Day 46: Broome

Today I woke up at 6am, had a shower and went for a walk to Cable Beach (600 metres) - a beautiful day. After I got back I decided I needed some more sleep and as Lorelle was still asleep I wet back to bed for another hour.

After breakfast, I collected the genny - only $88 so I was quite appy - I had left fuel in it when I last used it 7 months ago at Goomburra and it had gummed up the carby.

We then set off to visit Malcolm Douglas' Wildlife Park 17km out of town. There were 10 cars in the car park so we were a bit dubious about what it would be like but it was quite good - very similar to Lone Pine and it only cost us $30 each to get it (National Seniors Card gave us a concession.)  There were heaps of crocodiles, birds, etc. We also got to see a bilby. 

Following the Wildlife Park, we went to Woolies and purchased some food for our Cape Leveque trip then went home to have a rest.

This afternoon, we packed up the car for a sausage sizzle and drove down onto Cable Beach for the sunset.  The sunset was great (we have seen so many of them) because the camels were walking on the beach. After taking many photos, we had our sausage on the beach - a great way to end the day.  There were hundreads of cars on the beach at dusk. They left quickly after sunset and we were one of the last to leave - could have had something to do with the incoming tide!!!!

Tomorrow (Wed) and Thursday we will be driving up to Cape Leveque and staying in a Safari Tent at: http://www.kooljaman.com.au/ . We get back Friday.  Won't have any phone reception for a couple of days.  Doug & Sue are staying back at Broome and on Thursday they are flying up to the Horizontal Waterfall, etc...

Barking Owl (He barked for us!)

Dingo

Cable Beach at dusk

Cable Beach at dusk

Sausage sizzle on cable beach

Day 45: Broome

Quiet day today - I took the genny in for a service as it is not running well - probably because I left it for 8 months with fuel in it. Hope it is easy to fix......

Doug's birthday today - we gave him his presents and Lorelle baked a cake. Doug & Sue went out tonight at Zanders Restaurant at Cable Beach - I was a bit sick so Lorelle & I  stayed at home - (soup & toast).....

Day 44: Broome

Today we went to the Tourist Information Centre, went to the Broome Markets, went for a 10km drive along Cable Beach, and in the afternoon, went for a swim at Cable Beach. The beach and water was great - there was a bit of a breeze blowing though so it was a bit cool. The weather here is superb - ranging from 14 to 29 degrees daily.

Nothing more exciting to report - we are having a bit of a rest this week - our plans are dinner Monday night for Doug's birthday, Tuesday - Malcolm Douglas Crocodile Farm, Wed/Thurs - Cape Leveque.

Day 43: Derby to Broome

(I updated our day 42 blog with a couple of photos of Derby Jetty at dusk.....)

Day 43: Left at 8:30 again and took just over two hours to get to Broome and the Cable Beach Caravan Park. The park is excellent as we have large shady sites.

We had a drive around Broome - Cable Bay, the town, Gantheaume Point,  etc. The beach is absolutely beautiful - crystal clear water and white sand. We are booked for a week but who knows????????

Cable Beach

Gantheaume Point

Gantheaume Point

Gantheaume Point

Gantheaume Point

Day 42: Derby (Windjana Gorge & Tunnel Creek)

Woke up this morning to go to Windjana Gorge & Tunnel Creek. Unfortunately, Sue was not well so Doug & Sue stayed back in Derby and Lorelle and I went off for the day.

It was a good day, despite having to drive 360km on a mix of butumen (140km) and gravel roads. We arrived at Windjana Gorge off the Gibb River Road at about 10am so we had morning tea and then walked the 500 metres into the gorge. At this time of the year (not long after the wet) there is a crystal clear stream flowing out of the gorge. We would have liked to have had a swim but we were not organised for it so we took lots of photos instead. The gorge and river contain heaps of freshwater crocs but people were swimming in the beautiful water anyway.

I found Winjana Gorge to be one of the prettiest gorges we have seen and also one of the most accessible.

After Windjana Gorge, we drove the 40km or so to Tunnel Creek and had lunch under a shady gum tree. Tunnel Creek was fantastic - again a crystal clear small stream flowing through the ground where the limestone has been eaten away to form a huge underground tunnel 750 metres long.  The tunnel is like a huge limestone cave with stalacmites, bats, a croc (freshie), huge crayfish, etc.  You have to take a torch and you will get wet - for almost half the walk you are walking in water ranging from ankle to chest height. It is a terrific walk and Lorelle & I really enjoyed it.
For those who follow us - wear a pair of old sandshoes. We wore sandals but they were painful with rocks getting wedged between the feet and the bottom of the sandal.

Tomorrow, we head to Broome where we are planning on staying at the Cable Beach Van Park for a week or so. Lorelle & I have also booked to stay at Cape Leveque in the Kooljaman Resort for a couple of nights next week while Doug & Sue are going on a flight to the Horizontal Waterfall.

To end off the day, we went out to the Derby Jetty and had seafood and chips just after the sun set. A good finish to a busy day.

Windjana Gorge

Windjana Gorge

Windjana Gorge

Windjana Gorge

Tunnel Creek entrance

Tunnel Creek

Tunnel Creek

Day 41: Derby

We drove for about 2 1/2 hours to get to Derby this morning. There are two van parks and we chose the one closest to the Derby jetty. Can't remember name - it is an average park but OK - just nowhere up to the quality of Fitzroy Crossing and some of the others we have stayed at.

After lunch we visited the Derby Jetty, the famous Derby Prison Boab tree and a few other spots. We also found the famous boab tree that appears in many photographs and we went out and caught it at dusk along with about 20 other people.

Tomorrow - Windjama Gorge and Tunnel Creek......

Boab Prison Tree

Longest Drinking Trough in world

Derby Jetty

Boab Tree at dusk

Day 40: Fitzroy Crossing

Had a rest day today which was great. Went and visited the old Fitzroy Crossing which was replaced by the new bridge in 1974.

Night - we went to the pub attached to the caravan park, had a nice dinner and watched the State of Origin on the big scrren. A good night.

Our van

Old Fitzroy Crossing

Fitzroy River

Day 39: Mary Pool to Fitzroy Crossing

Today we had a two hour drive to Fitzroy Crossing. We were pleasantly surprised - the town is small but the van park is excellent, the town has a modern IGA and today we went on a $28 cruise on Geike Gorge which was quite good.  We have decided that we will remain here an extra night which means we will move on to Derby on Thursday.

We will be watching the State of Origin on a big screen at the caravan park tomorrow night.

The photos below are all from Geike Gorge.

Day 38: Bungle Bungle Van Park to Mary Pool

We arrived at Halls Creek at about 11am and purchased a pile of groceries as we had run out of bread, milk,etc. Halls Creek was uninspiring and we decided not to visit Wolf Crater - apparently it is a long, hot, dusty day and not much to see. So we decided to carry on to a rest area 108km south called Mary Pool.  Before we left Halls Creek, we rang and texted a few friends and relatives to let them know we were still OK.

Mary Pool is beautiful. It is the sort of place you could camp at for a week's holiday - shady, big river, grassy sites, etc. We will sit here for the day and recharge our batteries before we head further south tomorrow for Fitzroy Crossing.

Day 37: Purnululu

Today we drove into Purnululu, which took two hours averaging 30kph - 56km. The road was pretty rough with several creek crossings, but we just took it easy and only bottomed out once - but nothing major.

It was worth the drive because Purnululu was great to see. After the 56kn drive, we arrived at the visitors' centre where we paid our National Park fee and bought some souvenirs. The northern part of ther park was closed but most pf the southern section was open. Soon after leabing the visitors' centre, we drove a kilometre or so to a lookout, took some photos then had morning tea. We then drove another 24km to the Picininni Car Park where the walks began - we walked around the Domes and then onto to Cathedral Gorge - this was most spectacular - a huge amphitheatre 10 degrees cooler than the surrounding harsh countryside. The round trip walk took about two hours - it was not far but we took heaps of photos and I also sang the song, the 'Irish Blessing' for those assembled in the Cathedral Gorge.

After the walk, we had lunch near the car park and then did the 2 hour return trip. On the way we stopped at Fletcher River and had another great swim.  After getting back to the vans, we hosed down the cars - covered in dust, cooked tea - not much bread left - all mouldy.

Tomorrow it's on to Halls Creek and back into phone signal area and Internet- can't go too many days without it..........

Day 36: Bungle Bungle Van Park

Well, today turned into a rest day of sorts. I got my generator out early as we decided that it was hair-cut day for Doug and me. Unfortunately the generator was playing up because I had left fuel in it for 6 months without use, but anyway it was OK for our hair cuts and I will get it serviced somewhere in WA.

Refer to hair cut photos below - it is good having short hair again. Long hair - just can't do a thing with it!!!

After hair cuts, we drove out on the Purnululu road 7km to a beautiful river crossing (Fletcher River) where we would stop for an hour to have a swim. it was nice drinking Coronas while sitting on the sand in the crystal clear water.

Following the swim, it was back to the van to have pizza for lunch (the bread was stale) and then a rest. Tonight we played cards under a huge tent that they have set up in the park. We were the only ones in it.