Litchfield National Park

Our next stop was Litchfield about 100km South of Darwin. We stayed in a caravan park for 2 nights just outside the national park, where we could get power to run the air conditioning, and explored the park during the day. Wangi Falls was beautiful and the water was so clear and full of fish. Buley's Rockpools was a series of small rock pools and cascades that were also lovely to sit and swim in. However, being a Saturday, the Buley pools were very crowded with groups of Darwinites cooling off with their eskies and stubbies. How's the serenity?

Hello Northern Territory!

After a very uneventful border crossing (no fruit and vegie checks) we were zooming across into the Northern Territory. The Boab trees disappeared and the Pandanas began to line the highway along with herds of Brahman Cattle bound for the live export market. By early evening we reached the Territory's 3rd largest town of Katherine. We stayed the first night at the Springvale Homestead van park then went into Nitmuluk National Park and stayed in their camping ground (with an awesome pool) for two more nights. On our second day we did a boat tour of Katherine Gorge and it was beautiful. Our Aboriginal guide was fantastic and informed us about all the indigenous medicines and bush tucker provided by plants and animals, and the story of the Serpent who made the gorges and now lives in the 2nd gorge. It was really interesting and the view was amazing. In town we were able to stock up on groceries at the big Woolworths and were introduced to restricted opening hours for buying alcohol. In an attempt to reduce alcohol related violence and anti-social behaviour in Katherine, the bottle shops can not open before 2pm and there is a restriction on how many take-away items you can buy. Apparently the annual per capita consumption of alcohol in Katherine is 70% higher than the rest of the country. With daily top temperatures of 38 degrees and no breeze.....maybe it's the tourists!

Across to Kununurra

Leaving Broome was very difficult as we had stopped for over a week and our gear was spread out all over the place and packing-up motivation was low. However, it was also getting very hot and would only get hotter as we had to move north towards Darwin. On the 2nd of September we left with the intention of stopping at Derby for the night because we had read that there was a long jetty and good fishing and crabbing, but after about an hour we decided to continue on. The jetty was lined with iron ore barges from mines on some of the islands up north and it didn't look like a lovely fishing spot after all. So, 500km later we arrived in Fitzroy Crossing and camped overnight at the Fitzroy River Lodge. Along the way the vegetation was fairly green and there were heaps of bizarre looking Boab Trees to keep us slightly interested in the drive. The next morning, after a swim in the very cold pool, we continued about 300km to Halls Creek where we checked into the very daggy and dusty caravan park and were shocked to find that our friends that we met in Warnambool Victoria were also here. Tanya, Luis and 2 kids had been stuck in Halls Creek for 2 weeks while their 4WD was being repaired in Broome. Poor people. But Luis had caught the Greyhound bus last night, picked up their repaired car, stocked up on groceries and alcohol, and was currently on his way back. Not only is Halls Creek a bit low on grocery stores and incredibly hot (38 degrees today) but it is also a dry town and not the place you want to break down in. The next day we stopped at the Doon Doon Roadhouse for lunch and met a bus-load of Greek people doing a 6 week tour of Australia, than continued on to Kununurra for one night. In the evening we went over to the nearby lagoon and spotted lots of Freshwater Crocodiles with our torches. The following morning, after stocking up with groceries, we drove to Lake Argyle and camped for 2 nights at a fabulous campground overlooking this amazing lake and the surrounding red mountains. Lake Arglye used to be Argyle station and was flooded in 1972 when they dammed the Ord River. We visited the original homestead that was moved, stone by stone, to much higher ground. The Lake contains over 18 times the volume of water that is in Sydney Harbour, irrigates over 13,000 hectares and generates hydro electricity for Kununurra and the Argyle diamond mine. The days were incredibly hot but we happily cooled down in the pool. This part of our trip is beginning to become a tour of swimming pools. At Lake Argyle we camped beside a lovely family from the Yarra Valley in Victoria with 2 daughters who quickly became playmates with Ashleigh and Hannah.

Broome

Arriving in Broome meant officially entering the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Broome is a very touristy town but it is also extremely beautiful and very multicultural as people came from far and wide when the pearling industry here took off in the late 1880s. Malay, Chinese, Japanese, Koepanger, European and Aboriginal cultures have all blended to create some of the most stunning looking people we have seen, with beautiful brown skin and deep dark eyes. We stayed in Broome for 8 nights and did a pretty good job exploring this town, except between the hours of about 11am and 3pm when it was just too hot and all we could do was sit by the pool. Most mornings were spent swimming at Cable Beach and of course we did the obligitory camel ride. One thing they don't tell you is that the section of beach where the camel trains take you is actually a clothing-optional part of the beach and there are many Grey Nomads sunbaking naked by the side of their 4wds. How nice for us all! In the late afternoon we dropped into Matso's brewery a couple of times for a Mango Beer and looked around town at the many art galleries and pearl shops. One shop assistant hung a $12,700 string of pearls around Ashleigh's neck and surprisingly she loved it!........and thought she might like one!! The annual cultural festival Shinju Matsuri was on while we were in town and we watched Dragon Boat racing at Town Beach one day while Ashleigh and Hannah played for a while in the water park (until we saw a little boy weeing in it). On our first night we saw the phenomena they call "Staircase to the Moon" where the reflections of the rising full moon on the mud flats at Roebuck Bay create an optical illusion of a golden stairway leading to the moon. It was quite amazing. Broome was also where we put the Digger on the plane and sent him back to Sydney and back to work. Ashleigh and Hannah balled their eyes out as Anthony's plane departed, and for a couple of hours afterwards. I don't think he was crying though.

Port Hedland to Barn Hill

From the magic scenery at Karijini we drove about 450 kms into ugly Port Hedland (Anthony called it a big Brookvale). The local fashion is high visibility fluoro safety wear and Daisy looks tiny alongside the rigs that roll in and out of this busy port. BHP Billiton export 70 million tonnes of iron ore per year out of Port Hedland and everything is covered in a fine layer of red dirt. Stockpiles of industrial salt also lie about the place to be exported by Dampier Salt. We stayed a couple of nights at a very expensive caravan park and listened to the rumble of very long trains (we counted 150 carriages) through the night.

On the 18th August we drove north along the coast for a couple of hours to the East Pilbara Council campsite at Cape Keraudren. For $20 per night it was a basic camp with no water, but it was right on the coast and we could have a campfire. This was the first place that we had been at where you couldn't swim because of crocodiles! Anthony and Simon did a bit of fishing and caught a Spotted Javelin fish which we ate for dinner.

Our next stop along this coastal stretch was the caravan park at 80 Mile Beach. The beach was beautiful and covered in masses of shells but this time we couldn't swim because of all the sharks! Anthony caught a sandbar shark and Simon caught a stingray and a catfish (all 3 were returned to the sea).

After a few days we continued on to Barn Hill station which is 120km south of Broome. For $25 per night we stayed at this great caravan park operated by the station owners that was right on a fabulous beach (where you could swim!!) and included hot showers, flushing toilets (with no roof) and power. The night we arrived was Roast Night where for $16 per person (BYO chair, table, plate and cutlery) we got a 3 course meal and were entertained by a local Aboriginal band. We loved it here.