The faraway land: WA’S remote Dampier Peninsula
DISCOVER THE BEAUTY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA’S DAMPIER PENINSULA AND LEARN ABOUT ITS RICH INDIGENOUS HERITAGE.
THE ONE-HOUR FLIGHT NORTH of Broome to the dirt strip at Kooljaman at Cape Leveque has to be among WA’S most spectacular journeys. Part of the Kimberley aerial highway, the flight traces the epic coastline of the Dampier Peninsula — firstly over Cable Beach, then past pearl farms and inlets, before the immense red pindan cliffs emerge, shadowing drifts of white sand and the cerulean Indian Ocean along the northern point of the peninsula. Kooljaman at Cape Leveque is a wilderness resort and camp, owned and operated by the Indigenous Bardi Jawi communities of Djarindjin and Ardyaloon (also known as One Arm Point). The simple, off-the-grid camp was established three decades ago based on sharing the Aboriginal values of caring for country, as well as showcasing the region’s rugged, inimitable beauty. “Kooljaman exists to promote Bardi Jawi culture and empower Bardi people through the sharing of their culture,” says Erica Thompson, resort manager for the past four years. Ardi, the local Bardi word for the Dampier Peninsula which means ‘north-east’, is approximately a 220-kilometre trip from Broome. The peninsula, part of a national heritage-listed area, is steeped in history. The Bardi people, as well as the Djabera Djabera and Nyul Nyul people, have been here for thousands of years, living off the abundant marine life and pindan scrub. English explorer William Dampier landed on the tip of the Dampier Archipelago in 1688 and noted the region’s diverse flora and fauna. Pearl shell, which had long been traded by Indigenous communities, led to a burgeoning industry when Pinctada maxima (pearl oyster) was discovered in 1861. Today, there are many Indigenous operations from various local communities offering tourism experiences of the peninsula, including cultural walks, bush tucker tours and whale-watching trips. Visitors can choose to fly from Broome, or drive on the partially unsealed road during the dry season — from around April through to October. We join Bundy’s Cultural Tours for a morning with traditional owner Bundy Chaquebor. Bundy has lived here all his life and has offered tours for a decade, sharing the culture and traditional way of life on the peninsula. “Gornamooyoon ngay, jowa ambooriny gonradarrinarij booroo galla imbij,” he says in greeting to our group when we arrive at Djarindjin, an Aboriginal community with a population of around 400 people. “Good morning everyone, I want to welcome you to my country.” Bundy, 55, was raised on the hill behind Djarindjin, originally the Lombandina mission. “My family were the last to move off the dunes. It was a simple life, but a good life,” he recalls. He shows us a freshwater swamp below the dunes on the beach, which he says is a reliable source >
Today, there are many Indigenous operations from various local communities offering tourism experiences.
of water in the dry season. “We used to carry all the water. We teach our kids to survive on fresh water along the coast.” We follow the powdered white-sand beach south to the mangroves at Chile Creek and Bundy tells us about some of the traditional sources of food — greenback turtles, trevally, sweet lips, coral trout, dugongs and mangrove jack, a species of snapper. He also points out the flowering wattle, which is a sign that the mangrove jack are spawning. In the mangroves, Bundy shows us how to hunt with a spear. “Food is always here for me,” he says. Bundy’s daughter Sheliah Manado, 23, is also with our group and says her father taught her to spearfish when she was just five years old. “The ocean is our main food source; it’s better to catch it then buy it,” she says. The tour, which goes for approximately five hours, is an authentic, hands-on way to learn about the Indigenous connection to country, as well as bush foods and traditional medicine. “Storytelling is still a big part of custom; the dreamtime story and stories of the bowerbird, turtle and shark. We are teaching people about the customs and lifestyle we live,” says Bundy. “The next generation know they belong to country and in the Kimberley they learn our language in the curriculum. We teach our children how to read tides and heights, the connection of flowers and trees, to know which fish to eat, and what to eat in the ecosystem.” In the afternoon, we explore the western and eastern beaches at Kooljaman; and as the sun sinks towards the horizon, the red pindan cliffs ignite and the beach glows with a soft pinkish hue. Here on the peninsula there’s a sense of connection between the land and the people who have cared for it for generations. For more information, see visitbroome.com.au
“We are teaching people about the customs and lifestyle we live… The next generation know they belong to country and in the Kimberley they learn our language in the curriculum.”