WA - Dampier Peninsula

We left Broome with some regret. The town is actually quite nice, despite the tourist focus, and our trips around the place were pretty special, but it was time to head off up the Dampier Peninsula to see Middle Lagoon.

The drive there was wearing. Not especially tough in any technical sense, but the 80 odd klms of dirt road along the main road north up the Peninsula reintroduced us to corrugations and that gets old pretty quickly.

Just after the corrugations stopped we reached the turn off to Beagle Bay and we had to pay the obligatory visit to the church there. My mother would have been proud to see me voluntarily entering a Catholic Church again, but it really was just to see the way it has been decorated with mother of pearl shells everywhere, but on the altar in particular.

Beagle Bay is also the cleanest and tidiest indigenous community we have ever seen. Quite a surprise to find it so well looked after.

Then, after reaching the Middle Lagoon turnoff, we had another 32 klms of track to get to our camp spot on the coast. This track had to be taken pretty slowly, especially with the van in tow, as it had all sorts of terrain to tackle. Initially we were faced with softish sand which forced us to drop tyre pressures just to get through. Then we had corrugations, some of them pretty big and nasty, and then we had a long section that was obviously badly affected in the wet season as it was just a roller coaster road with holes and a soggy centre section. Then back to corrugations again. 

The reward was at the end. We were camped right over the beach so as we sat under the awning, or looking out from inside, the view was over the beach and out the the horizon somewhere over the ocean of crystal clear water. 

This, and the pics below, is the view from under the awning on the van. All we need to do is step down onto the beach.

Sunsets were a huge feature every evening

After the sun set we were invaded by hermit crabs. Thousands of them, crawling around picking through the sand and generally being very cute. The kids camped around the place were active in gathering up as many of these as they could catch, returning with buckets full of them before their parents got them to release them again. 

It was fun watching them.

We took a day trip up to the north of the peninsula, calling in at the Cygnet Bay Pearl Farm. This place is a working pearl farm (the oldest in Australia) and it is a gem of a place - pun intended!

The view from the cafe.

Just the end of the infinity pool that wraps around one side of the cafe.

They have tourist accommodation (as well as the tours of the farm for visitors) and there are pearls for sale. In among this is a cafe (the only licensed premises on the peninsula) that is well run and serves great coffee and apple tart. I am sure that they serve other equally good things, but that is what we had for morning tea. Right outside the cafe/restaurant is a cracker of a pool (necessary as they have crocs out on the beaches there) and the whole ambiance of the place was calm and efficient and welcoming.

Highly recommended.

We left there and headed to see Kooljamon at Cape Leveque, but this was disappointing. The camp ground looked regimented, the reception staff seemed uninterested in anything except grabbing the $5 per person entry fee (which we avoided paying by walking around the outside of the building and entering from the rear) and we just didn't feel comfortable there.

Yes, they have a lighthouse there so we visited it!

The white beach, blue ocean and the red pindan cliffs were in evidence and beautiful to see.

The western beach was cramped and had little to recommend it other than the contrast between the blue ocean, white sand and the red pindan cliffs. Actually, this scenery is the same as that found at Middle Lagoon although the pindan cliffs are higher at Cape Leveque.

We decided to have a late lunch there though and ordered fish and chips for two, but this was definitely not a local caught fish. Instead it loked just like the standard packet sized "white fish in batter" sold by Findus or Birds Eye. While this is an OK meal we were unimpressed with a vaunted resort like this serving it. 

The next day I went fishing and took a drive around to the mouth of a creek. I met a group of indigenous kids there who were just great - charming and happy looking, they were busy spearing mud crabs and gave me a demonstration of just how effective they are. It was an education to see a kid pick out a crab and spear it from the beach.

I started fishing and with my first four casts I landed three Long Toms. These are fish like a garfish, but much bigger with the biggest running to 50 cms or so. They have a lot of very sharp teeth though!  Ayway, the kids came along to bludge some matches from me (they wanted to cook their mud crabs) and they said I should put a big lure on and flick it over to the far shore of the creek. I did so and watched as a submarine came out and grabbed the lure. I think it was probably a Queensland Groper, but as it just swam off with my lure and ended up smashing the internals of my reel I guess I will never know. 

The rest of our time there was consumed with walks, reading, swimming and chatting around the camp fire.

Bloody magic!

WA - Broome

Leaving Carawine (after that extra night) was hard as it is just a gorgeous place and one I would highly recommend to anyone.  The drive out took us 50 minutes to cover the 13 klms, largely because we didn't want to shake the interior of the van around too much. It then took another 15 minutes to pump the tyres back up to road pressures. Only then could we hit the road proper and head north to Broome.

We decided to not spend any time along the Eighty Mile Beach as our time is actually running short if we want to get back to reclaim our house, pull our stuff out of storage and get set up in time before we head off on this South Seas cruise we have booked ourselves onto.

We will catch up with this beach area some time in the future. 

Still, the drive to Broome will take us a couple of nights so we planned to take advantage of the rest areas that WA have been putting in everywhere. These are not just a layby next to the road, but they are each a small complex of roads with lots of places to park a caravan. They always seem to have toilets and dump points and sheltered areas and BBQs etc. in short, they are almost like a free caravan park. 

Did I mention before that I just love WA?

The first stop was at the De Grey River and featured shady sites along the river bank. We took one a bit further away as we were a bit lazy about finding the best spot, but it was still very nice and we had lots of room around us.

The second stop was at the Goldwire East area and while it had no river it was just as comfortable.

We booked ourselves into a caravan park (The Roebuck Bay park) and blagged a spot right on the beach with views out to the ocean. Lovely! 

This was the view from under our van awning. Excuse the bins, but this is real life you know!

Talking of real life - this is me just stretching my legs on the beachfront near the van. The trees in the backgrund seemingly flooded by the sea are mangroves and yes, they are flooded by the sea.

We took a drive out to Gantheaume Point to take a walk around there and to check out the dinosaur footprints.

The last time we were there we missed them.

Anyway, it was a beautiful day.

After that, we took a drive to see Cable Beach. One of the most beautiful beaches in the world.

It is also seemingly a busy beach, but there is so much of it that you can always find a quiet spot.

We found ours in the cafe overlooking the beach where we had a cracking coffee.

The beach is lovely during the day, but it is at sunset that it comes into its own and that's when having a 4WD helps too.

Sun setting over the ocean.

The two of us waiting for sunset - we'd brought wine and beer in the car fridge and a couple of chairs so we settled in after this pic.

I love this one - setting sun reflections on the wet sand and the ocean.

And then the camels arrived.

I like this photo, it is atmospheric and the boat in the background adds depth.

Once we drove off the beach we called in at the Sunset Bar. Not an imaginative name, but a lovely place. Steep prices though! 

This was the view from our seats there.

Broome gave us shopping and some great memories. These include the simple pleasures of just watching the ocean, exploring the Gantheaume Point area, watching a movie at the Sun Cinema (the oldest outdoor movie theatre in Australia, opening in 1916) and that evening on Cable Beach.

WA - Marble Bar and Carawine Gorge

The drive to Marble Bar was a strange experience really. The landscape was largely bare and looked almost like a Lowry painting of the bush would look - matchstalk trees rather than people would the same feeling of desolation although this is a Martian landscape and not one of Lowry's industrial townscapes.

We eventually arrived at the "Hottest Town in Australia" - so called because it had temperatures of over 100F (37.8C) for 160 consecutive days back in 1923/24. It isn't a very impressive town though and even the Iron Clad hotel (the one real iconic location in the town) doesn't look too flash - you'd walk straight past it unless you were looking for the sign.

We called in there for lunch and were treated to a frosty bitch of a barmaid who pointedly ignored us in favour of serving the locals, even when that local pointed me out and said that I was there first. Piss poor I call it.

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The marble bar, after which the town is named, is a rock bar that goes across the nearby river. It is actually jasper and not marble, but it looks good though

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We drove back through town and went to buy fuel only to find that the servo (which is also the only shop in town) is closed (for lunch) between 12pm and 3pm. It doesn't open on Saturday at all and only on Sunday morning. Fortunately we had enough fuel on board to get to Carawine Gorge and back anyway so that wasn't a real drama for us.

The drive in to the gorge, after 150km of bitumen, is a rough dirt track that has a few creek crossings and lots of places where the track has been washed away and rutted. This didn't present any great problem for us apart from slowing us down to a crawl in a few places. At one point, faced with a steep but badly rutted incline, I even chose to drop it into low range to make it easier to crawl up. Fun though, as long as it doesn't go on for too long. The 13km track in took us about 50 minutes to negotiate. If anyone reading this chooses to visit then take my advice and when you reach the fork in the road on the track in (this is right next to the station's air strip) take the right fork if you are towing anything. The left fork will take you a little further upstream in the gorge but the land there is surfaced with some very soft, Whaley rock rubble and it would be very easy to get bogged.

Carawine Gorge is a river course with a wide shale/sand/earth floodplain on one side with some steep gorge walls on the other side. It was awesome at first sight.

Once in we checked out the obvious camping spots and chose one that faced the water but was sheltered by trees and reasonably level. 

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We set up and organised ourselves and then relaxed with a beer to watch the huge flocks of corellas swooping around as they looked for a place to roost for the night. Noisy buggers I can tell you, but they are a pretty sight.

The next day we took a walk up and down the gorge. Normally this place would have crystal clear, blue water and be a great place to fish and swim, but ater all the rain that the cyclone dumped the water is now a murky brown colour. Still, it is a pretty place with the sun on it and while the fishing may be off it seems that the herons and the pelicans can find enough to keep them interested.

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Camp fire tonight and damper made in the camp oven. This turned out to be the best damper I have made. Cheesy topping on a light damper. Yum.

We enjoyed being there so much that we decided to stay another night despite the fact that we will then hit Marble Bar for fuel on a sorry day. Ah well. If we need to hang around for another night then it wouldn't be the end of the world.

WA - Port Hedland

Port Hedland wasn't anywhere near as objectionable as we remember from last time here. It is still an ugly city of mining gear and high vis workwear but it has grown tremendously and the really crappy parts seem to be being swallowed by the growth.

We stayed at the Cooke Point van park and booked the Pajero in for an oil and filter change.

While we were in PH it was Karen's birthday and we went out to the Esplanade Hotel in town for dinner. Backpacker service again but the meal was good and the surroundings were actually really nice. 

Off to one side was a grassy area (dining was al fresco) and a small stage was set up with a DJ playing music.

While we were ordering a woman had gone onto the stage and was singing. Well, squawking anyway. I asked the waitress if it was a karaoke night and she said "Oh no. It's live music tonight " to which I replied "What? She gets paid for that?". I think I might have been a bit sharp, but the woman sounded horrible. Anyway, it did actually turn out to be a talent competition so I wasn't that far wrong.

Car service was completed a couple of days later and we were a bit surprised by the cost. Still, that's what you get out here.

Around the same time we discovered that we had a leak in our plumbing somewhere as the rear boot was flooding. It turned out to be a Hot water system leak and it was fixed for us by one of our neighbours. A very generous couple called Graham and Gail. We owe them a lot for the help, tools and spare parts they provided.

We took their contact details and we will keep in touch.

So, having done all we needed to do in PH we packed up and decided to detour down to Marble Bar and on to Carawine Gorge.



Ah yes, Carawine Gorge - what a magic place this is. The road into it is a little tricky with a van in tow. Some of the dry creek crossings need care to avoid dragging your arse through the dirt, but it is a lovely place to be once you get to the gorge.

The gorge is on a cattle property and provides watering for the animals so you get visitors wandering through the camp like this stack of steaks above. Magnificent animals though. 

The views above are up and down the gorge from our camp. It isn't a magnificent, steep sided gorge, but it is beautiful and the bird life was everywhere.

Yep - we had a camp fire and I cooked up some damper.

We spent a few nights at Carawine and walked and relaxed and chatted and just enjoyed the tranquility of the place. It is highly recommended.

We traveled back through Marble Bar and stopped off at the cafe next to the police station where we enjoyed some home cooking and a cold drink before wandering off towards Broome.

WA - Karijini

We left the Cape Range and, after refuelling and taking on water in Exmouth, we headed across towards Karijini NP.

The drive was interesting. We left the coastal flats and ranges and headed east. The next 250km were a roller coaster ride over sand dunes. These dunes ran from North to South and were pretty tall. This country changed so that the dunes became decomposed rocky ridges - they looked like rubble but are just ridges that are being eroded. Later on, as we approached the Pilbara, the ridges became solid and red. Interesting to see.

The first night we made it as far as Beasley River (close on 600 klms) before we stopped for the night at a place near the river itself. Quiet and peaceful, we were joined by a few people and had a chatty evening before dinner.

We travelled through Paraburdoo to get to the town of Tom Price where we refuelled (cheapest fuel for a long time) and hit the Coles supermarket before topping up the water tanks. Tom Price is a beautiful little town - so much nicer than a mere "mining town" and friendly as well. 

Karijini Nat Park was our destination and we called into the Dales Campground and booked a site for a few nights.

Dales Gorge is right next to the campground so that was our first stop. We walked to the gorge rim and followed the steep track down. I had my knee supports on as I expected a lot of impact on my knees, and I wasn't wrong. The track down was steep, uneven and painful but we knew the rewards would be there. The first spot we stopped at was Fortescue Falls.

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As you can see, it is a very pretty place indeed, but it was only one stop along the track for us and we walked on along the gorge floor to Fern Pool, dodging the branches of fig trees and scrambling over boulders as we went.

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A beautiful and serene place, it is deserving of the attention it gets and since our last visit here some seven years ago, the Parks people have built a beautiful deck area on which to relax and take in the view.

From there we walked back, past Fortescue Falls, and travelled the gorge floor for a few klms. The gorge has some severe floods raging through it at times and the signs of them were everywhere, but there are also quiet pools of crystal clear water and stands of magnificent trees.

Did I ever mention that I loved WA? Well this place is one of the reasons - it is just gorgeous.

At the far end of the gorge we found Circular Pool. Not really circular, it is still a lovely and cool place to visit. 

Karijini - one day and I am hooked again.

We climbed the unbelieveably steep track out of the gorge, climbing steel ladders in places to get past the absolutely vertical spots, and ended up wandering back into our camp where we collapsed for a while before doing some of the chores that never seem to get left behind. Washing clothes for example, and doing it all by hand. 

A day later, and were were driving out to Weano and Knox gorges to do the same thing again and we found these places (which we hadn't seen before) to be just as entrancing as Dales. 

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Neither was as demanding on the body as Dales however, but the fatigue was building up so we'll have a rest day tomorrow.

Before we returned to camp though we thought we'd call into the Eco Resort for a coffee. What a disappointment this was. It is supposed to be a five star resort of individual safari tents supported by the most luxurious infrastructure you could imagine. 

Nothing could be further from the truth.

The reception had been poorly integrated into the bar (to save staffing numbers?) and the staff seemed to be ill trained backpackers. There was a resident there complaining bitterly that his $315 a night tent had no power so his fan, TV etc would not work. The backpacker on duty was just telling him that the power was unreliable and he just needed to put up with it.

When we eventually got served we opted for a beer and wine as trusting these people to make coffee didn't seem to be a good idea. So when my beer was served in the can and Karen's wine came in a plastic glass we were disappointed but not surprised.

Five star resort? I don't think so.

Then again, this would certainly not be the first business owned by an aboriginal corporation that had been built (by whitefellers) using government grants and opened with a great fanfare only to be then ignored and allowed to deteriorate and fall apart while the people who control the corporation rape buggery out of it and fund their own lives.

It was no surprise that even though this is an aboriginal enterprise designed to provide jobs and a sense of pride for aboriginal people, there wasn't a single aborigine working there that we saw.

We went back to camp feeling sad about it all.