Monkey Mia

Today was a big travel day. After a relaxed start and a last visit to the Coral Bay shopping arcade, we started on the long trek to Monkey Mia, 580 km or so.
We stop for a quick photo at the Tropic of Capricorn, but it is very hot, dusty and devoid of anything other than thousands of flies.
The road is mostly flat with low ridgelines. We cross over a number of floodways, and a couple of dry rivers, including the blip that is Manilya. Manilya consists of a service station, a picnic area and a bridge over Manilya River. This is a distinct river bed, around 30 m wide and 5 m below road level, mostly dry except for a couple of pockets of water. The river bed is a contrast to to the flat floodways we cross along much of the route.
We crossed back over Wooramel River. The river had been calf- deep when we stayed just 9 days ago us now dry again. We were truly fortunate to experience the river flowing above ground when we stayed.
We also went below (and back up) the 26th Parallel which apparently is the half way point of Australia - half the country is above and half below.
As we took the Shark Bay turnoff we noticed the vegetation and landscape changed, with bushes starting to get taller and denser.
We stopped at Shell Beach - a beach that is composed entirely from the Fragum Cockle. The water there is so saline that the cockle is the only thing that survives there and as a result it makes up the beach.
Driving a little further we came across a recommended photographic spot - we stopped for a quick shot before continuing onto Monkey Mia, only to stop shortly afterwards to watch an echidna cross the road…. And later, two emus strolling along the road.
We finally made it to the caravan park, just in time to watch an amazing sunset.Read more