MEELUP - PLACE OF THE MOON
RISING
by Graeme Olsen
When you've grown up in Western
Australia, there's a routine celestial event that
you miss out on every day - the sun or moon rising
over the water.
| Then again, if you've lived
your whole life in the eastern states, then
you've missed out on something just as magical
- the sun or moon setting over the ocean at
the end of the day. There's nothing quite
like lying on the beach at 7:30pm watching
the last of the burning sun get swallowed
up by the sea, turning the sky a magnificent
orange, pink, red and purple.
But we West Australians don't need to miss
out on the rising moon over the water, especially
in the south west.
Meelup is actually Aboriginal for "Place
Of The
|
|
 |
| Moon Rising", which should
give you a hint that something special happens
there. It's an absolutely beautiful little
bay that actually faces eastwards. Only on
the most clearest of days can you just make
out the coast near Bunbury - most of the time
as you look out eastwards, all you see is
the ocean. And so when you time it right and
the moon rises at night, you get to see the
spectacle of the moon rising over the water. |
And yes you really do need to time
it right. I was down at Meelup recently with family
and friends. We weren't there specifically to see
the moon rise, but just to spend the day having
a great time snorkelling and swimming. At dinner
time we really didn't feel like going home, and
we made the decision to stay and see if we could
watch the moon rise. We did this even though we
didn't know when, or even if, the moon was rising
that night.
We sat on the sand and watched it
get dark. To entertain the kids, we played games
such as looking for satellites in the sky, or finding
constellations. Eight o'clock rolled on and we moved
onto the "think of an animal that starts with
the letter..." game. Somehow we managed to
drag that out until about 9 o'clock and still no
moon.
We now had to make a decision. Was
the moon rising tonight? Maybe it was a new moon.
Maybe it had already set. Maybe it wouldn't rise
until 4am. For some reason we decided to stay on.
Around 10 o'clock, we started arguing over what
the glow on the horizon was. Some said it could
be the moon. Some said it was the glow of Bunbury.
Some even said it was the glow of a refinery tower.
All possible explanations.
And then it happened. The moon
rose over the bay, and we watched it soar into the
sky and the glimmer on the water grew in brightness.
It was fantastic.
So yes, the timing is important. The
moon should be full, or near full, and it needs to rise at the
right time. A handy site I found that will tell
you when the moon is full and when it will rise
on any given day in any location is at www.ga.gov.au/geodesy/astro/moonrise.jsp.
So here's a recipe for a fantastic
day out:
Ingredients: Family and/or friends,
plenty of food, chairs to relax on, swimming and
snorkelling equipment, money for the Mr Whippy ice-cream
van, sunscreen, a boat if you have one, fishing
gear, mozzie repellant, a light jumper for the cooler
evening, thermos flask for a hot coffee or tea when
it gets dark, and a determination to relax.
Method: Simply mix together and chill
out. Don't try and plan the day too much. Just head
down to the bay and see what happens.
Meelup Bay is located about 5 minutes
west of Dunsborough - head down Cape Naturaliste
Road and then turn down Meelup Beach Road. It has
BBQ facilities, shade, showers, toilets, and one
of the most beautiful flat bays you'll ever see.
February 2004
