Day 36: Robe River Rest Area to Burkett Rd Rest Area.

Monday 30/07/2012 Day 36: Robe River Rest Area to Burkett Rd Rest Area.

Les drove today. We enjoyed the changing scenery as we moved out of the Pilbara. We passed some sort of mining operation where they had built an overpass over a huge road that was not finished, heading off to the coast. We topped up at the Nanutarra Roadhouse, the French backpacker came out and manually wrote down the information from the bowser and still got it wrong. Honest Amanda pointed out her mistake and paid the correct amount. The road became ordinary after Lannarie River, I’m guessing no mining around here. We passed the Moscow Circus heading northwards. The landscape has changed from deep brown to a pinky colour. We passed through several ridges until the flat before the Burkett Rd turn-off. We arrived early but still had to park down-wind of the long drop for safety reasons. We didn’t want the Caravan door opening onto the road. The wind has died down and it’s a pleasant 27 degrees C. Les was in the long drop when the Workers maintained the toilet beside him. He felt a cool breeze and water came under the partition between the toilets. They definitely give the toilets a thorough cleaning. It’s still red & dusty. The kids are on their 3^rd School Day in a row. The kids got out the Metal Detector and found an old wheel bearing.

 Daily Stats: Distance: 235km, Duration: 3hrs10min, Weather: Warm, Night Cool

Leaving Robe River

 Burkett Rd Rest Area

 Long Drop

 Spoils of Metal Detecting

Day 35: West Peawah Creek Rest Area to Robe River Rest Area.

Sunday 29/07/2012 Day 35: West Peawah Creek Rest Area to Robe River Rest Area.

Amanda drove today. We found a dead cow on the side of the road on the other side of the bridge where we camped overnight. We didn’t hear any Road-Trains hit it? We passed more mines again as we headed to Roebourne. We visited the Roebourne gaol which doubles as the visitor’s centre. We topped fuel up at Roebourne and headed to Point Samson for fish & chips. We passed the new jail on the way. To the west we could see the Cape Lambert Iron Ore processing facility it’s huge. The fish & chip shop was shut and the wind was blowing a gale. We headed to Karratha. It has a K-Mart!! We updated the blog whilst we had Internet. Karratha is undergoing lots of development with high-rises going up in town. On the road out of Karratha here are lots of mines to the North of the Hwy & the workers accommodation camps are to the South. We noticed pretty flowers on the side of the road there were the Sturt Desert Pea & the Green Bird Flower. 10km from the Rest area Amanda drove around a bend and a Road-Train flicked up a rock that cracked the passenger’s side windscreen, another thing to fix. We arrived at the Rest Area at 15:00, there were already 8 Caravans set-up. Amanda backed the van into a nice spot upwind of the long drop. The ground is red powder about 1 inch deep. We have a red floor & the mats outside have changed colour.

 Daily Stats: Distance: 361km, Duration: 7hrs10min, Weather: Very favourable tail-wind, Cool Windy Night

Roebourne

 Point Samson

 Sturt Desert Pea

 Green Bird Flower

 Robe River

Day 34: 80 Mile Beach Caravan Park to West Peawah Creek Rest Area.

Saturday 28/07/2012 Day 34: 80 Mile Beach Caravan Park to West Peawah Creek Rest Area.

Les drove the 10km out of 80 mile beach without breaking an egg or popping a drawer. We drove with a severe tail wind. We averaged 12.5ltr/100km towing the van at 90km/hr. We passed several mines and headed into Port Headland for lunch. We passed the Rio Tinto Salt Plant – we had a nice view from the overpass. We drove along the esplanade and ended up at the boat ramp. We had sangger’s & left over Birthday cake for Lunch. We all enjoyed using the automatic toilet. You press a button to enter, you have 10 minutes to finish your business, the toilet flushes after you wash your hands and the toilet plays nice elevator music whilst you are occupied. The song “What the world needs now is love sweet love” is an interesting selection for a toilet. The kids played with the BHP bronze crocodile. Amanda & the kids went into the Boulevard Shopping center & picked up some supplies. Ryan needed Graph paper for his Maths homework. Amanada is unhappy paying $4.59 for a loaf of bread at Woolies. We saw more Roadtrains this drive than the last 2 weeks. The Rest Area had 9 caravans here before we arrived at 2pm. The long drop has no seat, just a steel pedastal  and we have parked upwind.  The children managed to spend the afternoon finishing school work. The grey nomads appear to be setting up for a big party tonight.

 Daily Stats: Distance: 358km, Duration: 5hrs50min, Weather: Very favourable tail-wind, Mild Night

Windy 80 Mile Beach

 Port Headland

 Musical Loo

 Notice Backpackers stealing Electricity in the Background

 Salt Mine

 West Peawah Creek

Day 33: Ryan’s Birthday at 80 Mile Beach Caravan Park.

Friday 27/07/2012 Day 33: Ryan’s Birthday at 80 Mile Beach Caravan Park.

After the wind died down early this morning, the sun rose at 06:30 and the wind picked up again. We wished Ryan a Happy Birthday. The wind got stronger, we had to tie down the roof at the boat racks on the windward side of the van. We used the extra  poles at each corner to stabilise the corners. We also put the poles in at the Bag End Flies and tied them down as well. We walked out to the ocean at low tide at 09:30, it was a long way out. Ryan was casting a lure in 4 inches of water. Ryan had an afternoon fish from 15:00 to 17:30, he was visited by 2 dolphins. Still no Salmon. Amanda planned the next three days for us. We are lucky we are on the unpowered site closest to the ocean, our Telstra phone has coverage. Les was talking to some of the travellers on the Powered sites and they had no coverage. One of the grey nomads came over and asked If we had a rivet gun. His jayco Eagle had popped all the rivets around the door. Thanks to Darren’s advice I had rivets & a gun. I loaned him the gun and 10 rivets and he was able to repair his door. Amy now has collected enough shells to open a shell store.

 Daily Stats: Distance: 0km, Duration: 0hrs0min, Weather:  VeryWindy, Mild Night

Day 32: Cable Beach Caravan Park to 80 Mile Beach Caravan Park.

Thursday 26/07/2012 Day 32: Cable Beach Caravan Park to 80 Mile Beach Caravan Park.

After a very windy night we left Cable Beach at 08:00. The wind was blowing from the East all the way to 80 Mile Beach. Mileage today was ordinary. We queued up for fuel at the Sandfire Roadhouse with the Peacocks. You have to pay before you can move away from the bowser and people were ordering food at the same time we were trying to pay for fuel. The staff were flat out. The Roadhouse had adequate pumps but the two queues (Lefties & Righties) were back to the highway. Lucky we were in the right queue. We then travelled to the 80 Mile turn off. The dirt road in to the caravan park was fine. We travelled at 50km an hour and didn’t break any eggs. The caravan park is in a beautiful place. We arrived at 13:30. Ryan & Les got to fish at 14:30. The beach was full of fishermen in both directions. The cloudy milky water is good for salmon. Amy collected 1 tonne of shells, she will need to prioritise the shells coming home to Brisbane. Amy called 80 Mile Beach “Shell Paradise”.

 Daily Stats: Distance: 386km, Duration: 5hrs30min, Weather: Hot, Mild Night

Day 31: Tourist Day Broome.

Wednesday 25/07/2012 Day 31: Tourist Day Broome.

Today was a sleep-in day. We parked in Town and walked around. We visited the Pearl Luggers, Sun Cinema, Shell House and Streeter’s Pier. Amanda & Amy dropped Ryan & Les off at the Broome Pier for a fish. We were unable to catch any fish today but we were able to see a yellow sea snake and a turtle. Ryan was bitten off twice by something quiet large. We were using whole mullet on 3 x 3/0 ganged hooks on a 100lb trace. Amanda & Amy visited the Boulevard Shopping Center. It was very busy, it took them ages to find stuff and get through the check out at Woolies. We are now stocked up for the next week. The prices here in Broome are very expensive. Ryan’s shoes have fallen apart after fishing at Willies Creek. Amanda was lucky to find a shoe in size 12. We have enjoyed being in Broome and watching the Camels passing by every day.

 Daily Stats: Distance: 73km, Duration: 8hrs0min, Weather: Hot, Mild Night

Pearl Luggers

 Streeters Pier

 Cinema

 Carnavon St

Day 30: Tourist Day Broome.

Tuesday 24/07/2012 Day 30: Tourist Day Broome.

Today was fishing day. We followed the sound advice from our neighbours from S.A and the nice chap at the Workline Dive & Tackle shop on the corner of Short & Carnarvon St. We picked up squid, mullies and some gangies. Ryan grabbed a copy of the West Australia Fish Guide & the West Kimberley Fishing & Tide Guide. We picked up lunch for Ryan & Les at Brumbies and a long sleeved shirt for Ryan at Best & Less. We then drove out to Willie Creek. Kids are chuckling again. The road out to Willie Creek starts off as bitumen and ends up on hardened mud flats. The Manari Rd is red dirt shaped like a big half-pipe. The middle of the road is hardened red clay and the sides are red powder. The Pajero had no problems. We followed the red discs at the Willie Creek Pearl Farm turn off for 5km. We ended up at the Pearl Farm where the water is the prettiest blue you have ever seen. Ryan caught the following species; Potatoe Cod, Weeping Toad Fish, Mangrove Jack, Giant Trevally, Moses Perch, Estuary Cod, and a fat 1kg Yellow Fin Bream (probably full of roe?) . They said you can catch any fish at Willie Creek and they were right. We never saw the resident saltie but I am sure he is there somewhere. Amanda & Amy visited the Pearl Farm and then the Mango Place – free entry. They had a nice lunch surrounded by Mango Trees and enjoyed their Mango Smoothie & Ice-Cream. We now have mango Jam for our Toast in the morning. The Mango Place is on the road out of town. On the way home from Willie Creek we saw a Campervan do a 5 point turn in the soft red dirt on the crest of a hill on the Manari Rd – what an idiot. Last  Sunday there was a head-on on the Manari Rd involving 2 20 year old men. We caught up on our Laundry. Amy collected some nice shells at Willie Creek and was bitten by a hermit crab who didn’t want to give up his home.

 Daily Stats: Distance: 227km, Duration: 3hrs10min, Weather: Warm, Mild Night

Camels

 Willie Creek

 Manari Rd

 The Mango Place

 Willie Creek

 Manari Rd

 Another Shell