The Big Lap - minus Qld!

We free camped at Milligan Island near Green Head at a remote camp which was well set up by the local council. We picked a site right behind the dunes and a short walk to the beach.  There were very few people around so we went for a walk on the beach. The weather was very windy and cloudy. After lunch we walked along the beach to Green head. The beaches here are rough, jagged limestone rocks with sandy patches in between the headlands. There are heaps of fossils in the rocks of corals and sea plants. Jurien Bay was our next stop. A pretty town which, like most of the towns in this area of WA survives on the lobster industry. Jurien Bay is also a tourist hotspot being only 200km from Perth. The main beach jetty is a great place for fishing and swimming. We drove out to Leseur National park in the arvo for Nanna to see the wildflowers. This park is only 30km inland and is quite rugged with sandstone and limestone hills. There is a higher ...

On the way to Shark Bay we stopped at a lookout over the flat, tidal farmland to the East. In the distance was Shark Bay. You could clearly see how flat the land is along this coast. We stopped at the stromatolites in Shark Bay. These ancient structures are what initially caused oxygen to be released into Earth’s atmosphere millions of years ago.  Formed out of bacteria that clumps together, the stromatolites ingest carbon dioxide and other gases and release oxygen. They grow in shallow, tidal pools and the area around Shark Bay is perfect for them. The water is extremely salty, warm and shallow. Further up towards Denham we stopped and Shell Beach. Here there are billions of shells from the same type of animal which have formed the beach. The shells can be up to 10m thick in some areas and they used to harvest the shells as building products. They make very good shell blocks. Some buildings in Denham are made from these blocks. Our van park a...