Day 96 – 97 Whalesong – 12-13 Sept 2009

14,691 kms, 36 degrees C

After two days at the Cape we headed South to Whalesong, close to Middle Lagoon, half way down the Dampier Peninsula, on the road South to Broome. Whalesong is not on our map and we had not heard of it until many people heading clockwise around the country raved about it – when we got there we could see why. The site is being developed steadily - in 2007 they had 3 camels (check out the video, the noisiest camels in the world), 2008 a camp ground and this year they have opened a restaurant. The campsite is perched on top of dark red cliffs which run to the spectacular semi circular Pender Bay with views for miles and the obligatory stunning sunrise and sunsets (check out the video). Nicky could not only hear the sea (very important to her) but she could see it from the netted windows of our tent. We were befriended by a couple of chihuahuas who followed us around all day.

The beach was strewn with beautiful shells and bits of dead coral, with plenty of cone shells, the first we had seen since Wilson Island on the barrier reef. Despite their colour and beauty, cone shells are to be avoided as they can be lethal. Bill Bryson was preoccupied by the many exotic ways one might be killed in Australia in his excellent book Down Under, including the cone shell. A small proboscis pops out of the pointy end of the shell and injects many times the venom needed to kill its small fish prey. Enough venom in fact to kill a human. So we left those shells alone!

We took long walks on the beach and watched boobies crashing into the water, often returning with a fish in the beak.