DENHAM

Monday August 11

DENHAM

Here at last! This is the place we were heading for when we left home. We had researched it and it appeared to us to have everything – a park right on the water, access for the kayaks, fish in abundance, warm weather.
We were hoping we wouldn't be disappointed, and marvellously, we weren't!

The park is pretty full all the time, so we were lucky to get a spot. We asked to be close to the path to the waterfront so we could get the kayaks in, and were given a funny site parked parallel with the roadway right inside the gate. We looked as though we were ready to hitch up for a fast getaway!

However, there was a tiny garden space on our other side, and the cleaner, 'Murph' had his onsite van across from us, along with his red kelpie, 'Sammy Hollywood'. Sammy became a firm friend, and Murph gave us fish and swapped DVDs with us, so we enjoyed our funny site anyway. As added bonuses, there was a small supermarket just across the road, and joy of joys, the free wifi signal reached the van, so we were able to log on at will.

Two at once!

Only 36 cm!

We had perfect weather the whole 16 days we were there (except for a couple of 'wrong' tides and a bit of wind), so we took our kayaks out most days, over the shallows and out past where the boats were moored, and fished.


We caught plenty of pink snapper, sometimes two at once! but as the largest was only 36 cm,  they were too small to keep (they had to be 50-70cm). Oh, we were tempted, though. They were plenty big enough to eat.

But forget the fish! - On our second-last day, while out fishing from our kayaks, I had a dugong swim right up close to my kayak. I was awed to even see one, but to my amazement, it stayed with me for about ten minutes, circling my kayak so close I could have touched it. I was blown away!! And it was one of the days I hadn't taken my phone, so I have no photo!

Denham is small, and its whole focus is fishing. The foreshore is pretty, with lawns and concrete walkways right along the beachfront. We were impressed with the cleaning stations set up for fisher people – a large stainless steel square benchtop big enough for eight people at a time, sloping down to a central waste hole, with water buttons around the edges to wash down your fish. Very stylish.

The town has a huge, modern Discovery Centre with interactive displays showing flora, fauna, geology and history of the area. Outside, there is a huge wall commemorating the lives lost in the HMAS Sydney during WWII.

The area around Denham has much to offer, too.

Monkey mia

Monkey Mia is only 25 km away, so we went for a look-see. It is very pretty, but is now a commercial enterprise. You have to pay to enter the park, the 'dolphin experience' is organised, and the place is geared to making money. There is a caravan park, but it is just sandy spots with no shade, and $52 a night! We were not impressed.

Cape Peron track

We went for a day trip out to Cape Peron, 4wdriving on sandy tracks.

Cape Peron

Skipjack Point

We were impressed with how much difference the turbo makes to sand driving - effortless!






Although all the spots we saw were beautiful, we were awed by the view from Skipjack Point.
A massive walkway has been built along the top of the cliff and we looked down on whole schools of fish being herded by pods of dolphins and a colony of cormorants – hundreds of them.

Eagle Bluff is also spectacular.

Eagle Bluff

We watched dolphins playing chasey with rays.

The area has many 'birrida' – small lagoons formed when the ocean finds a way over the sand and into the lowland behind the dunes. Many have dried up, but several are still filled daily and are havens for visitors.

Little Lagoon

Little Lagoon's waterway

Little Lagoon's waterway is a crystal-clear creek fringed by greenery – very pretty.

Shell Beach

Not sand - tiny cockle shells!

Shell Beach is another special place. The whole beach is not sand, but billions of tiny cockle shells, up to nine metres deep. The whole area around Hamelin and Denham is covered by these shells. They are so prolific that they are used in place of gravel for roads and paths and blocks of calcified shells are used as bricks in retaining walls in the caravan park. Whole buildings were constructed of them in the past, but few remain these days.

We took ourselves out to dinner on the last night – to the delightful Old Pearler restaurant, which is built entirely from shell blocks.. The restaurant is just gorgeous – very small, and the seafood platter of fresh local seafood is the best we've ever had. It was the perfect way to end our Denham holiday. As you can see – we loved this place.