Shark Bay

The Shire of Shark Bay is made up of two peninsulas on the western most point of Australia. It covers an area of 25,000 square kilometres, the main town of Denham, Francois Peron National Park, a mining site operation and Useless Loop, two roadhouses and several stations. The main town Denham is situated on the Peron Peninsula above the 26th parallel, 832 kilometres north of Perth, an approximate eight hour drive by road or three hour flight by light aircraft. On 14 December, 1991 Shark Bay was inscribed into the World Heritage List in recognition of the area's outstanding natural features. It is only one of eleven places in the world to satisfy all four natural criteria. Initially, the area can appear barren, almost semi desert country. However, when you look closer, you will discover that the land and seas are teeming with life, some species being unique to the area. There are many fragmented habitats, including plants which are rare or restricted in there occurrence and some not yet described or named. The waters of the Bay contain one of the most varied collections of sea grasses in the world. Shark Bay's most popular and spectacular tourist attraction is Monkey Mia, where the dolphins come in to shore to meet and interact with people. These are not trained animals performing tricks but rather wild dolphins who, after years of love and understanding, come to be fed of their own accord. In the early days, fishermen would often toss fish overboard to the congregating dolphins who followed them to shore. In 1964, a woman from one of the makeshift fishing camps hand fed one of the dolphins from a boat. The dolphin took the fish gracefully and continued to come back for more over the following days. Other dolphins followed his lead and the pattern of hand feeding was established.