By 9am we had left Kalbarri and were on our way further north. The total travel for the day was 373km with a quick fuel stop at the Overlander Road House and a bit of sightseeing at Hamlin Pool which is about 100km before Denham.
Hamlin Pool is famous for one of the worlds rarest life forms, the Stromatolite - it looks like a rock but is actually alive. It is said that the Stromatolite were the dominant life form on earth some 350 million years ago and is responsible for raising the oxygen level in the earth's atmosphere to 20% which was a prerequisite for life forms to evolve from sea onto land. Without these single cell creatures Human Beings wouldn't exist today.
Click >here< if for more Stromatolite information.
The reason why they exist in Hamlin Pool is the extremely high salt level of the pool which is separated from the main ocean water body by a sandbar some 47km away. This bar restricts tidal flows in the shallow pool and the increased
evaporation is responsible for the high salt level.The other interesting part of the area is the shell quarry where a mass of little shells has been compressed over 6000 years and "welded" together by leeching calcium - many years ago the locals used a cross cut saw to cut blocks and use them for building. I suppose these shell blocks were an early version of what we know call a "Hebel Block".
Another hour's drive up the road saw us settled into a Caravan Park at Denham. The park is build on a hill made from shells. The vista from the elevated caravan sites is indeed very nice, with a view over the bay and the moored boats. The day ended with one of those nice sunsets over the Indian Ocean - see photo.
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