Shark Bay Archives - Travel nut

Dirk Hartog Island

Dirk Hartog Island is Western Australia’s largest island. It is located 2km off shore from Steep Point – Australian mainland most westerly point in Shark Bay. The island got its name after a Dutch sea captain Dirk Hartog, who was the first European to step on the island in 1616. Current “Return to 1616” ambitious project aims to restore ecological balance on Dirk Hartog Island to its pristine condition prior to European settlement in 1616. First settlers brought goats and sheep with them which caused damage to native plants and reduction of native fauna. Since the start of the project in 2007 these domestic animals have been removed and are now replaced with native species. Feral goats still occur in large numbers in Edel Land National Park.

How to get there

Dirk Hartog Island is accessible only by boat from Denham, light aircraft or a private barge from Steep Point. Most people, especially the 4WD enthusiasts, choose a barge to get there. Barge transfer is an experience by itself and is quite iconic. 2km long journey across South Passage from Shelter Bay in Edel Land National Park takes about 15 minutes. The barge can accommodate only one vehicle.

Vehicle on the barge travelling to Dirk Hartog Island

What is the condition of the track like

Driving on Dirk Hartog Island is an adventure by itself. At nearly 80km long and 15km wide, travelling on the island is a bit of a challenge due to heavy corrugation. It might take a full day to travel from bottom to the top of the island. Should you be driving fast there? Here are our thoughts.

There are also some rocky sections, slopes and tilts and few sand dunes to cross. You will definitely need a reliable 4WD for this kind of terrain.

Camping at the national park

It is possible to camp on Dirk Hartog Island either in the Homestead or in the national park. There are only 20 sites at the Homestead and 20 at the national park. Bookings are essential through Dirk Hartog Island Homestead site. There are no facilities at the national park and you would need to bring everything with you and take your rubbish when you leave. No dogs and no campfires are allowed at the national park.

We stayed at Notch Point in the national park, which is the closest to the barge arrival site campground on Dirk Hartog Island. It is located on the eastern side of the island, which is protected from strong winds and has clear calm waters. There are only 2 spots allocated for camping either side of a beach, which gives everyone plenty of space and privacy (just as we like it!). You pay premium for such a privilege to camp in this pristine idealistic place. We spent 4 epic days and nights at Notch Point, fully enjoying ourselves, despite millions of flies 😊. They are part of camping, anyway, and we just treat them as such.

Like anywhere on the island, you can enjoy fishing, swimming and snorkeling, or just relaxing by the beach.

The sunsets and sunrises are some of the best we’ve ever seen.

Dirk Hartog Island Homestead

A lot of people choose to stay at Dirk Hartog Island Homestead sites where there are more facilities (including hot showers) and also onsite bar and merchandise shop. It is a great place for those who want a bit more social life in this remote location. When people gather at the bar every afternoon, it feels like a little village with all the buzz going on.

We stayed for 1 night at the Homestead, so we didn’t need to travel far for the barge transfer in the morning.

The best thing about the Homestead for us was free use of paddle boards and kayaks, which we enjoyed very much. We managed to see sea snakes, sting rays, star fishes and tropical fishes.

What to see on the island

Blowholes

The first thing you might like to see as you arrive on the island is blowholes. We found the blowholes in Edel Land National Park more impressive (meaning, louder and bigger). But these are still worth a visit, even if to appreciate the beauty of the landscape. Those massive Zuytdorp Cliffs rising out of mighty ocean are awesome. They are a visual example of fault scarp, which is actually the longest in Australia. Blowholes are on the western side of the island, 3km off the main track, on the way to Dirk Hartog Island Homestead.

Surf Point

Surf Point might need a bit more time than just a quick visit. It is a sanctuary zone in the south of Dirk Hartog Island. It is a 15km drive from Cape Ransonnet (the barge arrival site), on the western side. Surf Point is a great place to go snorkeling (assuming you don’t mind sharing the space with sharks 😊). The sharks, even though being small and relatively harmless, do scare many people away. But honestly, sharks looked more scared of us, then we of them 😊.

We spent a few hours at Surf Point, walking along on the beach and going for short dips. You can find some corals, giant clams and tropical fishes in the rocky pools on the exposed side of Surf Point.

Drone helped us to see a turtle too and many more sharks 😊.

Sharks in shallow waters of Dirk Hartog Island

Sand dunes

There are a few sand dunes on Dirk Hartog Island that you will need to cross if you travel north, past Homestead. They are actually fun to drive. We stopped for a closer look to appreciate the beauty of the landscape, shaped by nature. Kids had lots of fun going up and down the slopes. If you want to take nice pictures, going there in the afternoon, when the sun is a bit lower, is probably best.

Sandy Point

During our last trip we managed to venture only as far north as Sandy Point (having not realized how slow the driving on the island is ☹ but all the more the reason to visit the island again). Sandy Point is roughly in the middle of the island on the eastern side. It is a nice sandy beach, with a sanctuary zone on one side and fishing area somewhere further away. You can camp at Sandy Point or just come for a day visit.

Wildlife on Dirk Hartog Island

There is plenty of marine life to see in the water and on the shore. Apart from dolphins, sharks, seasnakes, sea turtles pictured above, sea stars were also in abundance.

There are many crabs too, which you can see at night and daytime alike.

While it is easy to spot marine life, animals on land are much harder to find. We were lucky to spot Banded hare-wallaby and Rufous hare-wallaby.

Rufous hare-wallaby at Dirk Hartog Island

Banded hare-wallaby at Dirk Hartog Island

But this guy didn’t need looking for. This Monitor Lizard literally occupied our camping spot at the Homestead :).

And here is us, satisfied with the trip (although annoyed with the flies) and eager to return back to explore the rest of the island.

Edel Land and Steep Point

Zuytdorp cliffs at Thunder Bay in Edel Land National Park

Edel Land is a proposed National Park in the Shark Bay region of Western Australia. It is the place where the most westerly point of Australian mainland is located – Steep Point. Useless Loop Road traverses the national park, leading to a number of attractions, which include the salt mine at the entrance, the blowholes on the coast, lookouts and historical sites. The park is also home to impressive 200 meter high Zuytdorp Cliffs. It is a very remote area with no amenities, but quite well visited by 4WD enthusiasts as the corrugation of the track indicates. Camping is allowed at a few places within Edel Land national park. Even though, it is considered “proposed” national park, normal park entry fees apply.

Useless Loop Road

Useless Loop Road is a dirt road (after initial 30 or so km sealed) with an unusual and interesting name! The name Useless Loop was bestowed by a French explorer Louis de Freycinet who couldn’t get to an inviting harbour, believing it was blocked by a sandbar.

Originally a mining road leading to a company town with the same name servicing a salt mine, it is nowadays mostly known as the road to access the most westerly point of Australian mainland. It is quite wide but corrugated track. Stopping every now and again allowed us to appreciate the beauty of this seemingly unattractive track.

Driving further on Useless Loop Road, through Edel Land National Park, we had to stop a few times to access the track conditions. The track goes up and down almost continuously (which at some point caused us a collision with another vehicle that was driving too fast).

And once we nearly drove over the massive drop but luckily stopped just in time. This was at Dicko’s Lookout, which was quite nice.

The last 30km before Steep Point is the most challenging track, as it involves climbing sand dunes up and down. Check our reels about the track if you would like to see how it looks like.

Edel Land National Park attractions

Salt mine

Useless Loop Salt mine is the first attraction in Edel Land National Park and is right at the entrance.

The salt mine looks absolutely amazing from the ground with its surreal colour of the water. It looks even better from above.

Zuytdorp Cliffs

Zuytdorp Cliffs are very spectacular rock formations, rising up to 200 meters and stretching for nearly 200km along the western coast of Australia, between Kalbarri and Steep Point. Their sheer height, as well as almost continuous length is very impressive. The cliffs were named after the Dutch ship, the Zuytdorp, that was wrecked against the base of the cliffs in 18th century.

Coastal Zuytdorp Cliffs at Edel Land National Park

It is possible to drive along the coastal cliffs. Sometimes (on the western side from False Entrance going north) the track is uncomfortably too close to the 200-meter cliff drop and it makes you feel like you are driving into the ocean 😊.

Blowholes

You can find blowholes in two locations in Edel Land National Park – at False Entrance and in Thunder Bay. Blowholes occur when there are holes in the coastal cliffs. When massive waves hit the coast, the force pushes air and sea mist out through those holes. When the force is strong enough, water comes out too a few meters high and sometimes pieces of debris, like stones, seaweed, etc.

Big hole in the coastal cliffs at Edel Land National Park

Blowholes at False Entrance

If the sight of the water and air surging out from the ground was impressive, the sound was deafening and scary for kids. Check our short video of blowholes on Tiktok here.

The sighting of a sea turtle was a bonus 😊.

Blowholes at Thunder Bay were equally impressive.

Camping at Edel Land Natinal Park

Camping at Edel Land National Park is available at 3 locations – False Entrance, Shelter Bay and Steep Point. The sites need to be booked online via ParkstayWA.

False Entrance

False Entrance camp is in the south of Edel Land National Park. It is 50km from Steep Point, the most westerly point of Australian mainland. The place got its name after many early seafarers mistook it for the South Passage, the entrance to Shark Bay, between Dirk Hartog Island and Steep Point. There is a camping area with just 5 spots scattered around at False Entrance. We were on site 1, which was quite far away from all other sites. There are no facilities and you would need to bury human waste and take all other rubbish with you. False Entrance is very beautiful but quite rough and windy. The camp is on the beach, tucked behind the dunes.

Camping at False Entrance in Edel Land National Park

Sand dunes at False Entrance in Edel Land National Park

The beach is very beautiful but with huge waves we couldn’t swim there. Instead, we enjoyed stunning sunsets and sunrises and short walks around, including climbing up and down the dunes.

Steep Point

Steep Point is the most westerly point of Australian mainland and an iconic place. Unfortunately, it was very windy for a drone to fly to take pictures from above when we visited this place. The position of the sun wasn’t helping either in taking a decent selfie. We were there in the afternoon, which is not the best time for photos with that iconic sign, so plan for a morning visit.

Steep Point campground facilities are very basic but there are drop toilets there.

Shelter Bay

A lot of people who go to Dirk Hartog Island, choose to camp at Shelter Bay in Edel Land NP the night before they take the barge, especially if they book the transfer for an early hour. Shelter Bay was beautiful, although, contrary to its name, it was windy. We were at DHI barge site and could see vehicles lining up to catch a barge, even before the sunrise, with the first transfer at 6.30am. Sites at Shelter Bay need to be booked online beforehand. Facilities include a few drop toilets scattered around. It is quite a large campground with plenty of space and right on the beach.

Francois Peron National Park

Francois Peron National Park in the Shark Bay region along Australia’s Coral Coast is one of our favourite travel destinations. It is a combination of immense raw beauty of red dirt deserts, clear blue ocean waters and white sands, rough 4WD tracks and unique flora and fauna that makes this place so attractive and captivating.

Bush camping at Francois Peron National Park

There are 5 bush campgrounds at Francois Peron National Park – South Gregories, Gregories, Bottle Bay, Herald Bight and Big Lagoon. There are only basic facilities (toilets and some campgrounds have a bbq). Bookings do not apply to these campgrounds but camping fees ($15 per night per person) and park entry fees do apply. The campgrounds are close to the beach. There is no drinking water and no rubbish bins. There is a large skip bin at the entrance to the park where you inflate and deflate the tyres. You would need a 4WD to get to those campgrounds.

The magic of Bottle Bay

We stayed at Bottle Bay campground in 2022 and absolutely loved our 4 day stay there!

Nature painted pictures – patterns, colours and shapes uniquely crafted by wind, rain and time.

Big Lagoon

We love Francois Peron Naitonal Park and visited it several times. Every time we endevour to stay at different campgrounds. So, in 2024 after our trip to Dirk Hartog Island we stayed at Big Lagoon.

Big Lagoon is a series of small picturesque lagoons closer to the entrance to Francois Peron National Park. You have a boat or a kayak, you can explore the little lagoons within the sanctuary zone (you can access it only by boat).

Another way to enjoy this lovely place is to have a picnic or camp there. Big Lagoon campground is the biggest within Francois Peron National Park. There are 19 sites of various sizes and layout but all are quite big. Some sites are drive through. Others have metal raised platforms for tents and swags. All sites can accommodate minimum 2 vehicles. Facilities include 4 long drop well maintained toilets in various parts of the campground. There is also adjacent day use picnic area with sheltered decking, tables, BBQs. Sites are non-bookable. You can fish from the shores of the lagoon near the campground.

Wildlife

Every morning during our stay at Bottle Bay in Francois Peron National Park we woke up to find interesting tracks on the ground and sand. Every time we tried to figure out who made those numerous tracks. We understood that the animals were nocturnal, hiding during the day, making it a complete mystery for us. We saw a beetle, but whom do the rest of the tracks belong to?

We were lucky to see an echidna in Shark Bay (thanks to our older son, Ariel who has spotted it from the car). That is how close we managed to get to echidna before it went hiding.

While we didn’t see many animals (but many tracks), we saw plenty of birds in Shark Bay. Pied Cormorant is quite abundant there, as is the Pacific gull, which is a very large gull native to the coasts of Australia. Interestingly, the young pacific gull is mottled-brown-greyish in colour.

Sunrise and sunset

When there is not enough sun during the day, looking at the pictures of sunrise helps to boost the mood. 😍

Sunset is equally therapeutic.

Birridas

Birridas (also spelled Birrada) or gypsum claypans were once saline lakes, between sand dunes, isolated from the ocean. A drop in sea level dried the lakes turning them into what is now known as birridas. There are large areas of birridas in Francois Peron National Park, of different shapes and sizes (with the massive patch between Herald Bight and Gregories). Birridas look quite magnificent (probably, even more so from high above). They are among Shark Bay’s visual attractions, contributing to the region’s World Heritage status through the listing in ‘superlative natural phenomena’ category. Birridas look like they are hard but actually are soft and very unstable, so driving over them is extremely risky and prohibited.

How we got bogged in Francois Peron National Park

We managed to tow our caravan safely to Bottle Bay and nearly all the way back, past the most soft and corrugated parts of the road between Cattle Well and Gregories. But just before Kraskoe’s Tank, we got bogged! There was a lot of ongoing traffic on our way back from Bottle Bay and in an attempt to consider others, we moved to the side of the track, giving way to ongoing traffic. It seems that the sand was blown into a pile and it happened to be very soft there. So we got bogged, blocking the track to a couple of vehicles behind us and ahead of us.

However, being bogged is not a big issue. It is always a test to how the vehicle can handle the terrain, as well as the test of our 4WD skills. As we were a bit more experienced now, we managed to dig ourselves (thanks to Maxtrax) within 10 minutes.

Kids did a good job of helping out too!

Cape Peron

Cape Peron is at the tip of Francois Peron National Park. It is a place of contrasting colours, where red sandstone meets whitish sand and blue ocean waters. This place is abundant in wildlife. For lovers of hiking, there is Wanamalu trail, 1.5km one way, which connects Cape Peron and Skipjack Point.

Interestingly, Wanamalu is Aboriginal name for Cormorants, which can be seen gathering in crowds along the water’s edge at Cape Peron.

Skipjack Point

1,5km from Cape Peron is Skipjack Point, which is another beautiful place to admire. It has a viewing platform from which you can view marine wildlife in abundance. Every time we visit it, we see lots of wildlife swimming in the ocean. Here you can also get the same contrasting view of red, iron rich earth and blue waters, which is truly mesmerizing.

Interestingly, the red sand of Peron Peninsula is mostly made of quartz with a layer of iron oxide. It is the same compound that forms when irons rusts, giving the sand its unique colour. The deposits of these red sand are thought to be at least 250,000 years old. While this red sandstone underlies most of Shark Bay, it is exposed only on Peron Peninsula.

Do you know that Skipjack Point is named after golden trevally, which are locally known as “skipjacks” and are abundant in those waters?

How to get to Francois Peron National Park

Francois Peron National Park is on the Peron Penninsular in Shark Bay region, 726km north of Perth, along Australia’s Coral Coast. You can assess the park off the Monkia Mia Road, 4km east of Denham. The road to the Peron Heritage Precinct is unsealed by you can get there with a 2WD. The rest of the park is 4WD only.

Eagle Bluff coastal camp in Shark Bay

Sunset at Eagle Bluff in Shark Bay — Amazing colours of the sunset at Eagle Bluff

Eagle Bluff is a coastal camp site south of Denham in Shark Bay area along Australia’s Coral Coast. It can be accessed via a 2WD dirt road (turn off from Shark Bay Road). The campsite is not marked, so you can choose your own spot. There are only 4 cars that can camp there at any one time. To camp there you must have a permit, which costs $15 per night (in 2022), obtainable from Shark Bay Visitor Centre in Denham. There are no facilities and you can only stay there for 24 hours. We think that to pay $15 for the right to camp on the edge of the cliff in the pristine place in the World Heritage listed area is well worth it. The best things for us were the amazing sunset and sunrise.

Camping at Eagle Bluff in Shark Bay — The changing colours of the setting sun, painting the sky in red, yellow and orange

Walking on the beach early in the morning is not only an exercise but also an opportunity to spot something interesting.

Unlike other campgrounds near Denham in Shark Bay, Eagle Bluff has a small lagoon, which makes a perfect sunrise photo.

Only a couple of kilometers away from the Eagle Bluff camp site is a viewing platform from which you can enjoy the vast views of the ocean and spot some marine life.

View from the viewing platform at Eagle Bluff

Shell Beach in Shark Bay

Shell beach, 45km from Denham, in Shark Bay along Australia’s Coral Coast, is one of only a handful of places on earth where the beach is made entirely from shells. Stretching for over 70km, it is a very picturesque place, attracting many visitors. After 4000 years of being washed onto the beach, the shells have reached the depth of 9 meters in some places. Interestingly, the shells are from just one type of animal, the Shark Bay cockle, making the beach truly unique. The waters in Shell Beach are highly saline and shallow. This contributes to the incredible abundance of this marine species in just one place.

In early 1900s, before Shark Bay got its World Heritage listing, locals quarried and used shells for construction of buildings in nearby Denham.

We have visited Shell Beach a few times. During our last visit in April 2022 we noticed upgrades to the beach with the toilets and undercover picnic areas. The waters were too shallow for swimming at that time but kids had great fun playing with the shells.

Kid playing with shells at Shell Beach in Shark Bay — Playing with the sand at Shell Beach in Shark Bay

Interestingly, just a few kilometers away from Shell Beach, but on the opposite side, there is a mini version of Shell Beach, where we camped in April. The place is Goulet Bluff.

Shell beach at Goulet Bluff and Stromatolites

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.

Turn off to Goulet Bluff from Shark Bay Road

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.😊.

Kids were happy to receive their Easter chocolates

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).

How to get there

What is the condition of the track like

Camping at the national park

Dirk Hartog Island Homestead

What to see on the island

Blowholes

Surf Point

Sand dunes

Sandy Point

Wildlife on Dirk Hartog Island

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Useless Loop Road

Edel Land National Park attractions

Salt mine

Zuytdorp Cliffs

Blowholes

Camping at Edel Land Natinal Park

False Entrance

Steep Point

Shelter Bay

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Bush camping at Francois Peron National Park

The magic of Bottle Bay

Big Lagoon

Wildlife

Birridas

How we got bogged in Francois Peron National Park

Cape Peron

Skipjack Point

How to get to Francois Peron National Park

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Beautiful, diverse and unique Shark Bay

Getting there

Shell beach at Goulet Bluff

Camping experience at Goulet Bluff

Stromatolites at Hamelin Pool

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