Shark Bay

A definite highlight of the trip so far, the billions of flies didn’t stop us from loving Shark Bay for its rugged landscape, spectacular colours and abundant sea life! Our upcoming Ningaloo campground booking meant we only had one full day to explore the Francois Peron National Park, but we certainly made the most of our time here on Gutharraguda and Wulyibidi land.

First stop was a swim in the 40 degree artesian hot spring tub at Peron Heritage Centre. From there we lowered our tyre pressure and hit the sandy and incredibly bumpy 4WD trails on our way up to Cape Peron, the northern most point of the National Park and Skipjack Point. From the lookout points we marvelled groups of manta rays, a turtle and a number of sharks as they swam by.

After watching the sharks in their element, what better next stop than a spot of snorkelling along the reef around the point at Gregories. And that’s exactly what we did. We didn’t see sharks, but lots of fish and the kids even watched a sting ray close up as it swam past. Our last stop was Herald Bight where the sand on the 4WD track was so soft that we managed to get ourselves bogged! With some digging and well placed max tracks we were thankfully out in no time and back bumping down the track.

On our way of Shark Bay the next morning we stopped at Shell Beach, 15km long and 1km wide, twice as salty as the open ocean and home to more cockles than anywhere else in the world. Fragum Cockles are one of the few species able to thrive in this salty desert and the resulting lack of predators has allowed the cockles to grow to a population of billions. With a lifespan of just one to two years, Shell Beach is covered in dead cockle shells.Read more