Thursday 21.7.2011: 20 degrees - 30 degrees - sunny. Drove from Derby to the Old Boab Prison Tree which is over 1,000 years old, it is hollow inside and has a bees nest on one side. We drove on to Willare Bridge Roadhouse and had our morning tea outside, then went for a walk into the van park and when we saw the area of green grass in the middle we decided we would stay for the night just to get off the red dust. We set up camp and sat outside on the green grass and met our neighbours on both sides, very nice people. By 3 pm the area was already filling up, with kids enjoying the grass running and kicking a ball around.
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| The Prison Tree - used to hold prisoners overnight usually Aboriginals |
Friday 22.7.2011: 12 degrees - 28 degrees - sunny. Drove to Nillibubbica Rest Area which is only 60 k west of Willare Bridge Roadhouse, we were stalling before going into Broome as everyone we met coming out of Broome were saying how it was difficult to get a site. We sat in the shelter shed had our morning tea, met others who were doing the same, then had lunch and met another couple Dee and John from Queensland, we sat chatting to them had happy hour then went and had dinner and bed.
Saturday 23.7.2011: 14 degrees - 30 degrees - sunny. Drove 105 kilometers into Broome and came to Broome Caravan Park so we decided to go in there and try for a site, they managed to fit us in for four days before the two we had already booked. It looks a bit squashy, but there is a lot of shady trees and a beautiful circular pool and part of it has a lap pool. The amenities block is at least 5 minutes walk away from our site so I guess we will get fit walking there.
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| Town Beach |
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| Broome Jetty at near high tide |
We set up our table and chairs, had morning tea, then went into Broome to explore, we are about 7 kilometers from the town which is very spread out and has the airport on one side of the round about into the town. We found a market at the courthouse, so we walked around the market, then drove on to Roebuck Bay and found a nice spot overlooking the beautiful aquamarine colored water, it was so nice to look at after all the red dust and red rocks, walked a short distance along the waters edge. Drove to the jetty and walked out along the long jetty with high tide and lots of people fishing or feeding the fish, saw humpback whales in the distance frolicking in the water and blowing water into the air.
Went back to camp and met the neighbour opposite who is from Barbados and looks very much like Lou Gambrill.
Sunday 24.7.2011: 16 degrees - 30 degrees - sunny. Went to the Anglican Church and met the Grey Nomads we had seen at Kununurra Anglican Church a couple of weeks ago and met others. After church we drove into China town to check on the old pearl luggers, had lunch, then drove out to Cable Beach which has a long stretch of white sand then more rusty red rocks, we walked along the firm sand for quite a way and couldn’t believe how many four wheel drives were on the beach, then we watched the camels come on to the beach in a row, first the camels with yellow covers, then another group with red covers under their saddles. The camels with red covers were a bit nervous and were spitting at people and groaning and complaining, but it was lovely to watch them take off in a camel train along the sand.
We walked back up on the higher ground to the restaurant and saw Dee and John having a drink, so we went in and joined them and spent a couple of hours just enjoying the view and chatting until the sun went down then we went outside with all the other people taking photos and enjoyed the sunset. We said goodbye then went back to Broome Caravan Park.
Monday 25.7.2011: 16 degrees - 30 degrees - sunny. Drove into Broome picked up our mail from the Post Office, then looked at the shops and checked out the little alleyways etc. I think the casual little shops up and down the alleyways make the place interesting, there are tourists everywhere. Went back to the van park and caught up on reading.
Broome now depends on the tourist season (May to December) for much of its existence, and there are plenty of tourists. Aside from the resorts, hotels, motels and apartments there are six caravan parks, one with 555 sites plus three overflow areas for caravans & campervans and they are all full. Many of the tours are booked out for a week ahead.
Tuesday 26.7.2011: 14 degrees - 33 degrees - sunny. Drove into town, posted letters and picked up a few more groceries, then we drove out past the jetty to the Entrance Point walked along the small beach picking our way among the rusty rocks at each end of the beach. People were launching their boats and going fishing and sightseeing buses were pulling in, to explain some of the history of Broome. Went around to the next point, Gantheaume Point, which was the home of the lighthouse keeper. There is a newish looking home being built or renovated and it has magnificent views up Cable Beach and out to sea. We walked out to the point and saw the replica of the dinosaur footprints as the original dinosaur footprints can only be seen at very low tides, we also saw a tiny pool which the lighthouse keeper made among the rocks for his arthritic wife to soak in, it is called Anastasia’s Pool. At this point the Pindan layer which covers most of Broome shows. This is a layer of dark red sandy soil which overlays the sandstone layer and is up to two meters thick and accounts for the red dirt that is everywhere.
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| Entrance Point |
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| Cable beach from Entrance Point |
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| Pindan Cliff |
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| Sculptured Rocks |
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| Cable Beach from Gantheaume Point |
Drove back to the van park and had a swim in the pool, very refreshing, and a lovely setting.
Wednesday 27.7.2011: 14 - 33 degrees - sunny. Woke early to get up to the laundry to put the washing on as there were only eight machines and lots of clothes were still on the clothes lines. Had a quiet day in, cleaned the coaster and caught up with the trip diary. Had an early night to cope with the early start tomorrow morning.
Thursday 28.7.2011: We made it to the entrance of the Van Park ready to be picked up at 5.25 am and were picked up and delivered to the airport, we boarded the seaplane and left Broome airport at 6.15 am, the flight took one hour and five minutes to get to Talbot Bay, we saw the sun come up and Lloyd had a window seat and could see lots of the landscape and bays. Closer to the coast the landscape becomes very rugged due to large upheavels in the earths crust millions of years ago. We landed on the water and taxied up to the pontoon, our pilot then took the people who had stayed overnight back to Derby.
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| Horizontal Waterfalls |
The pontoon is quite big and has a cage on one end where you can get in the water alongside the lemon sharks and the bull shark, we were told you could see more from above so we did not bother to go in the water. The other end of the pontoon had a houseboat with two toilets, four double bedrooms, a kitchen, a large lounge room an undercover verandah at the back with a large swag which has a mosquito net over the top and there are steps going up one end to the top covered deck which has a large dining table and a hand rail all the way around. The pristine wilderness is just beautiful of red cliffs and green trees and the water is a lovely aqua colour. Off the other side of the pontoon is a large single level boat that has dining room with padded seats around the outside, a kitchen, toilet and maybe bedroom. Also tied to the main pontoon are two high speed boats used for riding through the waterfalls. On the one we were going to use seating was astride a padded cushion like riding a horse. The boat was powered by two 300HP Yamaha 4 stroke outboards. The acceleration was staggering.
They cooked our breakfast of bacon and eggs, cereal, tea and coffee, another plane load of people arrived on the seaplane back from Derby and we all saw the sharks being fed, the colour of the water is a lovely aqua colour and the lemon colored sharks are fascinating to watch they seem to enjoy playing with Ryan the young guy who feeds them, he was very wary of the bull shark. After the sharks it was time to get in the fast boat & Ryan took us to the pontoon he lives on and showed us the bat fish, he actually picks them up and feeds them out of the water, they have beautiful faces, he then gently puts them back in the water. We went up another part of Talbot Bay and he drove us to the horizontal falls. The water trying to drain out of the other bay is amazing making a lot of whirlpools, just like a washing machine then you go through the horizontal falls gap which is pretty choppy, he circles around and we went through it a couple of times. The boat is fast and very maneuverable skimming very close to the cliffs. A very exhilarating ride. Then back to the pontoon and as another load of people had arrived we boarded the plane and flew back to Broome traveling over Cape Leveque and down the coast which has sand and red cliffs and lots of unspoilt countryside arriving at 11.15 am. We were dropped back at the Broome Caravan Park and had to keep blinking to take in what we had just done in such a short time, so we watched the video they gave us just to relive it and unwind after all the rushing, we were pooped.
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| lemon Sharks |
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| Feeding Bat fish |
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| Through the Gap |
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| Buccaneer Archipeligo |
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| Cable beach |
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| Broome |
We had a rest then went to Cable Beach for a quick swim as the warning sign for a crocodile sighted in the water was still there, but we did swim at Cable Beach, then had dinner and watched the sun go down in the Indian Ocean.
Friday 29th July, 2011: 15 degrees - 33 degrees - sunny. We cleaned the van ready to leave tomorrow and packed everything away and made our way to the Visitors Information Centre where we were to be picked up by the Hovercraft bus at 2 pm to do a tour of Roebuck Bay in a hovercraft. The bus took us to the jetty and we watched the Hovercraft come in floating above the mud flats as it was low tide. One load of tourists left the Hovercraft and twelve of us boarded the craft and traveled along the mud flats and shallow water, we went past Town Beach and continued along Roebuck Bay and saw how the guy maneuvers the craft over the mud flats lifting it higher to go up an embankment. He then took us further along the bay to the Pindan cliffs, which are a rich red colour from the oxidation or rust from the iron ore, we all embarked from the craft and the driver showed us a dinosaur he had drawn in the sand earlier and explained about the dinosaur footprints of a sauropod which are visible in the sandstone on what once was a forest floor millions of years ago, and how they are eroding away in the water and the elements. We all boarded the craft again and he took us back traveling over the shallow waters and glided up the sand beside the ?hanger building. This was the first time we had seen or traveled in a hovercraft and we both enjoyed the experience. More mundane things such as stocking up the food supplies were next as tomorrow we will leave for Barn Hill Station along 80 mile beach to spend a few days and hopefully catch some fish.
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| Saurapod footprints two foot diameter - it was 30 meters long |
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| Pindan Cliffs |
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| Jetty near low tide |
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