Well, the Hamelin Pool Caravan Park may well be somewhat jaded, but it is certainly quiet at night. We set off bright eyed and bushy tailed after a very good night's sleep. Today was to be a relatively short run to Denham, a mere 120 kms out along the Peron Peninsula.
I have begun this missive with the inclusion of a map of the Shark Bay area to set the geographic scene. The name Shark Bay covers a number of different areas of water. The patch on the far right of the map, adjacent to and below Wooramel, is Hamelin Pool. The stromatolites are located at the very bottom of this bay. The area of water immediately below Monkey Mia is know as L'Haridon Bight whilst that at the bottom of the peninsula on the Denham side is Henri Freycinet Harbour.
Looking at the small strip of land immediately to the left of and above the wonderfully named Useless Loop, you can see that it ends in a spur which lies on the seaward side of the bottom of Dirk Hartog Island. This is the most westerly point on the Australian mainland, Steep Point. We did not visit....it is a 400 kms round trip from Denham over some pretty challenging roads. Perhaps one day. It is a fisherman's paradise.
The entire area of Shark Bay is of real natural significance. To quote from the Visitor Guide, " [it] is one of the few sites in the World that satisfies all 4 of the natural criteria to be listed as a world heritage area.
- Natural Beauty
- Earth's evolutionary history - The famous Hamelin Pool STROMATOLITES
- Ecological Processes - an ongoing geological process - The largest SEAGRASS BANKS in the world.
- Biological Diversity - Peninsulas and Islands of Shark Bay - IMPORTANT HABITATS where threatened animal species still survive."
If there was any doubt as to where we were this rather exotic sign soon dispelled that.
Low scrub lined both sides of the road for much of our trip.
Occasional sea glimpses greeted us as we pushed on through the narrow points of the peninsula. This is actually Shell Beach, a quite extraordinary place. We visit here later.
We could soon see the ridge of the red cliffs which are a feature of Denham in the distance,
and within no time we were at the 'city limits'.
We had no need to pull into the information bay...our trusty electronic navigator was keeping us well informed.
But what these wonderful devices cannot do is provide information about hills and slopes. For that, we rely on the roadside signs. It was apparent that we would be 'descending' into Denham,
as indeed we did. We had anticipated being near the sea, and it was clear that this would be the case.
Within sight of the Denham Esplanade the gateway to our selected park beckoned.
The Blue Dolphin Caravan Park was to be our new home for the next five days.
As we pulled up near the office I was again glad of the experience which has taught us not to judge too quickly. Despite the fact that the park was still suffering from the visitation of Cyclone Olwyn some weeks previously, things did look a little ramshackle.
We had chosen this park as much for its location, right near the centre of the CBD, as anything else. When we had booked, our host Barry had asked if we wanted a 'front site' or one which would be more sheltered from the wind. We chose the latter.
As we climbed up the roadway to our site
past two odd little tent sites, it soon became apparent that either Barry had forgotten his original intention or he had decided we were a little too long for the back sites.
We found ourselves on a very large patch of the park shell grit, with, as can be seen, very good views out over the sea. Fortunately in the time we were here we did not experience any real winds to speak of. We were very grateful.....we were exposed.
But for the pleasure of the view there was a price to pay. This site sloped from rear to front to such a degree that, after several attempts to fit the van jack to hold up the A frame, I realised that in its lowest normal position I would not be able to lower the front sufficiently to level the van floor. So out came our large trolley jack and after some manoeuvring, I was able to fit the main jack at a point I have never had to before.
As this shot shows, by the time I had levelled the van front front to rear (or around the pitch axis for those of you who understand these things) the bottom of the A frame was just touching the ground. This was a first, and another lesson learnt.
Notwithstanding this small challenge to our day, we were soon set, tucked up behind the little hedges which gave us some welcomed privacy and formed our 'backyard'.
This was another park where our C-Gear floor came into its own. We had been forewarned that at this park we may have had to use a drill to penetrate the ground for the necessary tent pegs for the guy ropes etc, but as it transpired recent rains had done their job. What with that and the use of a small cold chisel I carry for such occasions, I was able to 'peg in' quite easily. The only real problem presented by the gritty ground was a fine white dust which did its best to come in on shoe soles no matter how much they were wiped. We soon adopted the practice of leaving them outside.
And, yes, the flies were still with us. Fly nets were a common sight on the footpaths of Denham.
For now, it was time to have a good look around our new home. The Blue Dolphin is established on several levels of the hillside which marks the approach to the Denham Esplanade. This upper level of sites was that on which I had expected to be placed, and as it was we were glad we had not been. It was pretty tight.
The main park ablutions were reasonable and were well cleaned each morning.
The more permanent accommodation here varied from these standard type cabins
to this block of what were virtually motel type rooms.
On this level I found the first of two BBQ areas. Frankly, this did not have me racing back to the van to return with chops and snags. Cyclone or no cyclone, this was a shambles.
I wandered up the ramp to the top level of the park to see if there was any improvement here.
These facilities were marginally better, but again did not inspire me to plan outdoor cooking here in Denham.
Here was more evidence of Olwyn's visit. I know that it takes time to organise insurance payouts and so on, but leaving things in this state of disrepair for too long is not a good look.
As I meandered about it soon became pretty obvious that many come to Denham for 'the season'. We had already seen that this is a town of big boats, and we had one or two here in the park. This whopper actually dwarfed the camper trailer which housed its owners.
For all its shortcomings, we did settle in here quite nicely thank you, and did enjoy the views out over the sea. And after visiting friends in the other, much larger Denham park at the opposite end of the Esplanade, we were happy we had made the right choice.
We even had a regular morning visitor, the park Newfoundland. Max was less than impressed to see 'BJ' taking a quick slurp from his outside water bowl. There is clearly no 'happy hour' hospitality amongst animals.
There is much here to see and do. We were in for a busy few days. Not only was there the sightseeing, we also caught up with old travelling friends and met new ones.
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