Tuesday, October 17, 2006

monkey mia

Way back three, four weeks ago, we flew to Western Australia for our last two week holiday. One surprising highlight on our Perth to Exmouth tour was a visit to famed Monkey Mia for the feeding of the wild dolphins. I don't know why it was such a surprise that it would be so cool but I guess we thought it would be a bit hokey. Of course it wasn't--I mean, we got to see these beautiful creatures up close! For a prairie girl like me, they are like real life unicorns: a creature of mythology in the flesh.

We had to wait a while for the dolphins to make their appearance (much to the disgust of a German tourist who was quite angry that they didn't keep to their ETA of 8 am). Finally, five dolphins showed up--four females, one with her very lively and playful young son. The park has a policy of only feeding mature dolphins as, in the past, the baby dolphins would become so reliant on the fish that they never learned to hunt. They also ration the amount of fish so it is more of a snack than a meal but the dolphins still show up. Below, this one is checking us out--they can't see 'up' very well so they need to roll on their side to get a good look. Lucky Damo got choosen to feed one!

Wild Dolphin at Monkey MiaDamo feeding the dolphin at Monkey Mia

We also got to see my new favorite bird: the pelican. I just adore the way they look with their big black eyes and waddling steps on their flat paddle feet. They're very graceful in the air and while standing still but clumsy-cute walking on the sand. They are also quite aggressive if you get close, lashing out with their giant pointy beak, opening it impossibly wide to threaten a chomp.

Pelican at Monkey MiaPreening Pelican at Monkey Mia

Pelicans at Monkey Mia

4 comments:

Scott said...

Yes! I found you!
Great pictures, guys. Can't wait to look through the archives.

Anonymous said...

i love the sea shots:

- up close and personal with Dolphin

- pelican lineup waiting for their ship to come in

Your stories and pics are VERY entertaining!

Wish I could have come for a visit with you ---sad I didnt.
Elizabeth

Anonymous said...

Like the bears they used to have at kickinghorse - oddly enough it was german tourists who complained the bears were asleep and wanted their money back! mimo

Nicole said...

Haha - grumpy german tourists complaining when nature doesn't follow their schedule...odd thought process that's for certain!