Broome or bust!.

Arriving in Dampier after our time in the bush we checked out the statue to Red Dog on the way into town, then checked in at the transit park for the night which is on the foreshore. With advice from the caretaker we visited the library which had an informative selection of books and newspaper clippings giving the story of Red Dog and the recent film which was filmed in the area, if you have not seen the film this is one to see, then it was to the lookout where we watched the sunset over the bay and shipping activities within.

We spent the next morning visiting the North West Shelf Gas plant which has a very informative display showing the magnitude of what they are doing, this is a massive LNG processing facility which then gets shipped out to overseas markets using their own fleet. The billions of dollars spent by the oil majors building the facility is no doubt being rewarded now that it is operating, and to think there are a couple of other similar projects in the area, the NW is really the place with a great future ahead. We left town and stopped in one of the free overnight rest stops off the highway before arriving in Port Hedland the following morning and taking a look around, a quick thanks to Rick whom we met via the Land Rover forum for his tour and hospitality which we hope to return another time. The port area here is massive with thousands of tonnes of iron ore being exported to China and Japan, I think there were six ships alongside loading whilst we were there with the biggest loading around 200,000mt of ore.

Making use of another overnight rest stop we were thinking of heading to one of a few coastal camping locations on the way to Broome but we decided to just go straight there to avoid getting behind our loose schedule for the trip and so 5.30pm on a Sunday we arrived in Broome and found a spot at the local overflow camping spot, all the main parks were full but the PCYC turned out to be great for our needs, so now we were in Broome for a week to enjoy the sights.

Malcolm Douglas Crocodile Farm, crocs crocs and some girly American things called Alligators, there were also other local animals from Dingoes to Wallabies but the crocodiles were the stars and the feeding session is not to be missed.

Cable Beach sunsets, the famous beach with its miles of sand and sunsets you should not miss out on, further along the beach you also see the camel tours which make for a pleasant sight.

Matso’s Brewery, if you have not tried it mango beer is a great drop, the chilli beer can be left alone and the ciders hit the spot on a warm afternoon.

Broome Wharf, more research for me seeing somewhere I had dealt with through work but also great for fishing and taking a stroll along the beach and exposed rocks searching out hermit crabs and fishes.

The rest of the time we checked out the museum, Chinatown with its impressive pearl history and shops selling the local jewels, the museum was also worth a visit with lots of information about the pearling industry in the town and how the war in 1942 game frighteningly close to the town. We also got to catch up with Ryan and his family who we had been shadowing all the way from South Australia, they were heading back to Carnarvon for work but it was great to catchup again and we look forward to meeting again down the track.

Broome Markets were on the Saturday before we left, this gave us another chance to catch up with families whom we had met and say farewells as we prepared to take on the next leg of our trip. The weather had turned on the morning and the markets were held in at times light rain, that afternoon a few of the guys met at the races to have some fun, well the wind got stronger and the rain kept coming on and off which made for a chilly afternoon but one enjoyed by all.

The rain we were experiencing in Broome was nothing to what they were getting further north at Cape Leveque or next destination, leaving the van in Broome we headed north wondering what to expect, overnight 200mm or rain had fallen in the area and the first 100km was on dirt road. The road did turn out to be a little moist and boggy in places which gave the car a nice red tinge but before long we were onto the tarmac road again and turning off for Beagle Bay and a look at the Sacred Heart Church and its pearl shell alter, most impressive. Next stop further north was One Arm Point where they have a hatchery to assisting in maintaining some of the local marine life, returning we watched a group of girls fishing from the rocks and they brought some reef sharks to the surface which was fun to see. We had a unit booked at a small campground called Banana Well so made a quick detour into Kooljaman which is another large camping area at the tip of Cape Leveque, you have to pay an entry fee and as we were short on time we just had a quick look before heading back to or cabin for the night.

Banana Well was a neat little place to stay, they have a few units to stay in, we took the two bedroom option which was nice change to the caravan. We drove over the mudflats to the river nearby in the hope of catching a crab for dinner but the tide was out too far so no luck but the sunset was nice. The next morning the resident dogs took us for a tour of the property where the natural spring comes to the surface and fills a small pond which has lillies and fish.

Returning to Broome we collected the caravan and restocked supplies before heading for our next adventure the Gibb River Road.

Rivers, Gorges and times gone by.

After our amazing time on the Ningaloo coast it was time to journey inland to Karijini National Park to check out the gorges and waterfalls the area is known for, we were however in for a surprise with the weather!.

Travelling southeast from Exmouth we joined the highway and made it far as Nanutarra Roadhouse before pulling over for the night. Once setup we wandered back out to the old bridge crossing the Ashburton River to watch the sunset and to enjoy the great view.

The next day it was an interesting drive through some changing scenery before we came upon the mining town of Paraburdoo, the mine close to town is run by RioTinto , the nice cars and motorbikes running around town suggest the pay is quite good for the workers. After filling up with fuel and lunch we continued onto Dales Gorge Campground in Karijini, we must have arrived on the right day as we got a nice site allocated to us and settled in, shortly after the Wood’s family (www.travellinglong.blogspot.com) who we had met before went past as they were just up from us so it was good to have a catch up of what we had all being doing.

Now about the weather!, during the day driving the temperature was showing around 29’C which was very nice, the evening would be a different matter with it dropping to 3’C on one occasion, not what we were expecting.

 

However the days were good so with the two full days we had available we made the most of it on the first day visiting Dales Gorge which included Circular Pool, Fortescue Falls and Fern Pool, others were swimming in these cool waters but not this family opting to look on at the shivering bodies emerging from the icy water. The second day we took the heavily corrugated road through the park to Weano and Hancock Gorge which included some interesting walks through the gorge and with some clambering down waterfalls into Handrail Pool and closeby Kermit’s Pool, unfortunately at Kermit’s Pool the camera we had failed so you will need to google that one but it was very pretty and a great adventure for the kids both big and small. One thing to remember which is explained in detail at the local visitor centre is the aboriginal history of the area, the arrival of the white man very much changed their whole way of life in this region with many becoming workers for the stations cooking food, mustering sheep and mostly for little or no pay, some of the stories told were interesting to read along with information about the mining in the area both current and future.

 

We had packed up and were on our way out the campground when we called in on yet another travelling family in there bus Big Bertha, the trailer they tow is Little Bertha and the car within Baby Bertha (www.goughsonthego.blogspot.com) After the tour and a quick chat we were on our way to Tom Price, another mining town with all the services you require and due to RioTinto subsidies the pricing is similar to Perth. We had made the decision to take the the dirt road north towards Karratha which would allow a visit to Hamersley Gorge which rounded off our time in this area nicely, one can only wonder what this gorge would look like in the wet with torrents of water coming over the rocks.

We continued towards Karratha and stayed the night at Mount Florance station which was a pleasant relief to the dusty roads we had been driving, the property is still running cattle and the morning we left they were doing a muster so workers and helicopter could be heard leaving just before light for the hard days work ahead.

Our next stop was Millstream Chichester National Park, we entered the park and first stopped at Deep Reach Pool which was part of the Fortescue River, the area must get popular with locals as they have made provisions for swimming platforms on the river bank, Lili took the opportunity to test the water only to be left with a high tide mark on her fingers.

Continuing on you come to the Millstream Homestead which is now open as a visitor centre giving some history of times past when the station was occupied and stories from one of the children that grew up there, taking the short walk from the house you come to the most wonderfully clear waterhole, imagine looking into a fish tank, the water was that clear but unfortunately also out of bounds for swimming.

On leaving the park we only had a few more km’s of dirt before coming to the tarmac road which would take us into Karratha, which also meant back on the coast and warmer weather.

Did I mention how big the trains are out here, some are up to 5km in length!.