AROUND AUSTRALIA 2008
Saturday 9 August – Friday 22 August
Broome
Blog 5
We had planned to have lunch at the Fish Restaurant at the pier but forgot that it was Broome Cup Day, the last day in the Broome racing calendar and a very big event. The whole town and beaches were almost deserted because of the races. People in the surrounding areas were flying in in their small aircraft and going by taxi directly to the races. There were thousands there. This is country Australia at its best.
We decided to spend the afternoon at Riddell Beach Gantheaume Point.
We booked a weekend away in a Safari Tent at Cape Leveque with John and Rhonda. Most of the road to Cape Leveque now is bitumen except for the last 90km.
The roads into the small communities are all still dirt and we stopped at Beagle Bay for a look at the community but mainly the beautiful shell church.
We then continued on to Middle Lagoon which is a most beautiful spot. The day was perfect as was the beach. Then we went onto Lombadina where we had lunch under the shade of the tree and even though everything was shut because it was Saturday we still were able drive over the sand dunes and onto the beautiful beach.
We had our first flat tyre at Lombadina. That was just the beginning of our tyre trouble for the weekend.
After arriving at Cape Leveque or Kooljamin and unpacking our stuff we drove down to the beach and then onto Western Beach to enjoy the beautiful sunset with its magnificent colours.
The night was VERY windy and we thought that the tent would blow away but it didn’t thank goodness. They actually dismantle all the safari tents in October and store everything over the wet and the reassemble everything in April. I can understand why that would be necessary just from what we experienced with the wind without the torrential rain of the wet.
We took a tag-a-long trip with Eric, one of the aboriginal owners of the land, to the back side of the Hunter River. We had a fantastic 4 hours. We saw some beautiful beaches and were able to drive right to the tip of the peninsula.
Towards the end of the afternoon Eric lit a fire, cut up some fresh damper with jam or honey, made some billy tea and then cooked some marinated turtle and some mackerel. The turtle didn’t have a strong taste and was quite good.
Eric’s grandfather was Colonel Hunter and he had 14 wives. Eric and his uncle live and work on their land and the only way that we may enter is to do his tour.
As we were finishing the tour Eric noticed that our back tyre was leaking air and we had trouble plugging it. We were worried about the trip home as we didn’t have anymore spare tyres but we did have the ability to plug punctures and pump up the tyre.
After we checked out of the safari tent we drove further north to One Arm Point and enjoyed the spectacular view of the beach with the water looking like it was being churned up in a washing machine and then on to the Hatchery.
We headed back to Broome carefully having trouble with our tyres and we were glad to get back safely. We definitely needed new tyres for the car and the caravan before our trip to Kalumburu.
We decided to stay in Broome for the Shinju Matsuri festival which is a festival that celebrates the pearling industry in Broome and the many different racial groups that played a part in its history. The opening ceremony was fantastic and the faces of the people told the story of the diversity of their nationality mix.
Saturday 9 August – Friday 22 August
Broome
Blog 5
We had planned to have lunch at the Fish Restaurant at the pier but forgot that it was Broome Cup Day, the last day in the Broome racing calendar and a very big event. The whole town and beaches were almost deserted because of the races. People in the surrounding areas were flying in in their small aircraft and going by taxi directly to the races. There were thousands there. This is country Australia at its best.
We decided to spend the afternoon at Riddell Beach Gantheaume Point.
We booked a weekend away in a Safari Tent at Cape Leveque with John and Rhonda. Most of the road to Cape Leveque now is bitumen except for the last 90km.
The roads into the small communities are all still dirt and we stopped at Beagle Bay for a look at the community but mainly the beautiful shell church.
We then continued on to Middle Lagoon which is a most beautiful spot. The day was perfect as was the beach. Then we went onto Lombadina where we had lunch under the shade of the tree and even though everything was shut because it was Saturday we still were able drive over the sand dunes and onto the beautiful beach.
We had our first flat tyre at Lombadina. That was just the beginning of our tyre trouble for the weekend.
After arriving at Cape Leveque or Kooljamin and unpacking our stuff we drove down to the beach and then onto Western Beach to enjoy the beautiful sunset with its magnificent colours.
The night was VERY windy and we thought that the tent would blow away but it didn’t thank goodness. They actually dismantle all the safari tents in October and store everything over the wet and the reassemble everything in April. I can understand why that would be necessary just from what we experienced with the wind without the torrential rain of the wet.
We took a tag-a-long trip with Eric, one of the aboriginal owners of the land, to the back side of the Hunter River. We had a fantastic 4 hours. We saw some beautiful beaches and were able to drive right to the tip of the peninsula.
Towards the end of the afternoon Eric lit a fire, cut up some fresh damper with jam or honey, made some billy tea and then cooked some marinated turtle and some mackerel. The turtle didn’t have a strong taste and was quite good.
Eric’s grandfather was Colonel Hunter and he had 14 wives. Eric and his uncle live and work on their land and the only way that we may enter is to do his tour.
As we were finishing the tour Eric noticed that our back tyre was leaking air and we had trouble plugging it. We were worried about the trip home as we didn’t have anymore spare tyres but we did have the ability to plug punctures and pump up the tyre.
After we checked out of the safari tent we drove further north to One Arm Point and enjoyed the spectacular view of the beach with the water looking like it was being churned up in a washing machine and then on to the Hatchery.
We headed back to Broome carefully having trouble with our tyres and we were glad to get back safely. We definitely needed new tyres for the car and the caravan before our trip to Kalumburu.
We decided to stay in Broome for the Shinju Matsuri festival which is a festival that celebrates the pearling industry in Broome and the many different racial groups that played a part in its history. The opening ceremony was fantastic and the faces of the people told the story of the diversity of their nationality mix.
