Whales, dolphins and surfers

Three weeks in Dunsborough, about 3 hours south of Perth will get you a serious tan, an oceanic wildlife display, wine, cheese and sand everywhere. I went out to visit some mates from the US. Thanks Brendan and Bri for showing me the heady life of surfing and exploring some of your beautiful country. The Capes region seems to be a paradise. There's tonnes of surf spots up and down the coast and it's drop dead gorgeous as well. The region is filled with grapes and wine and you can go surfing in the morning and wine tasting in the evening. We ate some delicious food, drank coffee and port and loved every minute of it.

One thing that surprised me about this place was the frolicking dolphins and whales. The dolphins would be surfing in the waves in pods. They would ride the wave in and then jump back through it into the air. It was magnificent to see. You could seemingly see whales every sunset if you had a good view of the water. We watched whales breaching and swimming about 10 minutes from Brendan and Bri's house. The sunsets were astounding and the crystal blue Indian Ocean matched with this vivid penetrating sunlight made everything seem more alive.

B and B and I went walking on the Bibblemun Track, a 45 day long track from around Perth to the Southern coast. We started at Walpole and walked to Peaceful Bay through the Karri forest and the southern coast. There were magnificent trees with gigantic hollows that you and about 10 of your friends could stand in. Brendan and I were calling to each other with exotic bird calls from hollow to hollow. This is where Mike and Bridge-O, a couple from Hawaii and Germany met us with a keg and a feast in the middle of the woods. Props to Mike and Bridge-O for throwing a bang-up bash in the middle of the forest, that was great fun. The rest of the walk was incredible forest, swimming, beach, story telling and lots and lots of flies.

Another favorite was the walk with Brendan and Dave up the coast of Cape Naturalist. What a day of exploring, adventuring, rock climbing and spear throwing. This was a true adventure (man-walk).

Luckily, I had the chance to help throw a bang-up Thanksgiving meal amongst Brendan and Bri's friends. Even though this was their first Thanksgiving, with the exception of Mike from Hawaii, they all threw down on the turkey table and we had a magnificent meal with a beautiful turkey (nice job Bri). I had a blast with Kat and Dave and Mike and Bridge-O (and thanks for the music Mike, especially the last song) and everyone else celebrating the spirit of gratitude.

It was great to see Brendan and Mike and Bridge-O surf these huge waves. I have much more respect for surfers floating out among these monsters and getting crushed and battered against the reef so they can revel in the spirit of the ocean.

Thanks everyone for showing me another unforgettable experience on the Indian Ocean.

I've got to thank Tom, Gemma and Amy up in Freemantle for hosting me for a day and taking in a little reggae festival as well. I had a great time up there and I hope to see you in Colorado some time.

I hope to see everyone fight to keep this part of the world wild.