Cape Leveque

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Day 34 – Thursday August 2^nd – Quondong to Chile Creek, Cape Leveque

Feeling really rested after our few days at the amazing Quondong Point, we packed up and headed further North up the Dampier Peninsula to Cape Leveque. We had been recommended Chile Creek as a really beautiful place to stay but first we had to get there. The 100kms of unsealed road was the worst we had driven along – big bumps, undulations, corrugations, deep sandy patches etc. So it was slow going until we reached the Aboriginal Township of Beagle Bay, which is famous for the Sacred Heart Church and its pearl oyster shell decorations. We briefly joined in on a photography tour for a few minutes and took some of their recommended shots.

Driving north from Beagle Bay the road is sealed again and the next 80 or so km to Chile Creek were much more comfortable. We briefly stopped at the township of Lombadina (next to Chile Creek) to enquire about aboriginal tours of the township but there were none available due to tour groups arriving. So we just made our way to Chile Creek. Roads off the main north-south access road are all unsealed and the road into Chile Creek was mostly soft sand with deep tyre ruts. Car and camper trailer made it to Chile Creek without any incidents. We passed a car on the way into the township and it turned out to be Roma, the elder of Chile Creek township. She instructed us not to wait at the office but to go straight to the campsite and set up camp while she was away.

The campsite is flat and shady and has several shelters which weirdly contain iron bed frames with no mattresses. There are about 5 safari tents with proper beds, a fridge and ensuite toilet and shower. They looked very inviting but our memory foam mattress in our tent is supremely comfortable so there was no need for us to upgrade our accommodation.

As an overnight visitor you are allowed access to the beach so we grabbed our towels, swimmers and fishing gear and negotiated the deep sand tracks to Chile Creek beach. The track was so narrow the bushes were flicking past the wing mirrors and we were glad we didn’t meet any other vehicle coming the other way as reversing would have been fun. Once on the beach the only trouble we had was deciding which patch of the beautiful, deserted white sandy beach to stop at. Kilometres and kilometres of beach all to ourselves. Amazing.

First we went for a dip with our snorkels on to see if we could see any fish. Negative. No fish seems to be a theme for us so far this trip, at least when we have a fishing rod with us. Then we went beachcombing and shell hunting. Although it wasn’t officially a competition, Mark won the non-existent prize for finding the biggest and best shells as we wandered along the beach near the dunes and checked out the rock pools. Anna says this is only because he walked in front of us and that Dads aren’t supposed to be good at collecting shells. Apparently. We saw millions of tiny hermit crabs, funny looking sea snail things with long probocsusi ready to drill into other creatures and eat them (Luke taught us this from what he had learnt on his Rickett’s Point project), sand crabs making their patterns of tiny balls of sand on the beach, a sea eagle, the ubiquitous sea gulls and other wading birds (maybe a pied oyster catcher??). For a bit of fun we went for a drive further along the beach, with the kids hanging out of the car looking for even bigger shells. Anna spotted something half buried so we stopped the car and she dug up a humungous shell that will take pride of place in her bedroom. There’s nothing wrong with her eyesight, yet!

We stayed on the beach just long enough to enjoy yet another gorgeous sunset but as we weren’t quite sure of the way back to the campsite through the dunes and mangroves we thought we shouldn’t stay there until it got dark. Dinner was delicious Spanish mackerel stir fry with honey soy garlic sauce and rice. So good you could have sold it at any reputable takeaway. Well that was Mark’s verdict and even the kids liked it.

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