THE RAINBOW BEACH THAT
LIVES UP TO ITS NAME
There’s an island in the Tiwis – a quick boat ride from
Darwin – with a beach they call Rainbow for crystal-clear
reasons. Alongside Michael Goetze, Jampal Williamson is
one half of Salty Wings – photographers who specialise in
spectacular aerial seascapes of unique and remote places.
Here, he describes a journey he embarked on to Melville
Island in 2017 with Tourism NT that secured the epic
shot pictured. “Whilst exploring the northern part of the
island we were told by the locals about ‘Rainbow Beach’,
a special part of the Tiwis where the red ochre dirt was
collected and used for painting and ceremonial purposes,”
he says. “This was the first time anyone had captured this
place from above before. We departed the next morning
before the sun to capture this magical place. Dodging a
few crocs on the beach I was dropped off and managed to
capture these images in the soft morning light. To this
day it truly is one of the most special places I’ve seen from
above.” See saltywings.com.au for more on Salty Wings.36
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