Point Samson

This was recommended to us by quite a few people & must admit they still need to do a bit towards tourism.  It was a great spot to stop & rest, catch up on blogging, emails & phone calls.    We did drive into Karatha & Dampier but didn't find much to do there, but glad we have visited them.

We had a great camp spot, tucked in the corner, grassed site, on the top level over looking the beach.   The first night we arrived we cooked our tea on the camp fire to a live band playing across the corner from our camp!  What more could we ask for & yes, another washing day.....

This is Samson's Tavern the only place to eat in town.  Tony & I went over for Tight Ass Wednesday, 1/2 price T-Bone night & somehow I managed a free glass of wine (1 too many I might add!)  The upper level was a buzz with lots of people... they are rennovating below so there should be some competition next year between the two.    In this town there were no bakeries, cafe's or other shops apart from the General Store (which was the office to the Caravan Park)   Even the local Seafood shop on the wharf has closed so we couldn't even buy fish!

Tony thought he could boss me around from the Judges quarters....wrong !   We are here in Cossack which is a historial town with a lot of interesting history.  He also tried fishing in this town on the last day here, but only got eaten by mozzie's!!!

I am standing here with "Red Dog".  He is a legend in the Pilbara & a movie was released Australia wide while we were up here.    He was very well known by everyone  & would only stay with people for 1-2 weeks and then move on.   If he was in trouble everyone would rally & help him.   He even had a place on the local bus until the bus driver was killed in an accident & the story went on to say he was always looking for the bus driver.    He would pick & choose where he would stay & who would best look after him.   A short story has been released on his journey through the Pilbara which I am reading at the moment.

We are heading off in the morning early (yes we have to set an alarm) to Karajini National Park so will have no service or internet, power or water for 4 nights....   I will try and blog again from Exmouth.    

Cape Keraudren

More red dusty roads to get to this little gem.    No water or power here so had to be self sufficient.   We found a beautiful spot to camp on a small piece of headland overlooking a magnificent Bay.    The water was a beautiful torquoise colour and the tides were about 6 metres which meant the water rushed out for miles on low tide and came gushing back in at high tide. 


Here we are perched on top of the cliff overlooking the Bay






Our view from our camp was quite spectacular... the photo doesn't quite show the true torquoise colour but a great place to spend 3-4 nights (excuse Tony's socks airing in the photo!)

Talbot Bay completely empties of water at low tide - Tony fished the other side of the large mass of rock you can see on the horizon but had to watch the tide as it comes back in very quickly....... it was quite a walk out there & "no fish"                                      Tony left it 15 mins too late one morning and had to slush through deep water & soft sand to get back. Our back neighbours thought they were in for a carton of beer  (they thought he might need rescuing with their small dinghy!!!!)

Tony is still trying to catch a fish.  This fishing spot was right in front of our camp.  He was told by one of the regulars you could catch fish on a little sandy spot right in front of the rocks...... no fish still!

This little kangaroo was a regular at our camp with a little Joey in her pouch.... we were warned not to leave our caravan door open as she would get inside the van.   They had to get rid of one other large kangaroo earlier as it destroyed the inside of a caravan!  We were also told there were bulls that regularly walked through the camp - we did see a few likely bull "droppings" (for want of a better word) near our van, but lucky we didn't see them until we were leaving.......

Tony is happy here with his camp fire & the Didjeridoo is now sounding much better.   No more strange noises from our camp.  

This photo says it all "not much more you could want in a camp spot"   -   except fish I suppose!    The rock mass you can see in the distance is where Tony fished during low tide!

 I mentioned before there was no power or water, but Tony is leaning on the only street light for miles....   this was erected by Bruce & Heather (they have been at Cape Keraudren since Easter and been coming for 25 years)      Everyone meets under the street light for Happy Hour & it is where they cook their camp fire meals.   They take turns in using their generators to keep the street light on during happy hours!

We did love this spot and could have stayed a lot longer... perhaps if Tony had caught some fish we could have.... we were starting to run out of vegies, fruit & meat as we hadn't food shopped since Broome, so had to move on!

                                                   Next camp is Point Samson

Eighty Mile Beach

To get to Eighty Mile Beach we had to travel over 9kms of red dirt & as you arrive at the Caravan Park the view you get is amazing..... palm trees and beautiful turquoise sea.

Once you are at your site though you realise  there is not a lot of shade as a Cyclone went through here last year and wiped just about everything out.     The park has done a great job though in getting it up and running in such a short time.      We are still having 30deg + weather but there is no swimming here - there are lots of sharks (not large) swimming close to shore & heard there were sea snakes & other things in the water!  That was enough for us to keep out.

Finally a catch..... there are a lot of sharks at Eighty Mile Beach only about 10 feet from where you fish.    Tony threw his back but we found out later that they were all eating the sharks as well!   We have never seen so many fisher people (men & women) fishing on one beach.    There would have been at least 60 every afternoon or morning depending on the tides.    Some drive along the beach for miles to get there catch.

We decided to drive along with the fishermen to see if the fish were up the other end of the beach, but no.... still no fish.   

As you can see from this photo the tide goes out for miles.  Everyone gets on the beach hunting for beautiful shells.    We spent hours dawdling along the beach looking for shells and managed to come back with quite a few bags full.   They are nothing like you see in Adelaide.

                                               Next camp is Cape Keraudren

Barn Hill Station

Barn Hill Station is a working Cattle Station with a Caravan Park perched ontop of beautiful red cliffs overlooking a surf/fishing beach.    To get to the Caravan Park we drove over 10 kms of red dirt and opened 3 gates to get there.  Our poor van is looking a little tardy.... covered in red dust & looks like it could do with a good wash!   Not worth doing for a few camps yet as we have more red dusty roads to travel on.
  

First things first when we arrived... after setting up camp a load of washing was needed.   I let out a little scream when I took my load of washing out of the machine ... sitting at the bottom of the machine was a green frog.  The poor thing had been washed, rinsed spun for 1/2 hour in the machine.  Fortunately another woman was there as well and she took him out for me.... stilll alive!                                                    Our camp here is shady & in the bush.   We have power & water & phone service (if you stood in the right spot) which was a surprise! 

Tony is happy as he has finally got the kayak wet.... had a beautiful paddle along the coast of Barn Hill Station but hasn't been so lucky with the fish....   I had a nice peaceful read on the beach.

Tony was very hopefull here by the look on his face..... still no fish, but enjoyed the challenge.

This picture shows the red cliffs we were sitting on, but these are the unpowered sites, no shade at all, but had spectacular views of the surf beach

185 people gathered here to enjoy a 3 course meal on the lawns overlooking the beach.  The station owner cooked home made soup, roast & vegies, fruit salad and icecream for all these campers for $15 a head.  We took our own cutlery and crockery, tables & chairs, and of course, the esky!    To top it of we had a live Aboriginal Band playing for 3 hours...... lots of rock & rolling & dancing by everyone on the lawns!  My back & a few other things suffered from all the dancing but was worth it...   has been a year now since my diagnosis but feel I am just about back now!

One of the many beautiful sunsets we have seen -                                                                    Oh and one more thing about Barn Hill... the Station owner also cooked home made bread, rolls & fantastic vanilla slices everyday!   Had to be at the shop early or you would miss out!    Just as well we are doing a lot of walking..... I seem to remember sharing one everyday!





                       Our next camp is Eighty Mile Beach..... not far to drive today!

Cape Le Veque

It is too rough & sandy a road to take caravans to Cape Le Veque so the 4 of us decided to book a Safari Tent on the beach & stay for 2 nights.   There is only 1 bedroom with a Queen size bed and 2 singles, a bathroom & small kitchen.... VERY small kitchen, but thought we could all manage to ignore each others snoring for 2 nights (Maria did buy everyone ear plugs just in case!)    We took enough food for 1 night & as it was Ossie's birthday while we were there booked into the Restaurant the other night.

Our first stop on the way to Cape LeVeque was Begal Bay.    There are mainly indigineous people living here but has the most magnificent white church which as you can see from the photo has been made out of shells.....

This is our home for 2 days.   The decking at the front overlooked the beach......

The deck was in front of our bedroom.   Ossie & Maria won the Queen bed as it was Ossie's birthday!   The tent windows had screens on which we left open all night but definitely had the zip to the bedroom zipped up at all times!   Behind the zip at the back was more decking with the kitchen and bathroom at the back.....

The first night there were a few screams & a little swearing as we had 3 green frogs which frequented the toilet & bathroom area and also hid in the cupboards in the kitchen. As you can see from this picture Maria couldn't use the toilet paper when she went in & had to resort to a tissue!  Once we realised they didn't seem to want to jump on us we were quite relaxed about them the following night - until Maria stepped on one and thought she had broken it's leg!!!

We also had a resident Goanna on the deck that came out of a pipe to scare us every now & then....

If only....... this is wishful thinking....... as we were heading to the beach for a swim in the surf we saw a fishermen who had just caught this fish so Tony & Ossie had their photo taken with it!   Our swim wasn't very successful either.... Maria & I got dumped by the surf and ended up washed up on the beach like beached whales.....   we couldn't stop laughing long enough to try & get out of the surf!

As Tony & Ossie didn't catch any fish we had to resort to cooking some fish Ossie & Maria had been given in the Broome Caravan Park..... nice recipe though.... Maria crumbed it in potato chips!

After a nice meal at the restaurant for Ossie's birthday we headed back to camp for a few night caps on the deck!   Cheers Ossie!!

After a great stay at Cape LeVeque we headed back to Broome.   Here we are stopping out in the bush to enjoy lunch with the flies.....

We had a final dinner with Ossie & Maria, Kathy & Warren at the Diver's Tavern for our last night in Broome.    Ossie & Maria are heading home faster than the Wilkins, so we will be travelling on our own again!    Next stop is Barn Hill Station.....

Broome

Tony & I haven't been to Broome before so we all decided to do the tourist thing & take the Double Decker Bus tour which took us all over Broome (we are still travelling with Ossie & Maria).    It was good a great way to get orientated and learn about Broome.  

There just happened to be a coffee truck when we stopped to see the Japenese Cemetery.    They definitely know how get money out of the tourist!     Maria & I did enjoy the coffee though!

After our 2 hour bus tour around Broome we decided on a leisurely lunch at Matso's Broome Brewery overlooking Roebuck Bay.  The ginger beer here was very good!!!

Kathy & Warren (also from Black Point) holiday up in Broome for 6 weeks this time of the year so were able to give us lots of information on Broome.    After having a Chinese meal, on Warren's recommendation, we went to the open air Cinema.  Quite unique.....    we sat in deck chairs, watched the movie on the big screen with the stars above us & as we watched the movie, planes were taking off over the screen!!    The cinema had everything from  popcorn to icecreams.....from left:   Ossie, Kathy, Warren, Sue & Tony (Maria took the photo).  

We met Warren & Kathy at the Cable Beach Resort for drinks to watch the magnificent sunset & the camels come of the beach in the dark with lights sparkling on them....then on to Zanders Restaurant over looking Cable Beach for dinner.... yummy Barrumundi & chips....

We managed to meet up with Kaye & Graeme in Broome.   We are all here watching the sunset at Entrance Point, Broome.   Looks like it has been raining here, but no, just where the tide has gone out!   From Left:  Maria, Kaye, Sue, Ossie & Graeme

Here we all are at the Broome Markets.   What a surprise to be able to see Mum & Dad in Broome 1/2 way through our trip. Standing at back Kath, Neil, Dad & front Kevin, Betty, Sue & Mum......we also caught up with them later at Johhny Chi's Lane for a Mango smoothie!!!  They were all travelling together.... caught the Ghan to Darwin, cruise from Darwin to Perth and flew home from there....

Maria & I on Cable Beach heading to our Camel Ride.....not sure what to expect!  I am not that keen on camels.... they smell, make strange noises & I believe getting up & down on them is a little scarey.....  but you have to do the tourist thing and have a camel ride at sunset on Cable Beach. 

This is Felix (our camel) he looks good sitting down but quite big & scary when he stands up!  Maria & Ossie were on Oscar who played in the movie "Australia" & he was even bigger than ours!

Here we are finally on our way along the beach to watch the sunset.   There were hundreds of people on the beach (with eskies of course) taking photos and waiting for the sunset.    Ossie & Maria are in front of us.    I think our camel liked Ossie!!!!

The Sunset was pretty special!

Next Cape Le Veque.........

Quondong Beach

We finally have internet & phone service again.     We have been camping in some great areas for the last 2 weeks but have had no service or internet so have a lot of blogging to do.........emails, phone calls etc.
(I am writing this from Point Sampson)

After travelling along the Cape Le Veque Road on a corrugated, red dirt road for about 10 kms, we finally arrived at Quondong Beach.  This is a free camp on top of cliffs overlooking a beautiful surf beach so were self sufficient with water, batteries & luckily toilet & shower in the van.    Unfortunately for me, I didn't see much of this beach but it was a great place to rest.   From the moment I arrived I started feeling very sick (no vomitting or dirrohea) but quite ill and huge headache.   Didn't eat for 2 days but slept the whole time we were there....... lucky Tony had Maria & Ossie for company.....   Judging by the empty bottles when we left I don't think they missed me at all!!!

Tony & I are camped on the left & Maria & Ossie are hidden between the trees.   The surf beach was directly in front of us & I believe Tony & Ossie tried their hand at fishing with no luck!

The beautiful sunset I missed.......

Now on our way to Broome!

Derby - Horizontal Falls

Tony is practicing his Didjeridoo while I am writing this part of the Blog & I have to say he is getting a lot better with practice, even with a few "dingo howls" & animal sounds (at least that's what I think they are!)

Tony & I both agree that Horizontal Falls was one the highlights of our trip so far!  

We were picked up from our accommodation & taken by shuttle bus to the Derby Airport where we were greeted by Ryan, our pilot for our Sea Plane.   We were all a little anxious to start with as he couldn't get us through a locked gate to the tarmac (it had a pin code to get thru which he'd forgotten) & then the refueller was 1/2 hour late, but once we were all on board we felt quite comfortable, although Tony put his hand up to be co-pilot again!!!! 
 

The views were fantastic from the air and we landed very smoothly on the water......

As soon as we stepped off the sea plane we boarded the Jet boat on the left.   It is powered by 2 x 300hp motors.  We stradled our seats, (which were close to the front so we were also in fear of getting quite wet), & hung on for a fast ride & lots of laughs!    It was quite an adrenalin rush to say the least!  

Maria & I enjoying our Jet Boat Road around the Talbot Bay

Tony, Sue, Maria & Ossie having a well deserved beer & wine on the deck of our houseboat after jet boating around Talbot Bay, up & down the Horizontal Falls & finally a swim in a cage with sharks coming up to us.......(no... they weren't in the cage with us)

Hopefully from this picture you can see the water level is significantly higher through the gap.   Our tour guide took us through here & at one stage we were completely stationary on the water.....   the tide was ripping through this gap at 35 kph!!!   

The crew on the Houseboat served us nibbles & drinks while watching the sunset & then cooked a great meal of Barramundi & salads & more drinks on the deck until we retired to our bedrooms on the Houseboat.   Up early to watch the sun rise & breakfast on the top deck... then another ride in the jet boat through the falls before boarding the Sea Plane to take us back to Derby!

View of the Horizontal Falls from the air!

Next Stop.... Quondong Beach