Site visited in December 2025. Although Shark Bay is (rightly) associated with marine life, it also has a surprising amount of things to offer on land.

I began my tour at the stromatolite colony in Hamelin Pool, which is closest to the entrance to Shark Bay core zone from the North-West Coastal Highway. Stromatolites are among the oldest, if not the oldest, organisms on Earth – the oldest colonies are 3.7 billion years old, while the Australian ones are several hundred million years younger. They look inconspicuous, essentially like rocks, although the hardened ones are no longer active. The active ones are simply colonies of cyanobacteria, which produce oxygen from other gases, primarily nitrogen, through photosynthesis. It is estimated that the Earth's atmosphere in its present form, i.e., with a high oxygen content, was created thanks to the activity of cyanobacteria. The hiking trail in Hamelin Pool is closed after the cyclone, but I climbed over a low fence and got closer – everything for better photos.

Driving around the Peron Peninsula, I saw emus up close for the first time. They weren't afraid of anyone, unlike the ones around Willandra, which wouldn't let anyone get closer than 100 meters.

My next stop was Monkey Mia, a place known primarily for dolphin feeding. I'm not particularly fond of this type of activity, but since I'd never seen dolphins up close, I decided to give it a try. There was an hour left until the next feeding time, so I could wander around the quay and pier on my own, which I did. It turned out there were three dolphins swimming around, which I could admire from very close range.

So I took several photos and, satisfied, continued on to the spectacular Little Lagoon where a sign warning against stonefish – the world's most poisonous fish – discouraged me from entering the water. The stonefish nests on the seabed, and woe betide anyone who steps on it barefoot – they will be hit by a thorn and must seek medical attention, as the stonefish's venom can be fatal.

Then I moved to Denham, where I visited the somewhat chaotic Shark Bay Museum at the Visitor's Center. On my return, I stopped at the beautiful Shell Beach.

Shark Bay was inscribed only on natural criteria, but it also has a lot to offer in terms of culture – it is here that the westernmost point of Australia is located, and it is also here that Europeans encountered Australia for the second time (Dirk Hartog, 1606). Other historical aspects of the area are well described in the Shark Bay Museum.