The Pilbara

Our first stop after returning to Broome was Eighty Mile Beach.  We were really excited about going there as each time we met a West Australian on our trip they raved about it.  We were told that on getting to the end of the dirt road off the Great Northern Highway and seeing the beach we would say “wow”. On cue we did.  It was a little windy but the beach was great and stretched as far as the eye could see.  Each morning we got up early and went for long walks on the beach and collected shells.  I have now posted all the shells home.  Another camper even called me the shell queen.

leaving 80 mile beach

Some of the shells I left behind at 80 mile beach

The next stop was the mining town of Port Hedland which did not impress us, although our caravan park at Point Cooke was situated on a lovely beach.  It was interesting to see BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto both operating in the town even if Rio only seemed to be salt mining.

Rio tino salt Port Hedland

We then went inland to Karijini National Park, another place that West Australians consistently recommended to us.  Just before we got there a young boy and his father had fallen from one of the cliffs.  The father died and the boy was very seriously injured.  This meant that this particular gorge, Dale’s Gorge, was closed and so we weren’t sure whether to go there.  However it opened the day after our arrival and what a wonderful place it is.  It is aptly named as it is exciting, challenging and very beautiful.  It is the only gorge we have been to where you can walk both on the base of the gorge alongside the river and on the rim of the gorge.  We did all the walks and loved it.  We also swam in Fern Pool and Circular Pool which was right at the base of the gorge.  It was just lovely, the water was cold but after the long walks just what was needed.  We also swam at Kalimina Falls.  We were lucky to meet two farming couples from the WA wheat belt town of Coorow and have been invited to stay at their farms on the way to Perth and we are really looking forward to this.

Fern Pool -Dales Gorge

Fortescue Falls

A Bustard in the bush - (bird)

Swimming in Circular pool - Dales gorge

overlooking the escarpment of Dales gorge

Circular Pool from lookout

Next stop was Nanutarra Roadhouse which was constantly recommended to us as a place not to stay.  It was dry and dusty but the Ashburton River flowed nearby and the scene from the viewing area was lovely and peaceful.

Ashburton River

We then went to Exmouth and Ningaloo Reef.  One of the great pleasures of the trip has been the people we have met and we caught up with the great families in Exmouth  Alan and Craig from Berwick had camped with us at Fitzroy Crossing, Derby, Broome and 80 Mile Beach where we said goodbye to them.  And then there they were an Exmouth.  We also saw our artist friend Scott and his wife Robyn from Crescent Head and Jason and Sandy and their kids from Langwarren who we first met at Katherine.  It was like old home week.

Prior to leaving home my kids gave me a hard time cos I didn’t like putting my head under water (even in the bath they reckoned).  I have grown on the trip and loved the snorkelling on the reef at places like Oyster Stacks and Turquoise Bay.  It was amazing that I could walk just metres off the sand into the water and be on top of the reef.  We had a couple of lovely days snorkelling.  We also got some hot goss on a secluded turtle breeding ground and were able to see over 100 very large turtles coming in to the beach to search for a spot to bred and lay eggs.  It was wonderful.  We also went out of town to Sir Charles Knife Gorge and Shotgun Gorge.  The view from the former was breathtaking with deep gorges on both sides of the road and the Indian Ocean in front of us.  The only down side of Exmouth was the wind (not just Marty). 

Yardie Creek - where the range meets the Reef

From Exmouth we went 155 kms down the road to Coral Bay.  The locals told us that it was the best weather and calmest water they had had for months so the snorkelling was great.  Once again it was a simple matter of walking a few metres into the water and letting the current do the rest while we saw the amazing coral and marine life.  We especially liked the clams and mantra rays.  On the way out we paid on early morning visit to the local jetty where we saw a giant groper (not Marty). It was swimming around under the jetty and must have over 2 metres long and 300 kgs in weight.

Look a blue sea star - on the right

Red sea star

Turtle

This Turtle tried to take a break from the mating game

Loads of mating Turtles

Turquoise bay

At Coral Bay we caught up with Murray and Lyndal from the Sunshine Coast.  We met them at 80 Mile Beach and we heard Lyndal tell her kids not to collect too many shells as they didn’t have room.  At Coral Bay she told us she had just posted home 4 kgs of shells from 80 Mile Beach!

One of the locals on the road in Cape Range National Park

Some more locals

Eddie

This section of our blog is dedicated to Eddie Hancock, my beautiful big brother and my rock who passed away during this time.

Unfortunately whilst In Broome we received advice that my brother Eddie had passed away on the Gold Coast so we had to fly there for his funeral.   It was nice that his family offered to delay the funeral to give us time to get there.  Marty was great,, he just said no matter the cost or inconvenience we will get there as he knew how important Eddie was to me.  It was a terrible experience but it was nice to support his family at this time.  It was also nice to see our three kids and my niece and her kids who all made the time to get there.   Marty gave a really good eulogy that summed Eddie up very well.

On day 3 of our trip over Easter we stayed with Eddie and his family.  It was a great time as we got to celebrate my sister-in laws 60^th birthday and then a few days later my nephew Tony also had a birthday.  It was so good spending this time with family.  Little did we all know but this was to be the last time I would spend with Eddie, within 4 months Eddie was diagnosed with liver cancer and just 8 weeks later he passed away.  I am just so pleased that I did get to spend some time with Eddie and his lovely family before he had to go.

Eddie was my big brother and I will miss him terribly, he has always been there for me, and has helped me in so many ways.  The older we got the closer we got

Sonia, Ted, Tenile, Jordy, Megan, Drew, Sarah, Me, Dale, James,Tony holding Tayla, Lyn, Raymond holding Krystal, Alana, hodling Bradley,
Front row Dani, Marty Carol, Zac, and Lachlan

The Kimberleys – spending the kids inheritance

Kununurra was our first stop in the East Kimberleys.  It has a vast, stunning landscape and is an awe inspiring back drop for an outback adventure.  We spent one morning cruising the vast inland sea of Lake Argyle.  Whilst we can’t remember all the stats thrown at us one we do remember is that Lake Argyle sends out to sea the equivalent of 15 Sydney Harbours full of water each day.  It made us think of water restrictions down south.  

Cruising on Lake Argyle

Lake Argyle spillway

Lake Argyle

We then explored Mirima (Hidden Valley) National Park, known as the ‘mini-Bungles’ and its walking trails.  We also viewed the spectacular Ord Valley from Kelly’s Knob lookout and visited some of the other places of interest such as the Sandalwood Factory, which exports sandalwood products all over the world and the Hoochery Distillery where we bought their Aguardiente Verde aniseed liqueur, great mixed with lemonade and lime liqueur on ice.  We also visited the factory that manufactures jewellery out of Zebra Rock that is only found in this area.

Mirima National Park - 'mini-Bungles'.

Lookout at Kelly's Knob, witha panoramic view of Kununurra and the Ord Valley

We then went on the Gibb River Road towards El Questro.  The first stop was Emma Gorge, which is one of the best known and spectacular gorges of the Kimberleys.  It was a very invigorating 2 hour return walk in 35+ degrees.  Hidden within the Cockburn Ranges, Emma Gorge is at the base of a 65m chasm, and is fed by a waterfall.

El Questro Wilderness Park is about 1 million acres of rugged sandstone ranges, situated in the East Kimberleys, 100 km west of Kununurra, 58km on sealed on the Great Northern Highway, with the remainder on gravel.  The camping ground on the banks of the Pentecost River and includes a crocodile free swimming hole

We did a guided tour of Explosion Gorge & Branco’s Lookout at sunset via a rough and rugged 4WD track along the Chamberlain River which dropped down steeply to the river bed.  We cruised along the gorge, before heading back up to Branco’s Lookout for a glass of bubbly and nibbles while watching the sun setting.

Emma Gorge

El Questro Station Homestead a room here is $2,000.00 per night

Explosion Gorge Chamberlain River

Chamberlin River

 Branco’s Lookout at sunset El Questro Station 

The Gibb River Road is a 4WD route from Kununurra to Derby. The road conditions vary from bitumen to natural rocky earth, but it has access to some of the most amazing gorges, waterfalls and rivers.  We did not enjoy the short drive into Emma Gorge and El Questro and the thought of a further 600ks, as it was very corrugated.  While it is one of the last true Aussie outback adventures, the road conditions were just too rough and hard going for us, so we opted to take the Great Northern Highway through the Kimberleys.

So back on the Great Northern Highway our next stop was Turkey Creek where we took a scenic flight of the Bungle Bungles in the Purnululu National Park.  The Bungle Bungles are one of the most spectacular landmarks in Australia and a World Heritage Listed site.  The amazing landscape and unique striped rock, which are features of the Bungle Bungles, were visible out of the windows of the small plane and it highlighted just how huge the Bungle Bungles are.

The little plane that took us over the Bungle Bungles

A fantastic landscape of huge black-and-orange sandstone domes

Purnululu National Park

The next couple of nights were spent at Fitzroy Crossing, in the heart of the Kimberley region.  The main attraction here is the 30 metre-deep Geikie Gorge, with its sheer yellow, orange, and grey walls, and plentiful freshwater crocodiles.  It was Marty’s favourite gorge so far.  Leaving here we then travelled on to Derby, stopping to see the Boab Prison tree, and the historic Myall’s Bore and cattle trough.  Then it was on to Broome and the Kimberley coast.

Geikie Gorge - Fitzroy River

Geikie Gorge-the sheer walls are bleached by annual flooding

1000-year old boab tree near Derby once used as a prison

Broome Day 1 we ventured out to do the Willy Creek Pearl Farm tour gaining a modern insight into how the cultured pearling industry operates today and discovered how the rare Australian South Sea Pearls is produced and saw pearl farming.

Discovering how the rare and beautiful South Sea Pearl is produced at Willie Creek Pearl Farm

Relaxing and enjoying a cruise on the beautiful waters of Willie Creek.

Day 2 in Broome saw us take a full day ultimate Kimberley adventure.  We were picked up at the front gate of the caravan park and driven to the airport were we boarded a seaplane that flew over the pristine coastline and the spectacular Buccaneer Archipelago, landing in Talbot Bay.  Firstly we dived with some grey nurse sharks and Marty actually patted one, but I don’t think it was the highlight of the shark’s day.  After a large brekkie we then boarded the boat and experienced the Horizontal Waterfalls, where the massive tides of the Kimberley try and squeeze through two small openings in the rocks.  It can only be reached by sea plane.  It was awesome as the massive tides tried to squeeze between the 2 narrow openings.  The boat was travelling at 34kms an hour just to stay still in the water.  There was a 3.5m drop in the water as we went through one of the openings.  Naturally Marty sat in the “death seat” at the very front but nothing happened to him other than getting drenched.  We returned to Broome by 4WD tour bus that took us to the One Arm Point Aquaculture Hatchery, home to turtles, tropical reef fish, and hand fed huge barramundi.  We then went to Cape Leveque for lunch and to see the red cliffs meeting the pristine white sandy beach and the crystal clear waters of the Indian Ocean.  Our next stop was Beagle Bay Aboriginal community for a tour of the famous Beagle Bay church and its amazing shell altar.  Then it was back on the bus for a very bumpy 2 hour drive back to Broome.

A safe landing on Talbot Bay

horizontal two-way waterfall of Talbot Bay - Buccaneer Archipelago

Talbot Bay

Bat fish

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Feeding a Burra at One Arm Point Aquaculture Centre

 Cape Leveque Dampier Peninsula

Sacred Heart Church at Beagle Bay, with the beautiful pearl-shel altar.

Our last big experience in Broome was a sunset camel ride on Cable Beach, where unknown to us we were allocated the stroppiest of the camels in the string, but it was great fun and just a little romantic.

The iconic camel ride at sunset Cable Beach

having loads of fun

Before we left Broome we went to Gantheaume Point to look at the ancient Megalosauropus and Theropod dinosaur prints that are embedded in sandstone at the base of cliffs and are visible at low tides.  They were a little hard to find but it was an invigorating and interesting experience climbing around the rocks looking for them.

This little grren frog thought that my bowl was a good place to rest

A dinosaur footprint at Gantheaume Point

Theropod footprints on the rocks

Grantheaume Point at sunset

We generally found the tourist attractions in the Kimberleys to be very expensive especially when compared to similar attractions in the NT.