Shark! Shark! No, it's a Dolphin!

Greetings Everyone,

From the Albany area on the southern coast of Western Australia, we continued west toward Margaret River. We made a stop at Walpole-Nornalup National Park to visit the Valley of the Giants. A 130-foot high walkway had been constructed so you could get a bird’s eye view of these towering trees.

Tree Top Walk

They are a species of Eucalyptus called Red Tingle (Eucalyptus jacksonii) and can grow to a height of 180-feet and live as long as 400 years!

Red Tingle Tree

We reached the bustling town of Margaret River in the afternoon and located our accommodation, Bussells Bushland Cottages, about 4 kilometers away. We settled into our cottage nestled among native bushland for a 4-night stay.

Our Cottage Near Margaret River

After dinner, we headed out for a night walk on the nearby trails. We saw Common Brushtail and Western Ringtail Possums, but unfortunately, we didn’t find a Brush-tailed Phascogale.

Common Brushtail Possum

The next day we followed Caves Road south to explore some limestone caves found in the area. We stopped at the first cave, Calgardup and decided to visit it. We were given helmets and lights for the self-guided tour. The formations weren’t spectacular. At one section there was a low roof which forced us to crouch for 10 meters but it was nothing extreme, and we really didn’t need helmets.

Going Low Inside Calgardup Cave

The next cave was called Mammoth owing to some enormous chambers. It was also a self-guided tour, but the cave was lit up so we didn’t need lights.

Mammoth Cave

Our final cave was called Jewel Cave where we had to wait 20 minutes to go on a guided tour. You’re not allowed to go into this cave unguided. As we entered the cave our guide warned us about high CO2 levels and that we’d have to climb 500 stairs. This cave was discovered in 1957 and was opened to the public in 1959. It was the most impressive with a lot of calcite formations including the longest straw formation in any Australian cave. It was 5.4 meters long and was formed drop by drop over many years.

Straw Formations

There were formations resembling coral, organ pipes, popcorn or cauliflower. There was a huge area of flowstone that resembled a karri forest and a massive stalagmite weighing some 20 tons!

Calcite Formation

Our next stop was Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse. When we arrived the last tour was in 5 minutes and we rushed off to the lighthouse where Ron, our guide, and another couple were waiting.

Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse

The tour allowed us to go inside the lighthouse and to climb the circular staircase to the top. Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse was built in 1895 to prevent further shipwrecks on the point where the Southern and Indian Oceans meet. Near the top was the chariot, the wheeled carriage at the bottom of the Fresnel lens assembly which allowed the lenses to rotate around a circular iron track. The lenses magnified the light from ~20 LEDs, allowing the light to be seen 40km away!

LED Lighthouse Light

Ron opened the door and allowed us to go outside on the deck. The wind was blowing so hard we could barely make our way around the lighthouse.

Peggy on the Lighthouse Deck

The view was stupendous over the boiling Southern and Indian Oceans.

Southern Ocean (left) and Indian Ocean (right)

On the way back to our car a snake crossed our path. It was probably one of the venomous ones that the signs posted on the lawns warned visitors about. We asked the guy in the gift shop and he confirmed it was a Dugite (Pseudonaja affinis). The venom of the Dugite is potentially one of the most lethal in the world but they are not aggressive and tend to avoid humans. 

Dugite 

We stopped at Cozy Corner to have a picnic supper and to watch the sunset over the Indian Ocean. We decided to return to Bussells Bushland by way of Boranup Road so we could do a bit of spotlighting for nocturnal animals. We saw Common Brushtail and Western Ringtail Possums and our second snake of the day, a South-western Carpet Python.

South-western Carpet Python

The following day we chose to visit the Eagles Heritage Raptor Center, a facility that’s involved with the conservation and rehabilitation of injured raptors. We walked the 1-kilometer trail with cages containing various eagles, hawks, and owls in them. We arrived at the area where at 1:30 a flight display was to take place. The owner of the center came carrying a Barn Owl on his gloved arm. Her name was Ivy and she was born and raised at Eagles Heritage. She’s now 4 years old and her keeper explained all about her uncanny sense of hearing and eyesight. After he allowed us to hold her. It was a thrill to hold such a beautiful and gentle owl.

Peggy with a Barn Owl

Ivy was returned to her cage and the owner let three Black Kites out of their cage. They flew around but seemed under his voice control. I’ve never seen birds kept in captivity exercised this way. The owner went on to explain that these kites are persecuted because it’s believed that they kill chickens. They are often referred to as chicken hawks but they eat insects and mice. He tossed them bits of food which they caught midair in their talons and Marc was able to capture a stunning photo.

Black Kite Catching a Morsel

We had read that Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin often visit the bay around Bunbury so we made the 1-hour drive north the next day to search for them. We ended up at Leschenault Waterways to look for them. We walked a 1-kilometer causeway that led out into the bay, perfect for spotting dolphins but we saw none. We did see a lot of birds; cormorants, darters, herons, pelicans, gulls, and a Black Swan.

Australian Pelicans

Marc called the Dolphin Discovery Center and they said the dolphins were there! We rushed off but by the time we got there maybe 10 minutes later they had moved off. To add insult to injury, we found out that the only boat tour to see the dolphins had left about 45 minutes ago. A couple of volunteers suggested we visit “The Cut” to see them and one volunteer gave Marc a map on how to get there. Before leaving, I bought tickets for tomorrow’s boat tour, the only sure way to see the dolphins. We drove around to “The Cut” where a few other people were looking for dolphins. Sure enough, they were there but were far away. We spent a couple of hours hoping to get a better view but we saw mostly dorsal fins.

Dolphin Dorsal Fin

We returned to Bussells Bushland and that night I went out to inspect the West Australian Peppermint Trees Near our cabin. The leaves are the favorite food of the critically endangered Western Ringtail Possums. I spotted two feeding on leaves in the upper branches!

Western Ringtail Possum Near Our Cabin

We left Bussells Bushland in time for our noon dolphin tour in Bunbury. We boarded the boat from the beach and stayed near shore while the captain gave us an informative talk about the dolphins. He confirmed that these are Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphins, a different species than the Common Bottlenose Dolphin. A resident pod of about 50 have been studied in the bay for 20 years. We headed for “The Cut” where the dolphins tend to hang out and a pod was there frolicking in the water. A little boy on board kept crying “Shark, Shark!”. Their dorsal fins did look a bit shark-like. They approached our boat and we got excellent views and photos. 

Pod of Dolphins

We spent about 45 minutes with the dolphins. Toward the end of our tour, a newborn calf with its mom finally revealed itself. At this time of year, the dolphins are breeding and giving birth.

Mother and Calf

We returned to shore and continued our drive to Mandurah where we stopped to visit our friend Sue before continuing north to Eglington our final destination.

We hope all is well with everyone.

Peggy and Marc

Our route map:

Mission Honey Impossumable!

Greetings Everyone,

After our wildly exciting visit to Bremer Bay to see Orcas, we headed west along the southern coast of Western Australia. Our next stop was Cheynes Beach, a small coastal settlement surrounded by Waychinicup National Park. We had read that Cheynes Beach is a great place to search for Honey Possums. These tiny marsupials feed exclusively on nectar and require a year-round supply. At Cheynes Beach different species of Banksia boom at different times of the year providing a constant amount of nectar. This time of year, the Bird’s Nest Banksia were in bloom and we spent the day scouting likely places to look for Honey Possum tonight. 

Cheynes Beach

As dusk approached, the Western Grey Kangaroos emerged to graze on the lawns around our cabin. One female had a very large joey in her pouch. He didn’t look very comfortable, time to strike out on your own!

Western Grey Kangaroo and Joey

After dark, we donned our headlamps and went off to search for Honey Possums. We had found two large groves of Banksia that looked particularly promising, but we scanned each bloom to no avail.

Bird's Nest Banksia in Bloom

The next morning we were up early to do a bit of birding. Cheynes Beach is a good spot for the extremely rare Noisy Scrub-bird. We didn’t find the Noisy Scrub-bird, but we did see some Rock Parrots. 

Rock Parrot

Sadly we only had one night here and continued west toward Emu Point. We made a stop at Little Beach in Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve, it was an idyllic spot with an isolated white sand beach. 

Little Beach

We arrived at Emu Cottage and settled in. Built around 60 years ago, it is one of the only original beach cottages in the area. 

That evening we drove back to Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve to look for nocturnal animals. We had read that the picnic area near the visitors center was a good place to find Quenda and Quokka. We arrived before dusk to stake out the territory in our car. Sure enough around 7:15 a Quokka emerged from the bushes. But when we got out of our vehicle to get a closer view it bounded off. We’d have to rethink our stakeout strategy. We walked to the visitors center spotting a Western Ringtail Possum and Motorbike Frogs on the road. When we got back to the picnic area, we found not one but three Quokkas! They appeared to be a female with two joeys, but Quokka give birth to only one young at a time. The youngsters scurried back into the bush, but mom remained long enough for Marc to get a photo.

Quokka

We drove up to Little Beach. As we were entering the parking lot, Marc said there was a Quenda on his side of the car. I couldn’t see it but told Marc to get a photo. Unfortunately, the flash scared it off, and I never saw the animal. Not expecting to see an animal in the parking lot, Marc had the wrong setting on his camera, and the photo was overexposed. When we returned to Emu Cottage, Marc put the image on his laptop. We couldn’t make out what the animal was, but it wasn’t a Quenda. Two Peoples Bay is home to Australia's most threatened mammal and one of the rarest animals in the world, the Gilbert’s Potoroo (Potorous gilbertii). This potoroo was thought to be extinct until the population at Two Peoples Bay was discovered in 1994. It is estimated that there are fewer than 40 individuals left in the wild. Could this mystery animal be a Gilbert’s Potoroo?!! Marc tried several software techniques to improve the quality of the photo. We’re leaning toward Quokka. What do you think?

Gilbert's Potoroo?

The following evening we returned to Two Peoples Bay to look for the Quokkas again. This time we conducted the stakeout from a bench in the picnic area. The Quokkas appeared very close by but behind us so Marc couldn’t swing around for a photo without frightening them off. Foiled again. We went for a walk and when we returned the Quokkas had re-emerged, and Marc was able to get a great photo of mom with her joey.

Quokkas

As we were returning to our vehicle, Marc spotted two Western Ringtail Possums in a tree next to the carpark. These critically endangered marsupials posed in the open for a terrific photo.

Western Ringtail Possums

We drove back to Little Beach hoping to get another view of the mystery animal, but the parking lot was empty.

The next day we explored nearby Torndirrup National Park. The draw here is the coastal scenery and some unusual rock formations. First, we went to the Natural Bridge Viewpoint. The bridge was formed over millions of years by the penetration of groundwater into the joints of the gneiss. The joints widened to eventually form blocks which fell into the sea completing the formation of The Natural Bridge.

Natural Bridge

We moved on to The Gap. A viewing platform had been built 40m above the Gap. A grated floor allowed you to look at the pounding surf below which gradually eroded away the granite in this location.

The Gap

We drove to the end of the road to the site of Albany’s Historic Whaling Station. The Cheynes Beach Whaling Company was the last whaling company to cease operations in Australia, closing in 1978. It’s a morbid place with the whale chasing ship, the Cheynes IV complete with its harpoon mounted on the front and the big oil tanks and boilers. A staggering total of 1136 Humpback Whales and 14,695 Sperm Whales were caught from the station between 1952 and 1978! Sadly, a few countries still conduct this barbaric practice.

Whaling Ship

I was more interested in seeing the 22 m (72-foot) Pygmy Blue Whale skeleton on display. The whale presumably died of natural causes in Princess Royal Harbour in 1973. The station was still operating so the whale was towed to the whaling station, flensed and buried with the intention that it be displayed in the future. It’s the only way to get a feel for how massive Pygmy Blue Whales are!

Pygmy Blue Whale Skeleton

That evening we decided to drive the hour back to Cheynes Beach to give the Honey Possums one more go. Scanning Banksia blossoms at night with a headlamp looking for a mouse-sized animal that disappears at the slightest disturbance may seem like a fruitless task, but we were willing to give it one last try. We arrived near dusk and waited for it to get dark before embarking on mission impossible. We scanned every Banksia bloom in the vicinity for eyeshine or the slightest movement but sadly come up empty-handed. We had to admit defeat and continue our journey to the west tomorrow.

We hope all is well with everyone.

Peggy and Marc

Our route map:

Our Own Nature Reserve

Greetings Everyone,

On January 28 we left Dryandra Woodland and continued south toward Perup: Nature’s Guesthouse. Not far from Narrogin we saw billows of smoke rising from a presumed bush fire. As we got closer, a fire brigade had set up a roadblock and told us we needed to find a different route. We were low on gas and really needed to get to Narrogin so they let us through telling us to be very careful. Fortunately, the fire had not reached the road yet and we were able to pass without incident.

Brush Fire Near Narrogin

Once we arrived in Narrogin we found most businesses closed due to it being Australia Day. Luckily a gas station and grocery store were open and after filling up with gas and food we were finally on our way to Perup. We arrived late afternoon and found the gate to the reserve closed but not locked. We entered and found our way to Kulbardi Cottage where we would spend the next week.

Kulbardi Cottage

Perup: Nature’s Guesthouse has an interesting history of great importance to conservation today. It was once the site of a farm but the land was later allocated as a state forest. In the 1970’s Dr. Per Christensen conducted studies here on the effect of prescribed burns on Tammar Wallabies and fox baiting with the poison 1080 was undertaken at the same time. During these studies, the population of Tammar Wallabies increased dramatically and other rare and presumed extinct species like Numbats, Woylies, Western Ring-tailed Possums, Chuditch and Quenda began to appear. Further research confirmed that reducing the fox population led to an increase in the number of native species. Perup: Nature’s Guesthouse was also the site of one of the first nature-based tourism operations in Australia. Today the site is managed by the Blackwood Basin Group, a non-profit community-based organization with sustainability and environmental protection as well as economic productivity in mind.

Peggy at Perup

After getting settled in we went for a walk around the “village” finding the Per Christensen Classroom, Homestead and Bunkhouse. All were empty and hadn’t been used in a while. During the high season, there will be many students attending classes and workshops here. We found the Bandiny Cottage for the caretakers but no one was around. We turned our search toward animals. We had read that Tammar Wallabies often hang out here but we found only Western Grey Kangaroos so we went to Doornart Cottage to check there. Sure enough, we heard the Wallabies in the Melaleuca thickets. One popped out in the open and Marc got a great photo.

Tammar Wallaby

Tammar Wallabies are fascinating animals. We had learned from our guide Mark at Karakamia Sanctuary that Tammar Wallabies have extremely synchronized reproduction meaning that all offspring are born on or around January 22! Females will mate again right after giving birth and hold this second embryo in a dormant state called embryonic diapause for the next 11 months before development resumes in time for birth around January 22 the following year. Amazing! In fact, Tammar Wallabies have the longest embryonic diapause of any mammal. These unusual biological characteristics have led to the extensive study of Tammar Wallaby genetics and their entire genome was sequenced in 2011. The results have provided insight into the evolution of mammalian reproduction and development! 

As dusk approached, I heard a scratching noise on our roof. When I went out to investigate, I found a Common Brushtail Possum emerging from under the eave to start his nocturnal foraging.

Common Brushtail Possum

We went on a night drive along the road spotting more Common Brushtail Possums, Western Grey Kangaroos and a Chuditch or Western Quoll. We returned to Kulbardi Cottage after a long but rewarding day.

Over the next week, we resumed our search for Numbats. We scanned along the Boyup-Cranbrook Road and many side roads for hours on end. The locals came to know the crazy Americans out looking for Numbats and even offered suggestions like “why don’t you try Numbat Road?” but nothing helped. Were we looking too late in the day or maybe it was too hot? The activity of Numbats is linked to the availability of termites near the surface. If it’s too hot, the termites retreat deeper into the ground and the Numbats go to sleep in their log burrows. We were getting numb from searching every log in the vicinity covering hundreds of kilometers over many hours. Time was running out and Perup was the last place on our itinerary where we had any chance of seeing them.

Cruising for Numbats

Not all was lost though. The nocturnal mammals were proving to be much more accommodating. We spotted our first Western Ringtail Possum along the access road leading to the reserve. These critically endangered marsupials are usually found closer to the coast but we were having no problems finding them in Perup. They are mostly arboreal using their white-tipped prehensile tail when moving about and feeding in the trees. 

Western Ringtail Possum

We were also having very good luck with Chuditch or Western Quoll. Marc spotted one posing nicely in a tree along the Boyup-Cranbrook Road, not far from Perup Nature Reserve.

Chuditch or Western Quoll

These marsupials are carnivorous as we were to witness first hand. During a night walk in the reserve, Marc spotted eyeshine on the road. When we went to investigate, we couldn’t find the source of the eyeshine but found a partially eaten Common Brushtail Possum (we think) on the road. We suspected a Chuditch and turned off our lights to wait for the culprit to return and claim his prize. Such enough a Chuditch emerged cautiously from the bushes and retrieved his precious meal!

Chuditch with Prey

A new mammal for us was the Western Brush Wallaby. Normally these macropods are secretive and it’s difficult getting a good view let alone a photograph. Here in Perup they were more inquisitive sometimes pausing in the open allowing us to see their distinctive black gloves hence their other common name, Black-gloved Wallaby.

Western Brush Wallaby

Having the entire reserve to ourselves meant no noise or light pollution. The night sky was amazing! We shut off our headlamps to stare in awe at the Milky Way and to ponder our existence in the endless universe.

Milky Way View from Perup

Our quest for a Numbat continued. During our search, we were seeing plenty of birds like these Western Corella which amassed in large flocks to drink at dams dug to water domestic stock.

Western Corella

Care had to be taken not to hit a Southern Heath Monitor often seen crossing the road.

Southern Heath Monitor

It was February 2 and we were scheduled to leave Perup on the 4th. Time to find a Numbat was running out. We were cruising down Colbalup Road at 10 kph, our standard Numbat-scanning speed when Marc exclaimed: “I’ve got one!”. It was sitting on a log next to the road but frustratingly I couldn’t see it. I told Marc to “get the picture!”. Finally, I was able to spot it. What an endearing creature! All the long hours spent to find one was well worth the effort. We hadn’t seen anyone all morning when wouldn’t you know it a car pulled up to see if we were alright. I hastily waved them off. The last thing we wanted was for them to scare the Numbat away. It posed perfectly on the log for Marc to get an “absolute cracker” of a photo as the Aussies would say! 

Numbat!

It left the log and we lost it from view on the forest floor. We waited and it re-emerged giving us some views of it digging for termites. We were able to follow it for 12 minutes before it disappeared for good. Considering there are only 800 left on the planet we were extremely lucky to find this one.

Numbat Foraging

I’ve always dreamed of having my own nature reserve and this is as close as I’ll come if only for a week. Sharing a home with so many rare and amazing animals truly was a dream come true. A big thank you to the Blackwood Basin Group for managing the facility so effectively and for providing a safe haven for so many endangered animals! 

We hope all is well with everyone.

Peggy and Marc

Our route map: