Paddle Through Time: Kayaking Shark Bay

Big Lagoon looks like nothing more than clear water and red sand. But on a guided kayak trip through Shark Bay's World Heritage-listed waters, Andrew Bain discovers a place layered with First Nations history and culture.


More Secreted in the Shallows Than Rays and Dugongs

Featured Image: Big Lagoon © Tourism Australia

On a guided kayak at World Heritage-listed Shark Bay, Andrew Bain discovers there's much more secreted in the shallows than just rays and dugongs.

On a beach on the west side of Big Lagoon, we are being watched. In the clear shallows that lap the sands, a spotted whiptail ray and a shovelnose ray hover, as curious about us as we are about them.

We've arrived on the beach's rust-red sands by kayak, paddling across this lagoon in Francois Peron National Park, part of Western Australia's Shark Bay World Heritage Area, guided by Nhanda man Darren Capewell. Known to all simply as ‘Capes’, the one-time AFL-listed footballer today runs Wula Gura Nyinda Eco Cultural Adventures, opening eyes to the colours and culture of this most beautiful of west-coast regions.

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