That’s a big ask! First we need to define what constitutes a beach that can be considered for this list. I am not talking about the longest or widest or most sandy etc, etc. By the way, the longest beach probably is the Coorong from Kingston to the Murray River mouth in SA. It is over 150km long. I did that with the boys some 15 years ago in my great GQ Nissan Patrol. That was a decent trip.

I would say that some of the defining criteria for the top 5 might be: (I would love to hear from readers what some of the other defining criteria might be).

• At least 1km long with a sandy beach of decent width at low-tide,
• Not dangerous to human life; ie no crocodiles, blue ring octopus, Box Jelly fish,
• Attractive natural setting ie defining natural beauty or pleasing features,
• Definitely not overdeveloped or overrun by human beings,

Top 5:

(Edited 2/12/16: I have now been on the 5th best beach in Australia. On a recent trip to Port Stephens and the Myall Lakes I have come across a glorious beach located on the north of Nelson Bay. Port Stephens is on the Southern part of Nelson Bay. The northern beach runs from the mouth of the bay and inland  for a few kilometers. It is called ‘Jimmy’s Beach. See pictures on list below.)

(26/10/2015) I cannot name 5 beaches that deserve to be in this list. I have not seen 5 such beaches. However I have been on one beach that definitely fits the bill.

So my first beach would be Cable Beach in Broome WA. I have been there several times.

Then I have three more beaches that might make the list.

The first could be the beach at Woodgate Qld. between the Theodolite creek and the Barrum river.  It is just sensational, stunning and has a chill factor when you are there.

The other beach is in Tasmania.  I think Wineglass Beach would have to rate!

The Whitsundays have:   Whitehaven Beach

I wonder what other readers may think.

So…….I  can propose only these:

1. Cable Beach, Broome, WA

2. Wood gate Beach  Qld

3. Wineglass Beach Tasmania

https://www.google.com.au/search?q=wineglass+beach+tasmania&biw=1366&bih=639&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0CEMQsARqFQoTCOK3hM–38gCFQblpgodRzMKdg

  Pic credit:  Touchdowndownunder.wordpress.com

4.  Whitehaven Beach Whitsundays

5. Jimmy’s Beach @ Hawks Nest,  Nelson Bay NSW

It was really good to catch up with the boys, but this time to have my own transport at hand. This gave me the liberty to explore at will. We had been plotting for a while now to do some fishing on Cable Beach in the afternoon and then withdraw to the dunes at a certain spot on Cable Beach and camp for the night.

We had prepared by getting into the bush earlier that day and cutting up some dead timber for the fire.  The fishing was pretty uneventful and we had a long swim in between. Just before we stopped fishing I hooked a large stingray and landed it on the beach. It was really beautiful with electric blue dots on light beige wings. I pulled out the hook and returned the fish to the water, all the time carefully avoiding the tail that was whipping from side to side.

We drove along the beach for another kilometer and unloaded the wood. By then the others started arriving and we set up tables and chairs and got a decent fire going. The evening was spent catching up on the last year and a bit of gossip (J) It got to be pretty late by the time we got to bed. I rolled out my sleeping bag on a tarp and slept in the open air on the beach; very invigorating. The next morning we had a swim and packed up.

Fire Devil

Boat Cruise

One of the days in Broome we were booked on a day trip on the big Catamaran Karma IV. The boat is a 70ft x 33 ft Catamaran. See  http://www.karma4.com.au/index.html  .The agenda was to cruise across Roebuck bay to the Eco Beach Wilderness Resort, have lunch and then spend the rest of the day whale watching some 50 km out at sea.

We launched reasonably early at the boat launch place at Gantheaume beach. It is very pretty there with so many boats moored off the beach, just beyond the low water mark. Our boat the Karma IV looked resplendent as she waited for us. A shuttle boat got us boarded and we were off heading south towards the Eco village. That time of the year the seas in that area are calm and we had an enjoyable cruise. Refreshments were available all the time as we rocked gently across the waves in this big catamaran.

Gantheaume boat launch

Yours Truely

We arrived at the Eco village after two hours sailing. The eco village is across Roebuck bay some 40 kilometers away. When we arrived a tour of the village and their accommodation had been organized. I was very impressed with the level of luxury and the degree of self-sufficiency that had been designed into the place. A really great lunch had been organized at the village dining room that was situated on a hill behind the horizon pool that overlooked Roebuck bay. The buffet lunch had a huge variety of produce including heaps of King Prawns.

Once we had eaten all boarded the Karma once more and set off to the whale area. Tricky things these whales. Every whale we sighted, as we got closer, we could not see the whole whale at any one time. There was no breaching, no exposure of the whole whale on the water. It was almost as if they were playing silly buggers with us. Yet, I have a few pics below of half whales and ‘bits’ of whales. We got back to the launch place just after sunset.

Crabbing Trip

Jacko had purchased a boat and was keen to show off the new toy. Three of us took off in the morning from Broome beach and headed south towards Dampier creek. We reached the creek at low tide and set up 3 traps.  We then trolled our lures in the estuary. My mate Jack caught a decent size shark and Neil and I caught a few smaller fish. The result was ok, but nothing to get excited about. At high tide we collected our crab nets but had only two small crabs for all our effort. Even though the result was not great we had a great outing in the sunshine.

I have had a lovely flight to Broome soaring above the clouds (check pic). There is an area south of Broome where the dunes in the landscape below look like a milky color sea. The dunes below look like the swells on the sea. I tried to take pictures, but they did not come out at all. After an uneventful flight we landed at Broome.  My mate Jacko picked me up at the airport and got me settled in at his house.

It’s good to be visiting the guys again. I said hello to the dogs and the bar fridge, haha!

Once I had unpacked things we went to Cable Beach Club for a sundowner and some pizza. It is a truly spectacular sight to watch the sun set over the ocean. The sun seems to float down to the horizon and then appears to stop, hesitate and then slip below the horizon leaving behind an afterglow that slowly fades through shades of pink until darkness. All of this against a backdrop of Palms and Frangipani trees; Wonderful!

When we got back home again we had a yarn about the old times, caught up with the other roomies and had a good few games of darts (compulsory).

The next morning I walked around Broome town, past the pearl shops and through China Town. Around the back is a jetty that leads into the mangroves and is used by anglers that are feeling lucky. It is known as ‘Streeter’s jetty’ and was used by the pearl luggers of years gone by to unload their pearls and pearl shells before they re-provisioned and headed back out to sea. This part of town is in line with the approach to the runway of Broome airport. So the jets come screaming across the rooftops of China town with bellies nearly scraping the ground. It is quite a sight!

I really liked the efforts by the shire to preserve local history. Statues have been erected honoring founding citizens of the pearl industry. One statue is of a diver in diving gear.

We sat on Broome beach and enjoyed a salad sandwich each and drank some bottle water.

Gantheaume Point

This morning it was low tide at 6:30am. I had wanted to go to Ganth point as it is known for the dinosaur fossil footprints that are  visible at the spring low tide. I had never seen them before. The tracks were laid down by dinosaurs more than 130 million years ago when they walked across the mud flats of that time. Whilst I looked at the tracks I got this feeling of vertigo, realizing that I had fallen into a time warp that took me to events of at least 130 million years ago; goosebump stuff. (see link and  pics below)  Look at the colors.

https://www.google.com.au/?gws_rd=ssl#q=broome+gantheaume+point

A side note is that there are numerous dinosaur prints at James Price Point some 50km up the coast. I have included pics from a previous trip.

Anastasia’s Pool

A special feature at Gantheaume Point is Anastasias Pool.

In Broome, see Anastasia’s Pool, a natural rock pool which is part of the history of the town and tells a touching story.

The pool was modified by a former lighthouse keeper, to make it easy for his wife, Anastasia, to access.

Anastasia suffered badly from arthritis and found relief in the warm water of the Indian Ocean which filled the pool at high tide.

Anastasia’s Pool is on the north side of Gantheaume Point which is well worth a visit for its dinosaur footprints.

Thought to be 130 million years old, the footprints can be seen at very low tides.

You can find out the times of the tides by contacting the Broome Visitor Centre.

For pics see link below.

https://www.google.com.au/search?q=broome+anastasia%27s+pool&biw=1366&bih=639&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0CEAQsARqFQoTCLuT04uo_scCFaNdpgodrHUHSA&dpr=1

I had not been to this most beautiful part of Australia for 2 years now. The time has come to visit some good mates up there once more. It is generally accepted that Broome is the southern end of the Kimberley region in the north west of Australia. For my money the Kimberley region is the most magnificent region in Australia. It is one of the few regions in this country that is still largely untamed. It is stunningly beautiful. It has a great diversity of landscapes from 320 million year old coral reefs that stand as mountain ranges to billion year old, ochre colored mesas that are crumbling to dust and reflect mind blowing colors at sunrise and sunset.

This will be my fourth visit to this area. I look forward to time spent fishing, camping on the beach, boating, yarns around the camp fire and the odd beverage. Broome is the southern delimiter of the Dampier peninsula which sports a number of Aboriginal settlements and has the famous Cape Leveque as its westernmost tip. Broome itself owns the world famous and stunning Cable Beach. I cannot wait!

OK, I will confess. I am sitting at Perth airport waiting for my connecting flight to Broome. Look at my destination pic below; the magnificent Cable Beach, Broome

That’s a big ask! First we need to define what constitutes a beach that can be considered for this list. I am not talking about the longest or widest or most sandy etc, etc. By the way, the longest beach probably is the Coorong from Kingston to the Murray River mouth in SA. It is over 150km long. I did that with the boys some 15 years ago in my great GQ Nissan Patrol. That was a decent trip.

I would say that some of the defining criteria for the top 5 might be: (I would love to hear from readers what some of the other defining criteria might be).

• At least 1km long with a sandy beach of decent width at low-tide,
• Not dangerous to human life; ie no crocodiles, blue ring octopus, Box Jelly fish,
• Attractive natural setting ie defining natural beauty or pleasing features,
• Definitely not overdeveloped or overrun by human beings,

Top 5:

I cannot name all 5 beaches that deserve to be in this list. I have not seen 5 such beaches. However I have been on one beach that definitely fits the bill.

So my first beach would be Cable Beach in Broome WA. I have been there several times.

Then I have two more beaches that might make the list.

The first could be the beach at Woodgate Qld. between the Theodolite creek and the Barrum river. It is just sensational, stunning and has a chill factor when you are there.

The other beach is at Lammermoor on the Capricorn coast south of Yeppoon. I wonder what other readers may think.

So…….I  can propose only these:

1. Cable Beach, Broome, WA

2. Wood gate Beach Qld

3. Wineglass Beach Tasmania       https://www.google.com.au/search?q=wineglass+beach+tasmania&biw=1366&bih=639&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0CEMQsARqFQoTCOK3hM–38gCFQblpgodRzMKdg

  Pic credit:  Touchdowndownunder.wordpress.com

4.  Whitehaven Beach Whitsundays

5.  I have not seen it yet.