Ocean Beach (Western Australia)
Beach in Western Australia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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]
