Beagle Bay and Gnylmarung - a taste of life in the community

Beagle Bay, Dampier Peninsula, WA

Friday 22nd September

We spent one night at Beagle Bay visiting some friends we’d made on the road last year. They have moved up to Beagle Bay for a few years as Emily has taken a teaching role at the local school. It’s a huge change from their previous life on the Mornington Peninsula so we were very excited to hear how life has been for them since they moved up here in January. While Em finished up at school (it was the last day of term), Elia and the kids (Harry and Ned) thought they’d take us to Banana Wells to go fishing and crabbing but as we were about to leave an out of control fire that had been burning nearby started to approach the small community as the wind had changed. We spent about 45 minutes standing with the locals assessing the scene – there was a lot of smoke and the fire was only a few hundred metres from some of the houses. Thankfully the wind turned again and the ranger arrived so we felt safe leaving. The delay meant we missed the change of tide so the fishing was not as good as it could have been, however they got heaps of bites and Jackson pulled in a Fingermark that we ate whole that night. Elia also put the crab pots in a nearby creek and the kids were pretty excited to discover some crabs in them each time they checked. The crabs were undersize though so they were put back. Later that afternoon Emily took us to see the historic Beagle Bay church – famous for the alter which is decorated in pearl shell. It was stunning and a real testament to the ingenuity and creativeness of the local Aboriginal people who built the church for the missionaries, after only being given a postcard to show what to build! That night we enjoyed listening to Em and Elia explain their way of life up here whilst the kids had a great time playing and watching a movie together

We actually missed the turn off as we didn't see the cute homemade sign welcoming us to Beagle Bay

The bushfire just down the road from Em and Elia's house

Fishing at Banana Wells

Got one - the first mud crab (which was actually the only one they caught that was big enough to keep).

Beagle Bay church- just over the fence from the place Em and Elia are living in.

The stunning altar - decorated in locally found pearl and cowrie shells.

Gnylmarung

The next day we headed to a nearby camp on the Peninsula – one of Em and Elia’s favourites. The owners are from Beagle Bay and they keep a section of the campground for the local teachers to use. It was super hot by the time we arrived so after a quick set up we all headed down to the bay for a swim and the boys tried their luck fishing off the rocks. Elia had brought his boat but the wind had picked up so they decided to go on out on the boat the next morning instead. We spent the afternoon alternating between the water and a shady spot on the dunes. We had a great evening sitting around the campfire (quite far away though as it was still so warm that we didn’t want any of the heat from the fire, just the ambiance). 

The next morning Elia, Daniel, Harry and Jackson left at 5.30am to go fishing out in the deeper water. Emilia and I went for an explore along the beach then we spent the morning relaxing at the beach with Em and Ned. The boys came back with a few feeds of fish, which they were very happy about. They forgot to tell us the most exciting part of their morning out until later that night though – they’d seen 5 dugongs! Three of them had actually swam above the water quite near the boat. I was so jealous as I’ve never seen a dugong up close- they were so lucky. That afternoon the kids went snorkelling around the rocks looking at the thousands of bait fish swimming in the shallow water. After watching the sunset over the ocean we had a feast of fresh fish for dinner before spending another night chatting around the campfire looking up at the starry sky.

We spent the morning at the beach before saying our goodbyes and heading to another beach side camp. It had been a great few days and we all really enjoyed catching up with Em, Elia, Harry and Ned. 

An early morning walk along the beach before it got too hot.

Some of the interesting rock formations at the end of the bay Emilia and I walked to.

It was so calm - a perfect morning for the boys to go out on the boat.

Heading out to sea, hoping for some fish (notice Daniel's wearing his lucky fishing bracelet!!).

They arrived back happy and with a bucketful of fish.

Emilia and Ned making a pond for some of the many hermit crabs

Elia gave Jackson a refresher on throwing a casting net and he ended up with around 60-70 bait fish on his first go!

The fish heads then had to be picked out of the cast net - yuk!! (however the seagulls were happy as they got a free feed).

Enjoying some of the morning's catch.

Sunset on the beach

Getting close (sometimes too close) to the wildlife at Quandong Point

Dampier Peninsula, WA

Quandong Point

Tuesday 19th - Thursday 21st September

Our first stop on the Dampier Peninsula was the free camp at Quandong Point. We had a magical time camping right on the edge of the beach where we enjoyed 180 degree views of the ocean as well as perfect sunsets. By far the most special thing about this beach was the hermit crabs- there were literally millions of them. They were all through the rocks, down in the many rock pools that were exposed at low tide and even up at camp. The kids spent hours playing with them, building them little homes and tunnels, and watching them scuttle in and out the rocks. We all enjoyed going out in the evening with head torches and watching them scurrying around, by the morning there were tracks all over the sand. The little ones were easy to pick up and their claws were not big enough to do any damage when they tried to nip you but Daniel learnt the hard way that the big ones hurt when they bite. He laid down on the sand and asked Jackson to put one on his back, thinking it would feel funny as it crawled around- however as soon as Jackson put it on his back it clamped onto his skin and he yelped in pain. ‘Get it off, get it off’ he yelled, but we could not dislodge it, it had fixed itself onto his back so tightly. We put sand on his back hoping that would help, then he went into the water but still it held fast. He ended up having to just yank it off after about 5 minutes of frantically trying to remove it. He was left with a chunk out of his skin and a bruise was already beginning to show. I tried hard not to laugh but the visual of him walking along with a hermit crab stuck on the middle of his back is one that continues to make me chuckle.

The place was teeming with wildlife and over the 3 days we saw:

• Clams, crabs, octopuses and small fish in rock pools
• Whales breaching and spurting water in the distance
• The resident dingo who frightened Jackson twice (once when he was looking in the rock pools and he looked up to see the dingo only a few metres from him, then once when he was using the ‘bush toilet (aka hole)’ and the dingo wandered through the bushes nearby).
• So many small finches around camp- we put some fresh water out for them and they loved splashing around and drinking from it. It was such a joy to watch them.
• A large snake who poor Emilia stumbled on when she went off into the bushes with the shovel – she’s the one most scared of snakes yet she seems to always be the one who finds them. Daniel saw the snake track on the road the next morning and said it was a big one.

We had a great time at Quandong and can see why so many people recommended it to us- it was a great way to start our time up the Dampier Peninsula.

Exploring the rock pools at sunset- the bright green sea grass made the rocks look so pretty

Jackson's time looking under the rocks was rewarded when he found a big conch shell.

Taking the shovel for a walk in the bushes - a few minutes later they came running back after Emilia nearly stood on a snake. 

The resident dingo that gave Jackson a fright twice - once on the beach and once in the bushes.

On our early morning exploration of the nearby rock pools - there was so much to see. 

We lost count of how many large purple clams we saw- you have to be careful not to go too close or they spit water on you!

Emilia found this octopus sitting on a rock - when we approached he swam away and found somewhere to hide- it was great to watch.

The blue-ringed octopus Jackson found - it was the biggest one we've ever seen and we were lucky enough to get to see the rings brighten up as it swam away.

A blue swimmer crab - I just got a photo before he quickly scuttled away.

                            Some of the thousands of hermit crabs on the beach at Quandong Point.

I took my good camera down in the evening and got some great photos- I just had to be careful where I stood as there were hermit crabs everywhere.

One of several blue buttons we found washed up on the beach at low tide

Quandong Point at low tide - Daniel sent the drone out to see if he could get a photo of a whale but it was too far out to sea.

We had such a great campsite.

Exploring James Price Point- the red cliffs along this part of the coast are just stunning.

The view down the coast from Dugal (Flat Rock), a camp north of Quandong.

The cute little finches that were all around camp

Enjoying a drink and bath in the freshwater we put out.

I love the expression on the bird on the right- he doesn't look too happy being splashed!

Sunsets and steamy nights at Broome

Broome, WA

Thursday 14^th- Tuesday 19^th September

Other than the boring but necessary jobs, cleaning, washing, grocery shopping, catching up on blogs and trying to fix the things that got damaged and broken along the Gibb (the gas pipe to the oven and stove top snapped off and Daniel was unable to get the necessary part after trying a number of different options – we’ve just decided to use the butane cooker outside for the rest of the trip), we spent our time in Broome:

• Watching the sunset on Cable Beach (we actually did this 3 times as it is so nice down there). On of the times our friends took their bbq down and, after a swim, we cooked dinner and ate while watching the sky turn a multitude of gorgeous colours.
• Driving out of town to Coconut Wells with some of our new friends and enjoying the 2 experiences this place is known for. The first was at high tide when the sea water gushes through an opening in the sand dune and creates a lagoon behind the dunes. The water was such a beautiful shade of blue, but it was super salty so we all had tingly skin after swimming. The second experience was at low tide. After having lunch and relaxing in the shade for a few hours we headed up the beach to the point where the outgoing tide had exposed heaps of little rock pools that we all had a great time exploring.
• Wandering around the Town Beach Night Market listening to the live music and enjoying the chilled out vibe.
• Having dinner with our friends and watching the footy (disappointingly Melbourne lost to Carlton) at the Divers Tavern. The place was packed with avid footy fans and the atmosphere was great, especially in the last few tense minutes of the game. When Carlton kicked their winning goal and the siren went the whole place erupted with Carlton supporters loudly shouting their team song.
• Learning about the pearling industry and looking at an old pearling boat before enjoying a delicious ginger beer at Matso’s Brewery while looking out across Roebuck Bay.
• Eating barramundi tacos with Rex and Courtney. Rex had gone out fishing with a mate and brought back a big barramundi so they invited us over for dinner- the tacos, with fresh guacamole and homemade tomato & coriander salsa, were incredible.
• Swimming in the caravan park pool- the kids spent so many hours in here with Flo and Artie (Rex and Courtney’s kids) that their faces got all dry and sore from too much chlorine. That didn’t stop them though, they were there as soon as the pool opened at 7am and spent every spare minute that we were at the caravan park swimming and making up games in the pool.
• Exploring some of the Dampier Peninsula to find possible areas to camp once we leave Broome – we found a few incredible spots and are looking forward to spending time on some of the beautiful beaches up the peninsula.

It is certainly heating up and we really noticed the change in the climate from the Gibb River Road. It was so much more humid in Broome with the air turning damp and steamy by about 5pm each evening. The mornings were also really misty- you could actually see the moisture in the air as the sun rose. On one morning Daniel went for a run along Cable Beach and the mist was so thick he couldn't even see the ocean as he ran along! Looks like were in for some hot and sweaty times as the humidity is here to stay, and it is only going to get hotter the further north we go!

One of several evenings out on Cable Beach to watch the sun set over the ocean.

Walking out to Coconut Wells as the tide was rushing in to make the lagoon.

The lagoon made at high tide at Coconut Wells

Exploring the rock pools near Coconut Wells

Some of the many hermit crabs around the rock pools

The rock formations were very interesting- this one had small cascading waterfalls .

Sunset on Cable Beach - the seagulls were all waiting patiently hoping for some of our snacks!

We had a perfect view of the camels walking along Cable Beach - though that also meant we were in the perfect position to smell them as they walked past!

Emilia and her new friend Flo, they had so much fun together.

We had dinner down on the beach with Courtney, Rex, Flo and Artie. After a swim we watched the sunset while we ate dinner - it was such a beautiful evening.

Daniel did a time lapse of the sunset - so pretty.

One of the old pearl diving helmets.

A pearling boat

Enjoying a cold drink and live music at Matso's Brewery.

One of the gorgeous bays we found when exploring up the Dampier Peninsula.