Don't walk though this land a stranger.

Have you ever seen the film "Baby Mama"? Do you remember Steve Martin's character? He plays Tina Fey's self-righteous New Agey boss and says ridiculous things like "I have eaten the egg of a platypus that was hatched under a gopher in the Himalayas beneath the full moon". When I talk about my time spent at Monkey Mia, I feel like I could be Steve Martin's character. "I swam with bottlenose dolphins in the turquoise waters of the Indian Ocean, where the red sands of the desert meet the white shores of the Australian coast"...

Absolutely unreal.

Check another one off the bucket list! I spent a week working with the dolphins at Monkey Mia in Sharks Bay- well worth the hassle of getting there. Did I mention I created my own mess? I have been SO good about being on time... but let's be real- we ALL knew it was going to happen at least once!

Lesson #3: Always pack the night before. Because if you don't, you may be too late to take public transportation to the bus station in the morning... which means you may have to call 2 cabs (since the first one MAY not come), and after paying $40 dollars you may still JUST miss your bus. Maybe. But rest assured you will give everyone a good laugh as you valiantly run, with your 20+ kilos of luggage, in a vain attempt to catch it as it pulls out of the station...

It looked... well, nothing like this. It looked worse.

So. If you were hypothetically foolish enough to not pack the night before, you may also end up spending another $60 to immediately hop on the next random bus up the coast, while frantically placing calls to the driver of the Greyhound Bus you're SUPPOSED to be on, praying that he will wait in Geraldton for you.

OR your amazing friends may have to help you pack mere hours before your flight. These are all just hypothetical scenarios, of course.

The struggles were all worth it though. This is where I spent my week:

Shark Bay is amazing. It has been declared a World Heritage Area. To be declared as such, the region must possess one of four criteria, and Shark Bay has all four:

• Major stages of the world's evolutionary history

• Geological and biological processes

• Natural beauty

• Threatened species

When Lisa Frank was creating her colorful line of binders in the 90's, she was either on drugs or on the beach at Monkey Mia, because smiling dolphins and cracked out colors are exactly what you get there. The sunset saturates everything in a warm red glow and the sky turns hues of dusky rose and soft purples.

Shark Bay is THE place for people whose biggest desire is to relax and do nothing but appreciate life. When the staff weren't skinny dipping off the pier, my favorite thing to do was to take my blanket and ipod down to the edge of the dock. There are so many visible stars, and I think I saw enough shooting stars to wish away the whole world's problems.

If you stop and stare, the water seems to sparkle, too, although it is actually from the glow of the resident bioluminescent plankton. They light up with movement- it's pretty cool to swim at night and see the water light up around you. I wish I knew more. One of the guys that worked there was telling me all about them, but all I remember is that they're pretty and they glow. I think he was disappointed I didn't find plankton more riveting- I was disappointed I didn't have anyone else to talk to.

I went swimming one day and found some company

Shark bay is teeming with wildlife (other than dolphins). We went cruising and spotted a dugong (similar to manatees). They're so shy and all you can really see are their heads as they peek out of the water. They are also the base for the myth of the mermaid. Centuries ago, love-starved sailors saw the dugong poke it's sea-grass covered head above the water and the fantasy of the mermaid was born.

The guys let me steer the ship- I managed to put us about 30 degrees off course in about 15 seconds.

It is so isolated- there's no public transportation and the small town of Denham is 30 kms away, which is fine because no one wants to go there anyways. Monkey Mia really only consists of the resort and the adjacent offices of the Department of Wildlife Conservation, where rangers and researchers (and Molly!) play with fish and collect important dolphin data. This was the highlight of my job:

They are so playful and would rub against my leg and tilt their heads and look at me and I can't really fault Lisa Frank because they really do smile!

The dolphins have been coming to Monkey Mia since 1960 and are still completely wild. They are fed up to three times between 7 am and noon if they choose to come in for the feedings. Only five of them are fed. The type and amount of fish differ depending on the dolphin and how many times they have been fed already as the rangers want to make sure that they don't become dependent upon the feedings.

Yellowtail and Bony Herring were the favorites.

This (front) is Nicky. You can tell because of the notch at the top of her fin. The other dolphin is her calf, Fin, who is about two.

I learned that when dolphins are feeling either aroused or angry, their normally white bellies turn pink. A lot of the visitors find it cute, but considering that means you're either pissing them off or turning them on... I consider both equally discomforting.

One of the best nights I had was when one of the locals took a few of us out into the hills and explained a bit about Aboriginal culture. Capes is of Aboriginal descent and still abides by the law and traditions of his people. It reminds me of the little bit I know about Native American culture, and how they live in harmony with nature.

Every time he enters new country, Capes rubs a bit of earth through his hands and introduces himself and encouraged us to do the same: "Hello, my name is Molly. I come from California. I want to say hello to the traditional owners- thank you for having me in you country." You don't have to say it loudly or so others can hear you... it's more that you pay respect to country and really see her as you pass through. As Capes told me, "Don't walk through this land a stranger".