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SHARK BAY - Western Australia
The abundance of natural wonders, unique flora and unique fauna has caused Shark Bay to be gazetted as World Heritage. It is famous for many rare species and is home to around a tenth of the world's dugong population. The first European to set foot on Australian soil was Dirk Hartog. The Island where this took place is named after him. Monkey Mia famed for the numerous bottlenose dolphins that decide to interact with humans is located in Shark Bay also.

Monkey Mia

Dolphin Etiquette

in Shark Bay, is famous, not for its monkeys as its name suggests, but for its visits from bottle nosed dolphins which come to be hand-fed and nuzzle up to humans ankle-deep in the waters during the winter months. The town lies on Shark Bay in the Gascoyne region approximetly 900klm (530 miles) north of Perth, a listed World Heritage Area, which has peninsulas and
inlets rich with unique wildlife.

On the way up the coast coming from Perth, you will find Kalbarri on a lagoon near coastal cliffs. There are superb views of the surrounding spectacular countryside and coastline from this vantage point. Shark Bay is the stretch of coastline to the north of this area consisting of a maze of inlets and islands providing one of the country's best fish breeding grounds. It also harbours the world's largest banks of whiting, along with many other fish.

Monkey mia dolphin , shark bay
Bottle nosed dolphin

Shark Bay is a World Heritage and Marine Park of excellent beaches, besides the incredible dolphin visits at Monkey Mia it is also home for the stromatolites at Hamelin Pool, the earliest life on earth.

Please-Monkey Mia is not a dolphin Disneyland. These babies are not trained for your pleasure. When you're wading with the dolphins observe the following rules:

wade about knee-deep
wait until the dolphins approach you
never touch, or put anything into, the blowhole
don't touch the head, dorsal fin, or tail (pat gently along the side of the body)
do not scare the dolphins with loud noises
don't try to swim with the dolphins, and don't reach over them for any reason
check with rangers before feeding--the dolphins are fussy about their food
if a dolphin gives you a fish, don't give it back. Accept it and say "thank you."

Hamelin pool

hamelin pool, western australia At Hamelin Pool, the world's oldest organisms, stromatolites, can be seen.
Stromatolites are formed by primitive life forms, cyanobacteria (a type of algae), that first existed on earth already 3-4 billion years ago. The dome shaped structures reach up to 60cm in height and are formed by single celled organisms called cyanobacteria. The process continues today.
Stromatolites only grow at a speed of 0.3mm a year, but have at Hamelin pool been able to grow without interference from algae eating fish by the fact that the water here is twice as saline as normal seawater, deterring most fish from entering this area.

Hamelin Pool is located 105 kilometres from Denham or 35 kilometres from the Overlander Roadhouse.

Hamelin Pool Marine Nature Reserve protects 1,270 square kilometres, but the main visitor site is a tiny proportion of this area. The access road, the tearooms, and most of the land adjacent to the visitor site is part of Hamelin Station, including the historic Hamelin Pool telegraph station.

The marine nature reserve is a day use area only. Accommodation is available elsewhere in the World Heritage Area, such as at Denham, Monkey Mia or Nanga. There is an interesting museum and tearooms at the adjacent Hamelin station. Souvenirs and other merchandise can be purchased here.

The best time to visit is between June and October, when winds are generally lightest and the temperature is in the mid-20s (Celsius) Temperatures can be extremely hot in the summer months.

For more information on this region contact:
Shark Bay Tourist Centre
71 Knight Terrace
Denham 6537
Tel. (08) 9948 1253

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