Oliver of Otterburn goes west to Steep Point

Oliver of Otterburn goes West to Steep Point

The objective of today’s trip is to reach the furthest west point of
the Australian continent. It is named Steep Point and it is quite a remote spot.

It is possible to drive there but to do so requires a well equipped tough 4-wheel-drive vehicle and the time to undertake a
return journey over 300 kms of dirt road and soft sand.

So, I am going with Ray & Margaret and we will do it the easy way, in a light plane from the small town of Denham in Western Australia.

It will be a flight of about an hour and we will fly over the beautiful blue waters of Shark Bay.

This is a World Heritage Area and the
extensive sea grass meadows of the bay shelter some of the most diverse marine life anywhere in the world.

The view of the surrounding landscape is stunning.

It is dry and remote and few people live here. The land ends with stark steep cliffs
dropping dramatically down into the Indian Ocean. Steep Point pokes itself out into the sea, there is no sign of humanity, not even the
campspot of fishermen.

Across a shallow passage from Steep Point is Dirk Hartog Island. It is long, narrow and sandy but has a special place in Australian history.

In the year 1616 the Dutch trading ship ‘Eendracht’, en route to Batavia landed here.

The captain, Dirk Hartog hammered flat a pewter plate, inscribed some details of his voyage, and nailed the plate to a tree. It was the very first European object to be placed on
the Australian continent. It remained there for many years but is now displayed in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

So, there you have it, a Northumbrian sheep at the western edge of Australia.