Ocean Beach (Western Australia)

Ocean Beach is a tourist attraction located about 5 kilometres (3 mi) south of the town of Denmark, in the locality of Ocean Beach, Western Australia.[1]

The beach is part of Ratcliffe Bay and is surrounded to the east by the Nullaki Peninsula and a smaller granite headland, Wilson Head, to the east. Wilson Inlet is contained by a semi-permanent sandbar that forms part of Ocean Beach although a bar channel often exists which moves seasonally along the beach.[2]

The beach is patrolled during the summer months from December to April and a lifeguard is on duty for the summer holidays (mid-December to early February). Swimming between the flags at the base of the Surf Life Saving Club is recommended.[3]

In 1993, four Gray's beaked whales (also called Scamperdown whales or Mesoplodon grayi) were stranded on the beach, three were eventually returned to sea but the last one died.[4]

In 2024, a malnourished emperor penguin was found on the beach, having traveled over 3,400 kilometers from the Antarctic coast.[5] It marked the first recorded instance of an emperor penguin reaching Australia and the furthest north the species has been observed.[6][7]

References

  1. ^ "SMH Travel - Denmark". The Sydney Morning Herald. 8 February 2004. Retrieved 14 August 2008.
  2. ^ "The Wilson Inlet Catchment Committee Inc (WICC) - Managing the bar and the Inlet". 2007. Retrieved 14 August 2008.
  3. ^ "Denmark Tourist Bureau - Beaches". 2008. Archived from the original on 19 July 2008. Retrieved 14 August 2008.
  4. ^ "Gray's Beaked Whale, Scamperdown Whale stranding, Ocean Beach, Denmark". 1993. Retrieved 14 August 2008.
  5. ^ Samantha Goerling; John Dobson (8 November 2024). "Emperor penguin recovering in care after epic journey from Antarctica to Western Australia". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Australian Broadcasting Company. Archived from the original on 9 November 2024. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
  6. ^ Guo, Peter (12 November 2024). "Emperor penguin found 2,000 miles from home on Australian tourist beach". NBC News. NBC. Archived from the original on 12 November 2024. Retrieved 15 November 2024. It was the first time that an emperor, the largest penguin species, was known to have reached Australia.
  7. ^ Samantha Goerling; Jamie Thannoo; Peter Barr (5 November 2024). "Emperor penguin arrives on WA beach thousands of kilometres from home". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Australian Broadcasting Company. Archived from the original on 6 November 2024. Retrieved 15 November 2024.

35°1′S 117°19′E / 35.017°S 117.317°E / -35.017; 117.317


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