Morocco, back to the beginning and arriving from Spain.

It’s a quick ferry ride from Tarifa to Tanger and a long trek through customs into Morocco.

Many stories proceed a trip to Morocco- tourist touts, poor roads, mad drivers mint tea and the physical beauty of the country.

Tanger being the sea gateway to Morocco one both arrives and departs from Tager. So maybe coming in and out of Tanger is a good time to compare my cautious and naive thoughts on entering Morocco and the utter thankfulness that I had had a month travelling in Morocco ( I could have spent 3).

So after some sickingly sweet mint tea, some haggling with money changers and a very greasy omelette it was into the seemingly crazy traffic and on the road to Tetuan.

Coming up the the Atlantic Coast back to Tanger and the Ferry back to Spain. Asilah is one of the first towns in Tanger province with a small Medinain the old Portuguese fort right on the ocean.

Rubbish on the Moroccan Beaches and in the country side is a sad scare on the landscape and if you read the guides Asilah is about the worst. But Tanger province has made a big effort to clean up its beaches and as you can see in the photos

Cape Spatel is the most north western point of the African continent. The lighthouse is called the Hercules Lighthouse. The Greek legend is that here and across the Strait in Gibralter is where Hercules tore the African and European continents apart and let the Atlantic ocean flood in to form the Mediterranean Sea.

A little south of Cape Spatel is the Grote de Hercules where legend has it the strong man slept while undertaking the slightly daunting task of ripping two continents apart.

While I had been warned about Moroccan drivers I found it the safest place to ride but you need to understand the codes.

Let me share an anecdote.

I use a GPS it’s my guide but it’s not infallible. Coming into Tanger the GPS went to send me down a road the was blocked by roadworks.

As I was readjusting a scooter zipped past slowed down and gave me the slow down and follow me sign. A little way along the rider pointed to the road on the left. Gave a wave and zipped off. The road led straight to the port.

I’m sorry I didn’t see more of Tanger. Maybe next trip!!!!

Jewels in the South of Western Australia-Denmark and Esperence/Cape Le Grand

After months in the hot tropics of northern Australia and the arid dry coast of central Western Australia arriving in the cool damp southern parts of the state was a sharp change of environment.

The area was cool and moist with rain never far off and a swim in the Southern Ocean is nothing short of bracing.

The landscape around the river and lake is quite beautiful.

But for my the highlight was walking through the coastal forest of Black Butt, Paper Bark and Melaleuca trees.

With the colour of wildflowers and moss sprinkled through

Around 350km east of Denmark is the city of Esperance with the Cape Le Grand National Park near by.

The coast at Cape Le Grand is wild in natural beauty etched by the wind and water.

It’s the quartz in the granite rock formations that makes the sand the whitest in Australia.

In an environment like this I could not help but scale a peak

Or take a dip in the cold waters of the Southern Ocean.

Cape le Grand was such a peaceful beautiful place.

A mother kangaroo happy to show off her baby joey.

Maybe we should all pause a time and think about the beauty of the natural world because it is nature that sustains us.

Maybe can all stand up like the people of little Denmark did in the lead up the World Climate Change Conference and say We Can Do It by cherishing our natural world.

Kalbarri coastal cliffs and beaches

The coastal cliffs of Kabarri are steep and dramatic

With some spectacular rock formations and secluded beaches.

A rugged terrain where a wild goat can safely find a cave to hide away in.

Given I have adopted for my BMW motorbike the German name for goat, Steinbock, it was appropriate I spotted this old Billy Goat resting in his cave.

Closer to the river mouth the cliffs drop away but the sandstone rock ledgers provide a barrier against the surf.

Making calm rockholes for swimming. Suitable for fish and human.

I see fish and fish see me!

The river estuary is a perfect spot to catch the pelicans on the wing at dusk.

The setting sun

And the equinoctial full moon rising on my last night in Kalbarri.

Wildlife interaction on Australia’s North West Coast – 2 Shark Bay

It was the May eclipse of the moon that I was on the eastern most point point of Australia and Shark Bay is at the western extreme.

And Denham is the most westerly township in Australia. Steep Point is the the western most point but very difficult to access.

The east and west extremities of Australia are like chalk and cheese. While Cape Byron in the east sits amongst moist rain forest covered mountains but in the west at Shark Bay its where the desert meets the sea.

So desert means lack of water and sparse population.

I wonder if fewer people means more wildlife.

The pelicans,

The turtles,

The old man Emu caring for his chicks.

And the beautiful wild dolphins at Monkey Mia that interact with such trust with visitors to their world.

The beaches in this special place are stunning and unique.

To create this national park now world heritage area. The Western Australian Government bought back a number of farming leases.

Sheep had been grazed on the fragile lands.

At the old Peron Station the remains of the old shearing shed still remain.

It was a bit of a trek to get to the old station along a sandy trail

But made all worthwhile by the the thermal spring hot tub at the old station.

So what else could I do.

Wildlife interaction on Australia’s North West Coast -1 Coral Bay

My last day in Coral Bay was spent in and on the Indian Ocean and the Ningaloo Reef.

This was close interaction in the marine environment.

With:

Eels,

Stingrays;

Turtles;

Reef sharks sleeping in coral caves; and

Myriads of little reef fish.

The coral with its colours and shapes is just beautiful.

But the big interaction with whales.

Interaction with whales is carefully prescribed to protect the whale and the humans.

We were lucky enough to get to swim with these beautiful creatures.

The skill of the skipper was excellent. We motored along side the whales as they swam. Then we told to get ready as the boat sped forward.

Suddenly the boat slowed and we slipped off the back of the boat as this gentle giant of the sea swam past below us.

We also swam with Manta Rays.

Sorry friends no photos of these encounters as the piecemeal adventurer turned part time frogman was too busy manoeuvring himself and remembering to breath while in a state of high excitement to work a camera.

So sorry you will just have to go to Ningaloo Reef and do it.