On the waterfront, Bunbury, Western Australia

On Friday I went down to Koombana Bay in my lunch hour. It was lovely to get away from the office and go for a walk on the beach with my camera.

 The water was at it's sparkling best, and I wished I could have stayed and enjoyed it longer. In these pics below you can see some of what I saw, clockwise from top left -
A man rowing out to his yacht (lucky him!), a lady with her fishing rod encouraging her dog to have a swim (her dog seemed to be enjoying it), this person was snorkeling along the edge towing a container (he was wearing ear muffs, who knows what he was doing!), moored yachts looking over waterfront restaurants and apartments (beckoning their owners to come and play), the sailing regatta control box (empty today, waiting for the weekend regatta), people at the beach side restaurant (I wonder what they had for lunch), some men measuring something at the beach volley ball ground (measuring what?), a man swimming laps (something I should do), I saved this Dutch visitor from poisoning himself with the huge Nor-West Blowie he had just hooked (lucky I was there when he asked for help, and that I could recognize it! - I must have learnt something along the way), and in the middle a couple enjoying the solitude and sun (hope they eventually remembered the slip, slop, slap, wrap!). 

and a man walking and the seagulls just sitting (perhaps the man was enjoying the beach in his lunch hour too)

At Koombana Bay you can visit the Dolphin Centre or go on a dolphin cruise or be at the beach when the dolphins come in close. Sometimes when we go out in our boat the dolphins swim up around us. So beautiful.

Adjacent to Koombana Bay is the Inner and Outer Harbours. Here are some boats at the marina at the Outer Harbour, dreaming of sailing away some where. You see all sorts of craft from old wooden boats to sleek new cruisers. You can see some of the port facilities in the background of these image. 

Also at the Outer Harbour you can see this three tonne crane that sits at the start of the old timber jetty. It was built in 1911 by Sir William Arrol who designed and constructed amongst other bridges the Tower Bridge in London and the gantry which housed the Titanic during construction. I love photographing these old coggs and wheels.

Sadly the old timber jetty is being dismantled as it has fallen into disrepair and was breaking up despite years of intensive fund raising and lobbying. When Bunbury was first settled goods and passengers had to be transferred between ships and the shore in boats. In 1864 a jetty was built out into the bay and was extended nine times due to silting.  By 1957 it was 1,677 metres in length. As the port became busier and more modern methods were used to load and unload vessels the harbour developed away from the jetty, which ceased to be used commercially in 1982.   

 How about a coffee or lunch at the waterfront cafe

A view over the Outer Harbour from Marlsden Hill.  You can see the old timber jetty to the right, and the land-backed wharf on the left. 

Bunbury is certainly a beautiful place to live, and proudly calls itself the "city of three waters" as it is surrounded on three sides by the Indian Ocean, Koombana Bay and the Leschenault Inlet. To learn more - please click on the link here - Visit Bunbury

Also click here to see more info about Bunbury from travel writer Jo Castro over at Zia-a-zag, and check out her numerous posts about Bunbury - a great read -  Interesting facts about Bunbury

I don't have far to go to enjoy the water during my lunch time. I don't do it often enough. What do you do in your lunch hour? 

Thank you for stopping by and have a wonderful week.
I am linking up with Mosaic Monday and Our World Tuesday and Travel Photo Thursday.  Please click on the links to see the work of other photographers around the world. 

Want to see some more of Bunbury? You might also like - 

A walk around Bunbury's history
Cappaccino at the Grand
 Heritage architect in Bunbury
Bunbury - city surrounded by water