Frommer's Australia from $50 a Day 13th Edition - To Parent Directory

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CHAPTER 9 . PERTH & WESTERN AUSTRALIA
27km (17 miles) past Denham. If you want to break the journey, the Mercure
Inn Geraldton, Brand Highway, Geraldton, WA 6530 (& 08/9921 2455), has
smart, clean motel rooms. Rates are A$131 (US$85) double; specials are available
most nights. In spring, consider the Everlasting Trail wildflower route to
Geraldton, described in the introduction to this chapter.
Numerous coach, 4WD, and aerial tours run from Perth. World Heritage
Tours & Travel (& 08/9581 5666; www.visitwa.com.au) offers a wide range.
Feature Tours does 24-hour “express” overnight coach tours from Perth.
Kookaburra Air and Complete Aviation Services do aerial day trips and
multi-day tours from Perth. These companies’ contact details appear in “Exploring
the State” at the start of this chapter.
VISITOR INFORMATION Wide-ranging ecological information on Shark
Bay Marine Park, Francois Peron National Park, and Hamelin Pool Marine
Nature Reserve, as well as details on local tours, is available at the Monkey Mia
Visitor Centre (& 08/9948 1366) within Monkey Mia Dolphin Resort (see
“Where to Stay & Dine” below). Videos run throughout the day, and
researchers (who are mostly from American universities) give free talks and slide
shows most nights. The center is run by the state Department of Conservation
and Land Management (www.calm.wa.gov.au). The official information outlet
is the Shark Bay Tourist Bureau at 71 Knight Terrace, Denham, WA 6537
(& 08/9948 1253; www.sharkbay.asn.au), open daily from 8am to 5pm (until
6pm in winter), though you will probably find the Monkey Mia Visitor Centre
just as helpful.
Admission to the Monkey Mia Reserve, in which Monkey Mia Dolphin
Resort is located, is A$6 (US$3.90) for adults, A$2 (US$1.30) for children 7 to
16, and A$12 (US$7.80) for a family. If you stay longer than 2 days and a night,
you need a 4-week pass costing A$9 (US$5.85) for adults, A$4 (US$2.60) for
kids, and A$22 (US$14) for a family.
There’s an ATM at The Heritage Resort, 73 Knight Terrace (at Durlacher St.),
Denham (& 08/9948 1133), but banks are non-existent. A banking agency is
located within the post office in Denham.
GETTING AROUND Shark Bay Car Hire (& 08/9948 1247) delivers cars
and 4WDs to the airport and the resort from its Denham office. Several companies
offer tours to all the main attractions.
MEETING THE DOLPHINS
At 7am guests at Monkey Mia Dolphin Resort are already gathering on the
beach in quiet anticipation of the dolphins’ arrival. By 8am three or more dolphins
usually show, and they come and go until the early afternoon. Because of
the crowds the dolphins attract (about 40 people a session in low season, busloads
in high season), a park ranger instructs everyone to line up knee-deep in
the water as the playful swimmers cruise by your legs. You may not approach
them or reach out to pat them (research shows dolphins veer away from people
trying to pat them, anyhow), but they do come up to touch people of their own
accord sometimes. Sometimes the dolphins even offer you a fish as a present!
Feeding times are different each day so the dolphins won’t become dependent
on the food. Once the crowd disperses, savvy swimmers dive into the water just
up the beach outside the no-swimmers-allowed Dolphin Interaction Area,
because the dolphins may head there after the “show.” Apart from the Monkey
Mia Reserve entry fee, there is no charge to see the creatures.