Clare and Ross - a van, no plan.

IGA at Fitzroy Crossing quite well supplied with fresh goods.....$16.50 for a punnet of blueberries, $8.50 for one of strawberries. Strong police presence ...patrolling the camp ground and parked in the car park of IGA. Everything and everyone seemed peaceful. Short drive today to Mimbi caves were we joined a tour by a local Aboriginal custodian. The caravan park nearby is new and nicely maintained....no power or water....lots of open space.... Double booking of our campsite....fortunately there were plenty of sites available.......dingos looking very healthy in the grass. Extensive cave system with water in pools...some parts very dark and tunnels through the rock made by water.....in the wet the caves fill completely....debris near the roof of the biggest cavern. It is the same Devonian rock laid down as a coral reef 35 million years ago that we have seen at Windjana and Geikie Gorges. Damper and tea after touring the caves . Wine and cheese with our neighbour

Tennis on a hard Court.....very bouncy! After lunch we put the kayaks in the water in Geikie Gorge.....we had the whole gorge to ourselves.... spectacular! What could be better floating down the still water looking for crocs on the banks, sunlight reflecting off the cliffs. Definately an evening for a glass of wine and cheese and biscuits sitting outside..... Stars in a clear sky and no mozzies......heaven!

Leaving Derby we explored Mowanjum art gallery.... excellent presentation of Aboriginal art and history of the local communities. Driving to Fitzroy Crossing ....huge old Boab at our lunch spot....amazing hollow ancient trees....lush foliage and flowering so clearly in a good position. Quick unhitch of the caravan at Fitzroy Crossing as we are booked on a 4pm boat trip up Geikie Gorge. Boat was full unfortunately (80people)! Beautiful cliffs to the gorge with deep permenant water......setting sun brought out the stunning orange in the cliff walls. In the wet season the water level is top of the white rock. Freshwater crocks on the banks. We will return with our kayaks tomorrow and enjoy a quiet paddle....the Ranger feels it is quite safe to do so, despite Crocodiles, Bull Sharks and Swordfish😃

Windjana Gorge 120km up the Gibbs River Road accompanied by Dillon an aboriginal guide who over the day told us the story of Jandamarra and the resistance of the Bunuba people to occupation of their lands by white man...showing us the places where events took place. A spectacular gorge with a permanent spring supplying it. There was a week long meeting of Bunuba people at the gorge to teach the children about their country, traditions, stories, bush medicine, hunting and cooking....they were fishing and swimming. We went on to Tunnel creek.....a river has made a tunnel right through the mountain range. Inside it was dark....walking through water then swimming to a mid point where it is open to the sky. Small (freshwater) crocodiles in the water....red eyes reflecting our lights. The end to the story and singing and rhythm sticks from our guide.

We have had an amazing day. Flew Derby to the falls in a sea plane....extensive mud flats around Derby with creeks and rivers branching over the flats. Circled the falls before our very smooth sea landing. Swimming in a cage with sharks on the outside...tawny nurse sharks and Bull sharks. The tide was coming in and we were there just before high tide....1 Meter drop in the water through the wide gap the speed of flow of the water was amazing as we raced through. We were unable to go through the narrow gap as the drop from one side to the other was 3 Meters and the turbulence huge......we returned after lunch and the water had leveled out before turning to a flow out the other way....so we could go through. Flight back over the islands of King Sound.... beautiful!

Started the day at Derby Boab prison tree....thought to be 1500 yrs old. A site where Aboriginal people captured in the Kimberley (in the 1890's)  mostly for no good reason.....were chained by the neck  and held on route to Derby prison.....very sad. Nearby is a well feeding a long trough ....500 bullocks at a time are said to have drunk here as cattle were driven over vast distances to Derby. Derby itself is spread out....a circular wharf on the mud flats, Norval gallery with lots of local Aboriginal artists exhibiting and several painting as we watched. Drinks at the Spinifex hotel....cool and nice 

Today we spent the day on Birdwood Downs station. Cattle are the main game with calves in a close paddock. Very dry countryside, dusty with tough vegetation, more trees though than some areas we have been. 1 loan bright light amongst the dust. Frogs in the shower, mozzies better today, very hot ?35 Some magnificent Boab trees. We played some boardgames and started teaching ourselves Bridge..... truely retired!!! Very peaceful day!

Quick coffee at our favourite cafe on Town Beach.....not really quick....infact quite a long coffee break watching the tide go out and events on the beach. Onward to Birdwood Downs station just short of Derby and on the beginning....or end ....of The famed Gibb River Road A cattle station....lots of calves in the paddock next to us, chooks of all breads and an albino peacock. Also millions of mosquitos....we were dripping in repellant which seemed to work.....no itching so far!

OMG we have a problem..... Somewhere along the corrugated road to Cape Leveque the 12 pin plug and Anderson plug have disconnected.....and got shredded. No lights or brakes on the van....not good. It seems there is a shortage of auto electricians in WA.....4 weeks wait to replace our plugs. Luckily someone mentioned a caravan repairer here for the season living in one of the caravan parks.....happy to oblige! We drove very carefully back to Broome....fortunately little traffic and no police. We joined him at Broome caravan park and joy of joys!!!! And they have a fantastic swimming pool!

There are 2 sides to Cape Leveque....Cygnet Bay pearls where we are camped and on the other side Kooljaman point run by the local Aboriginal community. Kooljaman wins hands down......2 spectacular beaches....East and West.....built boardwalk to East beach. West Beach.....red cliffs, white sand and blue water. Just a quick dip....no crocs or sharks in sight....but over lunch we found out that a man spear fishing a little down the coast was attacked by a tiger shark this morning.....so take care! Food was good at both places....we tried both of course! Nice pool at Cygnet Bay.

Explored the town beach area and Roebuck Bay. Tide coming in over the mangroves....aboriginal kids fishing with spears. Staircase to the moon not happening until the end of the month so we will miss that. Cheese and bickies on Cable Beach for another impressive sunset .......and there is that boat again right on cue!

Dirt road out to Willie Creek Pearl farm. Cultivated oysters ...the whole process explained and demonstrated......left us feeling sorry for the oysters.....irritated for years by a foreign body they cannot get rid of.....forced open and reseaded 4 times then killed. The pearls were beautiful though. We harvested one.....very small Boat trip on Willie Creek ...2 saltwater crocodiles on the banks....no swimming here. Tide is 8 Meters so very forcefully rushing in and covering sand banks and mangroves.....water is a very inviting aqua colour.

Gantheaume Point....Red rocks stacked up and weathered.....blue sparkling ocean.... crystal clear water. Dinosaur foot prints are supposed to be visible at low tide.....clearly the tide was not low enough! Spectacular spot. Lunch watching the crowd walk by in Chinatown. Sunset on Cable Beach.....the tide was soooo far out. Wonderful colours ...people on the dunes, cars on the North end of the beach, people all over the beach, bongo drums, coconuts, fishermen, sailing boat...... all watching and waiting for the rapid setting of the sun.

Sunday markets in the courthouse grounds....not as busy as last time we were here but fun to wander. Lunch at Mateo's Brewery....mango chilli bear and ginger beer. Boab trees lining the streets.....love those trees! The main Chinatown section has all the roads closed as they are being repaved....getting ready for the boom of people on half price tickets in a month's time. Nice pool at the caravan park....beach is now officially off limits due to crocodiles. Spent the evening at the open air cinema....stars and the moon above the screen on a perfect warm, still evening.....a Qantas jet took off half way through the movie....directly over the screen and us....strange experience!

Before leaving visited the beach...tide was out so the water had retreated a long way. The beach stretched in both directions as far as we could see.....maybe it really is 80 miles long. Driving to Broome.... Desert Desert Desert Roadhouse Desert Desert Desert Broome......horray!!

A day of thing that go on and on. Port Headland for lunch.....massive salt mine as you approach town....supersized pyramids of salt.... doesn't it dissolve when it rains? Leaving town we were stopped as an ore carrying train approached a road crossing.....it was the longest train ever....must have been at least 3 km long.....just as it finished another one came going the other way!!!! How lucky can you be.....15 minute wait. Desert as far as we can see .....straight roads no curves, no bumps....just straight. Can you see the second train taking up the whole horizon? Arrived at 80 mile beach at dusk (photo tomorrow)....lots of tiny kangaroos on the access dirt road.

We have had 2 days at Point Sampson....2 lovely beaches with tides that vary by 41/2 Meters so low lide leaves a large rocky empty lagoon but high tide there was a spectacular swimming beach. One called Honeymoon Cove.....we had both beaches to ourselves! Lots of large white lipped sea mullet  and long pipe fish in the harbour but no-one seemed able to catch them. We have been bitten alive by flies, ants at Millstream, mozzies everywhere and now devoured by sandflies....we are covered in itchy red lumps.

Drove round to Python pool, shaken to bits by 20km of corrugations. Spectacular views of the Chichester Ranges as we approached. A beautiful permenant water hole at the bottom of huge red rock cliffs....no waterfall now but in the wet Python creek creates a waterfall into it. It was amazing to float in the pool looking up at the red cliffs and blue sky. Had it completely to ourselves for 45 mins then a few others arrived. Returning we climbed Mt Herbert for a 360 degree view of the Chichester Ranges.....Flat plains surrounded by strange shaped mountains.

Dingos howling in the night. Rode our bikes along the Red Roo trail.....red dirt and mostly little rocks...through the shrubs. Lots of things flowering but all new to us. An attractive grevilla, wattles in flower, Mulla Mulla...very nice, in a weedy sort of way. Rode to a cliff top lookout over the Fortescue River....amazing to see so much water when the land is so dry. On to Deep Reach....a wide section of the river where we could have lunch and swim. The water was ochre...no visibility..,fish nibbling us in the water. Flocks of Cockatiels on the far bank. They would all take to the air at once (eagles circling), but then land in the next tree. We did not meet a 6m long Pilbara Olive Python much to Ross' dismay. Nice breeze today so not too hot. Wine cheese and crackers at 4, as you do when there is no TV or internet.

Happy Mother's Day!! Morning tea in Karatha...lots of nice phone calls and messages. 2 hrs drive to Millstream Chichester NP engrossed in "Where the Crawdads Sing' ...our latest audiobook, an intriguing story of a girl growing up in the North Carolina wetlands. Following the train line back to Tom Price....lots of those 2.5 Km long automated trains taking the iron ore to Dampier to load into the waiting ships. We know the whole cycle now! Water lying beside the roads but not any of note on the roads. Grey kangaroos all about at our campsite...inquisitive, checking us out. Walked over to the old homestead.....used to be a sheep station until taken over as a National Park. Sturts Desert Peas just growing wild with their stunning red flowers.

Short drive to a new National Park full of ancient rock art....some of it thought to be over 40,000 years old.....hard to imagine that when looking at the drawings, kangaroos, goannas, emus....there are supposed to be thousands of drawings amongst these piles of Red rocks. Hearson's  Cove on the opposite side of the headland to the port....it's beach was made entirely of shells. Piles of Red rocks making up the headland. We do not like the way 4 wheel drivers drive along the beach then park on the beach......Get Out And Walk!!!!. Paid our respects to the Red Dog memorial.....as everyone does. Evening drinks at the Mermaid Hotel then Saturday night entertainment....the Dampier Sharks playing The Hedland Hero's......a win to the local side left the audience very happy.