Coasting down the Kimberly

The road into Broome bloomed brighter as we reached the edge of the band of rain clouds that had swept through to the Centre just 5 weeks ago. Ephemeral wildflowers flowered and dormant grass seeds germinated to produce green blushes across the landscape.  When roadside flower ‘colour’ was spotted it entices us to stop and take photographic evidence of the flower, pods and buds and hopefully an identification.

Holly Grevillea (Spider flower)

A field of Tall Mulla Mullas

 A small flower sprig is taken to spend next 5 to 10 minutes checking our “Plants of Inland Australia” book, then recording position and date details. We can’t help ourselves … identification obsession becomes addictive!

Turkey Bush, a type of Calytrix

Cockroach plant

Silver-leaved Grevillea

This was our third time in Broome, a wonderful outback town with character, with its mix of nationalities originating from its pearling, fishing and pastoral origins. We have to confess to indulging in a bed and breakfast to wash the desert dust from our bodies. Besides soaking up the ambience and some nice dining out at Matsos’s pub and Tong’s Chinese, we were here to try to see some of the 30,000 humpback whales that migrate from Antarctica up to Broome and further north, to mate and give birth.

Within ten minutes of wading to our whale boat’s dingy and motoring to sea, a massive humpback breached just 50 meters away. How this creature could get most of its giant body out of water is still a mystery to us, but I was ready with the “big” lens to capture this seemingly slow-motion revelation of its barnacle-encrusted frame. Star ship enterprise from an oceanic universe. Many people on board regretted they weren’t quite ready for capturing this image and we have been fortunate to sell our first photos to the whale-watching company.

Down it goes...will it breach on surfacing?

What can you say?

In Broome we met up with Bronlyn’s  sister, Jillian (and Gary) and her cousin Jennifer (and Noel) and parked our campervan at Broome and joined them in a 4WD expedition to Cape Leveque 200 km north, our van could not have handled the sections of soft sand. 

This road is not for the feint-hearted

A Jabiru along the way...now called a Black-necked stork

We called into at Beagle Bay to admire the mission church – the altar and stained glass windows were beautifully decorated with mother of pearl shells. “The oldies still worship here” said the store proprietor, “but the youngsters have drifted”.

We were on Aboriginal land at Cape Leveque

The seasons are marked by natural events, not months

The gang of six at Cape Leveque...comfortable coastal cabins

Cape Leveque’s red rock geology also turned into a place of contemplation as the sun setting over the Indian Ocean turned the crumbling sandstone into a glowing beacon. The low light on the sand and ripples combined to create a landscape only humans and a fish eye lens could take in all at once.  Do fish really see it like this from their watery world?

Two men (Gary 1 + Gary 2) and a collapsible boat chugged over the coastal reefs and managed to catch two good pan-sized reef fish. 

We spent a lazy 20 minutes chatting to a water policeman from Perth up here to train the locals in marine rescue. We too were given a friendly warning nudge by another police officer just as we were turning for home on a turning tide. We were nonchalantly enjoying ourselves, but the shore crew with us, imagined the worst in the last hour.

I must admit, the little 5 horsepower engine had to work a bit harder getting us back to shore against a falling tide, and increasing sloppiness of the wavelets near shore. Madagascar is the next stop if you get your timing wrong.  One can’t be too careful in this region of giant tides that can range over 6 metres. “The crocodiles just north of here submerge under boats and are happy to wait for a mistake. I wouldn’t go swimming here,”  admitted the water policeman. Cape Leveque? Cape Danger? despite its splendour!

Bronlyn's sister Jillian and her Gary DID swim here as did we...just too tempting!

Early morning on East Beach..time to contemplate life's meaning!

After a further night in Broome, the four of us drove into Bird Australia’s Broome Bird Observatory on Roebuck Bay 25 km south. 

Invitation to avian wonders

Some of mangrove wetlands at Broome bird observatory. Visitors swam near here and the next day a 4 meter croc was seen there.

This RAMSAR (internationally protected) site is home to 150,000 migratory wader birds that arrive from China and Siberia late winter and spring to feast on the mud critters here during the northern winter. This is the fifth most important wader wetland in the world as moderately-sized dull coloured birds such as knots, godwits and greenshanks gorge themselves on worms, shells and crabs winkled, sucked and pincered from the mud. Fat reserves are built up for the return journey after summer, to their northern breeding grounds.

Broome Bird Observatory is at a strategic international bird flyway crossroads

We spent most of our time looking at the “bush” birds at water baths from the comfort of a shade-house. I took on the photographic challenge of capturing the double-barred finches as they revelled in the water splashing themselves to clean dust off their feathers. Brown and rufus-throated honeyeaters plunged warily for a microsecond into the water.

Three birds vie for space in the bird bath

Double-barred Finches pose for the camera

The brown honeyeater wasn't hanging around after drinking

Agile Wallaby visits the bird bath

Lucky spotting: Mating Blue-tongued Lizards

Bower of Great Bower Bird

Male Great Bower Bird on lookout for a mate...how enticing can its bower be?

Definite and tenuous identifications were recorded and discussed in a social sharing session at the shade-house that night. I learnt the difference between a peaceful dove and a bar-shouldered dove, but my “expertise” was eclipsed by a nine year old lad who quickly recognised that my picture of a brown goshawk was in fact a nankeen kestrel. When it comes to birds, it is a life-long learning experience!

I should have known this was a Nankeen Kestrel!

A two day stay at Eighty Mile Beach 335 flower rich kilometres  further south was a chance to admire this sweeping wilderness coast. Beach walks and shell spotting and a crocodile-avoiding swim was the order of the day as “there have been no fish biting for six days” according to one piscatorial expert. A pleasant sea-breeze moderated  evening listening to an excellent country has prepared us for the exploration of the Pilbara from Point Samson 400+km further south.

Can you tell Jillian and Bronlyn are sisters?

 Eighty Mile Beach...a magnet for shell admirers