Today we travelled 820 kilometres northward from Perth. We travelled past Numbung National Park which has the Pinnacle rock formations. Then through Jurien Bay, and the Bee Keepers Nature Reserve. This is an overwintering site for many of the SW beekeepers as the climate is milder and availability of nectar assists bee colonies to survive the cold winters using less energy reserves thus reducing population mortality amongst worker bees. This nature reserve offers significant and unique environmental service landscape. European honey bees are introduced species. There is some controversy as to whether these bees should be allowed in State reserves and NP’s because they are an introduced species and the concern is that they may impact the native species of bees by out compete them. However studies have shown that in fact they feed on flowers different to those preferred by the native bee populations, so there is little direct competition.
Speaking of flowers, we saw some incredible displays of wild flowers along the roadside, all the way up to Shark Bay.
We also passed by Kalbarri National Park where the Murchison river runs. It features the natural attractions of Natures Window rock formation, and a scenic gorge.
This is also Ogilvie Nature Reserve between Geralton and North Hampton. Galena Nature Resrve where we saw the Paper Daisies (Everlastings) and gervilla in bloom, as well as different types of flowering Wattles.
When we arrived at At Hamelin Pool, where the world's oldest organisms can be seen - stromatolites, we had an unpleasant customer service experience. The road signage was confusing as there are signs for the Hamelin Bay Holiday Park encountered first, before we saw the Hamlin Pool signage, which is where we turned only to find we were not where we wanted to be and there was a very unpleasant man. We eventually found the correct road in, but then also missed the road which takes one to the boardwalk. There were no signs at the gate to direct us and we ended up at the Telegraph station and walked from their parking lot to the boardwalk. I feel that it is unfortunate that something as simple as better signage at this tourist site would have made this experience so much more pleasant.
Regarding the natural attraction at Hamlin Pool - According to Discover West (http://www.discoverwest.com.au/western_australia/hamlin_pool_stromatolites.html)
"Stromatolites are the result of primitive life forms that first existed on earth 3.5 billion years ago. The dome shaped structures reach up to 60cm in height and are formed by single celled organisms called cyanobacteria. The process continues today. The stromatolites at Hamelin Pool represent an outstanding example of the earths evolutionary history. Just south of Monkey Mia, this massive occurrence of stromatolites is easily accessible by way of an educational boardwalk at Hamelin Bay. Stromatolites are the earliest known form of life on earth. The low tidal flow in Shark Bay has created hypersalination, a level of salt twice that of normal seawater. In these salty pools, stromatolites grow at a rate of less than 1mm per year. A microorganism, cyanobacteria build up, trapping fine sediment particles from the warm water and binding it together with mucus. This unusual life form grows to about 60cm tall and look like mushroom-shaped rocky domes. The discovery of these living fossils was akin to finding a live dinosaur."
Please see the photos from today on the Blog's PHOTO page.
This photo was taken in Denham, Shark Bay, World Heritage Area. A beautiful ending to a beautiful day of exploration in Western Australia.
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