When planning a holiday in Australia, most people are immediately drawn to the famous tourist destinations on the East Coast, such as Sydney, the Gold Coast and the magnificent Barrier Reef.  However, although it is less well known and has fewer visitors, the West Coast of Australia has some real jewels to explore and enjoy.

It’s a big place Western Australia, and the distances between places are vast.  But if you like the feeling of truly getting away from it all, and getting in touch with the wilderness around you, it is the place for you.   If you like wildlife, hiking through the bush, lazing on the beach, diving and relaxing evenings gazing at the stars, then Monkey Mia could be the place for you.

Monkey Mia is some 800km north of Perth and is situated in the Shark Bay Marine Park which is a World Heritage Site.   The nearest town to Monkey Mia is Denham, which is about 25km away and has a population of around 600.  The majority of tourists get to Monkey Mia by road and you do not require a 4WD as a good sealed road connects to the resort from the North West Coastal Highway.  If you wish to use public transport you can catch the Greyhound coach, which services Monkey Mia a couple of days a week, and links with all the major towns on the coast of Western Australia.  If you prefer the package tour option, many tours originating in Perth include Monkey Mia in their itinerary.  These tours range from very basic Backpacker tours to the more upmarket, luxurious choices.   There is also an airport situated just outside the resort, which has flights to and from Perth and Geraldton several times a week, operated by Skywest.

So where did the name Monkey Mia come from? Mia is the word in the local Aboriginal language for home or shelter, but there is some controversy as to where the Monkey came from.   Pearling used to be one of the major industries in the area, and it is thought that the name came from a pearling boat that anchored in the vicinity in the late 19^th century.  There are also arguments that the name came from the pet monkeys owned by the Malay pearlers who camped in the area or that ‘monkey’ was a colloquialism for ‘sheep’.

Monkey Mia has a Mediterranean climate and enjoys around 320 days of sunshine a year.  The sea is crystal clear and is fringed with pristine, white beaches of crushed shells.  The terrain is very rugged, with vivid red soil and awash with wildflowers in the season. A very wide range of wildlife can be seen in and around Monkey Mia.  In the sea you can spot turtles, sharks, dugongs, humpback whales, right whales, sea snakes, orcas, Minke whales and pilot whales.  There are many rare bird species and some, such as the Dirk Hartog Black & White Fairy Wren, can only be found in Shark Bay.

The Monkey Mia Dolphin Resort is the only accommodation available, but it offers a very wide range of accommodation from backpacker to four star luxury.  What is more, it is all only a stone’s throw from the beach and some of it is absolute beachfront.  The resort also caters for campers and caravans.  The Monkey Mia Dolphin Resort offers fine dining at the Boughshed Restaurant and there is another restaurant, two bars, a cafe, laundry facilities and an internet cafe. There is also a gift shop and small supermarket to buy postcards, beach equipment, souvenirs and food essentials.

The resort has a swimming pool and an Artesian Spring Hot Tub and also has many activities on offer.  You can swim and snorkel off the beaches, hire dinghies, kayaks and paddle boats, go out on a fishing charter for tuna, mackerel, cod and whiting or play beach volleyball and mini golf.  If you want to explore beneath the waves without having to dive, take a trip on the glass bottomed boats.  Immediately surrounding Monkey Mia there are some great bush walks, which are marked out, where you can explore the countryside and get a real feel for its isolated beauty. Just make sure you wear sensible walking boots, and take a hat, a map and plenty of water!

Of course what draws most people to visit Monkey Mia is the opportunity to interact with the dolphins.  Around eight dolphins visit the beach every day and there is controlled feeding at 8am and again at 1pm.  The dolphins are very reliable for wild animals, as they have only missed four days in five years. You could be one of the lucky people who are selected to offer a fish to the dolphins! Or you could even volunteer on the Dolphin Interaction Program, and combine work and gaining valuable experience in conservation and tourism with a totally unforgettable experience with the dolphins.

Monkey Mia is the top behavioural research site in the world for bottlenose dolphins and Tiger Sharks and attracts some of the best animal behavioural researchers.  Many documentaries have also been filmed here, including some for National Geographic and the Discovery Channel.

If you want to find out more about the local wildlife, attend one of the evening talks given by one of Monkey Mia’s animal behavioural research scientists.

Camel Safaris – see the beauties of Monkey Mia from the back of a camel.  Take a Majestic Camel Ride along the shoreline on a gentle, well trained, happy camel.  The owners pride themselves on being ‘camel whisperers’ and do not use nose pegs or force on the camels.

Aboriginal Experiences - Join the Aboriginal Cultural Walk to learn about the local Malgana people and their use of bush tucker and bush medicine.   When the night falls, follow the Didgeridoo Dreaming Aboriginal Experience and walk beneath the stars along the Peron Walk Trail, learning about Aboriginal customs, stories and bush tucker

Cruises – Shark Bay is very aptly named after the many Tiger Sharks that call it home.  Join a Tiger Shark Cruise and watch the seasonal Tiger Shark tagging

4WD Tours – if you want to go off road and experience the natural landscape including sand dunes, the bush and miles of tracks, join a Driving You Wild 4WD tour

Black Pearl Farm – visit the only floating Black Pearl Farm in Australia that is open to visitors.

Scenic Flight – take a stunning scenic flight over Shark Bay and see its pristine beauty from the air.

Cape Peron National Park – this marine park attracts divers from all over the world.  It is reputed to have the best drift dive on the coast of Western Australia.

Ocean Park – at this Aquiculture Farm come face-to-face with sharks, stingrays, turtles, stone fish and sea snakes!

Secrets of Shark Bay – images and photographs depicting the history of Shark Bay and its wildlife taken from old albums and the collections of tour guides, researchers and photographers

Dolphin Interpretive Centre in Denham – this is a new museum dedicated to Monkey Mia and its dolphins

Stromatolites – visit the stromatolites, which are the oldest living organisms on our planet.  They are rock-like structures that have been built up by microbes, and are believed to have created the oxygen in our atmosphere, which led to other forms of life developing and leaving the oceans.  The Shark Bay stromatolites are around 2,000 to 3,000 years old and can be found at Hamelin Pool