“Small fish will become big.” Jean de La Fontaine

After a noisy night in a parking lot where semi-trailers have ceased to come and go, We will promptly and without taking the time to breakfast, on the North West Coastal Highway in the direction of the Pilbara region, which part is the land of the Ngarluma people. For our greatest pleasure of colors tasks appear in the landscape : red wildflowers, yellow, purples growing here and there on the earth which takes on new reliefs. The coastal Pilbara was not always populated by so many Aboriginal people : it is a patchwork of Ngarluma descendants, Martuthum, Yindjibarndi, kurrama, Banyjima and others, their ancestors from these peoples were forced to live together, not always for the best. Some were expelled from their land when the whites settled their cattle and pastures, others were taken away in chains to be used as divers and pearl gatherers.

Cossack

Beach Cossack

The dark past does not take away the charm of the region : many famous Aboriginal artists live in the town of Roebourne, established since 1866 and still having buildings from years ago 1880-90. Further on Cossack is probably the closest thing to a historic village for our European eyes and we wander for a moment between its old stones before picnicking at one of its viewpoints opening onto the bay and the town of Point Samson which we cross a little later.

Red Dog

Rapace

Returning to the main road we pass through the sprawling town of Karratha where construction sites are growing like weeds and drive to the coastal town of Dampier. The region is known for its salt and iron mining, but also for Red Dog, a lonely and traveling dog for years 70 whose statue stands at the entrance to Dampier, financed by his many bipedal friends from yesteryear.
In the evening, we settle into the vast area of ​​Robe River where we will have a late breakfast on Sunday morning 16 August, observing the comings and goings of the three birds of prey around one of their nests just below us.

Humpback whale

The afternoon finds us in the town of Exmouth near the Cape Range National Park where we plan to spend the night. This is without taking into account the few places available and the reputation of this region of Australia, recognized as a world heritage site.. Otherwise we pay 32$ for a night at Yardie Camp. We spend the end of the day visiting the surroundings of the park : at Bundegi beach, fishermen cleaning their catch of the day offer us two portions of emperor and at the Vlaming Head lighthouse we watch for humpback whales migrating to the north of the country to give birth in warmer waters – then in the photo with a magnifying glass you will see the jet of water and a bump !

Snorkelling at Turquoise Bay

Turquoise Bay

The next day the weather is mixed but the sun ends up appearing on one of our favorite days – well worth the 12$ entry into the park and overnight camping. We carry out our first snorkelling experience – free diving : mask, tuba et normalement palmes – à Turquoise Bay : plage de sable blanc, eau transparente aux reflets du nom de la baie et la barrière de corail de Ningaloo à quelques mètres du rivage où nous observons poissons et coraux toute la matinée.

Épave SS Mildura

Cape Range National Park

Sourire aux lèvres nous quittons cet autre petit bout de paradis et rebroussons chemin vers Exmouth avec un arrêt à Mauritius Beach : plage nudiste… fait, il n’y avait personne, oui et alors ? 😀 A la pointe de la péninsule nous voyons notre première épave de navire : le SS Mildura, poussé sur les récifs par un cyclone en 1907 alors qu’il transportait du bétail. Not much remains since the hull was used as a training target during the Second World War by the Allied Air Force..

Stromatolites

Shell Beach

Wednesday 19 August we visit another tongue of land in the Indian Ocean : Shark Bay World Heritage Area. We observe the descendants of the oldest living beings on Earth : stromatolites, if those we see only have in the 3000 year old, they are identical to those which existed ago 3.5 billion years, a hell of a journey through time ! A scientific hypothesis is that they participated in the creation of our atmosphere, allowing other organisms to develop, including us, respect.
Further on we walk on a white beach covered with small shells, vous pouvez creuser ils se sont accumulés sur plus d’une dizaine de mètres de profondeur, au-delà ils se sont compactés et les hommes ont utilisé cette roche calcaire pour plusieurs constructions.

Shark in Bluff Point

Nous pique-niquons au point de vue d’Eagle Bluff observant plus bas pas moins de cinq requins – la petite tache noire là – évoluer dans les eaux du Parc Maritime de Shark Bay – ah d’où le nom ! 😀

Retour au sud après un tour dans le petite ville de Denham – échange de livres très bien organisé au Community Resource Centre – nos cinquième hôtes HelpX nous attendent demain à Kalbarri.

Putain de camions ! Oops, je n’ai pu m’empêcher de faire celle-là … Enfoirés 😉
Red Dog était un chien que les gens prenaient en stop, l’ami sachant se faire comprendre pour descendre ici ou là, manger à sa guise et vagabonder, excellent le clebs. A lire ou à voir !
La sensation de voler au-dessus de ce spectacle coloré et varié (car le courant te porte, il ne faut, d’ailleurs, pas trop s’attarder dans ce rip au risque de se retrouver à quelque milles nautiques de là!), mais quel spectacle ! Et quel coup de soleil sur le dos !
J’étais un peu déçu par les stromatolites, pff trois mille ans seulement … Un battement de cil 🙂
Hugs, à bientôt …