Shoalwater Islands Marine Park
Shoalwater Islands Marine Park is located 50 kilometres south of Perth off the Rockingham coast and is approximately a 45 minute drive.
The Shoalwater Islands Marine Park contains the waters of Shoal water Bay, Warnbro Sound and a part of Cockburn Sound off Cape Peron. The park encompasses a diverse marine environment and surrounds a chain of unique limestone islands which are significant in the ecology of a number of bird species.
The shipwrecks and cavernous reefs surrounding the islands, provide an ideal environment for snorkellers and divers alike. The reefs are home to a variety of temperate and subtropical invertebrates as well as a number of fish species. Bottlenose dolphins are also a common sight in these waters.
Seal Island provides a home most of the year for a colony of Australian Sea Lions. This species are given special protection under State legislation as the rarest in the world.
The Penguin Experience - Island Discovery Centre allows visitors to see little penguins up close in an environment similar to their natural habitat, and learn about them through feedings, commentaries and displays. The birds that live in this facility, have either been rejected by their mothers as chicks and raised by wildlife carers, or nursed back to health after injury. They would otherwise have died. They have now become so used to people that they would probably be unable to survive in the wild.
A newly constructed boardwalk provides access between the jetty, picnic area, toilets and The Discovery Centre, for people with disabilities.
There are many species of birds in the islands of Shoalwater Bay and sixteen species use the islands for breeding.
The park is great for boating and swimming and there are good surfing conditions off the western edge of Penguin Island. Spearfishing and divers using under water breathing equipment are prohibited within 1800 metres of the shore. There are sanctuary zones in the park, please check these before fishing in the park.
Ferry’s operate seasonally to Seal and Penguin Islands from Rockingham.
For further information on Shoalwater Islands Marine Park or the Penguin Island Discovery Centre please visit the CALM website.