First day of winter – at 31 degrees, not here though!
Time to pack up and head into Broome. Despite the warnings from many oldies we managed to get into the Cable Beach Caravan Park without any problems at all (plenty of room) and booked in for four nights – the lady on reception did tell us that about 80 vans had checked in today. Apparently many of the grey nomads book their yearly stint in warm weather from today. After parking up in our shady site we headed straight for the pool – no worries about crocs in here.
Only a seven minute walk to view the sunset from this iconic spot.
It certainly was beautiful. The grass area at the top of the beach is a great spot to have a wine and watch the sun go down.
On Wednesday we drove over to Broome town centre for a look (it’s about 5kms from Cable Beach) and then went down to town beach on Roebuck Bay. We had been told that crocs visit this beach from time to time but there were a few people in swimming…no thanks! It does look very inviting though with the water a beautiful bright blue.
Back to the caravan park for a relaxing afternoon by the pool followed by another walk down to Cable Beach for another play and sunset view.
This time we sat up the northern end of the grassed area to see the camels coming off after the sunset ride. Fish and chips by the beach went down really well.
Hello camel!
On Thursday the car was booked in for an oil change. After running back from the mechanics we had a swim at Cable Beach (no crocs there…just don’t think about the stingers). Other than that the day was much the same as the previous two days – beach and pool swims, relaxing in the shade and sunset at the beach.
There was much excitement in the van on Friday morning – we were booked on the morning camel ride along Cable Beach.
The ride was lots of fun. The camels are funny characters. The guides told us all about the camel we were riding. Luke and Ashley were very pleased to find out that their camel Ned starred in the movie Australia. Ella and I were riding Conner and Tarnia was riding Lazy Daisy, an ex racing camel. Bye camels.
Time to prepare for the next few days of travel. After restocking on groceries and a last look around town we followed the same routine of swims and sunset. There’s so much to see around this country that sometimes this holiday is pretty intense (it’s a tough life) - it’s been great to relax for a few days. We’ve met lots of people who love Broome and lots who hate it, not any in between. We loved it!
Saturday 5 June
Pack up and check out. Before leaving town we spent the morning at the Broome markets. Lots of good things to look at and we picked up a few unique items.
A final cool off at the new water play area that opened at Town Beach that morning…
…and then time to hit the road.
Quick stop at the Willare Roadhouse on the way to our camp spot…
Lots of Boab trees in this region.
We pulled into the Ellendale rest area just before dark – we were lucky to get a spot! It was busier than a caravan park with more than 25 vans jammed in.
Sunday 6 June
Happy birthday Bill and Damien!
On to Fitzroy Crossing. We filled up with fuel and then had a look around town. Things were pretty quiet. As we drove past the local footy ground we could see why – the local side was playing. Bonus! We pulled in to watch for a while.
Although the standard wasn’t sensational, it was great watching some of the indigenous players. The speed and agility with which they move really stands out.
After the game we drove out to Geike Gorge for a look. Nice but not as good as Karijini.
The kids did enjoy the echoes off the cliff walls – quotes from “The Grinch” were plentiful…”Hello, how are you etc.”We had to stop them before “You’re an idiot” as there were a few others around.
That night we made it to Mary Pool camp spot (freeby) – lots of vans again. Don’t have to worry about being on our own at this time of year.
Monday 7 June
On to Halls Creek for refuel and a few groceries. We chatted to a few friendly aborigines from one of the local communities just out of town and then moved on. Just after lunch we arrived at Spring Creek, a free camp spot near the entrance to the Bungle Bungles.
We really wanted to leave our van and go into the Bungle Bungles but had heard from a few people that the road was “horrendous” and met a few that weren’t going in because “they didn’t want to wreck their car”. All the people saying this were old sooks so we were hoping to get a few other opinions. After setting up we chatted to a young couple in their 50’s who had just come out of the Bungle Bungles. When we asked what the road was like they asked where we were from. When we said Brisbane they said “oh so you’re from the city…it’s horrendous!” (they were laughing) We explained that we had done quite a few dirt tracks – they said “It’s fine then, just a few creek crossings of about 40cms depth but the road is good”.
That’s what we wanted to hear. We organised for another group that were staying for a couple of days to keep an eye on our van, and then packed our tent and camping gear ready to head off the next morning.
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