The Wild West

When I think of the word home, I can’t say that I picture any one place. All I see is my country, Australia. I am Indigenous Australian, from the Gundungara Nation in the Blue Mountains. I have a strong connection to my Aboriginality.

I am currently living in Western Australia, like many places in Northern Australia, living in the West Kimberley has its challenges from crocs, to killer jellyfish, to man-eating sharks, and deadly snakes, to name a few. We also have some wild weather that can be unpredictable at times. Six months of the year, North-West Australia is perfection; perfect water, perfect temperature, and, it rarely rains. The other six months of the year is our wet season its 35-40 plus degrees Celcius, 100 % humidity and, it’s wet. We have our cyclones and regular tropical lows. It’s the ultimate place for an adventure.

I have been travelling through some of the most remote parts of Australia for most of my adult life. My home is in Broome, where I have found myself unable to leave. The isolated town is where I discovered who I am. Forcing me to consider life, how we came to be, who I am, where I fit in the big world and allowing self-reflection to come effortlessly. I have learnt so many things through connection to this country. Finding my roots and grounding myself is by far the most challenging part of my adult life. Broome has this magical feel to it that enables you to dig deep within your soul. Many people in Broome say they came to this place for a holiday and never left, they felt drawn back to this place for one reason or another.

When you first lay eyes on the beach and, the desert is being poured into the ocean, the red cliffs slowly melting away into the sea, there is nothing quite like it. I can nearly feel the pain of my past being washed away just like the cliffs and drifting off into the ocean.

Broome has so many captivating places to explore, the most intriguing part about Broome, in my opinion, is the tides. I remember walking down to the beach for the first time and slightly panicking when I saw that the ocean was gone, “tidal wave” was my first thought. It was not a tidal wave, thank the good Lord, The Kimberley Coast has the largest tides in the Southern hemisphere anywhere from 5- 12 meter tides, it’s incredible. As the water draws back over the sand it leaves a natural mirror on its shore. Reflecting the true beauty of the sky as it absorbs the deep red tones from the cliff's surrounding the ocean. There is nothing quite like sitting on the beach and watching the clouds catch fire as the sun sets over the ocean.

This place, my home, is one of the only places I have been able to be who I feel that I am destined to be. Connected through shared culture, spending time in nature and, living a life of adventure, what more could you want from home? My partner, Sunny (our Kelpie) and, I travel as much as we can through the Pilbara and the Kimberley finding a much-needed break from the western world. In the desert, the solace that you find from the star-speckled skies, the red sunrises, the sun dipping into the ocean at sunset, and digging your feet into the red earth is nothing that I have experienced anywhere else that I have lived. It is pure magic, radiating through the landscape and calling you further into its depths, calling you home. You can feel it in the atmosphere around you, through the culture, the people that you meet, and, the environment. My home, for now, the West Kimberley Coast!