The Silver LiningHovercrafts, dinosaurs and cheeky parents
Posted on June 21, 2013
My awesome Mumsy and Papsy came up to visit me a few weekends ago, and amongst taking in the Broome markets and feasting on barramundi wings and Kimberley mud crabs, we also went on this cool hovercraft tour. At first I was like, hovercrafts are real?!?!? I thought they only existed in sci-fi novels and movies! What a doofus…And to top that off, part of the tour included a look at some actual dinosaur footprints (see the photo above!). Admittedly, they’re not that easy to spot, but once they’re pointed out to you and you see just how regularly they’re positioned, you recognise how those holes could not have been made by some random act of nature or weather.
My mum always tells me stories about how she used to pelt boys she didn’t like with slugs and snails, but I never believed her as these days she is the definition of clean-freak. However, when the hovercraft landed and the low tide revealed a treasure trove of sealife I practically had to run and hide to avoid being splattered with bright red sea cucumbers and sea snails of assorted sizes. My dad, well he was not so lucky. I may or may not have used him as a human shield.
This was one of the most spectacular sunsets I’d experienced yet. The way the colours were reflected in those tiny pools made by the tidal flats. The lingering pinks and purples of the dying light. With only six weeks left up here in the Kimberley, I’m coming to realise just how much I’m going to miss this place.
Photos by me
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Follow the sun
Posted on June 19, 2013
What Kimberley holiday would be complete without a lazy afternoon spent at the beach? We tried our hand at a little snorkelling but alas the water was a tad too choppy for that! We contented ourselves with a nice snooze in the afternoon sun, cooling down with a bite of refreshing watermelon. Sometimes I just love doing nothing.
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Tagalong
Posted on June 17, 2013
One of the best things we did whilst up at Cape Leveque was join local elder, Brian Lee, on a four-wheel drive tagalong tour. Brian led us along the pristine beach and down to a nearby creek, all the while sharing stories about his Bardi people and the land, and showing us how to spearfish and catch giant Kimberley mudcrabs! Brian was so expressive and enthusiastic. A couple of times he hopped out of his car like a flash, spear in hand, jumping into the surf to retrieve his catch. His face also told many stories by itself, the light in his eyes shining as he explained how his grandparents would have lived in harmony with the land years ago, and his features undeniably showing his Bardi, English and Japanese heritage, testament to the history of this region.
We came to Hunter Creek, traversed its sandy banks at low tide and made our way to the mangroves where the mudcrabs hide out. Expertly, Brian showed us how to extricate these giant crabs from beneath the roots of the mangrove trees before giving us a chance to do the same (quite unsuccessfully!). After a few hours in this amazing wilderness we found ourselves perched on a rocky outcrop, hungrily eyeing the catch from the day: two successfully speared mullet, three giant mudcrabs, and a branch covered in tiny oysters. All were deliciously smoked on a coal fire, and we feasted. I’m not sure I will ever eat crab this good ever again. Ever.
Brian Lee / brianleetagalong.com.au / brian-lee@live.com /0437026262 / Meet him in this awesome video
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Sunrise at Kooljaman
Posted on June 11, 2013
There is definitely something energising and invigorating about the air in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Not only did my niggling foot injury miraculously improve whilst being there, but all four of us suddenly became morning people! Waking up before sunrise in order to catch those first orange rays on our faces is something most of us would never even contemplate doing in the city. Yet there we were, awake as anything, eager to watch the spectacular show of natural beauty as the sun made its glorious arrival for the day.
We topped off the sunrise with a beautiful breakfast, prepared on the balcony overlooking the ocean and the trees. Sarah had brought along lots of supplies, so this morning it was to be a scrumptious feast of French toast doused with honey, strawberries and mint. What a treat to be able to spend time with family and friends in the most beautiful of places – the wilderness, the sounds of the ocean, the laughter of great company.
Do come explore this corner of the earth – its raw beauty will change you, I guarantee it.
Kooljaman at Cape Leveque / Accommodation / (08) 9192 4970 / reservations@kooljaman.com.au
Photos by Jinn
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Cape Leveque
Posted on June 10, 2013
Is this the Broome edition or what?! I suppose I’ve been up here for about three months now, but to be honest it’s been more about work and settling in, but now that’s well and truly done let me show you what we’ve been up to.
The Kimberley is absolutely nothing like the southern half of Western Australia, coming up here you really feel like you’re in a completely different country. It’s so much better than I expected it to be, and for a professed city-girl I have found myself totally falling for the sheer wildness of the land and just how alive it feels. The rich soil, the roiling waves, the calls of the wildlife, the trees reaching for the skies, the scintillating sunsets that show you colours you never knew existed.
One place that must be seen to be believed is Cape Leveque, 220km north of Broome, right on the tip of the Dampier Peninsula. Jinn, Jeff, Rach and I hopped into the four-wheel drive and at first I was like, “You call this a road?” but very quickly threw fear and trepidation out the window and embraced the joy and freedom of driving over those crazy bumpy trails, feeling almost indestructible. I must have had a a wild look in my eyes and a wickedly wide grin on my face for much of the drive which possibly got even wider on our arrival when I realised we’d reached a coastal paradise.
Leave Broome behind, hire a four-wheel drive (or find yourself a friend with one), and get up that bumpy-as-hell dirt road to Cape Leveque, also known as Kooljaman in the local Bardi language. Bring a fishing rod, your bathers, some Matso’s mango beer, plenty of sunscreen and insect repellent, and most of all throw your worries and preoccupations into that blue water and breathe in your fill of the freshest air on the planet.
Photos by Jinn
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The green green grass
Posted on May 31, 2013
The beauty of the Breton countryside completely took my breath away during our drive from Pointe Saint-Mathieu to Paimpol. The allure of the lush greenery and meandering hills were such a vast contrast to the sunbaked ochre desert plains my eyes are currently accustomed to. Once we’d stopped freaking out about driving on the “wrong side of the road” we really began to enjoy the peaceful scenery. Occasional golden canola fields punctuated the endless green with their surprising pops of happy yellow, and tiny towns whizzed by on the way to our destination.
I have to mention that our experience with our GPS was very hit-and-miss. We were on more than one occasion led down a lane that was clearly through someone’s private albeit very pretty farm and also had to very scarily reverse out an unbelievably narrow street when we directed straight into a dead end. Good one GPS. I wasn’t aware there was a “scenic route” option!
That aside, I would highly recommend staying at Pondervann, a lovely family-owned bread-&-breakfast in Paimpol. The hotel is situated on a large plot of land with its own stream, vegie patch, and friendly dog! Make sure you have a good set of muscles if you’re staying on the top floor as, like many French hotels, there is no elevator! (Thanks Jinn, my muscle man!) Interestingly we found a tiny piece of home in the B&B’s garden – a gum tree! See if you can spot it in the pictures…
Photos by Jinn
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What a beautiful day
Posted on May 30, 2013
Yes, yes it was. Such a beautiful day. One of my dearest and best friends recently got married and the happiness, love and spontaneity that flowed throughout the day was just unbelievable – it felt like everyone was simply swept up in it and then ran with it! The ceremony was held in the amazing Notre-Dame de Bonne-Nouvelle cathedral in Paimpol. I had the absolute honour and pleasure of singing for the service, and to be honest I just didn’t want to stop! The acoustics were incredible and made my voice resonate and soar high above the people, almost weightless.
Don’t you love how there seems to be a castle or manor just about on every corner in France? Well, the beautiful ceremony was followed up by a righteous shindig at the Manoir de la Noe Verte, where we partied on down til the early hours of the morning. The reception was a great mix of Chinese and French cultures. Once the champagne was flowing and the dance floor warmed up, there took place a number of quaint French folk dances amidst a lot of raucous yuuuuuum-SENGing! For those of you who are not familiar with it, “Yum seng!” essentially means “Cheers!”, and the aim of the game is for your table to yell it for longer and louder than any of the other tables. It has something to do with more prosperity, longevity and fertility for the bride and groom, and of course the pride and glory of being the all-conquering winner. Asians love anything to do with competition.
Other highlights? The real-life croquembouche wedding cake that arrived via paddle boat (I kid you not), Danielle and Yann’s steamy salsa wedding dance, and the impromptu crazy karaoke which deteriorated so much that a certain wedding guest may or may not have lost all his clothing by the end of it!
It was the wedding of the century! A beautiful bride and groom, great food, great company, dancing galore, all in the presence of beloved family and friends.
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Pointe Saint-Mathieu
Posted on May 29, 2013
Wearing – Karen Walker t-shirt (on sale at Anthropologie!), ASOS overalls, Madewell sunglasses, Fossil bangle (similar), Donelli shoes (similar)
What he’s wearing – Urban Outfitters jumper and jeans
Our first destination in France was the incredibly picturesque and tiny little village, Pointe Saint-Mathieu, perched right atop part of the spectacular coastline of Brittany. It gets its name from an old abbey in the centre of the village (sixth century according to legend) which was said to have housed the skull of the apostle Matthew until it was lost in the ocean off the point. After the icy cold of Glasgow it was nice to get out into some sunshine. Look! No coat!
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Rest and be thankful
Posted on May 28, 2013
During our time in Glasgow, Steve kindly took a day off work and whisked us off for a wonderful drive through the Scottish countryside. Apparently it’s springtime in the northern hemisphere but it’s not exactly “springtime” as we would know it in Australia. It was bitingly cold! Hence the lack of people in the photos – it wasn’t really “posing weather”!
The landscape and scenery are simply spectacular however, and just barely out of Glasgow too. We drove past the famous Loch Lomond and stopped off at the perfectly named Rest and Be Thankful as well as Gare Loch and Loch Long. The ride was accompanied by this great driving playlist that Steve put together for us. It was one of those amazing days on holiday that we will always remember.
– Jinn
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Old friends & lochs
Posted on May 27, 2013
Eight years ago, two strapping young Glaswegian medical students named Steve and Hamish decided to travel the world and Perth was one of their destinations. In fact, they’d chosen to do their medical electives in Royal Perth Hospital and that’s how our paths crossed! It was a meeting that was meant to be, since we’d already planned to do our electives in Edinburgh later that year. And so the friendship continued…But after 2006, we had to rely on good ol’ Facebook and Instagram to keep in touch – until now!
We stayed with the exceedingly hospitable Stevo who turned out to be quite the celebrity in his hometown, Glasgow. Not only is he now a fully fledged General Practitioner but he has also achieved what seems to be so utterly unattainable to me – the perfect work-life balance (Yeah, could be something to do with how much Candy Crush I play…Damn, that game is addictive, makes it more like work-Candy Crush balance for me). He’s a musician and a DJ, and seriously nearly every corner we turned people were saying “Hey Steve!”. And these weren’t just any people, these were people from the art, music and/or fashion scenes. Just a teensy bit jealous, Steve.
One of the huge highlights was our mini road trip to the countryside. The rolling hills, the serene lochs, the search for heilan coos…(Translation: highland cows) The scenes and the wintery cold brought back so many memories of our time here when we were still students, exploring the highlands, traipsing cobble stoned streets, eating many a haggis (it’s really good, you need to try it!), and trying out the old Scottish form of clubbing, cèilidh.
Now there’s absolutely no need to wonder why Stevo is so popular around town – he is absolutely one of the loveliest, kindest and coolest guys we’ve ever met, and it was so great to finally be able to catch up in person after so long! Thanks Steve!
The Silver Lining 