Welcome to Life Images by Jill

Welcome to Life Images by Jill.........Stepping into the light and bringing together the images and stories of our world. I am a photographer, writer and multi-media artist.
Focussing mainly on Western Australia and Australia, I am seeking to preserve images and memories of the beautiful world in which we live and the people in it.

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Sunday 6 January 2013

Life is a Beach in Western Australia


It is summer downunder and time for the beach. The beach is part of Western Australia’s way of life - kilometres of white sandy beaches, sparkling clear blue water, coral reefs, aquatic playgrounds, and the sun setting over the Indian Ocean in a brilliant array of colours.

Stretching from Broome’s Cable Beach in the north, to Lucky Bay near Esperance in the south east, a trip to Western Australia would not be complete without a visit to one of its beaches.

In the image below you can see left to right from top - Smiths Beach Yallingup, Cable Beach Broome, Conspicuous Cliffs near Denmark, Greens Pool Denmark, Lucky Bay Esperance, dolphins at Monkey Mia Shark Bay, snorkeling on Ningaloo Reef Coral Bay. 


I wrote about my selection of Western Australia's best beaches in my article which was recently published in Go Camping Australia magazine December2012-January2013 edition.  


Below is an excerpt from the article with my choices of some of Western Australia's best beaches.

CABLE BEACH, BROOME – WHITE SAND, SUNSHINE & PEARLS
Where is it? - 2237 kilometres north of Perth
Established around the pearling industry in the late 1800s, a colourful history and a melting pot of nationalities, the tropical seaside town of Broome is the gateway to the Kimberleys. On Cable Beach’s twenty two kilometre stretch of pristine white sand, you can escape the southern winter by relaxing on the beach, rejuvenate in the warm ocean water, enjoy a sunset camel ride, or experience the “stair case to the moon”. 

When you have had enough of the beach there is an extensive collection of pearl outlets, art and photographic galleries, shops and restaurants, or take a boat tour to one of the pearling farms or a scenic flight over spectacular coastal scenery.


NINGALOO REEF – CORAL BAY AND EXMOUTH – UNDERWATER WONDERLAND
Where is it? - Coral Bay is 1131 kilometres and Exmouth 1260 kilometres north of Perth
Serviced by Exmouth and Coral Bay, Ningaloo Reef is one of the world’s largest fringing coral reefs and a prime conservation sanctuary stretching 260 kilometres along North West Cape. Home to 250 species of coral and 500 species of fish, Ningaloo is one of Australia’s great nature based tourism destinations and leads the way in Whale Shark eco-tourism. You can snorkel over the reef only a few metres from the shore, and Coral Bay’s town beach has safe swimming for children.  Blessed with warm weather all year round, perfect for fishing, swimming or relaxing, Ningaloo is a paradise for holiday-makers. 


MONKEY MIA, SHARK BAY – DOLPHIN EXPERIENCE
Where is it?: 856 kilometres from Perth
Thousands of visitors come every year to see the bottle nose dolphins which visit the beach at Monkey Mia, located in the World Heritage listed Peron Peninsular. Dolphin feeding, three times a day between 8am and 1pm, is carefully controlled in the special interaction area on the beach front near the jetty to ensure the dolphins continue to live in their natural environment. Although you are discouraged from touching them, the experience is one you will never forget.  


THE CAPES – SURFING THE SOUTH WEST
Where is it?: Margaret River is 277 kms and Yallingup 263 kms south of Perth. 
Enjoying a Mediterranean climate, the Cape to Cape region between Cape Naturalist and Cape Leeuwin is a playground for holiday makers during the summer, and surfers all year round, as well as being an internationally acclaimed wine growing region. Meelup offers safe swimming and a shady beachfront picnic area popular with families, whilst Surfers Point near Margaret River is home to the Margaret River Pro competition. Yallingup provides great swimming and snorkelling with a protected lagoon, and surfing further out.
Wineries, breweries and artisans outlets provide an enjoyable way to spend a lazy afternoon or you could stretch your legs along the Cape to Cape Track which winds 135 kilometres between the Capes.


SOUTH COAST  - WHERE THE FOREST MEETS THE SEA
Where is it?: Denmark is 414 kms south of Perth
When summer hits the northern half of WA it is time to escape to a milder climate and the beautiful pristine beaches of the South Coast. From Mandalay Beach west of Walpole, through Denmark to Albany, the southern coastline is a mixture of magnificent coastal scenery, rugged headlands, rock pools and secluded beaches. Popular beaches include - Greens Pool, William Bay, Ocean Beach, Lights Beach and Peaceful Bay.
 Combining to make a complete destination are relaxed friendly towns, wineries, restaurants, galleries, walk trails and rivers for canoeing which wind through the spectacular Karri and Tingle forests and an international biodiversity hotspot.  



ESPERANCE – AUSTRALIA’S WHITEST BEACH
Where is it?: 721 kilometres from Perth on the south coast 
The combination of dazzling white squeaky clean sand and cold sparkling aqua blue water under a canopy of brilliant blue sky is a feast for the senses.  Lucky Bay in the Cape Le Grand National Park near Esperance was judged in 2006 by a national committee of scientific experts through Geoscience Australia to be the whitest beach in Australia, so Esperance can justifiably claim to be the home of Australia’s best beaches.
Isolated by distance, Esperance enjoys a laid back life style and a Mediterranean climate.  It is a paradise for beach lovers with kilometres of pristine beaches, spectacular coastal scenery, national parks, and an aquatic paradise amongst the islands of the Recherche Archipelago


FOR MORE INFORMATION on WA’s beaches and where to stay, log onto the individual visitor information web sites or visit WA Tourism at www.westernaustralia.com

To read this complete article please see December 2012- January 2013 edition of Go Camping Australia magazine - Go Camping Australia magazine on Facebook

 Even in winter I like walking on the beach - this image I took on a cold morning in July when we had a weekend getaway at Smith's beach.  We walked along the beach at sunrise - you can see the mist rising off the ocean - 



 And  at days end, you can't beat a brilliant sunset over the Indian Ocean, like this one at Denham, Shark Bay.



  And the best beach? A beach near you! We are lucky to be blessed with one only quarter of an hour from home. Sometimes I go there in my lunch hour and just let the wind blow my cares away.  There is something comforting about the continual rhythm of the waves going in and out.




Thank you for stopping by. I look forward to hearing from you. Do you have a beach near you? Where is your favourite beach? Or is it a secret?

I am sharing today with Mosaic Monday at Little Red House. Please click on the link to see the wonderful work of Mary and other contributors -  Mosaic Monday

You might also like - please click on the links to go to -
 
Coral Bay - blue on blue
Yallingup & Smiths Beach - the oceans edge
Lunch at Busselton Jetty


22 comments:

  1. A beautiful wrap of WA's beaches, Jill, and I bet the full magazine article is awesome. Must go buy the Mag! I loved the pic of the Denham sunset. It made me want to go back and explore some more, and I'd love to get to Ningaloo one day soon. Great post!

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  2. What a wonderful sunny world. I over the beach, we only don.t have the climate to go there very often.

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  3. These photos and beaches are so beautiful! Our daughter and her family are visiting in Perth right now and have been to some local beaches there. Here in New Brunswick, Canada, we have some beautiful sandy warm water beaches (in summertime) along the Northumberland Strait and other nice beaches along the Bay of Fundy coast. I love the ocean and walking the beach looking for sea glass and pretty shells. Beautiful post! Pamela

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  4. That beach close to your home is so beautiful! Your photos make me determined to get to Australia one day soon.

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  5. Oh, wow, how lucky you are to live in such a beautiful country. The beaches and water are gorgeous! Now, even more I am wishing for winter to be over. Lovely photos! Jill, have a happy week!

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  6. We are blessed to be not too far from the ocean...a 35 minute drive up to an hour for some real surf. I am not a beach person, though I might become one if I could visit the beautiful beaches in your corner. We actually don't have too many beaches as we are known as the "Rock Bound Coast." That's nice, too, for lovely surf crashing. "Ningaloo" is such a great name! (Getting error messages as I try to comment...trying again.)

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  7. What glorious photographs - the beaches look so inviting, but it seems a world away until summer holidays are here. For the time being the UK is wet, grey and cold and probably will be for quite a while! Thank you for injecting some summer sunshine into my life!

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  8. Awww these are a warm welcome on a snowy frosty day in my world!
    Have a wonderful week jill!

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  9. Aaaahhh, Wish I was there!!! Thanks for bringing summer closer and for your Nice comments on my blog:) Beautiful photos that warm up on a cold winters dau:)

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  10. Wow, you have such nice beaches there! We also have a lot of beautiful beaches here in the Philippines. I should improve my photography soon, you're quite a good photographer. :)

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  11. Such a great tour! One day I will make it to Oz.

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  13. I live in South Carolina and I have a lot of different beaches around me. Australia is so beautiful and would love to visit one day. Love all of your photos.
    ~Clara

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  14. Gorgeous, gorgeous photos of beach scenery! I would love to live near one or have opportunity to just visit everyday!

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  15. Awesome summer collage! It isn't too bad here in the desert Southwest. We have a cold front coming for the weekend and will only get up to 50F (10C) for our high temps.

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  16. A nice balance of scenes there.
    Great presentation !!

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  17. Beautiful shots, they lifted my spirits on this grey winter day - we seem to get a tease of sun in the morning, but it soon turns overcast. I don't care how cold it gets, I need the sun!
    Terrific blog, Jill. Thanks for sharing xx

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  18. so beautiful Jill! I haven't seen the beach this year! WIll fix that soon!

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  20. Stunning images of a beautiful place - i particularly love the underwater one with the beautiful fish!

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  21. WA has the best beaches in my opinion. When we travelled WA in a camper van we got to most on your list and more. We had breakfast on a different beach everyday and mostly they were deserted. Anyone travelling that way just can't go wrong. Have to say though my pics aren't nearly as good as yours. Gorgeous as usual.

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  22. Peter here,...These are great photos here...Have you ever considered covering africa, say Kenya for example? They have nice beaches and you will surely enjoy. I am a Kenyan and I know what am talking about. I dont know how I would feel if I found photos from our country on your website. Thank you again for taking time to prepare this article.

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