Tourism: Shark Bay...A marine wonderland

Shark Bay is a large, shallow inlet located at the Westernmost point in Australia. In 1629, Dutch explorer Francois Pelsaert called this desert area "a bare and cursed country, devoid of grass.":

Today, over 120,000 people flock to Shark Bay annually.So remarkable are the attractions of this remote region that it was placed on the World Heritage list in 1991. Shark Bay contains the largest and most diverse sea-grass meadows in the world.

The sea grasses which are actually flowering plants, support a dizzying array of marine life. True to its name, Shark Bay hosts a large number of Sharks of more than a dozen species. These include the fearsome tiger shark and the gigantic whale shark.

see photos below

Sharks share these waters with dolphins, exposing the myths that where you find dolphins you will not find sharks. Researchers have found that about 70 percent of dolphins in this area bear marks from Shark attacks. Also, thousands of humpback whales stop at Shark Bay to rest on their annual migration South and a good number of turtles arrive each year to lay eggs on the beaches.

However, the greatest attractions of Shark Bay are the bottlenosed dolphins of Monkey Mia; a beach area on the edge of Denham Penissula. Monkey Mia is one of the few places in the world where wild dolphins regularly approach shore to interact and play with humans. Dolphins often with their young, visit Monkey Mia beach most mornings. Crowds of excited visitors await their arrival and play with them, some even take pictures with them. Its really so interesting and fun!