Monkey Mia
After a week exploring the Exmouth/ Ningaloo area, my next stop was going to be Monkey Mia, in the Shark Bay Marine Park World Heritage Site - a strange sounding place that was even more remote than where I had just been. After an overnight bus journey across the red desert, with the occasional “hit the break stop” for a kangaroo - I arrived at Monkey Mia at breakfast time, just as the dolphins were finishing their feeding. This is what Monkey Mia is renowned for – its dolphins – and this was why I had come. Mia is the Aboriginal term for home, shelter or salt/bad water, while the Monkey part of the name may have been derived from a pearling boat called Monkey, that anchored there in the late 19th century, when pearling was a thriving industry in that region. In the 1960s, a fisherman and his wife began feeding bottlenose dolphins when returning with their catch, and as news spread of these dolphins coming to the shore, visitors started to come to see them – and now there are over 300 dolphins living in the bay. In 1985, an information centre was built, followed by the building of a road, carpark and camping facilities - and in 1990, the waters surrounding Monkey Mia were declared a marine park. Rangers from the Western Australian Department of Parks and Wildlife carefully supervise the interaction between tourists and dolphins; and the park entry fees are used to manage and care for the dolphins.
Whilst waiting for my accommodation to be ready, I had a walk to get my bearings and went to the restaurant for a cuppa and a fresh cream scone. It felt like being in paradise – the resort was so small and compact, with no hustle and bustle of traffic. It was only a few yards from the reception to the restaurant, where you could sit and watch the beautiful calm, turquoise ocean with all it had to offer - especially the pelicans floating by!
The sand was so white, and it was met by red desert — such an amazing contrast. I was surprised at how many people were there — it was not such a secret place after all! Once I had the keys to my “unit”, I desperately needed some sleep, but I didn't have long as I was too excited about exploring my new surroundings. I found a little shop that sold everything you could possibly want, and it was very reasonably priced — they would even sell you just one teabag. My unit was very basic but comfortable with a fridge, a cooker and a sink. The ensuite bathroom was the strangest thing you ever saw — it was an orange capsule stuck onto one side of the portacabin. There were no windows, so it was sweltering hot inside, a toilet at one end, a tiny sink in the middle, and a shower at the other end - all on a slant so that any water ran to the shower end! This was a few years ago now, and there are several different types of accommodation to choose from now (which are probably far more modern), as well as camping facilities. I popped back to the shop later on, for some provisions and some postcards and saw a dolphin swimming in the same place I had been paddling only an hour earlier.
There was a bar selling meals on the complex; so, I headed off for a drink and a meal (which came in a box) whilst listening to some music. After the best night’s sleep and not waking up until 7.15am; I hurried to the pier end of the beach, where there were already lots of people by the water’s edge and the dolphins were already having their daily treats. I needed to be earlier tomorrow!
The dolphins aren't actually fed, they are just given small fish as a treat rather than a meal. They swim in from about a mile out, (only if they feel like it), just to interact with human beings. It really was the most fascinating sight.
The water was as calm as a mirror, the sun was just coming up; and 2 of the dolphins, Nicky and Surprise had bought their babies in to the shore. The little ones were so cute, only about 18 inches long, swimming around their mothers. No-one was allowed to be in the water when these babies were about, in case they frightened them — luckily, I had the best spot to see them on the pier. Afterwards I went back for a coffee and some breakfast, before taking myself a walk up the beach, towards the red dunes of Red Cliff Bay; and was surprised that there was hardly anyone about.
The tide was a long way out and the only people I saw, were paddling knee deep about half a mile out — it was so shallow. I felt so relaxed, it was the most perfect place. After a couple of hours, I went back for some lunch; only to return to the resort beach in the afternoon to have a swim in the clearest waters you could ever imagine.
I stayed in the shade for the rest of the day, on the patio area relaxing and reading; and booked myself on a boat trip — an evening cruise on a catamaran, hopefully to see dugongs in a few days’ time! The whole resort seemed to be in bed by about 9pm - it was such a laid-back place. I rose early next morning, as I wanted to be down on the beach before the crowds and the dolphins arrived! But even at 7am there were some people there already there.
It was an amazing sight, at least ten or twelve dolphins together with their babies and grand babies came in to have a look who was on the beach. The sea was so very calm again, the dolphins hardly made a ripple at all, only the newborn calf made a splash. I took some fantastic photographs, hundreds of them - then deleted ninety percent. At 10 o’clock I was collected by a minibus, to go out for a day trip sightseeing the local area. We passed a lagoon near Denham which is full of poisonous rock fish, a pity because it looked so inviting. Then we toured around Denham, the only town in the vicinity; with a church made from compressed shell blocks and it had a font that was actually a huge shell.
There was a lovely beach front with remains of a pier that was wrecked by a cyclone - and lots of fishing and pearling boats. The next stop was Eagle Bluff, to have a cliff top walk; you could see for miles from here. There were normally hundreds of sharks swimming down below, but the tide was too low, and we didn't see any.
The water changed colour from a bright blue to a dark green – this was where the seagrass began (the staple diet of dugongs). The views up there were spectacular - it was just a pity that the tide was out.
There was a family of eagles in a nest high up in a tree — quite a rare sight apparently. The furthest stop was Hamelin Pool telegraph station where we were told about the history of the place, before having lunch and an ice-cream; this was the main place where wool was shipped out from in 1800s. There was also a quarry closeby where the shell blocks were cut from (to build houses over 100 years ago); it is a protected area now and blocks can only be cut to repair existing buildings.
The temperature here was so hot, it was as if the heat was radiating off these bleached shell blocks. Then we walked down towards the ocean to see the stromatolites — black living rocks in the sea — stretching over a hundred kilometres up the coast. Stromatolites are living fossils and the oldest living lifeforms on our planet; they are incredibly important - as they breathe oxygen into the atmosphere.
There are only two well-developed marine Stromatolite areas in the world, one in the Bahamas and the other here at Hamelin Pool. We walked along a z-shaped pier to avoid walking on them – they are so precious and protected. Next stop was Shell Beach, where there was no sand at all, the beach is just made up of millions of shells. The white heat reflecting off these shells was immense, and you could hardly open your eyes because it was so bright.
The final stop was Ocean Park - home to tanks of local fish, turtles, sea snakes and of course sharks; Shark Bay and is home to more sharks than anywhere else in the world.
When we arrived back at the resort, I decided to have a dip in the pool (all the days’ shark talk had put me off swimming the ocean!), it was the coldest swimming pool ever but so refreshing. It was dinner and an early night after an exhausting day out. Next morning, I got up to see the dolphins come in to shore again - you just don't want to miss them.
There was more playing about and splashing this morning, and I couldn't help thinking that there were too many humans on the beach watching; I felt happier being a bit further away on the pier. Once they had gone back out into the deep ocean, I decided to walk the opposite way today, along the beach into the wilderness.
The dunes were still red sand and rocks, and the beach was pure white. The tide was out, and I walked so far out to reach the sea, over warm shallow waters. The puddles were so hot and full of crabs and colourful shells – you aren’t allowed to pick any though as it is a protected area.
After lunch I went to the closest beach (only about 30 yards from my unit) and just had to be in the water - as it was so hot. I was happy paddling and lazing about in the shallows, it was just great; but when I sat back on the beach to dry, I saw a huge sting ray only about 6 feet away, it was at least 3 feet across and 8 feet long moving slowly across the seabed —just where I had been! That was so scary. I don't think anyone else saw it, no-one else seemed to see anything. I felt like I was the only person watching the ocean — looking out for things. After a few hours in the shade and a little sleep, it was time for my boat trip. I went down to the pier, but my excitement turned into disappointment — it was cancelled as there was a problem with the sails!
So, I went a stroll down and sat on the pier for an hour, enjoying the last of the sun. It was there, that I had the most fabulous experience - at least half a dozen turtles were playing around the pier, bobbing up and down; they were so close to where I was sitting and stayed on the surface of the water for so long that I could really get a good look at them. It was a wonderful end to the day; my last evening at this incredible place – I couldn’t believe how much I had seen.
I just had to get up early again the next morning and see the dolphins one more time — it was my last chance to see them. I stood on the pier as before, and other people had noticed that it was a good place to stand now, so it was getting a bit busy.
I felt sad to
be leaving this place — it was so very special, but I think I had, had long
enough there. Some people only stay a few hours or overnight, so I was very
privileged to have stayed a few days. The tide was going out and the sun was
hotting up. This was the end of my restful "beach holiday", it had
been the most memorable few days - in this most heavenly, virtually unknown
place on earth.
For more information on visiting Monkey Mia (it has probably
changed a bit since I went) – here is the link :-
https://parks.dpaw.wa.gov.au/park/monkey-mia
Thank you for taking time to follow my adventures,
