We’ve been camped on the west side of the Dampier Peninsula looking out to King Sound, but we’ve heard that Middle Lagoon on the west side is good, looking out to the Indian Ocean. So we packed up and moved down the road about 100km, and found ourselves at this place.
Do I have to tell you that it was 32 degrees? No wind. High tide. So nice.
This is a popular place, and much closer to Broome. The camping sites are nice, some better than others, and the camp ground police are relaxed. Here’s a few of the beach side sites:
I have this good feeling there might be NO MOSQUITOS. (I am currently covered in welts and lumps and swollen and not happy from the first afternoon up north)
Author Archives: Bridget
Quest of the Grey Nomads, August 7, 2013
Now I’ve had a fair bit to say about the Grey Nomads of the world. I really admire their spirit, and I’m impressed at some of the places they get to, often with the help of walking sticks. Anyway, we’ve seen some of the home comforts that they take along with them on their Big Lap, but today’s sighting takes the cake.
Yes, that’s a toilet chair, proudly transported on the roof of the shiny Prado. Go Nomads.
Red, Red Rock, August 7, 2013
The thing that makes Cape Leveque famous is the red rocky cliffs that meet the white sand that meets the blue water of the Indian Ocean. Try getting that in one photo.
As Chief Executive Officer of The Boys Adventures Taxi Service, I was booked for a 5.15pm pickup down at Kooljaman (Cape Leveque). Luckily this place has the flashy café that serves 9/10 coffee, so I found myself there well in advance of the Boy Team arrival. And checked that the coffee was indeed good. Perched on the cliff top, sipping my coffee with a sensational view over the ocean was tough. But I got the job done.
The sun was getting low and the beach was looking better by the minute.
Harry called in on the radio on time at 5pm as scheduled, and we met as planned just in front of the red cliffs as the sun dropped below the horizon.
Nellie Point Paddle Post Script
Nellie Point Paddle – a post from John, August 7, 2013
Having settled into our comfortable camp at Gambanan located approximately 3km west of One Arm Point and having seen how the tide was running when we arrived, I immediately thought a “with the tide” paddle with the boys to Cape Leveque was in order. The tide changed around lunchtime and the boys were getting ratty and I knew they were in need of some activity. So we loaded the diving and fishing gear into the Mango (kayak) and set off on the 21km paddle with instructions to call Bridget on the radio in 3hrs time. We made great progress, with the tide all the way to Nellie Point where we snuck through a narrow channel between the Point and Swan Island. Here the tide was really moving with decent sized rapids, big eddies, boils and whirlpools. We stopped to take a pic and a short video as you could really hear the water pouring out what is one of the entrances to King Sound. (Note: Cape Cuvier, mentioned in the video, is not the correct name for the most northerly point – it is Nellie Point)
The boys were suitably impressed with the power of nature and we headed down the coast to Cape Leveque still some 13km away. We pulled in at a deserted beach for a swim and a snack and I also changed over lures as my patience for catching fish on a line was waning (I had been trawling a lure for the last 8km with no success).
We lost a lot of the ebb tide flow once around the Point but paddled on to the Leveque Lighthouse faintly showing in the distance. The boys’ paddling ability is really improving after initiating them with a 22km paddle on Katherine Gorge and a 42km paddle on the Ord River!
We arrived at the lighthouse with plenty of time to spare and pulled out the dive gear to see if any fish could be speared. No joy here either but at least we saw a big snapper and Harry was loving the tropical underwater world of corals, clams and bright coloured aquarium fish.
We located Bridget on the beach and pulled in with 20mins to spare to watch a fantastic west coast sunset and admire the rich red colours in the coastal cliffs. Another great day, apart from the fishing!