Wow, y'all; it's been a whirlwind of a month! I've been home from our road trip for a week and am starting to get my feet back under me. After a month spent sleeping under the stars in a swag, resting under ancient boab trees, swimming through waterfalls, and eyeballing crocodiles on pebble beaches, it's jarring to go back to spending 8 hours on my feet serving beers at the pub. But it's wonderful to come back feeling so rested and peaceful.
We were successful with our planned early morning departure... I think we actually pulled out of the driveway at 3:30am. Gaia drove the first three hours while I slept a bit longer, bless her, and then I didn't let her drive again until the last few days of the trip. She is an EXCELLENT co-pilot. Fed me snacks and water, provided directions and entertainment, kept an eye out for errant cattle and roos on the road... she does it all. Our first day of driving was a long one - we travelled 1000km from Exmouth to 80 Mile Beach, just west of Broome. Gaia swapped between my car and Jess' when we stopped for fuel, and we were lucky to get into the overflow section of the campground that night.
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| Desert Peas |
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| Our first sunset of the trip at 80 Mile Beach |
Day 2 was a slow traveling day. It was foggy and chilly when we woke up, and we only had a 4 hour drive to do for the day, so we took our time. We made it to Broome before the sunset, so we headed to Cable Beach to watch the iconic camel trains walking tourists along the beach as the sun dipped below the horizon.
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| Campsite Visitor |
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| Pea soup morning |
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| @ Sandfire Roadhouse |
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| Jess |
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| Tessie and Jess' car, Beast, on Cable Beach |
After sunset, we went to the Matso's brewpub for drinks and met up with our friend, Kieran, who lives in Broome. We actually met Kieran in Exmouth when he was here for a job. His company had a contract that kept him here for a few months, and he and his colleague came to the pub most evenings for drinks after work, so we got to know him quite well. I texted him on the off-chance that he was home in Broome and we ended up hanging out with him both nights we were there. On our full day spent in Broome, we did a lot of running around like chickens without heads. Gaia, who is helping to jog my memory as I write this, reminds me that I was very tired and cranky that day, and got very snappish around lunchtime when I was hangry. Apparently I made up for my bad behavior by cooking a really delicious sausage sandwich (snag sangers, mate!) lunch.
Kmart, Coles (a grocery store), and the tourist information center were all visited, we spent a few hours getting our cars packed up and organized for the road, and a well-earned nap before Vietnamese food for dinner and an evening spent at The Roey, a Broome bar perhaps best known for its Thursday night wet tee-shirt contest. We tried to talk Mia into competing, but no dice. A true, Aussie cultural experience, y'all.
Broome is sometimes referred to as the Gateway to the Kimberley, a region of Northwest Australia that's well-known for its unique flora and fauna, even by Australian standards. The Kimberley is a little bit like Australia's Alaska... a "final frontier" kind of place. Pretty much our entire trip was spent in the region, and Broome was just the kick start to it all. After the few days spent actually getting there, and then the day getting our cars packed with food, fuel, and water, (and Oceane joining our merry crew!) we were about ready to start camping. But we were sensible about it and planned for a quick trip in the bush before starting the Gibb River Road... a trial run, if you will. So away we went, on a quick two day jaunt up the Dampier Peninsula just north of Broome!
Broome is world-renown for its pearling industry. It's where the first pearls were cultured in Australia (using techniques developed in Japan), and some of the largest saltwater pearls that have been grown came out of the Dampier Peninsula. We went right up to the tip of the peninsula, to a pearl farm in Cygnet Bay, and learned about the industry there. It was fascinating to learn about some of the history of the industry, its exploitation of Aboriginal folks who had been harvesting mother of pearl for centuries to make jewelry and decoration, and the Aussie entrepreneurs who helped the local industry to take on global significance.
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| Little crabs live inside the oyster shells, symbiotically keeping the oyster clean while it provides shelter from the crab's predators |
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| Mia with an oyster shell, showing off the mother of pearl inside |
We slept that night up near Cape Leveque at Gumbanan Bush Camp, a beautiful little campground right on the water, and fell asleep listening to the waves slap the shore. Next day was a trip back down the peninsula to a campsite only just north of Broome, called Quondong. It's free camping, so you've got to be self-sufficient with water, but the site's beauty was exceptional.
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| Quondong |
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| Our cliff-side home for the night |
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| Fossilized ferns (or feathers?) in the rocks by our campsite |
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| In the rock pools |
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| Gaia's sunset at Quondong |
Sunday, August 1st we made our way to Derby, but popped back into Broome on the way for a final beer & food run. In Derby we stayed at a little campground with great facilities, so Jess did a feast of a cook out with lamb chops, steak, coleslaw, and salad. It was our last night before starting the Gibb River Road, so we wanted to be fueled up and ready to go!
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| My toothbrushing companion |
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| The Derby Prison Boab is estimated to be about 1,500 years old |
