dolly1

hi we are going to Monkey Mia-WA has anyone been & what did you make of it- any tips that you can pass on
Thanks
Dolly XX

Simone

Well, first of all, you're going to Shark Bay area, which has Denham, Shell Beach(all little shells, no sand), the stromolites thingys, and oh yeah... Monkey Mia
And probably even more stuff I've forgotten.

To get into Monkey Mia, it costs about 9 dollars or so. Go early (8 am), because the dolphins always come mainly in the morning.
There's also an information thing, and you can do a small walk trail.

You can also take a boat tour, so you can see more dolphins, and turtles and dugongs too(we took a really short tour, and only saw a few dolphins, we saw more at the beach)
tours are of course expensive though.

I'd reccomend staying in Denham, probably a bit cheaper. We stayed at a motel/youth hostel 5(! argh!) years ago.

Are you driving up there from Perth?

Have fun!

p.s. hope you don't think you can swim with the dolphins, or even pat them, can't do it anymore. Some people get to give them fish though. And I got to stand in the water and hold the fish bucket (tactic: chat with the ranger in between when the dolphins aren't there )

SunshineGirl

We were there a few weeks ago.

We were asked not to put sunscreen on our legs as it would come off in the water and affect the dolphins.

For the first time in ages, the dolphins did not appear because of a low tide (post tsunami). It had been quite windy so we thought nothing of it.

Later it turned out that one of our party had been seriously sunburnt and could not walk easily for a few days.

Please, be warned, wear trousers or similar until you get in the water.

Enjoy the dolphins!

Perthforme

If you want to go in the natural hot tubs the road to it is 4WD only !
The shotover boat trip at monkey mia was good.
not much shade so yes mind the sun
You should love it we did will defo go again.

possoms

Hi I agree with Simone, once you are inside there is only one hotel (well there was when I was there) and it is expensive, plus the food is expensive and not much to do in the evening, we also stayed at a motel in Denham got a pub and stuff, plus I had a reiki massage at the hairdressers there which was fab cost $5.

The Katamaran (sos if spelt that wrong) is great to spot dolphins and other marine life.

We saw quite a few dolphins with babies and the pelicans on the beach are brilliant, also a beautiful walk around the bay.

You'll have a great time

and the stromolites are definatley worth seeing really weird things

owieb

Just got back today; after a few days in Denham and a few days in Coral Bay.

Monkey Mia is very overrated, doing something like Rockingham Dolphins (http://www.dolphins.com.au/) will get you a much better "dolphin" experience if that is what you are after.

We stayed at www.denhamvillas.com which were pretty good. Clean, tidy and not too expensive. Not much goes down in Denham though, very quiet place.

BTW Denham is a fantastic kite surfing spot!

wargod

As i recall many, many moons ago there was a load of static caravans there, all very 'liberal' too, but i agree with the above - very overrated (or was when i was there !)

owleywoodcat

We had a great time there - I agree the Shotover catamaran trip is great - the dugongs were cute as well as the dolphins! And the skipper is a real character - he also does an 'astronomy on the beach' talk at night where among other things, we learned to navigate by the Southern Cross!

Bella3

Hi,
We're going to Coral Bay at the end of April. Driving up from Perth, staying in Kalbarri and then up to CB. Where did you stay in CB - I know there's not much choice - only 3 options. Would be interested in what you thought and whether it may be better to stay in Exmouth.
Did you go to Kalbarri?
Thanks for any info.

owieb

Personally I don't like Coral Bay, much prefer the Cape Range/Exmouth, but we were going there for a friends wedding. It is a beautiful spot though and worth a couple of days stay.

Worth noting that all the water in Coral Bay comes from a well so is salty. You can't drink it or use it for cooking. Most of the accomodation has filtered water available for drinking, but all your showering/washing will be in salt water!

We stayed at the Peoples Caravan Park in one of their huts they have. It was really nice, brand new, air con etc. We were going to camp, but having a baby with us it just wasn't practical.

The backpackers is good bet for accomodation, cheap and a brand new building.

Exmouth has much more choice in the way of accomodation and the reef is way more spectacular than Coral Bay.

Ialibu

Hi
Attached are several pix I have taken whilst cruising around WA. They should give you an idea of what places look like from other than ground level

JayDeee

The road to the Hot tubs is not 4WD only it is an unsealed road, the road after the homestead and hot tubs is 4wd only and I would recommend not taking this road unless you are an experianced 4WDer I and many others I know have got stuck.. Saying that right now the sand on the unsealed road to the hot tubs is loose and I would make sure the car you are in has a pretty high clearance as the pile of sand between the 2 tyre tracks is pretty high at the moment.

I am currently sitting in the Backpackers in Denham (BAy Lodge) great place and fairly cheap, go for the motel rooms if you want a bit of luxury or if you dont mind backpacking it then go for the normal backpackers rooms (john and Kirsty are the owners and they are from Birmingham and a really really nice couple)

As others have said Denham is realy the place to stay, Monkey Mia is a tourist resort and a bit boring, it is 29k's from Denham to Monkey Mia.

The Dolphin feeding is not all it is cracked up to be, I am being dragged out there 2moro at 8am to see them because I am with the mother and her bloke but you get to see tham just aswell on the boat rips, We are booked on the Shotover 2moro afternoon a 2.5 hr boat trip costs 59 per person so pretty good value.

when you turn off fhe highway at the overlander roadhouse the 1st lace to go to is the Stramatolites and hamlin pool, I would recommend goin into the small museum there it only costs $5 and has a few interesting things abou the old telegraph station and has a strmatolite in a tank so you can actually see the oxygen goin off it, you need to ask in the cafe for the tour.

Next is shell beach, pretty much what it says but if you get it to yourself which is quite common it is pretty nice.

Eagle Bluff is a must, there is a boardwalk and you get to see sharks come right under it.

Between Denham and Monkey Mia is Frances Peron National park (this is where the hot tubs and homestead are) there i also a lagoon called Little lagoon, the water is beautifull but if you are goin to paddle make sure you have thongs or betyter still reef walkers on as stonefish are pretty common especially on the far side where the creek runs from the ocean to feed the lagoon.

I love it up here but my sister (who pannics if she is nowhere near a gucci shop or macdonnalds) hates it.

Each to there own I suppose but if you wanna see the reality of how sparcely populated Australia is then this is the place.

Have fun
Kala

PS I notice none of you who have been up here recently stopped in Geraldton. Come on guys honestly Gero is a great place to stop on your travels, I hear the Foreshore Backpackers has a really nice Owner

SunshineGirl

Actually, we did, but only briefly. All I can remember now is the yellow submarine

JayDeee

Ok then forgiven, you were only 200 meters from my house, should have popped in for a cuppa.

Kala

SunshineGirl

I'll remember next time!