Derby

The last day in Broome the rain slowly moved in. When we drove into Derby the roads and roadsides were quite wet and we knew that they had had considerable rain – 70mm that morning. The average rainfall for the month of May in Derby is 17mm. And it continued to rain for days....

All our plans had changed – our Horizontal Waterfall cruise had been cancelled due to poor visibility and the inability of the seaplane to land near the catamaran. Unfortunately the rain was relentless for days and we have had to postpone the cruise - but Robin will be back home.

When in the town in Derby an aboriginal woman approached us to buy a carved boab nut – Rod was really impressed with the detail and bought it for $20. An aboriginal man named Keith (originally from Wyndham) asked to show the kids how he carves on the boab nut, so we all sat under a shelter as he chattered to us and demonstrated a carving which Robin then purchased.



A boab tree is a unique tree, which I believe, is found only in the Kimberley Region. It is a deciduous tree with a swollen trunk which grows in sandy conditions. The boab tree nuts grow on the tree and fall to the floor – when the nut cracks open a white pith is in the centre which holds the seeds. Occasionally you can find a whole boab nut on the floor at the base of a boab tree. The kids found some nuts and have created some of their own carvings...



The tide in Derby is the highest in southern hemisphere and had risen to over 11m while we were there – with a difference of 9m between high and low tide. A huge difference between a high and low tide is called a ‘spring tide’, with the smallest difference between tides being a ‘neap tide’. These huge tides are what create the ‘Horizontal Waterfalls’ which we endeavour to see.

We visited the 'School of the Air' in Derby. We watched a class take place over the internet - which was fascinating. We also went on a tour through the school. The kids bought a book and donated it to the school...



We took Robin on a day trip to Fitzroy Crossing to see Geikie Gorge, a stunning gorge with Aboriginal significant sites. Some interesting photos taken there too...



The white stain on the gorge wall shows how high the water rises during the wet season.

On the 20th May, Rod drove Robin back to Broome to fly home (and I think she was really looking forward to it - don't know why???? LOL). Unfortunately we had encountered some wet humid weather, which made day trips difficult and has left us up in the air about where to next.... all National Parks and gorges closed due to rain. SO OFF TO KUNUNURRA - in the hope of travelling back along the Gibb River Road from Kununurra to Derby.

Broome (2)

We stayed in Broome for another 9 nights. The temperature remained in the mid-30 degrees but was less humid than the previous 2 weeks we had spent in Broome and in the Dampier Peninsula – much too our relief. Robin (Rod’s mum) flew over from Old Bar to spend 10 days with us.

As Robin enjoys photography we endeavoured to show her some lovely sights - some beautiful sunsets over Cable Beach. We went to the outdoor Sun Picture cinema to watch Bran Nu Dae – which was pretty special as it was filmed in Broome and the cinema we were sitting in was a setting in a scene in the movie!!!

We went for a drive out to Crab Creek to take more photos, but it didn’t make a good picnic spot as it is occupied by saltwater crocodiles.

We went to the Malcom Douglas Crocodile Park, which held some HUGE saltwater crocodile sitting within a metre behind a cyclone fence, which constantly needed repairing due to croc attacks. We attended the feeding tour and watched hungry crocs jump up at the fence for a chicken feed. And we got to hold a 2 month old saltwater crocodile.... wouldn’t want to get too close to the bigger ones.





We went for a drive up the Dampier Peninsula to James Price Point, which has been proposed for a gas mine area with 3000 people expected to be living there... a peaceful place which could possibly and seems inevitably to be changed due to ‘progress’...



We then drove south to Willie Creek, where we had booked in to a pearl farm tour. This informative tour described the process of cultured pearls and included a boat tour along Willie Creek to observe the pearl farm. But funnily enough, the highlight of the tour was the resident saltwater croc – the first one we have seen in the WILD!



While we were in Broome, we met the Rees Family – a family from Sydney. Their children Ben and Molly are also in the Sydney Distance Education program and have the same teacher as Daniel and Chantelle. The kids had awesome fun playing together and of course the adults enjoyed daily drinks. It’s nice to talk to other families going through the ‘fun’ of travelling with kids!

Middle Lagoon

2nd - 7th May

We drove north from Broome about 170km up the Dampier Peninsula to a camp at Middle Lagoon. We spent 5 nights camped at Middle Lagoon under a shady berry tree, situated on Aboriginal land and run by a few an Aboriginal families. The first evening there the kids met two local indigenous kids named Siad (6) and Naya (4). The kids climbed trees, made cubby houses and played soccer.





The following day we drove to One Arm Point, another Aboriginal Community, near Cape Leveque. We had lunch at Middle Beach under a big awning built for visitors - you are asked to respect the Aboriginal dongers and not use them as they are built for the Aboriginals to use to for cultural purposes.



After lunch, we drove to the hatchery where we were given a tour... the kids loved patting the turtles and holding the sea cucmbers and slugs...



But my favourite was the lion fish, it has spikes that come out when he feels threatened and he's venomous... don't want to touch this one while snorkeling.



After visiting the hatchery we drove to Kooljaman - Cape Leveque, we went for a walk and swim and then hung out on the beach to watch the sun set...



We spent a few days at camp relaxing and fishing. On one particular day Rod and I caught 4 fish each. I caught 1 bream, 2 blue tuskfish (blue bone) and a 62cm long tom. Rod caught 3 blue tuskfish and a bream.




Finally some fish bragging!

We drove the back route to Beagle Bay and visited the Sacred Heart church, decorated with shells...



And each evening we sat around the camp fire and chatted with other campers. We enjoyed our relaxing time at Middle Lagoon!

Broome

27th April - 2nd May

We arrived in Broome earlier than expected and caught up with the Gallagher Family for 3 days. We met the Gallaghers at Karigini - they are from Perth and also travelling around Australia. The kids were soooo happy to catch up with their old friends and just loved hanging out with them.





We spent 5 nights at Palm Grove Caravan Park, a wonderful shady place to revive, cool off in their shaded pool and is just over the sand dunes from Cable Beach. Rod and I got motivated each morning for an early jog before the place heated up and all you could do is swim!!!

We had a few evening outings with the Gallaghers - we caught up with them fishing at Broome Port. Together we watched "How to Train Your Dragon" at the oldest outdoor picture cinema in Australia, sitting back on deck chairs with the occasional plane flying overhead before its landing.... definitely an unique experience!

We also took a picnic dinner down to Town Beach, where we shared a lovely glass (well plastic cup) of red wine before observing the "Staircase to the Moon", a natural phenomenon where a full moon reflects at low tide on the mud flats for an awesome view....




Some times it's the people you meet that can make a point in time special... rather than the extraordinary places you visit.

After the Gallaghers left for Fitzroy Crossing, we relaxed for a few days and shopped for groceries before heading north to the Dampier Peninsula.