Shark Bay – warm wind, doplhins, raw living

From Geraldton we take a 4 hour drive to Shark Bay, Denham and Monkey Mia. Within one hour the temparature rises by an amazing 10 degrees from 21 C to 31 C. In this remote part of the world, one of 800 World Heritage Sites around the globe, nature is overwhelming in its purity.

Shell\’s beach

a carpet of millions of white shells

Sienna with her nature\’s art project \”lonely tree with shells\”

Sienna with her nature’s art project “lonely tree with shells”.

We drive the 126 km to Denham, pretty much at the end of the road. It feels a little like being at the end of the world, so raw, strong colours all around you, the smell of salt and seagrass dominates. It all reminds me a bit of Patagonia and the “end of the world” town Punta Arenas, although the weather is of course quite different, with Patagonia aiming for highs of 10-15 C in summer! Denham was pretty much at 29 C day and night.

At sunset we arrive at the Little Lagoon, kiters’ paradise: you can drive right to the beach of the almost circular Little Lagoon with beautiful shallow warm turquoise water, a nice Southerly breeze of 20-25 knots, white sandy beaches and only 2-3 kiters.
When the sun went down it felt like kiting into the sun. After every turn back the sun painted the sky, the clouds and the water in more intense glowing colours while the moon came up on the other side. It feels like being part of nature, flying over the water in the warm wind while the water splashes off the board.

the perfect end of a beautiful day

Our life up here is simple and full of little joys. Like good food.

crabs all over

During the day we hang out at the Little Lagoon with a great crowd of people from Sweden, France and Holland and enjoy the great kiting until our lips are broken from the sun and the salty water. I also had a good session right in front of Denham’s main beachfront street in Shark Bay. I was up just a little bit quicker here after a fall, just thinking of the hundreds of sharks. The locals assured me that every single one of them is very well fed, but you never know…
For many sessions at the lagoon we had the whole lagoon to ourselves.

Kiting paradise with flat turquoise warm water….

Kite in the sky

all alone…

One day Robinson wanted to go kiting and we tried the piggy back ride, inspired by Richard Branson carrying his daughter while kitesurfing at his private Caribbean Necker Island.

I love it!

faster, Daddy, faster!!!!

Then it was playtime on the surfboards:

We could not believe our luck, every single night we were rewarded with a sunset session. Every moment offered new colours, new food for the soul… Here are some impressions from these sessions:

Monkey Mia is 25 km East of Denham and famous for its dolphins. They have been coming right to the beach for over 60 years, mothers with their babies, to take a fishy snack (only a quarter of what they eat each day) and play with the visitors.

Dolphin with his baby coming over for a snack

Robinson feeding a dolphin

Sienna was not too keen on making her hands dirty with dead fish or risking to dip her stylish pants into the water….

Sienna waiting in style for the dolphins

It is best to come just before 8 am, and you will likely see the dolphins more than once before 9 or 10. It is amazing to see them this close in the wild…

The bay below Eagle Bluff

About 10% of the world’s Dugong (sea cows) population feeds in the vast seagrass beds in these bays.

When you experience the beauty of nature here, it is hard to believe, how we continue to destroy nature. What is wrong in our world, that so many other things are more important than preserving our beautiful natural environment which is critical for our survival? We need to feel nature again, get close to it, respect it, and protect it.

Categories: Australia Westcoast