Barbie was also very happy to be in Broome and finally to be at the beach. I’m not sure how much actual swimming she did though. She never came down to the beach with us. Turns out she found the nudie end of Cable Beach and decided that it was more to her liking.
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The trip across to Broome from Kununurra saw us putting in the longest days on the road since Canberra to Adelaide with two 500km+ days in a row. We overnighted in a free campsite called Ngumban Bluff, about 100km short of Fitzroy Crossing. On driving in off the road it didn’t look like anything special, just somewhere to sleep. There was one other van already set up so we drove around to the other side of the area and down an embankment to get away from the highway and the noise of the night road trains. Jen wandered up the hill to check out the disgustingness of this sites drop dunnies (much, much worse than expected and the winner so far in the feral facilities stakes – so bad in fact that they even had Jenny reluctantly braving the needle sharp Spinifex and concrete hard ground with the trusty poo shovel). From the top of the hill Jen called me on up. It turned out to be an absolute gem of a campsite. We moved from the back of the area to up the top and set up on the edge of a gorge looking out over the desert below. We relaxed after the long day in the car with a beer and a wine whilst watching a beautiful sunset followed by the vista of a crystal clear night sky full of stars. Even the night road trains added to the magic as we watched them passing below lit up like Christmas trees. Broome was fabulous. We had six very relaxing days there and I think we were both a little reluctant to leave. At long last we were at a beach where we could swim without being eaten. Or so everyone is told and so everyone swims. Just down the road from Cable Beach though is the main port at Gantheaume Point where we found a sign next to the public boat ramp, a sign we had been seeing quite a lot of over the last couple of weeks, advising that swimming was no longer permitted in the area because of recent crocodile sightings. Apparently Broome’s crocodiles are a little more considerate than the Northern Territory crocs and know to stay away from very popular tourist swimming beaches. Anyway, we swam and Cable Beach even gets a tiny wave occasionally. There was enough of a wave to make me feel like the surfing part of my holiday was getting very close but not quite big enough to take the board out for a spin yet. I did get the board out of its bag for the first time since leaving Canberra though just to check up on it (well, to be honest I got it out because being a new member of the family it, and me, needed a cuddle). This is when I discovered that the brand new board that was completely unblemished when last seen naked, had two lovely cracks that needed repairing. WTF?!! How did that happen? The board has been in a heavy canvas padded board bag and travels in the campervan packed in cushions and pillows. The only explanation I can offer is that the Jayco for once couldn’t find a way of damaging itself on the leg over from Kununurra so it gave the board a slap instead just to ensure that my levels of annoyance were maintained at the correct setting and that I would have something to exercise and expand my ever growing set of handyman skills. Broome is such a layback, relaxed holiday town and I did enjoy it very much. One of the highlights of our stay was the drive up the Cape Leveque Road to a place called Beagle Bay. We did this trip mainly to see a church that had been built by French Missionaries in 1917. The alter, the windows, the aisles and the picture frames built into the walls had all been inlaid with mother of pearl. It looked and felt like something from Spain or Latin America. Needless to say, Jen loved it. I thought it was OK too but not nearly as OK as the first half of the Cape Leveque “road”. This was a really fun 90km stretch of sandy and in places quite rough 4WD track. The X-Trail, as usual, swallowed it up and got us home with its last remaining hubcap gone and covered in a fine credibility enhancing coating of red dust. We were starting to look the goods now. Other highlights of Broome were the Festival of the Pearl parade and Matso’s Brewery, both of which I probably enjoyed a little more than I should have. |
Greg ShawGreg Shaw - spouse of Jenny, layabout, documentary film maker (most noted for working exclusively with his star subject, Barbie) Archives
November 2011
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