Our Trip WA - North 27-Cape Leveque| 27-Cape Leveque |
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1st September 2008. Beagle Bay:Just over half way, the turn off to Beagle Bay gives us a well deserved break and rest from the rigours of the red and dusty outback trip. The 4kms trip into the aboriginal community is all blacktop and we were really surprised by the amount of speed bumps and the 20kms speed limit in the town. We specifically stopped here to see the Sacred Heart Church originally built in 1917 by German priests. The interior was then decorated by the local women and adorned with mother of pearl, cowries, volutes and olive shells to create the mosaics which give this church it's unique character. One of the few places we've come across that doesn't have an entrance fee. It does have a donation box at the entrance which goes towards the upkeep and maintenance of this historic site. As we were there for a while filming, we saw 5 couples come in and not one of them made a donation, shame on you....... Kooljaman - Cape Leveque:Kooljaman offers various accommodation options ranging from luxury Safari Tents high on the hillside, En-suite Cabins, Log Cabins, Units, Mini Safari Tents, normal Camp Sites and the Beach Shelters. No caravans allowed. Based on their brochures, we've booked into a beach shelter for 2 nights @ $30.00 per person per night and all I can say is WOW. This is a real Robinson Crusoe experience. The Beach Shelters consist of bush poles covered with a combination of thatching and palm fronds, beach sand floor, a picnic table, open fresh water shower and wood fired barbecue. Pitched our tent under the beach shelter which offered a cool relief from the 34 degree heat with the ocean only metres away, and believe me, this is as close to paradise as you can get, absolutely unbelievable. The beach shelters and the privacy they provide, make you feel like you're stranded on a deserted island, it's pure magic as you forget about life and float off into another world. The local store has very limited supplies and Dinkas Restaurant is only open for a few hours a day, so make sure you bring your own supplies. Caught a nice trevally on the second day which went straight onto the barby for dinner, sauteed in butter, garlic, lime and ground black pepper and rinsed down with a drop of Shiraz. A fitting end to an unbelievable couple of days :) One Arm Point:A 13kms drive takes us to One Arm Point, an aboriginal community who are the traditional owners of Cape Leveque. The small community Bardi store sells everything from food, bicycles, DVD players etc etc and it's so cheap. Fishing lures were half the price of Broome. Went to see the hatchery, but there wasn't much there. On the way back, stopped at a small bay and we suddenly spotted some sharks cruising around. Grabbed the camera and started filming and got some good footage, then all of a sudden one of them is heading straight for me. I thought there was only one person that had ever managed to walk on water, but believe me, now there's two and the the camera kept rolling. Managed to scramble onto some rocks so I was out of the water and kept filming. Pity Marlene didn't get it all on the stills camera, but she was so busy shouting trying to warn me of the impending torpedo. When filming, everything looks further away than what it really is and I was so engrossed in filming it, I didn't realise how close it got, time for fresh underpants again. I'm assuming they were harmless Reef Sharks but am having difficulty identifying them. They were both definitely well over 2 metres long, but all the research I've done on the Internet reports that Reef Sharks only grow up to two metres, so if there's anyone out there that can identify them, please let me know.. Lombadina:13 kms in the other direction take us to another aboriginal community, Lombadina. Signs tell us to report to the office before we proceed and a young aboriginal lady charges us $10.00 cash to visit the community. We aren't given a receipt and had to ask a few times for a brochure and map of the town. We do the 5 minute tour of the community and there is nothing really to see other than a few houses, a school and a church, nothing special. .. After looking at the brochures more thoroughly to see if there's more to see for our ten bucks, we then notice that the fee is only $5.00 per vehicle. Stitched up again and nothing to see for it. Also, the store was closed and no diesel available in the town. Life on The Road:Cape Leveque was by far our best tent camping experience so far. The remote deserted island type experience is something we will never forget and words and photos cannot do it justice, nor can anyone appreciate how unbelievable it was without having experienced it... surreal Simply unforgettable......... |
