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About
Monkey Mia - Accommodation
- Tours
and what to do - Car
hire & transport - Photos
-
Map
Monkey Mia / Shark Bay
Monkey
Mia is a remote but very popular tourist destination located about
850 km north of Perth in the World Heritage listed Shark Bay Marine
Park.
Here you will find crystal blue waters and kilometres of pristine
white beaches
Main reason for people travelling to this faraway place is the
daily feeding of the bottlenose dolphins, they have been coming
in for a free feed for more than 40 years.
Department of Environment and Conservation rangers carefully supervise
the feeding process, touching the dolphins is not allowed to avoid
any transmission of disease.
There is accommodation here at the Monkey
Mia Dolphin Resort and you have a choice of transport options
from flights to campervans to car hire to extended guided tours
from Perth.
While there are dolphin tours available in various
places around Australia, Monkey Mia is the only place where you
can see them for free, and with a 99.99% chance of seeing them.
With perfect blue skies and sunshine at least 300 days of the year,
Monkey Mia with its miles of unspoilt white sand beaches is a fantastic
holiday destination.
Coming face to face with a wild dolphin is an unforgettable magical
experiencce, and you can do it in comfort here, if you stay in the
Monkey Mia Dolphin Resort
you only need to walk a few steps from your room!
There are other activities and tours available here,
including cruising, sailing, snorkelling, beach camel rides and
four wheel drive tours. And when you are finished with your adventures
you can rest and relax in the resort's spring hot tub and licensed
restaurants.
Mia is the Aboriginal term for home or shelter, while
the Monkey part of the name is allegedly derived from a pearling
boat called Monkey that anchored here in the late 19th century,
during the days when pearling was an industry in the region.
The area was originally used as a base for the pearling and fishing
boats.
In the 1960s a fisherman and his wife began feeding Bottlenose Dolphins
when returning with their catch. As news of the dolphins coming
to shore spread, visitors flocked in to see them.
In 1985 an information centre was built and in 1988 a special state
government grant was provided to develop roads, carparks, and other
facilities.
In November 1990, the waters adjoining Monkey Mia were declared
a Marine Park managed by the Department of Conservation and Land
Management.
In more recent years, attention has been given to the Aboriginal
history of the area and the Aborigines' knowledge of the land, this
resulted in Aboriginal cultural tours being established, where tourists
can get an introduction to this ancient culture.

Dolphins are not the only animals you will see in Monkey Mia, pelicans
are also abundant.
Monkey Mia does not only have dolphins but also a
population of pelicans, these are amazing birds, in the picture
above you can see how they can stretch their beak open sideways,
on our pelicans
page we have a movie of a pelican eating a duck !
Monkey Mia is also home to the Monkey Mia Dolphin research project
where researchers Richard Connor and Rachel Smolker have been studying
the bottle nose dolphins since 1982 and have attracted many scientists
from around the world.
Stromatolites

Stromatolites
Photo by Froggy
The rocks pictured above are found in the Hamelin
Pool Marine Nature Reserve on the way to Monkey Mia.
At first glance they do not look overly exciting and it is not too
long ago that scientists discovered what they actually are, they
include some of the most ancient records of life on Earth!
According to the scientists these stromaltolites are layered accretionary
structures formed in shallow water by the trapping, binding and
cementation of sedimentary grains by biofilms of microorganisms,
especially cyanobacteria (commonly known as blue-green algae).
And because these "rocks" have been doing this pretty
well ever since our planet has existed, about 3.5 billion years
or so, they are like an aeroplane's black box to the scientists.
About 1,250 million years ago they were most abundant and nowadays
they only survive in a few places on earth, mostly in highly saline
environments.

Stromatolites near Monkey Mia
Monkey Mia accommodation
Monkey
Mia Dolphin resort |
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Monkey Mia Dolphin resort
is located in the heart of Shark Bay World Heritage
region of Western Australia, 27 kms from Denham,
overlooking the famous Dolphin Beach. Because of
this, all guests have to pay entrance fees to the
National Park, prior to arriving at the hotel. Motel
style garden villas, metres from the beach. Modern,
air-conditioned units, with sink, fridge, kettle,
crockery and cutlery. There are no cooking facilities
but there is a glass BBQ near by. Bough Shed restaurant
overlooks Dolphin Beach, and opens for breakfast
and dinner. Peron Cafe for casual dining.
More
info and reservations....
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Dolphins in Monkey Mia
Photo by Katrin Holmsten

Standbyrates.com.au
is a great place to shop for some last minute discounts,
find luxury accommodation for the price of budget accommodation
!
Transport
to Monkey Mia

There is a wide choice of car rental companies where
you can book your car or campervan online to be assured of a car
on your arrival in Australia , and most offer one way rentals
between major cities. Monkey Mia is a long way from Darwin or
Perth so you have a long drive ahead of you. Nothing beats the
freedom of having your own car to explore and stop when and where
you want.
Budget
Car Hire needs little introduction, the name says
it all: car hire at Budget Prices with a car hire company with
an international reputation, and this sites makes it even easier
to find yourself a cheap hire car, or anything else with wheels:
trucks,buses, campervans, utes, four wheel drives etc.

Thrifty
Car Rental is another international car hire business
with a reputation for cheap rental cars.

See Monkey Mia and W.A. in a campervan
Western Australia is the perfect place to travel
with a camper van! Wide open roads, countless beautiful spots
to pull over and camp, the freedom to go where and when you want.
Nothing beats finding your own camping spot in the wild, having
a cold beer admiring a wildly coloured outback sunset and a dinner
cooked on the campfire under the magnificent starry skies.
Exploring Australia is a breeze with Cheapa Campa.
With a full range of rental campers & motorhomes at fantastic
prices Cheapa Campa allows you to travel in comfort on any budget.
Budget Backpacker Campervan & Motorhome Rentals.
Hippie Camper is an Australian family owned and run company specialising
in low cost campervan rentals for the budget conscious traveller.
We started in 2006 and currently have four branches on the east
coast of Australia from Cairns to Melbourne.
See our page Campervan
hire in Australia for more useful info and links
on renting a camper or RV in Australia
Flights to Monkey Mia:
Unless you are planning on some very long distance
driving you will have to fly to Monkey Mia, Shark Bay is the nearest
airport.
If you are already in Australia then go to our page
Cheap
Domestic Flights in Australia for a good choice in
cheap domestic airfares to Monkey Mia /Shark Bay.
If you are still in your home country then you will
need to get an international flight to Monkey Mia / Shark Bay,
but international airlines do not fly straight in to Shark Bay
and you have to go via another bigger city in Australia, such
as Perth or Darwin.
To make life easier and save yourself some time
(and probably money too)visit the Cheapo Air website to compare the cheapest airfares!
Feel more comfortable to book your airfares to Monkey
Mia online with a travel business from your own country that you
know and trust?
Then choose your home country here:
   
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