The swimming pool island

By JENNIFER GRIMWADE

Mention Cockatoo Island anywhere in the Kimberley and you invariably hear nothing about the pods of whales or the schools of tuna fish. Most people say, "Isn't that the place with the world's best swimming pool?"

And it is. The swimming pool, shaded by coconut palms, looks as though it flows into the blue sea, 100m below the rocky cliff face. High on the hill there is a sweeping view across myriad islands and rocky outcrops at the north of the Buccaneer Archipelago. In the foreground, turtles swim towards the deserted sandy beach, across the aptly named Turtle Bay.

But it's not just the swimming pool which is stylish. Everything is so well done, it is hard to believe it took us 12 hours travelling by air from Melbourne to reach this remote resort in West Australia, off the coast from Broome.

Jarrah decking links the swimming pool with the colonial-style weatherboard club-house. At the bar we savour sushi made from tuna caught just hours ago, and welcome a couple from England. Before they can draw breath, the manager, Blue, offers them a beer.

When they finish their beers, they politely ask where to check-in. Blue looks them straight in the eye and says, "You just did."

There are no formalities round here and the only sign is a compulsory safety notice by the swimming pool. Sitting on the decking, dining under the stars on mackerel steaks so big I can hardly touch mine, we soon realise Blue is indeed a true-blue Outback boy. The conversation turns to race relations, and the English couple's jaws nearly hit the table.

In an effort to change the subject, I ask about the whales and as the fine, West Australian wine flows, the pods get bigger and the calves get longer.

But the next day when we all board the Cockatoo Tram, a big, sheltered catamaran, the tales come true. Within 10 minutes a great mass, a great grey bulk, rises up out of the sea. It's a cow, and we see a calf swimming alongside. All of a sudden more arrive and we find we're in a pod.

Not in the least bit intimidated by the Cockatoo Tram, they start showing off, frolicking, leaping head-first out of the water. They move so fast they are impossible to photograph, but they are so close we can hear them snorting, just like a horse.

The sea is teeming with life and is so clear, you can see the yellow fin tuna glistening under the water. The Englishman hooks a huge mackerel but, at the last minute, half of it is chomped by a 3.6m-long tiger shark. Not to worry, between us we catch four more mackerel in no time.

This is clearly a fishing paradise but if you just want to loaf around it couldn't be better. Accommodation is in weatherboard cottages which you have to yourselves. Our cottage has shutters opening on to a red, rocky bay with spindly gums and turquoise water bordered by black rocks.

Every cottage is painted pale pink and all have postcard views. The island runs up-hill and down-dale, but the numerous paths are shaded by mango trees and palms. Huge clumps of pink, purple and white bougainvillea complete the picture. As I walk away from the tropical gardens I encounter patches of the pink Kimberley rose.

The following afternoon on the Cockatoo Tram we catch a few tuna on our way to Silica beach. This, too, is aptly named as it is so white it would be hell without sunglasses. What's more, it is literally squeaky clean. Only a small cove, it is just the right size to swim across and marvel at the water, which is so clear it looks transparent.

Of course there is not a trace of human life here. Lying on the pure, white sand, all I can hear is the turquoise water lapping the shore and the breeze rustling in the gums and the spinifex poking through the coral-pink and pearl-coloured rocks.

Blissing out on the beach, watching the English couple wading, but not swimming, suddenly it dawns upon me. If more people had been to Cockatoo Island, they wouldn't be just talking about the swimming pool.

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Getting there: A one-hour, light-plane journey north of Broome, West Australia, Cockatoo Island is at the northern tip of the Buccaneer Archipelago. Charter flights are available from Aerial Enterprises in Broome, ph (00618) 9191 1132.