Denham

Visited: late dry season

Recommendation: Denham is a great base for exploring the wider Shark Bay area. However, the township itself is also home to some fantastic wildlife, particularly along the roads at night.

Denham is the main town on the Shark Bay peninsula. It's very small and seems to consist mainly of holiday homes and caravan parks. That being said, it is a pleasant place set right on the sea front. One of the first things I did when I arrived was to stop at the local IGA for supplies. Amazingly, I found a Blue-tongued Skink in the car park. I've been looking for them for months now to find one when I was just getting the shopping was ironic. So I photographed that for a while and then headed to the caravan park.

Western Blue-tongued Lizard (Tiliqua occipitalis) 

There's wildlife all around here which is just wonderful. In fact I think Denham is the only place in the country where you have to give way to the Emu. I saw several groups of families including one utterly brilliant sighting of a dad and six half-grown chicks wandering into town. As they approached the main roundabout, everybody had to give way for him and his chicks. He was very attentive and proud as he kept a protective eye over them. I, along with several other people, watched and videoed them for a while as they poked around in the in the bushes. 

Emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) 

It is worth scanning the roads all the time in this area as there are often reptiles on the verges. I frequently drove between Denham and Monkey Mia. Early in my stay, I had stopped at the access to Francois Peron National Park and immediately found a Thorny Devil. Mornings and late afternoon are really good times for them. At this time of year, they're not generally seen in the middle of the day. This area is also a hot spot so my chances were good. Nonetheless, it was exciting to see on just crossing the track. I photographed him and then gently helped him on his way to the other side of the road. You have to be careful if you're handling Thorny Devils as they absorb moisture through the beds on their feet. Sunscreen or any kind of you chemical can damage them. 

Thorny Devil (Moloch horridus) 

Denham proved to be incredible after dark. Driving around in the van, I started to pick up some geckos on the dirt track up to the golf club. They were Common Knob-tailed Geckos - quite large specimens that were brightly coloured, beautiful animals. 

Common Knob-tailed Gecko (Nephrurus levis) 

As the nights wore on, I started to see them elsewhere on the roads and in other locations around the town. I mainly drove the road from Denham to Monkey Mia or south down to Ocean Park. The dirt tracks branching off were also productive. Next, I started to find lizards and what I thought were snakes but I actually found several kinds of legless lizards. The first one being the Hooded Scaly-foot, which seems to be quite common in the area. They were of varying sizes but all quite small and often found on the road or right beside the road. These worm-like creatures can move very fast when they want to and they weren't that keen on being photographed. 

Western Hooded Scaly-foot (Pygopus nigriceps) 

This next one is the Burton's Legless Lizard, which was just absolutely stunning. It is a fascinating reptile that might be mistaken for a snake at first glance. As the name suggests, they lack forelimbs and have only very small, rudimentary hind limbs. The body is long and slender and they have a distinctive wedge-shaped snout. Their coloration can vary, but they often exhibit shades of cream, yellow, brown, or grey. They are found in various habitats across Australia and Papua New Guinea, including forests, woodlands, and arid regions.

Burton's Legless-lizard (Lialis burtonis) 

One of the best finds that I had during my stay at Denham was finding an echidna on the road. It needed quite a bit of persuasion to get off the road, but I still managed to get it safely away and get a couple of shots as well. 

Short-beaked echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus) 

I saw the Knob-tailed Gecko several times but there were lots of other species around at night. It was very hit and miss with lots on the road some nights and none the next. Here are some of the others. 

Common Prickly Gecko (Heteronotia binoei) 

Western Spiny-tailed Gecko (Strophurus strophurus) 

The Little Lagoon is just outside of Denham and it is stunning. As you drive past on the way to Monkey Mia, it looks like a perfect circle. However, at the back is the Little Lagoon Creek which runs down to the ocean. It's really very beautiful with crystal clear waters and you can walk along the bank down to out towards the beach. There's a sand spit to the left as you hit the beach and when I was there, I saw plenty of cormorants and terns and the odd Pacific gull too.