Monkey Mia
Trip Start
Jul 26, 2006
1
48
90
Trip End
May 25, 2009
Where I stayed
Denham, Australia
Thursday, December 21, 2006
MONKEY MIA DOLPHIN RESORT
(20 December 2006 to 29 December 2006)
We arrived at the azure waters of shark bay which is an untouched holiday destination famous for its World Heritage listing and unique ecological system of stromatolites (Hamelin Pool), sea grasses, marine life and rare endangered species including ten percent of the world's dugong population.
Geographically located on the most western point of Western Australia, this area comprises of pristine bays, lagoons, island the largest natural harbour between Perth and Broome.
It was inscribed as a World Heritage listed area in 1991. The aboriginal name for Shark Bay is "Gathaagudu" meaning "two bays". The aboriginals in this area are descendants of the Malgana tribe. They of course are the traditional owners of Shark Bay area and an area which extends from Exmouth in the north to Dongara in the South.
The resort is located 28kms by sealed road from Denham. The highlight of any stay here is the daily visit of the dolphins. These dolphins have been visiting the beach for more than forty years. They are wild, native to the area and visit of their own accord up to three times per day all year round. Amazingly,they are the most reliable frequently visited wild dolphins in the world, making Monkey Mia a national iconic destination.
The Dolphins frolicked a bit around you when you swam in the water. Dolphin feeding is carefully controlled. They are only fed under the supervision of the Department of Conservation and Land Management (CALM). Their aim is to ensure that the dolphins maintain their natural functions and continue to interact with humans. Mornings were feeding times and they usually had three feeds before 9.00am. There was anything from 6-15 dolphins at a time. Nicky one of the oldest and tamest dolphins had a baby on Christmas Day, aptly named "Noel" and brought it into shore to show it off. She really was good around people and always let people have a good look at her. She was very confident, you could just imagine what her baby would be like in years to come. There was actually a few baby dolphins here and some families were three generations.
Peter, Andrea, Riley and Mia arrived with her mother father and sister one Friday for the Christmas period.
On our second day of the resort we visited Francois Peron National Park which you have to explore by 4WD. It is mostly sandy or dirt tracks along coastline. We visited Bottle Bay, Gregories, South Gregories, Herald Bight where Greg lost his thongs and we collected some amazing shells, Big Lagoon and Cattlewell, where we had to recover Ashley and Leanne's vehicle from being bogged in very soft sand.
It was a big day driving and picnicking and we saw some great marine life like Mantarays, Dugongs, Turtles and fish.
Peter went fishing and saw three big tiger sharks eating a turtle, which was quite sad because they are easy prey.
We spent many an evening along the resort shoreline and the Monkey Bar, partaking of a beverage, playing pool and chatting with the locals. The kids loved this area and played soccor or touch football.
We took a Didgeridoo Dreaming tour with a local aboriginal one night who taught us insights into his tribal culture. We had to walk along the Peron Walk Trail on this night time adventure. We spotted echidna tracks and other native animals. We visited a traditional (Gnurra) camp and learned about their customs when travelling to different areas, we listened to dreamtime stories, what food they ate, the sandalwood they burnt in their fires to keep the mosquitos away. He played the didgeridoo with haunting sounds of wild animals.
We also hired paddle boats with the kids and took them out for a paddle. This killed our legs after a while, so we only went for a half an hour. We really wanted to go out in the glass bottom boats, but they were all taken.
Greg went fishing with Peter. Peter and his father-in-law Jeff went out fishing and caught a golden trevalli which would have weighed 16kilo and approx 1 metre long. We cut this up into bite size pieces and put it is beer batter and cooked it, delicious!
Monkey Mia and surrounding areas of Denham and Coastline is another area that we would frequent again.
On our way out of town we went to the Marine Park. On view were rescued or injured sharks, snakes, eels, turtles, fish and rock fish.
