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.