It was a bit hard to leave our beautiful private beach at Ningaloo Reef – but depleted supplies of food and water made the decision for us. True to form, the night before we left was an enormous storm, and this resulted in flooding and road closures through the sheep station. We had to take some gnarly alternative four wheel drive tracks to get out – and it took 2hours to make our way slowly out of the property with car and trailer tyre pressures all significantly lowered. The leaseholder – Leslie told us that the inch of rain which fell last night was all they had had in over 12 months – “this rain will save us” . (so I certainly can’t complain about the slippery sliding track out when the rain is so badly needed).
The drive along the coast was through land that was red, flat and dry. The landscape was dotted by skinny Brahman Bulls and vast dry river beds. It was easy to assume that there was nothing to see – but when you stopped the car and walked off the road there were all sorts of interesting plants – many of which were flowering – very prettily.
Each day we have in our minds an idea of where we might get to that night. Given that it had been 8 days since our last proper shower – we had promised ourselves that when we made it to Port Hedland (which looked like a larger center on the map), we would book into a caravan park and have a REAL shower.
However…. When we arrived at the caravan park at the end of the day, there were police everywhere…… the office was being searched, along with a number of other sites throughout the park. The caretaker was uncontactable on the number that had been posted on a sign out front. Steve and I decided to do a drive through the park – just to see if we could find a suitable site – and it felt like we had just driven into a crime central crossed with a liberal sprinkling of ghetto non-chic. It was really quite scary – spoke to a couple of permanent residents who voiced that it was “about time the police did something about this place”. We decided that perhaps we could last another couple of days before a shower and so headed back on the road to fill up at the BP (which was in demountable buildings because it had blown up recently) – and then off to camp beside the river about 80k out of town.
I have been amazed at the amount of mining activity in both SA and WA (topical given the current furore about the proposed mining tax.) At one stage the traffic was stopped to wait for blasting at a mine that would affect driving conditions. Along this stretch of road there are really large termite mounds (much taller that a person) and they grow bulbous and red – looking a bit like Jabba the hut. Close to one of the mines – there was an area of numerous termite mounds that had each been given a jauntily place miners hat, and quite a few had been spray painted with faces etc.
Next night however, we stayed at Barn Hill Station stay which was fantastic. On a cattle station, with loads of shade trees, situated on the coast about 160k South of Broome. There were showers (yeehaa!) and real flushing toilets, a grass bowls area, and a small kiosk (when we arrived the kiosk had just opened and all the ‘grey nomad’ set were lining up to buy huge vanilla and chocolate icecream cones – so of course we joined in). On a Sunday the Station puts on a Sunday Roast at $15 a head. It seems there are lots of the older caravan set who arrive at Barn Hill Station and stay for a few months enjoying the balmy temperatures, lovely beach (no crocs or stingers), and bountiful fishing. On the night we stayed there one of our neighbours gave us a HUGE trevally fillet (at least 2kg) as they had caught too much that afternoon to eat – perfect for seafood gumbo.
Then it was off to Broome. Although very touristy, I found Broome interesting, and quite liked its multicultural feel, and unique architecture. Have picked and chosen what of the numerous potential activities we would undertake whilst here – as whilst our holiday is more ‘bargain basement’, there is certainly the ability to append enormous amounts of cash in luxury accommodation, day spa’s, jewellery, galleries etc. In fact whilst watching the sunset over cable beach we saw someone’s private helicopter take off from the helipad on their enormous luxurious boat……. (I’m sure they really wish they were in a tent like us!!)
Had lots of fun at China town, enjoyed a movie at Sun Theatre – which is the oldest operating open air picture garden in Australia, looked at some wonderful Aboriginal art in a number of galleries, took in the Historical Museum, the Japanese and Chinese cemeteries, visited the Buddhist Sanctuary and admired the 4 meter high, hand carved crystal Buddha which is set in ornamental meditation gardens (very beautiful and serene). We checked out the dinosaur footprints, which are believed to be from a carnivorous species of dinosaur that lived 120 million years ago. The footprints are embedded in sandstone at the base of cliffs and can only be seen at certain low tides. Plus…. Got to shower, wash clothes, stock up the food supplies and get ready to head off again to the Ardi – Dampier Penninsula.
A really rough corregated 120k road leads into the Ardi- Dampier Peninsula which is all Aboriginal land, the road is littered with car parts that have been rattled off vehicles as they have tackled the road. It took about 3 hours to drive this stretch with the camper trailer, but it has been worth the trip. The area is pristine, and we have had a wonderful time camped at Middle Lagoon. This camping area is run by a local aboriginal family, and their children have been having an absolute ball riding around the property on a quad bike and saying hello to the visiting campers. The days are in the low 30’s – cooling to 20 overnight, so swimming in the calm lagoon has been a must. Steve and Ethan have been snorkeling and have seen lots of tropical rays (including one about 5 foot wide), numerous reef fish, and a 2 metre round brain coral. We have all enjoyed exploring the rock pools at low tide, spotting crabs, mud skippers and an octopus who wasn’t too happy to see us. We also visited the Beagle Bay Sacred Heart Catholic Church which was decorated with pearl shell. It reminded us of the harsh realities of the early pearling days where Aboriginal people were often forced to work as pearl divers in harsh and dangerous conditions. The Beagle Bay aboriginal community also has a Catholic primary school and the children were laughingly waving at us, looking beautiful, healthy and active during their school break time, as we visited the church next door.
Next stop – the Kimberley! I doubt we will have any internet reception for the next 2 or 3 weeks, so will blog again as soon as we can. Doris – we will be thinking of you as we know you would love to be here with us in the Kimberley (but – given you are in Italy at the moment it is hard to feel too sorry for you! Lol)!!
Graham, Sandra, Nathaniel and Franca – glad to hear the ‘girls’ have settled in as part of the family and are rewarding you with some yummy eggs.
Cheers for now
