The Old Pearler

We recently took a road trip to the southern half of The Coral Coast, north of Perth and a popular destination. We get to hang with wild dolphins at the shores of Monkey Mia (pronounced MY-ah and no monkeys there), wander a very windy national park and stroll a sandless beach at Shark Bay. Hamlin Pool is not a beach made of rocks but of mollusc shells. Looks like sand until your feet send back a message that small conical shells are not soft. Billions of these shells wash ashore daily and have done so for ages. Time and pressure have cemented these shells into a very hard mass. And here, a bit of Aussie ingenuity kicks in. Cut into 'cinder blocks', these shellblocks were used in the construction of some of the local buildings.

Our favorite: The Old Pearler Restaurant in nearby Denham. The tiny restaurant and its two tinier outbuildings are made entirely of shells, earning the double distinction of being the only restaurant in the world made of shell and of being the western most restaurant in Australia. The not-so-uniform block size and the incredible roughness of the surface (careful near delicate clothing) are actually endearments rather than flaws.

The interior is decorated with tackle from the historic old vessels. The tables and settees are made from timber salvaged from the old Peron Station shearers' quarters. Exposed electrical wires power the few lights. The trapped air in the shells provide superior insulation for the small air conditioner and small fireplace efficiency.

We walked in early one evening, wrote ourselves into the reservation book and enjoyed an excellent oceanside meal. We were next to the kitchen and heard one and a half people working in it. The other half was waiting tables with laid-back, but efficient, service. A real treasure rising from the sea.