My ice cream has melted before I’ve opened it… the car is like an oven… and the tent is unbearable. We’re braving the 46-48 degree heat to come and visit some of Western Australia’s most famous residents: the wild dolphins at Monkey Mia. On our way up to Exmouth we’ve ‘called-in’ at the resort, a 150km detour off the main highway, to join the other tourists in rising early in the morning and paddling up to our knees, to see these magical creatures being fed by rangers at the dolphin research centre.

At 7:30am we gather along the beach, to watch around five female dolphins and their calves appear, as they have done for the past few decades, for their breakfast. Many years ago, fisherman, then the general public, began hand feeding the dolphins around Monkey Mia. Eventually this caused many problems as the animals were being overfed and forgot how to hunt for themselves. The research centre now regulates breakfast time, and the dolphins are only given a small proportion of their daily requirements.

The mothers and their calves came in really close and we got a great view of one or two of the dolphins. Whilst I was disappointed that we couldn’t swim with them, and the experience did feel very touristy, it was a unique opportunity to see the creatures up (very) close and watch them as they watched us. The resort is a cool place too, right on the beach with views of the ocean. Due to the heat, Dave and I spent the remainder of the day dipping in and out of the pool and the sea, the latter of which was a beautiful temperature even if there was a minor shark risk (being in Shark Bay and all).

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