We've hit the outback. Heat, flies and dust. We left a pleasant Sandy Cape yesterday and got to Kalbarri by lunch. It was almost 40°C and it is again today. It was a long drive yesterday, about 500 km. We arrived at Hamelin Pool Station at about 5.30 and it was still 37°C, but as soon as the sun dropped below the horizon it probably dropped into the 20s so we had an alright night's sleep.
Hamelin Station is a great place to stay. New amenities, very clean, flushing toilets, hot showers, flat sites, luxury. The site hosts, Rhonda and Ian, are also very welcoming and helpful.
Hamelin Pool is at the southern end of Shark Bay. I've wanted to come here for years to see the Stromatolites but it was always just a bit too far to drive when we'd visited Perth before.
So we're here now! And this morning we got to see the Stromatolites. The Earth is estimated to be about 4 billion years old and these ancient cyanobacteria have existed for 3.5 billion years! Quietly photosynthesising and giving us oxygen, in extreme saline environments, growing maybe a cm every year. To many they just look like a lump of rock in a tidal sand flat but I think they are pretty amazing. These particular Stromatolites are estimated to be about 3000 years old. There are scientists staying at Hamelin Pool Station, they've come all the way from Miami to study them!
No comments:
Post a Comment