For a long time I have wanted to visit Monkey Mia. A remote area between Geraldton & Canarvon on the coast in the Shark Bay World Heritage Area, the traditional home of the Nhanda & Malgana people.
My initial impression was a reminder of Italian shores, with its warm clean air and turquoise calm waters. But a bottle of Toohey's extra dry in the outdoor bar next to a blonde dreadlocked grommet certainly brought me back to Australia!
I'd heard Monkey Mia was a beautiful place, where bottlenose dolphins freely visit each day for a feed, and you can get an experience that you don't get in any marine park. The dolphins are wild so there are no guarantees, but they've been coming in to shore almost daily since the 60's (some of the regulars are in their 30's), and upon my visit they kept up their routine.
The morning ritual is not a lonely one. Everyone lines up on the grassed area near the beach, then upon instruction steps on to the sand. Then slowly you make your way in to the water. The sound of 50 or so people jumping in the water all at once is apparently a bit loud for the poor creatures, so it's a slow and steady walk.
In their own time they make their way close to shore, and only a few certain dolphins get fed each day. The resort staff have buckets of fish and choose a couple of people to make their way deeper to actually do the feeding.
It's a pretty nice way to get the day started, but I have to say, I enjoyed the next bit more! I booked a ride on the 'Shotover' to head out in to Shark Bay for a closer look at the wildlife.
View from the Shotover looking back in to Monkey Mia
There's no guarantees as to what you'll see, but dugong, turtle, shark, sea snake and of course dolphin are on the wish list. Apparently it's a bit too cold at the moment for dugong, so no luck there, and no sea snake either.
We DID however see turtles AND a tiger shark. Zoom in, trust me, that's a deadly fin right there!!
The experience of being so far from shore and the water being this incredible clear colour and these creatures swimming freely all around was just amazing. The boats engine turned off, and complete silence apart from the dolphins popping up for air. Just beautiful.
Another impressive sight on our journey was Australia's largest dedicated sail training tall ship the Leeuwin II.
Katie, a girl I'd got to know in my days here was heading out the next morning to sail for 6 days back to Perth. She suffers from motion sickness. I wish her well!
The Monkey Mia Dolphin Resort itself is a pretty interesting place. It used to be just a caravan park but has transformed over the years and offers all sorts of accommodation.
Monkey Mia Dolphin Resort
There's no free camping in the area, so it's this place or nothing! I decided to skip the beachfront villa's and instead took the unpowered camp site option. All glamour! I have to say, not incredibly impressed. It's basically a very small gravelled car park which when it rains (which it did) floods, and to get to the toilets/laundry you have to stomp through the rough.
If you do stay here at any point, don't be too put off because it is bearable, but just. There is no space between vans, and nocturnal noises from my neighbours kept me awake and disturbed for more hours than I'd hoped. Oh, and girls, the toilet on the far right has a redback spider living in it, and the one the far left is home to a big black furry hunstman. Just warning you to keep an on eye on them so you don't get bitten on the bum!
I did actually have something unexpected happen while I stayed here. As I looked in the window of the massage place, a sign was put up 'Massage Therapist Wanted'. I laughed because it had literally been put up in front of my face. The therapist came out and asked if I did massage. I told her my story and she was incredibly keen to sign me up. The work however wouldn't start for a couple of weeks, and would go on for a month. For reasons that will become clearer later on in my journey, I am actually on a bit of a deadline and had to turn it down. Will be very happy if this kind of opportunity springs up again later in my trip though!
Monkey Mia was certainly an experience I won't forget, and would certainly recommend you visit if you ever get the chance. More than just dolphins, there are camel rides on the beach, the pearl farm, and of course...sharks!!
The view on my last night from another trip out on the boat was pretty special, so I'll leave you with that. Good times :-)
Leeuwin II
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