- 2 days ago
Back Roads - Season 12 - Episode 02: Shark Bay, WA Part 2
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:03big news look who got a boat license join me on back roads as I find my sea legs and
00:12dive into
00:13life off the westernmost tip of Australia well this is one way to see shark bay
00:21just try and stop me now
00:27shark bay is an environmental treasure a spectacular world heritage listed site in the remote Gascoyne
00:36region of Western Australia where calm turquoise waters meet striking red cliffs Denise look at
00:45this landscape it's incredible I don't know a treasured place for the Molgana Nanda and
00:53Yengarda people we actually call them a moon you plant moon news now shared with thousands of tourists
01:01who come to experience life on the edge I want to know how can the shark bay community balance the
01:13impacts of tourism and still protect this unique way of life and can ancient wisdom help preserve
01:22the natural environment for everyone to enjoy if there's one thing shark base famous for it's
01:39bountiful marine life the biggest draw card monkey myers dolphins attracting more than a hundred thousand
01:49visitors a year this 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 I think they're just so charismatic and
02:35I think the fact that they actually come and they look at you I think people get that connection with
02:39them and they look like they're always smiling even though they can't change their face but yeah
02:42they're very personable I guess what we're doing now is we're waiting for the stars of the show the
02:48dolphins after nine years of watching over dolphins we're just gonna wait and see if they come in
02:53reserves officer Kayla Porter begins this morning's encounter as she always does this morning and the
03:01dolphins weren't here when we got here some days they're ready to go at 7 45 other days we wait
03:06for
03:06them there's no set times we don't have any bells whistles it's entirely up to the dolphins if they
03:10want to come in the dolphins make the rules here they have us very well trained and they will come
03:15into this area here show us a bit of a look roll on their side anticipation builds amongst the holiday
03:21makers one of their main hunting grounds as well Christina Crossman's traveled nearly 3,000
03:27kilometres from Adelaide just for this moment it's a trip 45 years in the making I was driving in here
03:37crying yesterday I had my summies down so no one could see thinking to myself I'm here this is a
03:46big deal for
03:47Christina and her husband Graham hubby's been unwell he's in remission with cancer so we thought a really good time
03:57for
03:57to come now in case it doesn't happen so really happy don't make me cry a lot's changed though in
04:07the four and a half decades Christina's been dreaming of dolphins it had to because for many years it was
04:16pretty much anything goes the best way is to pat them along the sides of their bodies there's horror
04:23stories of people putting cigarette butts down their blowholes trying to ride them showing their
04:29dog the dolphin all sorts of things very nasty stories sometimes you can kiss it on the nose
04:35and she'll be very very mellow oh it was a different time then that's for sure thankfully we've come a
04:44long way we've learnt from the past and now we can only feed strict number of dolphins the same
04:54dolphins and we make sure we only give them a little bit of food so it's not going to impact
04:58them throughout the day we still need them to hunt and maintain all those skills such a balancing act
05:03isn't it to give people what they want but to protect what you've got a hundred percent so now we
05:08have a really great survival rate with the calves born to the hand-fed dolphins it matches that of the
05:12offshore population so we know we're not impacting on them too much what a relief and they have the
05:19evidence to support it can I have a look every detail of the dolphins lives is carefully observed and
05:27recorded let's go to the OG 1982 oh this is how old it is this is the original diary of
05:36the dolphins at
05:37monkey mire yeah it's crazy that's amazing 28th of Feb I thought this one was quite funny because it
05:45was it was quite a shock to see the beach so crowded and then it goes on to say there's
05:50only about 30
05:50people on the beach and today that is extremely quiet for us oh there's something quite gorgeous
05:58about it even the way they've written yeah a real lovely day out here today it's a bit more
06:04scientific now but this is how it started back on the beach I noticed the crowds thinned it's been
06:11over an hour and still no dolphins in sight feeling a little anxious right at the moment yeah yeah it's
06:20like
06:20I've been please come please come just just one but you're not gonna give up oh no yeah I'm staying
06:28right here until I know there's no hope of them coming I mean we could see them right out the
06:39back
06:39yeah it 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 the marine biologists left Portugal
07:03in 2025 for a job at Shark Bay's local coffee shop all so she can spend her days off here
07:11well I really
07:14love dolphins and I heard about what this area did with dolphins to have this experience with them
07:22where you are so close but still making sure that you're trying to disrupt their life as little as
07:29possible I feel like it's very ethical compared to other tourism industries what do you feel that
07:36you're contributing I feel like we have dolphins in the VA oh okay you're gonna say something what
07:45do you what do you need to do that that's them there isn't it yes gosh babe we've got dolphin
07:49where's the time look we've got dolphins and oh wow magical creatures wild wonders and so close
08:13after all the anticipation this morning it's such a relief
08:17most of the day she's with her car and her sister piccolo and piccolo's heart oboe and I'm so happy
08:25for Christina her wish has come true they spend their whole life together hang out together they
08:32can sort females together they will rest together it happened it really happened
08:43I'm thrilled for you too I was a bit worried dolphins are very tactile they like to touch each other
08:49to show
08:49how close they are that's a lifetime dream come true for me
09:18that makes me want to cry that meant so much to her I can see why this place has an
09:25effect on
09:30people being here feels like such a gift I can't help but wonder though how would it have felt if
09:38the
09:38dolphins hadn't come to shore it's a gentle reminder that we humans aren't always in control there's
09:51something humbling about that something freeing too letting go and trusting in nature just as
10:00First Nations communities have done for tens of thousands of years
10:08we dragged this backwards and the shells come out of the sand and roll up onto the tray the traditional
10:16owner Bobby Holt the oceans always been his source of income and that spent a lifetime of adapting it's not
10:26about speed I guess definitely not about speed Bobby's families like many here shifting with the times
10:35from purling to shearing and then back out to sea and you got to do the whole thing walking backwards
10:43uh the only way I've found out so far I don't think I've ever chatted to anyone like this walking
10:49backwards Bobby I've been walking backwards all my life so we don't find this hard work at all
10:56the hands-on approach gets the job done while respecting the environment oh wow we got a stack right there
11:05yep
11:09there you go a successful hunt for cockles that's right that's why we're here
11:17net fishing became the traditional way for First Nations people supporting countless families through the years
11:26it became a way of life for Bobby and his mates right up until today
11:33it's a dying art unfortunately how long have you all known each other all our lives how old are we
11:40Bobby's the oldest you're good on you this is the old fishing crew they've left the industry behind now
11:49but the memories linger back after dark no killers no we missed out the killer much like the wildlife
11:58officers tracking dolphins at monkey mire fishermen like gave in Poland were meticulous record keepers
12:05of their castings and their catch Thursday the 2nd of April 1998 dugongs on corner of bank what's
12:15beautiful though is these pages also hold records of enduring friendships
12:21two holts gone south up to spit are they talking about you Bobby yeah Bobby coming up here too from
12:31Cowen Bluff to Wilson Island not too many whiting on here so Glenn and Dennis they would have gone to
12:40the
12:40spit and you're coming up towards us right now that's almost 30 years ago and you're writing down
12:47all these notes about who's fishing where yeah keep an eye on each other and we join up when we
12:53can and we
12:55all get together anyway and meet up and pulling it together have tea together or whatever Eagles had a
13:02good win over a good win over pies
13:08you even got the footy in there
13:10yeah yeah 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 of large parts
13:34of the bay
13:37I don't think the significance of the moment really hit me till probably the next day and I think it's
13:43shit we've done this it's the beginning 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
14:02so I'm catching a ride with Denise Mitchell
14:09Denise look at this landscape it's incredible isn't it
14:14Denise grew up here then raised a family while working across Western Australia
14:19and 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 but I'm so glad that I did it
14:32because 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
15:10Shark Bay being such a touristy town but it was there
15:17we've come to Hamlin station about an hour out of town
15:24Sarah Gilliland
15:25Gilly to most has been posted here with Bush Heritage Australia since 2022
15:34Hamlin station was once a sprawling pastoral property
15:38stark contrast to how it looks today
15:42so these are the old sheep yards essentially the remnants of two hundred thousand hectare
15:49sheep station which is now totally conservation
15:58Gilly's 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 that I gave up to take on this role
16:26and that was a really conscious decision and a hundred percent worth it
16:30the dream job
16:31the dream job yeah that's it
16:33while 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
16:47held in traditional knowledge is being incorporated into modern-day solutions
16:53let's shake down again just me ruffle the feathers a bit
16:57alongside Denise and Gilly is fishing buddies Gavin and Glen Holt who I met
17:05earlier the traditional owners are now all working together in this new role
17:10tackling erosion eradicating feral pests and above all spending time getting to
17:20know country it's a bit different after spending 40 odd years on the water I
17:27quite enjoy it actually strangely enough yeah wow there's so much erosion here it is a
17:35little bit yeah yeah we haven't really had any much rain but once it starts a bit of
17:42vegetation coming back it'll hold the ground a bit better too so whenever
17:50there's a fauna surveys or vegetation surveys or it's simply infrastructure work that needs to be
17:57done I'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
18:10facilitate that connection what 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 I will never get from a textbook
18:28and the Rangers they may have begun this project feeling unsure about their traditional knowledge yeah
18:35they're actually a bush bear but their confidence is steadily growing we actually call them a more new
18:43plant more news so did you eat these as kids yeah yeah and all the kids just you know climb
18:51the trees
18:51and pick them yeah we used to fight over it yeah yeah yeah a couple of old aunties used to
18:57boil them up
18:58and haven't been a bit of honey on them or something yeah yeah what can I see before me a
19:09strengthening
19:09of culture and at the same time a landscape showing promising signs of recovery
19:23it it flew behind oh there it is I'll stay here yeah right there so it's looking towards us
19:29I see it's about to go beautiful so I'm pretty sure that was a boo book so they make this
19:37really
19:37cute call at night time and it's boop boop boop boop there he is oh well that's good so if
19:47they're
19:47here then it means there's other things here because they wouldn't be here if there was nothing
19:51to eat so that's a really good sign I'm really happy with that bringing the place back to life
19:56yeah back to good health yay we're winning yay it was their ancestors who once stood on this very
20:05ground working for others as station hands 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 and we always feel
20:21welcome when we come here and we have this freedom to come on country and work together we don't have
20:31that freedom anywhere else I think country needs its people as much as people in their country our
20:41culture is starting to come awake now so we don't want it to go back to sleeping we want it
20:46to be out
20:47there you know to show on country that we have got our culture alive things are shifting around here
20:57in 2024 the Molgana people struck a landmark agreement with the WA government to jointly manage 180,000
21:08hectares of new parks and reserves in the shark bay heritage area the great hope is that experience
21:17will be as good as the one at Hamlin station and that by working together they can make this
21:23place 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
21:49are they hard to catch when they're schooling you'll get big schools big schools and sometimes
21:55you get that bit in the net you've got to open the net up and you might end up with
22:00less than what you
22:01wanted but you got to look after this place we never went hungry there's no worries about that
22:07especially when you've got mullet this is their gift sharing their stories continuing a sense of
22:14responsibility and belonging what's the name of the shell anyone tell me baler shell one of our elders
22:23she would make things out of the big baler shells so what she would do is cut that there and
22:31take that
22:31top bit off and she'd use that for something else and then that whole shell would be a a fruit
22:37bowl
22:37a little bit heavy just be careful how often would you go shelling every time the tide was low auntie
22:45maude we called her she would have a spear and she'll see a marking on the sand and she knows
22:52there's a
22:52shell in there and us kids that are coming behind they knew to dig that up the impact of
23:01talks like these grows slowly i'll take that little bit thanks but that's the selfless hope
23:07behind it all this is pretty yummy yep 100 the days like these will make a real difference now
23:15and in the future the birds that when they go their non-stop flight they fly all the way they're
23:22listening there's no worries about that just to share my bit of knowledge with them and to pass it on
23:28which is great you know nothing better than that a bit more you want okay these guys up here
23:39shark bay sure has a lot to offer both at sea and on land but what it looks like in
23:47the future will no
23:48doubt be influenced by outsiders tourism's the economic backbone here and it's easy to see why
24:02look at that this place is teeming with marine life oh now i'm stamping so the water in sharp bay
24:14here
24:15in monkey moa it's about one and a half times salt in the ocean i first met the ridgely family
24:20on a
24:21community seagrass restoration project
24:33this is one of the largest bays in australia we've got 18 000 square kilometers of water
24:38now we also have the world's largest seagrass meadows here in sharp
24:42mate for liam and jade there's nothing better than showing off their backyard
24:46yeah well when me and lean work together we usually have to say in the safety briefing that
24:52we're not married it's worse we're brother and sister so if we start arguing there's no problems
24:59it's okay oh the dolphins are just off to the left of us here 11 o'clock just on the
25:06bow there guys
25:06just down the front of the bow yeah they love surfing the front of the boat they think this is
25:10their
25:10uber service across the bay what heartens me is the tourists who travel all the way to shark bay
25:18aren't the kind who want to see it ruined
25:22for christina from adelaide that feelings only deepened
25:29i came here thinking about my dream to see the dolphins i'm leaving here with not only my dream
25:36having been fulfilled but knowing we have to do the right thing which means we have to look after
25:42our oceans we have to look after these animals so i'm gonna leave here more informed
25:50is this the shark bay effect
25:54people may arrive chasing personal adventure but they leave here changed
26:00as ambassadors for a better way of living with nature
26:06shark bay doesn't just welcome visitors it transforms them
26:13there's a certain fragility about the place
26:17it's made me want to step a little more lightly mindful of the impact my presence has
26:28the birds when they go their non-stop flight what's been exciting to see here is indigenous knowledge
26:35leading the way and how so many people are caring for this place all wanting to see it flourish now
26:45and for the future oh wow we've got a stack my hope for the future is that i can come
26:53back here in 20 to 30 years
26:55and see this landscape absolutely buzzing and this really strong connection between that and
27:00relationships with traditional custodians i've got a role that i need to play and i'm hoping you know
27:09like the future generation will come back on country
27:15i love it and it is very unique yeah
27:29next time on back roads i head to el dorado in victoria where the locals like to do things differently
27:37like living in straw houses that's good hun or even teepees they thought oh god here comes the hippies
27:44kind of thing and i discover more about human waste than i ever thought would be desirable
27:50it used to be banana then it was a turd then we've composted and now we're going to make basil
Comments