Dirk Hartog Island National Park - WA

Dirk Hartog Island National Park, in the Shark Bay World Heritage Area, has immense historical significance and offers great fishing, steep cliffs and secluded beaches.

Magnificent sites to visit along the island’s western coast include the historic precinct at Cape Inscription (including the lighthouse); the rugged scenery at Charlies Harbour, and Mystery Beach with its astounding sands packed with flotsam and jetsam of all shapes, sizes and origins (the bay forms a natural wreckage trap). On the eastern coast, history buffs may appreciate Dampiers Landing (Sammys Well) and the interesting stone ruins of an 1851 army garrison at Quoin Bluff South. Dirk Hartog Island is renowned as one of the best shore fishing locations in Australia.

The western side of the island is dominated by tall exposed cliffs while protected beaches and shallow bays comprise the eastern coastline. The low shrubby vegetation harbours a range of animal life including the Dirk Hartog Island black and white fairy-wren, which is found nowhere else, and the sandhill frog whose distribution is limited.

Seabirds abound along the protected eastern coast of Dirk Hartog Island with species nesting on islands close to shore. Wildlife in the waters close to the island can be observed from a boat or while snorkelling or diving – manta rays throughout the year, whale sharks around the northern coastline in May and June and humpback whales in September. Dugongs travel to warmer waters around the island when the rest of Shark Bay’s waters are at their coldest.

Each summer thousands of loggerhead turtles return to Turtle Bay, the area they emerged as hatchlings, to lay their eggs.