21 July 2019

Coffee and brekkie was followed by a walk down along the beach. The tide was coming in, but there was still about 500 m of exposed sand. We explored and found lots of interesting looking shells.

Back at camp, Baker Bill got started on a loaf of cheese and bacon bread, and a few little cheese and bacon rolls. We had a light lunch of the rolls – they were incredible – and then headed down to the beach to try our lunch catching threadfin salmon. Well, we, and the 100 – 200 other people that lined the beach weren’t very lucky at all. We didn’t even get a bite. Oh well. The process is pretty awesome I think. Sitting down, looking out over the water. Bill put together a montage of his 10 minutes of fishing. Photo below. It’s pretty amazing to see so many people here. We are a bit of a way from anywhere else – Port Hedland is the closest town, 2.5 hrs south. And yet there are so many people fishing on the beach, and camping at this caravan park in the middle of nowhere.

After we ran out of bait, we packed up, had the cheese and bacon bread and an ice-cream from the caravan park store for lunch and then Bill and I went for a swim. We took our beers down to the beach to watch the sunset then it was the usual showers, followed by roast venison for dinner, triominos and bed.

Panorama of 80 mile beach in the morning.

Bill after 4 minutes of fishing.

There were cars and people fishing as far as we could see in both directions.

And yet another sunset photo.

20 July 2019

We woke up to super thick fog this morning. It was very strange. It started lifting around 830 am, so we packed up, and I headed to the shop to buy homemade vanilla slices for morning tea. We headed off to 80 Mile Beach, a couple of hours down the road. We arrived at 1130 am, and the woman in front of me got the last powered site for the night. Lucky we have solar panels and a generator and don’t need powered campsites. Now that we are on bitumen roads, it is just insanely busy. There are caravans going everywhere, and powered sites seem to be difficult to get. I booked us in for 2 nights. We set up, and then went for a look around. It is a really nice park, and seems to have gotten big really quick. They don’t really have enough amenities to go around, but they are doing pretty well by putting up some permanent sort of temporary type toilets right down the far end of the park. There are a lot of long term people there that appear to stay for a few months at a time.

There was a bit of a market on in the arvo which we had a look at, and then Bill and I went for a swim. The water was very sandy – you couldn’t see the bottom – but still nice and refreshing.

Showers, beers, dinner, triominos and bed.

No photos today!

19 July 2019

Gym session, coffee, camp packed up and we were outta Broome and heading for Barn Hill Station less than 2 hours away. Every time we move locations I am surprised anew by how busy it is up here. On arriving at the turn off to Barn Hill around 1130 am, we followed in the 4 vehicles that had been travelling in front of us. We were able to get the 2 unpowered sites we were after, however it didn’t look like they had many, if any powered sites available.

After lunch, we went for a bit of an explore and a swim. The beach dropped off quickly, so the waves were breaking really close to shore and the undertow was very strong. It was a lot of fun mucking around, however Bill and I got dumped an absolute ripper. We went tumbling over and around each other and both ended up with sand absolutely everywhere. Showers were followed by a roll on the stations bowling green. It has recently been re-done, so what I understand used to be a fairly casual affair is now all a bit serious. A man that appeared to be overseeing people using the green walked up as I was asking Mum and Dad a question about the game. He announced that he would show us how to bowl. We all said, ‘oh no, that’s fine’ however he again announced that he would show us, and proceeded to pick up one of Dad’s bowls and put it straight in to the gutter! After which he said ‘bit heavy’ and walked away! He is winning biggest tool of the trip so far. It was made worse by the fact that he had watched us put a couple of practice bowls down already and had commented that we had obviously bowled before. Tool.

Anyway, after that, it was Bill and Mum against Dad and I with Dad and I winning 4 to 1. It was all a good bit of fun.

Barn Hill had a real community feel about it. It seems that some people might stay for weeks or longer. We watched an excellent dice game being played by about 40 people that we were just a bit too late to join in with. It was very simple and fun so we purchased some of the special dice so we can play when we get back home.

Another beautiful sunset was followed by dinner, triominos and bed.

Barn Hill Station beach

This photo made me laugh. It looks like Bill has a halo!

And yet another sunset photo. We can’t get enough of them.

18 July 2019

Another good long gym session followed by stocking up on food before we head off beach hopping down the coast tomorrow. After lunch we all headed to 12 mile bird park. Wasn’t that a find! Over 600 species of birds. It was marvellous. We saw two Skully’s (although couldn’t get a ‘g’day cock’ out of either of them) and some wonderfully interactive cockatoos. I had no idea that Australia has so many native parrots. We saw some crows in out of the way enclosures which we thought was pretty odd. However we got chatting to the owner of the park and he told us that they were just trapped the previous night for a study that Murdoch University are doing, trying to teach crows, and have crows then teach each other how to eat cane toads without dying.

Bill asked the owner if we could interact with any of the birds. He took us into a cage with a hand reared black cockatoo that took a real shine to Bill. The bird was hanging on to the back of Bills neck and then wanting to spread out its wings around his face. I commented on how the bird must like him. Yep, the owner confirmed that the bird REALLY liked him. As in, a lot. We headed back to the caravan park for a swim in the pool and showers, and then off to the Broome Fishing Club for dinner. It was a tip I got from a local, and they were on the money. They don’t advertise much, so not many tourists by the looks of it. It is out of the way, down near the operating wharf and all they do is seafood and chips. It was a great meal with beautiful views over Roebuck Bay. We caught a glimpse of the staircase to the moon on the way to Maccas for sundaes.

Another fantastic day in Broome.

One of the photo’s in which Bill isn’t getting molested by the cockatoo.

17 July 2019

An earlier start this morning, with a gym session followed by delivery of the Ranger to the local Ford dealership for a service. We figured after all the dust of the last month, it would probably need a bit of an internal clean up. We washed it yesterday and even with the spots we missed, and the water marks, boy did it seem to sparkle!

The people at the dealership dropped us in to Chinatown and we had a great coffee and then proceeded to wander around. I was chatting to a local business owner (who grew up in Ballarat – it really is a small world) and mentioned how it seemed like it would be tough to be a small business owner in a town with only a few busy months. She said it has become a lot more difficult since caravans with toilets and showers became common as people don’t stay for the 3 months that they used to. Now it’s just a few days and then there off to free camps out of town. It was a very interesting conversation. We called the parents for a pick up, and then after lunch, Bill, Dad and I headed out to the Malcom Douglas Crocodile Park. It far exceeded my expectations. It was exciting to be able to get so close to such fierce animals. Bill even mustered the courage to poke one through the 9 foot fence that separated us from them. We later on saw signs saying ‘do not prod the crocodiles’. But then we already knew that it probably wasn’t going to be encouraged. The feeding tour started at 3 pm, and commenced with the guides handing some baby crocodiles around. They’re obviously fairly robust to go from person to person to person. Then we trailed after the guides as then fed chicken frames to some of the salties, the freshies, and the alligators. The breeding pairs are segregated in their own enclosures with deep pools that are covered in a algae. A couple of times we couldn’t see the male crocodile until the guide slapped an object into the water, and then the croc would lunge out right where he knew he was going to get a feed. They sure are fast and lethal. And HUGE.

Back in to town to pick up the Ranger and Dads evakool, back to the caravan park to pick up Mum and then to the town beach to watch the staircase to the moon. It only occurs for 3 nights a month, for about 8 months a year. The full moon rises over Roebuck Bay, and the moon shines a perfect beam of light down on to the mudflats and water of the bay, creating a stair case type effect. We found that the staircase looked best when the moon was a bit higher, so it was just a big jump from the upper most step to the moon. We all got a delicious dinner at the various food trucks that were part of the market at the town beach, including fresh, hot cinnamon donuts. Nom nom nom.

Entrance to the croc park

These ones are reared in the park and are much quieter than many of the problem crocs brought in from the wild. They looked like large lizards swarming towards the guide when the food came out.

Staircase to the moon. The photo doesn’t do it justice.

16 July 2019

Bill and I started the day with a gym session (we found a really good gym that had 1 week memberships – winning) and coffee, and then back to camp to find that Dads evakool had packed it in, with the digital display only going up in temperature, not down. It didn’t take long to sort it out with a phone call to get the original invoice emailed through and a quick Google search to find that there was a service and repair place in town that specialised in evakools, including warranty repairs.

We had lunch, and then headed to the Broome museum, via the refrigeration mechanic to drop the evakool off. They had the required part and so we left it with them overnight.

The museum was excellent. It is run by volunteers for the historical society and it covered off on the varied history of the region, including the arrival of white man, the pearling industry, and the impact of the second world war when Broome was bombed and a number of people killed. This town really is very interesting. We then headed into Chinatown which is where most of the little shops are, had a look around, bought a few items (including ice-creams) and then headed back to camp to grab drinks and snacks for another installment of sunset on Cable Beach. We got down there around 4 pm, driving down on to the beach this time. Bill and I went for a swim whilst Mum and Dad went and explored the nearby rocks. Then it was frisbee, drinks, snacks and another glorious sunset. Once back at camp we had showers and a quick dinner of ravioli and garlic bread, and then back into Chinatown to go to the movies. We saw Rocketman (the Elton John movie) at the Sun Theatre. It is an outdoor movie theatre, apparently the oldest in the world. It has been operating on and off for 100 years and it was wonderful. Especially when a couple of planes flew directly overhead. They had all the old projectors on display, and old movie posters. It was pretty rickety with not the most comfortable seating, however that all really added to the experience.

All in all, and pretty great day and loving Broome.

Bill giving the typewriter a whirl at the museum.

15 July 2019

Bill and I started the day with a walk along one of the beautiful beaches at Cape Leveque, then the worst coffee of the trip so far from the restaurant at Kooljaman. Neither of us managed even half of it before both of them went in to the bin. Packing up camp was followed by some perusing and purchasing of gift shop items, and then the drive to Broome. We are staying at one of the caravan parks for 4 nights. It is school holidays on top of peak tourist season, so the place is pretty busy. Bill and I headed out for supplies and then it was off to Cable Beach to watch the sunset. We were running a bit late and couldn’t quite figure out amongst the hoardes of people and cars how to access the road down on to the beach. So we walked down to the main swimming area with chairs and the required drinks and snacks. I made the mistake of feeding a seagull, after which a number of them came from I don’t know where. How do they know when one of their brethren have found a sucker of a human who feeds them perfectly good chips, or in our case, twisties? They were so cheeky that they would take the twisties out of Bill’s fingers. The sunset was extraordinary. The best part of it was about 10-15 minutes after the sun had gone down. The colours were like nothing I’ve ever seen. It looked like the sky was on fire.

Bill on the beach at Cape Leveque

Steven Seagull (as named by Bill) coming in with his entire family for a feed of Twisties.

Look at those colours!

14 July 2019

We packed up and hit the road just after 8 am today. It paid to be away early as we didn’t meet any traffic, so it made the drive out that bit easier and quicker. We headed north for the Cygnet Bay Pearl Farm. On arrival, we booked on to the farm tour, and then had coffee and cake whilst we waited. It was a lovely spot, and I suspect they might make more money of tourists these days than they do off pearls.

The tour was absolutely fantastic. The pearling industry was all about the shells for many decades – wild pearls were just a bonus. The mother of pearl harvested in this area produced the majority of the world’s buttons before plastics came along and sent the industry into a downward spiral. After that, the industry moved to cultured pearls. We learnt about how pearls are cultured, via a small nuclei (object) being implanted in an incision made in the oyster flesh. The oyster senses the irritation, and it cover’s it with layer upon layer of mother of pearl to try and smooth away the irritation. We also saw a pearl being harvested. The tour guide cut the oyster open and there was a lovely round pearl inside. It was valued at $1051! After that, we learnt how pearls are valued, based on shape, lustre, size, imperfections and colour.

We all tried a bit of the pearl meat as well, served raw with a bit of lime juice.

After the tour, we headed for our camp for the night at Kooljaman, at Cape Leveque.

What a contrast to Pender Bay! There was a resturant, a cafe and a large gift shop. Full on. We headed down to the swimming beach and Bill and I had a dip. Then it was time for beer and snacks, and sunset viewing.

Infinity pool at Cygnet Bay Pearl Farm.

Sunset at Cape Leveque

13 July 2019

Bill and I headed off to walk to the Whalesong coffee shop this morning. It was 3.4 km to get there and a really great walk along beautiful beaches with some great cliff faces and rock formations. There were 2 other customers at the coffee shop when we arrived and they were from Hobart. Sandy Bay. First Tasmanians we’ve come across, although we saw about 4 Tassie vehicles across the Gibb. We chatted to them, and to the owner of the coffee shop for awhile. Turns out they had to shut down the lunch part of the cafe they used to operate there at Whalesong because they became too busy. They needed to either upgrade, or shutdown. I was surprised that there are that many people passing through what appears to be a fairly quiet area. I’m really glad that we have come up here this year, as once they finish sealing the road up to the Cape, the number of tourists will explode. Nothing has been done to get the small communities ready for the increase in visitor numbers either. In just the few days we have been at Pender Bay, we have seen the manager of the campsite smashing in extra tiny campsites the bush and then people are in them the same day. More and more people, however no extra amenities. I think it might be pretty nuts up here for a few years until extra infrastructure is built.

We got back to camp in time for a read and lunch, then we took the Ranger on it’s first ever beach drive. Bill thought that was pretty great. The usual swimming and frisbee and swimming followed by damper in the camp oven. It was Bill’s best one yet. You would never think that flour, water and some sultanas could taste so good.

I had a bit of a lesson in camp oven cooking tonight, prepping a roast beef and cooking it under Dad’s tutelage.

12 July 2019

Another lazy day today. About 9 am Dad, Bill and I drove about 5 km over to a neighbouring campground that runs a bit of a coffee set up from 8 – 10 am each day. The place was packed! The lady behind the counter was busy making coffees with a small domestic Breville coffee machine and she seemed a bit stressed. The coffee, and the process of going there was quite nice. We sat and enjoyed the view, and then walked down to the beach for a look. Once back at camp we read and had lunch, and then down to the beach for walking, swimming and frisbee. Mum and Dad came swimming today as well. The water is a lovely temperature, and there is no undertow. Then, the standard showers, beer and chicken crimpies, and another delicious camp oven tea cooked by chef Barry (aka Dad).