Derby to Fitzroy Crossing

It may be hard to believe but we have not heard much country music since we left home. Very few radio stations play country, and there are hundreds of kilometres where there is no radio reception. So it was good to hear Alec Beckett last night at our caravan park. He played country classics but forgot his lines a couple of times.

We drove to Fitzroy Crossing today and set up camp at the Fitzroy River Lodge which is beside the Fitzroy River. It is a pleasant park and we again scored a shady site when I explained we had no awning to provide protection for our dogs.

I went on a boat tour of the Geike Gorge which was fantastic. Anita stayed in the caravan park with the dogs because the Gorge is in a national park and dogs are not allowed. The Gorge is the only place of interest near Fitzroy Crossing other than the confluence of the Fitzroy and  Margaret Rivers which have very little water at this time of year. The Gorge has water all year round and it would be sensational to see it during a flood. It has been estimated that the volume of water passing through Fitzroy Crossing is so high it would fill Sydney Harbour in 4 hours. The sand washed up from the bottom of the Gorge scourers the limestone cliffs and leaves them white up to the water line. There were a few fresh water crocs resting along the banks.

We came here 16 years ago as part of a 4WD tag-along-tour. The reason the tour guide took the group to town was to watch the Aboriginals leaving the pub early in the morning, and to view the mountains of beer cans. We were disgusted this was considered some form of entertainment and did not participate. Today I asked at the information centre about the current policy regarding liquor and was told the only alcoholic drinks that can be sold in town are low alcohol beer (no more than 2.7%). It is against the law for people to bring other alcohol into the town and sell it, but it is ok to bring it in for personal use.

The women elders instigated a community ban on most alcohol about 8 years ago after 50 people had died either from domestic violence, assaults or suicide. There has been a great transformation to the town but it still has to deal with the consequences of previous alcohol abuse such as of foetal alcohol syndrome disorders. 

Around Derby

The main attraction at Derby is the wharf where people go to see the impact of the macro tides. The tide variation is the highest in the southern hemisphere, anything up to 11m. The area around the town is tidal mudflats so when the tide is out there is a large expanse of mudflat which cars drive across but I can't see why.

Boab trees are protected in this area and the most famous is the prison tree which is estimated to be 1500 years old. It is not very attractive as it is surrounded by a fence and covered in engravings by vandals. The boab photo I prefer is at One Mile Camp where drovers used to rest before their sheep or cattle were loaded at the wharf.

Tonight at the caravan park country singer Alec Beckett is performing. Tomorrow we head for Fitzroy Crossing.

Derby WA

We finally left Broome and drove to Derby, a trip of 220kms. There was still a fair amount of traffic even though the school holidays have finished. From Broome we travelled east to rejoin the Great Northern Hwy. We crossed a couple of single lane bridges which was surprising given the volume of traffic and the fact this is part of Highway No 1.

We have seen hundreds of termite mounds along the roads but in one section we travelled today they resembled a graveyard, hence the pics.

Derby is 42kms off the highway to the north. We had booked into the Kimberley Entrance Caravan Park on the recommendation of several other travellers. Originally we planned to stay just one night but when I was booking in I decided it would be worth a two night stay. The park is lovely - there is plenty of shade for the van and the dogs which is good as we have no awning, the facilities are clean and modern, and the park is spacious. There is a tall cyclone fence around the boundary, which is reassuring as there are tidal mud flats the other side of the boundary closest to us so the fence will keep out those pesky crocs!

Woman Lost at Port Smith Lagoon

News of a woman being lost in the Port Smith Lagoon probably didn't reach the eastern states. As we were there recently we could appreciate how easy it would have been to become disoriented. The ABC news report stated A 76-year-old woman has been rescued after spending 20 hours stranded in crocodile-infested waters in Western Australia's Kimberley with her two dogs. I am not sure the waters should be described as croc infested but at least one croc is known to be living in the lagoon.

When the tide is out there is no clear marker to show how to return to the road up to the caravan park. At least this story had a happy ending for the woman and her dogs. She managed her diabetes with lollies she was carrying and wrapped her arms in dog litter bags to keep off the sandflies. She climbed up a mangrove tree with the two dogs but she was still up to her neck in water until the tide receded.

The police were not immediately available to organise a search so one of the caravan park regulars rounded up other park visitors to form a search party. Fortunately he had considerable search and rescue experience and eventually one of the searchers in a dinghy heard the dogs barking and she was located. The picture is compliments of the ABC.

Hanging out in Broome

Tonight we enjoyed a lovely meal at a restaurant called 18 Degrees. We shared a number of small seafood dishes. Last night we ate at the Mangrove Hotel which was just as nice but more conventional fare. That is the hotel where people go to see the stairway to heaven when the full moon rises in the east over the tidal flats at low tide. We will miss the next full moon as we are leaving Broome on Monday.

We have been able to drive around in the Jeep which seems to be fine with its new battery and alternator compliments of Jeep Assist. The problem may have been caused by our Jeep service centre at the Gold Coast fitting a lead acid battery instead of an Absorbent Glass Mat (AGM) battery. The AGM batteries are much more expensive. The battery sent up from Perth cost more than $500 excluding transport, and the alternator was $2,000. When the towing costs, hire car charges and my accommodation costs for one night are added in, supplying the wrong battery was an expensive mistake. One of the conditions of our extended warranty is that we have regular services by a Jeep dealer and use genuine Jeep parts!

The winds have eased but the temperatures are still lower with maximums around 27 degrees. We are hoping to have a warmer weekend so we can go for a swim at Cable Beach and take the dogs for a dip to wash off some of their red dust. This evening we joined hundreds of others viewing the sunset at Cable Beach to take the mandatory photo. I  didn't realise I had caught a kayaker in the reflected light on the sea because of the glare at the time I took the photo.

I enjoyed the music played by the Aboriginal buskers at the sunset gathering but noticed hardly anyone else made a contribution to their collection box.

Windy Broome

Winds over the past three days have made the beaches less attractive. This morning the tide was receding and Roebuck Bay had white caps, while the water at the shoreline was grey instead of the usual turquoise. 

Yesterday the awning on our caravan succumbed to wind gusts which have reached 40kph. We would have taken it down earlier but it is risky taking it down in the wind so we secured it with a wide strap over the top to stop the material from billowing. This worked well until the framework of the awning itself gave way with a bang. At least that didn't happen in the middle of the night.  

We have been resting in Broome waiting for the Jeep parts to arrive. They turned up yesterday so hopefully we will get the vehicle back today. We want to drive it around Broome for a couple of days to make sure it is ok before leaving for more remote areas. If the Jeep is ok we will be leaving Broome on Monday morning when the school holiday traffic should have gone.

There are some very serious 4WD adventurers in our caravan park. They have travelled the Gibb River Road and other remote tracks. We visited those parts 16 years ago so will not be driving those roads this time, except possibly some day trips in the areas north of Broome on the Cape Leveque peninsula. There are very few roads near the coast so the best way to see the area is by boat or from the air. Next time we will take a 4 or 5 day cruise along the Kimberley coast.

Broome Town Beach

The Town Beach is only a couple of blocks from our caravan park but dogs are not allowed. The beach itself is only a hundred metres wide. We walked around the boat ramp, the playground which includes a water park with sprays and showers to keep the kids cool, the picnic area and a café. To the north the bay has beautiful red cliffs and red sand.

There are mangroves either side of the beach and this warning sign caught my attention - the most recent crocodile sighting in the area had been on 6 July 2016 at 12.30pm. Despite this there were still a few swimmers in the water and plenty of footprints in the sand near the mangroves!