I’m starting to really enjoy the wildlife in Australia. It’s not like South Africa, where there are parks loaded with big game conveniently available for viewing from a car all day long. Instead you find the most surprising and unusual creatures in unexpected places, and often get particularly intimate and memorable encounters with them. So it was with the quokkas on baking Rottnest, and so it was today with the amiable stingrays of Hamelin Bay.
We were told it was a spot where stingrays could be seen from the shore, but when we got there I felt sure we’d been misdirected as there was just a sandy beach and no vantage point to overlook the deeper water. Then we noticed dark shapes moving only yards from where we stood, right in the sandy surf. Just by wading out a few steps we could see the big rays gliding back and forth, hoovering the sand for goodies. We also saw a bloke nearby attracting the rays with bits of fish, which they would take from his hand and furnish him the chance for good photos. It’s worth remembering that these are the same stingrays that put a premature end to Steve Irwin’s life.
From here we went on to Augusta, where we found dolphins swimming in the inlet. They came close to our side of the shore and were pursued by both folks in kayaks and kids playing in the water. The dolphins didn’t seem to mind, and swam within a couple of yards of the children. On behalf of the me of twenty-five years ago, I’m deeply envious!
Actually, I’m envious on behalf of the me of now. Our swimming gear was packed in the car and there was nowhere around to change anyway. Bah.
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