Jobs day

I stayed an extra night at Hamelin as i had some jobs that I really need to do. The tail light needs changing, the chain needs sorting and the panniers need clearing out  

That took me all morning. I chucked quite a bit of stuff that I hadnt used for a while and had just been carting around. 

After that, I went back to the stromatolites and the shell quarry. It's disused now apart from blocks cut out to repair existing buildings. 

They used a cross saw and just cut blocks out of the ground. It's shells which have piled up over thousands of years. They're very small too because they leave in such an extreme environment - hyper saline and very hot. As a result, not much else can survive here and so there are no predators and the shellfish - a type of cockle - thrive. The beach is piled high with their discarded tiny white shells.

It's a pretty deserted place now but it was once a port with lighter boats that went out to ships anchored offshore in deeper water. There is an old telegraph station there as well, but it's about dilapidated although they do operate tours.

There are a couple of graves too, one of a baby who died of typhoid aged 7 months, the other an old bloke who drowned alongside his mate when their boat capsized. His mate was never found.  

So tomorrow it's onwards, up to Carnarvon. I'll probably change Gerty's chain and sprockets if I can get the bits. Will probably have to wait for them to come up from Perth though. But for now, I'm looking at the stars. It's a dark

Moonless light but the while sky is deeply sprinkled with tiny bright dots, millions of then. There must be other life out there.