Today we kept our drip feed north continuing. After a leisurely start we filled up with fuel at the Billabong Roadhouse and decided that we would stop for a couple of nights at Hamelin Pool. So we drove the 80km and were here by lunch time.

Hamelin Bay has double the salinity of the ocean which makes the water undesirable for most marine animals and perfect for the Stromatolite bacteria which form ‘living fossils’ in the water. The stromatolites at Hamelin Pool are the best examples in the world and one of only a few locations they exist.

There is also an historical telegraph station that was built in 1884 which has been converted to a museum. We spent half an hour there this afternoon and watched a dvd presentation on the uses of the station as well as how the stromatolites increase in size with layers at around 0.5mm per year. The examples here are around 3.5 billion years old.

After setting up our awning for the first time this trip and finishing my second craft project this afternoon, the Allen’s and Bob and I did another Tani torture session. Only one session behind in the schedule Tani…..I think we are going pretty well 🙂 .

Tomorrow morning we are leaving the vans behind and plan to explore the Shark Bay area for the day.