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 Topic: No Tent, No Van This Time.
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06/7/2017 at 7:21am
Location: Melbourne Australia
Outfit: Windsor Rapid Off Road Van + tents
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The reason for this trip was to visit one of the few places in Australia that I hadn’t been to, it would also give me the opportunity to hopefully see some new bird species that I had yet to see in Oz.
Due to its close proximity to Indonesia, occasionally birds of that region can fly beyond their usual routes, or are sometimes blown out to the Reef by storms or cyclones. If they are seen there they then become a tick, or officially a new addition to the Avifauna (birds) of Australia. Birdwatchers are always trying to see new birds to add to their lists, and I wasn’t an exception there, I also love visiting new and unique locations in our country.
Ashmore Reef is located in the Timor Sea 320 ks off the Kimberley Coast. (Top north west of Australia) If you take a line north from Broome and west from Darwin at the point where they intersect it is basically where you will find the Reef.
Our trip to this remote destination started from Broome, (about 3,500 kilometres from Melbourne as the crow flies). These first few pics were taken from Roebuck Bay as we made our way out to the open seas.
A schooner makes its way back into harbour.
A Brown Booby swoops past our boat as we head nearly directly away from the coast before we turned towards our destination.
For nearly 3 days there was just the open expanse of the Indian Ocean as we made our way north to Ashmore Reef. For the whole time there was always a group of us that scanned the horizon for any sign of life to help break up the monotony of those long days.
The seas at that time of year are usually pretty calm which for me was a godsend, as I have been known to get sea sick at the first sign of chop in a spa bath!
Sunset on our first night at sea.
The next day was broken up with the occasional sighting of some dolphins, a close fly over from this Lesser Frigate Bird (A bird of prey of the oceans) and a good sighting of this Hump Backed Whale.
Sunrise on the open seas and as we approach the reef, we passed a naval vessel that cruises this part of Australia's waters looking for refugees and illegal fishermen.
Ashmore Reef is a large reef like atoll with three low vegetated islands, numerous banks of shifting sands and two large lagoon areas.
We entered a channel that took us through the fringing coral and soon after we were tied up at a buoy, (a kilometre or so from the nearest island). In a matter of moments a boarding party from that naval vessel pulled alongside us and made their way onto our deck.
The head of the boarding party was a pretty imposing sort of guy and by his demeanour wasn’t going to take any +%* at , he stood at least 6’ 6” Our skipper fumbled through pages and pages of our permit trying to find the small paragraph that gave us authority to land. We were all a bit nervous and I wasn’t sure taking this photo was the right thing to do but it all ended up ok.
The view from our mooring.
After getting permission to land, we were all keen to put our feet on terra firma after nearly 3 days at sea. The clarity and colour off the water had to be seen to be believed.
We finally got to land on the main beach of West Island which is the largest of the group of 3, (32 ha), and what a beach!! and one of the
tenders heads back to the main boat as we start our search of the island.
We used the shade of one of the two palm trees on the island as our base, there were a couple of Indonesian graves at the base of the tree.
After an hour of intense searching we were lucky enough to discover a new bird for Australia, an Island Monarch and then a not often seen, Yellow White Eye.
Within my family and friends I’m known for my penchant for photographing dead trees. I love their starkness, abstract shapes, age and character. I didn’t think at this remote spot that I would be greeted with these photo opportunities.
The remains of a vessel that had come to grief at this remote spot.
On our trip to and around the Reef we saw many sea snakes (which are extremely venomous/deadly) so when we had the chance to swim and snorkel from the boat, we had to check that they weren’t too close.
We would usually go ashore before breakfast around 5.30 then go back to the boat about 8 and then back to the island from 10.00 till 1.00 and then back to shore from 4.00 til dusk. The waters were warm, nearly 30 degrees and absolutely stunningly crystal clear and BEAUTIFUL!!
A view of the island as we approached for one of our many landings and some other nearby shots.
On occasions we would visit other atolls within the group of Islands that make up the reef. On some of the less vegetated ones, tens of thousands of seabirds would be nesting and breeding and then a Loggerhead Turtle that paid our boat a visit.
On most mornings the beaches would have tracks of Turtles that had come ashore during the night to lay their eggs.
The sunsets over the Island on one of the days we were there, as we head back to the mother boat for tea.
One morning we left at 4.30 am to travel to an area that was extremely shallow, where the tides would only allow us access for a brief time.
The birdlife there was prolific.
We slowly cruised the shoreline, looking for rare and interesting species, ever conscious to not get stranded on the out going tide.
And then an interesting sighting was made.
Amongst this mass of birds a Common Redshank is spotted, which is a new bird for most but unfortunately, not for me.
 IMG_6810 by Colin Judkins, on Flickr
Nothing makes me happier than seeing a pair of Brown Boobies!!!
The Flying Fish, that was our home for 9 days.
Landing on the main Island, on our last morning at Ashmore Reef.
An adult Red Tailed Tropic Bird, and a juvenile at its nest on the ground.
One final photo of the beach, as we left it for the last time and then a couple of the tranquil, stunningly clear warm waters of Ashmore Reef.
On our 2.5 day trip back to Broome we saw lots of Dolphins and Whales, by memory over the whole trip we saw 7 species of Dolphin, 4 types of Whales, 4 types of Turtles, numerous types of sea snakes and 58 different types of birds, of those 11 birds were new to me. That’s one of the benefits of going to these remote destinations. As the number of birds I have seen increases, it becomes harder and harder to see new ones. In recent years if I can see 1 new species a year I’m pretty happy, and I have to travel far and wide to see them as well (which I don’t mind).
A couple of photos of a sunrise and then a sunset to end this report, to a place that very few have been to. Just getting permission to visit this region is very difficult and only two landings are allowed each year. This is a wildlife sanctuary of international significance, and it is extremely important that care is taken to ensure that it remains as a breeding ground for the many species found there, that depend on it for their very survival.
I hope you enjoyed seeing another unique part of Australia through my eyes.
Regards from Col.
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The worst day above ground, is a whole lot better than the best one under it. Live life to the fullest while you can.
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