Posted by Kristy.
After a magnificent experience at the horizontal falls we left Derby and headed towards Cape Leveque where the iconic red cliffs meet the white sandy beaches and aqua waters. Cape Leveque is situated approximately 200 km north of Broome on the tip of the Dampier Peninsular. The road is paved half the way and the other half is a dirt/sandy track.
Half way to Cape Leveque is the camping area of Middle Lagoon. We were lucky enough to get a beachfront campsite on the top of a small ridge overlooking to ocean. It was a beautiful spot and we stayed for 3 nights and did nothing but laze about and look at the ocean. Nearly every time we looked out to sea there were pods of whales cruising by, often only a couple of hundred meters from the beach.
Standing in front of our site looking down to the beach (below).
If you look closely at the photo below you can see one of the many whales that regularly swam by.
The next beach north of Middle Lagoon.
These Corella's were hilarious, I've never seen such dirty birds lol.
Next stop Cape Leveque! We had been recommended by a few people that it was a must to stay in one of the beach shelters on offer at Cape Leveque. Unfortunately we left it a bit late to book and were only able to stay for 2 nights, which in hindsight was probably a good thing for our budget as $75 per night is a lot more than what we normally would pay.
Driving towards the red cliffs on the western beach at Cape Leveque.
The iconic red cliffs.
Driving towards the northern beach where the beach shelters are located.
The first night we stayed at the beach shelter named Jundi. The shelter was pretty basic and consisted of 3 walls and a roof, with the walls being made from palm fronds. It had an open air shower, a table and a fire pit with wood supplied.
And an amazing view!
A beautiful sunset sets the mood for some fire twirling.
The second night we had to move to a different shelter named Bugar. Luckily our new shelter was right next door. This one had an even better view to the ocean.
The photo below is the view from behind our beach shelter.
Heading east towards the main swimming beach at Cape Leveque.
Unbelievably beautiful!
Our second and last night, we had a 2 person party!!!
Cape Leveque is a beautiful spot and a must see if in the area. After a couple of days relaxing we head back to Broome for a quick over night stop to stock up and refuel before continuing south.
On the way back to Broome we made a quick detour to check out One Arm Point which is an aboriginal community on the very tip of the peninsular. The shot below is looking out towards the Buccaneer Archipelago. Another stunning spot on the Kimberley coast line.
We then travelled the 200 odd Kms back to Broome!
We have now finished our journey through the Kimberley Region of Western Australia and I'd have to say it has been truly amazing. It is a spectacular part of Australia that everyone should try to visit if they get the opportunity.
We now look forward to exploring the Pilbara region of Western Australia.
Our first stop after leaving Broome is Port Smith. Located on a large inlet this place is a popular fisherman's hangout. It also has a stunning beachfront where ancient reefs have now become rugged and dramatic white cliffs.
We stayed one night then continued south with our next destination being Eighty Mile beach.
As the name suggests Eighty Mile Beach is eighty miles long and situated between Broome and Port Headland. Other than the caravan park there's not much else around except the lengthy white sandy beach, covered in thousands of sea shells. Its also a popular fishing destination.
Looking towards the caravan park from a sand dune on the beach (above) and our campsite (below).
Watching the sun set over the ocean with a nice bottle of red.
Not far south from Eighty Mile Beach is Cape Keraudren Coastal Reserve. Not having heard too much about the place we thought we'd pull in to check it out.
Our campsite, perched on top of a cliff overlooking a beautiful turquoise bay.
The entire point is ancient exposure reef.
This bay on the opposite side of the cape from our campsite. Stunning!
We had arrived at paradise! Or so we thought... As you can see from the pictures above Cape Keraudren is absolutely stunning, surrounded by reef and beautiful turquoise waters. There are 4 sections around the cape that you can camp and surprisingly only a handful of other campers were there. For $6.50 per person per night we were in! We set up came and had planned to settle in for a few days, kick back, do a bit of fishing and soak up the surroundings.
And then the wind started!!!
At first it wasn't too bad and would ease off occasionally as the day went on, but that didn't last long and it started to get stronger and stronger and near blew us off the cliff lol. We estimated that it was probably blowing 25 to 30 knots but felt like 40 due to the fact we were perched on top of a cliff with no protection and nowhere to escape. This was the first time on our trip that we have experienced any decent wind. We tried to stick it out, hoping it would die down but after 3 days we were well and truly defeated (and very envious of those around us in caravans who could at least sit inside and escape the wind).
Despite the wind we still managed to have a good time and do a bit of fishing. We also got to meet a very cheeky and friendly Kangaroo. She was so adorable and surprisingly very friendly considering she had a joey in her pouch. This encounter was the highlight of my day :-).
Looking at photo above you can get a small idea of how windy it was. Just look at the shade cloth looking like a sail, the blown over chair and my hair looking like a birds nest lol. The few good photos of the water (without wind) were taken mostly on the first day. The rest of the time it looked like a washing machine.
On our last night at Cape Keraurderen we were lucky enough to see the 'Staircase to the Moon'. The stair case to the moon is very popular in Broom and only occurs when the moon is full and the tide low. We were just lucky enough to be situated in front of a bay at Cape Keraudren that gave the same effect.
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