy's last day but we hear that it is sooo hot in Park City so a cool but rainy day is not too bad.  We will probably head out to an olive plantation later.  I don't think the rain will matter to much for that.

Our last pictures (I think) are here.

Shark Bay

I forgot to say in my last post that it started pouring when we arrived in Shark Bay. Not the best welcome we have received. We looked around for a place to stay and found that generally only the most expensive places had availability. Finally we found a "cabin" at a caravan park. They were funny. When we asked if we could see it they said "no" they didn't have time for that. When we decided to stay one nigh to see if we like it, they said "no, two night bookings only". After a big sign they decided to show Wendy the cabin and we decided to stay.

After a leisurely morning waking up at 7:30 am (that was late compared to a wake up of 6am most mornings) we ate breakfast, organized our tours (water and land) and headed down to the Telecenter to use the Internet. I posted a blog post and Wendy Skyped a few people.

After that it was off to Monkey Mia. Right as we got there a few dolphins came right up to the beach. It was pretty great. I don't think either of us got any good photos of that. We ate lunch and then headed out on a three hour catamaran wildlife sighting tour. Wendy and I volunteered to work the "grinder" to put up the sails.

Unfortunately, it was really blowing and it was quite hard to spot wildlife. We did see a few loggerhead turtles and a couple of dolphins. Because it was so windy the boat was really moving. Both Wendy and I got absolutely soaked. Apparently we were in the absolute worst seats. I wish they had told us that before we were soaked.

After we got off the boat we had a bowl of fries and I had a beer and Wendy had a hot chocolate. We visited the boat place and got a pass for a repeat trip on the boat. Then we did a nature walk. Wendy spotted an echidna. No photos unfortunately.  

We returned home for a awesome dinner prepared by me of stir fry carrots, zucchini and chili tofu. I also cooked a butternut squash. 






The next day was another very early morning. We left at 7am and Wendy saw a lively kangaroo hopping across the road. We got to Monkey Mia for the dolphin feeding at 7:30 am. There were lots of people but it was still pretty easy to see the dolphins. We watched two dolphin feedings and I got some great photos and video. There were also some HUGE pelicans. When posing with one I must have gotten a little close because it came at me with its scary big beak. I was lucky I didn't lose an eye. I don't know what it is about these birds. They just don't like me.

After the dolphin feeding we headed into the Francis Peron National Park on a 4WD tour. The great things was that Wendy and I were the only ones on the tour. Our guide was Russell and he was a prankster. The tour started out very slowly with some historical stuff at the Peron homestead but as we got into the national park it became very, very beautiful with white sand beaches against red rock and the blue water of Shark Bay.

The highlight of the trip for me was seeing a dugong and its calf. We had binoculars and were able to get a great view of them from the beach. Unfortunately, we didn't get any photos. There was no way they would come out as anything other than a black smudge using my camera. Wendy tried to get some with her film camera but it will be awhile before we see those. At the same spot we also saw a Goulds monitor lizard.

The other highlight of the day for me was on the way out of the park. Russell pulled over and said he had something to show us. He then grabbed and showed us a snake. Wendy wanted to see it and went out to touch/ hold it and begged me to take a picture. When taking a picture, I noticed it looked a little strange. It was a rubber snake. I don't know how he made it look so real or how Wendy thought is was real as she was holding it. It was soooo funny. You have to look at Wendy's expression.

All Shark Bay pictures are here

Note:  This is a slightly different location than all of the other photos

Exmouth to Shark Bay

I bullied Wendy into leaving really early but that was a good thing because we made seven stops on the way to Shark Bay and didn't arrive until after five. We stopped in Carnarvon for fuel and groceries. Then we stopped in two places for wildflower pictures. Then at the Overlander Roadhouse to pee. Then we stopped at Hamlin Pool to see the Stromatolites (spelling). This was pretty over rated. We tried to help a guy push start his BMW motorcycle there. Unfortunately, we weren't much help. I think he was a bit crazy driving down the isolated WA coast on a dead battery. We checked out the quarry used to create bricks out of cockle shells cemented together over time by rainwater. That was kind of cool. The next stop was Shell Beach. As it sounds like it is a beach made up of shells.  

Today we are going on a cruise in search of marine life. Tomorrow we are going to the dolphin feeding and then on to the Francis Peron National Park. We are extending our "tour" one day and heading back to Geraldton on Sunday.

I have added several new photos to the web album.

Hopefully we will have some great ones to post in a few days. 

Whale Shark Mission accomplished

Wendy and I went out on the whale shark tour today.  The first snorkel was pretty amazing and we saw a huge grouper/cod.  Then the boat broke down and we thought the day was finished so we did another snorkel in a pretty amazing area.  The boat was fixed in about an hour and we headed off in search of whale sharks.  First we swam with a 3m male for about 10 minutes.  Then we swam with a 8m female for around an hour.  It was a GREAT day.   I am running out of time so I will write more later.  Check out the additional pics at http://picasaweb.google.com/kris.olson.au/WendySAustralianAdventures

Oyster Stacks and another trip to Turquoise Bay

Today we were set to go on the whale shark tour AGAIN but the boat broke down. That was bad luck but it was an absolutely awesome day. We signed up for the next tour and headed out to Oyster Stacks. Oyster Stacks is a rocky beach with several bombies to snorkel. I was so glad to have booties because last time I turned back due to foot pain. High tide was at 8:15 and we didn't get there until 10 so it was a very shallow snorkel but brilliant. After a bit of time here we headed off to Turquoise Bay. There we took a lot of photos because I think it will be our last day there. We also did a snorkel there. I was lucky enough to spend quite a bit of time with a turtle. I also found several clownfish.

With a bit of luck we will see the whale sharks tomorrow and then we will head to Shark Bay the next day. A side note - Wendy had decided to pay for another whale shark tour if our boat wasn't going out tomorrow. For those of you who know her that is quite a decision. However, probably not bigger than my decision to buy a new camera in Exmouth after my other one broke down.

For anyone who doesn't know what a whale shark is you can look at my prior experiences with the whale shark here.

I added 18 new pictures to my picture site here.  

No Whalesharks today

The whaleshark boat broke down so no whale sharks today. We are going to go and try to snorkel at Oyster stacks and return again to Turquoise Bay.

I forgot to mention that we saw lots of emus yesterday. Wendy was super excited. She ran into the grass to get some photos. Unfortunately, the grass was almost like cactus and she got pretty scraped and scratched up.

Plans change

Yesterday morning we did a very early morning snorkel at Turquoise Bay. It would have been earlier if we hadn't had to wait 40 minutes at the Cape Range NP entrance. We had the misfortune of getting there right when it opened and were behind a number of people lined up to get prime camping spots. Both of us were pretty annoyed as we had to be back in Exmouth at 11:45am. We eventually got to Turquoise Bay and although it was quite cold we both went for a snorkel and saw more great stuff. We returned to Exmouth and Wendy went on the Navy Pier Dive. I used that time to call the campground in Karijini National Park. It was completely booked out. We would have been able to get a place in Tom Price but that would mean driving into the Park each day. With our already short time I decided it didn't make sense. When Wendy got off her dive we had a strategy meeting. She was very happy to stay on in Exmouth so that is what we have decided to do. We will be here until Thursday when we leave for Shark Bay. I am going to do the repeat Whale Shark thing on Tuesday. We heard about someone who saw five whale sharks (a mom and some babies). Wow wouldn't that be awesome to see!

This morning I bought a new camera. Today we headed out to Yardie Creek and did a short walk there. Then we went to Sandy Bay for lunch and had a snorkel at Turquoise Bay - our favorite. Today I was really lucky and saw a spotted ray, a clownfish, a turtle and some sharks. I found the sharks under a ledge. When I saw around to have a look I woke one up. It swam away and then the others swam away. It was a white tipped reef shark. It came back awhile later to have a look at me. I was hoping that I didn't piss it off too much.

I have added more photos to the exisiting album here.  Please let me know if you have problems accessing this. 

Whale Shark Trip

We had a good day on the whale shark tour despite the fact that Wendy had a touch of sea sickness. We saw two dugongs (similar to a manatee), a turtle, and many humpback whales. The two humpback whales were very close to the boat. However, we did not see a whale shark. Wendy is booked in for a repeat tour on Monday. I may or may not do it again. One very bad thing did happen. My NEW camera has stopped working. I am not sure what the problem is. It did seem to be wet inside. I did do all the right things like rinsing it after using it so I am not sure what is going on.  

Check out the photos I did get so far at http://picasaweb.google.com/kris.olson.au/WendySAustralianAdventures

Turquoise Bay (Exmouth)

We got up early after a night with little sleep due (loud people). The drive was interesting with termite hills and a huge eagle. We got a few good pics of that. We drove straight to Turquoise Bay. It was as spectacular as I remember it. I saw a turtle in my first snorkel. Wendy saw an octopus and a shark.  

In my second snorkel I saw two sharks. One was sleeping and it kind of scared me when I saw it under a coral over hang. Wendy saw a couple more turtles and several sharks. She was a bit worried to see so many at once but that didn't stop her from chasing them for a picture.  

We are thinking of staying on in Exmouth for an extra day. Tomorrow we head off on a whale shark tour. I think Wendy is going to dive at the Navy pier the following day.  

From Perth to Coral Bay

On Monday July 7 I picked up a very tired Wendy Wolfe from the Perth Airport at 1;30. Lucky Wendy's flight had arrived 30 minutes early so she spent the time trying to find a coffee. Unfortunately, she had no Australian currency and they wouldn't process a credit card transaction for less than $10 so she had no coffee until we found each other.

The trip North to Geraldton took about 4.5 hours and was uneventful. The drive was very green due to the rain that we have received. Wendy was very impressed. She was exhausted by the time she reached my house after traveling for around 36 hours and hit the bed as soon as possible.

On Tuesday we walked and drove around Geraldton seeing the Museum, the "city center", my workplace, the Catholic cathedral, the ocean and the lighthouse. After that we bought some food for our adventures up North and Wendy headed to bed.

We left on Wednesday morning around 7:45am and drove north. The drive was much greener than I have ever seen it. We saw several water holes on the way. Unfortunately, the only kangaroos we saw were dead on the side of the road. We did see a big eagle and several other bird species. We arrived in Coral Bay at 3:30PM just in time for the fish feeding. It was as impressive as I remember it.  

We checked in and watched the sunset. Wendy had an early night and I bumped into a few friends from Geraldton. We had a beer together.

Wednesday morning started out quite cool. I was wearing flannel pj bottoms, a fleece and a hat. I was wondering if I would be able to hit the water. Fortunately, it warmed up very quickly and it turned into a calm beautiful day. Wendy and I each bought a rashie to reduce the chance of sunburn and we hit the water for a snorkel and it was incredible as usual. Wendy lucked out and saw a turtle. I saw lots of great coral and fish. I was so cold and shriveled when I got out that I couldn't contemplate another snorkel for a couple of hours. After a hummus sandwich or two I was ready to give it a go again. The second snorkel was not as magnificent due to the wind and tide coming in and reducing the visibility but it was still great. I happened upon a blue spotted ray.  

Later we went for a walk up the beach and saw another ray. Wendy stayed later and took a few sunset photos. I returned to the Ningaloo Club and downloaded my digital photos. For dinner we had a stir fry of chili tofu, zucchini, carrot, spinach (and for Wendy only red pepper) with cous cous. It seemed like the best thing that I have eaten in a long, long time.

Off to bed as we have an early morning tomorrow when we head up to Exmouth and Turquoise Bay.