12th – 18th August - Broome

WOW !  We are back into civilisation and for the first time in a few weeks we are in a city with a few facilities.  Broome is quite an attractive city with a real tropical tourist appearance.  The tree species are quite different to what we would expect in a city which geographically aligns with Townsville approximately.  There are some palm trees and still a lot of boabs but there are quite a few trees similar in appearance to those we have seen in photographs from South Africa.  The water is really turquoise in colour.  That is when the tide is in because here they also have large tides up to eight metres.  The soil / sand is quite red but there is a lot more grass than we have seen over the last three months.

Typical street in China Town - main town area.

We arrived on Friday and booked into a camp near Cable Beach.  Cable Beach is one of the better known icons in Broome.  It faces the west, has wide white sand beaches, beautiful sunsets, and is known for the camel rides available.  There are parts open to traffic also so all the 4WDs head there.  We arrived in the middle of the winter horse racing carnival and the town is buzzing.  The normal population here is about 15000 but in peak tourist season (this week) it can swell to 50000+.  We are told it is down this year but it still looks busy to us.

Broome is one of the places many retired Perth people come to for the winter, sorry – Dry Season.  Hence in the van parks there are many set up with all the comforts of home.

First stop on Friday was a bit of orientation followed by sunset at Cable Beach.  Being Friday night the beach was quite crowded and restaurants nearby were doing a great trade.  The photos Alice took were quite spectacular and we will include some.

Sunset at Cable Beach.

Big wide Cable Beach at half tide.

Cable Beach - busier than town centre.

Majestic, even Ships Of The Desert must go home sometime, (complete with tail lights).

And then the traffic jam really begins.

Saturday and we chose to settle in a little and let the crowd do its thing on way to the races.  Then after lunch we set out again to check out China Town which is the main town area.  Alas, 90% of it was closed.  Not a lot of 7 day trading here so we moved on to visit some beaches which thankfully were not closed.  They were on Roebuck Bay which borders Broome to the south.  The tide was out a fair way so we chose to hold off on the photos until another time.

Roebuck Bay from Town Beach.

Town Beach is a fun place for families.

Broome still shows a lot of its real history.  It started life as the centre of the pearling industry and went great guns until plastic buttons were invented taking a away a significant market for the pearl oyster shell.  Then a Japanese gentleman came and showed them how to initiate artificial pearl farming and boom on again.  Hence there is a real history of Chinese and Japanese culture here.  During the second world war Broome was a flying boat base for the Australian Air Force.  Unfortunately the Japanese attacked and bombed the planes as they lay at anchor in the bay.  During very low tides some of these are still visible.  At this point the tides have not been low enough for us to see them.

Restored pearling luggers in museum.

Sunday and we went to church here.  It was a Pentecostal church and we experienced a very warm welcome.  This church was really firing and we had a great time.  It was interesting to hear of some concerns the local people have currently.  There is a proposal which has progressed significantly to build a port facility just to the north of Broome to process & export Liquid Natural Gas and if it proceeds it is estimated the population will double within a couple of years.  Obviously this is a concern as they have seen the impact on other coastal towns in WA brought about by mining.  There is also real division in the Indigenous peoples here as well as the usual environmental concerns.  Looks like the idyllic environment is at risk.

At the tip of Roebuck bay is Broome Port.  This is a single wharf port but from it are exported many commodities including minerals, live cattle and finished petroleum products.  It can also be a staging point for some mineral & oil exploration shipping as well as tourists.  Roebuck Bay does give some shelter in wild weather.

Beach near the Port Wharf.

At the point where Roebuck Bay meets the Indian Ocean is Gantheaume Point named after the French explorer who first discovered it.  Here there is a lighthouse but it is better known for some dinosaur prints that can be viewed at very low tides.  Unfortunately we did not get to see these because of the tides.

Rocks at Gantheaume Point.

Belle by the beach at Gantheaume Point.

Looking from Gantheaume Point toward Cable Beach.

We travelled a little out of town and then down a dusty track for about 15 klms to Crab Creek where there is a Bird Observatory.  At this time of year there are a lot of migratory shore birds that fly in from all around the world.  We watched from a viewing platform as high tide came and went and Alice snapped thousands of photos.  Ian praises God for digital cameras and in particular the ability to delete before print.

Migratory shore birds at Crab Creek in Roebuck Bay.

And there is more.

Our view over lunch near Crab Creek.

Looks great in the other direction too.

Our stay in Broome has been a real treat.  It is a most relaxing resort style city.  We have been able to wind down as well as stock up.  As usual we have met and made some good friends.

8th -10th Aug - Gibb River Road - West

Monday morning and we were up early readying the move of the van into storage in Derby.  This is the day that we are setting out to explore the western end of the Gibb River Road.  We had chosen not to drive the full length of this dirt track because of its reputation for roughness so you might recall that we drove the road from Kununurra as far as Home Valley Station and returned.  Now we have planned to drive the other end from Derby as far as Bell Gorge and return.

As in all of our discussions with other travellers we have received mixed advice as to the condition of the road so we really are flying blind.  The stories of this road and the development / non development of this area has been a fascination for Ian and it is the subject of much writing and documentaries. 

The Kimberleys  is one of the last frontier areas in Australia and there has been much competition between Indigenous peoples, Pastoralists, Minerals exploration, & tourism for control of the area,  This is some of the most amazing country in Australia but much of it is inaccessible except by air.  Roads are just graded tracks with little more than annual grading knocking the tops off the corrugation but thousands are coming here each year to see its special sights.

Into the dust we head.

This trip we have planned to visit Bell Gorge in the King Leopold Ranges.  The drive there covers all assorts of road surfaces.  Initially we travel along a single lane width of bitumen which then improves to a full two lane width (One each way) then onto reasonable quality gravel road.  After the turn off to Windjana this surface deteriorates quickly to very rough corrugated.  We travel 90 klms along the Gibb from this turnoff and a little over half is in this rough state.  We slow to about 60 klms per hour max and it seems to take forever to reach the Bell Gorge turnoff.  Once off the Gibb we had been told by the Information people in Derby that the side tracks were in worse condition than the main road.  This was not actually the case for the first 20 klms but it did get worse for the final ten.



Glad the road was wide when we met this road train.



Approaching the King Leopald Ranges.



And there is the mandatory water crossing.



About lunch time we arrived at Silent Grove Camp Ground.  This is the only designated campground in the immediate area of the gorge.  It is managed byt the Dept of Environment and while it is dusty (what isn’t in Central Aus) the layout is quite good and they have flushing toilets as well as solar heated showers.  We set up camp here and rested our weary bones for the afternoon.  Late in the afternoon the camp filled up quite quickly and we were glad we had arrived early.

Every camp has its caretakers.  Here cleaning up the scraps.



And the overseer.



And then there is the Major!



Tuesday morning and we chose to explore the gorge.  It was another 10 klms from the campsite and the road was really rough.  Plenty of time though so we let the tyres down further and took it slowly.  The prize at the end was worth the cost though.  The walk from the carpark was about twenty minutes down a very rubbly path and then along the side of Bells Creek.  The creek babbling along was deceiving because one would never have dreamed that this amount of water would produce the volume crossing the falls we were to see ahead.  This little stream soon spread out into a series of wide pools and then cascaded some fifteen or so metres into a gorge.  The contrast of the sparse country changing into this marvellous water way was outstanding.  The path lead us to the top of the falls and then we had to wade across the stream and over a hill to climb down to the base of the falls where people were swimming.  It was a beautiful swimming hole but the water was a bit too cool for us.



Bell Creek Falls

 

In front of the falls at start of the gorge.



Looking down Bell Gorge from falls.





Looking west down the gorge.

We spent a while by the pool and then returned to camp.  The gorge was indeed a beautiful sight but like so many beautiful sights in this vast land the distance travelled to see it and the rough going to get there makes one think whether the benefit was worth the cost.



Time to fill in the Sensus Docs.

 Interesting night as it was Sensus night.  The Camp Ranger came around with the forms and we filled them out by torch light.  Bit different.  Especially different when we had to answer how many bedrooms we had in our tent.

Wednesday morning and we were up early breaking camp.  It had been a poor night for sleep.  The constant inconsiderate drivers  travelling through the camp too fast had filled out tent and bedding with dust affecting Alice’s asthma and Ian, s sinuses.  Then we headed back down the Gibb toward Derby again.  The rough road came first and we were a bit fresher to deal with it this time.  After about 30 klms we came to a grader working the road and conditions improved (although very dusty) vey quickly.  !20 klms along the road and we turned east toward Windjama Gorge.  This road was gravel surface also but was in very good condition.   By the time we reached the gorge we had experienced enough gravel road so we decided to check out the gorge and then return to Derby.  The campground there was really good but even this was not enough to entice us to set up camp.

 

Queen Victoria Head in the Napier Range.



Sharing the road with the Variaty Club Bash.



 Windjama Gorge was another beautiful example of God’s creation and the easiest gorge we had found for access.  Entering along a track across flat country we entered the gorge through a narrow crack in the rock.  Then the country opened up into the gorge with the walls approx 150 metres apart.  Down one side flowed the Lennard River.  Broad sand flats formed a wide beach at one spot.  The gorge walls towered some 200 metres high on each side.  We estimated there were about 30 sleeping fresh water crocs visible lazing in the sun either in the water or along the banks.  The scene was pure tranquillity. 

  


The entry to Windjama Gorge.

 

Inside the gorge.

Lennard River flowing through Windjama Gorge.

Looking upstream through Windjama Gorge.



Along the lower levels of the walls the limestone had been worn into various sculptured shapes by the annual flood waters.

The description given was that these hills were originally a Barrier Reef which had laid under a sea a couple of million years ago.  The water level  appears to have been quite a bit higher than where we were standing.  This was similar to the story we heard at Geieke Gorge  approx 200 klms away.  Imbedded in the limestone were fossils of fish skeletons.  Fascinating!!



Foscils in Limestone face.



We walked into the gorge for about one klm before turning back to the entry.  This was one of the most beautiful scenes we had witnessed on our holiday.  Just to see so much green foliage and grass in this desert land was marvellous.

After lunch we turned for Derby.  The road was vastly improved and being further improved with more construction under way.  Then we came upon this strange phenomenon called bitumen.  It was sooo  good to get back to the caravan and a more normal night even if we still had a vehicle covered all over in red dust.  The early return however meant that we had an extra day to wind down and clean up before we move on to Broome.

 



3rd – 7th Aug Fitzroy Crossing - Derby

Back on the bitumen again it is wonderful to have smooth road beneath us. The roads here in WA are really good.  In this area they are relatively flat also so driving is much easier.  Only traffic we encountered first day out was about 30 cyclists doing an around Oz marathon.  They had motor homes behind them and ahead of them so quite a convoy.  We looked for Peter Higgi but couldn’t see him.

 Wednesday we travelled down through Halls Creek where we stopped for fuel & provisions.  These towns are quite small and if there were not an indigenous population it would be difficult picturing a reason to even exist.  Not the most comfortable town to be in so the stop was short.  Getting provisions is interesting also.  As expected items are expensive and not a lot of choice.  All the bread is frozen as we have only seen one bakery since Katherine and that was a Brumby’s in a service station in Kununurra.  There was a Coles service station here and there were two long lines of caravans and trucks waiting for the diesel bowsers.  The other service stations were empty.

Wednesday night we stopped at a free stop called Mary Pools.  Good description as it was a series of water holes on the Mary River.  It was quite picturesque and about 70 vans had pulled in for the night.  We have made some short term friends in other vans over the last few nights and they were all here at once.

Mary River - Mary Pools

Crossing the river to Mary Pools camp.

Thursday and we headed 200 klms into Fitzroy Crossing.  We stayed here two nights as it was an opportunity to catch up on the web and phone.  Haven’t been able to do that since Kununurra.  No TV though so still having difficulty finding out what is happening in the world.  Finally got a snippet that while we had been out of contact our nest egg had devalued somewhat.

 FC is another of these Indiginous population centres however it does have a large resort hotel and caravan park for transient tourists.  Just 20 klms outside town is Geieke Gorge National Park.  At the NP we were able to take a short cruise about 3 klms down the Fitzroy River and enjoy some very scenic cliffs and wildlife.  Must admit we are just about crocodiled out now.  Saw some of the impact of the floods from earlier this year.  These were the second highest recorded and while accounts seem to vary the river is reported as rising 16metres at the gorge.  They have floods here almost every year so just before each wet season they remove all of the equipment, boats and transportable buildings and take them to higher ground.  Then when the flood is over it takes them about one month to reinstate it all again.  No such thing as winter and summer here.  Just wet season & dry season.

Fitzroy River through Geieke Gorge in early morning.

The white staining is the history of flood levels. 2011 was higher.

Water was the sculpter - limestone is the rock.

 

This is my pool.  Just move on please.

The grey is weathered stain, the orange is where falls
 have occurred and the white is water stain.

It is all Geieke Gorge.

Next move was Saturday when we moved on into Derby (about 250 klms).  The road was really quite scenic.  The land seemed to be even flatter with wide plains on both sides.  The Boab trees came in more abundance and for the first time we started to see them with leaves on.  We find these trees quite fascinating and some are hundreds of years old.   The local information tells us that this is some of the most productive pastoral land in Australia.  We do not see much stock but there are a lot of roads heading off to cattle stations.  The grass is much thicker here too although one would not class it as lush.

A very old Boab tree

Potential overnigh camp, - not so squeezy!

Into Derby and we start to see more population of European origin.  This is obviously an old town but it does appear to be having a growth spurt as we found a few small estates with new homes being built.  There is an old wharf which is really passing it’s use by date and there is evidence of recent shipping activity.  However it most boating activity appears to be fishing, tourist based or supply to the myriad of islands off the coast here.  One highlight was that we found a Woolworths store. 

Derby main street c/w Boabs

The camp ambassador.

 At Alice’s instigation we tried to find a local bird hide near the mud flats and almost became horribly lost.  The GPS is n good if there are no roads.  We backed out quickly while we still had light.  Then we headed for the wharf again and together with most of the tourist population we watched a beautiful sunset over the water.  The tides here rise and fall up to 11 metres and we were lucky to have a three quarter tide to photograph.

The wharf at sunset.

and soon after

Going out to get our fish & chips.

It has been a great few days, not only for the sights we have seen but for the times relating to others we have met.  Then to add to that we had a few channels of TV too.  WOW!

Dennis & John - new friends we met.