Tag: sunset

Dampier Peninsular

Beagle Bay Creek, High and Low tide.

Gnylmarung Campsite

After a full on 4WD on the Cape Leveque track, snapping our aeriel off at the base over the corrigations we turned off to the Gnylmarung campsite. This was the beginning of the rest of our trip around Oz. I had just finished my hospital prac and a bit of remote camping was just what I needed to relax. There’s really only so much you can do while camping and I find it helps me to switch off. Going back to basics with minimal meal prep and facilities, nil technology or mobile reception, no power so ablution blocks were lit by a truck battery on a solar panel, fresh caught fish, new snorkel mask bitten by coral trout freshly caught and landing in the boat, the boys almost walking on water when 3 sharks became aggressive after the coral trout was speared, campfires and tents… but nothing prepared us for our first night in our “2-man” hiking tent in the heat. It barely fit our double mattress, Esther had to sleep with us, we had to try not to touch each other to stay cool and be mindful of not squashing the child. I think we were awake most of the night. We were ever so grateful that our friends offered us their tent for the rest of our trip up the cape while they returned back to Broome. They had brought their trailer up and even had a camp kitchen set up!

  • Check out the size of the tent compared to Dan.. and our awesome tray set up 🙂

Kooljaman Campground @Cape Leveque – Northernmost tip of the Dampier Peninsular.

  • The Campground
  • Cape Leveque Lighthouse
  • We got bogged for the first time on the soft sand returning back to the campsite.
I love the beach, this was a little windy though and a whole different ball game when trying to keep a youngen out of the sun, wind, sand and above water ha ha.

Meeting Ken Duncan OAM – Australian Landscape Photographer.

Being at the cape meant we could take sunset and sunrise photo’s, sunrise was early and I had put off sneaking out of the tent before the little one woke up to take some sunrise photo’s until the last morning. I took my camera and camera bag and stumbled out. It was beautiful and I have tried to capture that below. There were a few other people on the beach doing the same, although they had definitely risen earlier than I!!!

I am very much an amatuer photographer but would love to develop the skill, from memory I had a couple of questions on my mind regarding night photography and manual mode when I noticed someone also taking photo’s with the same cameras as me. I stopped and asked them my question, they then pointed me to a man coming up from the beach and suggested that he would be the best person to ask. This man was friendly and took my camera to have a look and answer my question… when he couldn’t turn it on, the battery had died. So I reached for my spare battery in my camera bag, only to realise my spare battery was in the nappy bag as that bag went everywhere. So no more assistance there with the camera and my question. I expressed how I would love to do a TAFE photography course and learn more, he proposed I only needed to do one course that would teach me everything I needed to know, to go to http://www.kenduncan.com and I would find the course there.

I asked him if he was Ken Duncan, he said yes. I thanked him for his time and he left.

There I was on a remote beach, alongside Ken Duncan, Australia’s most awarded Landscape Photographer, with an opportunity for a mini one on one lesson with camera in hand and the battery was dead. *face palm moment for sure.

Sacred Heart at Beagle Bay aka ‘Mother of Pearl Church’ – est. 1918

Banana Well Getaway – Dampier Peninsular

A perfect halfway stop driving back to Broome from the Cape. We loved the friendly feel of the place, the animals roaming and the sound of the donkey’s somewhere in the distance. Farmer Dan was right at home. I’ve seen peacocks before, but I don’t remember noticing how beautiful the female Peahen’s chest was. The green was so vibrant I had to take a photo! We again stayed in a tent here, went for a drive out to the Beagle Bay Creek, which is huge and has a significant change between the height of the tides as seen in the pictures below. The fear of crocodiles was real and I was on the lookout for any movement in the water, as well as keeping my distance from the edge. The creek is a popular fishing spot, but with stern warnings about cleaning fish near the water and ensuring you remove any waste!

High Tide/Low Tide – Banana Well

The Road in.
What made that ripple…..???

Broome, WA.

Aka Broome-town, is a tourist town, known for its white sandy 22.5 km (14mile) cable beach. This destination was three-fold for us, I had a 4 week clinical placement at Broome Hospital as part of completing my nursing degree, we have family friends living in town and what better place to be between May and June in WA. We stayed in Broome for just over 8 weeks, it is a place hard to leave and many don’t. If it wasn’t for the rest of our travels that lay ahead we might have stayed too. The pace is slower, most services and facilities are all under a 5 min drive and then there is the magic of the Kimberley Region to discover on your doorstep. Dan loved going out fishing with his mate Bryon, being stay at home dad while I was on placement and bringing 8 month old Esther for Breastfeeds and cuddle on breaks! We all went to the outdoor cinema “Sun Pictures” in town. Even had a plane fly over while we were sitting there and baby girl Esther falling asleep… finally… in my arms was so sweet. Dreaming of buying some gold pearl stud earrings one day whilst touring all the pearl jewellery stores, Broome still harvests Pearls today. Last time we were there we went out to Willie Creek, and the Mango farm, this time we headed up to Cape Leveque, which will be a whole new blog post.

Discovering Cable Beach…

Cable Beach @ Sunset…

Anyone for a wedding on Cable Beach, Broome? How good would this be!

Coconut Wells Lagoon

I heard about coconut wells from a nurse I was working with, but it was hard to find directions on google. So I tagged along with some family friends, our first visit was at high tide, unable to see the rock pools only the pinnacles exposed just above the water, our second visit we went at low tide and we were able to see all the rock pools.

Low tide:

Staircase to the moon…

A natural phenomenon that occurs between March and October in Western Australia’s North West. The recipe, a full moon and a low tide. In Broome it can be seen over Roebuck Bay. There are photo’s and paintings all over Broome and at the Courthouse markets (a must-do… crepes and lemonade stand are the best) to see it oneself was amazing. Think beautiful balmy evening, hundreds of people, finding a parking space, standing on a bin to see the sunset and get a shaky photo and that is your image below! Then slowly watching the “staircase” disappear as the moon continues to rise. I personally think it looks more like a sunset than a moon-rise!

  • Staircase to the moon… with a blur…

Fishing on the Fitzroy River…

Crocodile country, crocodile country, crocodile country! Just look at that water… what is lurking beneath? Other than crocodiles, turns out a saw fish. We headed out for a day trip to the Fitzroy River, just off the Great Northern Highway. I stayed right away from the shore, unless someone else was standing in front of me. We heard the rule was 3m from the shore should keep you safe from crocs lunging out of the water. It was made easier with Esther not even crawling at her young age. So we didn’t have to worry about her near the water. No Barramundi on the line for us though that night.

  • Those bright blue eyes like her daddy.

For those travelling with kids, we found a plug in the shower worked great, we later found a collapsible baby bath at a Broome op shop which we put in the bottom of the shower also worked great too, using less water.

  • Bath time.
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