DUGONGS

I wanted to photograph dugongs. On the east coast this is not so easy but in Shark Bay and the surrounding marine park there are an estimated 14,000 dugongs, making up about 10% of the total of the world's population. Dugongs, despite their appearance, are more closely related to elephants rather than other marine animals. Individuals can live to be over 70 years old. The typical adult dugong might be just short of 3 metres and about 450 kilograms; the biggest ever recorded was 4.06 metres long and weighed 1,016 kilograms.

The dugong’s name comes from Malay/Tagalog words meaning ‘lady of the sea’ but in other places it is commonly referred to as a sea cow, sea pig or sea camel. It is strictly herbivore and lives on seagrass. The areas where the seagrasses grow determine where the dugong can live. Though most now live in the waters of northern Australia between Shark Bay and Morton Bay. They also live along the east coast of Africa,in the Persian Gulf, between India and Ceylon and small populations near Taiwan and Okinawa. In the 1960s herds of 500 dugongs were observed off the African coast. However dugong number have been in decline and 20% of their numbers have disappeared in the last 90 years.

To photograph these creatures I took a cruise, well a few cruises on the Aristocat 2. The cruise went out every day, firstly visiting a Pearl Farm in the bay. This was fascinating as we were shown the process of the pearls being grown fro  start to finish and how they now are implanting opals and gold in the pearl shells so that the finished product combines pearl and either gold or opal.

We also saw blue snapper being fed, dolphins, turtles and the odd shark. Although we did see dugongs they were pretty elusive preferring to avoid the boats. They would hold their breath for about 8 minutes before coming up for air. Usually this gave a quick opportunity for a photograph, but it was mostly just the dugong’s nose above the surface. Some passenger also took the opportunity to ride in the nets at the rear of the boat on the way back into the wharf. I was also able to get a few shots of the dugong from the shore when I went 4wd-ing.

The dugong diving

Blue snapper

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CHARACTERS

One of the things I enjoy most about travelling is the interesting people you meet. Sometimes these are just fellow travellers or locals who stop and chat. Other times it is just watching people going about simple everyday things. In particular I like the faces with character. Often these are weather-beaten or elderly but always just by looking at them you know they have lived life or that they have a story to tell.    Sometimes they are people doing what they love or doing things their way. And sometimes they are just out and out characters! But travelling you just seem to run into more than a normal share of these characters. After all maybe I am just one of them!

Aboriginal kids in Ceduna seemed to be enjoying life playing in the shallows at the beach. They would scramble after the little fish in the shallows or run as one warned of an unseen danger sneaking up on them. There were a tourists who turned and watch each time the kids shouted with glee. I couldn't help noticing the smiles on those tourists faces as the enthusiasm of the kids became infectious. 

This 'young' couple were touring, and had been for a number of years, around Australia in their hot rod and caravan. The car came complete with christmas decorations and on the back were two beer kegs fully tapped. I somehow don't think life would be boring if they pulled into the space in the caravan park beside you. I saw them a few times stopped at roadhouses and lookouts across the Nullabor.

Cycling is a popular sport/pastime today. I saw a few lone cyclists crossing the Nullabor or on the road in South Australia. Some had support vehicles following, others were self-sufficient and carried everything on their bikes. The father and son combination, with matching leggings were in Ceduna. And the fellow below the sign is Morten from Norway. He landed in Perth and is cycling to Byron Bay, which he hopes to make by New Year. Morten carries everything with him and cycles 100 kms a day. He also keeps a blog:           Sykkelmorten

Janette Murray-Wakelin and Alan Murray(pictured above) are amazing. They are running around Australia raising money for various causes. They call themselves RunRaw 2013 and have their own website where people can follow their progress and can donate money. They started running last January and will finish in December. They expect to take a month crossing the Nullabor. They run "a marathon (42.2 kms) every day of the year". Janette also told me to watch out for a Japanese fellow who had started in Perth was pushing a small barrow in front of him with all his supplies. He was going to walk across five continents.

 Some meetings were not so happy. The car in the picture had blown two tyres at once and run off into the bush. The driver, the woman in the middle, had managed to control it and to get it back on the road. But the other adult passenger, the woman with her hand on her head, and the eight(?) young children in the car were understandably a little shaken. Numerous cars and trucks stopped to help out. The truck on the left ferried the children into the next town.

'And then there are characters'! I stopped in the town of Hyden Sir Pinkalot: Knight of the Bright Tights was dancing around the street putting up posters. He was having a ball and asked me to take his photo. He explained he was doing it for mental health and had been doing this for three years. He worked at the local tip, so that was where all his outfits and props came from. His website is:  www.SirPinkalot.com and his cards says: "Most people I know think that I'm crazy and I don't want to let them down".