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.
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Holly Grevillea (Spider flower) |
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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!
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Turkey Bush, a type of Calytrix |
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Cockroach plant |
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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.
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Down it goes...will it breach on surfacing? |
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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.
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This road is not for the feint-hearted |
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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”.
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We were on Aboriginal land at Cape Leveque |
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The seasons are marked by natural events, not months |
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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!
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Bronlyn's sister Jillian and her Gary DID swim here as did we...just too tempting! |
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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.
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Invitation to avian wonders |
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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.
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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.
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Three birds vie for space in the bird bath |
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Double-barred Finches pose for the camera |
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The brown honeyeater wasn't hanging around after drinking |
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Agile Wallaby visits the bird bath |
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Lucky spotting: Mating Blue-tongued Lizards |
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Bower of Great Bower Bird |
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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!
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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.
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Can you tell Jillian and Bronlyn are sisters? |
Eighty Mile Beach...a magnet for shell admirers