So here’s the third and last blog about Rocky’s adventures on the road, it’s the stretch between Broome and Darwin. Enjoy and feel free to like and share my stories!
Day 30 | 7562 [0]
Broome
We get to Parksy’s place in the afternoon, he just got home and I see how Trish’ description of their old friend comes to life. Parksy’s a jolly big fella, with a rolling laughter that’ll bring a grin upon your face no matter what happened throughout your day.
It’s a lively place with three dogs and four kids, ranging from 4 to 16 years old. Once the little ones go to bed, our evening is filled with lots of catching up on their shared road train driving past. Needless to say we have to have a few drinks to keep our throats from drying of all the talking…
A long morning walk on the beach with two very excited dogs puts my head back on the right way. Broome has a long pearling history and still thrives of the pearly shells. We enter a logger museum which displays the history of this tricky business, when pearlers were still going down with the nautical helmet and getting the bends more often than not.
As we stroll through the hot streets we agree the town is pretty much like a smaller Darwin. It’s hot, there’s wasted aboriginals on most corners and the main street is full of tourist shops and tour operators. The beauty of Broome though, is that it lies directly on the coast and the glittering turquoise waves can be seen from the main street during high tide. They flood the green mangrove completely and make the sandflies jump up, straight onto our skin, making us scratch our limbs frantically as we go.
One attraction not to be missed here is Matso’s brewery, famous for its ginger beer that’s actually a beer instead of a soda. We get a table with view over the big blue and I order a good old paw paw salad, together with a taste of five. Both beautifully served. It’s one of those moments when everything’s just right and I don’t want it to end. The perfect temperature with a slight breeze, the most delicious ginger beer I’ve ever tasted, great food served in an authentic setting and the background music tunes in to my favourite song.
The fun doesn’t stop here as we’ve come to Broome with perfect timing. A natural phenomenon called ‘staircase to the moon’ is happening tonight and Parksy drops us at the hotel-bar with the best view onto the spectacle. Staircase to the moon? This happens once a month in winter when the full moon rises over Broome’s mudflats on slack tide, raising a reflection on the thin layer of water while it rises, which appears to be a ladder. So basically, a very pretty moonshine on the low tide. The cue is the sound of a didgeridoo, and hundreds of people staring blankly into the black night sky. The horizon slowly reveals a hint of orange before the moon crawls upon the flats. Besides the commercial setting and hundreds of people using flash to capture the moon onto their screens (in my opinion these mofo’s shouldn’t be allowed to even be touching a camera), it is quite spectacular. Even Bob seems to appreciate the growing staircase, or maybe he’s mellowed because of the cold beer in his hand.
Day 31 | 7562 ~ 7787 [225]
Broome – Beagle Bay – Whimbrel Point (Cape Leveque)
Today I don’t wake with a headache but by Parksy tickling me out of bed and to keep the grin on my face, I then find him in the massive kitchen frying bacon and eggs for the whole family. I love the vibe of the big family.
Back on the road, unmissable Cape Leveque as destination for a couple of days. The road has some random patches of bitumen but it’s mostly loose sand. When we get to Cape Leveque’s highly rated Kooljaman camping grounds, people rush to the ledge (as much as the grey nomads can rush) to see the humpbacks do their pirouettes in the distance, sweet! It’s a busy place, planes fly in, tourbusses drive around and there’s only one camping spot left for us, where we find ourselves knee-deep in red sand. We leave it behind us and find an Aboriginal campground called Gumbanan. This is the opposite thing, no airplanes or commercial facilities like shops and eateries and no sounds except for the birds and the sound of the ocean. We’re stayin’ 🙂
We’re here during springtide, at the worlds biggest tropical tides with a maximum difference of 11 metres! So instead of exploring the surroundings we don’t do much after setting up camp, except for some horizon and ocean staring.
Day 32 | 21 August 7787 ~ 7813 [26]
Whimbrel Point – Cygnet Bay – One Arm Point – Whimbrel Point
I sleep with the flaps of my swag open and enjoy the sight of millions of stars.
Before the break of day, I head to a rocky outcropping to see the sun lighting up the skies. The sun crawls over the ocean and mirrors the fantastic colours of the sky onto it, you should have seen it, it was magnificent!
When the sun urges us to find a cooler spot, we go for a drive towards one arm pointand stop at Cygnet bay. Cygnet bay Pearl Farm is one of the last three in ‘Straya’ and the only one that’s fully operated by Australians and open to the public. The location of the pearl farm is a gem in itself, the bay stretches out as far as meets the eye and the white sand is coloured turquoise by the giant tide that’s rushing in again. The perfect place to learn about Pearl Farming, which I know nothing about. We’re led through the buildings and its surroundings while we learn about the details of farming the most exclusive little white balls on the planet. Did you know a pearl takes at least 2 years to harvest and up to 6 for a possibly big pearl? Or that the nets and shells need monthly manual cleaning to keep them healthy and thriving? Once Paul has shown us around, even opening a shell on the way to check out the pearl, we’re handed over to Lisa, the pearl expert who tells us more about the valuing of pearls. She tells us all about keshis and seedless pearls and we learn the qualifications pearls are rated on. Our pearl is graded too, it’s size is big with 13mm, has a round shape, white color but it has no ‘clean face’ and a poor luster. So what’s it worth? It’s big, round and white! I reckon it’s a shiny treasure! Disappointingly, it’s worth next to nothing, being rated a non-gem due to its poor luster, it’ll be sold for a per-kilo rate and grinded into cosmetics. I conclude the pearl farming business is like gambling…
We continue our tiki-tour to One Arm Point, home to the Bardi people who name it Ardiyooloon. They have a little hatchery of Trochus shells portraying more about the community than the actual shells. The Bardi are people of the ocean and the information on the tin walls share their well kept secrets with us, like how to make good spears and use poisonous plants to catch fish. We receive a small map drawn by the high school kids and are told to hit the long beach for a swim. Hesitant because of the crocs we check it out to find the most beautiful spot, with a bench under a tree and high tide almost fully covering the sandbanks – I’ll never get enough of this bright turquoise water.
We make lunch here, and I happily drink the last of my delicious ginger beers as I wade through the warm water. We’re all mesmerised by this beach and incapable of moving for a few hours.
Totally relaxed we get back to our patch of sand facing the ocean and I complete the beach day by, you guessed it… more beach. Sandflies appreciate my arrival but I don’t like their welcome committee on my legs, so I return to camp to find Bob chopping up a Giant Trevally he just caught. Fresh fish under the stars it is!
Day 33 | 22 August 7813 ~ 8028 [215]
Whimbrel Point- Broome
We pack up camp and chill for a while before we do the same long road back which is like a skateboarding halfpipe filled with sand, causing the car to make some odd movements. When we get back to Parksy’s place in Broome, Jessie and Jake are excited to see us again and the whole family joins for a walk towards Cable Beach. This beach is famous for its camel rides at sunset, but it looks much prettier for a bystander than the person riding the camel…
Day 40 | 29 August 9133 ~ 9360 [227]
Home Valley station – El questro gorge – Emma gorge – Kununurra – Lake Argyle
From Broome we head for a big adventure on the Gibb River Road, you can read the full story here. After the Gibb, we’re not quite in Darwin yet. From the rocks to the beach is how we roll, and it’s seriously beach time after all the rocky and sandy terrain of the Gibb. We’re not exactly headed to the beach, but to a lake the size of 18 Sydney harbours (can somebody tell me why all bodies of water are measured by Sydney’s harbour in this country?). Lake Argyle even has shipwrecks, waves and about 35.000 freshwater crocs, so it’s as good as a sea to me.
In Kununurra we restock, refuel and get refused for buying alcohol until each of our ID’s is checked. There’s aboriginal communities scattered throughout town, that’s why. Actually, Kununurra is a local aboriginal word meaning ‘meeting of big waters’ and was only established in 1961 as a service centre for the Ord River irrigation scheme, more about that later.
We pull into Lake Argyle Resort, where we’re presented with a lush green grassy camp-spot with a direct view over the lake and red cliffs, and that’s not all, there’s an infinity pool edging the campground, I fall in love with the place straight away and plunge into the pool even before the car’s unpacked.
Day 41 | 30 August | 9360 ~ 9387 [27]
Lake Argyle Inn – Ord river damm – Argyle Downs Museum – Into the Chopper!
Back to the facts; Kununurra’s most famous landmark is the Ord River Diversion Dam which was constructed in 1963 at a cost of roughly $20 millions and plays a big part in controlling the flow of water for the irrigation of crops in the area. The dam wall is 335 metres wide and contains gates which can be closed and opened depending on the need for water flow. The main crops grown in Kununurra are sandalwood, mangoes, chia, citrus and melons.
Before jumping in the car to explore the Dam and the surrounding area, I spontaneously sign up for a sunset helicopter flight, maybe I indulge because the end of Rocky’s roadtrip is in sight, but more likely because the pilot is almighty good-looking, so the views will be good in all angles…
Anyhow, after exploring the dam and a nearby pastoral museum, Nathan (aka hot pilot) comes to take us to the heli and gives us a briefing. Yaay, I get to go in the front!
The blades are spinning and when we lift from the ground, I start realising what I’ve signed up for, I’m going up flying with open doors! A wave of adrenaline rushes through my body, putting a big smile on my face that’s not coming off for the rest of the evening. Being in a chopper is great! Or maybe it’s the reassuring smile of my most favouritest pilot ever. Alright Fenna, back to the views outside of the chopper.. We zoom across immense Lake Argyle (1.000km2) and Nathan points out the cool stuff. I couldn’t care less to be honest as I’m playing with the 200Kmh airstream flowing past the chopper (and think to myself ‘so this must be how a dog feels when popping its head out of a moving car’). These 30 minutes literally fly by, and soon enough our camping comes back into sight and we’re back on the ground. This was fantastic! Where do I sign up to become chopper pilot?
At night we hit the beer garden and munch on parmy’s and massive burgers, while Rocky sneaks off on his own dodgy adventure. The next day we find him in a gutter with a ripped collar and bitemarks on his face… Playin’ like a bad boy with the dingos!
Day 42 | 31 August 9387 ~ 9914 [527]
Lake Argyle Inn – Timber Creek Viewpoint – Katherine
Once in Katherine, we’ve completed our loop and we’re back in well known territory landscape; the termite mounds, bushland, red soil and vivid blue skies are all signs that we’re heading home. One more stop in semi-wilderness; we get to spend two nights at Kim’s, a friend in Katherine. Her place makes for a smooth transition from bush to civilisation. She lives outside of town, on large golden lands with an interesting variety of animals. The first to greet us are the blue healer and tiny puppy chihuahua, followed by a shy but naughty bambi – yes, a real bambi! Bambi has a lot of friends in cages above who talk, they hold a a great variety of impressive tropical birds. …yes, it felt like walking into a live version of you tubes bambi ‘dat is een vogel’ (^_^)
Our days here are most easygoing, I run around the field with the kids, feed the birds with Kim and get a last glimpse of the stars while we chat and drink cold beers.
Day 43 | 1 September 9914 ~ 10229 [315]
Katherine – Darwin
Rocky’s had the trip of his lifetime! More than 10.000 kilometres on mostly unsealed roads! There’s red dust on everything we own, and washing it away won’t erase the lasting impression of this unique holiday.
The west coast of Australia is simply invented for roadtripping. With the largest stretch of coast in Australia and such a small population, you can easily cruise for days without crossing another human being or find your own little patch of paradise to pitch a tent and forget about the world. I have seen more stars than ever before, went to places so remote even google maps couldn’t pin them and saw countless precious natural wonders, beaches and animals! Visiting Australia without enjoying the west-coast would be like going to Paris and skipping the Eiffel Tower, simply not-done! So what are you waiting for?! Grab a swag, your best mates and don’t forget Rocky and some cold ginger beers!
Planet Bubbles 