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Back Roads - Season 12 - Episode 02: Shark Bay, WA (Part 2)
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00:03Big news. Look who got a boat licence.
00:08Join me on back roads as I find my sea legs and dive into life off the westernmost tip of
00:15Australia.
00:17Well this is one way to see Shark Bay.
00:21Just try and stop me now.
00:27Shark Bay is an environmental treasure.
00:31A spectacular World Heritage listed site in the remote Gascoyne region of Western Australia.
00:38Where calm turquoise waters meet striking red cliffs.
00:44Denise, look at this landscape. It's incredible isn't it?
00:48I don't know.
00:49A treasured place for the Molgana, Nanda and Yengarda people.
00:54We actually call them a Munyu plant, Munyus.
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 is famous for, it's bountiful marine life.
01:41The biggest drawcard?
01:44Monkey 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?
02:32I think they're just so charismatic and I think the fact that they actually come and they look at you,
02:37I think people get that connection with them and they look like they're always smiling, even though they can't change
02:41their face.
02:42But yeah, they're very personable, I guess.
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 and 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, it's entirely up to the dolphins if they want to
03:10come in.
03:11The dolphins make the rules here.
03:12They have us very well trained.
03:15And they will come into this area here, show us a bit of a look, roll on their side.
03:19Anticipation builds amongst the holiday makers.
03:22It's one of their 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.
03:39Had my sunnies 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 so we thought,
03:56really 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 blow holes, trying to ride them, showing their dog the
04:29dolphin, all 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.
04:42Thankfully, we've come a long way.
04:45Don't worry.
04:47You touch him on the nose.
04:48We've learnt from the past and now we can only feed a strict number of dolphins, the same dolphins.
04:54And we make sure we only give them a little bit of food so it's not going to impact them
04:58throughout the day.
04:59We still need them to hunt and maintain all those skills.
05:01Such a balancing act, isn't it? To give people what they want but to protect what you've got.
05:06A hundred percent.
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.
05:32Oh, 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.
05:48And then 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 noticed 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.
06:19Yeah.
06:20It's like I've been, please come, please come.
06:23Just one.
06:25But you're not going to give up?
06:27Oh, no.
06:27I'm staying right here until I know there's no hope of them coming.
06:36I mean, we could see them right out the back.
06:39Yeah.
06:40How frustrating.
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.
07:15And I heard about what this area did with dolphins to have this experience with them where you are so
07:22close,
07:23but 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.
07:42Oh, okay.
07:43You've got to say something?
07:44What do you need to do?
07:46That's them there, isn't it?
07:47Yes.
07:47Gosh.
07:48We've got dolphins.
07:49Where's the timer?
07:50Look, we've got dolphins.
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.
08:21And Piccolo's heart oboe.
08:24And I'm so happy for Christina.
08:26Her wish has come true.
08:28They spend their whole life together.
08:31They hang out together.
08:32They can sort females together.
08:33They will rest together.
08:38It happened.
08:40It really happened.
08:42I'm thrilled for you too.
08:44I was a bit worried.
08:46Dolphins are very tactile. They like to touch each other to show you how close they are.
08:52That's a lifetime dream come true for me.
09:03I'm happy.
09:18That makes me want to cry. That meant so much to her. I can see why this place has an
09:25effect on people.
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.
09:53Something freeing too.
09:56Letting go and trusting in nature.
09:59Just as First Nations communities have done 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.
10:15For traditional owner Bobby Holt, the ocean's always been his source of income.
10:21And that's been 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.
10:50I'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.
11:01Oh, wow.
11:03We've got a stack.
11:05Right there.
11:05Yep.
11:09There you go.
11:10A successful hunt for cockles.
11:13That's why we're here.
11:17Net fishing became the traditional way for First Nations people.
11:21Supporting countless families through the years.
11:26It became a way of life for Bobby and his mates.
11:29Right up until today.
11:33It's a dying art, unfortunately.
11:35How long have you all known each other?
11:37All our lives.
11:38How old are we?
11:40Bobby's the oldest.
11:41You're good, aren't 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.
12:01Fishermen like Gaven Poland were meticulous record keepers of their castings and their catch.
12:09Thursday the 2nd of April, 1998.
12:13Dugongs 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.
12:27Bobby coming up here too.
12:30From Clown Bluff to Wilson Island.
12:34Not too many whiting along here.
12:37So Glen and Dennis, they would have gone to the Spit and you're coming up towards us guys now.
12:44That's almost 30 years ago.
12:46And you're writing down all these notes about who's fishing where.
12:49Yeah.
12:50We 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 whatever.
13:01Eagles had a good win over pies.
13:04That's a bit of a long time ago.
13:07That's a bit of a long time ago.
13:09You even got the footy in there.
13:11Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
13:11Oh, yeah, things 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 the moment really hit me till probably the next day.
13:43And I think, shit, we've done this.
13:44It's the beginning of a new journey for us, to be honest.
13:49The journey's far from over.
13:51But there's already promising changes underway.
13:57I'm off to learn about a project that has traditional owners genuinely hopeful.
14:01Hi, 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 thought, 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 practiced.
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.
15:13But it was there.
15:17We've come to Hamlin Station, about an hour out of town.
15:21Hello.
15:24Sarah Gilliland, Gillie to most, has been posted here with Bush Heritage Australia since 2022.
15:35Hamlin 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,
15:50which is now totally conservation.
15:58Gillies worked across half of regional Australia as an environmental scientist.
16:03But taking on this job, living and working on a 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. It's a real change of scene, being out here.
16:22And there's definitely a lot that I gave up to take on this role.
16:26And that was a really conscious decision.
16:28And 100% worth it.
16:30The dream job.
16:32The dream job. Yeah, that's it.
16:34While Gillie's managing the restoration project, she's not doing it alone.
16:39From the ocean seagrass I explored earlier, to this arid rangeland.
16:45The wisdom held in traditional knowledge is being incorporated into modern day solutions.
16:53Let me shake down again just to ruffle the feathers a bit.
16:58Alongside Denise and Gillie is fishing buddies,
17:01Gavin and Glenn Holt, who I met earlier.
17:06The traditional owners are now all working together in this new role.
17:11Tackling erosion.
17:12Yeah, this one here.
17:14Eradicating feral pests.
17:15And above all, spending time getting to know country.
17:23It's a bit different after spending 40-odd years on the water.
17:27I quite enjoy it, actually.
17:29Strangely 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.
17:40But once it starts a bit of vegetation coming back,
17:44it'll hold the ground a bit better too.
17:49So whenever there's fauna surveys or vegetation surveys
17:53or it's simply infrastructure work that needs to be done,
17:58I'll reach out to the rangers and say,
18:00hey, 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
18:09and we're able to facilitate that connection.
18:12Where do you think they might be coming through?
18:14Down from Coburn or what?
18:16And there's so much that is outside of my knowledge
18:22that I will never get from a textbook.
18:28And the rangers?
18:30They may have begun this project feeling unsure
18:32about their traditional knowledge.
18:34Yeah, they're actually a bush bear.
18:37But their confidence is steadily growing.
18:40We actually call them a munyu plant, munyus.
18:44So did you eat these as kids?
18:47Yeah.
18:49And all the kids used to, you know, climb the trees and pick them?
18:53Yeah, we used to fight over them just a bit, eh?
18:55Yeah.
18:56A couple of old aunties used to boil them up
18:58and 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
19:11and at the same time a landscape
19:13showing 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.
19:30It's about to go.
19:33Beautiful.
19:34So I'm pretty sure that was a boo book.
19:36So they make this really cute call at night time
19:38and it's boo book.
19:40Boo book.
19:42There he is.
19:43Oh.
19:45Well, that's good.
19:46So if they're here then it means there's other things here
19:49because they wouldn't be here if there was nothing to eat.
19:51So that's a really good sign.
19:53Yeah.
19:54I'm really happy with that.
19:55Bringing the place back to life.
19:56Yeah.
19:57Back to good health.
19:59Yay!
19:59Yay!
20:02It was their ancestors who once stood on this very ground.
20:07Working for others as station hands
20:09but never with the same freedom or recognition felt today.
20:16You're not sort of going,
20:18oh, you can't go down here.
20:19You can't go there.
20:19And 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 near country.
20:41Our culture is starting to come awake now.
20:43So we don't want it to go back to sleeping.
20:45We want it to be out there, you know,
20:48to show on country that we have got our culture alive.
20:54Yeah.
20:55Things are shifting around here.
20:58In 2024, the Molgana people struck a landmark agreement
21:02with the WA government to jointly manage 180,000 hectares
21:09of new parks and reserves in the Shark Bay Heritage Area.
21:14The great hope is that experience
21:17will be as good as the one at Hamlin Station.
21:20And that by working together,
21:22they can make this place something for everyone to enjoy.
21:32What's encouraging is Shark Bay's next generation is ready to learn,
21:38eager to hear from their elders.
21:42Old 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.
21:55Sometimes 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,
22:01but 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 the shell? Anyone tell me?
22:20Baylor shell.
22:21Baylor shell.
22:22One 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,
22:32and she'd use that for something 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,
22:46she would have a spear and she'll see a marking on the sand,
22:51and she knows there's a shell in there.
22:53And us kids that are coming behind, they knew to dig that up.
22:58Yep.
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.
23:08This is pretty yummy.
23:10Yep, 100%.
23:11The days like these will make a real difference now,
23:15and 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,
23:26and to pass it on, which is great.
23:29You know, nothing better than that.
23:31A bit more, you want?
23:33OK, these guys up there.
23:35Mmm!
23:36What a way to spend the day.
23:37Yep.
23:39Shark Bay sure has a lot to offer,
23:42both at sea and on land.
23:45But what it looks like in the future
23:47will no doubt be influenced by outsiders.
23:53Tourism's the economic backbone here,
23:56and it's easy to see why.
24:02Look at the...
24:04This place is teeming with marine life.
24:07Oh, they're on stamping.
24:09It's a lot.
24:10I haven't done this before.
24:13So, the water in Shark Bay here, in Monkey Moor,
24:15it's about one and a half times salt in the ocean.
24:18I first met the Ridgely family
24:20on a community seagrass restoration project.
24:24Go, go, go, go!
24:26Here you 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,
24:49we 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
25:17aren't the kind who want to see it ruined.
25:22For Christina from Adelaide, that feeling's only deepened.
25:29I came here thinking about my dream to see the dolphins.
25:32I'm leaving here with not only my dream having been fulfilled,
25:37but 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,
25:58but they leave here changed.
26:01As ambassadors for a better way of living with nature.
26:06Shark Bay doesn't just welcome visitors.
26:09It transforms them.
26:13There'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
26:33is Indigenous knowledge leading the way.
26:37They spend their whole life together.
26:39Hang 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.
26:47Oh, wow.
26:49We've got a stack.
26:50My hope for the future is that I can come back here in 20 to 30 years
26:55and see this landscape absolutely buzzing
26:57and this really strong connection between that
27:00and 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
27:11will come back on country.
27:15I love it.
27:17And it is very unique.
27:20Yeah.
27:29Next time on Backroads, I head to El Dorado in Victoria,
27:33where the locals like to do things differently.
27:37Like living in straw houses.
27:39That's good, hon.
27:40Or even teepees.
27:42They thought, oh, God, here comes the hippies.
27:45And I discover more about human waste
27:48than I ever thought would be desirable.
27:51It used to be banana,
27:52then it was a turd, then we've composted,
27:55and now we're going to make basil.
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