Cape Leveque – A wilderness Paradise

We decided to put our caravan in storage for a few days and travel a further 220km north of Broome to stay at Kooljaman at Cape Leveque. It is on the Dampier Peninsula & owned by Djarindjin and One Arm Point Aboriginal communities.  So many people have said this is a must see & we are so glad we did.

The road in was interesting with about 90km of corrugated dirt road that apparently can be a raging river in the wet season. It was still a good drive with the rest of it is sealed. I am sure it will all be sealed one day.

90 km of this

We stayed in an ensuite cabin in the middle of the bush. It was small and basic, with no view of the beach, but plenty of character just the same. It had large shutters to capture the beach breeze and we had our own little creatures, including geckos and green tree frogs (often in the toilet). Matt was in his element.

Nets over our beds to keep the insects out

Our little friend in the ensuite

The beautiful swimming beach directly in front of our cabin was great for the kids with rocks, pools and soft white sand. From the beach you can see the lighthouse which was built in 1909 and only automated in 1986. At night we could see the light from our cabin, when Matt made the funny comment “We can go swimming at the beach now that the light is on”.

Michelle under our new umbrella (bad choice of colours - West Coast Eagles)

Sunsets were best seen at the Western Beach where you can see the famous red cliffs of Cape Leveque. It is a photographer's paradise against the turquoise waters and white sand.

We travelled to the Cygnet Bay Pearl Farm, which is the oldest Australian owned operating pearl farm since 1946. We got another great insight into the industry. I just had to prevent Michelle’s temptation from coming away with a sea pearl (if you saw the prices). The water there was just so blue.

We did visit both the aboriginal communities of Djarindjin and One Arm Point. They seem to be well set up with basic services. We missed out on getting a loaf of traditional aboriginal bread as they were all reserved (we were told they were to die for). One Arm Point offered some great photos at the further most point of this magnificent coastline.

One Arm Point

In the afternoon we deflated out tyres and drove onto western beach where we had fun kayaking, snorkelling, fishing and shell collecting. Amy caught a small fish on her new rod. This beach would have to be the best we have ever seen for shell collection. We have a bucket full of amazing shells.

Well done Amy!