Denham, Shark Bay (WK 6): Part 1.

We are back on our plan with a 10 day stay at Shark Bay Caravan Park in Denham. A long break from travel to see all the attractions, as such a couple of blogs are required to cover our stay.

Part 1: Monkey Mia, Steep Point and the Stromatolites.

We arrived in Denham on 28/04/2021 after a very easy drive. On our 1st morning (29/04/2021) we were up early to visit Monkey Mia. A lot has been written about Monkey Mia, mainly negative, so we went with low expectations. Ok, so it’s a ‘resort’ and you buy an ‘experience’ but you do get to see dolphins close up and if you are lucky enough, get to feed one. In the 80s anyone could hand feed the dolphins but they found out that the pups were dying. Firstly, pups can’t suckle in the shallows where the mothers were being fed and secondly, the mothers didn’t need to catch fish so the pups were not getting taught life skills. Now they get snacks and money is raised for research. We’re glad we did it and had a fun time (even though we didn’t get to feed one 😢).

On our 2nd morning (30/04/2021) we got up even earlier (I thought we were on holiday….) and drove to Steep Point, the most westerly point of Australia. It was mainly on a badly corrugated gravel road with a bit of sand and took 3.5 hours to do 230km. Totally worth it for standing at Steep Point above the Indian Ocean and snorkelling in Shelter Bay where we camped for the night in swags (might just be an occasional thing 🤣). The snorkelling was surprisingly good, some coral but an amazing abundance and variety of fish including my favourite: anemone fish (Nemo).

Sleeping in a swag was a first for me but with the soft sand and good sleeping bags I was a snug as a bug in a rug. Only issue was we left the top open to get good ventilation (protected by flyscreen) and so got woken by the really bright moon. Not complaining…. honest. It was an amazing experience hearing the waves lapping (and trying not to hear anything else!).

The next morning (01/05/2021) we had a tasty breakfast of marmite sandwiches. We are not kitted out for bacon and eggs….or even a cup of tea (the thing I missed most).

After we packed up camp we went for a walk along a sand spit where we spotted two enormous manta ray in the shallows flapping around. Beautiful. Then we drove back through the teeth rattling road, over an amazing sand blow and back to civilisation.

Today (02/05/2021) we got up early to see the Stromatolites of Hamelin Bay at low tide. Unfortunately the board walk was destroyed in the cyclone but we managed to see the three kinds: dead (black and fossilised), dying (orange) and alive (green). They are the oldest living organism on earth. Pretty amazing if you think about it. David Attenborough has been there a few times as has Bill Bryson and now the Tedder’s!

Hamelin bay is very salty and as such only the fragum cockle can survive. They are tiny but there are masses of them with no predators. Their shells pile up, compact like cement into coquina, a soft sandstone rock which early settlers quarried and used as building blocks.