On Wednesday, January 31, we joined some friends at Meelup Beach a 10 minute drive from here to witness the Blood Moon. It is a magical spot to watch the moon at any time, but spectacular when there special lunar events on tap. We got there about 6.00pm enjoyed a picnic meal before settling in for the astronomical event. Meelup Beach is one of the many stunning beaches of Western Australia. Unlike the beaches in Perth and Bunbury which extend for kilometre after kilometre, the beaches on the this part of the coast and south tend to be found in coves, with each beach separated from the next by a rocky headland. Meelup beach has a gentle slope so that the water tends to be warmer than in some other spots, as well as being safer for little kids learning to swim.

As the light dimmed around 7.00pm, several of the local ‘roos came out for the evening foraging. The presence of a couple of hundred humans was not going to put them off their normal dining routines.

I hope the photos do it justice. Thanks to my new Nikon Coolpix p900 with its super zoom, I got some good photos - even without a tripod. What I could not capture was the enormous number of stars visible in the night sky here.

It was fascinating to watch the moon start out low over the north east horizon. Slowly but surely the transect of the moon brought it to be in alignment with the sun and the earth resulting in a full lunar eclipse. The sun’s rays that “bend around” the earth causing the moon to have a reddish hue - hence Blood Moon. But it was not only the moon that was fascinating the changing patterns and colours on the water as the moon completed its transect added to the occasion