Monkey Mia

Denham was only a few hours on the bus from Exmouth. We had different drivers to before, and they directed us to two seats at the back of the bus. The aircon wasn't working so they had had to open the hatches on the roof. As a result, cold wind was blowing through constantly and I was bloody freezing. We pulled up at the Overlander Roadhouse just after nine thirty and, before we were even off of the bus, our bags were being collected by our taxi driver.

In order to get to Monkey Mia itself, we had a long drive down a very straight road past Denham and down towards the tip of Shark Bay. Dennis was our driver, he was very loud and told very inappropriate jokes. Even when I didn't laugh. He was racist, sexist, ageist, you name it. But at least it wasn't quiet in the car, and he did blast out some good music.

We arrived at the hostel very late, with Dennis showing us right to our rooms. It was pitch black so we stumbled around to find empty beds. Luckily, we both had bottom bunks, and they were already made. I got into my pyjamas and climbed straight into bed. It was so comfortable. Oh my god. The mattress was actually thick and I felt like I was melting into it. Bliss. I set my alarm ready for the dolphins in the morning.

~

I was awake early, desperate to get to the beach and see some dolphins. Monkey Mia Resort was built to accommodate the millions of tourists that flocked to see the bottlenose dolphins that lived in the area. It was the only location in Australia where dolphins visited the shore daily, not just seasonally. Scientists had been able to study the family since 1982!

I tried to check us in before heading to the jetty, but was unsuccessful. Too early. Turns out I wad also too early for the dolphins, the ranger talk and feeding wasn't until eight o'clock. I bumped into M on the way back to wake her up and we decided to wait on the boardwalk until the talks. It was a stunning view, even without the promise of my favourite animals. The sea was a deep turquoise, and so clear. The pelicans and sea gulls kept me amused while we waited.

Come eight o'clock, a huge crowd had gathered and we began to see dolphins appearing. There was one very curious one that swam along below the jetty, coming close to the shore. We were then invited on to the beach to see the family up close and learn more about them. The dolphins were obviously very comfortable with the rangers, swimming around their ankles as they explained the feeding habits and social activity they had observed. It was fascinating stuff.

We were soon told to enter the water, standing at ankle-depth only, and meet Surprise, Puck and Kia. The rangers explained the problems with over-feeding in the past. The resort will now only feed five of the dolphins, and always weigh the fish. This way, the dolphins still have to learn to hunt and fend for themselves. I was so excited to get the chance to actually feed wild dolphins!

The rangers got us to step out of the water while the programme volunteers brought buckets of fish and chose their own volunteers from the crowd. This could be it. My opportunity to hand feed a dolphin... I wasn't chosen. Oh well. So that the dolphins knew we wouldn't be feeding them anymore, we had to return to the beach at the same time as the - now empty - buckets were rinsed.

The dolphins swam off and we could return within fifteen minutes to try again. We wandered up and down the jetty to peer into the water and gawk at the stunning view out across the bay. It was then time for the next ranger talk. I joined the, thankfully (slightly) smaller, crowd. M watched from the jetty, and different dolphins joined us in the shallows. I still wasn't chosen. What an amazing experience anyway, even just being that close to wild bottlenose was enough for me!

We were finally able to check in, get the Wi-Fi password and visit the shop. Everything was very expensive, but I did treat myself to a magnet, and a blueberry muffin for breakfast. On to the visitors centre, and to look at day tours, I wanted to get out on the water. Fortunately, there was space on a wildlife cruise upon the Shotover (a famous sailing catamaran). I quickly went back to the room to grab my bag and walked back to the jetty to meet the boat with time to spare. I was happy to see a few dolphins still hanging around the bay, I watched them playing in the water as I waited.

The crew soon welcomed us aboard, my flip flops went in a box and I found myself a seat right at the front. There were about ten of us altogether, plus two sailors. Leaving the bay, they asked for volunteers to put the sails up. I decided to just watch, and was amazed to see how quickly we moved once the wind was in the sails. Our aim was to find dugongs, so we were all on the lookout.

I kept confusing sea grass for dorsal fins, but luckily there were beadier-eyed people on board. Dolphins were soon spotted, they were very playful and swam along the bow, catching waves. As we sailed out further, I found a nice spot in the sun on a bean bag and had a mini nap. Bliss. I woke up to stronger winds, away from the shelter of the bay. On the plus side, this did mean the sightings of a few curious turtles popping up here and there.

The crew were so good, bringing around blankets to keep the chill off. I was quite happy without, in my little spot of sunshine. Still no sign of dugongs, and it was time to turn around. The water was so clear that we were able to spot some more dolphins. There was a mum and her calf, who was tiny. The guys told us that she/he was probably learning to swim, as was following mum very very closely. It was adorable to watch.

Back to shore now, I'd be rejoining the crew again for a sunset cruise later. I found Marianne in the shade near the restaurant and ordered myself some chips. It was a very large portion, which I was glad about, I was hungry! I was also happy to find some free cold water, some infused with oranges. Perfect. With my stomach full, I then had a wander along the beach. I didn't think I was allowed to wade where the dolphins had been so stayed out of the water until further along. It had been warmed by the sun and was the perfect temperature.

I enjoyed a pleasant paddle and watched families, couples and friends relaxing in the sunshine. It was such a lovely resort, I was so glad we weren't there in the peak season though, I could imagine it being absolutely rammed. Or maybe this was the joys of the lesser-known West coast... quieter beaches all year round? I'd have to visit again in the future, just to be sure.

I turned around once I was parallel with the hotel carpark and began to walk back along to the right. I went right past the main jetty, past an old jetty, and then found myself completely alone. No-one else had ventured this far, bar a few pelicans. And they just ignored me anyway. I was slightly concerned walking past one big one that was sitting on the beach. Would he attack me? Luckily not. I stopped when I reached the merging tide, didn't want to go too far! All the gradients of colour in the sea looked so inviting. It was like looking through glass; I could see small reefs, sea grass and sand banks out to the horizon.

I didn't want to miss my second cruise, and had a NZ research call to prepare for, so walked back to the room, brushing the sand off of my toes as I went. I grabbed my shoes and a hoody, bought a Magnum and had a quick catch up with M. Back to the Shotover now, it was a bit busier than earlier and luckily I was early enough to get a decent seat. Soon we were off, out into the bay to catch the sunset. There was a bitter wind and I gladly accepted the blanket this time round, I also had my hood up to protect my face from the chill, and was as snug as a bug. It was a small price to pay for a stunning sunset.

Back on dry land, I put my long pyjamas on, I hadn't expected the temperature to drop quite so dramatically. I then had to find somewhere to sit so Ben and I could refine our itinerary. It wouldn't be long now until we'd be exploring New Zealand together. How exciting!

~

I slept well on the really comfy bed, so much so that I didn't even want to get up to go to see the dolphins again. Instead, we had a lazy morning. I had a shower, packed my bags and we checked out. Luckily, or not for her, one of the girls in our dorm had horrific sunburn and was staying in all day. This meant we could leave our bags with her and not worry about needing things throughout the day.

After breakfast, we headed to reception again to use their phone. Neither of us had signal. I had emailed the hostel for our next destination, Kalbarri, but hadn't heard back. Thankfully, that was all confirmed and sorted in no time, Joe sounded very nice and had been about to email me back anyway.

Now we were free to wander down the beach and visit the kayak hire hut. We had both seen the signs the previous day and decided we wanted to give it a go. It wasn't too expensive for half-day hire and it sounded fun. First we slapped some sunscreen on, it was due to be pretty hot that day.

The kayak man was very lovely, renting us some snorkel stuff for free (just in case we had the opportunity). He told us the best route to take and how far we should hope to get in the hire time. With me in the front, and M in the back, we set off on our merry way. We made a pretty good team, paddling in sync and successfully avoiding the sand banks. Sadly, this didn't last long. We were so busy looking at an actual shark (!!!) that we ended up beached.

Sure, it was only a nursing shark, but it was still exciting! He didn't stick around for long. This was probably for the best as I then had to climb out of the kayak, on to very spiky rocky sand and drag M to deeper water. There was no way I was getting back in now. I let her paddle to shore and waded after her, trying not to step too roughly on the stones.

We "parked" our kayak on the shore, feeling the need for a little break. There was one couple and their dogs fishing, but no-one else on the beach or in the water. We both had wet shorts, so left them drying on a piece of driftwood and set off beachcombing. There were so many beautiful shells and stones, of all colours and patterns. I had to use every bit of my self control to not grab an arm-full.

Back to the kayak, we paddled a little further out. It was then that I saw a dark shape moving in the water, rippling along the sand. Seagrass? Shark? Turtle? It was a stingray! I couldn't believe how lucky we had been with all of our wildlife sightings. After meandering around a few more sandbanks and scaring some birds, it was time to turn about and head back. We had been used to the wind helping us along, but we now had to fight against it. We were going so hard and fast that we needed another drinks break back at our beach.

I spotted more, significantly larger, stingrays on our return journey, and another shark. Again, he was gone too quick for me to snap a photo. We paddled right up to the shore and dragged our kayak in to join the others. The hire guy met us at the shack and offered us afternoon hire for free. We needed some food first, but said we'd consider it. We were also absolutely covered in salt. I hadn't realised how enthusiastic we'd been with our paddling... Time for a shower!

We dried off in the sun and ordered a pizza from the cafe. We sat and munched and researched. Neither of us really fancied going back out in the kayak, so we popped by the shack to let the guy know. The beach wasn't too busy so I grabbed my towel and found a spot to lie down. After the exertion of the morning, it was wonderful to just relax and sunbake a little. After ten minutes or so, I noticed a bit of commotion down at the shoreline. A group of people had gathered to watch a small pod of dolphins who had swam up to say hello. So cute. It was the cherry on top of the cake for me.

I was beginning to get a little hungry again, so went to find M. We ordered a large portion of chips to share, hoping we would have time to eat. Our transfer back to the roadhouse was in just less than an hour. We had time to organise ourselves a little while we waited. I wanted to book a few tours for Kalbarri and M was looking at her further travels.

We finally got our chips and had just enough time to eat them before grabbing our bags. We met Mike at reception and were driven back to the Overlander in near silence, a complete contrast to our journey before. We had a few hours wait in what was basically a service station until the bus pulled up. I was glad it was only a short journey to Kalbarri, hopefully still enough time for a nap!