Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Great Aussie Adventure - Day 24
This morning was sunny and warm in Broome as I headed to Gantheaume Point and it’s lighthouse.
“The first lighthouses was installed in 1905 and fuelled by kerosene. It was a temporary light on a tripod that was previously used at South Mole Lighthouse in Fremantle. But the fixed light was considered dangerous by seamen as they could not distinguish it from a light on a stationary ship. A new oscillating light was installed in 1906. Although this was an improvement, the light would flash intermittently and, on one occasion at 10PM on January 27th, 1909, it stopped altogether. In 1910, a new lighthouse was constructed which began operating on May 11th. It was a 30 foot tower which housed a more powerful lamp. Although it revolved at 7.5 seconds - faster than the 10 seconds it was supposed to - this wasn’t a problem because there were not other lights in the area. It was built at a cost of 1000 pounds. The 1910 lighthouse operated until 1962 when a new tower was constructed. This was demolished in 1985. The present lighthouse was erected in 1983. It is a stainless steel lattice tower that is 27 meters (89 feet) high. It operates from mains electricity and flashes every 10 seconds. A lighthouse keeper’s house was built at the time of the first lighthouse in 1905 and was used until the lighthouse was automated in 1922.”
And of course the lighthouse is situated on a beautiful area! Red rocks and all!
Then, the drive through the Kimberley was just amazing! I was surprised by how green it was!! I’m not sure if it was because of the back burning and actual fires still burning, (it was a bit scary driving through here - there were no firemen around just in case!) And then the dirt became dirt colored, (even the termite nests were a different color) and then an hour or two later, it was so red again!! There were bridges over some water filled creeks and rivers that were only one lane! Crazy!! I have gotten quite used to seeing cows and kangaroos on the side of the road, but today, there was a herd of horses grazing on the side of the road!! And this is the highway, not just a side road! And there are so many golden eagles and falcons. I love Western Australia!!!
Boab Tree
I even crossed the Laura River, but there was no water in it. I need to figure out who Laura was here in Australia and why there are so many things named after her!!
Laura River
I stopped in Fitzroy Creek for fuel and some postcards and a young Aboriginal girl (well, I say young, she was almost at tall as me) said excuse me miss, because I was in her way. And as I was driving out of town, a young aboriginal boy waved to me as I was passing him.
I made it to Halls Creek just as the sun was going down and it was again a great sunset, orange and yellow tonight.
The high today was 30°C (86°F)!! I didn’t bring any shorts or skirts, just jeans, and now I’m wishing I had brought some shorts!! Ah well!!
The accents in the Kimberley’s are much thicker here! I had a hard time trying to make reservations for rooms on the phone! Even in person, it was a bit difficult!
Oh and then when I was getting ready to shower after dinner before bed, I found an amphibian in the shower. I’m not sure what it was, it had feet like a frog, but was a translucent color and had a short tail. It moved to the corner of the bathroom wall/ceiling and once I showered, I heard a thud, and it, all of a sudden, on the floor. He must have gone down the drain when I was sleeping. (If anyone knows what it is from the photos, let me know!)
“The first lighthouses was installed in 1905 and fuelled by kerosene. It was a temporary light on a tripod that was previously used at South Mole Lighthouse in Fremantle. But the fixed light was considered dangerous by seamen as they could not distinguish it from a light on a stationary ship. A new oscillating light was installed in 1906. Although this was an improvement, the light would flash intermittently and, on one occasion at 10PM on January 27th, 1909, it stopped altogether. In 1910, a new lighthouse was constructed which began operating on May 11th. It was a 30 foot tower which housed a more powerful lamp. Although it revolved at 7.5 seconds - faster than the 10 seconds it was supposed to - this wasn’t a problem because there were not other lights in the area. It was built at a cost of 1000 pounds. The 1910 lighthouse operated until 1962 when a new tower was constructed. This was demolished in 1985. The present lighthouse was erected in 1983. It is a stainless steel lattice tower that is 27 meters (89 feet) high. It operates from mains electricity and flashes every 10 seconds. A lighthouse keeper’s house was built at the time of the first lighthouse in 1905 and was used until the lighthouse was automated in 1922.”
And of course the lighthouse is situated on a beautiful area! Red rocks and all!
Then, the drive through the Kimberley was just amazing! I was surprised by how green it was!! I’m not sure if it was because of the back burning and actual fires still burning, (it was a bit scary driving through here - there were no firemen around just in case!) And then the dirt became dirt colored, (even the termite nests were a different color) and then an hour or two later, it was so red again!! There were bridges over some water filled creeks and rivers that were only one lane! Crazy!! I have gotten quite used to seeing cows and kangaroos on the side of the road, but today, there was a herd of horses grazing on the side of the road!! And this is the highway, not just a side road! And there are so many golden eagles and falcons. I love Western Australia!!!
Boab Tree
I even crossed the Laura River, but there was no water in it. I need to figure out who Laura was here in Australia and why there are so many things named after her!!
Laura RiverI stopped in Fitzroy Creek for fuel and some postcards and a young Aboriginal girl (well, I say young, she was almost at tall as me) said excuse me miss, because I was in her way. And as I was driving out of town, a young aboriginal boy waved to me as I was passing him.
I made it to Halls Creek just as the sun was going down and it was again a great sunset, orange and yellow tonight.
The high today was 30°C (86°F)!! I didn’t bring any shorts or skirts, just jeans, and now I’m wishing I had brought some shorts!! Ah well!!
The accents in the Kimberley’s are much thicker here! I had a hard time trying to make reservations for rooms on the phone! Even in person, it was a bit difficult!
Oh and then when I was getting ready to shower after dinner before bed, I found an amphibian in the shower. I’m not sure what it was, it had feet like a frog, but was a translucent color and had a short tail. It moved to the corner of the bathroom wall/ceiling and once I showered, I heard a thud, and it, all of a sudden, on the floor. He must have gone down the drain when I was sleeping. (If anyone knows what it is from the photos, let me know!)
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About Me
- Laura
- Denver, Colorado, United States
- I'm originally from Colorado, but I've been living in Australia for three years. Before that, I lived all over the U.S.: Washington State, Maine, California, Oregon, Nebraska, North Carolina, Arizona, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and more... No, I'm not a military brat or a military wife; I was a traveling nurse for 5 years so I moved to a new city every 3 months. During my travels, I became intrigued with lighthouses and started making plans to photograph as many as I could in whichever state I was living (including the two in Nebraska!) My blog is about my trips to various lighthouses, as well as other interesting trips. I hope you enjoy reading, and leave a comment or two!
1 comments:
Looks like a gecko.
Jude
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