Western Exposure Day 3

Sun Oct 19
8:45, Monkey Mia
I GOT PICKED TO FEED A DOLPHIN! Quite cool in that I totally had not expected it, since a little boy near me got picked first. You hold the fish by the tail and put it underwater, and the dolphin comes up to you and takes it.

That was the idea, anyway. Spark (or was it Sharp?) kinda nibbled on it, and so I let go, and it fell to the bottom, and she didn’t bother with it. Apparently, only 5 specific females get fed about a fifth of their daily requirement each day, so they won’t rely on humans for food, and will teach their calves to hunt.

This regular feeding (it happens 3 times a day between 7:30 and noon) has been going on for 40 years.

These are the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins, a subspecies. Their undersides get speckled as they age. And man, it sucks to be a female. The boys are rough with them (a few had rake marks). They continue to pop out babies until they die, and they raise the calves on their own. Sure, the females group together to form families, but they’re either breeding, pregnant, or nursing. The boys? They stay with mum, then move off, have sex, and frolic in the open seas with their buddies.

It was quite amazing how the dolphins came right up into the shallows. We were standing less than calf-deep water.

Apparently, the females are so used to coming for their food that they will often bring their calves with them the day after they’re born. If a female misses a day, then chances are, she’s giving birth.

Oh, if you want to up your chances of having a close encounter with a dolphin, either be pregnant, or bring a pregnant woman along. Dolphins are fascinated by the fetus. There’s a dolphin interaction zone, and while you’re not allowed to touch them, they are free to touch you. So there you go.

21:12, Riverside (Ajava?) Sanctuary Farm
Currently at a farmstay. My GOD the bugs are everywhere. I will be SO glad to be going home, where it is winter = NO BUGS!

I don’t care how unfashionable a fly net is, it does its job, and that is more than what I can ask for, because obviously, asking that all the flies be wiped off the face of the earth would be too much. Even the vast majority would be too much to ask for.

I didn’t do anything at Monkey Mia, after the dolphin feeding and getting a couple postcards. It was HOT. Apparently the sand was boiling. I wouldn’t know, cuz I wore flip flops the entire time. Met a couple of older Perthites, Sue and Maggie, and their rescue dog, Iggy. Some sort of Border collie mix, I think. Really docile, though that could be due to the heat. Sue gave me her number, saying that I should call her if I’m ever in Perth again. They were raving about Esperance.

Left Monkey Mia at 12:30. Got to the Overlander Roadhouse, and had to wait an hour for Greg to pick the four of us up to head back to Perth. The others were going north, beyond the Tropic of Capricorn to Exmouth. Just Sophie, Jessica and Miriam (Swede, Swiss French and Swiss German) and yours truly here.

Went on a little walk. Jock the dog is a cutie. Golden brown dog of some sort.

Dinner was a simple affair of shepherd’s pie, garlic bread, and fruit with custard. I have a 1.5L bottle of water in the freezer. Should be fantastic for tomorrow. Shoulda done it for the last couple days. Brain OBVIOUSLY not functioning properly.

May sleep with a fly net on tonight. Would LOVE to have the bed nets that they have in Asia.