Shark Bay - Denham, Monkey Mia & Francois Peron National Park (By Simon)

Shark Bay is one of the places we had planned to stop for a while and we were all looking forward to relaxing and staying in the one place for more than a night!

Day 1: Denham
After a sleep-in and breakfast we strolled into town along the foreshore and explored the town of Denham, visiting the tourist info centre, playground and beach.

We then headed a few km's out of town to Ocean Park Aquarium. We have been to a lot of good Aquariums around the world (Monterey Bay in California being the best) so I was not expecting much from this little Aquarium in the middle of nowhere... but I was wrong! It was fantastic!

We got up close to all the marine creatures that call Shark Bay home. Turtles, Stingrays, amazing fish of all sizes (including the worlds most venomous and worlds most poisonous fish), sea snakes and sharks! The sharks were awesome, we stood on a bridge over the shark pool while they dangled a fish off the edge... the pictures say it all! Needless to say Nath was thrilled!

Reluctantly leaving the Aquarium we drove to Eagles Bluff where we had lunch on the beach and spotted turtles from the lookout.

Back in Denham we all went for swim out to a pontoon off the beach (I think we were all a little more wary from what we had seen earlier in the day).

Walking back to our camp site we passed the fish cleaning station where 5 guys had just returned from a 5 day fishing charter and were cleaning their catch. Wow! Huge Tuna, Snapper and Spanish Mackerel. When they had finished they had 3 big eskies (US = cooler) full of fillets, each of which needed 4 guys to carry.

Day 2: Monkey Mia
The alarm went off at 6:30am and after a quick breakfast we drove out to Monkey Mia in time for the first "Dolphin Experience" at 7:45am. A crowd had gathered on the beach and at least 11 Dolphins swam up and down the beach waiting for a free feed. It was amazing to get so close to these animals.

 

We stayed on the beach for the morning and attended the next 2 sessions which were equally well attended by the Dolphins. After the last session (they only run a maximum of 3) we headed down the beach and spent the rest of the day on the beach, rented a kayak and swam in the resort pool.

The highlight of the day was late in the afternoon when most other people had left. The Dolphins returned and we were able to paddle out on the kayak and have the Dolphins swim all around us close enough to feel the spray from their blowholes. Amazing finish to a great day.

Day 3: François Peron National Park
After a little shopping to stock up on supplies we headed out to Francois Peron National Park. We first did a self guided tour of the old sheep station (the pastoral lease was bought back by the Government in 1991 who then established the National Park) which was very interesting.

We then reduced the air pressure in our tyres to about 20psi and ventured out onto the very sandy tracks on our way to Cape Peron. The tracks were definitely 4WD only and we only managed a top speed of about 40kph through the deep sand. It was a long trek but well worth it. Cape Peron is visually stunning, bright red cliffs set against equally bright blue sky, white sandy beaches and turquoise water.

We took the short hike up to the very tip of the cape then drove back to a little beach we had seen on the way up (Bottle Bay) where we had lunch on the tailgate followed by a swim and snorkel.

After a relaxing afternoon on the beach (including some homework for the kids... ie: times tables using sea shells) we headed back down the sandy tracks. Once back at the sheep station we jumped in the Artesian Hot Tub (water from a 540m bore bubbles into a round tank at about 40 deg. C) which was a great way to finish the day.

Day 4: Monkey Mia and François Peron National Park (again)
Thursday was our last day at Denham so we gave the kids the choice of what they wanted to do. They all agreed to go to Monkey Mia again to see the Dolphins.

The Dolphins did not come into the beach for quite a while with only 1 or 2 Dolphins at the first session but by the second and third it seemed like the whole family had returned. The experience was pretty much the same as the 1st day we had come to Monkey Mia except that both Sarah and I were chosen to feed the Dolphins which was very cool.

A strong wind was blowing cross shore at Monkey Mia so we decided to head back to Francois Peron National Park and visit Big Lagoon which we hadn't seen the day before. More deep sandy tracks, red, blue and turquoise scenery and a relaxing lunch and afternoon fishing in Big Lagoon (no success with the fishing).

As the wind died down late afternoon we drove back to Monkey Mia to watch the sun go down and the kids went for a swim in the ocean and resort pool.