It funny what a difference 100kms can make. Here at Cape Leveque, in comparison to our previous campsite at Pender Bay, there almost no bush flies about to share the daylight hours with, the nights are noticeably warmer and there are more mosquitoes to beware of in the evenings. The ocean is also warmer by a couple of degrees.
We started today early and after sending a few emails, headed off on a beach walk to the start of the significant aboriginal sites to the east (the limit as to how far us white fellas can walk). We had no real idea of how far it was but went prepared – wearing our bathers and carrying a towel and bottle of fresh water. The eastern beach is accessed via a boardwalk that heads up over a hill past the lighthouse, then descends through the shade of numerous pandanus trees to staff quarters and some basic beach huts that form part of the resort. Depending on the tide, the water can be lapping at the base of rocks below the beach huts, or across 60 metres of sand at low tide.
The morning tide was well progressed on its run out and we took to walking about half way between the high water mark and the water’s edge, as this provided the best footing. We walked to the end of the designated swimming beach then picked our way through a rocky headland before entering another expansive beach. Midway along this beach was an area used by people to launch and retrieve their boats. Mooring buoys were also offshore, one with a tinny attached as a tender for one of the fishing charter boats that offer day tours of the local waters. We continued beyond the launching area, where some 4WD vehicles were parked above the high water mark, for another kilometre or so before reaching the boundary of the resort and the start of the indigenous areas containing significant sites. By our estimation, about 3 kms to get there and another 3km to get back to camp.
Our return to camp was broken by a well-earned swim at the popular swimming beach. We also make sure there are more attractive meals (as far as crocodiles are concerned) swimming further out to sea than us when braving the warm, clear waters here. On return to camp we rewarded ourselves with a cool drink at the restaurant and booked a table for dinner – a late meal for us these days, at 6:30pm!
Have spent the remainder of the afternoon catching up on the laundry and checking out western beach which is not a safe swimming beach, towered over by red cliffs. The evening sunset watchers are gathering at the sunset deck for the daily watching of the sun going down. We will join them as it looks like it is going to be another cracker of a sunset.