Shark Bay

Campground: Hamelin Station Stay
Facilities: Toilet, Fire-pits, Camp kitchen, Showers, Potable water, Dining area, BBQ.
Good stuff: Really well maintained beautifully run outback homestead. Amazing sunsets and sunrises. One of our favourite campsites so far.
Not so good stuff: Can get noisy and hectic with families and not really close to anywhere apart from the stromatolites
Price: $12 per adult per night

There are number of things to do in Shark Bay… Our issue was that we turned up while the effects of Cyclone Olwyn were still ongoing, which meant that there were an unbearable number of flies. Luckily our set up routine is streamlined and our mossie room is well and truly holding its own; letting fifty flies in rather than hundreds. To be honest this is one of the most unpleasant experiences of the trip so far… Flies were literally being inhaled, accidently eaten, squished in your eyeballs and smushed in your ears. Rock hard ground and flies in the eyes don’t make a good time for hammering in your tent pegs either. We would have had fly head nets but this was not a normal occurrence at this time of year- the worst in 6-30 years depending on who you talk to! SODS LAW.

The main building with camp kitchen and dining area at Hamelin Station Stay

Interesting garden decorations.

Unpleasant as it was, you can’t travel best part of 13000km and hide away in the tent- although we felt like doing that at some points… The stromatolites was our must do item as we have both known about the famous stromatolites at Shark Bay since our uni days.

And on your left you will see some stromatolites...

Now for a closer look, stromatolites mixed in with microbial mats.

Kyle is super happy to finally see these things!

Every person who has visited Shark Bay raved about Monkey Mia. Upon arrival, we were stumped by a rather expensive day fee of $8.50 per person. It was cool seeing the dolphins (and there up to 3 feedings per days) and the area is rather nice but we were somewhat underwhelmed by the experience. It would be great if you had kids but the vast other stretches of free coastline are just as stunning. Maybe we have missed the point somewhere…

Mother and Calf that you may get a chance of feeding if you are one of the lucky ones.

The colours of North West WA.

Our handiest tip from the fly experience is: get up well before sunrise so you can pack up the tent before the flies come out! Then hide in the car…