31st July Turquoise Ocean.

I don't know where Queensland got the right to "Sunny one day, perfect the rest",  Because it appears that northern WA deserves that slogan. This tourquise Indian Ocean, sunshine & beautiful breeze with the mighty whales putting on wonderful displays deserve a slogan like Queenslands.

Last night was another experience, one of the fishermen caught a type of Mackerel from his 'Tinny', then it was cooked by a couple who have a 'Smoke' oven and we were all given a taste served on paper towel! You can be assured someone has any type of equipment anyone could want. It's an awesome experience. Today one couple are cooking a roast dinner in their camp oven over a specially built stove.  It has been announced that there will be a "Cook-up" on Saturday evening where everyone brings food to share. It will be most interesting.

Last Friday: who ever thought a day to Broome could be so exhausting ........

We left at 8.30am for the 45 k trip to town, loaded with empty water jerry cans, garbage and empty gas bottles. First stop is the 'Garbage Collection site' at the turn off from the main highway and Cape Leveque road, a wonderful service. On to the RSL to visit the 'Book Exchange', we had all swapped books around the vans and were able to get another supply. On to Bunnings to fill gas bottle and fill all our portable water containers, around the corner for a new connection cord for TV, next stop Target for new fitted sheet (I carefully selected colour, size etc THEN when I got home found I had picked up a FLAT sheet !!!) not happy Jan! Brian needed new shorts and singlet type tops for this lifestyle, that done we went to Cable Beach for a shower, yes a cold shower! but the pleasure of washing my hair under RUNNING water instead of conservatively  by the cup full, was pure joy. Lunch at the RSL then on to the Laundromat, another experience. Jan, have you been to the Pearl Laundromat? Standard size, Double size & Giant size, a change machine as prices were $4,$6,$15 & there were driers available also, but no need to use them when I can use this wonderful ocean breeze for free. Last stop was Bank and Coles Supermarket for the weekly stockup. We made it home in time for the 5pm Happy hour chat around the campfire. 

So glad the next day was the weekend, we NEEDED a rest!

It's wonderful to know there are thousands of us doing this same thing right now. Others are planning it, others are wishing they could, others are 'no way, not for me', others are remembering when they did it.

No new photos, the ocean stays turquoise, the whales continue to play and life is wonderful.

It's been good to talk to both daughters an thanks for the pics of our grandchildren, keep them coming.

27th July. North of Broome

10.30am & I've just scanned the horizon for Whales or shipping, nothing...........

The tide comes in and out as predicted, remains a perfect blue with the occasional white cap. The hot wind is welcomed as it makes the heat enjoyable instead of overwhelming.

The book exchange between caravans & the Broome RSL keep us all well supplied.

The nightly campfire is a daily highlight, all paper Rubbish is saved for lighting the fire. Last night we heard about a new recipe, 'Sparkling Potatoes' so the ingredients are are the shopping list for Friday's trip to town.

Water conservation is an amazing experience, it's surprising what you can put up with when you have to. I've learnt lots of tips & lots of things I can now put up with. eg: rinse your dirty feet in sea water before having a VERY brief shower while standing in a tub so that I can use that water to Rinse our daily clothes in!!!     Dishes get wiped clean with paper towel and only do a dishes wash once a day in 1 kettle of hot water!!! Actually it's a great lesson.

Yesterday we watched a wonderful display by Whales, fins, tails, spouts, it was as if they were showing off or Mum teaching her child what to do, binoculars bring them in to such good view but not close enough to capture in photos.

The day before we had a real good story going.......there was a ship with 2 small ones in convoy as well as a couple of small speed boats!!! We are not sure if these are Pearl Smuggers, or Drug Smugglers or Refugees!!! ......... Then a bit later , on the horizon we saw what looked like a Navy Patrol Boat. We even contemplated phoning the Coast Guard.........but didn't!!! Well it was a talking point.

I have made some cards & lovely neighbors have even bought some.

We have said goodbye to a lovely young family who are doing a year's trip around Australia, children are 7&3. We had met them at Daley Waters so it was nice to see them again. They have gone to Broome for some car repairs.

This has become our living room.

23rd July. North of Broome.

What a wonderful world! Well it is here, but the world has some terrible situations happening. Up here we just about feel divorced from 'The World', if it wasn't for the satellite dish that brings us in touch with the 'outside' world.

I just took this photo, noon, from my chair under our caravan awning. We have been watching Whales spouting and surfacing but no tail flips yet.

Some things that have happened over the last few days.

1.  Brian is now a year older, he has appreciated so many greetings on Facebook, Messenger, Phone, email and verbal around the campfire. In the morning he & Fred went wood collecting (Fred has a chain saw). They came home filthy, sweating & so hot that Brian went down to the ocean and swam with the Whales & Sharks (haven't seen any of the latter, yet!) Brian and ocean don't get together very often so this was an event)

2. One of the vans with prime position vacated it yesterday!!!

3. We quickly packed up, carried all outside portable belongings over, then moved our va into this glorious spot.

4. We then loaded the car with all empty portable water containers, all garbage & set off for Broome. 36k in toward Broome there is a Rubbish disposal point which is really appreciated.

5. Fred & Monika came also, in their own car as they needed water & have about 8 containers, so we couldn't all go in 1 car! First stop, The Camping Shop, second, Bunnings for new gas bottle and the filling of our water containers. It's wonderful that they have a set up like this for campers. I guess they know we WILL shop there for our needs & wants, so it is worth it to them.

We needed connectors & 'stuff' for the set up of the satellite dish & Fred is a 'know & can do man' and a lovely patient & giving person, who advised on the needs.

6. Next to the  satellite shop, then back to Bunnings, golly it was exciting.

7. Next stop The RSL where we took our friends to celebrate Brian's Birthday. We enjoyed a lovely lunch in a very different RSL, it was fully 'Airconditioned' fans all working & NO glass in the Windows!

Thank you Jocelyn from your Dad for a lovely seafood basket.

8. Last stop for this trip was Supermarket, then the 45k drive Home. It's quite amazing that the eggs are not scrambled by the time we got home.......but they weren't.

Today Fred & Brian have installed all the new holes, cords, plugs & my job was to clean up after them. It's all sooooo neat, I can't believe It.

9. Now the hard part of the day........read, Whale watch, chat, enjoy the breeze & relax in this perfect location, maybe even a coffee as well.

20th July. Free Camping North of Broome.

Life has been very busy over the last few days! A little hand washing in the water saved from our shower, then wash the floor with that water! I'm learning how to REALLY conserve water. Dishes get wiped with paper towel then only dish washing once a day. It's amazing what one can do when one has to. A very pleasant part of each day is chatting to neighbors and whale watching. We have seen lots of spouts followed by black bodies, only seen one tail flip so far. Every evening at 5 the campfire is lit and folk come and go as they wish. Tonight the moon rising was spectacular.. A number from our 'Campfire' friends went into Broome today & stayed to see "Stairway to the Moon" a scene that occurs withe the rising of the full moon over the ocean with the waves looking like a staircase to the moon. The thought of the drive back here in the dark put me off.

Today we set out for Cape Leveque, 7.20am, 116k of corrugated sand road & 100k of paved road EACH WAY! We called in at Beagle Bay, an Aboriginal settlement that has been established by the Catholic Church with a bakery, a general store/supermarket, a very active & effective Council. Everything was so neat & tidy, and attractive.

The church was built in 1917/1918 by German Catholic Priests who were interned during the WW1. It is beautiful.

The interior is decorated with a lot of stunning pearl shells 

The Catholic School is next door 

There are notices on the shop 'No school children admitted during school hours'  everything is being done to see to their education.

On then to the longest working pearl farm in Australia. We could have gone on a cruise there and watch them harvest the pearls. If we had been willing to come back tomorrow. No way Jose! The shop had some beautiful specimens only $7,000 upwards! Brian and Fred both left their credit cards back at the van!!! (Fred & Monika had come with us and provided excellent company.)

We drove as far north as we could & came to a stop sign that said daily travellers must  get a permit to go up to the tip of the peninsula.... Only $15 per head!!! We turned round and drove back the 15k to Cape Leveque where we had to get a $5 wrist permit band to look around the shop, restaurant, camp ground, and lighthouse.

The lunch special looked stunning, only $26.50 each! We sat outside on THEIR chairs and ate our sandwiches which we had in our Aldi cooler bags! 

It was disappointing that there was no more to see after all that trip....have to admit, Was it worth it???? Very questionable, but WE HAVE BEEN TO CAPE LEVEQUE, so there!

On the home trip we stopped to pick up some firewood for our campfire

and this shows where we came from.......

And this shows where we were going......

We saw 3 Donkeys

And there was a lot of smoke over the road because they were burning off.

We, down south have a lot the learn from the Aboriginal people who burn off half their land every winter as it promotes regrowth & prevents major National Park fires.

Brian drove like a champion that he is, swapping left to right side of the road to choose the best part, crazy drive, bumps, twist, rock and thankfully no rolling! It took 4 hrs to get there & naturally the same to come back. Monika & I were VERY pleased to see our beautiful vans, when we met at the campfire she said she was sure her bed was still rocking! I have to admit, I'm tired tonight. 

Tomorrow I think the extent of my activities will be whale watching & card making. I actually have made some since being here, strange after all these months.

Good night, I've had all the rocking I need today.

17th July. Free Camping Nth of Broome

There are so many Free camping sights between Broome and Cape Leveque so we will make the most of the beautiful weather as long as we can.

This is the view of our van sight from the waters edge. Our van is not in the front line but we can still see the ocean from our lounge room!

The water is beautiful, so far I have only been game to paddle.

It has been quite windy, one night Brian got up at 1am to take down the awning & shade screens, it was a wild night. (Wind!)

One couple here have been coming here 16 years & said it was the windiest it has ever been.

Every night someone lights a campfire and anyone can come and join the circle. Last night was the first time I put on my jacket this trip.......why go south and be cold when we can stay up this end of the country?

Today was a big day the the life of our home Church, Bulleen Baptist Church. Today has seen the joining of 2 congregations, ours and Son Life, the new Name has not yet been announced, but it is still to be a member Church of The Baptist Union of Victoria. The next 6 months will establish working arrangements as the 2 become 1. There will still be 2 Services and 2 Senior Pastors in the meantime.

May God's richest blessing be on this merger.

We are able to get phone and TV at this sight, time will tell when we move. The satellite dish is working perfectly, it has a directional finder that is called "A Marriage Saver" a very appropriate name........when SOMEONE loves his football (AFL)

A young family have just pulled in beside us , 2 little bikes on the back. I will have to go & investigate!

14 July. Broome.

Well we did move, morning of thr 13th we packed up and came into Broome for 2 nights at the Broome Caravan Park, a big park, well organised and full, site 52. We had just got set up then I opening my phone and had a message from the couple we camped next to at The Causeway near Bundaberg. Monika had been reading my Blog & found were were camped about 200 meters away at Quondong Point & could we meet for coffee! I phoned her and as it happened she had a Dental appointment in Broome this morning, so they came here (it was the identical site they had stayed in 5 weeks ago!) we have arranged to go back to Quondong Point & stay with them for a couple of weeks. They are from Philltp Island & we were going to look them up in January.

Now back to the beginning, it's a 48k drive in, the first bit is a sand track, then it's the corrugated road AGAIN.  Where we meet the highway there are a row of garbage bins, so all the vans line up to get rid of their Rubbish.

Broome is on a little peninsula with the Indian Ocean on one side 'Cable Beach' and 'Roebuck Bay' on the other side. It is the Pearl capital of Australia & cultures extremely high quality pearls (I know because I have been in 'Willie's Pearl shop' prices start from $1,000 and rise at alarming speed!)

We went on a drive around the area just to get a feel for the place. It is Pearls and Tourists & the latter are here by the 1,000s. Any type of accommodation needs to be booked in advance. 

To day was our sight seeing day and it's been wonderful. After coffee with Monika and Fred, we set out for 'China Town' which is the main town, it's is a place full of colour, shops, clothes, and people of all nationalities. We had been told to go to 'Shady Lanre' and have a mango smoothie, yum it was so good. (thanks Jan) The Japanese were the early pearl divers & they have there own cemetery where 900 divers are buried. Also Broome was bombed during WW11 and the harbour was the target where a lot of Dutch (particularly women & children) were refugees from the Dutch East Indies, on flying boats anchored in the harbour.

The wharf is right at the end of the peninsula and the ocean is not blue but turquoise, the colour is breathtaking. 

On then to Cable Beach, no wonder everyone raves about it.

The area overlooking the beach.

Yes it was WINDY.

The beautiful people were enjoying the white sand, oh to be younger and fit!

Then we spotted a Camel train going down to the beach

This called for further investigation, into the car and drive down to the beach in fact onto the beach

Then we saw 2 a Camel trains all sitting down waiting for their passengers to mount and walk all beach. Seeing them on the sunset tour is supposed to be something special. I hope we can see it when we come back to Broome. The gold team.

The blue team.

There were endless tours being taking around, People in long flowing cool dresses of brilliant colours and others in the miniest of bikinis. All languages being spoken, it's SO interesting.

We called at Bunnings to get 2 more water jerry cans & cloth adhesive tape to tape cupboard doors etc when driving corrugated roads. Who should be there but Fred & Monika (minus her tooth)  getting a new gas bottle.

One more stop, Coles Supermarket, the biggest I have ever seen, and I spent the most I have ever spent at one time. Everything is dearer due to cost of transport & this area is in high tourist season. Where we are going there is no corner store or ANYTHING. IT IS THAT 90k return trip to get anything.

The next 2 weeks will be quiet as we are Quondong Point & not sure of phone reception. Blessings to all.

11th July. Quondong Point, North of Broome.

A great road east, lots of caravans going both ways....the Grey Nomads are sure moving, plus schools holidays are over which puts a lot on the roads. We picked up the Satellite Dish at the Post Office that we had ordered from Perth & added it to the bedspread! Ready to unpack and assemble at our next stop.

9k east of Broome we tuned right onto the Cape Leveque Road...... Did I sa ROAD.....silly me. The first 10k were paved then it turned to corrugated red dust/sand and rocks, within 2k there was a sign to a Pearl Farm & other places.BUT....we didn't read it!!!!! What felt like 100k further north (well, perhaps I am exaggerating) Dearly Beloved decided to ask someone the direction......."Remember the turn to the Pearl Farm? That sign says to Quondong Point!".....Well Dearly Beloved did a a 10 point turn, blocking some vehicles both ways! And then we returned the 100k corrugated red dust/sand and rocks to the turn off (do I ever exaggerate?) then in another 15k to the Indian Ocean, Western Australia.its a case of choose a spot & park there.

We were in a dip but old see the ocean but only got spasmodic phone reception & set to TRYING to set up the Satellite Dish. OK no success but good practice..

Great sleep, gently lulled by the waves.

About 11.30am next day, Brian suggested we move to a spot 200 meters away with a beautiful view of the ocean.......pack up, drive, unpack, set up, try the Satellite Dish again & find we need registration. Did this with help from Christy in Melbourne but it appears we are missing one cable!!! Dearly Beloved is very calm over it all, and we will go to Broome soon & stay a couple of days and get it sorted out. Also I've been told to have a 'Mango Smoothie' while there!

Our position is lovely, quite a wind today and we have seen both high & low tides. As Grandaughter Sheena would say "Sigh......This is the life"

The next 2 photos were taken from the one spot, back to back.

Why move?

.

8th July Derby.

We have had 3 days here at Kimberley Entrance Caravan Park. It's huge, 200 powered sights as well as all the other types of accommodation. We have had a beautiful site, very close to 1st class ammenities so we get to see plenty of passers by. Next door were very friendly & Tobin & I talked for ....well a long time!

Day 1 drove round to get our bearings, s very unusual town, in fact I still haven't found a consolidated shopping area. Woolworths & a fuel station & Mitre 10 as you enter, still on the main highway & 1&1/2 k along the road there is an IGA a Butcher, a Coffee shop, a Home Hardware, Pharmacy & I think a gift shop. This latter group are very near our Park! Then it's straight on to the port. There is a school, police station & sports field. The 1&1/2k strip is duel highway with Boab trees along it, magnificent.

It is predominantly an Aboriginal town and has some sad history of the whit mans treatment of these people.

Day 2 We were on the road at 8am heading out the Gibb River Road, we expected it to be rough, but most of the 100k was paved, then we turned right to go to Windjana Gorge. Now that road was a different story!!! My delicate body has been shaken, jolted, battered & bruised in every area. My intrepid leader drove with the skill of Stirling Moss, but thank goodness not the speed. Windjana Gorge was worth it all. We, with, Tour Busses, campers, tourists of all ages read all the information signs and followed the trail into the a Gorge. The Kimberleys are a mountainous area with amazing rock formations.

We had to go through a short tunnel of rock before we saw the water.

Keep walking we were told, there are about 38 fresh water crocodile just lazing along the bank or floating around.

All the dark marks are crocodile 

I did the 1k return trip (using a stick for this sort of walk) & Brian went a bit further on , but there was nothing different.

A successful 'selfie'

We had our lunch at picnic tables in the 34 degrees then set off for Tunnel Creek.

This was as we expected, to difficult for me and Brian didn't have the correct footwear ( you will be walking in water in the Tunnel. He had a good excuse. We read up on the big protracted battle between White & Aboriginal? One particular man used this tunnel as his hideout from Police but was eventually killed at the entrance on the other side of the mountain. I had a good excuse for not even attempting it.....there were 2 Ambulances & a Volunteer Emergency Service vehicle in the parking lot.

The day before a person had a broken leg, there had been another one in the morning and now they were going in to get another patient (don't know what for)

Now we had to face the 170k back THE SAME WAY!!!. 

Passed a ute & camper on the side of the road, broken front axle, they had already contacted help.

I am convinced that Dinosaur walked this area......here is the 'poo' to prove it.

Actually they are Termite mounds of all size and shapes.

Our beautiful Izusu doesn't look as if it is loved any more.

Today was another round of sight seeing, the wharf at low tide

Now I will show youths end of the day, high tide

It's like the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia. Amazing. Canada has 15 meter tides, here is only 11 meters 

We went to the Prision Boab Tree, it was where they tied Aboriginal men prior to building prisons. Not a nice story.

This Biab tree is though to be around 1500 years old.

Near this area is the longest water trough because it was where cattle rested to be watered and fed before being shipped out at the port.

During WW11 this was also a base for Soldiers defending Australia. & we say the  6foot square concrete swimming pool that made for themselves.

On our travels we got 'lost' in the dessert!!

Just another thing to try. Much nicer than the trip to Windjara Gorge!

Well our stay in Derby is over, I'm stocked up for at least 6 nights free camping near Broome on the road to Cape Laveque. No communication for that time unless we go into Broome.