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April 18, 1999

We were reprimanded at 8:30 am by Rochelle for sleeping in, and chastised for not finding a cheaper gas station at 9 am. We set out in silence, but the mood changed quickly as we listened to Paul Simon cassettes and watched the road unfold before us. Soon we were laughing and joking.

We were headed to Denham or Monkey Mia to see the Dolphins. Why it is called Monkey Mia and not Dolphin Mia is still a mystery to us. We made two stops on the way. First, we stopped to see the stromalites, at 3 billion years old, these coral formations are the earth’s oldest living entities. After that, we went to a beach, literally covered with seashells. No sand was to be seen, only shells. Foolishly, we left our bathing suits in the camper, so the stop was short.

That night we got to Monkey Mia and stayed in our first, although unfortunately, not our last, Caravan Park. Full of campers, vans, tents, and families these parks are reminiscent of the KOA parks in America. We much preferred the previous evening’s deserted roadside stop, but caravan parks would be necessary stops along the wayin order to fill our camper's water supply. They also would offer the only shower/toilet facilities besides petrol stations, which, like home, leave a lot to be desired in terms of cleanliness.

To be fair, the park in Monkey Mia was pretty nice, clean and had a relatively, unspoiled natural beach. That evening we watched a beautiful sunset, undisturbed by locals wondering, "How is Aussie different from the USA?"