Day 143. Middle Lagoon

Staircase to the sun

The isolation. That’s what’s amazing about where we are staying up here at ‘Natures Hideaway’. There is absolutely nothing here – bar nature itself. Our night in the wilderness was as quiet as it could possibly get. Admittedly; earlier in the night we could hear the soft hum of a generator from a fellow camper, but later on all you could hear were the waves from the ocean breaking on the rocks and beach not too far from where we are camping. It was that quiet, you could even hear the high pitched clicks of micro-bats as they flew past the tent in search of moths and bugs.
 

Middle Lagoon at low tide


We woke to a glorious morning. The night didn’t get anywhere near as cold as we had expected; so we all slept soundly, including Scarlett. The billy was on the boil, and Bec made us all pancakes for breakfast. A great way to start the day!

Scarlett using the binoculars and looking for dolphins

After breakfast and a hot cuppa, we wandered down to the beach to discover that the tide was a very long way out. The tides here are about 6 to 8 metres between the high and low markers, and seeing how far out the water had receded left no doubt how big these tides can get up here in the ‘Top End’ of Australia.

Shell collecting at low tide

We immediately started searching for shells; as this seems to of become a favoured past time for the three of us. It’s a great way to spend an hour or two walking and talking. I think we relax and connect better as a family during this new hobby, as there is no stress or expectations and we can just wander at our own pace and talk about nothing in particular. The shells were few and far between, but the few we did find were spectacular. We even found a few small unbroken pearl shells on the beach.


Shane and Scarlett 'monkeying around'

As there’s not a lot to do here, we had to make up our own fun and games. The day was spent reading books, playing ‘I spy’ and ‘hide and go seek’, as well as climbing trees pretending to be monkeys and bushwalking. Scarlett and I even disappeared for a while walking along the beach and exploring the jagged rocky outcrops along the coast; which gave Bec some time to herself. Scarlett even bumped into a young boy (Mitchell) that she had originally met back at Karijini National Park.

Bec cooked up ‘Spag Bol’ for dinner, and I lit the fire ready for another evening of toasted marsh mellows for dessert. This was followed by a walk down to the cliffs, to watch another breathtaking Western Australian sunset. The sunset reminded us of the ‘Staircase to the Moon’ that we recently witnessed back in Broome. So hopefully the photo’s we took will do it justice; as this evening we watched the ‘staircase to the sun’. It was a very special moment that even Scarlett enjoyed. Pure magic!

Sunset

 

Stairway to the sun



Bec and Scarlett enjoying watching the sun go down

Scarlett has just finished watching another movie in the car, and Bec is reading a book on her ‘kindle’ in bed. I have been left out here next to the camp fire to write my blog and listen to the crashing waves down at the beach. The only other sounds are the crickets, and the noise from my keyboard as I type this daily blog.

Another great day in the Australian Outback!

posted by Shane