Shark Bay
Shark Bay is one of only a very few places in the world with a World Heritage Listing, granted in 1991. World Heritage Areas must meet the following four criteria:
• have major stages of the world’s evolutionary history
• have geological and biological processes
• have great natural beauty
• and be home to threatened species
So, as you can see, the region is a bit special.
Monkey Mia
With a dolphin research centre on its doorstep, it comes as no shocker that Monkey Mia is renowned worldwide for its dolphins. Monkey Mia is located smack dab in the middle of one of the most pristine marine environments worldwide. The dolphins are completely wild yet they have learned to trust humans, to the extent that they will take food from the hands of humans in knee deep water.
Local vessels offer wildlife spotting cruises in impressive catamarans, where dolphins, rays, turtles, sharks, and dugongs can be found. The
Monkey Mia Resort caters for backpackers and campers.
Denham
Only 25km from Monkey Mia is the small holiday resort/ prawning town of Denham; which serves as a great base for your Shark Bay experience. En route to Denham be sure to check out Hamelin Pool. With a salination content twice as high as the ocean nothing survives except for our ancient ancestors: cyanbacteria. The cyans have created vast swaths of stromatolites on the water’s edge. The formations are regarded as living fossils and they are believed to be as old as the first life on earth.
Eagle’s Bluff is another place worth checking out with its fantastic views. You can even see the sharks patrolling the waters. Outside of Denham is Francois Peron National Park, which is only accessible by 4WD. Nevertheless it has great camping, a historical homestead, and a natural spa.
Another gem is Shell Beach, off Shark Bay Road. Composed of billions and trillions of tiny shells the seabed looks like the bottom of an ornate swimming pool. Shark Bay has the largest recorded number of different marine and wildlife ever recorded in one place. Thankfully it is listed as a World Heritage Site thus the natural beauty will always be there regardless of when you come to visit. You can contact the
Visitor Centre on 1300 135 887.
Carnarvon
Smack dab at the mouth of the Gascoyne River Carnarvon serves as a terra firma land base for some of the best fishing in Western Australia. Thriving prawning and scallop industries operate here and the Lake Macleod Salt Mine produces as much as 1.5m tones of salt per year.
Marline, sailfish, and pink snapper can be found out at sea. The town’s 1593m – long jetty off Baggage Island is popular for mulloway, tailor, bream, mackerel, and blue swimmer crab, to name but a few. There are also some great beaches. Additionally Carnarvon is a proclaimed whale watching spot as the behemoths can easily be watched from the cliffs along Quobba coast
If you have a little spare time be sure to get out to Bernier and Dorre Islands. These islands are not usually a part of regular tours yet they abound with animals that are not found on the mainland. These include banded-hare wallaby, Lesueur’s Rat Kangaroo, little barred – bandicoot, and the Shark Bay mouse.
With a huge marine and fruit growing industry, seasonal work is widely available all year. Call the
Visitor Centre on (08) 9941 1146.
