Shell Beach at Shark Bay World Heritage Site with Zeb and Eider

Zeb and Eider Duck, with the humans, visited Shell Beach.   We have never seen anything like this before.   The beach is entirely made up of billions of tiny cockle shells layered up to ten meters deep.   The beach stretches for 120 kilometers.

Shell Beach is huge

Shell Beach is huge

Upon entering Shell Beach we started reading the information signs.

One of many signs at Shell Beach

One of many signs at Shell Beach

The first one started “imagine living in a super-crowded super-salty soup”.   The Fragum Cockle does that.   There can be over 4,000 cockles living in one square meter of the very salty water.   The water in Hamelin Pool, which includes Shell Beach, is about twice as salty as normal ocean water.   The water here arrives from the ocean and the evaporation rate is so high, that a higher salt content results.

Sitting on shells by the edge of the salty water

Sitting on shells by the edge of the salty water

Closer to the water, there are more loose shells.   You can see us sitting on the many shells.

Individual shells

Individual shells

Further from the water, the Shell Beach has dips, looking like waves.

Shells form ridges similar to waves

Shells form ridges similar to waves

This beach is really made of shells.

Millions of shells here

Millions of shells here

These shells can be made into building blocks

Sitting on shell blocks

Sitting on shell blocks

They can adhesive together and are very strong   Many buildings are made entirely or partly with shell blocks.   These are shell blocks.

Shell Blocks at Hamelin Pool

Shell Blocks at Hamelin Pool

You can see the individual shells that make up the blocks.

Shells adhesive together to form shell blocks

Shells adhesive together to form shell blocks

Shell blocks were the main building material for many of the homesteads.   Shell block is a wonderful insular.    Isn’t this a pretty beach?

Shell Beach from the Heritage

Shell Beach from the World Heritage Drive

It is Shell Beach from a higher lookout point on the World Heritage Drive.   We liked Shell Beach, but for humans walking without shoes, the shells are rather sharp and cause some pain.

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Shark Bay in Western Australia with Zeb and Eider Duck

Shark Bay is a World Heritage Site on the western coast of Australia, and we are going to visit.

Entering Shark Bay World Heritage Site

Entering Shark Bay World Heritage Site

Shark Bay is an area, not just one place.   We are driving on the World Heritage Drive.

World Heritage Drive is quite long

World Heritage Drive is quite long.   We will here a few days

First stop is Hamelin Pool to see the only remaining Telegraph Repeater Station, established in 1884.

Hamelin Pool. Helped NASA in 1964

Hamelin Pool.    Mrs. Lillian O’Donahue helped NASA in 1964 from this station

We like the gas or petrol pump here also.

Old

Old gas pump

Inside the telegraph station, there was a sign explaining the evolution of communication:  from dot dash to dot com.   On 1964 the first Gemini space capsule was to be traced across Australia, but there was a temporary problem with the phone line.   Mrs. Lillian O’Donohue using the Morse code link, spent 4 hours relaying important information through Hamelin Pool until the phone line was fixed.

Hamelin Pool Telegraph Station of 1884

Hamelin Pool Telegraph Station of 1884 with petrol pump and telephone booth

NASA gave her a special award for her help.   Next we went to see the stromatolites.   Walking along this boardwalk,

Great viewing boardwalk

Great viewing boardwalk

we read the explanations of stromatolite and also looked at them growing in the water.

 

Growing s

Natural growing stromatolites

Many growing str

Many growing stromatolites

Hamelin Pool is one of a few places on earth where living marine stromatolites exist.   The rocky looking lumps in the water are the oldest and simplest forms of life on earth dating back 3.5 billion years.   The water at Hamelin Pool is twice as saline as usual sea water, due to sea grass banks situated across the bay’s entrance and rapid evaporation from the shallow water.

Stro at Hamelin Pool

Stromatolites at Hamelin Pool

At Eagle Bluff we looked into the shallow water of Shark  Bay Marine Park and saw Cowtailed stingray.   They were visible and we saw them move but photos were not successful.   Walking along the boardwalk on the edge of the cliff, we saw Nervous Shark.   This photo shows one of the shark.

Nervous Shark

Nervous Shark

We saw more than 3 of them, but again, photos were not great.   Seeing the sharks and stingray in the ocean was wonderful!   Part of the coastline was rocky and really beautiful.

Love the rocky coastline

Love the rocky coastline

These islands are now important bird breeding colonies.

Island primarily breeding area for birds

Island primarily breeding area for birds

Further along the World Heritage Drive, we stopped at Little Lagoon.

Little Lagoon

Little Lagoon

The lagoon is almost a perfect circle in shape.   This was once a land-locked birrida (gypsum pan) that was inundated by the sea several thousand years ago.   Linked to the sea by a small tidal channel, Little Lagoon is a natural nursery for several species of fish.   Also when we were here, a man was having a problem getting his dog, Smiley, in the truck to go home.   Smiley wanted to play and swim.   We hope Smiley and his human got home without much trouble.   Next time we will tell you about a special beach at Shark Bay World Heritage Site.