The next day we awoke in Monkey Mia at 7:30 AM sharp to check out the dolphins. The justification for the entire resort is the fact that every morning, wild dolphins swim in from the shore and hang out. The people at the resort feed them, but as you can tell from the photos, they do come quite close. The only downside is that there isn't much else going on in the morning, so you have large crowds lining the beachfront. It didn't bother me too much, and it was a fantastic experience watching dolphins swim two feet from where you are standing.
The dolphins even seemed to know who the biologists were, as they would swim up to the two women who were explaining different aspects of the dolphins and what their habits were. The dolphins acted like dogs, almost groveling for food at the feet of the biologists. At first, there were only two or three, but by the time the resort employees got around to feeding them, the number of dolphins had grown to seven or eight. Some of the dolphins chowed down on the fish they were given, others declined the offer of food. As soon as the feed was done, we hopped into the car, with a long drive ahead of us. Not before seeing this gigantic pelican.
The drive went by quickly. Well, the first leg did at least. Dave drove and probably averaged close to 160 km/h, as there was hardly any traffic or anything to be seen. We had thought about trying to stop somewhere along the way for lunch, and then another location to break the trip up. If Hutt River wasn't 30 km off the main road, Dave and I were totally down to go again, this time to visit the prince (he had been at the dentist last time). We didn't agree on anything up until Geraldton, when Becca's suggestion of going to see the Pinnacles was wholeheartedly accepted. The drive was long, so I'm going to mostly use pictures to describe what went on.
This was our stop at the Pinnacles. They make no sense, as it is essentially a bunch of rocks in the middle of nowhere surrounded by a desert that reminds you of cornmeal. It was a really cool place, and totally unexpected.
After the Pinnacles, we stopped at Kangaroo Point, a beach about 10 km from the Pinnacles. There, we spotted and chased around a group of what we thought were Kangaroos, although they may have been Wallabies. Not sure.
After that, our long drive continued, and we spotted one of the most brilliant, vibrant, sunsets that I have ever seen. Pictures weren't enough to describe it, so Dave took a video seen above. Remarkable. I can't put into words how gorgeous it was, and to make it look even cooler, there were wind turbines in the foreground.
The sun now set, the drive became quite hairy. Dave took a picture of me lying in the road, and I resumed driving duties all the way to Perth. The night through the outback was some of the most stressful driving I have endured. You don't know what is lying in the bushes, and one mistake will mean trouble. Help is far, far away, as towns were sparse through this drive. We made it to Perth, found our hostel, ate at Fast Eddy's, a late night diner, and I made a few phone calls and checked email. The drive was now complete, much to my relief.
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