Epic Sunrise at the Ocean's Edge

Thursday 4 June

This is why we drive miles off the main road to find the epic park-ups beside the sea - we slept with the roar of the waves in our ears, and woke as a glorious golden red light flooded Banjo through the front window which we had left unshaded for once. From 7am until almost 8am we watched a stunning kaleidoscope of colours wash across the sky as the sun rose - magnificent! 💛🧡❤️🩷💜

First pic below is 7am, lying in bed and looking out of the front window as the sky started it's rainbow transition. The sunrise to the northwest raged in fiery red and oranges, but the skies to the south took on a gentler pinky, peachy, lilacy hue and were just as beautiful in their own way.

The morning was slow and lazy, we pottered about and just stared out to sea in search of dolphins and seals for a few hours (beautiful views but no mammalian sealife, just a few swooping seabirds) then wandered off southwards down the road to see what we could see. The beach was accessible in several places as the road descended from cliff height, but the black stony sand was deep so we walked out along the roadway for a km or two, then ducked down to the beach to chat with the fishermen, then back up to the road when our calves started protesting!

A few hundred metres along the road was Dunroamin where they sold fresh eggs and had two funky metal wire sculptures on the fence - a fisherman and his catch and a lumberjill with her chainsaw. We also spotted a noisy pair of honk wah ducks and tried to rescue a bumble bee who seemed to be struggling - picked it a juicy clover flower and dripped some water onto the grass in case it was dehydrated.

Back at Banjo I had a wander around the POP - loving our cliff top location, checking out EAGLE by the light of day (so vast with three big slide outs), and visiting the Wind House which doubles as a meet-up spot and a repository for delicious home made chutneys and relishes being sold by a local artisan (I fancied white peach and ginger chutney - might have to treat ourselves before we leave). It was so warm and fabulous we had lunch in glorious sunshine (pie for Louis and salad for me) then decided to make the most of the wonderful day.

Louis got the bikes down and we hopped on them and cycled northwards to Claverley - the end of the road. 🚲🚲

Had another sheep encounter (and got to meet the cool dog), passed many hefty stud bulls and some mildly curious cattle and waved to the PNG guys in the huge fields picking lettuces - lots of market gardening along the coast. The beach here was an extension of the one in front of Banjo - with dark sand studded with tiny dark jelly bean pebbles.

Back at Banjo we had a siesta and a chill remainder of the day - our far neighbours in the moho had left and we had new neighbours in a Jayco caravan. We were facing East so the wrong way for sunset which was behind the mountains, but the anticrepuscular rays were kinda cool and the light on the clouds was like a Renaissance painting, or the Sistine Chapel!

Dinner in Banjo (chicken in a made-up-recipe-sauce) as we watched the Good Omens finale - such a fun series. Debating whether to set the alarm for 4am as an Aurora is forecast… 😴