No, no, no, no, noooo! Any day the alarm is set for a time preceding the time of which the sun is due to raise, is not a good day. Today was just such a day, with the dulcet tones of Markus Meier urging me to ‘Rope A Cowgirl’ (Hey, don’t judge me, everyone’s got some sort of strange ring tone these days!) at the almost unheard of hour of 6:45AM. Like the saying goes: “if a tree falls in the woods and no one is around, does it make a noise?”, we proved today that the sun does indeed rise if you are around to see it. It moved us none and did nothing more than reinforce our status as ‘sunset’ people.

Not only was the sun glaring blindingly at us, but it was cold and everything was still wet. Yesterday, the remnants of the morning dew coating the pebbles underfoot was a whimsical sight. Today, the dew just made everything wet and sodden. Condensation had formed on the awing overnight, and was dripping soggily down upon everything we had left beneath it. The windows of ‘The Beast’ were misted and fogged over, causing the suns rays to scatter dazzlingly into the interior.

Sunrise over misty moors.

Need I say it, but the early morning 25Km or so drive to Monkey Mia was far from fun. Driving almost blind, into the glowing orb of flame that was the sun, low wisps of fog that were yet to be burnt away, were floating mysteriously above the empty moors, much like you would expect of a Sherlock Holmes mystery. Like cobwebby clouds, they hung statically above the dank lowlands and while the echoing howl of a wolf could easily be imagined, the all encompassing silence built the feeling of dread.

The early morning wake up call was to be worth it though, as the main reason for staying in Denham is to visit the nearby Monkey Mia. This is one of those places that anyone looking at travelling around Western Australia would have heard about. It is famous for its daily dolphin feeding. Up to three times a day, dolphins make their way into the beach, to get a feed of fish from willing volunteers.

Arriving at the Monkey Mia Heritage Area a short ½ an hour after we left the van park, we stopped at the gatehouse to pay our entry fee. Since we had not read anything official about the allowance of dogs in the area, I thought I had better check what the rules were. It was simple. No dogs in the dolphin interaction area of the beach, and watch out for the Emus. They have been known to attack small dogs. Not something we wanted our pampered pooches to have to endure, so they were be staying securely in ‘The Beast’.

The dogs were sleepily transferred from the back seat to the tub, and then we made our way towards the beach where the dolphins would be fed. We had nattily timed our arrival for about 7:30AM to coincide with the first feeding of the morning, which the brochures would have you believe is at 7:45AM. As it turns out the feeding times are governed by the attendance of one of the 5 specific dolphins, which are part of the special program and are allowed to be hand fed. As it also turns out, the earliest that they can be fed is 8:00AM.

Waiting on the boardwalk.

So, we first waited for 15 minutes on the boardwalk before the amassing crowd was led to the waters edge by a couple of rangers. We then stood in the icy cold water for another half an hour, before one of the lucky five made a swim by of the beach and the feeding could begin.

The crowd amasses as we…

…await the main event.

In order to preserve the dolphins natural hunting tendencies, the whole shebang is fairly regimented and carefully monitored, to ensure that no one dolphin gets more than a snack. The bulk of their daily diet therefore still has to be hunted for. Out of the crowd of almost a hundred eager observers, only a handful are selected to slide a fish into the water to be gulped down by a hungry dolphin. Bec and I missed out, but it is still an amazing experience to have these mesmerising creatures swimming by playfully in such close proximity.

Here they come.

Please…

…feed me.

With the first feeding session of the day over, we made our way back up the beach to the coffee shop. While Bec reclined in a funky looking lawn chair, I headed in to get a heart starting cup of coffee. Joining Bec back outside, I sipped on my coffee, still struggling to keep my eyes open, while I now appreciated the gentle warmth the still rising sun was providing. All was good with the world, as we lay back, looking out to sea and watching the goings on of those around us while we awaited the return of the sleek silvery dolphins, the arrival of which would signal the beginning of the second session of feeding. In fact, had I not been the unlucky target of a squawking seagull, the entire scenario could well have been considered perfect.

The second feeding session was much the same as the first, although even though the crowd had shrunk by about half, the finger was never pointed in our direction to enter the water and have a fish sucked from our fingers. It was during this second session that I considered how odd it was, everyone standing knee deep in the icy water, mostly wearing thick jumpers and jackets against the morning chill.

So early was it, that as we reunited ourselves with the dogs, and started heading back in the direction of Denham, we realised that had we arisen at our regular time of about 10:00AM, we would probably still be sheathed in the warm embrace of the caravan, with the heater going.

On the drive back towards Denham, we pulled in at the Little Lagoon, where we drove a short way along the sandy banks before taking the dogs for a run along the hard packed sandy beach. Alvin was off like the wind again, seemingly deciding that sand is now associated with going for a run. With their ears flapping in the breeze, and me struggling to keep up, the jog was invigorating for the three of us.

Selfie at the Little Lagoon.

A quick stop was also made at a lookout, before pulling up outside the information centre in the main street of Denham. Twenty minutes or so was ample time to check out the visitors centre and go for a walk up and down the main street, before heading back to the van to raid the larder for something to eat. Having missed breakfast, we were both ravenous and as it transpired, tired.

Soon after devouring her lunch, Bec lay down and that was the last I saw of her for several hours.

While she slept, I managed to work my way through a few chores that needed doing before we leave tomorrow, including adding a few more sets of photos to Flickr. Just follow this link: FLICKR SETS, to check out the recent additions, although I’m still running a few days behind schedule.

By the time Bec was up the weather had turned and rain was making a relaxing, if unwanted, pitter patter against the tin roof, while water droplets created a maze of muddy streaks down the windows. This is the first precipitation we can recall since we were in Charters Towers over 2 and a half months ago. Sadly, looking at the weather forecasts for the areas we are due to visit in the very near future, the misty drizzle of today is nothing more than a sign of what is to come.

Until next time, stay safe, have fun and don’t forget to write.