Monkey Mia is famous the world over for its wild bottlenose dolphins coming to shore for a touch of interaction with humans and to get hand fed at the same time. It is located at Shark Bay, some 833 kilometers north of Perth. The distance may be a bit far, but we think that those who visit Perth without going to Monkey Mia are missing out on something unique. Here are our observations on Monkey Mia.

The Monkey Mia Dolphin Resort
There is only one resort in the area and it is called the Monkey Mia Dolphin Resort. A few types of accomodation are available: Garden Villas, Beachfront Villas, Park Homes and Canvas Condos. The Park Homes are basically caravans with cooking facilities. They are quite good value for money as each unit has a double bed and 4 bunk beds....just nice for a couple or a small family.

Outside the Park Home unit.
The "ablutions" are just behind the unit.
Guests however have to use a common bathroom area(called "ablutions") as the caravans do not have bathrooms inside. This is not a problem for those who need not go to the toilet every five minutes, and anyway the toilet facilities are just nearby. There are lots of toilets and bathrooms at the "ablutions" area.

Inside the Park Home unit.

The unit is actually quite comfortable. It sleeps 6 people. There is a dressing table, another small dining table, a small overhead TV , a sink, a fridge and cooking facilities. You have to supply your own linen but we rented ours from the resort for a few dollars.

The Canvas Condos are basically huge tents(sleeps 6 people) and cost the same as Park Homes. Being tents, they are not as cosy as the rest, but may suit young travellers planning to have a party. We took a peek into the Villas and they did not seem to be much bigger than the Park Homes. They are located nearer to the restaurant though. We booked our Park Home unit through Feature Tours in Perth, and when we arrived in Monkey Mia, they gave us a 10% discount off their listed price. Now isn't that better than booking through the internet?

Food
Somehow this topic keeps cropping up in all my writings. Okay, there is a restaurant in the resort and it serves good food. The food can be long in arriving though. Be prepared to be patient. There is also a cafe in the resort that sells fast food stuff like fish and chips, sandwiches etc. It seems to be pretty well patronised although there is not a wide variety of food choices. Their prices are similar to that of your average cafe in Perth. Next to the cafe is a shop which sells vegetables, foodstuff and bread. It is possible to buy stuff from the shop and then do some cooking yourself if there are cooking facilities in your unit.

Barbeque pits are available for resort guests. Many guests go out fishing and catch Shark Bay snappers. Guests are required to gut the fish on the beach before taking them back to their rooms. Many of them would lop off the heads of the fish and throw them in the sea. What a waste! There are many among us who think that the head is the best part of the fish. Now the Shark Bay snapper has a decent size head with quite thick fleshy lips very suitable for cooking curry fish head. While walking along the beach some fishermen offered the snapper heads to us but we had to decline....we did not bring curry powder along! Curry fish head, if properly prepared, is a lip-smacking delicacy. Who would have thought we would need curry powder in Monkey Mia?

The dolphins
The dolphins are fed twice in the morning by the rangers. The rangers have names for them and can recognise them from their fin profiles. Every dolphin has a slightly different fin profile from each other. Some of the dolphins can recognise the ranger and would swim alongside as the ranger walks in the shallows. The feeding is very controlled. Selected guests are given a fish and taught to hold it in a certain way before offering it to a dolphin.

Mikaell feeding a dolphin with a fish.

Forget about the tourist pamplets which show guests stroking the dolphins. The rangers would not allow guests to swim in the dolphins' feeding area, much less touch them.

Eileen posing with a dolphin named Nicki

Do dolphins approach swimmers? Sometimes they do. We were swimming along another part of the beach one afternoon and I was surrounded by a big shoal of little fishes. Suddenly, the whole shoal darted to and fro in a frenzied panic, and the next moment a dolphin appeared beside me, turned its head slightly and looked me in the eye. It then carried on hunting for fish.

Snorkelling
There is really nothing much to see while snorkelling...no corals nor colourful reef fishes...lots of silvery fishes though. We were unable to go out very far from the shore as the area has sharks. Many of the dolphins have scars inflicted by sharks on them. Don't believe the myth that if there are dolphins, there are no sharks. Dolphins are no match for the sharks, and a lone shark is sufficient to scatter a pod of dolphins.

Cruising on the yacht, the "Shotover"

The yacht with a name "Shotover".

This is an experience not to be missed. The resort sells cruises to see various stuff like sunsets, dolphins and dugongs.

A little kid lying face down on the nylon netting deck and staring down into the waves below.

Not to be missed is the "dugong cruise". Dugongs are very shy creatures and only by taking the cruise will resort guests have a chance of seeing them. The yacht is really neat, and when we were siting on the deck and sailing along by only wind power, it felt really good. If you want really good pictures of dugongs while cruising, you will need a camera with a zoom lens.

Following a dugong with her calf. It is difficult to get a good shot. Took a lot of shots with a 110mm lens and this is the clearest we got.

We used a camera with a 110mm lens and you can see the result in the picture here. Obviously a much stronger zoom lens is recommended.

Wild goats
Wild goats? Well, the peninsula on which Monkey Mia is located is overrun by wild goats. These are not native Australian animals but were introduced by settlers. Over the years, many of them escaped into to bush and they "went forth and multiplied". Now, because of their voratious appetite for vegetation and water, they have become a threat to the local native wildlife.

A feral billy goat staring at us as we walked by. We were just 5 minutes' walk away from the resort.

The Australian government has tried hard to trap them and remove them from the peninsula without much success. While trekking outside the Monkey Mia Resort, we saw lots of these creatures running wild and fornicating with abandon.

Another billy goat with very young nanny goat humping away in the bush. Apparently, our presence did not cramp their style. Our sympathies to the Australian government.

Other creatures which are also pests on the peninsula are feral cats(domestic cats gone wild) and foxes. Poisoning programmes on the peninsula have had some success in eradicating these creatures.

Birds
There are an assortment of wild fowl near the resort. Pelicans here can be quite brave and will move to wihin a few feet of humans.

Pelicans taking a drink from the lawn sprinkler near the rangers' office.

Smaller wild fowl can be seen under the jetty near where the yacht is moored. They can be see catching fish in the sea throughout the day.

Overall impression
We loved the resort, we loved the dolphins, and we loved the yacht cruises. Despite staying 4 nights at the resort, we were not bored at all. This is a place for families and honeymooners. The beach was not crowded at all most of the time. On Saturday, we saw tourist buses bringing in tourists to watch the dolphins in the morning and taking them out in the same afternoon. Otherwise, the beach was relatively quiet. Sure, there were kids running around, but the resort covers quite a big area and one doesn't get the crowded feeling. It was quiet, but happening. We would definitely recommend taking a trip to Monkey Mia to anyone intent on visiting Perth.

You can get more info by visiting the resort's website at The Monkey Mia Dolphin Resort.

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