Gumbanan Bush Camp, Cape Leveque, WA

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Cannot believe our next spot. Yet another one right on the beach at Gumbanan. The temp has dropped to around 30 degrees and on this Eastern side of the cape, we have an afternoon sea breeze, which is wonderful. It started out a little negative as the first spot we went to couldn’t have us there with the pooches. Funnily enough though, the bloke looking after the camp used to live in the same town as Tony in the 70’s (Savage River, TAS) and so there was a great conversation about old people and what they are up to now. It was a bit strange that somewhere almost as far as possible as Savage River sees two blokes from the same place meet up!

After the drive we are again camping almost on the water which means we are obligated to have a good crack at fishing once again. Not much luck to start with. Phil landed a Long Tom or two and we are sure we’ve hooked (but not landed) some Trevally. The afternoon ended with us losing a bit of gear to the sea (some of which was recovered at low-tide the following day) and then an awesome meal of roast pork and vegies. We also met a nice fella called Trevor, from Mackay, QLD. He is a keen fisher, diver, surfer, anything to do with the water-type bloke. He speared a good mud crab and he and his missus are about to come down (it is now Sunday) for a beer.

Today was yet another great day. After getting up with the sun and having a quick fish (no luck and more lost gear) Suz and I managed to find a great little spot called Squeaky Beach. Looked great for a fish and/or swim - while there have been croc sightings around the greater cape the water here is clear and clean so we keep an eye out for each other. The temp of the water is magnificent. And the beaches look like the brochures for the best spots in the world. Following that we sneaked down to Cygnet Bay Pearl Farm where we are planning to visit as a group in the next day or two and go on a cruise.

Another quick fish later in the morning bought more Long Toms (no good for eating) and not much else. After a quick mish mash lunch and a gift of a mother-in-law fish from Trev, we went to Squeaky Beach. The beach now looked a little different as the huge tides that they get up here had run out! The water was again beautiful and unlike the camping spot, there were bugger all rocks here. Great swimming for the girls while the lads had a fish. This time we had some luck with Tony and I both scoring a couple of Golden Trevally and me losing a lure on another.

Right now we (Tony) have just finished filleting the fish ready for a meal later on. I’ve managed to find the Bombers playing the Suns on the radio so I’m having a rest (hurt my back yesterday) listening to it, having an Emu Export (rubbish full strength beer, but OK at a pinch) and typing this out. We are here for five nights so another four to go before heading back to Broome for three nights prior to heading toward home.

Note - the Bombers won. A merry night was enjoyed by all!


I pen this a couple of days on (Wednesday I think), shortly after lunch. On Monday we had a bit of a drive around the place, heading to the local Aboriginal community at One Arm Point and then back toward Cape Leveque for a look at that spot. Both wanted to charge a fee of $15-$25 to drive their tracks so we gave them a miss and headed back to Squeaky Beach for another fish. This time Nathan and Phil scored a decent Trevally each so we are still able to eat for another day :-) We have experimented with batters a bit, along with different spices for pan-fried fish. In fact we have been eating very well, only occasionally out of cans. Evening meals over a campfire are a great social event, made hilarious with us poking fun at Tony about his star constellations being a load of rubbish. Actually last night we decided that the ancient Greeks or whoever it was that related the constellations to images must have been on LSD.

Yesterday we started out nice and slow. A few games of cards and cleaning fridges, filters, etc. and then my family went back to Cygnet Bay Pearl Farm for a tour. Luckily for us we had this particular tour to ourselves. Our guide, Carol, was great. We learned a lot about the industry across both the manufacturing of pearls and also the Mother of Pearl meat ($160 per kilo). I was always against tours in the past, but after a ripper bus tour to the Kalgoorlie Super Pit I will always give them a go.

That evening the adults (Suz, me, Phil, Tony and Di) went on a sunset cruise to an island. It was very cool with the island being a mix of stone and then moveable hills of small shells. Very cool! Not to mention the tour guide driving the boat, a local lad from the One Arm Point community, was an absolute ripping bloke. We had many laughs and he even kept us out a bit late to have a fish where I got onto a Rock Cod and all of us hooked up to a school of Golden Trevally with me getting two on the one lure!!! That night we stayed at Cygnet Bay at the restaurant for a feed and beer or two while listening to the tunes of Karen Paige. The big Pom and Roy managed to catch up to us and we are currently talking smack, charging batteries and preparing to go crabbing again after Phil had success at today’s early low tide with two big muddies.



Don’t tell my kids, but we met two blokes that have dogs that recently had puppies (five weeks ago). They wanted to give them away to good homes rather than risk the pound as they can’t keep them themselves. We are going to grab a little fella and Tony and Di are getting a little girl. Very cute! Little wiry terriers that should suit Bella very well. We’ll grab them tomorrow as we head back to Broome and might consult a vet to make sure all is well.

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