Day 34
Today we drove from Halls Creek to Broome. This was a fairly uneventful trip. Long and hot. There is definitely something wrong with the air conditioner when the only way to cool down is to put the window down and let in warm air. We stopped for ice and lunch at Fitzroy Crossing. This is, obviously, built on the banks of the Fitzroy River. The Fitzroy River is a major river in the Kimberley and here is an interesting fact – it has the second highest volume of water of any river in the world, second only to the Amazon, even though it only really flows for just over half a year. When you see the size of the bridges, the buildings on stilts and take into account that even though there are huge areas of low lying land and the road is built up it is still often closed in the wet season you get an idea of just how much water the river must move when it is in flood.
We got into Broome around 5.30 and just had time to set up before night fell.
Day 35
Today was Grand Final day. The event we had rushed to Broome for. We swam in the beach in the morning and then went with our friends from the road to their friend’s accommodation to watch the game and have a BBQ lunch. The game is on at a very civilised time here, starts around 12.15, half time is perfect for lunch and then you can still go to the beach afterwards. Everyone was all geared up for the game. A couple of very fanatical St Kilda supporters, a lot of supporters of other clubs who had all jumped on the “we hate Collingwood” bandwagon and were barracking for the Saints and then a few Collingwood supporters. At half time things were fairly quite - the Saints supporters were feeling let down and the Collingwood supporters were keeping a low profile in case the Collywobbles appeared in the second half. Then at the end of the game there was just absolute stunned silence. No result, no crowing, just shock. It took some time before people recovered and as a result the beach cricket started late that day. Cable Beach is perfect for beach cricket. When the tide is out there is around 2 to 3 hundred metres of white sandy beach available and it stretches for miles and miles. At around 5 the sun starts to sink and you get a beautiful sunset around 5.30 as the sun sinks below the sea. There are great colours in the sky, lots of reds and oranges and then as the sun disappears a lovely lavender colour. It is very relaxing to just sit on the beach and watch.
Day 36
Today, surprise surprise, we spent at the beach and in the pool. Andy got a rude shock when he bobbed up after body surfing into the beach and spotted a business associate in the water beside him. He could see the man looking at his moustache but being too polite to ask what it was doing on his top lip and he was too embarrassed to explain. The kids and I thought it was very funny and served him right!
That night we went to see the famous staircase to the moon. This is a phenomenon that happens when the tide is low and the moon is full. As the moon rises it casts light over the tidal mud flats and gives the illusion of stairs rising to the moon. Alas, for all the build up, we saw only 3 or 4 stairs and they certainly didn’t go all the way to the moon. You would need a pretty vivid imagination to picture what we saw as a staircase to the moon. The kids were a little let down but the didgeridoo playing and the lights dimming helped to offset the disappointment.
Day 37
More beach, a little shopping and a trip to the Outdoor Cinema. The outdoor cinema dates way back and is still in operation today (I think they are still using the original chairs – very uncomfortable bring a pillow). With sunset at around 5.30 it is very dark early so they have two sittings, 6.30 and 9pm. We saw “Tomorrow When the War Began” at 6.30. We were all prepared. Picked up pizza for dinner and arrived at cinema with 5 minutes to spare. Lined up, got to register and they only take cash! We should have known as it seems to happen a lot around here – I am not sure if the ATO is on to it yet though. We had to borrow $20 from Madi, who always has her wallet with her just in case, to come up with the funds to gain entry. It is very embarrassing negotiating repayment schedules with an 8 year old with a queue of people behind you. Eventually we made it in and luckily Madi still had enough money to shout popcorn. It was an ok movie, the kids liked it and there was some lovely scenery (and a gorge!) in it. It was really just a pleasant way to spend the evening, warm but with a slight breeze and home by 8.30.
Day 38
Today we did the Beach thing again. It is very hot here. I think it has been 40 every day so far. You do get a cooler breeze at the beach but the sun packs a punch. Luckily there is a great little business on the beach that hires out umbrellas, sun lounges, deck chairs, kids beach toy sets, etc and Andy always gets me a chair and an umbrella (have I mentioned I am not a fan of sand). So I sit back and relax while they have their body surfing championships, very civilised. Tonight we had dinner with Andy’s business associate, his family and two other families at the Cable Beach Club where they are staying. They had booked a BBQ and ordered some salads. It was very nice, the kids had a ball playing soccer on the tennis courts, foos ball, table tennis and the thing Madi liked best was that the kids who were staying there just went to the bar and ordered icy poles and they didn’t have to pay, they only had to give their room number so the barman knew they were staying there (could be a nice surprise for their parents when they get the bill!)
Day 39
Another 40 degree day so more time spent at the beach and the pool. Andy dropped the car in to be serviced – yeah we will have air conditioning for next big trip. We had dinner with the friends from the road. Feno had caught some fish at Cape Leveque and he had fresh tuna which he sliced finely for sashimi. It was yummy; Madi and I were in heaven. Then we just did BBQ and salads. Bubba was heard to ask one of the friends kids if "her mother was annoying" and when she asked "why" he said "my mum is sometimes." She asked "why does she annoy you" and he said "because she goes mad at us". At which stage the other mother responded with "well if you didn't annoy her you wouldn't find her annoying!" He is going to have to be nice to Mummy big time now to get back in my good books!
Day 40
Today we had to wake up at 5am to go on our trip to the Horizontal Falls. The alarm went off and I bounced out of bed. The kids were definitely not bouncing and Chrispy was down right cranky. I think he was still asleep when he got on the bus. We went to the airport and boarded a seaplane. Unfortunately they seat heaviest people to the front and lightest at the back which meant we had to be at the back (because of the kids not us!). Madi and Chris were in the back row where there are no air vents but there is a vent in the window which they were told to open once we got in the air. I think Chris was still asleep and might have missed these instructions because about 20 mins into the smoothest flight ever he was calling for a sick bag. He threw up in the bag but luckily he hadn’t had breakfast so it wasn’t too bad and then Madi started looking pretty bad as well (see photos for proof) but she managed not to throw up. We landed on water which was very smooth and disembarked on a pontoon. The pilot couldn’t believe Chris had been sick and he thought Madi looked worse which left him very worried about the trip back as it was a scenic route which would be a longer trip and a lot bumpier. The kids recovered quickly when they saw the jet boat we were going to get on, the fish in the water and the shark. Chris was very quick to jump into the front seat with Nick right beside him. The boat seats were a little like sitting in a saddle with a steel bar in front of you to hang on to. Chris saw this as very positive as it meant we would have to hang on tight which meant speed so he was all smiles. We took off very fast, stopped suddenly to check out a crocodile and then sped on to the falls. The falls are actually a difference in water level that is caused by the tide rushing out of a lagoon through a very small passageway into the next lagoon. The water can’t get through fast enough (even though 1 million litres per minute passes through) so it builds up at the entrance creating a wall of water. There are two horizontal falls in this area and we went through one and drove through the rapids of the other as it was too high to cross safely (a 3 metre wall of water). Once the water passes through it creates whirlpools and jets of water into the sky because of the current and the pressure of the water pushing through. It is really something to see. As we were flying through the water on the boat, heading straight towards cliff faces and then suddenly spinning around I was wondering what would happen if we flipped (not that we would) because the current was very strong – no problem you think, have life jacket pop to surface and let the current take you, hope not to get caught in whirlpool and then swim to safety when the current is less strong, did I mention the sharks and the crocodiles and the four children to get to safety with us? Anyway we didn’t flip and it was great fun. The speed boat dropped us off at another boat where Adrian (the boat driver) hand fed some bat fish, smacked a lemon shark on the nose for getting in the way and then pulled a bat fish from the water by hand for the kids to pat – fairly amazing to watch. Then the staff cooked us breakfast and the pilot watched in horror as Madi and Chris devoured cereal, yoghurt, bacon and eggs and Milo with milk. He likened it to loading a shotgun ready for a shoot out on the way home! Cyclone River which is were the pearling boats used to anchor to hide from cyclones (there is an oversupply of pearls at the moment so they have stopped farming here) and then we went back to the first pontoon to have a swim in the shark cage. Again Adrian hand fed the sharks from the pontoon and the kids swam around in a cage and Chris even got to pat one of the sharks. The Lemon Sharks are fairly safe, most of their teeth are at the back of their mouth so they are going to gum you before they bite you but they move fairly fast so you have to be careful. There was one bull shark but we steered clear of that one. Then it was time to fly back. Nick got to be co-pilot on the way back, he sat up next to Matt the pilot with headphones on and chatted all the way home. Madi and Bubba got to sit in the back seat – Matt made sure to show them where the window vents were and where the sick bags were and I got the pleasure of Chrispy next to me. We flew over the Buccaneer Archipelago which is just beautiful. The water is so clear and such a beautiful aquamarine colour with coral reefs all around the islands. The coral reefs here are considered quite young (around 10,000 years old) and quite unique as they survive huge tidal movements, lots of sediment and temperature swings of around 7 degrees daily. Next we flew over the Dampier Peninsula including the settlements on the coast line - Cape Leveque, Lombardino and Middle Lagoon. Then we were back in Broome and no one had vomited! We picked up our car – now with newly gassed air conditioning (at an over inflated price but definitely worth it!), the boys went to the beach and Madi and I checked out some galleries (also with over inflated prices and definitely not worth it!)
Day 41
Today the friends from the road left and we went to the beach and the pool. For Dinner we had the best fish ever, delicious coleslaw and some pretty good chips from a fish and chip shop. It was also probably the most expensive fish and chips ever. The fish was coral trout, freshly filleted and it just melted in your mouth. Yum.
Day 42
Today we had breakfast at the Cable Beach Club Buffet. We got there about 8 and left around 10. We made sure the kids ate heaps and we called it brunch. The theory was that this would mean we could watch the footy without interruption. We watched the footy in the van, streamed through the TV from the internet. Andy and Chris were still barracking for the Saints but the rest of us were very happy with the result. We had to rush after the game finished because we had booked seats on a camel ride at 3.30pm. At 4pm when we were still sitting on our camels while waiting for 4 people latecomers to arrive Andy had a few choice words to say about our rush to get there but that’s ok. The camel ride was fun – the camel standing up and sitting down are the two best bits – they go slow, you’re up high and the view as you walk along Cable beach is very scenic (and somewhat educational because you walk right through the nudist beach and even though it is the end of the season there were still some out which the kids picked up on right away)! After the camel ride we drove the car on the beach for awhile to have a look. It just goes on for what seems for ever. Lots of white sand, there are four wheel drives dotted along the way where people have just parked and had their own piece of beach for the day. On the way back it was more crowded as lots of people drive down to have drinks and nibbles and watch the sun go down. At one stage it was like a scene out of Mad Max we were driving south and 5 cars were driving side by side north straight towards us and we wondered who was going to move but the beach is so big that they just parted and we went through the middle. It was a bit like a slow motion game of chicken!
Tomorrow we pack up and head towards Karratha. It’s an 800+ km drive so we’ll see how far we get.
