The Ngari Capes Marine Park is a

marine protected area Marine protected areas (MPA) are protected areas of seas, oceans, estuaries or in the US, the Great Lakes. These marine areas can come in many forms ranging from wildlife refuges to research facilities. MPAs restrict human activity for a conserv ...

on the lower south west coast of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

, located approximately south of . The marine park was

gazetted A gazette is an official journal, a newspaper of record, or simply a newspaper. In English and French speaking countries, newspaper publishers have applied the name ''Gazette'' since the 17th century; today, numerous weekly and daily newspapers ...

on and the park's western and southern boundaries are the limit of coastal waters of Western Australia, abutting the

South-west Corner Marine Park The South-west Corner Marine Park (formerly South-west Corner Commonwealth Marine Reserve) is a marine protected area on the lower south west and southern coast of Western Australia, one of 14 in the South-west Marine Parks Network. It was ga ...

located within the

Australian Commonwealth Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

exclusive economic zone.

Features

The

dive wreck Wreck diving is recreational diving where the wreckage of ships, aircraft and other artificial structures are explored. Although most wreck dive sites are at shipwrecks, there is an increasing trend to scuttle retired ships to create artificia ...

of is located within the park waters, between Dunsborough and

Cape Naturaliste Cape Naturaliste is a headland in the south western region of Western Australia at the western edge of the Geographe Bay. It is the northernmost point of the Leeuwin-Naturaliste Ridge which was named after the cape. Also the Leeuwin-Naturaliste ...

. The park includes a significant number of

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a saf ...

surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitabl ...

, shore-based activity and recreation zones. The largest sanctuary zones are East Geographe, Eagle Bay, Cape Naturaliste, Injidup, Cape Freycinet, Cape Leeuwin and East

Flinders Bay Flinders Bay is a bay and locality that is immediately south of the townsite of Augusta, and close to the mouth of the Blackwood River. The locality and bay lies to the north east of Cape Leeuwin which is the most south-westerly mainland poin ...

. From the north to the south, some of the special sanctuary zones within the park are East Geographe, Central Geographe Bay, Eagle Bay, Eagle Bay Special Purpose Zone (shore-based activities), Cape Naturaliste, and Windmills Special Purpose Zone (SPZ) (surfing).

Named zones

Named zones in the park, (SPZ meaning Special Purpose Zone, usually surfing) from the north: * East Geographe Bay Sanctuary Zone *

Busselton Jetty Busselton Jetty is the longest timber-piled jetty (pier) in the Southern Hemisphere at long. The jetty is managed by a not-for-profit community organisation, Busselton Jetty Inc. The jetty's construction commenced in 1864 and the first section ...

Sanctuary Zone * Central Geographe Bay Sanctuary Zone * Eagle Bay Sanctuary and Special purpose zones *

Sanctuary zone * Windmills SPZ (Special Purpose zone) * Three Bears SPZ * Yallingup SPZ and Sanctuary zones * Wyadup Sanctuary Zone (also known as Wyadup rocks, Wyadup beach, and Wyadup bay) * Injidup Sanctuary Zone (adjacent to

Cape Clairault Cape Clairault is located south of Yallingup in the coastal region between Cape Naturaliste and Cape Leeuwin. It was named after French mathematician Alexis Claude Clairault by the French expedition of 1801-1803 along the western coast of Austr ...

) * Moses Rock SPZ * Goannas SPZ * Moses Beach SPZ * Gallows/Guillotine SPZ * Cowaramup Bay Recreation zone * Lefthanders SPZ * Kilcarnup Sanctuary ZoneRegarding plans for an early road into this area for tourism, see *

Margaret River The Margaret River is a river in southwest Western Australia. In a small catchment, it is the eponym of the town and tourist region of Margaret River. The river arises from a catchment of just 40 square kilometres in the Whicher Range. The ...

SPZ * Redgate SPZ *

Cape Freycinet Cape Freycinet is a point on the coast between Cape Leeuwin and Cape Naturaliste in the south west of Western Australia. It is within the Shire of Augusta-Margaret River local government area, and the Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park. It is n ...

Sanctuary zone *

Hamelin Bay Hamelin Bay is a bay and a locality on the southwest coast of Western Australia between Cape Leeuwin and Cape Naturaliste. It is named after French explorer Jacques Félix Emmanuel Hamelin, who sailed through the area in about 1801. It is sou ...

Recreation and Sanctuary zones * Cosy Corner SPZ and Sanctuary zones *

Cape Leeuwin Cape Leeuwin is the most south-westerly (but not most southerly) mainland point of the Australian continent, in the state of Western Australia. Description A few small islands and rocks, the St Alouarn Islands, extend further in Flinders Ba ...

Sanctuary Zone * Flinders Island Sanctuary Zone * East Flinders Bay Sanctuary Zone

References

External links

* * * {{Marine and coastal parks of Western Australia, state=autocollapse Marine parks of Western Australia

Features

Named zones

See also

References

External links