| Way Out West |
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| Cycling on Rottnest Island |
| The Pinnacle Desert, north of Perth |
| Pink lake caused by an algae bloom |
| The remote "Hutt River Provence" which ceceded from the Australian Nation in 1971, and its leader "Prince Leonard". |
| Huge cloud formation over a bushfire which was caused by a lightening storm. These are a regular occurence. |
| The island is named for the many "rats" which were encountered there, but in fact these big furry rodents are "Quokkas" and are related to wallabies. Due to the regular occurrence of humans and the absence of fresh water on the island, people are regularly approached by thirsty Quokkas. |
| The first "white Australians" were two naughty sailors on a Dutch ship who caused a mutiny and were put ashore at this spot just south of Kalbarri in the year 1629. |
| Kalbarri is a lovely small town set along a protected harbour. |
| Pink Gallahs were everywhere in the camping ground |
| Coral Bay sits just below the Tropic of Capricorn. It is truly a special place where the Ningaloo Reef touches the shoreline and it is easy to just walk into the balmy clear waters and enjoy some of the best snorkeling in the world. It is a huge and mostly unpopulated area, but let's hope it stays that way. |
| At Hamlin Pool inside huge "Shark Bay" are some of the last Stromatellites on earth. They are lumps of cyanobacteria which are the earliest known photosynthesizers, and are thought to have existed for about a billion years. |
| One of the many inland salt lakes along the coast. |
| Again, it's one of those unique world experiences to observe nature in such an unspoiled way. |
| Checking out the dolphins at Monkey Mia. |
| The Exmouth Peninsula is another amazing and largely unspoiled place where you can camp with no one around and have wildlife come visit you for breakfast or a swim or a sunset. The west coast contains a camping ground and it is one of the most excellent wonderful places I have ever spent a night. |
| At night it is easy to find big spiders in the sand, and by morning there were snake tracks all over the place. |
| A rather thirsty Emu came along and got a lucky drink of water. It is really harmful to feed wild animals of course, but as far as I'm concerned there is nothing bad about bringing water to thirsty animals in such a dry environment. I carried a bowl for such occassions. |
| In a very lonely area of the west Pilbara, east of Exmouth, was this large bushfire raging away. The damage occurs quickly, but it is a natural part of the cycle of this land. |
| Heading further inland into the Pilbara, the landscapes became gorgeous and full of contrasting colours and textures. It's a place I could easily stand and look at for several days, even if it is incredibly hot and dry. |
| Entering the Karijini National Park, things change distinctly, as it is home to a large river system which brings green vegetation and cool swimming holes in contrast to the red earth. |
| A pack of wild donkeys along the roadside. They may be the offspring of escaped animals from many generations ago. A lot of previously domesticated farm animals seem to head for West Australia and create feral populations like this. |
| The huge pile of salt at Port Hedland. You can see it for miles. |
| The only rain in two months! A thunderstorm between Port Hedland and Broome, |
| Broome was settled by Japanese pearl divers, who have left an Asiatic theme to the town. |
| Broome's famous "Cable Beach" is huge, unpopulated, and very nice to look at. It also provides great sunsets, including the postcard cliche of camel safaris passing by. |
| The last beach scenery until reaching the east coast a month later... |
| The highway between Broome and Derby was covered with locusts and grasshoppers and butterflies. The vans motor started over-heating and sure enough the radiator was encrusted with dead insects. |
| The Boab tree came from east Africa ages ago, and is now a classic symbol of Australias "top end" between Derby and Darwin. The biggest one (above-right) was once used as a temporary prison near Derby. |
| Sunset at the pier at Derby |
| Freshwater croc at Geike Gorge, near Fitzroy Crossing. |
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| A huge Goanna at the camping ground in Kununarra, near the border with the Northern Territory. |
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| Near Kununarra is Australia's largest man-made lake, Lake Argyle. It has turned the area into an oasis in the desert. |
| I will add more text later... |