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.