We stopped at Beagle Bay for a rest stop and because Sandra had realized we had forgotten our lettuce, mushrooms, and avacado in the caravan fridge. No luck with the groceries but enjoyed the rest stop and took a quick tour of the church. Very interesting as much of it is designed with Mother of Pearl Shells.
We arrived at Kooljaman about 11AM but couldn't check in to 1PM so took a drive out to One Arm Point about 20KM to the East to check out their grocery store. Arrived at the General store about 5 minutes after they closed for a 1.5 hour lunch break so decided to take the scenic tour. Bought our passes from the Hatchery before touring the boat launch, Round Rock Lookout, Middle Lagoon, and Jologo Beach. Although we were some what reluctant tourists because of the Grocery Store being closed we thoroughly enjoyed our visit to One Arm Point. The Tidal current past the Round Rock Lookout is at 14-15 Knots and is incredible to witness. We saw a small boat drifting with the current at high speed before starting their motor. The boat then struggled to make progress upstream against the tide.
Middle Lagoon was interesting with a number of Aboriginal fishing shelters (and one large metal roof for us tourists). The shelters were very haphazard but a couple had planted some plants around them and the toilet block (quite clean with running water) had some interesting artwork of local marine life.
Jologo Beach was our next stop and it was beautiful. Every bit as beautiful as any we have seen and almost totally deserted. There was a small group of young Aboriginals who were having a great time fishing, spearing, and using throw nets. Sandra and I enjoyed a nice picnic lunch watching them, and then a nice stroll down the beach.
We got our misplaced groceries when store opened. Store was quite large and prices were surprisingly reasonable considering the location. We then went back out to the Hatchery to attend the 2PM tour which was part of our pass. The Hatchery is run to replace the 15 tons of Trochu Shells harvested by the Aboriginal community each year. The Aboriginals harvest the meat from the shells before selling them to Italian Fashion Designers who use the shells for buttons. The tour also had tanks which allowed you to feed Barramundi, Green Sea Turtles, Clown Fish, etc. I fed one of the Barramundi and can't believe how fast they suck the food from your hand! Also lots of examples of urchins, shell fish, etc to view. Very interesting.
Finally checked in to Kooljaman Resort around 3PM. We had a Safari Tent perched on the hill overlooking the Indian Ocean to the North and King Sound to the East. Very nice! We got ourselves unpacked before taking drinks and nibbles down to the Western Beach access to enjoy a wonderful sunset. The contrast between the red cliffs, white sand, and blue water is incredible. We enjoyed a lovely Steak BBQ dinner on our deck overlooking the Ocean.
Wednesday morning we signed up for a Tag-a-long tour with a local Aboriginal man, Brian Lee. He turned out to be the Chairman of the Board for Kooljaman and it was an outstanding day. One of the highlights of our adventure to date. Brian was very open, honest, and down to earth. He was knowledgeable of the traditional Aboriginal lifestyle but also very aware of the 21st Century realities and challenges for his people. He led us and one other couple (in our own 4WD vehicles) on a wonderful tour of the local area. We travelled down the Eastern Beach at Cape Leveque until we reached the Hunter Creek. Along the way we stopped a number of times and pulled up a piece of sand while Brian explained to us about the history of Kooljaman and his people. Needless to say the scenery along the way was amazing. The sand and the trails we took were very off road and we definitely needed to lower our tyre pressure and engage full 4WD.
We then journeyed up along the Hunter Creek which was named after his Great Grandfather who was actually an Englishman and one of the early European explorers of the area. We stopped along the creek where he explained more about his family history and of the local area. We saw a number of turtles, fish, and sharks in the creek which prompted him to take out a couple of traditional spears and give Matt (the other fellow on the tour) and myself a lesson in fish spearing. We both gave it a good try and wouldn't give up. Brian was very patient and didn't seem to mind the time drifting away.
We then moved to another location along the creek where we once again attempted to spear a fish and Brian showed us a number of different creatures that lived in the creek (clams, crabs, urchins, etc). He also showed us how to dig a whole near the saltwater Hunter Creek and access a freshwater spring for drinking water.
We finally moved on to another location further along the creek where we searched for mud crabs and harvested some oysters off the Mangrove trees. Matt & I continued to try a spear fish as we went. Finally we found some Estuary Cod under a log that weren't very smart or nimble. I actually speared two in one throw for our first successful catch. Matt managed to get one or two as well. Even though they were slow and stupid it was quite a thrill to spear them successfully.
Brian eventually asked me what time it was and was shocked when I told him 2:30. The tour was only supposed to run from 8AM to noon so we certainly got our money's worth. He guided us back to the resort where we had a relaxing later afternoon and evening. What a great day and we would highly recommend Brian's tour to any visitors to Cape Leveque.
We had planned on a trip to the beach for a swim and a fish but were pretty much buggered by the time we got back to our Safari tent. A highlight of the weekend and our afternoon was spotting a number of whales from our deck in the late afternoon/early evening. The Humpback whales breed near here and are all heading south now. They were some distance from shore but we could clearly see them breaching, fin slapping, and having a great time. Luckily we had brought our binoculors so were able to really enjoy the action. Seeing a whale breach was one of Sandra's life long dreams so was a very rewarding afternoon. We had another lovely meal on the BBQ.
Thursday morning saw us up early watching a beautiful sunrise from our balcony. Again we saw a number of whales breaching and swimming in the distance. We had a nice breakfast before packing our gear and checking out. We parked the car at the Resort Reception and joined a two hour fishing charter. The waters were a lovely colour but unfortunately quite choppy. We travelled out some distance before trying our luck with the supplied handlines and bait. The fish were stripping off the bait as fast as we could put it on the hooks. The guide, Paul caught a couple of Spanish Flags before Sandra finally latched on to a fish. It seemed to be a pretty good size but unfortunately a shark latched on to it before she got it aboard. It actually ripped the handline right out of Paul's hands as we got it close to the boat. In a stange turn of events one of the other people on the boat (a teenage boy) got his line caught up with Sandra's. After quite a struggle he managed to pull in the lost handline and a 1.5 metre Bronze Whaler. The shark was cut loose but Paul was quite happy to have recoverd his handline. By this time the water was really rough and both Sandra & I were feeling a bit queasy. We decided to call it a day before we started to really get sick. Paul took us back in and then continued on with the other two people on the charter. We were lucky enough to see a few more whales on our trip including one that breached quite close to us. No pictures as it was way to rough to hold a camera.
We took a few moments to catch our breath and steady our stomachs before beginning the journey back to Broome. Had a good trip with a few stops to settle our stomachs. Arrived home to find Carol and Stephen had caught up and joined us at Roebuck Bay. We had a nice afternoon catching up on our respective adventures. Cape Leveque is a wonderful location and definitely worth a visit if you are ever in this part of the world. Both Kooljaman and the Hatchery at One Arm Point are owned by the Aboriginal communities and both appear to be successful ventures to improve their communities. The communities seemed quite clean and more traditional than many we have seen in our journey.
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