Kalbarri

 I am not sure I have ever seen such a fitness crazed city as Perth.  It seems like virtually everyone is biking, power walking, running or using these outdoor gym stations along the cycling route.  I jogged back to my hotel after lunch just to try to fit in.

Took an early morning bike ride before leaving Perth to drive to Kalbarri, some 7 hours up the West Australian coast.  I felt like I had joined a city wide peloton commuting to work.  It was bumper to bumper on the bike path.  What is weird is that when the bike path hits the highway, you just have to wait for a gap in the cars and then try and race across.  I barely made it before being splattered like some indoor skydiver.  

While I was at the zoo, a zookeeper approached me while I was in the snake area.  She told me that there were quite a few dangerous snakes in Australia, but perhaps the most dangerous was one that hid under leaves in the bush in Western Australia and was quite hard to spot.  She said, "Of course, if you are not bushwacking or hiking in the outback, it is not a problem."  More good news.

On the long way to Kalbarri, I drove what might have been the most desolate stretch of road I had ever driven- saw one vehicle in about 50 miles.  As I surveyed the surrounding bush as I drove, all I could think of was ...snakes.

Stopped at a place called the Pinnacles on my way up the coast.  Sort of a desert meets a dilapidated Stonehenge if you will-

 Got to Kalbarri and then went for a short hike along these red cliffs overlooking the Indian Ocean-

And then went for a swim in the IO-

 Kalbarri is almost the western most place in Australia.  Next stop is Africa- it really felt like you were on the western edge of the world, if you can imagine a map as you swim.