Monkey Mia, Western Australia - Dolphins, Dugongs and Shells Aplenty

The youtube video that prompted this trip to Monkey Mia. 

Driving in from Perth to Denham is a straight 8.5 hrs journey. Hence, the trip needed to be well planned to minimize the time spent on the road. 

Monkey Mia from Denham is short 30 minutes drive. We planned to stay in Denham because more choices of accomodation and food. While at Monkey Mia, you can only stay at Monkey Mia Dolphin Resort and food can only be obtained from The Boughshed, the resort's restaurant. 

So what are things to do a Monkey Mia? None other than dolphin experience, a marine cruise and shell beach. Nothing fancy. Yes, I couldn't agree more.

Monkey Mia Dolphin Experience

The dolphin experience at the Monkey Mia Dolphin Resort will begin at 7.30 am and held at intervals till 12 pm in the afternoon. You will see guests gathered along the beach and that's when you know the dolphin feeding is about to begin. 

You may get a chance to feed the dolphin if you are selected by the guides. The dolphins are fed with 3 fishes per feed. 

And before the last fish the guide will raise the hand to indicate that she is left with one fish. It is highly likely that you do not get a chance to be selected at all. 

The pelicans are the neglected birds here at Monkey Mia. You can still attempt to take pictures with them. But with them being wild and all, please be careful. 

Monkey Mia Wildsights Cruise: Sail with the animals and free sunset cruise

After the Monkey Mia dolphin experience, we hopped on over for our marine safari experience. Our cruise starts at 10 am, which is soon after the first dolphin experience. I remembered gobbling down the hot breakfast after the cold morning at the beach.

The weather forcast for today was not ideal. Clouds are overcast and the skies look gloomy. Drizzles was expected on this cruise. 

Try as they might, the sibling duo that helmed the boat cab could only spot a miserable dugong on this trip. And I only manage to get a glimpse of grey from afar. 

Due to the poor weather conditions, we are asked if we wanted to continue with the sunset cruise or to come again tomorrow. 

Alas, we are the only couple that say we are continuing the cruise today and yes that's because we are leaving in Denham in late afternoon. The sunset cruise that we have booked for is eventually cancelled and apologies is all we gotten. :( So unfortunate.

Morning walk and picnic at Eagle Bluff lookout

This place at Eagle Bluff lookout along Eagle Bluff road is suppose to be the place to be for sightings of sea turtles, rays and sharks. Well, although the sun is up and shining today. We see only the waters. 

The island in front, is Eagle island, once mined for guano (bird droppings).

A great place to carry out the morning breakfast picnic we had on our minds since day 1. And just enjoy the sea view and a cup of coffee.

Shell Beach

Shell beach is a beach located 45 km south-east of Denham. This place is so-named because of the shells from cockles which grows in abundance in the area. The shells over time formed a limestone called coquina. This coquina was previously mined and used for construction of buildings in Denham. An example will be the Old Pearler Restaurant at Denham.

The Shell beach is the only 2 beach in the world covered in shells. 

The cockles are so so tiny. Strangely, at Kalbarri restaurants I see them having shark bay's cockles on the menu but once i'm at monkey mia, I don't see this any where on any menu. Hence, I felt it is a shame that I didn't manage to try the cockles.

It is easy to walk out the beach for many many metres out in the calm bay. The waters are all clear and you can see the floor clearly.

This summed up our time spent at Monkey Mia. Nothing too exxxciting. I think i enjoyed the day trip to Francois Peron much much more. Maybe if the marine safari cruise has more marine animal sightings it may make the trip more enjoyable. On further research, a more rustic experience at Dirk Hartog with a marine safari may be more engaging. It may be a little too late for me but you can consider incorporating it to your itinerary. 

Family with kids will enjoy the dolphin experience as i can imagine the kids going ga-ga over the dolphins. And them being kids, they have a much much higher chance to be selected by the guides to feed the dolphins and you can get so close to the dolphins. 

Francois Peron National Park - My first 4WD experience - All geared up!

Before we start the day proper to Francois Peron, the guide brought us to a place where you can bird watch. He recommend this place for bird watchers. And he pointed out the various birds and names. Not that into birds but Mister is into photographing the birds.  

We are here! 

At the entrypoint at Peron Homestead Precinct. Its here that you need to deflate your tyres before venturing in. From hereon, its all 4WD.

The road leading us to Adventure!

You MUST plan a day trip here. Repeat: You MUST spend a day here.

Its is here that we had our many firsts: 4WD, walking on dunes, seeing marine creatures in the wild

First time in a 4WD. I was expecting it to be bumpy and uncomfortable. But it really isn't, still somewhat like a car ride. 

Walking on the dunes. I keep expecting the sand to crumble and I will fall down the depths below. So far so good! The red dunes are really pretty against the white beach making a striking contrast. 

I am not really sure if there is a trail because we had a guide to follow.  But there is a recommended trail called the Wanamalu Trail. 

Seeing sharks, turtles, rays in the wild! and all at Skip Jack Point. 
Tip: Polarised sunglasses is a definite MUST.







A dead whale beached on the beach but no sharks as it is way above the sand. 

The guide is very familiar with the fauna of the national park and can spot animal trails that you/me will disregard. You can see the trails of the animal passing through the sand. 
Sometimes, it could be just a paw print and the guide can guess what it is. 

 

And we saw a very thorny reptile called the Thorny Devil, its name is so apt and fitting. 

Good bye Francois Peron! It had been a fabulous day!

Kalbarri, Western Australia: An underrated travel destination that has so much to offer

Kalbarri is a resort town about 6 hours drive from Perth. Its was one of the places we visited en-route to Monkey Mia that i fell in love with it.

A small town that seem to have it all. The coastal and inland attractions are all gorgeous. Wildlife is aplenty too. 

The migratory whales swimming along the coast and the daily pelican feedings are some activities to consider.

There are plenty of hiking options from the easy, moderate to the really difficult hikes. All in a day or you can simply do it over a span of days. 

I will love to spend more them here if time is not a constraint. Unfortunately, we plan to spend 1.5 days here. 

Reasons why I so love to return to Kalbarri

1. The OH SO LOVELY hikes

Nature nature nature!!
That's what I am here for and I am rewarded with the best of both worlds here at Kalbarri.
Inland coastal gorges hikes which meanders along the Murchison River. Like a scene right out of the movie, the heart stopping cliff top walks. My legs turned jelly just imagining it and NO I did not attempt it. Not for the faint hearted.

You can choose or better do both coastal and inland nature exploration.

The Coast

Tip: You can start from natural bridge and work your way down Red bluff or vice versa as there is only one straight road in. 

Natural bridge -> island rock -> Eagle gorge -> Pot alley -> Mushroom rock -> Red bluff

Highlights of the coast is the whales that frolick off the coast at Pot alley and the beach access at Eagle gorge. 

Natural bridge and island rock

Very easy and accessible walk. The natural bridge and island rock are quite near each other and is accessible via a board walk.

I was waiting at natural bridge for a bit as this is the place they say I can whale or dophin watch. No such luck today.

If you are really feeling it, you can bring your food here to have a feast. 

Here you can enjoy your cuppa and perfect view. Remember to remove your trash, it will be a shame to leave your rubbish at such a beautiful place. 

Eagle Gorge 

Eagle gorge is simple enough. The real challenge is the beach access walk which has a 1km return walk.

If you think a 1km walk is relatively simple, you are so wrong on this one. Steep rocky terrain. The path down is quite well marked unlike some of the trails I find in Australia where sometimes, you begin to doubt if you are on the wrong trek and walking in dangerous territory.

Two teenagers behind me are really fast and agile, so I decide to let them pass in order for me to not hold up the line. You can see them behind me with this picture. And yes, you need to walk down the steep incline to access the beach.

Here, you can do some fishing too. So laid back and relaxing. 

Produce from the sea: Fresh oysters from the sea. Its may be small but very delicious. That's what I call life. 

Oysters! First time I see them at sea. 

The rest of the time is to enjoy the beach which we walked an hour for. 

Pot Alley

Pot alley is so named by local Lobster fishermen after losing many pots to this hazardous cove. The view south from the cliff top truly captures the rugged beauty of this coastline.  

It is almost late evening when we reached here as we started off with the inland gorges in the morning. With a little time, we spend here to bask in the view. I think this is a great place to see the whales. But if will work better if you have a binoculars to see them. 

We had also checked out the beach trail but well its just a beach and its really secluded. It getting late so we moved on to the next destination.


Mushroom rock and rainbow valley nature trail

The hike down mushroom rock is challenging for me. Though well marked, I find myself struggling a certain sections of the walk. 

Rewarded with this at the end of the climb. 

Making our way back from the mushroom rock with the sun setting and you get really nice elongated silhouettes.  

We watched the sunset near the car park area. Definitely not at the beach as it will be treacherous to make our way back with no daylight.

We also spied some kangaroos fighting amongst themselves from afar. Seem like kangaroos can be sighted most frequent at dusk and dawn.

Red Bluff lookout


Red bluff has the highest elevation of the National Park Cliffs with 100 of soaring cliff face.

On hindsight, this will be a better and more comfortable place to watch the sunset. 


Red bluff to beach trail 
There is also a red bluff to beach trail but since we have already a good time at Eagle gorge beach access we give this a pass.

Inland river gorges

Hawk's head ->  Ross Graham lookout -> Z bend -> Nature's window

Highlight of the inland river gorges is most definitely Nature's window. So it must not be missed!!!

From here you can see the high passes along the river, the beginning of a class 4, 8 km loop marked trail from the Nature's window.

 Our feeble attempt to cross the pass. 

Mister was abit more adventurous, dangling his feet over the edge. While i am always made sure i was at least a foot away from the edge. 

Hawks head

So named after the shape of a rock structure seen from the lookout.

 Does this look like a hawks head? somehow i keep being reminded of a horse instead.

Ross Graham lookout

So named after the headmaster of Kalbarri Primary School. He is a conservationist and a great advocate for the gorges being declared a national park. He died really young at 31 yrs old.

 Lookout over the Murchison river.

Z bend

The view with the gorge that is the middle part of the Z-bend. The Z-bend is a distinctive zig-zag section of the Murchison River. The share is formed by fractures within the red Tumblagooda Sandstone. 

Nature's window

Walk to the Nature's window is considered a Class 3, 1 km walk. Because of the immense popularity of this sight be prepared to wait for photo taking. 

There are several clashes because of some inconsiderate tourists hogged the window for over an hour. Hence, not allowing other travellers the chance to photo taking. We are fortunate that there isn't anyone there when we arrive. But within minutes the place is swarmed. 

2. Whale and pelican watching

 The wild pelicans that came in for feeding every morning between 8.45 am to 9.00 am.

This activity is managed by volunteers. Audience mainly children are invited to feed the pelicans.
Pelican feeding is conducted opposite 96 Grey St

3. Fantastic Great food

Top on the list is none other than Upstairs restaurant. All other food that is worth a mention is also listed below.

Upstairs restaurant

10 Porter St
Shop 3, Kalbarri, Kalbarri National Park
Western Australia 6536, Australia
+61 408 001 084
Thu - Mon 5 pm - 10 pm
Fri - Mon 11 am - 3 pm

The upstairs restaurant is truly a Gem. Serving quality food and superb service.

The restaurant is also adorned with the restaurant owner's work. Outstanding photographs that made us wonder about the stories behind it.The owner shared with us his published work documenting his travels which includes the works showcased in the restaurant.

A very unpretentious but still very up-scale restaurant in a small town. 

We were lucky that we were early as we have no reservations. We keep seeing customers being turned away during dinner. 

Grilled octopus which is smokey and very tender. Love the tomato salad on the side. 

Special of the day. The fish wings using the portion of the snapper where the fins are. I wasn't particularly sure of this dish but after tasting it. I am sold. How can a snapper fin taste like that? The closest description i can find is fish and chips?

Pork ribs that is very well marinated, flavourful and juicy. The meat is so tender that no much effort is required and simply slide of the bones with a gentle tug.

Dessert is tiramisu. 

The tapas and the mains are the ones that blows me away. This place is a must-try at Kalbarri. 


The Gorges Cafe
166 Grey St
Kalbarri, Kalbarri National Park
Western Australia 6536, Australia
+61 410 239 991
Wed - Mon: 7 am to 2 pm

Yummy breakfast to start off the day~ 

The mushrooms with avocado is delicious. The bread is well toasted and mixed with mustrooms and spinach

Coffee is a must to start off the day.

The big breakfast for mister.

Another morning at Gorges Cafe. I must be crazy to order the strawberry milkshake in this cold weather. Size for milkshake is huge.

 Pancakes topped with blueberries and cream. Serving is huge: 4 pcs!!!!

Yummy wraps that taste so good.

Kalbarri Edge Resort Restaurant
22 Porter Street, 
Kalbarri, Kalbarri National Park
Western Australia 6536, Australia
+61 8 9937 0000
Mon - Fri: 7 am to 9 am
Mon - Sat: 6 pm to 8.30 pm
Sat - Sun: 7 am - 9.30 am



We arrived late evening and were famished. Since we are staying at Kalbarri Edge Resort. It is a no brainer where we are having our dinner tonight. 

 Fish is a little dry but still very flavourful.

 Jerk chicken is a very caribbean taste with spices. Meat is a little overcooked.

Dessert to end the day. Nice!

Kalbarri is a place i will recommend to go if you have more than a week to spare and flying to Perth. 

One of the unexplored places that i highly recommend and its relatively short distance from Perth (6 hours drive) make it a very accessible destination in my opinion.  

Several stops you can make en-route to Kalbarri like the Nambung national park where Cervantes (The Pinnacles) and Hutt Lagoon (known as the Pink Lake). 

I can't wait to return again folks! What are you waiting for?