Desert meets sea
“I LIVE WHERE the desert meets the ocean, in a place still intact, filled by marvels and wonders. I go swimming every day, surrounded by whales and sharks.” These are not my words, they belong to my friend Tim Winton, the beloved Western Australian author.
“Give us a call if you come to the west coast,” he told me, while we were enjoying a coffee at the National Gallery of Victoria after a photo shoot in 2015. I was a younger man at the time, newly arrived from Europe.
Years have passed, and the thermometer shows 33 degrees outside the Learmonth Airport terminal in Western Australia. I’m catching up with Winton again, to learn more about the Exmouth Gulf.
Until the small terminal has emptied of tourists, all flocking to the nearby resort town to go whale watching, I don’t recognise him. His hair has grown longer, whiter, and he’s more rugged than I recall. He’s dressed appropriately for the local weather – thongs, shorts, a white T-shirt and shades.
We walk together through the car park, an odd couple
