In 37 years of visits to Albany (on Western Australia’s south coast) we had failed to achieve a key ambition: to experience a major storm there.
A few days ago, nature finally obliged; the image shows Lowlands Beach at 3. 54 pm on Sunday 20 September 2020.
Joseph Tawadros provided this post’s suitably tempestuous music.
Overnight, on 19/20 September, the wind howled, rain (and occasionally, hail) squalls were loud and very intense, thunder was decidedly “Old Testament”, and terrified local dogs were going AWOL.
By late afternoon on Sunday 20 September the fury had somewhat subsided; the weather was still decidedly lively, but wind had eased, sun was intermittently shining, and visibility improved.
So, we decided to drive over to Lowlands Beach
Less than half an hour’s drive from Albany, Lowlands Beach sits between West Cape Howe (the southernmost point on Australia’s western side) and Irwin Inlet.
As is true of much of the coast of WA’s “Deep South” – known locally as The Great Southern – this is a magnificent, wild and “remote” place, but remarkably easy to access, even for drivers of small 2WD cars.
We are just returned from The Great Southern…of which, much more to come, on Pelican Yoga.
(photo is copyright Doug Spencer..at time of its taking, standing upright or still was decidedly challenging, and self, camera, car – indeed, anything within several hundred metres of the beach – were copping a liberal dose of sea-spray)
—
Epiphany was composed by its Egyptian-Australian lutenist Joseph Tawadros, as part of his Concerto of the Greater Sea album, released in 2012.
The equally superb hand drummer is Joseph’s brother James Tawadros.