Half-lap Day 73: Broome -> De Grey

Our friends had booked a Pearl Farm Tour and needed to leave at 9am, so once all the kids were awake we suggested they play together for one last morning, while Tony and I got on with packing up to leave. It felt weird to be packing up after being here for so long, but we hadn’t spread out as much as we sometimes do and it was fairly straightforward – except for the bat poo on the roof of our annexe, which took a bit of time to clean off, and the sticky flowers that were all over our tent roof. We said a sad goodbye to our friends as they left for their tour (we’ll see them again at home in about 10 weeks so we are all looking forward to that) and then finished packing while the kids played with their Skylanders. We were ready to go just before 11.

The pool at our caravan park in Broome

The drive south was through fairly unchanging terrain, although it was different to anything we’ve seen so far. The land was very very flat, the ground was mainly red dirt and the plantlife was very short – lots of bushes low to the ground, and hardly any trees. After several hours there were some hills in the distance, which we eventually drove past, and on occasion the ground would be sand rather than red dirt. In those areas the termite mounds were white rather than red, which makes sense but was a surprise the first time we saw them. Every now and then we would just see a glint of the ocean over to our right, above the cliffs or dunes that must be along the shoreline. It was weird to think that for the whole time we drove, there was the same beach following the coastline to our west – Eightly Mile Beach is over 200km long, incredible.

We were unsure where we were going to stay and kept considering our options as we went. Eighty Mile Beach Caravan Park was our first thought, and the reviews were mixed, but we couldn’t swim in the ocean there and it felt like more than we wanted to pay for what we’d get. Cape Keraudren was our favourite option, although when I looked into that and realised how expensive it was we decided to skip that as well ($20 entry fee for the car, $10 for the trailer, then $10 per person (possibly a bit less for the kids)). There were a few roadhouses and station stays – the station stays were also expensive, and the roadhouses in the middle of nowhere, and everyone was mostly happy in the car (we got bored from time to time so paused Harry Potter and played a game for a while, or had some food, or switched around who was using the iPads/ etc) so we kept going. We stopped for petrol at Pardoo Roadhouse (cheaper than the previous one, and we’d had to use our jerry can to get that far, but worth it to save 10c/litre) and then drove another 70km to De Grey rest area, a free camp next to a river about 80km from Port Hedland.

We arrived around 4.30, it’s been a while since we got to our destination within an hour of sunset. This was our biggest driving day yet, over 500km. As we drove into the camping area we saw a large white cow trying to look into someone’s caravan. We drove around the very large camping area and found a spot that looked like it would get good morning shade. We took the bikes off the trailer and then a german guy in a campervan next to us came over and said that we were setting up in a spot where people drove through. We pointed out that right next to us was another spot that people could drive through (the place we had driven through, ourselves, to get to our spot) and we thought that would be enough, he said he was just letting us know and that there were lots of other spots around… We wondered if he just didn’t want us that close to him (we wanted a spot that was shady if possible, and not too far from the toilets (this spot was several hundred metres back to the toilets). We decided to have a bit more of a look around, Tony rode his bike and found a very shady spot closer to the river, so we moved down there. This spot felt much more like bush camping, lots of big gum trees around, and a bit nicer than just being camped on the large flat area we first drove into. It was hillier down here, with lots of little spots in between ridges of dirt and grass.

Sunset over the DeGrey river

We got the tent set up then the kids and I went down to check out the river. There was water covering about a third of it’s width, although it didn’t look very deep, there were wading birds in the edges and lots of water plants showing through the surface of the water. There’d been recent sightings here of bull sharks in the river, so we had a look but didn’t see anything like that, just ripples every now and then from some unknown fish. We watched the sun set behind the bridge then went up to the toilets, on the way back we met a couple with a dog and chatted to them for a while. Tony cooked sausages for tea and we had them on bread. It was nice to be away from lights and towns again and to really see the stars – I always forget when I’m in town how much brighter they are when in the bush. We went to bed as soon as we had all the beds and blankets set up, and had shut all the windows and doors – the nights are definitely getting cooler now! I read a chapter of Inheritance then everyone was happy to go to sleep.

Half-Lap Day 72: Broome

It was my friend’s birthday, so she and I were up early and went into the beach together, leaving the guys to look after the kids when they all woke up. We walked north along Cable Beach for ages, talking about all sorts of things and really rejuvenating ourselves. We saw lots of amazing shells (including one that was so orange, it looked like it had been painted), and crabs, and lots of changing light patterns on the water. It was cloudy when we got there and the ocean was a deep grey, then it lightened as the sun got higher and was sparkly at times when the sun broke through the clouds. It was a little windy and the sand was swirling around but it wasn’t too uncomfortable.

View over the rocks (low tide) towards Gantheaume Point

Eventually we turned around and walked back, seeing 2 of the camel trains on the way, and had great views across the rocks and now blue water towards Gantheaume Point. We walked up to the Sunset Bar and Grill and sat outside overlooking the ocean, and had a coffee (my first real (well, de-caf) coffee in many many years – it was delicious!). All around us people were eating a yummy looking buffet breakfast – my friend’s mum had given her some money to spend on something frivolous on her trip, so we splashed out and bought breakfast. It was quite magnificent, bacon and eggs and sausages and mushrooms and tomatoes and potatoes, which we followed up with pastries and yoghurt and fruit and muesli. It was so wonderful to have a long uninterrupted stretch of time with a good friend, and to add great food and a magnificent view into it – it was a great morning.

Our view while we ate breakfast

We went back to the caravan park and hung out with everyone else for the rest of the morning. We prepared some food for dinner (actually I didn’t help, the other 3 adults did the preparation, I was pottering around at our tent) and the kids played on their ipads, played with their toys, and rode their bikes around. LiAM borrowed one of the other girl’s bikes and had a practice on something bigger than Millie’s, and liked it, so we’re on the lookout for a bike that size for him.

After lunch the others went in to Broome to have a bit of a look around, and we stayed at the tent for a bit longer. Tony took the girls for a swim in the pool, then we got ready and went to Cable Beach for one last high tide swim. We got there just after high tide, and it hadn’t been a huge one (around 7 metres, the first day we were there the tide was 9m). We hired a boogie board and headed out into the water (Tony and Millie stayed in the car for a while reading Millie’s new Barbie book, Millie wasn’t keen on swimming in the ocean). The waves were quite gentle today, more like the first day we swam at Cable Beach. Every now and then though there was a bigger one, and Caitlin rode the first wave she attempted all the way in to the shore. She had a few goes then handed over to LiAM, who also caught a few waves. Caitlin had another go and didn’t get many waves, then gave the board to me – I didn’t catch anything. The one wave that might have been big enough, I got scared at the last minute and didn’t commit fully, so I missed it, and everything else wasn’t quite strong enough. Caitlin got out to check the time and found our friends from Kings Canyon. The boy grabbed his board and came out to join us, and Millie’s friend wasn’t using hers so said Caitlin could borrow it, which meant LiAM could hang on to the one we’d hired. The three of them happily caught waves for a while, then our friends from home arrived and hired boards as well, and joined my kids in the waves. Millie was at the beach by now, and played with her friend on the sand.

It was still quite windy and nowhere near as warm as it had been – the water was cold when we first got in then lovely once we were wet, but the breeze when we were out of the water was very chilly. We stayed in the water as long as we could – until the beach hut was packing up and we needed to return the boogie boards. The kids had a great time with the boards and I enjoyed being in the water one last time here, especially as sunset approached. Millie got into her swim

mers and jumped over the waves at the shore, but didn’t come all the way in. We returned the boards then popped back in for a little bit more of a swim, then got out to shower and get changed. The kids played on the sand for a while, we chatted to both sets of friends, then once the sun had set we left the beach and went back to camp.

We joined our friends at their van for a birthday dinner – slow cooked potatoes with bacon, onion and coleslaw, really delicious. We provided the wine. It was a lovely relaxing evening with great company. The evening was definitely the coolest we’ve had in a long time, we all got our jackets out and the wind made things a little uncomfortable. We were laughing though as it was barely under 20 degrees and at home it’s barely making it over 10 degrees in the daytime – will be a bit of a shock for us as we head south into colder weather!

We had cheesecake and chocolate Bavarian for dessert, then spent more time looking at maps and comparing notes on where we’d been and where we want to go, giving each other tips on campsites and activities. Everyone was really tired so after a cup of tea we headed back to our own tent and all got ready for bed. Caitlin got in her tent but it was too windy so moved her bed back into our tent and we read a chapter of Inheritance.

Half-lap Day 71: Broome

I was awake at 5 again and soon got up to spend some time on the computer, which now seems to be working fine. As people woke up the kids from both families started playing together, chatting and riding bikes, and Millie and her friend played in our tent with their animals again. Once everyone was up and about we went over to their caravan and Tony cooked pancakes for everyone. They had honey with them, which we haven’t had since we left home, so that was an added bonus.

My friend and I spent an hour or so looking at maps and I showed her lots of the places we’d been and stayed. She went in to town and Tony and I started planning the next little part of our trip, and the kids played Minecraft.

The others came back and we all had lunch at our own sites, then all went to the museum in town – 2^nd visit for us. The kids asked for the quiz sheet that they didn’t get to do last time, then said they’d do all of the quizzes again because their friends were starting from the beginning. My kids remembered some of the answers and where most of the items were. I helped them in between looking at bits of the museum I didn’t get to last time. Everyone enjoyed it and we were all able to look more thoroughly at things. We all went out to the sailmaking shed and practiced the knots, and spent some time watching the DVD about the history of Broome. I had a good look at the shell collection with both Millie and LiAM, and was fascinated with the old aerial shots of Broome, which really showed how the town developed. There was a lot of information on the old tramway too, which I didn’t see last time.

We were there for a couple of hours or more, then headed towards Cable Beach, stopping at the supermarket on the way to get something for tea. We arrived just as the lifeguards took the red and yellow flags down – there were still heaps of people in the water and it felt quite safe. Our friends had bought a 10 pack of choc-coated ice creams, they and our kids ate theirs straightaway, Tony and I had a quick swim first (I just couldn’t wait to get in the water) and then ate our very melty ice creams before heading back to the water with everyone else.

The water had that soft silky feeling again, and was not really cold. There was a cool wind blowing, which meant that once we were wet it was definitely warmer in the water than out. The tide was a couple of hours past full, and the waves were big, bigger than anything we’ve swum in so far. Millie came out with me, and was holding my hand at first and then swimming around on her own – the first time she’s done that in the ocean. She was happy to bob up over the gentler waves by herself, and I stayed close enough to pick her up and jump her over the bigger waves. One of the biggest swells approached and I thought we’d need to go under it – I misjudged it though and it would have  been better to jump it, we got knocked over and Millie slipped mainly out of my hands. I managed to keep hold of her shirt and we tumbled over a bit but were fine, and she wasn’t too upset, just rather surprised (and annoyed with me for getting it wrong). She wanted me to hold her for a while after that, then tried again on her own and was happy in the waves again. Tony carried her for a while too and they were able to go out a bit deeper. All the kids had a great time, and us 4 parents were in the water too. The sun was getting lower and we were getting an orange glow across the water – I don’t think I’ve swum at a west-facing  beach at that time of day before, it felt as good as swimming in the early morning, not something that I thought could be matched.

Once Millie had had enough she and Tony got out to go and get dinner from the car. I got out soon after to take some photos of the sunset, and also got some cool silhouette shots of the kids in the water. Everyone got out soon after and played on the beach and/or went to get changed, and we watched the sun go down, with lots of clouds around which made it even more spectacular. We all sat on the beach and had a picnic dinner, along with many other groups of people. There were fire twirlers on the beach, and as it got dark someone set off some fireworks up near the rocks – all pretty cool to see. The kids played in the sand and ran around a lot, and we sat and chatted and relaxed and had a lovely evening. Eventually we gathered up all our stuff and headed back to the cars.

We dropped the men off at the pub on the way home, so they could have some kid-free time. We took all the kids back home then between us organised washing and showers and so on, and the kids played or showered or got ready for bed. My friend went to get the guys once they were ready to come home, and we all headed to bed soon afterwards, after another very fun and quite full day.

Half-lap Day 70: Broome

I was up a little before sunrise and the pool looked so inviting that I went in for a quiet swim. I didn’t feel like doing laps, I just floated around and enjoyed the water. After I got out I was still the only one up and really felt like seeing the beach, so went for a drive by myself. There was a half-marathon and 10km run happening on Cable Beach when I got there (the half-marathon was under way, and the 10k run started while I was there) so I watched people get organised for that, then went down to the rocks with my camera and took some photos and wandered around. I saw a fairly large crab which scuttled under a rock as I got close and I could only see one pincer, lots of little crabs, and some great clouds out to sea, it looked like it was pouring rain out there and the water was grey, the first time I’ve seen it not being blue.

I went for a swim – early morning ocean swimming is possibly my favourite thing to do. There were a few other people in the water so I stayed close-ish to them because the beach wasn’t patrolled yet. The water felt soft and silky and not cold at all. The sky had been cloudy and the sun burst through while I was in the water, it was amazing, so beautiful.

I headed back to the tent where everyone was up now and having their breakfast. We chatted and played some games, the kids rode their bikes, then we headed to the pool. Again Tony took the kids over first and I joined them after a while. Our friends from home were arriving today and the kids kept asking when they’d be here, I didn’t know how far they’d be driving today so my best estimate was somewhere between 11am and 3pm, probably.

We were swimming at around 11.15, while checking out every new van that came into the caravan park, when we saw our friends drive in!!! Everyone got out of the pool and went to welcome them. Their site was very close to ours, only 2 cabins and a road in between us, and on an angle so that we can see each other’s van/tent. I made them a cup of tea and we helped them set up, while everyone tried to catch up on everyone’s news. The kids (ours and theirs) were so excited to see each other and all the adults felt relieved at having people to talk to that we really know.

The big kids went for a swim, and the 2 youngest girls played with their soft toys in our tent. The adults chatted for a while longer, then we left them to get things organised, washing, getting stuff out of cupboards etc (they’d had an ant infestation the night before). After a while the younger girls wanted to swim too, so I helped them get ready and took them to the pool, my friend joined me there. We sat and watched the kids swim, chatting to each other and to the kids when they cam over. I had a swim while she went and hung her washing, and played with some of the kids. Then we spent the rest of the afternoon sitting on the sunlounges in the pool area, watching the kids, talking lots, drinking tea (made by her husband). Once all the kids were out of the pool (they’d been coming and going all afternoon) we went back to her caravan and had another cuppa and some biccies and dip and she showed me her diary book of their trip. The guys were at our tent having a beer, and the kids were between sites and exploring on their bikes.

Tony cooked dinner while he was chatting, and when it was ready we sent all the kids back to their own sites so that everyone could eat. After dinner our friends bought their chairs over and we had another cuppa and talked more about our trips, and about the books we’ve been listening to and reading and would like to read. The kids played minecraft together on their ipads, all very excited to have a large group to play with. We were starting to wrap things up when stuff dropped out of the tree above us – we’ve had little seeds dropping on the tent for days (Caitlin said the birds were picking them and dropping them on her head earlier in the day), this time there were seeds and also liquid. We shone the torch into the tree and found a bat hanging there, very cute and a bit perplexed at having bright light shone at him. We moved the chairs out of his way and then everyone went back to their van. We saw them again as we all went back and forth to the toilet, then we settled into our tent for another chapter of Inheritance.