- 6 hours ago
Back Roads Season 12 Episode 2
Category
đź“ş
TVTranscript
00:06¡SuscrĂbete al canal!
00:30Experimental Treasure, a spectacular World Heritage-listed site in the remote Gascoyne region of Western Australia, where calm turquoise waters
00:41meet striking red cliffs.
00:44Denise, look at this landscape. It's incredible, isn't it?
00:48I know.
00:49A treasured place for the Molgana, Nanda and Yengarda people.
00:54We actually call them a munu plant, munu's.
00:58Now shared with thousands of tourists who come to experience life on the edge.
01:09I want to know, how can the Shark Bay community balance the impacts of tourism and still protect this unique
01:16way of life?
01:18And can ancient wisdom help preserve the natural environment for everyone to enjoy?
01:35If there's one thing Shark Bay's famous for, it's bountiful marine life.
01:41The biggest drawcard? Monkey Myers Dolphins.
01:47Attracting more than 100,000 visitors a year.
01:57This is the only place in the world where wild dolphins seek out human contact.
02:05For decades, tourists have lined these shores, eager to experience a close-up encounter.
02:16It was Shark Bay's fishermen who first attracted the dolphins, throwing their bycatch into the water.
02:28What do you think it is about dolphins that draws people here?
02:31I think they're just so charismatic and I think the fact that they actually come and they look at you,
02:38I think people get that connection with them.
02:39And they look like they're always smiling, even though they can't change their face, but yeah, they're very personable, I
02:44guess.
02:44What we're doing now is we're waiting for the stars of the show, the dolphins.
02:49After nine years of watching over dolphins...
02:52So we're just going to wait and see if they come in?
02:53Reserves officer Kayla Porter begins this morning's encounter, as she always does.
02:59This morning, the dolphins weren't here when we got here.
03:03Some days they're ready to go at 7.45, other days we wait for them.
03:06There's no set times, we don't have any bells, whistles, entirely up to the dolphins if they want to come
03:10in.
03:11The dolphins make the rules here.
03:12They have us very well trained.
03:14And they will come into this area here, show us a bit of a look, roll on their side.
03:19Anticipation builds amongst the holidaymakers.
03:22It's one of our main hunting grounds as well.
03:24Christina Crossman's travelled nearly 3,000 kilometres from Adelaide, just for this moment.
03:31It's a trip 45 years in the making.
03:35I was driving in here crying yesterday.
03:39I had my summies down so no one could see.
03:43Thinking to myself, I'm here.
03:45This is a big deal for Christina and her husband Graham.
03:51Hubby's been unwell.
03:53He's in remission with cancer.
03:55So we thought, really good time to come now in case it doesn't happen.
03:59So, really happy.
04:02Don't make me cry.
04:05A lot's changed, though, in the four and a half decades Christina's been dreaming of dolphins.
04:11Hi, baby.
04:12It had to.
04:14Because for many years it was pretty much anything goes.
04:18The best way is to pat them along the sides of their bodies.
04:22There's horror stories of people putting cigarette butts down their blowholes, trying to ride them, showing their dog the dolphin,
04:30all sorts of things.
04:31Very nasty stories.
04:33Sometimes you can kiss it on the nose and she'll be very, very mellow.
04:38Oof, it was a different time then, that's for sure.
04:43Thankfully, we've come a long way.
04:48We've learnt from the past and now we can only feed a strict number of dolphins, the same dolphins, and
04:54we make sure we only give them a little bit of food so it's not going to impact them throughout
04:58the day.
04:59We still need them to hunt and maintain all those skills.
05:01It's such a balancing act, isn't it, to give people what they want but to protect what you've got.
05:06100%.
05:07So now we have a really great survival rate with the calves born to the hand-fed dolphins.
05:11It matches that of the offshore population so we know we're not impacting on them too much.
05:16What a relief.
05:18And they have the evidence to support it.
05:21Can I have a look?
05:22Every detail of the dolphins' lives is carefully observed and recorded.
05:28Let's go to OG 1982.
05:32Oop, this is how old it is.
05:34This is the original diary of the dolphins at Monkey Mire.
05:38Yeah, it's crazy.
05:39That's amazing.
05:4328th of Feb.
05:44I thought this one was quite funny because it was quite a shock to see the beach so crowded and
05:49then it goes on to say there was only about 30 people on the beach.
05:52And today that is extremely quiet for us.
05:56Oh, there's something quite gorgeous about it, even the way they've written, a real lovely day out here today.
06:03It's a bit more scientific now, but this is how it started.
06:07Back on the beach, I notice the crowds thinned.
06:10It's been over an hour and still no dolphins in sight.
06:16Feeling a little anxious right at the moment?
06:18Yeah, yeah, it's like I've been, please come, please come, just one.
06:25But you're not going to give up?
06:27Oh, no, yeah, I'm staying right here until I know there's no hope of them coming.
06:37I mean, we could see them right out the back.
06:39Yeah.
06:40How frustrating.
06:42We've been hanging out there.
06:42It is kind of frustrating for us because we do really want to have the experiences with them.
06:47But at the same time, it's also good because we do want them to be wild.
06:55Joana Oliveira sacrificed a lot to be part of the volunteer program.
07:01The marine biologist left Portugal in 2025 for a job at Shark Bay's local coffee shop,
07:08all so she can spend her days off here.
07:12Well, I really love dolphins and I heard about what this area did with dolphins to have this experience with
07:21them
07:22where you are so close but still making sure that you're trying to disrupt their life as little as possible.
07:30I feel like it's very ethical compared to other tourism industries.
07:35What do you feel that you're contributing?
07:38Um, I feel like we have dolphins in the VA.
07:43Oh, okay, you've got to say something?
07:45What do you need to do?
07:46That's their mare, isn't it?
07:47Yes.
07:47Gosh.
07:48We've got dolphins.
07:50Where's the timer?
07:51Look, we've got dolphins.
07:52Loot and...
07:53Oh, wow, look.
08:02Magical creatures.
08:06Wild wonders.
08:09And so close.
08:13After all the anticipation this morning, it's such a relief.
08:18Most of the day she's with her car and her sister Piccolo.
08:22And Piccolo's car's oboe.
08:24And I'm so happy for Christina.
08:26Her wish has come true.
08:29They spend their whole life together.
08:31They hang out together.
08:32They consort females together.
08:33They will rest together.
08:38It happened.
08:40It really happened.
08:43I'm thrilled for you too.
08:44I was a bit worried.
08:46Dolphins are very tactile.
08:48They like to touch each other to show you how close they are.
08:52That's a lifetime dream come true for me.
09:02I'm happy.
09:12I'm happy.
09:18That makes me want to cry.
09:20That meant so much to her.
09:23I can see why this place has an effect on people.
09:26Piccolo, yeah.
09:30Being here feels like such a gift.
09:35I can't help but wonder though, how would it have felt if the dolphins hadn't come to shore?
09:44It's a gentle reminder that we humans aren't always in control.
09:50There's something humbling about that, something freeing too, letting go and trusting in nature, just as First Nations communities have
10:01done for tens of thousands of years.
10:08We drag this backwards and the shells come out of the sand and roll up onto the tray.
10:16For traditional owner Bobby Holt, the ocean's always been his source of income.
10:21And that's meant a lifetime of adapting.
10:25It's not about speed, I guess.
10:27Definitely not about speed.
10:30Bobby's family's like many here.
10:33Shifting with the times, from purling to shearing and then back out to sea.
10:40And you've got to do the whole thing walking backwards.
10:44The only way I've found out so far.
10:46I don't think I've ever chatted to anyone like this walking backwards, Bobby.
10:49I've been walking backwards all my life.
10:53So we don't find this hard work at all.
10:56The hands-on approach gets the job done while respecting the environment.
11:02Oh, wow.
11:03We've got a stack.
11:05Right there.
11:06Yep.
11:09There you go.
11:10A successful hunt for cockles.
11:13That's why we're here.
11:17Netfishing became the traditional way for First Nations people, supporting countless families
11:23through the years.
11:26It became a way of life for Bobby and his mates, right up until today.
11:33It's a dying heart, unfortunately.
11:36How long have you all known each other?
11:37All our lives.
11:38How old are we?
11:40Bobby's the oldest.
11:42You're good on you.
11:44This is the old fishing crew.
11:47They've left the industry behind now.
11:49But the memories linger.
11:52Back after dark.
11:54No killers.
11:56We missed out on a killer.
11:57Much like the wildlife officers tracking dolphins at Monkey Mire, fishermen like Gaven Poland
12:03were meticulous record keepers of their castings and their catch.
12:09Thursday, the 2nd of April, 1998.
12:13Dewgongs on Corner of Bank.
12:14What's beautiful, though, is these pages also hold records of enduring friendships.
12:22Two holts gone south up to Spit.
12:25Are they talking about you, Bobby?
12:27Yeah.
12:28Bobby coming up here too.
12:31From Cowen Bluff to Wilson Island.
12:34Not too many whiting along here.
12:37So, Glenn and Dennis, they would have gone to the Spit and you're coming up towards us
12:42guys now.
12:44That's almost 30 years ago.
12:47And you're writing down all these notes about who's fishing where.
12:50So, we all keep an eye on each other.
12:52And we join up when we can.
12:54And we all get together anyway and meet up and pull nets together, have tea together or
12:59whatever.
13:01Eagles had a good win over pies.
13:05Last time we had a long time ago.
13:08It's been a long time ago.
13:09You even got the footy in there.
13:11Yeah, yeah, yeah.
13:11Yeah, yeah, yeah.
13:12It's all around the footy.
13:13Yeah, yeah, yeah.
13:14They've stuck together through it all, this lot.
13:18Including a 20-year fight to keep their connection to the seas and waterways alive.
13:24And as Ben Belotti tells me, 2018 saw the Molgana people formally recognised as native title holders
13:33of large parts of the bay.
13:37I don't think the significance of a new journey for us, to be honest.
13:49The journey's far from over, but there's already promising changes underway.
13:57I'm off to learn about a project that has traditional owners genuinely hopeful.
14:02Hi, Denise.
14:03Hi, Lisa.
14:04So I'm catching a ride with Denise Mitchell.
14:09Denise, look at this landscape.
14:12It's incredible, isn't it?
14:13I know.
14:14Denise grew up here, then raised a family while working across Western Australia.
14:20And now she's back on home ground and has recently become a Molgana Ranger.
14:27I was like, oh no, I'm too old for that now.
14:30But I'm so glad that I did it because it brings back the memories from growing up.
14:39But for Denise, those memories are few and far between.
14:43She tells me that, as a child, her culture wasn't often talked about and it wasn't often practised.
14:51I wish we were told by our old people the way it was for them, but they didn't acknowledge the
15:02culture openly.
15:05There was segregation back in the early days, which you wouldn't think it, you know, Shark Bay being such a
15:11touristy town.
15:12But it was there.
15:17We've come to Hamlin Station, about an hour out of town.
15:22Hello.
15:23Hello.
15:24Hi.
15:24Sarah Gilliland, gilly to most, has been posted here with Bush Heritage Australia since 2022.
15:34Hamlin Station was once a sprawling pastoral property.
15:39Stark contrast to how it looks today.
15:42So, these are the old sheep yards, essentially the remnants of a 200,000 hectare sheep station, which is now
15:51totally conservation.
15:58Gilly's worked across half of regional Australia as an environmental scientist, but taking on this job, living and working on
16:07a property so large and so remote, was a big call.
16:13You're a long way from the city chick in Melbourne that you once were.
16:17Yeah, I certainly am.
16:19It's a real change of scene being out here and there's definitely a lot that I gave up to take
16:25on this role and that was a really conscious decision and 100% worth it.
16:30The dream job.
16:32The dream job.
16:33The dream job.
16:33Yeah, that's it.
16:34While Gilly's managing the restoration project, she's not doing it alone.
16:39From the ocean seagrass I explored earlier to this arid rangeland, the wisdom held in traditional knowledge is being incorporated
16:49into modern day solutions.
16:58Alongside Denise and Gilly is fishing buddies, Gavin and Glenn Holt, who I met earlier.
17:06The traditional owners are now all working together in this new role, tackling erosion, eradicating feral pests, and above all,
17:18spending time getting to know country.
17:22It's a bit different after spending 40 odd years on the water.
17:27I quite enjoy it actually, strangely enough, yeah.
17:33Wow, there's so much erosion here.
17:35It is a little bit, yeah, yeah.
17:37We haven't really had any much rain, but once it starts a bit of vegetation coming back, it'll hold the
17:45ground a bit better too.
17:49So whenever there's fauna surveys or vegetation surveys or it's simply infrastructure work that needs to be done,
17:58I'll reach out to the rangers and say, hey, we're doing this project, do you want to come along?
18:04It means that we're able to bring traditional custodians back on country and we're able to facilitate that connection.
18:12Where do you think they might be coming through, down from Coburn or what?
18:16And there's so much that is outside of my knowledge that I will never get from a textbook.
18:28And the rangers?
18:30They may have begun this project feeling unsure about their traditional knowledge.
18:34Yeah, they're actually a bush pair.
18:37But their confidence is steadily growing.
18:39It's beautiful.
18:41We actually call them a munyu plant, munyus.
18:44So did you eat these as kids?
18:47Yeah.
18:47When you were young?
18:48Yeah.
18:49And all the kids used to, you know, climb the trees and pick them?
18:53Yeah, we used to fight over them just about, eh?
18:55Yeah.
18:55Yeah.
18:56A couple of old aunties used to boil them up and have a bit of honey on them or something.
19:01Yeah?
19:01Yeah.
19:02They were lovely anyway.
19:05What can I see before me?
19:08A strengthening of culture and at the same time, a landscape showing promising signs of recovery.
19:23It flew behind.
19:25Oh, there it is.
19:26Oh, stay here.
19:27Yeah, right there.
19:27So it's looking towards us.
19:29Yeah.
19:30I see it.
19:31It's about to go.
19:33It's beautiful.
19:34So I'm pretty sure that was a boobook.
19:36So they make this really cute call at night time and it's boobook.
19:40Boobook.
19:41Boobook.
19:42There he is.
19:45Well, that's good.
19:46So if they're here, then it means there's other things here because they wouldn't be
19:50here if there was nothing to eat.
19:51So that's a really good sign.
19:53I'm really happy with that.
19:55Bringing the place back to life.
19:56Yeah.
19:57Back to good health.
19:59Yay!
19:59We're winning.
20:01Yay!
20:01It was their ancestors who once stood on this very ground, working for others as station
20:09hands, but never with the same freedom or recognition felt today.
20:16You're not sort of going, oh, you can't go down here, you can't go there.
20:20And we always feel welcome when we come here.
20:24And we have this freedom to come on country and work together.
20:30We don't have that freedom anywhere else.
20:35I think country needs its people as much as people in their country.
20:41Our culture is starting to come awake now, so we don't want it to go back to sleeping.
20:45We want it to be out there, you know, to show on country that we have got our culture alive.
20:54Things are shifting around here.
20:58In 2024, the Molgana people struck a landmark agreement with the WA government to jointly manage
21:06180,000 hectares of new parks and reserves in the Shark Bay heritage area.
21:14The great hope is that experience will be as good as the one at Hamlin Station.
21:20And that by working together, they can make this place something for everyone to enjoy.
21:32What's encouraging is Shark Bay's next generation is ready to learn, eager to hear from their elders.
21:42The old Shark Bay sea mullet.
21:45Best eating fish in the ocean, I'd say.
21:50Are they hard to catch?
21:51When they're schooling, you'll get big schools, big schools.
21:55And sometimes you get that bit in the net, you've got to open the net up.
21:59And you might end up with less than what you wanted, but you've got to look after this place.
22:04We never went hungry, there's no worries about that.
22:07Especially when you've got mullet.
22:09This is their gift.
22:11Sharing their stories.
22:13Continuing a sense of responsibility and belonging.
22:17What's the name of this shell? Anyone tell me?
22:20Bayley Shell.
22:21Bayley Shell.
22:21One of our elders, she would make things out of the big baylor shells.
22:26So what she would do is cut that there and take that top bit off and she'd use that for
22:33something else.
22:33And then that whole shell would be a fruit bowl.
22:37A little bit heavy, just be careful.
22:39How often would you go shelling?
22:42Every time the tide was low, Aunty Maud we called her, she would have a spear and she'll see a
22:48marking on the sand and she knows there's a shell in there.
22:53And us kids that are coming behind, they knew to dig that up.
22:57Yep.
22:59The impact of talks like these grows slowly.
23:03I'll take that little bit, thanks.
23:05But that's the selfless hope behind it all.
23:09This is pretty yummy.
23:10Yep, 100%.
23:11The days like these will make a real difference now and in the future.
23:17The birds, when they go, they're non-stop flight.
23:20They fly all the way.
23:22They're listening, there's no worries about that.
23:24Just to share my bit of knowledge with them and to pass it on, which is great.
23:30You know, nothing better than that.
23:31A bit more we want.
23:33OK, these guys up here.
23:35What a way to spend the day.
23:38Yeah.
23:39Shark Bay sure has a lot to offer, both at sea and on land.
23:45But what it looks like in the future will no doubt be influenced by outsiders.
23:53Tourism's the economic backbone here and it's easy to see why.
24:02Look at the...
24:03This place is teeming with marine life.
24:07Oh, now I'm stamping.
24:10I've done this before.
24:13So the water in Shark Bay here, in Monkey Moire, it's about one and a half times salt in the
24:17ocean.
24:18I first met the Ridgely family on a community seagrass restoration project.
24:25Go, go, go, go!
24:26We gotta go!
24:34This is one of the largest bays in Australia.
24:36We've got 18,000 square kilometres of water.
24:39Now, we also have the world's largest seagrass meadows here in Shark Bay.
24:42For Liam and Jade, there's nothing better than showing off their backyard.
24:47Well, when me and Liam work together, we usually have to say in the safety briefing that we're not married.
24:52It's worse, we're brother and sister.
24:55So...
24:57If we start arguing, there's no problems.
24:59It's okay.
25:01Oh, the dolphins are just off to the left of us here.
25:0311 o'clock.
25:05Just on the bow there, guys, just down the front of the bow.
25:08Yeah, they love surfing the front of the boat.
25:10They think this is their Uber service across the bay.
25:12What heartens me is the tourists who travel all the way to Shark Bay aren't the kind who want to
25:19see it ruined.
25:22For Christina, from Adelaide, that feeling's only deepened.
25:29I came here thinking about my dream to see the dolphins.
25:33I'm leaving here with not only my dream having been fulfilled, but knowing we have to do the right thing,
25:40which means we have to look after our oceans.
25:42We have to look after these animals.
25:44So, I'm going to leave here more informed.
25:50Is this the Shark Bay effect?
25:54People may arrive chasing personal adventure, but they leave here changed.
26:01As ambassadors for a better way of living with nature.
26:06Shark Bay doesn't just welcome visitors, it transforms them.
26:14There's a certain fragility about the place.
26:17It's made me want to step a little more lightly.
26:21Mindful of the impact my presence has.
26:28The birds, when they go, they're non-stop flight.
26:32What's been exciting to see here is Indigenous knowledge leading the way.
26:37They spend their whole life together, they hang out together.
26:39And how so many people are caring for this place.
26:42All wanting to see it flourish.
26:45Now, and for the future.
26:48Oh, wow!
26:49We've got a stack!
26:51My hope for the future is that I can come back here in 20 to 30 years
26:55and see this landscape absolutely buzzing and this really strong connection
26:59between that and relationships with traditional custodians.
27:03I've got a role that I need to play.
27:08And I'm hoping, you know, like the future generation will come back on country.
27:15I love it.
27:17And it is very unique.
27:19Yeah.
27:21I love it.
27:26I love it.
27:28Next time on Backroads, I head to El Dorado in Victoria,
27:33donde los locales quieren hacer cosas diferente
27:37como viviendo en las casas
27:39que es bueno, hon
27:40o incluso tepeas
27:42y pensamos, oh Dios, aquĂ viene el hippie
27:44y yo descubro más sobre la humanidad
27:48de que nunca pensaba ser desistible
27:50era una banana, entonces era una turd
27:53entonces era composto
27:55y ahora vamos a hacer dozzel
Comments