About

The first European to land in this area was the Dutch explorer Dirk Hartog who visited in 1616. He was later followed by Jansz, Dampier, Nicolas Baudin, and Phillip King.

The rich fruit growing region of the Gascoyne supplies much of Western Australia's fruit and vegetable needs. Carnarvon is the largest centre of population and here you can drive around the farming areas where numerous fruit and vegetable stalls sell the freshest tastiest fruit you can imagine. Many of the stalls are small self-service honesty box installations at the gate of the property where the produce is grown.

For those who love the sea and in particular scuba diving, a visit to Exmouth is a must. Charter boats take dive expeditions out onto the Ningaloo Reef which boasts extraordinarily beautiful coral and all of the marine life that goes with such a reef. A special treat is to sight the largest fish in the world. The gentle whale shark frequents this area and seeing one of these giants of the sea is a vision you will remember for all of your days.

If getting close and personal with dolphins is what interests you, then a visit to Monkey Mia in Shark Bay is a must-do. There is a resort here which also provides caravan sites or you can stay at one of the caravan parks at Denham which is a short drive away.

Coral Bay is also a beautiful resort town. The snapper are so tame here you can swim with them as they wait for people to feed them. There are several caravan parks to choose from here.

Also of interest in the Shark Bay area is Shell Beach. Numerous small seashells have compacted over thousands of years and early settlers cut blocks of the solid mass that was created to use as building blocks, in a similar way that we now use cement blocks.

If you are travelling through this area you may wish to plan to stay for a few weeks as there is so much to see.