Seeing Red and Blue in Broome
This morning after getting our washing done and trying to get some help from Vodafone Data support we took a drive around town then down to Town Beach where
we saw lots of people leaving from last night. We took a walk around and saw the mangroves out beyond the red cliffs and the blue, blue sea. It is an amazing contrast to see and add a few whiter than white seagulls into the picture and the scene is pretty spectacular. Further along there is a beach part where the sand is not quite so red but it is still not white or yellow sand that we are used to. Looking out at the calm sea there were about half dozen white boats bobbing around. Up on the grassed area unfenced and barely labelled is the Pioneer Cemetery. Unfortunately it has been vandalized a bit and also the whole area had a lot of rubbish due to the huge number of people there last night watching the stairway to the moon phenomenon. 
After we had decided what we would do tonight in order to get a good possie we headed off to Gantheaume Point which was a bit tricky since they seem to be doing road works and so the road that should have led to the point was closed where we tried to enter it but we found another way around and, after going down the last little bit of road which is labelled as gravel but is actually red sand, we got there. As soon as you turn the corner on the path down to the cliffs you see the glorious red sandstone in the distance with the blue sea behind it. The rocks that make up the cliffs or platforms edging the ocean are so vibrant and varied in colour, texture, shape and size. It is one of those photographer’s delights with a photo opportunity every time you turn around, walk a little further or climb up onto a rock. I could have spent longer than
we did but Fin was anxious to get going since we still had the Vodafone problem to sort out and some shopping to do. Sounds kind of mundane but we have to get this internet connection working for the rest of our trip after all we are paying a lot for it so it should work! I am not sure if the Vodafone signal is just too flaky in this area and may have been in Kununurra also and they do seem to have some problems because I have been waiting for them to call back for much of the afternoon. Anyway, I tried to put up a few of my favourite photos for you to see just how stunning the coastline is here. The mangroves ones are near the town beach and the rocky ones are at Gantheaume Point. 
We went to the Black Pearl for dinner tonight which is down by the bay and had a lovely meal then walked back to our car which we had parked at the car park near Town Beach where we had deided would be the place to try to get photos of the stairway to the moon. It was scheduled for an hour later at 8:36pm tonight so it worked in well with dinner. When we got back to our car we were surprised how many vehicles were in the car park since we left it earlier. There were campervans, 4WDs and various other vehicles, even a couple of busloads of tourists. When we got down to the breakwater we couldn’t believe that it was full of people all waiting to see the phenomenon that is the Stairway to the moon. We had to wait about 20 minutes or so and everyone was uncertain as to where the moon would appear but we hoped we were in the right place. On
schedule the big red ball came up over the horizon, even redder than last night’s I think, but the air was very smoky from burn-offs again and it was quite dark with not much reflection on the water at all. Everyone started making comments about it being a fizzer, all the time taking photos just in case. After a very short time the moon was fairly high up and people started leaving but we hung on because we remembered it got brighter last night and that it might be worth waiting a bit longer. We weren’t totally disappointed since we did get a few photos that were better than earlier ones but we still didn’t see a stairway. Here is a photo that I took but had to use long shutter speeds and high ISO setting so it isn’t really fantastic, more interesting than anything. The next stairway is due at the end of September but we will be almost home by then.
we saw lots of people leaving from last night. We took a walk around and saw the mangroves out beyond the red cliffs and the blue, blue sea. It is an amazing contrast to see and add a few whiter than white seagulls into the picture and the scene is pretty spectacular. Further along there is a beach part where the sand is not quite so red but it is still not white or yellow sand that we are used to. Looking out at the calm sea there were about half dozen white boats bobbing around. Up on the grassed area unfenced and barely labelled is the Pioneer Cemetery. Unfortunately it has been vandalized a bit and also the whole area had a lot of rubbish due to the huge number of people there last night watching the stairway to the moon phenomenon. 
After we had decided what we would do tonight in order to get a good possie we headed off to Gantheaume Point which was a bit tricky since they seem to be doing road works and so the road that should have led to the point was closed where we tried to enter it but we found another way around and, after going down the last little bit of road which is labelled as gravel but is actually red sand, we got there. As soon as you turn the corner on the path down to the cliffs you see the glorious red sandstone in the distance with the blue sea behind it. The rocks that make up the cliffs or platforms edging the ocean are so vibrant and varied in colour, texture, shape and size. It is one of those photographer’s delights with a photo opportunity every time you turn around, walk a little further or climb up onto a rock. I could have spent longer than
we did but Fin was anxious to get going since we still had the Vodafone problem to sort out and some shopping to do. Sounds kind of mundane but we have to get this internet connection working for the rest of our trip after all we are paying a lot for it so it should work! I am not sure if the Vodafone signal is just too flaky in this area and may have been in Kununurra also and they do seem to have some problems because I have been waiting for them to call back for much of the afternoon. Anyway, I tried to put up a few of my favourite photos for you to see just how stunning the coastline is here. The mangroves ones are near the town beach and the rocky ones are at Gantheaume Point. 
We went to the Black Pearl for dinner tonight which is down by the bay and had a lovely meal then walked back to our car which we had parked at the car park near Town Beach where we had deided would be the place to try to get photos of the stairway to the moon. It was scheduled for an hour later at 8:36pm tonight so it worked in well with dinner. When we got back to our car we were surprised how many vehicles were in the car park since we left it earlier. There were campervans, 4WDs and various other vehicles, even a couple of busloads of tourists. When we got down to the breakwater we couldn’t believe that it was full of people all waiting to see the phenomenon that is the Stairway to the moon. We had to wait about 20 minutes or so and everyone was uncertain as to where the moon would appear but we hoped we were in the right place. On
schedule the big red ball came up over the horizon, even redder than last night’s I think, but the air was very smoky from burn-offs again and it was quite dark with not much reflection on the water at all. Everyone started making comments about it being a fizzer, all the time taking photos just in case. After a very short time the moon was fairly high up and people started leaving but we hung on because we remembered it got brighter last night and that it might be worth waiting a bit longer. We weren’t totally disappointed since we did get a few photos that were better than earlier ones but we still didn’t see a stairway. Here is a photo that I took but had to use long shutter speeds and high ISO setting so it isn’t really fantastic, more interesting than anything. The next stairway is due at the end of September but we will be almost home by then.
1 comment:
Hi you two,
Fantastic photo's. It must be great to see such spectacular scenery.
Happy Birthday big brother. Celebrate your 55th in style. Thinking of you.
Lots of Love
Jill, Ian and the mob.
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