CAPE LEVEQUE TO EIGHTY MILE BEACH

A moment of sisterly love in the car on the way back from Cape Leveque

The Black Kites hunting small animals escaping the fires. These birds have even been known to spread bushfires by dropping burning branches. It assists them in hunting their prey. Burning off happens almost continuously in NT and WA.  We drove through many swirls of smoke!

Jumping down the sand dunes at Eighty Mile Beach at sunset.

David and Beth walking along Eighty Mile Beach at sunset

Yes!  Another sunset!!  Eighty Mile Beach - amazing!

As far as the eye can see .............. remote beach!

DAY 69 – CAPE LEVEQUE TO EIGHTY MILE BEACH                         Friday, 9^th September

Shocking night’s sleep last night – the wind howled all night, waking me at 1:52am!!  Did not get back to sleep thinking about all the tree limbs that could fall on our tents.  But David and I managed to convince ourselves that, given how many cyclones this part of the country endures, this gale force breeze wouldn’t scare these trees!!  We did not see any need for a fly for the tent we were using so we were able to gaze up all night into the most amazing starry, starry night, with the Cape Leveque lighthouse flashing out at regular intervals.  Despite the howling wind, there was something very peaceful about the night, no doubt because of the remoteness and beauty of the area.

So by 6:15am we had packed up our tent and anything else we could do and decided our precious babies needed to be woken so we could get back to Broome and pick up the caravan before 10am so as not to be charged for another day!  The kids were so good at helping us to pack up and get on the road – again back over the 90kms of corrugated road!!  We had a great production line back at the caravan, dumping everything in the van so my poor boy could breathe again!  More diesel and some bread and milk and then back on the road to Eighty Mile Beach.  Pretty much 380kms of nothing.

But Eighty Mile Beach was a pleasant surprise!  And yes, the sunsets just keep getting better!!  We set up the caravan but left the car on as we didn’t need to drive anywhere – or more aptly, there was nowhere to drive!!  We wandered down to the most magnificent beach – eighty miles of unadulterated beauty!  As far as the eye could see in both directions, there was just stunning beach.  This beach is known for its beautiful shells, so the kids went beserk, having a ball running around  picking up different shells.  Don’t you love it when you find yourself with a handful of shells you don’t want, but when you go to put them down a plaintive little voice says:  “But Mummy I GAVE them to you.  I want YOU to have them”!  So David and I wandered around with pocketsful of shells.  Beth has decided she will enter into the “shell jewellery making business”, so she was hard at work finding exactly the shells she wanted.  Of course when we arrived back at the van, we had to spend the next hour sorting them all out.

It is such a lovely caravan park.  Just very quiet, clean, and mainly full of grey nomads who come here for weeks or even months during winter.  After thinking how much we would love to come back here for a holiday, we then discovered why there were no families here – there are sharks and sea snakes very close in to the shore, so no swimming.  That counts us out!  But it is just beautiful to walk along the beach at sunset.  (And yes, there will be more sunset photos yet!) My husband was most upset when I asked him to “Get out of my sunset shot!” [Husband’s note: You would think 80 miles of beach would be enough space for her to take yet another precious sunset photo.]  He continually mocks me for my sunset shots but little does he know I am going to fill my house with them when we return!

We intend to have a morning walk as well.  Just to top things off, they have a great shop with REAL ice-cream for $2 a scoop!  Bargain!  It was three times that price in Broome!!  We are thinking an ice-cream for breakfast at this rate!  OH!  And one MORE good thing – a load of washing is only $2!  I think we should have spent our “holiday” here!  Have never had washing so cheap – so made everyone completely strip!  Washing on the line at 9pm and in this wind they will be bone dry by morning. [Husband’s note: Or out in the Indian Ocean!]  It is funny how the little things can engender such excitement!!

The weather has significantly changed too.  It was again very windy down the beach this afternoon and although everything is still now, our “neighbours” told us that at 2am it will be blowing a gale again.  I have also put a jumper on tonight – which is extremely displeasing!  I am remembering fondly the nights at Darwin and Kakadu and even Broome, where I would walk to the toilet at 10:30pm and it would still be 25 degrees!  THAT is my kind of weather.  We have travelled almost 600kms today but it would be interesting to work out how far SOUTH we have come. 

We are travelling mainly south tomorrow, heading towards Karajini National Park.  More adventures!