"Should we or shouldn't we?" I ask Kev. "What?", Kev replies. "Stay another day in Coral Bay to see if the weather calms down?", I state. "It is up to you Sweet Cheeks!", Kev smirks. Damn, I cannot make a decision. "Do you want to feed the dolphins at Monkey Mia?" Kev asks. "Of coarse I do", I state. "We can see anything we want, just not everything we want!", Kev smartly perts….Yeah, Yeah!…Let's Go!
Heather and Don bid us farewell with smiles, best wishes, hugs and kisses….they are a lovely couple!
Another windy windy day this 580 kilometer day will be tiring but I feel like a kid and grin with the thought of dolphins swimming around my feet! The wind was stirring up the sweet smell of what I thought could be jasmine. The Western Australia wildflowers are beginning to bloom, and it is a most beautiful time to be riding on a bike. Flocks of green flirty parakeets dart in, out and around the small trees and bushes by the roadside. Sometimes they scatter abruptly then regroup and catch their rhythm. I do not know the name of these vivid green birds but they are a delight to watch. Wag tails and wrens enjoy pecking by the roadside and are startled and sometimes confused by the bikes. They take flight and at times turn back into the bikes path. Today, one was not so lucky when it was caught under the lights and fender of my bike!
We arrived at Monkey Mia, set up camp and headed down to the water. I could not believe it there were dolphins swimming in the shallows! You could actually walk out there and they would swim right by you. It was just amazing. A young Aussie girl ran up beside me and said "Can you believe it? I can't! I pinch myself cause I can't believe this is happening to me in Australia!". I replied "You took the words out of my mouth!".
Wild dolphins have visited the beach at Monkey Mia since the 1960's. Dolphins are offered fresh fish randomly between 8 am and 12 noon. It is up to the dolphins if they choose to visit. The next morning in the shallow waters of the designated dolphin area the Park Rangers were out ready to feed the wild dolphins. A crowd was gathering and we all stood in calf deep water waiting for the playful creatures to approach. The dolphins continued to swim and play close to shore but did not approach the shallows. Finally one approached and swam up and down the length of people, I think checking us all out, or smelling our feet! A Park Ranger selected a person to feed the dolphin. They held out the fish and the dolphin swam up and retrieved it! Awesome! The dolphins continued to swim in and out of the shallows along the entire coast throughout the day!
Kev and I were captivated by the calmness and magic of the area and we decided to stay an extra night in Monkey Mia. By doing so we needed to commit to a 900 kilometer day in order to make it to Perth by Friday night. Ahh we can do that!