G'Day! I returned to Australia on 9 June and have been slowly making my way to the east coast via Perth, Freemantle, Kalbarri, Monkey Mia and Melbourne. The temperatures in Perth and now Melbourne have been rather cooler than the 30-40 degree Celsius temperatures in India.

It was wonderful to catch up with friends in Perth and Freemantle and also experience the raw beauty of Kalbarri, famous for the Murtchison Gorge (over 90kms long) and Murtchison River which flows out to the Indian Ocean at Kalbarri. I spent a fantastic day hiking through part of the Gorge.. the vibrant reds, golds and pinks of the Sandstone walls (of the gorge) and the crystal clear river and blue skies were truly magnificent.

Monkey Mia in Shark Bay near the 26th parallel on west coast, is world famous for the wild dolphins that have come to the beach on a daily basis for the last 30+ years. In the 1970's-80's, the dolphins could be fed by anyone who had fish to share. The mortality rate of the baby dolphins during that period of time was very high as their 'mothers' forgot to teach their young how to feed in the wild (why bother when there was a delicious smorgasbord of fish on a daily basis fed to the dolphins by humans!).

Nowadays the feeding process is very regulated and only the mature female dolphins are fed up to one quarter of their daily requirements between hours of 0700 and 1300hrs each day. I was fortunate enough to be selected to feed a fish to the dolphin named "Surprise" on my last day at Monkey Mia. A memorable experience! "Surprise" got her name as she often swims up to the beach at the last moment before feeding time...she is not as sociable as the other dolphins whose mothers brought them to the beach from when they were babies.

I learnt many interesting facts about dolphins whilst at Monkey Mia - fast facts include: dolphins have small bladders and urinate every 10minutes; the female dolphin is pregnant for 12months and reproduces all her life. Dolphins mature around 12 years of age. Dolphins have excellent hearing and eco-location senses that allow them to track down food (fish); predators and their families etc. The male dolphins tend to hang around together and chase female dolphins and the female dolphins also stick together in groups and look after the young (sound familiar!!).

The Shark Bay area is also famous for the natural sea grass beds; the dugongs; tiger sharks (of course), coral and stromalites (organisms which created oxygen millions of years ago). The area is truly unique and well worth a visit.

Melbourne has been marvellous too. Have discovered some new restaurants as well as visted the famous Beach Boxes at Brighton Beach. My sister Corinne, her husband Ray and daughter Alannah have been living here for the last 12months so it has been wonderful to catch up with them again.

For the next six months or so, I hope to do short-term projects and some house-sitting (locations are open!). Please let me know on tina@tellustina.com if I can help you!