Friday, 26 September – Millstream Chichester National Park

As we neared Millstream Chichester National Park the hills changed from red to chocolate brown. It was hotter than on the coast so a swim in the Fortescue River was a welcome relief from the heat and the dusty corrugated roads.

Next day we checked out the old homestead and the Millstream wetlands. Before the station was a national park it ran 50,000 head of sheep and grew bananas and dates as well as vegetables for the family and staff. This was only possible because of the existence of the Millstream fed by an underground aquifer.

It's now very hot in the middle of the day.  We are using our solar shower bags but have to mix in an equal amount of cold water because the water in the bags gets much too hot.

We packed up early next morning to head towards Karratha. On the way we dropped into Python Pool for a quick dip.

On top Of The Chichester Range

Enjoying A Dip At Deep Reach On The Fortescue River

Late Afternoon At Millstream NP

Fortescue River

Hamersley Range In The Distance

Millstream - A Continuous Flow Of Crystal Clear Water From An Underground Aquifer

Camped In The Red Dirt

 

Python Pool - A Nice Little Swimming Hole

Wednesday, 24 September – Port Hedland

As soon as we arrived in Port Hedland the attack of the sand flies began. We are now using heaps of spray in an effort to ward off the all but invisible little buggers.

We caught up with Maree’s cousin, Mary Jean, who works for one of the mining companies. The construction of accommodation camps and housing in town for mine workers is still happening at a great rates of knots. 

We went to the Recreational Club for dinner and were the only people in the dining room.  The meal was pretty average and while we were finishing our after dinner wine the staff asked if were going to leave soon.  After all it was nearly 9pm.  Lesson learned: If there’s no-one else in the dining room the meals can’t be that good and I'm not allowed to choose any more dinner venues.

Port Hedland Is Not Just All About Iron Ore.  There're Salt Pans and Salt Export As Well.

Lights Of Port Hedland.  The Lights Are Mostly For The Mining Infrastructure,

Friday, 19 September – Eighty Mile Beach

After a long and fairly uninteresting drive, with only one roadhouse along the way, we arrived at another beachside camp. Eighty Mile Beach is wide (and obviously very long) and is popular with fisherpersons and shell collectors.

Fishing can be a risky past time here with sea snakes, rays and the ever present sharks.  Gordo put in some more time fish feeding which eventually paid off with a couple of blue nosed salmon and a small shark. Kaz put in a fair bit less time fishing and caught the biggest blue nose.  Anyway we made up nice feed of fish and chips and salad.

It was Gordo's birthday but he is so old he couldn't remember how old he was until reminded by Kaz.  So Gordo gave us a reason for having another great celebration featuring a lamb roast and a red or two.

We passed the time again with more walks and fishing along the wide sandy beach beside a beautiful turquoise sea.

Gordo's 6x Birthday Celebration

Cake Urchin Shell

Eighty Mile Beach Sunset

Shell Collecting Along Eighty Mile Beach 

There's Plenty Of Beach For Everyone

 

Happy Fisherpersons

 

Tuesday, 16 September - Barn Hill Station

This camp is by a beautiful sandy beach with vivid red cliffs and various other rock formations to rival Cape Leveque. Gordo put in some time feeding the fish and very nearly caught one or two (or so the story goes).  The temperature is in the mid 30s but the sea breeze makes air con redundant, which is just as well because have only 4 amp power supplies to our camp sites.

With long walks on the beach, reading and nothing much in particular we passed our time at rustic Barn Hill.

Camp At Barn Hill Station

Fish Eggs Like Pearls On The Beach



Sunset At Barn Hill

Sorry, Another Sunset Photo

Friday, 12 September 2014 – Broome

By early morning we were back on the road to Broome and playing in the red sand again. The temperature was hitting 39 by lunchtime so we took a stress break lunch at Maccas back in Broome.

The speedway is near the Broome caravan park so knowing there was a meet scheduled for Saturday night we made a booking well in advance for a Thai restaurant that night.  But we didn't there was also a race meeting on Friday night.  We didn't go out that night.  Can’t win them all.

At present the spring tides mean the low tide is very low so I took a look at the WWII seaplane wrecks in the harbour.  The Catalina and Dornier flying boats, from several allied countries, were brought to Broome for safe keeping in 1942 but were quickly bombed and sunk by the Japanese. 

The low tides also gave us and the opportunity to see the dinosaur footprints at Gantheaune Point. Don't know much about the Dinosaurs but I think they were here some time before all the tourists. 

Lastly we did a big stock up to last the next few weeks.

Camels At Sunset on Cable Beach

Sunset At Cable Beach

Walking Out To The Seaplane Wracks (Yes, There Was An Easier Way To Go)

Seaplane Wreck

Something On The Mudflats

Another Thing On The Mudflats

 

Dinosaur Footprint And A Foot

Lost People Looking For Dinosaur Footprints

Gordo And Kaz At  Cable Beach

David And Maree At Gantheaune Point

Thursday, 11 September 2014 – Cape Leveque

The north end of the Cape Leveque Road is sealed so once back on this sealed section we pumped up the tyres to highway pressure and continued on to the Koojiman Camp located on the cape. This is one of the few places you can see both sunrise and sunset across the water. Unfortunately fivesies distracted us so we almost missed sunset and, well, forget about sunrise; it happens too early over here. Anyway, the beach was nice with the tide in but very rocky with the tide out.

Red Rock And Blue Sea At Cape Leveque

The Red And Sandy Cape Leveque Road

Stop Sign At Bardi - I Want Some Of These For Back Home!

Camp At Cape Leveque With Lighthouse In The Background

 

Wednesday, 10 September 2014 – Middle Lagoon

This morning we started up the Cape Leveque Road, which has a reputation of being pretty rough but found it no worse than other dirt roads we’ve been on this trip.  Apart from the usual corrugations and sandy patches (sometimes both together which is worse) the road was nothing out of the ordinary. However, there are quite a few cars littered along the road to tell a different story.

We dropped into Beagle Bay for mornos and to view the old mission church before continuing on to Middle Lagoon.  The church, modelled on a rural German church, was built by German priests and brothers in 1918 after being put under house arrest during WWI.

The side road into Middle Lagoon slowed us down a bit with heavier sandy stretches and roller coaster dips and humps. The roller coaster section earned this road the rare ‘heavy duty sports bra; rating. By lunchtime we had set up camp at the beautiful Middle Lagoon and in the afternoon took a dip in the lagoon.

Sacred Heart Mission Church At Beagle Bay



Pearl Shell Altar Inside The Church



Heavy Duty Fuel Bowsers At Beagle Bay

Sunset At Middle Lagoon

That evening we had a cold chicken and salad dinner accompanied by red wine served at room temperature – about 28 degrees.

Tuesday, 9 September 2014 – Broome

We left Derby fairly early and started heading south. We set up the vans in Broome and restocked the larder in preparation for our tenting trip up north to Cape Leveque.

Yours was well overdue for a haircut so after purchasing a new set of clippers I got a number 8 (no shorter please) ending up with a new hairy chest.

That evening we watched the ‘stairway to the moon’ as the moon rose over Broome Harbour. The low light photography was a challenge so we’ll have another go at later date to see if we can some acceptable pics.

 

Saturday, 6 September – Derby

The weather is consistently in the mid 30s with increasing humidity but at least the evenings and nights are pleasant. Derby doesn’t have a great deal of appeal other than it has the highest tides in Australia and it’s at the other end of the Gibb River Road.

Karen and Gordo left Derby on a float plane for their overnight Horizontal Falls escapade. We had a look around town but it was closed for the weekend. Time to chillout.

Leaving On A Floatplane

Somehow It Manages to Leave The Ground

Boab Tree At Dinner Camp



There Goes The Sun

Ibis At The Derby Wetlands

High Tide At Derby Pier

Low Tide The Next Morning

 



Derbys Version Of A Mens Shed?

Wednesday, 3 September – Fitzroy Crossing

We arranged to meet up with David and Christine who are now working their way back east from Broome. That was a good enough excuse for another great roast on the Cobb and a couple of bottles of wine.

Next day we did the Geikie Gorge boat tour hosted by an entertaining JapAboriginal tour guide. The gorge has spectacular rock formations with flood levels about 16 metres above where we cruised. It was pretty warm in the open boat and the heat was too much for one old dear who passed out and needed first aid.  It was team effort until she was carted off to hospital.



Eroded Limestone Cliffs In Geikie Gorge

Here's Us Cruising Geikie Gorge



More Cliffs. The Colour Change Shows The Average Flood Height




Balancing Act On Top Of The Cliffs

After deciding to stay another day at Fitzroy Crossing we had to find something to do. Already been to the hardware store twice and op shop is only about twice the size of our walk-in robe.

So we went to the historic Fitzroy Crossing Inn around lunchtime. It was chokas. Maybe that’s not PC but the joint was full and we were the only white people. Guess we know how they feel in our world. Some of the inn’s patrons must cause a few problems judging by the whiteboard listing the many banned people, all the notices on the walls and that you get breathalysed on re-entry.

The girls bought carved boab nuts from Malcolm and his wife, both lovely people.  We checked out the local artwork, some of which is fantastic.

Who Can Resist Buying A Carved Boab Nut?

Whiteboard At The Inn



More Notices At The Inn



Two Patrons Not Humbugging

And When You Leave The Inn - Don't Drink On The Road Because........