May 3, 2013 - Highlights from Broome

For Sue: A hovercraft trip around Roebuck Bay with Mel in the late afternoon Seeing two different types of fossils of dinosaur footprints Walking along Cable Beach at sunset, followed by dinner with local delicacy ‘threadfin salmon’ Seeing the ‘staircase to the moon’ with the moonlight reflected on the water For Col: Spending time in the air-conditioned Boulevard Shopping Centre Spending time in the air-conditioned Boulevard Shopping Centre Spending time in the air-conditioned Boulevard Shopping Centre For both of us: Staying in one place...

Apr 29, 2013 - Lessons from life on the road ...

Great to see Mel and be in the same place for one week, even managed to arrive at the right time to see the Stairway to the Moon! Temps during day still around 35 but nights are cooler here around 22-25 so that makes for better sleeping! The XTrail is getting a much-needed service today and we are mainly planning to relax, as well as take in some of the local sights. Lessons from life on the road ... so far: 1. Always put the towball cover in place immediately after separating the vehicle from the van—greasy stains on many pairs of shorts...

Apr 17, 2013 - Tour Perth to Broome

20.04 Our first stop today is the amazing Lancelin sand dunes to experience the unique sport of sand boarding, a great way to start the day! Then it’s back on the bus for a drive up the coast to the impressive Pinnacles Desert in Nambung National Park. We enjoy a fully guided tour through these amazing limestone formations and drop in at the Discovery Centre, before we have lunch by the sea. After a sightseeing stop in the town of Geraldton it’s on to Big River Ranch in Kalbarri National Park for some true blue Aussie hospitality and our...

Sep 1, 2012 - Dragon Boats and Staircase to the Moon

We took the bus into the Town Beach to view a great community event run by the Rotary Club - dragon boat races on the beach. It seemed that all the school, business houses and community groups had a team in the boat races and were having a great time - sometimes capsized, sometimes steering off course, somtimes both together. We spent the morning there - it was the first time we had seen the beach at high tide and what a beautiful sight it was too. Back to the caravan park and of course the boys were in the pool. We then visited the Buddha...

Aug 31, 2012 - Broome - whale watching

We took the motor home into the shopping centre to fuel up and collect some more groceries. When we came back the boys of course had to have a swim. The bus picked us up for the whale watching after lunch. The water was calm and with a gentle breeze, a lovely afternoon was expected. The skipper, Cameron was a nice bloke who spent some time in Charters Towers on a drilling rig and Steph the French/Canadian was delightful. We cruised out on the Kai-Aura and spotted some whales playing from a distance. A familiar occurrence for the whole...

Aug 30, 2012 - Broome . . . hovercraft tour

Today the boys went for a swim in the pool for an hour or so. Then a couple of hours later we all went on a hovercraft tour for the afternoon. We spent an hour on it cruising around Roebuck Bay which is an oasis for hundreds of different birds including many migratory birds from places as far away as China. We also stopped half way and saw the Dino foot prints of a large herbivore. Back at the beach we saw the new 24 seater hovercraft worth over $2million.

Aug 29, 2012 - China Town and camels....

This morning we caught the town bus into China Town (actually used to be called Jap Town before WW2. We were walking down the historic Johnny Chi Lane and found a hairdresser and we had our hair cut there and then (for a price a little higher than at home!). We enjoyed the Pearl Luggers Tour (visit to a museum/talk/video + 2 old pearl luggers). After having lunch in town (reasonable - where most of what looked like the locals ate at) we caught the bus out to the Historical Museum and Town Beach. The museum had excellent displays from the...

Aug 28, 2012 - Broome .....

Today we spent the morning cleaning the motorhome and doing other chores. Met an interesting neighbour who gave us some good advice for places further on our travels. We caught the bus after lunch to the whale watching boat. The bus drove us right down onto Cable Beach up near the light house and a dinghy which had wheels came out of the water and picked us up and took us to the large boat. We started out to sea but we got about 5 km out and the skipper cancelled the trip as it was too rough. It was an interesting dinghy ride back to...

Aug 27, 2012 - Broome

Our plan today was to drive the couple of hundred kms to Broome. The Derby road was great to the turnoff but the road then to Broome was by Qld standards pretty good but by the standards so far on the trip...ordinary. This must be a spectacular place in the wet - the water level markers on the side of the road indicate lots of water flow over the road in lots of places. Still finding it hard to come to terms with the one lane bridges - some of them are quite long over large rivers. We have encountered many of these all over the north of the...

Aug 25, 2012 - Kimberley: Broome

Kimberley: Broome 25-29 August 2012 Broome was not on our original itinerary but after a family chinwag and the thought of swimming at the beach, we decided to go. The Rogers were also heading that way which was a bonus. The anticipation was high as we left the red dirt behind us. We weren't disappointed as we reached the west coast and headed straight for Cable Beach. Over the next 4 days we spent every afternoon down at Cable Beach watching the famous camel trains pass by, whales playing in the ocean and beautiful sunsets (over the...

Aug 18, 2012 - Gieke Gorge

Arrived in Fitzroy Crossing late yesterday and checked into the FC Resort C/Park. Quite a big park, quiet and clean, and busy. They had a special of Barra, chips and salad, 2 for the price of 1. Take away only! Well worth the $27.50 for the 2 meals. Dot and Ken are here too, and we had tea together. A few drinks under the stars. Couldn't be better. And no mossies last night. We all went out to the Gorge this morning, and then enjoyed a picnic lunch. Broome beckons us tomorrow.

Aug 18, 2012 - Bungle Bungles

Back in reception area again at Fitzroy Crossing! Had a Helicopter flight over the Bungles. Magnificent. Dot and Ken Macphee were going, so I volunteered to fill the third seat so that we got a cheaper rate. We met Ken and Dot at Timber Creek, and although we don't travel together, we invariably end up in the same place. They had it organised before we got there, so I had no say in the 6.00am, REPEAT, 6.00am flight. The 'copter had no doors, so had to rug up a bit because the heater (without the doors on) is as useless as an ashtray on a...