Friday 30 August 2013 - Port Smith
This is a beautiful little spot on the coast. We have a nice shady spot in the caravan park and there’s hardly anyone else here (most of the southerners have headed home again) so we don’t have to worry too much about the girls disturbing others. The sandflies and midgees are pretty vicious, but thick layers of 40% DEET Bushman’s deters them pretty well. On the plus side, there don’t seem to be any mozzies! The bathrooms here are great – there’s even a baby bath, which Yasmin insisted on using, despite it being the size of a laundry tub. The store is really well stocked, there’s an area to wash your boat and car and clean your fish if you’re lucky enough to catch some. They provide a compressor to pump up your tyres and fuel is available too! Most people that come here are return visitors that come for a few months every year.
Although it’s called a port, the main attraction here is the lagoon. Boats can be launched and retrieved mid-tide on the hard sand, although tyres definitely need to be let down. There’s a sign at the entrance detailing the charges for being towed out if your vehicle happens to get stuck, so obviously it’s better to be safe than sorry! Typical of the Kimberley and Pilbara coasts, the water in the lagoon is crystal clear and the sand is fine and light coloured. The usual blue-green-aqua variations in the colour of the water make the whole area absolutely stunning under the right tide and light.
On the first day we took a drive and ended up skirting right around the northern end of the lagoon, heading over the dunes and coming out onto a stunning cliff, which dropped down to a sandy beach. The rocks are all white and pale around here, much different to the bright red of the Kimberley (I think we’re just into the Pilbara now), even though the dirt is still red. When we pulled back into the campground, we saw a red kangaroo was hanging out near our site. It seems they’re virtually pets around here, although they aren’t that fussed on the girls (especially when Yasmin runs screaming towards them).
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| The bluff |
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| Pretty |
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| Posing on the cliff |
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| Big man |
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| Poser |
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| And again |
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| Two posers |
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| And again |
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| Where we parked |
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| And again |
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| High up |
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One more for good luck
Yesterday we set out in the boat first thing in the morning and explored the lagoon. It’s obvious why the fishing is so awesome here – the whole area is just alive with movement. Turtles are cruising around everywhere, schools of bait, stingrays and the odd bigger species are all easily spotted because the water is so transparent. We didn’t catch anything particularly substantial, save for a 43cm cod (which we ended up letting go because Glenn’s not that fussed on cod), but weren’t short of a bite. After trolling lures in the boat for a while, we pulled up on a bank and the girls played in the sand and water. After a quick lesson from Glenn on throwing the cast net, I practised over the shallows. I’m not very good, but not many people are on their first few attempts – I did snare a tiny flathead and a baby flounder though!
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| The morning started out really misty |
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| That's Glenn throwing the cast net - it didn't clear till about 8am |
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| Bathing beauty |
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| More clear water |
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| Cute |
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| The lagoon |
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| Lagoon again |
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| Pretty |
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Selfie
After lunch we all had a nice snooze and then the girls spent the rest of the afternoon playing (and fighting) in the hammock, which Grandad gave to us before we parted ways. The rest of the day passed uneventfully but extremely peacefully. The ‘locals’ (regular long-term grey nomads mentioned above) all congregated at a nearby camp for a few drinks in the evening. I cooked spaghetti bolognaise for dinner and the smell must have wafted down, because the park owner wandered past later on and asked me what I’d cooked. I told him it wasn’t fish and he was horrified that we hadn’t caught anything particularly edible, so he marched over to the shed and returned with a pack of frozen bluebone (parrotfish) fillets – nine of them! We’re a bit spoilt.
Of course, that cursed Glenn when he went out on his own today, because he didn’t return with anything worthy, despite catching heaps of small stuff, a decent stripey and losing ‘the big one’. But at least we’ve had a nice time and gotten a feel for the are. We think this is definitely a place we’d like to come back to. That being said, it’s probably not an ideal place to bring children to for an extended period of time unless they’re into fishing, because there’s not really anything else to do apart from that. But it’s got a much more relaxed feeling than Broome and with the breeze blowing, the dappled sunlight shining through the trees, ABC National on the radio, we’re feeling pretty darn content right now!
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| Wearing Daddy's shirt... at the same time he is |
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| Lagoon in the afternoon |
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| And again |
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| Camera-shy at the lagoon |
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| White wine anyone? |
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| Unfortunately it's not a WA drop |
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| Mmmm refreshing |
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| After this we opened the champagne. There were strawberries in the car fridge as well, so I took a bite of one, took a swig and there I was, enjoying strawberries and champagne on the beach! |
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| Parking on the beach |
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| Blue tongue lizard |
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| Glenn tried to get his tongue flickering in the photo |
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| Cute little fella |
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| Early morning smiles |
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| Cutie |
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| We snuck out and let Daddy and Sienna sleep in |
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| This fella was up early too |
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| Loading the boat back onto the trailer via the car winch |
