DERBY/BROOME/BARN HILL/80 MILE BEACH/PORT HEADLAND/PORT SAMSON/EXMOUTH

24 SEPT TO 4 NOV

Gosh - have I got a lot to tell you!!!

280 kms to Derby and the car going well. It is such a long way between towns over here - I think it seems even longer because there is nothing to see from town to town, only boab trees.


Arrived Derby about 1:30 pm. Mary and Michael were outside the caravan park waiting for us. Looks like we've picked up a couple of travel companions.

Derby is on the King Sound and is another service town for the rich pastoral stations and mining in the area. It is nearly 3000 kms north of Perth.

The tidal range here can be as low as 1 metre to a high of 12 metres and the town is located on the edge of a massive mud flat, but when it is high tide, the water creeps in towards the town. There is a huge wharf that you can drive out onto and there are a lot of fishermen that use it at high tide but you wouldn't know what you caught until it was out of the water it is so very muddy. It is full of sharks and crocodiles.




We went down to the boat ramp at low tide and the mud is so deep and thick but when we saw it at high tide, there were crocodiles swimming along the river past the ramp! If you double click on the photo of the high tide on the boat ramp, you will see a mark in the middle of the photo - that is a crocodile! It is so hot here and no pool. We can't wait until we see the Indian Ocean!


The cattle trough here is the longest in Australia at 500 metres and was used by drovers before road trains.

Alongside the main road into Derby, we came across this structure which was a pool built by a US Marine during his stint up here for WW2, and his last name of Frosty. Unfortunately, it is not being looked after and is now just a ruin.








While in Derby, we promised ourselves a visit to the famous Horizontal Falls in the Buccaneer Archipelago. It was an expensive trip but worth every dollar. We travelled by sea plane out over King Sound and landed 45 mins later in Talbot Bay, absolutely magnificent.





From there we were picked up by a jet-boat and taken on a bit of a tour. We saw the Horizontal Falls at the top of the tide before it had turned and it was quiet and tranquil and nothing like we had seen it on television.




These waterways are absolutely beautiful and we had barrumundi cooked on the bbq for us with salad and cold drinks, then we were taken fishing where I was the only one who caught a fish. Not a very attractive photo of me, but what about my fish! It was catch and release here, so the fish lives on.

We then boarded the jet boat again when the tide had turned and - good grief - how different it was to a couple of hours ago. The guide took us through the gap in the rocks as the water churned and boiled and bubbled. It was frightening but I think I was the only one wishing I was in David Jones instead!

After going through several times at top speed it was time to relax in a rock pool on top of a cliff near the bay. The water out here is so beautiful but we can't swim here because of sharks and crocodiles. So it was a climb to the top of a gorge where the water flows and the water was cooling and refreshing. My heart stopped racing and my skin tone returned to normal. I'll never be talked into anything like this again!

Back on the sea plane and over the Buccaneer Archipelago to home.


We also flew over an island called Cockatoo Island and the pilot informed us that Alan Bond had a vision to build a resort there and construction commenced before he went bankrupt. The pilot said that there are still buildings and structures out there but they are in disrepair. Such a shame because from the air it looks idealic .... I suppose he had a couple of pools in mind because you can't swim!

Home and an early night. Dinner was waiting when we got back to the caravan ... Mary cooked for us all.

The next day we went for a drive out to a Leprosaurium where Lepers were sent in the 1950's and looked after by Nuns. Those who died were buried without a headstone and most were aboriginies but there is a "cemetery" there with white timber crosses representing all those who died. We found out that leprosy still exists in some parts of the world and is now controlled by medication. Some of the patients ran away from the hospital, particularly aboriginals, who, as you can imagine, were terrified when taken from their communities and didn't know where they were going, so they tried to get away and back to their families but, when caught, they were returned to the Leprosaurium and put into a gaol here in the grounds. The Leprosaurium is now a prison farm.

It was 39 degrees every day we were in Derby and the airconditioner in the van got a good workout.

Off to Broome we go and we are so looking forward to reaching the ocean with a sea breeze and finally the chance of a swim in the sea, just 220 kms away.

When we arrived at Broome, it was just like arriving home. What a lovely place. Shops and the ocean - what else does one need!


In the early days, Broome produced 80% of the world's mother-of-pearl shell and had a fleet of luggers in the early 1900's of 403 registered boats. It doesn't seem many, but when you see the tiny town, it must have been such a bustling, busy town with lots of pubs for the divers. Many divers died by drowning, shark attack, cyclones or the "bends", and in the 1950's they started to "culture" the pearls, and in the 1980's, Broome produced 70% of the world's cultured pearls. Broome is on the western-most tip of the rugged Kimberley region of Western Australia and has a fabulous winter climate. It now has a huge tourist industry and the shops in the main street have been refurbished to blend in with the original chinatown that still stands. The shops are mainly boutiques, souvenir shops and jewellers selling mainly pearls.



The caravan park where we stayed was across the road from the famous Cable Beach which is really lovely with deep red cliffs and stark white sand with turquoise waters, but unlike the beaches we know on the east coast - not a big surf. The sand is really fine and the tides go out for kilometers. The temperature is in the high 30's so a swim each morning is in our daily schedule as well as long walks along the beach collecting shells; the breeze comes up in the afternoon so the park pool is the place to be.


At Gantheaume Point, there are prehistoric footprints visable only at very low tide in the rock shelves beneath the rocky cliffs. There is also a beacon warning ships of the cliffs where a pair of osprey have made it their home.




At sunrise and sunset, the different groups with their camels come to the beach. It is $45 for 30 mins in the morning but $70 for 30 mins at sunset. There are 4 different companies and they are differentiated by the colour of the blankets over their saddles.




The road into Broome was cut off for a few days with a bush fire; we were ok, but the sight from the beach was a bit of a worry.

There is a really large jetty extended out into Roebuck Bay and it must be 5 metres high from the water. Many fishermen can be seen every day doing their best to catch a fish however the problem they have is when they catch a fish, it is so far to bring it up to the jetty walkway, that most lines break and there goes the fish. We saw many sharks taking advantage of an escapee fish!

Speaking of fish, one would think that fish is plentiful to buy, especially as take-away. Well, there isn't any seafood co-op to speak of and fish & chips at a take-away is $12.50 each. That's for 1 piece of fish and a handful of chips. We have found that so far, everything is quite expensive in WA. Our caravan park is $42 per day - that's around $15 more than over in the east. Fuel is on the rise - 140.8.



After 2 weeks enjoying Broome and Cable Beach, we decide to leave Mary and Michael and drive north to Cape Leveque (see the top-most arrow on my map at the start). First, we had a car service because we were going so far away from civilisation.

Everyone we spoke to who has been to Cape Leveque and in travel books, the place gets a huge mention as being one of the most beautiful places on earth. Well:

We started our drive north on a bitumen road for about 10 kms, then we hit red dust with huge sand drifts and massive corrugation. We had been warned that it "might be a bit corrugated" so Ken let the tires down to about 25 psi but "might be corrugated" was a big underestimation! My bra straps stretched beyond repair! Gibb River Road was a breeze! On and on we drove for about 100 kms then back to bitumen for another 100 kms before the 5 kms turn off to the Kooljaman Resort at Cape Leveque. The 5 km road was again made up of big holes, corrugation, and sand drifts, but onward we went.






The resort has 4 kinds of accommodation: (1) Beach shelters which are just 4 poles with a thatched roof on the top - sand floor, cold shower but right on the cliffs overlooking the water ($60/night) (2) Timber cabin with bbq, concrete floor, dbl bed and 3 single, mosquito nets, but share bathroom with 3 other timber cabins and just back from the cliffs but 1 min walk to the beach ($130/night)
(3) Ensuite cabin, bbq with burner, dbl bed and 3 single with mosquito nets, concrete floor ($160/night) and (4) Safari tents with kitchen, bathroom, massive deck, up on stilts and great views over the ocean (210/night). We chose option (3) and we were in the sandhills, no view and mosquitoes the size of horses. There was no breeze and the walk to the beach was through hot, red sand that came up to our ankles.


Cape Leveque is lovely if you like a rustic life. The beach was beautiful at high tide, but low tide exposed massive volcanic rocks which we had to climb over to find a sandy spot for a swim. Unfortunately for us, we were there during a neap tide, and we could only enjoy a good swim when the tide came in at around 11am each day. There were always shells to collect and when it got too hot, a clamber over rocks to the sea for a quick dip then more shells. However, the mosquitoes at night could be entered into the Melbourne Cup!!

We explored the Cape further and visited aboriginal communities at One Arm Point, Lombadina, Beagle Bay and a pearl farm at Cygnet Bay, where we were treated to a one-on-one tour of the working farm (bought a pearl here on advice from a friend in Sydney, Lou, and I left it with a jeweller in Broome to have it set).


The general stores in these aboriginal communities close at 11am and reopen at 3pm as it is so hot. It is rare to see anyone out on the street in the middle of the day. One community at Beagle Bay has a famous church which was built by Pallotine Monks and local aboriginals, and the alter and inside is decorated with pearl shell.

The outside walls had just been white-washed when we were there and it looked fantastic amongst the drab buildings of the township.





Beagle Bay will always stay in our minds, not just because of the church, but because when we left Cape Leveque for the return trip to Broome, we were about to hit the 100 kms of dirt road, when we notice our oil gauge was on empty. Ken checked and found that the underside of the car was sprayed with oil. Off we limped back to the nearest town which was Beagle Bay and we found a large shed in town with 2 bush-mechanics inside who were more than willing to help. They were 2 old white fellows and there was an young aboriginal who was apprenticed to the business. They were all fantastic and they dropped everything to help us straight away. Up on the hoist went the Jeep and it was found we had done an oil pressue switch. Where do you get an oil pressure switch hundreds of kms from any major town? You don't - you make one!! One of the mechanics got a bolt of similar size to the oil switch, filed it back a bit and jammed it in to stop any leakage. He told us "there you go - you can go right 'round Australia with that and you won't get a leak"! We then had to wait until 3pm for the general store to open to buy 4 litres of oil ($55!), filled her up and back to Broome we went. The road was equally as bad as it was 5 days ago when we came up here and there were some parts where we couldn't do more than 10 kms/hr. We finally got back to Broome around 5pm and Mary surprised us with dinner ready for us - but we really enjoyed a drink first!!

Next day, back to the 4WD specialist who did the car service before we left for Cape Leveque. He admitted that he should have checked the switch but said that the bad road probably did the damage. He did, however, agree to get the switch flown up from Perth and he'd do the job for "trade" price. After another 3 days, all's well again (we think) (we hope). I am furious but Ken's the Virgo and I'm the Taurus!

Before we leave, we really want to see the Japanese Cemetery which has 707 graves of Japanese pearl divers and cyclone victims. When we arrive, the cemetery gates are locked and there is a sign indicating that security cameras have been installed. We thought this was strange, as the cemetery is well known around the world as a tourist spot.


While there, a local wandered past and told us that until recently, Broome was a sister-city with Taiji in Japan which is where they have an annual slaughter of dolphins in the bay. Following massive media coverage at the time, last year I believe, the cemetery was vandalised and Broome cancelled it's sister-city status with Taiji. In return, the Japanese Consulate closed off the cemetery, and who could blame them. The cemetery is beautiful and it was nearly destroyed. It has been restored and locked up so there you have it.

Other parts of the cemetery contain a lot of Broome history as well.

Another day and night in Broome before moving on. I think I've mentioned it before, but doing a trip like this you always run into people you've met on the road. While here in Broome, we met up again with Robyn and Alf who we met at Corrobbee Roadhouse in the Northern Territory and again in Arnhem Land then again in Kununurra. We were on our way to their caravan for "5'sies" and who should we walk past but my ex-hairdresser and his wife and kids from Konc Hair Salon on the Gold Coast!
(Wedding Trike Broome - I think I'd rather a limo!)

On the road again! We're heading south now and will stay at a cattle property called Barn Hill Station which is right on the coast. They have powered caravan sites with shower blocks so we should be fine. Another dreadful road though.

Barn Hill: I don't understand how some people find farm stays appealing. The beach was really lovely - red, red cliffs meeting up with white, white sand that meets with blue, blue water. And --- more shells! However, the station ..... $28 per night and the showers/toilets have corrugated iron walls, no hot water, no ceiling and the station itself just dirt, dirt, dirt. One night here will do us.




Off to 80 Mile Beach, 220 kms away, 10 kms of it red dirt and more corrugation.
The caravan park is huge - good amenities, but no grass. It is now the "off-season" and we're told that this park is full every winter .... you have to book years ahead.

80 Mile Beach is about halfway between Broome and Port Headland, and is famous for it's fishing and, yes, shell collecting!

It is a listed wetland and feeding ground for migratory birds and each year, millions of birds arrive from their feeding and breeding grounds in the Arctic Circle. By the time they get here, they have travelled between 10,000 and 15,000 kms. Some are only very young and have only hatched a few months before. It's amazing to see the thousands of them standing on the beach. They tend to be a lot further up the beach from the caravan park and people, but Mary and I walked kms along the beach collecting shells and we came across all these birds just sitting on the sand. We took a wide berth so as not to disturb them as much as we could.
Serious fishermen come to 80-Mile Beach every year and they fish day and night. We can't swim here because of the sharks and sea snakes and saw several of each plus stingrays. The fish they catch here are Giant Threadfin Salmon, Mulloway and Blue Salmon with an occasional Catfish or shark. The sharks that are caught are mainly young ones but one night a fellow caught a 3 metre tiger shark. He said it was too big to handle by himself and it was midnight when he caught it, so he cut the line. The temperature is in the high 30's, low 40's and it's torture without a swim so we occasionally run in and run straight out again (there's no pool in the park).

The Giant Threadfin Salmon and Mulloway that are caught are all at least 1 metre in length, and the Blue Salmon, although smaller, are plentiful. Ken caught 4 Blue Salmon, Michael lost a Giant Threadfin but later caught 2 Blues, so a fish BBQ was on the agenda for our last supper.



We head off for Port Headland, passing the turnoff to Marble Bar, the hottest town in Australia which recorded 162 days running of over 38 degrees in the 1920's - it was 47 degrees there yesterday!

On the way we stop off at Pardoo Station Roadhouse, where we heard about their famous sausage rolls on Macca's Australia All Over ABC Radio Show. The roadhouse is just a service station in the middle of nowhere with a licenced bar (of course!). The sausage rolls are huge and we share just one (Ken, me, Mary and Michael). They are good .... remind me of Mum's, well - not quite as good.

We arrive at the Cook Point Caravan Park at 1pm. I think I was first in the pool! It is a lovely park with a fabulous view from our camp site over the town.
Port Headland is really nice. It is primarily a port which ships over 70 million tonnes of iron ore to China, Korea and Taiwan. Housing is so expensive here because of the mines and an ordinary house on a main road with no garden or front fence can be rented out at $2000 per week. It was amazing to watch the huge ships come into port and load the iron ore which has been brought to the port by some of the longest trains in the world. They load up at places like Newman and other mining towns west of Port Headland and they are up to 700 cars in length. Rio Tinto also has the largest salt mine in the world here and outside of the town are massive salt plains that seem to go on as far as the eye can see.


Swimming is out here as well because of crocodiles but the caravan park has a lovely pool where we swim each afternoon. We explore the town each day and found it a fascinating insight into the mining industry. We visited a Seafarers Centre which looks after the seamen who visit the Port after travelling for months by sea to load up on iron ore. The people who run the Centre meet each visiting vessel with a bus and bring the men to the centre where they can relax with a drink and a home-cooked meal, play cards, games, or just read a book and mix with others from other ships. There is a chapel for prayer and lots of activities or just a talk with strangers. There is a fully stocked shop where they can purchase souvenirs and day-to-day needs. The fellow we were talking to said that they have only ever had 4 run-aways, but they were soon caught as the town is so remote, they were found walking up the highway. Goodness knows where they intended to walk to - they wouldn't have lasted too long in this heat!

Port Headland is divided into 2 parts: Port and South Headland. The Port is obviously the main Port and South Headland is for shopping. We had a drink at the Pier Hotel where Ken visited in 1978 as a detective following up on some crook or other. The funny thing is, he said the hotel is still exactly the same! Not even a new coat of paint!

Our beach at Point Cook is one of those that goes out a couple of kms at low tide and shell collecting is a major past time for Mary and me!

After 5 days in Port Headland, we'd seen all there is to see, so it's on the road again for the 240 km drive to Point Samson, about 10 kms out onto the coast from Roebourne. Roebourne is the oldest town on the north west coast of WA and was established in 1866. There are many historical buildings that have been restored that give an insight into just how busy this town used to be. Now, although restored, most of the buildings are closed up except for the Council Chambers and the old gaol which is now the Visitors Centre.



Roebourne is primarily an aboriginal community, and there are 3 to 4 families living in this house that has been condemned by the Dept of Health but they refuse to move.
Turning right off the highway, we drive through Roebourne then past a town called Wickham, then past a turnoff to Cossack, then on to Point Samson.


Point Samson is a lovely boutique town right on the coast with secluded coves and beautiful beaches and we can swim here, however, no shells. The caravan park is only 3 years old and is lovely and green with fabulous amenities. The flies are dreadful but the lovely swimming in Honeymoon Cove makes up for it. We swim morning and afternoon - nothing else to do here. Fishing is meant to be good, and Michael gives it his best shot but - nothing.



We take a drive into Cossack for the day which was the home of the north west's first pearling industry. The pearling grounds were depleted in the early 1900's and the industry moved further north to Broome. The waters around Cossack slowly silted up and a jetty was built at Point Samson which took all the shipping away from the town as well, then Cossack became a "ghost town" with many of the buildings just deteriorating and falling down.

What is left has been restored but only the old Court House is open showing photographs and stories of the town's history. The old cemetery is still there and some of the headstones tell stories of days gone by.


Karatha and Dampier are towns nearby, so we decide to explore them. Karatha is just a big industrial town for all the mines in the area - iron ore, salt, and Woodside's North West Shelf gas project. The roads are busy with mining vehicles darting all over the country side. We were stopped at a railway crossing by the longest train I've ever seen. Dampier is where William Dampier landed and explored the coastline in the 1600's but it, too, is really just industrial. Years ago, a story was read on ABC radio every morning at 5am about a dog - Red Dog to be exact. Anyway, this is where Red Dog comes from and there he died out near Cossack. There is a film being made about his life and we came across a monument to Red Dog here at Dampier. The photo of the dog is the one chosen to be Red Dog in the movie.


On the way back to Point Samson, we stopped off at Wickham for what we were told, the best coffee in WA. Well - yes, it was really good - but we likened the place to a war zone. There is a tiny shopping complex with just a supermarket and a cafe and the entire area is surrounded by security grills. The Post Office which was outside the compound had bullet holes in the windows and their security grills were on the inside! Great coffee at the cafe though. Didn't take a photo ... a few aggressive looking people around.

The next morning we're off to Exmouth, but its a long way, so we pull into the Nunutarra Roadhouse for a stopover for 1 night. This was a shock to the system! $28 a night and it had those shower/toilet demountables that they use for road workers. Inside it had 2 showers and 2 toilets - 1 had the cistern hanging off the wall but it was still usable! We had a look at the shop/restaurant and it cost $8 for a can of beer.

On the way to Nanutarra, we saw this sign on the side of the road. The highway is where the Royal Flying Doctor plane has to land in this terrain!



A Greyhound bus half full of people pulled in while we were looking at the price of things and out jumped 3 men and a lady dressed in bullet proof vests with guns on their belts. Of course, those who know me well will understand, I just had to know so why not ask. It turns out that here in the west, they transport prisoners to gaol by Greyhound coach and these fellows were on their way from Carnarvon to the gaol at Wickham near Roebourne - the heat here is too intense to move them by prison van. In fact, it was only recently when an aboriginal prisoner died from the heat while being transferred from a community to Kalgoorlie in a prison van. The Greyhound coach had to pull into the Roadhouse to wait for the road north to clear after a fatal accident just south of Karatha between a car/caravan and a road train. It happened about an hour after we went through. The Greyhound coach ended up turning around and headed back to Carnarvon.

We had a couple of drinks with our Mary and Michael, and a Swedish couple whose English wasn't too good - but we managed - I think.

Early night then out of Nunutarra - we didn't even have a shower. That can wait until we've got some decent amenities.

260 km drive to Exmouth. 38 degrees and fuel 158.9.

I always imagined Exmouth to be a big city but it's only a tiny town on the Exmouth Gulf. The attraction here is the Ningaloo Reef with it's whale sharks but we're not here at the right time to see them. The reef, however, is always available, so snorkelling is on the agenda for the next few days. The caravan park is beautiful and we select our sites away from the crowd and just about have the amenities block by ourselves.


Exmouth was established as a support town for the Harold Holt Communication Station, an Australian/US Government venture which listens to the naval ships and submarines of Australia and the US and other naval shipping but that's a secret. The communication towers head up into the sky and the tallest one (the tallest structure in the southern hemisphere) recorded wind gusts of over 267km an hour and is now in the record books. They have cyclones up here and the last one flattened the town in 1999, but it was soon rebuilt and it is obvious that this place is going to be THE place in a few years. The houses being built here in canal developments are huge.


The Ningaloo Marine Park stretches 260 kms of coastline from Coral Bay to Exmouth. Dugongs, whale sharks, manta rays, reef sharks, dolphins, whales and turtles can be found here and it is an absolute paradise. The water is so blue. We went out on a semi-submersible to the outer reef and interestingly, the coral here is all browns, creams, greens and yellows but the fish are all colours like the Great Barrier Reef. The boat anchored near the outer reef and we snorkelled the area for ages.

We also snorkelled at Turquoise Bay a bit further down the coast which was lovely - this is a beautiful part of Australia. Beyond the reef is the very edge of the continental shelf and people come from all over the world to see the whale sharks. I will always remember years ago when my friend, Brenda, come over here and dived with the whale sharks and had her photo taken with them - amazing.

19 kms north of Exmouth is the Vlamingh Lighthouse, named after a Dutch explorer who visited the north west coast in the 1600's. At the base of the lighthouse we found a grave with the deceased name simply engraved into the wood.

I found out that this man was one of the lighthouse builders who died during construction and he was buried here.
There is another caravan park out here right on the edge of the Indian Ocean, and the trees have been cut ready for the cyclone season.

As mentioned before, we run into our new friends everywhere we go, and Exmouth was no exception. Here we met up with Robyn and Alf again, and my ex-hairdresser from the Gold Coast, John and Cathy. John tells us that there is some serious fishing to be had at Bundegi Beach, about 12 kms out of Exmouth. Michael gets excited at the prospect of catching fish so off we went the next day.
After some hours of the boys fishing and Mary and I looking for shells and swimming, we gave up. The swimming was fabulous with the temperature in the high 30's - we swam with turtles here which was amazing. They are not bothered by us.

Two cruise ships visited Exmouth while we were there - the Pacific Dawn and Rhapsody. There isn't any wharves or jetties in Exmouth so the ships moor offshore in the Gulf and smaller craft transfer the passengers to shore. Pacific Dawn's passengers had to give a visit to Exmouth a miss because of the high winds which made it too dangerous for the transfer, but Rhapsody, which arrived the day after, was able to cope. We spoke to many visitors from France, England, Germany, etc. who said that the trip on Rhapsody was one in a lifetime.


We spent Melbourne Cup day here in Exmouth at the Pot Shot Hotel. We could hardly hear the race over the music from the juke box! $8.50 each for a glass of sparkling wine for me and Mary, a middy of beer for Ken, $30 lost on the race, and we were out of there (Michael went fishing - caught nothing).

We have seen a lot of emus since leaving Port Headland and Exmouth has many.




We're out of here tomorrow (5/11) and down the coast to Coral Bay.

Sorry for being so behind but I think WA isn't high on Telstra's list!

Love to all. xx
Don't forget you can double click on the photos to see (or right-click then Open).