Perth III--The Sea, Beaches, and Dripping Rocks

Australia is about animals--strange ones.  It is also about water--the deep blue sea that cradles dolphins and whales; glorious beaches with white sand and water so translucent that it is barely blue; and drips of water that, over thousands of years, form cave formations. On Saturday, October 6, 2012, we saw all those permutations of water.

We spent the day south of Perth, in the Margaret River area, filled with beautiful beaches and limestone caves.  We started the day, though, in Dunsborough, with a whale watching tour.

No, that was not our boat and those were not the whales we saw.  The boat looked like that one, though, and we would have seen whales like those if they had just jumped a little higher, rather than daintily lifting a fin or a tail out of the water.  Although our whales were not as photogenic, they were still amazing.  There were some fifty whales off the southwestern coast of Australia that day, our guide surmised, and we saw groups of three or four whales near our boat and at several spots in the distance.  It was amazing to see groups of dark shadows just beneath the water, rolling along with the boat.  We were tendered to the boat along with twenty or so other passengers.  Dave, Michael, and I stayed at the front during most of the tour, with the wind and spray in our faces, the better to see each bit of a whale that appeared.

We ate lunch at Stingers, in Dunsborough, a quaint, but stylish beach town.  We lingered over our lunch of fish and chips.   In Australia, I loved the ethnic food--Indian, Thai, Chinese, Middle Eastern--but I also loved the English staples--scones with cream and jam, beef pies, fish and chips, sticky toffee pudding.

Michael spotted a Christian Fletcher gallery, and we hurried over.  As his souvenirs from Australia, Michael is buying Christian Fletcher photographs of Australian beaches to place above his mantel and above his bed.  The photographs were spectacular.  They were taken all over the world, including the slot canyon, Antelope Canyon, near Lake Powell.  Still, our favorites were of the glorious Australian beaches.

We drove south to Bunkers Bay Beach, one of Michael's favorites.  We wandered along the beach on this early spring day, watching the few sunbathers and the surfers, the seagulls prancing along the sand, but most of all just drinking in the beauty of sand and water.

 

 

Next stop was Jewel Cave.  The whole Margaret River area is pocketed with limestone caves, and Jewel Cave is its, well, jewel.  We admired the stalagtites and stalagmites, the "shawls," and the pipettes, or long, skinny formations made from one drop of water making its way downwards for thousands of years.

 

 

 

 

 

Michael planned for us to beach-hop our way back to Perth, but we had time for only one more beach treasure--Red Gate Beach.

 

Back in Perth, we treated ourselves to Michael's favorite restaurant, Chutney Mary's.  Not only was the Indian food delicious, but we loved the atmosphere.  The restaurant was painted bright pinks and oranges, like India itself, and was filled with colorful lamps and pictures.  As we finished our supper, I suggested to Michael that we order a whole new menu of dishes and stay all evening.