WEDNESDAY 6 SEPTEMBER     MIDDLE LAGOON

Another hot, clear day.

The pair of owls had moved to the tree right above Truck. It was a bad day for them to choose to do that, because we planned to go out in it. However, they did not seem disturbed by the noise or movement.

We set out to explore the top part of the Dampier Peninsula. Had to drive back to the main north/south road, then go north. The driving was hot, dusty, rather rough, and overall, tedious.

We saw no sign of any cattle or grazing activity on the way.

Went first to One Arm Point, a community on the eastern tip of the Peninsula. This was where Honeymoon Beach’s Les’ wife, R, came from.

The community office was closed for a meeting, so we couldn’t pay the required $5 entry fee, for being in the community.

A pinned-up police notice referred to problems with dead people, and police not coming up from Broome to deal with same. The notice said they could now be taken to the Clinic, where there was air-conditioning! I really did not want to explore the implications of that notice, any further!

The notice further advised that there would be a police patrol every three weeks, now that the house at Beagle Bay had been made habitable.

There were actually police there today – a vehicle and three men.

There was a new community store at One Arm Point; the old one was now empty. There was evidence of much money going into the community – a long, sealed airstrip (one of three in a fairly small area, up there). The road in town was being sealed. The community looked clean and tidy. There was a hatchery business, breeding sea horses and abalone, to re-stock the reefs in the area.

The coastal scenery at One Arm Point was wonderful, with lots of little offshore islands, and a really pronounced tidal rip going past the point as the tide began to come in. There were numbers of turtles, putting up their heads to breathe, as they swum past.

We ate our lunch at the Point, watching the tidal race.

On the way back out, I suggested taking a side track that looked as if it would go to the sea and give us a different outlook. It turned out to go to the tip! Oops. Reversing, John backed into a tree – more oops! He only touched it lightly – no apparent damage done. But he was cross with me.

Next destination was Kooljamon, at  Cape Leveque. Paid the $10 entry fee to be there. Kooljamon is a low key camping and accommodation resort.

We walked on the lovely beach there. The scenery was superb, with the red pindan cliffs and the blue sea.

It was a pity that we did not have the time to come and camp up here, too. Still, if we can only do one camp, then we decided that Middle Lagoon was the better of the two. Certainly, the road from the Middle Lagoon turn off to the top of the Peninsula would have been hard on the van – it was rough.

On the way back, we detoured to look at Lombadina, another community, on the western side of the Peninsula. This community had a sort of old-time atmosphere. We looked at the church there, another dating from mission days, which was lined with sheets of paperbark.

We drove on a track through sand to get to the beach there. It was long and lovely, but with big waves. I picked up some small trochus shells as we walked along the beach.

Got back to our Middle Lagoon camp at 5pm, after a tiring day’s driving for John.

Tea was soup, and sausages – with bread for John and salad for me.

Early night to bed.