Shark Bay

Posted by efloow on November 5, 2015 in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

October 31 – November 5

 

Shark Bay meets, not just one, but all four of the criteria for becoming a World Heritage Area and is another one of those amazing places. It is here that the red earth of the Australian desert meets the white sands and turquoise waters of the ocean making for incredible vistas and contrasts. It is also the place that the warm northern currents meet the cooler southern currents leading to a massive range of biodiversity. The shallow bays are home to vast sea grass beds with one of the worlds biggest dugong populations. There cannot be too many places in the world where you can stand on cliff tops overlooking incredible bays and see so many things swimming in the clear waters – whales, dolphins, sharks, rays, turtles, and dugongs!

 

We started our trip in Monkey Mia, then moved to Denham, and finally to Tamala Station from where we headed to the most westerly point of mainland Australia, Steep Point.

We were excited to start our Shark Bay experience at the Monkey Mia Resort (not a town as I had thought) that is famous for its dolphins that come in daily for their feed of fish. It was fun to get so close to these amazing creatures, especially for Holly and Alex who got chosen to go into the water beside them and give them a fish! This highlight was in stark contrast to the overcrowded, cramped campsite with the drunken yobbos playing music full blast into the night… resort security did a good job of managing them!

 

Next was Denham, which is a cute seaside town that I suspect in peak season must heave. In the”shoulder season” is was a nice sleepy place to spend time. It has a great interpretive centre with incredibly well displayed insights into the area and the various famous maritime disasters of the coast. These included the Batvia and Zuytdrop, both ships of the Dutch VOC Trading Company that crashed into the coast nearly 400 years ago. They both have fascinating stories which have had major influences on the history and names of the area. The centre is also home to the HMAS Sydney memorial.

 

The Mac Attack fishing charter was another fun morning out of Denham where we were dropping fish heads over ocean holes and catching loads of pink snapper. The fish fought bravely, but did not stand much of a chance with a knowledgable skipper and a good sonar. Holly and Sarah hooked 14 fish, but most got returned to fight another day. It was fun to be out on the water with incredible views on an eerily calm morning!

 

 

We spent a long day in the Francois Peron National Park on a tour guided by 'Capes' of Wula Guea Nyinda Eco Adventures. Once again it was great to have the experience and insights of a local indigenous guide into this truly magnificent park. We learnt about the flora and fauna, but were gutted not to see a thorny devil gecko that are a feature of the area… this excludes the flattened one on the road! We learnt of the management plan in the area called Project Eden, that eliminates the feral pests (rabbits, goat, livestock) and replaces it with native animals, remarkably similar to the plans of the Australian Wildlife Conservancy in Mornington. We finally had somebody explain the significance of the striking round clay pans or Birrida that are ancient dried out salt water lakes that now full of gypsum (plaster & cement) and red saltbush that standout in the otherwise green open spaces.

 

 

We also saw the old pastoral station in the Francois Peron NP, now transformed into an interpretive area. It was really interesting to be able to see how sheep were sheared and wool was managed at the turn of the century. It must have been a hard, hard life!

 

 

Ocean Park Aquarium outside Denham was a really clever aquarium. It consists of a number of tanks and ponds, with a guide walking by each and giving knowledgable insights into the contents of the ponds as well as feeding the various creatures. It was really engaging for young and old to get up close to everything icluding small clown fish, the fish we eat including the venomous blow fish, to sea snakes to turtles and rays, all the way to massive sharks. And to finish it all off, an amazing cafe overlooking the stunning bay… well worth the effort!

 

 

Granny and Granda left us from Denham to head back to England. We had a fina lmeal in a restaurant built entirely from blocks made of compressed shells… seafood naturally, and sent them on their way from the spectacular Eagle Bay Lookout. It was sad to see them go. We have had such a good time sharing our adventures and the treats along the way and we will really miss the company. The kids will miss all the extra fun, games and stimulation that they provide.

 

 

So, somewhat subdued, we headed to Tamala Station in Edel Land on the western side of Shark Bay. The campsite was a real treat, a whole deserted bay to ourselves… stunning. The drive to Steep Point, the most westerly point of mainland Australia, was equally spectacular. Incredible wilderness, colours, spectacular cliffs, massive (and terrifying) blowholes and sheltered idyllic beaches for picnics and swims. Wow!

 

 

The only fly in the ointment for our Tamala stay on the last morning was the torrential rain, apparently (from the lady at the station) 12mm in one hour! So we decamped a wet and soggy setup…. we were not looking forward to opening up in the next place! This is the first time it has rained on us in the camper van in the 4 months since leaving Broken Hill. The only other rain we experienced was at Mornington wilderness Camp, but on that occasion we were in their cabins. Perhaps this is not a surprise, but the weather has been really changeable since crossing out of the tropics… I suspect that we were getting too comfortable with the hot balmy buildup and had not really anticipated what seems like a rather sudden shift to changeable spring weather!

 

Next stop, Kalbarri, Green Head, Namburg and then onto Perth.