Shark Bay

 I slept really well last night at Galena Bridge alongside the Murchison River. It's funny how sometimes it just works out that way. I wasnt even really tired but not even the noise of road trains thundering . along the highway kept me awake.

The moon was still around when I woke up -about 0630.

It's quite a full river and a bit muddy thanks to the recent rains and there are even patches if green green grass. Somebody told me yesterday that they've had more rain in the last month than they had on the while of last year. 

But the early morning  dew! Everything is drenched by morning no matter how well I cover it. So I now wipe stuff, shake it and hang it in the sun to dry while I potter about and pack up. But slow as I am, it's still often still wet when I pack it away.

I was on the road by 0900 this morning and it was already warm so I opened all my jacket vents. It's great to be back riding in warm weather though after the Freo wind and rain.  

Gerty started to cough and splutter as we headed towards Billabong roadhouse. It was the closest fuel stop but if I jump up and down on footrests as we  move, it generally swishes petrol from the other tank sidewell into the one with the carb tube, which coaxes another 20-30 kms out of her.  The under seat tank was still full but it saves me having to switch tanks as I can never remember the original settings. I try and keep the under seat tank as an emergency supply and work off the big one, because when that's empty, I'm usually ready for a leg stretch anyway and to take my jacket off.

So we filled up at Billabong, bought some lunch and water and then set off for Shark Bay, stopping at Hamelin Homestead.

 I meant to go to Hamelin Pool but it doesn't really matter, and it's nice here anyway; the warden supplied homemade scones and jam for high tea - for free!

There  more of those stromatolites here too - prehistoric oxygen generating lumps in the ocean. 

These survive because the water here is very salty and gets very hot, meaning that most other marine life can't survive. So these lump things get to live their lives ungrazed and untrampled and so thrive.the boardwalk stops people stomping on them too.

I walked through the bush to the place on the ocean where they are but it took ages. I had visions of getting lost in the dark on the return trip but made it back well before sundown - thankfully. But its amazing what you find out in the middle of nowhere - piles of tin cans, bottles, even furniture. 

The area is also special because it's made of billions of tiny shells, some of which have solidified into hard masses. 

Settlers discovered this and cut ready made blocks out of the ground, the size of cinder blocks. Various buildings here are built from them - even on the campsite. 

There is a quarry nearby which I might check out tomorrow.

But without a doubt, my top acheivement of today was to wash my riding pants. I wasn't able to do them in Freo because the facilities weren't that easy, but this afternoon was a milestone as they had become particularly filthy. So after much scrubbing and lathering, they are now far less filthy, although 'clean' would be pushing things a bit. Funny how such little comforts make such a difference!