Beautiful, diverse and unique Shark Bay
Deciding to camp free meant that we had no bookings (for some places) and could change our plans as we went along. This was our fifth or sixth trip to Exmouth (having been there so many times I lost count 😊) and we always stopped at Denham on the way there. This time I decided that it was enough to see the same place, however, the nostalgia about the Shark Bay area was there. After all, it is such a unique place that has always been drawing my attention. It is not a surprise. Listed as a world heritage place since 1991, Shark Bay satisfies all four of the criteria for the natural heritage values:
- Natural beauty, which includes diversity of landscapes (peninsulas, islands and bays), rare, unique and abundant flora and fauna.
- Earth’s evolutionary history represented by famous Hamelin Pool Stromatolites.
- Ecological processes seen in the largest seagrass meadow in the world with the highest species diversity assembled in one place.
- Shark Bay is home to many endangered plants and animals that still survive.
The Shark Bay World Heritage Area covers 2.2 million hectares and has a coastline stretching for 1500 kilometres. About 65 percent is marine waters. It is located 800km north of Perth on Australia’s most westerly point.
Getting there
Camping in wilderness, in the unique place looked very attractive to us. So, we called the Shark Bay Tourist Centre in Denham and bought a permission (it costs $15 per night per vehicle) to camp in the national park. By the way, you can only camp there for one night but it was all we needed, as we had to be in Exmouth by a certain date.
Turning off from Shark Bay Road onto the dirt road, we drove for 2 km or so. When we nearly arrived the destination according to google map app, we approached a fork, wondering where to go from there. Expecting to see campers or at least some visible traces of the campground and not willing to tow a caravan to a place where we could not turn around, I left the car and walked for a while up the hill. Still no sign of people or campground – just a beautiful and peaceful view of the bay.
A car with two young girls stopped nearby. Hoping they might give us a clue, we asked them for directions to the campground. It turned out they were just looking around and knew not more than we did, however, they were helpful by driving ahead and then coming back telling us that the place ahead looked like a camping spot!
Shell beach at Goulet Bluff
So, we found our perfect camping spot right on the beach. Shell beach. It is not the famous Shell Beach you can read about in the travelling brochure. Goulet Bluff is 10 km away from Shell Beach and it is on the opposite side of the Shark Baby Road when you drive to Denham. Being in proximity to Shell Beach, Goulet Bluff is basically a continuation of it (it is said that Shell Beach stretches for 120 kilometres), so it shares the same unique look and feel of it. Shell Beach (and so is Goulet Bluff as part of it) is one of only a handful of places on earth where shells replace beach sand in such a picturesque way. Interestingly, the shells are from just one type of animal, the Shark Bay cockle, making the beach truly unique.
Camping experience at Goulet Bluff
We set up our caravan and awning. Kids helped with the pegs (the younger one, Ilusha, was mostly playing with them 😊) and then we all had a relaxing afternoon.
Swimming in very warm bay water, playing with the shells, taking pictures, reading or writing – each one of us was occupied diffferently.
As the day was nearing to its end, we noticed the tidal waters getting closer to our caravan. Luckily, we set up quite a distance from the shore line and were separated by a small reef from the ocean which formed a little lagoon. By the time, the tide was at its highest, what was a little lagoon merged with the rest of the oceanic waters and shore line separating the lagoon and the ocean was no longer visible.
Our (the only) neighbour a few hundred meters away was not so lucky. He had to interrupt his fishing in order to move the caravan closer to us, as the water got to the wheels of the caravan.
The following day was Easter Sunday, which the kids very much looked forward to. In fact, easter chocolate eggs and bunnies was what they were looking forward to.😊.
A couple of last pictures and it is time to move on.
Stromatolites at Hamelin Pool
On the way out we visited Hamelin Pool Stromatolites. Shark Bay is one of only two places in the world where living marine stromatolites exist (the other place being the Bahamas). The living fossils that build Stromatolites in the highly saline and very warm waters of Hamelin Pool show us what marine ecosystems would have looked like 3 billion years ago. This is one of the reasons for Shark Bay’s World Heritage status.
Not only this place is beautiful and unique, it is also full of history. There are a number of interpretive signs along the boardwalk where you can read and learn how stromatolites were formed. It is definitely a place worth a visit (it is better to visit early in the morning as it gets very hot there especially in warmer months).
