beach – Mick & Sue's Aussie Adventure

June 17, 2023August 20, 2023

Broometime

After our sprint across the continent, it didn’t take long to relax into ‘broometime’.

At the Discovery Parks Holiday Park we were lucky to be allocated a beachside campsite that offers uninterrupted views of Roebuck Bay. And it is an ever changing view as the tide gently flows in and then way out every day revealing sand flats.

Beachfront site at Discovery Parks Broome

The first day we drove out to look at the famous Cable Beach. It was Sunday and Little Nippers had just finished. The beach was full of activity, people enjoying the warm winter weather. The very next day the beach was closed due to a three metre saltwater crocodile seen cruising casually in the water heading north. It was only closed to swimmers for 24 hours.

We felt unhurried about exploring, content to sit in our deck chairs watching the bay. Boats go back and forth, ships, and tenders servicing the moored boats. Jet skis, kayaks, and an Everglades craft whir past.

Close by is the airport and we see all kinds of aircraft, seaplanes, passenger jets small and medium, helicopters, and a military plane.

Mick is periodically tempted by the fish jumping in the shallows in front of us. He spent several days trying to catch one, until the unseen conditions changed and the fish went off the bite.

The pool at this caravan park is resort quality and we have spent some hours lounging, reading, and dipping.

We drove north to the Willie Creek Pearl Farm and joined a tour which was well presented and interesting. The things I didn’t know about pearls! During the boat tour of the creek we saw a crocodile lazing on the banks. It slid into the water as we approached, disappearing into the chalky depths.

By chance some friends are travelling ahead of us in two caravans and we met up in Broome. A mutual friend, Scruff, urged us all to go to Matso’s Brewery to try the Mango Beer and Chilli Beer. Lunch with the group was great, the weird beers not so much. Mick and I went back on another night and had a hot Spicy Margarita.

We went to the town market twice, visited Chinatown, climbed around on the colourful rocks at Gantheaume Point, looked with scepticism at the dinosaur footprints, saw the sunset at Cable Beach, and walked beside the iconic camel train.

Broome has provided a welcome easy holiday in warm weather. I feel rested.

The Gibb River Road beckons. Our friends have gone ahead already and we might catch up with them again somewhere.

Travellers arrive in the caravan park who have obviously just completed the 660 kilometre dirt road, as their vehicles are coated in red dust and their faces have an expression of jubilation and relief. Mick has spoken to a few and feels as prepared as he can be.

The Peninsula Development Road in Cape York of Far North Queensland looms large in our minds, a memory that is clear and holds residual anguish.

Still the rough road is before us, and if we want to experience the vistas, waterfalls, and waterholes of The Kimberley, this is the way.

September 3, 2020

Townsville QLD

Families of Blue Tiger butterflies chaperoned us through the pretty bushland near Radical Bay on Magnetic Island. I tried and failed to photograph them as they glided in over our shoulders then zigzagged away, blue spotted wings flashing in the dappled sunlight.

At remote Radical Bay an old upright piano sat alone on the sand, inviting me to play some discordant notes at odds with the gentle wind in the coconut palms and the rhythm of the sea.

Piano at Radical Bay Magnetic Island QLD

At Florence Bay we snorkeled, not venturing out too far in the murky sea. A garden of coral was just below the surface but not clear or colourful in these windswept conditions. The dip in the ocean was a relief after the long walk up and down rocky trails around the headlands.

We returned by bus to the ferry wharf and enjoyed excellent fish and chips for lunch before the ride back to Townsville. Captain Cook named the island Magnetic Island because his compass was not working when he was navigating the area. Apparently, there is no evidence of any strange magnetic activity in the area, but the name stuck. We enjoyed our visit and exploration of the island.

Our caravan was parked at Rollingstone Beach which is about fifty kilometres north of Townsville. It is a well laid out park beside the sea and our position was not next to the beach luckily because the wind was wild, and the view was of brown water. Swimming here is not advised due to saltwater crocodiles and lethal jellyfish. The swimming pool at the park is perfect, although the temperature is ten degrees cooler than what we had been experiencing in the Northern Territory.

Townsville is an Army town and home to the Australian Defense Forces. The city appears to be prospering. Mick bought two new tyres for the car, as they wear quicker when pulling the caravan.

We visited a cousin and her husband who now live just north of Townsville and had a lovely afternoon chatting and sharing stories. Shared family history is special. They seem to have settled in well despite leaving family in Victoria.

Sues in someone’s beach hut on Rollingstone Beach one day then gone the next

We stay a week and then head further north aiming for Cairns or Port Douglas.

July 13, 2020

Evans Head NSW

We lay on the grass and peered over the edge of the cliff to see the water breaking on the inaccessible cove below. Standing up there was nothing between us and the Pacific Ocean. Whale spouts were visible in the distance while dolphins bucked with the waves closer to shore; some mixing with the surfers, giving them pause before relaxing. This is a beautiful walk out to the Goanna Headland to Chinaman’s Beach and Snapper Point. The rock formations are full of texture and colour. Pandanus trees grow everywhere.

The Evans River has a mouth and inlet that is great for boats, fishing, canoeing, and swimming. The river is teeming with fish, pelicans, stingray, turtles, and rivercraft. Along the riverbank the paths are inviting and accessible and full of kids on scooters enjoying the school holidays. A lookout provides a great place to search for whales and dolphins, and to gaze out towards Broadwater and beyond to the faint silhouettes of the hills behind Byron Bay.

A colony of flying foxes is situated in a copse of trees beside the path, their presence apparent due to the smell and their squabbling. Every evening they take to the sky circling silently overhead.

It is a lovely spot with a big caravan park in the small town, gorgeous scenery, great walks, beautiful sea, good surf, and beaches for swimming. Every Friday afternoon there is a little market near the surf club that offers lots of homemade goodies and fresh produce.

Meanwhile the state of Victoria has retreated into a second lockdown period due to the pandemic, the border into New South Wales is finally closed. Too late I would think. They needed to do that before the school holiday period. Many Victorians camp near us in the caravan park, but these are mostly grey nomads and longtime travelers, like us. Most of the families enjoying the school holidays are from New South Wales and Queensland. The state premiers are all panicking and madly trying to protect their own little patch, while globally the virus is on the rampage. It seems to be a lost cause to me unfortunately.

March 9, 2020March 9, 2020

Peppermint Grove Beach

Peppermint green water of Geographe Bay, neon green grass, and eucalyptus green leaves of the gumtrees at the caravan park; Peppermint Grove is aptly named and is an oasis located within the dry salt inlets and marshes of the strip of land between Busselton and Bunbury.

The Australian Ringneck parrot shares the trees at the campground with a family of magpies, an occasional kookaburra, and hyperactive wattle birds. The Australian Ringneck has a green body, black head, and a distinctive yellow collar. This variety of parrot is not seen on the Mornington Peninsula where we call home. Each time I try to take a photo of one, it is gone before I am ready.

It was very relaxing surrounded by all this green and the campground is spacious set out generously on the grass under the pleasing variety of eucalypts. Also no dogs allowed which added to the serenity. A new variety of eucalypt caught my eye, with its bright yellow flowers and red bud caps. I looked it up and it is an Illyarrie Red-Capped Gum (Eucalyptus Erythrocorys). The bees and birds were loving it as much as me.

The beach fronts onto the large Geographe Bay and stretches into the distance in both directions. The water is a gorgeous shade of green distinctive as the Indian Ocean. It is perfect for swimming as it drops quickly to a nice depth. Few people were on the beach.

A walk down Busselton Jetty cost us four dollars each for the privilege, and we passed on the train ride and aquarium. We wanted the exercise and like walking out on piers, and we had visited that aquarium once before on a previous visit. It is a lovely foreshore area with designated netted swimming areas, cafes, and a great playground. Local school children were having swimming lessons in one section of the netted swimming areas.

We took a day trip to Bunbury which is an interesting location as it has the beach front to Geographe Bay, another inner bay with a large industrial port, then a deeper inlet. The parks along the beachfront, bay beach, and inlet are nicely set out with bike trails, swimming areas, boat ramps, parking, and lookouts. We had lunch at the Back Beach Café looking out to sea where quite a few large ships idled. Bunbury is not a pretty town but it is interesting.

March 5, 2020March 6, 2020

Swings and Roundabouts

The crisp white wine seeped into our alcohol deprived cells at the Swings & Roundabouts winery in the Margaret River region of Western Australia. It is a good name for a wine when you think about it because it gives credence to the good years and bad years that underpin the art of viticulture.

‘Swings and roundabouts’ also describes the art of caravan life. There is a saying “Wherever you go, there you are.” So we still carry our habitual neuroses. We worry about our family. We miss our granddaughters. Our aches and pains remain. All the usual baggage comes along for the trip. Some days are good days and others not so good. And there are a multitude of other factors that come into the mix.

The touchstones of gratitude, positivity, and ‘being in the now’, soaking in the experience, are helpful as always.

The wine was underwhelming. The lunch was nice. The setting on the green lawn under gumtrees on a gorgeous autumn day in the Margaret River region was perfect. The wine unsettled us and we could not relax.

We arrived in the Margaret River region on the Monday of a long weekend and it was busy. It reminds me a lot of Red Hill on the Mornington Peninsula and was just as busy with people swarming the wineries, cafes, and beaches. I don’t like crowds at the best of times.

We swam every day at Yallingup snorkeling in the rocky reef near the shore, spotting many varieties of fish in the sheltered pool. It is a beautiful beach, but sadly lacked any surf while we were there. Not that we surf, but we do enjoy watching others ride the waves.

We chose not to visit any of the caves because we have been in many caves in our lives and baulked at the entry fee.

The town of Margaret River is nothing special in my view; just a country town. There were road works going on in the main street causing chaos and taking away any ambience that might exist. We looked at the shops and bought a coffee then moved on for a quick look at Prevelly Beach; still no surf.

Ready to head up towards Perth we move slowly north along the coast.