Road Trip Day 9 - Day 2 in Broome
Mar. 30th, 2011 11:29 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gemfyre11/3/2011
I woke a bit after 6am and the first thing on the agenda was to go to the toilet – this caravan park is huge and really doesn't have enough toilet blocks. I took my binoculars, as you do when it's daylight. Outside was warm and humid and the tide was out. I scanned the flats briefly and saw a huge flock of waders winging in to feed. That got me excited. I went to the loo, got dressed and took my scope out right away. Most of the birds were very far off, but I was able to ID a few species. I was also greeted by Friarbirds whooping and a flock of Red-winged Parrots – these parrots seemed to spend the whole day wheeling around from the mangroves to the trees in the park and back again. Just the smell of the bay was magnificent. I made myself a breakfast of bacon and eggs then prepared to head out to Coconut Wells. Just before I left a fellow camper pointed out a pod of dolphins out on the bay, so I watched them for a few moments before leaving.
These days it seems most of the beach access to Coconut Wells is private. There is 4WD access, but the track is very rough and narrow and I didn't want to risk it. I had a look around the tidal pool behind the dunes and spotted Eastern Curlew, Common Sandpiper and an Osprey among other things. I decided to head a bit further up the Cape Leveque Road to the Nimaliaca/Waterbank turnoff and check out the turkey dam beside the road. It was full of water, but the only birds on it were 5 ducks – 3 Plumed Whistling Ducks and 2 Wandering Whistling Ducks – it was good to see them side by side for comparison, last time I was here I only saw one Wandering Whistling Duck, that was an injured bird we found on the road out to One Tree within my first 2 days of arriving. I didn't go to Nimaliaca, 1. because I didn't fancy wading through horse poo, 2. I figured there would probably be so much water out there that I wouldn't get close anyway, and 3. technically it's crown land and you're not meant to go out there without permission. Our forays to this spot with the BBO were somewhat clandestine, but it was such a good birding spot that we didn't care.
I then returned to town and checked out the camping store for boots. Looks like Rossi or Steel Blue are the way to go, but I'll see if my ones will last me until Perth, where I'm sure I can get the same boots for a considerably cheaper price.
I then went on to the Boulevard shopping centre, which is where Action supermarket used to be. The centre has now expanded and there is a Woolworths where Action was. I checked out all the shops then got myself an early lunch – there is a place there that does juices and smoothies (Boost Juice style) AND sushi. So I got the meal deal – any juice with two sushi rolls.
On the way back to the caravan I made a detour to look around the sewer works. I couldn't see much due to the banks around the pools (when I go back I will poke my head out of my sunroof, and try to rig something up so I can use my scope). I was pleased to see that the nasty far corner has now been flattened and is a lot easier to negotiate, but was disappointed to see just a few stilts and lapwings on the ponds. There weren't even any raptors, unusual for a place that I recall being host to great clouds of Black Kites as well as a good number of Brahminy and Whistling Kites as well as Sea-eagles. I made a guess that the low tide meant all the waders were out on the bay feeding and decided to come back at high tide and try my luck again. As it happened I didn't return today, but I intend to tomorrow.
I then spent a bit of time eating my lunch and cooling down before venturing out again to take a stroll along the beach. It was now high tide and I waded in to my knees. I would love to swim, but alas, it is stinger season, and an encounter with a box or Irukandji jellyfish would really ruin my holiday. I think the presence of the best swimming beach in town is the reason why Roebuck Bay caravan park doesn't have a pool, but really, that's no good for wet season guests!
I wended my way up to Town Beach park and checked out the erosion I had read about in the paper. Yes, it is threatening things like the pioneer cemetery, but it seems to be a completely natural process. I watched a fisherman who had a line in Dampier Creek, maybe he was trying to catch some of the whiting I saw loafing a few metres from him in the water.
Town Beach park has a nifty new addition – a water playground! Press the button and chlorinated water flows from spray guns and fountains. I'm tempted to have a play in it myself tomorrow.
By this time it had just gone 2pm and I figured I'd better make my way to Chinatown soon if I was to get a good look around before everything shut down (in the wet a lot of places close at 4 or 4:30). As it was many places were closed anyway and some were closing just as I got to them. Chinatown is pretty much the same. The Coles is now only open until 9 every night (it used to be open until midnight). There is a Best & Less where Target used to be (they now have a larger store at the Boulevard Centre) and the fish and chip shop is gone (but there is another a bit up the road).
I wound my way back through Johnny Chi Lane and checked out Streeter's Jetty, which despite maintenance issues, is still accessible. A mob of local aboriginals were camped under a tree nearby – I'm not sure if they were arguing or just excited, the conversation was very loud and heated, but in the native language, which I don't know. I didn't see any birds from Streeter's but I heard Yellow White-eyes and White-gaped Honeyeaters. The mud below was covered in flame fiddler crabs, snails and mangrove mudskippers.
I popped into the Boulevard again to buy some fish for dinner. I chose a fillet of Bluenose Salmon – a fish I hadn't heard of (well, of course I've heard of salmon, but I have no idea what Bluenose Salmon is exactly), then headed back to base to put it in the fridge.
The tide was now receding and I went down for a wander on the mudflats. It was now slightly cooler and a breeze was blowing and it was just beautiful. I remember when I was a little kid the creatures on the mudflats amazed me, long before I learned of the waders that fed on them. I was delighted to find old favourites like hermit crabs, dogwhelks and moon snails and to splash in the rivulets of water flowing down to catch up with the receding ocean. A few waders flew in to feed and I got good looks at them, Grey Plover, Grey-tailed Tattler, Lesser Sand Plover, and a flock of Red-necked Stint – 3 with yellow flags (which means they have been banded in the north-west – probably just a little further along the bay). I spent a good 45 minutes wandering back and forth across the flats, splashing in the water and digging my feet into the sand and mud.
Eventually the sun set and I headed back to the van for a shower and dinner. The showers here don't much space in the dry area, and the shelves are tiny, but there is a hook and as long as you're organised keeping everything dry is relatively easy. The showers themselves are great.
I sliced up one of my potatoes into wedges and cut up the carrot and a few slices of zucchini and did my usual trick of tossing them in oil and flavouring (seafood seasoning and salt, which are all I had on me) and baking them. I pan fried the fish in butter with some seafood seasoning and lime juice.
Hooray for gas ovens! The potato and zucchini were perfect. Unfortunately the carrot was quite limp when I started and roasting it didn't improve things. The fish was beautiful.
And now we are pretty much up to date. I uploaded the pictures and diary from the first day of my trip to Facebook and will probably put it on LJ when I get back. Hopefully I can get day 2 posted tomorrow.
It's a bit unnerving crossing lawns at night with a head-torch, having a light lighting your line-of-sight shows you the eyeshine of any creature you look at. Spiders have purple eyeshine and there are a lot of spiders in the lawn at night, you'd never even know they were there if you didn't have a head-torch on.
11/3/2011 (Town Beach, Coconut Wells, Old Broome, Sewer Works)
Bar-shouldered Dove
Bar-tailed Godwit
Black Kite
Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike
Black-faced Woodswallow
Black-shouldered Kite
Black-winged Stilt
Blue-winged Kookaburra
Brown Falcon
Caspian Tern
Common Greenshank
Crested Pigeon
Eastern Curlew
Eastern Reef Egret
Great Knot
Greater Sand Plover
Grey Plover
Grey-tailed Tattler
Lesser Sand Plover
Little Friarbird
Magpie Lark
Masked Lapwing
Nankeen Kestrel
Osprey
Peaceful Dove
Pied Butcherbird
Plumed Whistling Duck
Rainbow Bee-eater (H)
Red-capped Plover
Red-collared Lorikeet
Red-necked Stint
Red-winged Parrot
Ruddy Turnstone
Rufous Whistler (H)
Silver Gull
Singing Honeyeater
Striated Pardalote
Terek Sandpiper
Torresian Crow
Wandering Whistling Duck
Whimbrel
White-bellied Sea Eagle
Grey-crowned Babbler
White-gaped Honeyeater (H)
Willie Wagtail
Yellow White-eye (H)
See all of today's photos here.
I woke a bit after 6am and the first thing on the agenda was to go to the toilet – this caravan park is huge and really doesn't have enough toilet blocks. I took my binoculars, as you do when it's daylight. Outside was warm and humid and the tide was out. I scanned the flats briefly and saw a huge flock of waders winging in to feed. That got me excited. I went to the loo, got dressed and took my scope out right away. Most of the birds were very far off, but I was able to ID a few species. I was also greeted by Friarbirds whooping and a flock of Red-winged Parrots – these parrots seemed to spend the whole day wheeling around from the mangroves to the trees in the park and back again. Just the smell of the bay was magnificent. I made myself a breakfast of bacon and eggs then prepared to head out to Coconut Wells. Just before I left a fellow camper pointed out a pod of dolphins out on the bay, so I watched them for a few moments before leaving.
These days it seems most of the beach access to Coconut Wells is private. There is 4WD access, but the track is very rough and narrow and I didn't want to risk it. I had a look around the tidal pool behind the dunes and spotted Eastern Curlew, Common Sandpiper and an Osprey among other things. I decided to head a bit further up the Cape Leveque Road to the Nimaliaca/Waterbank turnoff and check out the turkey dam beside the road. It was full of water, but the only birds on it were 5 ducks – 3 Plumed Whistling Ducks and 2 Wandering Whistling Ducks – it was good to see them side by side for comparison, last time I was here I only saw one Wandering Whistling Duck, that was an injured bird we found on the road out to One Tree within my first 2 days of arriving. I didn't go to Nimaliaca, 1. because I didn't fancy wading through horse poo, 2. I figured there would probably be so much water out there that I wouldn't get close anyway, and 3. technically it's crown land and you're not meant to go out there without permission. Our forays to this spot with the BBO were somewhat clandestine, but it was such a good birding spot that we didn't care.
I then returned to town and checked out the camping store for boots. Looks like Rossi or Steel Blue are the way to go, but I'll see if my ones will last me until Perth, where I'm sure I can get the same boots for a considerably cheaper price.
I then went on to the Boulevard shopping centre, which is where Action supermarket used to be. The centre has now expanded and there is a Woolworths where Action was. I checked out all the shops then got myself an early lunch – there is a place there that does juices and smoothies (Boost Juice style) AND sushi. So I got the meal deal – any juice with two sushi rolls.
On the way back to the caravan I made a detour to look around the sewer works. I couldn't see much due to the banks around the pools (when I go back I will poke my head out of my sunroof, and try to rig something up so I can use my scope). I was pleased to see that the nasty far corner has now been flattened and is a lot easier to negotiate, but was disappointed to see just a few stilts and lapwings on the ponds. There weren't even any raptors, unusual for a place that I recall being host to great clouds of Black Kites as well as a good number of Brahminy and Whistling Kites as well as Sea-eagles. I made a guess that the low tide meant all the waders were out on the bay feeding and decided to come back at high tide and try my luck again. As it happened I didn't return today, but I intend to tomorrow.
I then spent a bit of time eating my lunch and cooling down before venturing out again to take a stroll along the beach. It was now high tide and I waded in to my knees. I would love to swim, but alas, it is stinger season, and an encounter with a box or Irukandji jellyfish would really ruin my holiday. I think the presence of the best swimming beach in town is the reason why Roebuck Bay caravan park doesn't have a pool, but really, that's no good for wet season guests!
I wended my way up to Town Beach park and checked out the erosion I had read about in the paper. Yes, it is threatening things like the pioneer cemetery, but it seems to be a completely natural process. I watched a fisherman who had a line in Dampier Creek, maybe he was trying to catch some of the whiting I saw loafing a few metres from him in the water.
Town Beach park has a nifty new addition – a water playground! Press the button and chlorinated water flows from spray guns and fountains. I'm tempted to have a play in it myself tomorrow.
By this time it had just gone 2pm and I figured I'd better make my way to Chinatown soon if I was to get a good look around before everything shut down (in the wet a lot of places close at 4 or 4:30). As it was many places were closed anyway and some were closing just as I got to them. Chinatown is pretty much the same. The Coles is now only open until 9 every night (it used to be open until midnight). There is a Best & Less where Target used to be (they now have a larger store at the Boulevard Centre) and the fish and chip shop is gone (but there is another a bit up the road).
I wound my way back through Johnny Chi Lane and checked out Streeter's Jetty, which despite maintenance issues, is still accessible. A mob of local aboriginals were camped under a tree nearby – I'm not sure if they were arguing or just excited, the conversation was very loud and heated, but in the native language, which I don't know. I didn't see any birds from Streeter's but I heard Yellow White-eyes and White-gaped Honeyeaters. The mud below was covered in flame fiddler crabs, snails and mangrove mudskippers.
 |
Streeter's Jetty This was once a major jetty for pearling luggers. It has now fallen into disrepair. Everyone seems to want to fix it, but no-one can agree on who has the responsibility to actually fix it, so NOTHING gets done. Bloody beauracracy. You may think this seems awfully narrow for a ship to come through - back then there were a lot less mangroves in the area, and at higher tides there is plenty of water. |
I popped into the Boulevard again to buy some fish for dinner. I chose a fillet of Bluenose Salmon – a fish I hadn't heard of (well, of course I've heard of salmon, but I have no idea what Bluenose Salmon is exactly), then headed back to base to put it in the fridge.
| Roebuck Bay Caravan Park My home for 3 days. If I had endless time and money I would have stayed A LOT longer. This was lovely. |
 |
The tide was now receding and I went down for a wander on the mudflats. It was now slightly cooler and a breeze was blowing and it was just beautiful. I remember when I was a little kid the creatures on the mudflats amazed me, long before I learned of the waders that fed on them. I was delighted to find old favourites like hermit crabs, dogwhelks and moon snails and to splash in the rivulets of water flowing down to catch up with the receding ocean. A few waders flew in to feed and I got good looks at them, Grey Plover, Grey-tailed Tattler, Lesser Sand Plover, and a flock of Red-necked Stint – 3 with yellow flags (which means they have been banded in the north-west – probably just a little further along the bay). I spent a good 45 minutes wandering back and forth across the flats, splashing in the water and digging my feet into the sand and mud.
 |
Town Beach tidal flats More water rivulets. These are great to walk in, and they look so pretty. |
Eventually the sun set and I headed back to the van for a shower and dinner. The showers here don't much space in the dry area, and the shelves are tiny, but there is a hook and as long as you're organised keeping everything dry is relatively easy. The showers themselves are great.
I sliced up one of my potatoes into wedges and cut up the carrot and a few slices of zucchini and did my usual trick of tossing them in oil and flavouring (seafood seasoning and salt, which are all I had on me) and baking them. I pan fried the fish in butter with some seafood seasoning and lime juice.
Hooray for gas ovens! The potato and zucchini were perfect. Unfortunately the carrot was quite limp when I started and roasting it didn't improve things. The fish was beautiful.
 |
|
| Dinner Homemade potato and carrot wedges and baked zucchini. The fish has just been fried in butter and lime juice. Very tasty! |
And now we are pretty much up to date. I uploaded the pictures and diary from the first day of my trip to Facebook and will probably put it on LJ when I get back. Hopefully I can get day 2 posted tomorrow.
It's a bit unnerving crossing lawns at night with a head-torch, having a light lighting your line-of-sight shows you the eyeshine of any creature you look at. Spiders have purple eyeshine and there are a lot of spiders in the lawn at night, you'd never even know they were there if you didn't have a head-torch on.
11/3/2011 (Town Beach, Coconut Wells, Old Broome, Sewer Works)
Bar-shouldered Dove
Bar-tailed Godwit
Black Kite
Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike
Black-faced Woodswallow
Black-shouldered Kite
Black-winged Stilt
Blue-winged Kookaburra
Brown Falcon
Caspian Tern
Common Greenshank
Crested Pigeon
Eastern Curlew
Eastern Reef Egret
Great Knot
Greater Sand Plover
Grey Plover
Grey-tailed Tattler
Lesser Sand Plover
Little Friarbird
Magpie Lark
Masked Lapwing
Nankeen Kestrel
Osprey
Peaceful Dove
Pied Butcherbird
Plumed Whistling Duck
Rainbow Bee-eater (H)
Red-capped Plover
Red-collared Lorikeet
Red-necked Stint
Red-winged Parrot
Ruddy Turnstone
Rufous Whistler (H)
Silver Gull
Singing Honeyeater
Striated Pardalote
Terek Sandpiper
Torresian Crow
Wandering Whistling Duck
Whimbrel
White-bellied Sea Eagle
Grey-crowned Babbler
White-gaped Honeyeater (H)
Willie Wagtail
Yellow White-eye (H)
See all of today's photos here.
