Last night the calm weather ended when the wind strengthened with gusts up to 50kph. The Bushtracker was rocking and rolling as the gusts hit the side of the van. The wind continued until mid afternoon, turning the mangrove into a surf beach.
We went to town in search of breakfast, and settled on the Green Mango Cafe, sitting outdoors under the shade. The coffee was good but food not brilliant.
In 2016 we spent more than a week in Broome waiting for a new alternator for our Jeep. We had two dogs and two cats with us, while we were camped at the PCYC grounds that had more prickles than grass.
We revisited Chinatown and Cable Beach. Sun Pictures, the world’s oldest outdoor picture gardens, continues to operate and is open to visitors between shows.
From our camp site we can see the port so went for a drive there. The jetty kiosk no longer operates, but we remembered having lunch there when trucks drove very close carrying live cattle for export.
We drove to Gantheaume Beach where cars park on the sand.
Cable Beach was not crowded and we easily found a car park. The camels passed us heading towards the beach.
There is a new mural on a water tank that is on the Silo Art Trail. It was painted by artist Mel McVee with help from students from North Broome Primary School.
I walked Bluey to the jetty and he caught up with his friend Alex.
We had dinner in the garden at Matso’s where we could take Bluey. I took his mat and he lay quietly without attacking the shoelaces of the waitstaff. Anita enjoyed her rack of lamb but my dish was not very exciting.
(24 August) The wind continued today raising dust while we packed up outside. We took Blue to farewell our friends over coffees. I carried him over the few grassy areas, and took a chair for him to sit in to keep him off the ground to reduce the risk of ticks.
We had to leave our site by 10am but could not check in at Broome until 2pm. It is only 140kms from Barn Hill to Broome so we had to keep the critters cool for a couple of hours. Our first stop was the car wash to remove the worst of the red dust from the Toyota and Bushtracker. We had to wait for a bay so that filled in an hour.
Parking with the caravan around Broome is challenging. We stopped at Visitor Information to use the public dump site. Our next stop was the Vet Hospital to buy two tick collars for Blue – I bought a spare just in case we lose another one and tick collars are essential. We needed lunch so found an empty block where we could park to buy lunch.
When we finally checked into our caravan park, we were pleased with our beach front site.
We had accumulated washing so put a load through the laundry wachine machine. Walking around the park we met a black poodle the same size as Bluey, and who squats the same as Bluey. Two other poodle cross dogs joined the sniff and greet.
A couple of signs near our caravan convey disconcerting messages.
We tried to get a table at a couple of the larger restaurants, but they were fully booked. Instead we ate at the Little Indian restaurant, but the food did not live up to the reviews we had read.
I was woken by the awning moving in the wind, so quickly got out of bed and put it down. The wind continued all day raising dust. We hid in the air conditioned van doing some cleaning and maintenance jobs.
Anita didn’t want to swim so I took Bluey for a run on the beach chasing his ball. The tide was out so he could run on the wet sand without rolling in the dry sand. We walked south where the beach was different from the cliffs and rockpools to the north. There was a coating of seagrass on the recently exposed rocks.
We met up with our friends for sunset drinks on a deck at the top of the cliff. When Anita took a beer from the fridge Bluey thought she was going to the motorhome. We couldn’t take hime with us to the deck as it is surrounded by grass and undergrowth, an area that might have brown dog ticks.
The sea was flat and we saw a school of bait fish being chased by dolphins.
Back at our van Blue was so sad because he had been left behind, thinking we had gone visiting the motorhome without him. It took all evening to cajole him out of his sadness.
This morning (22 August) we could move to a powered site so I went to the office to find out which site we had been allocated. I then walked to the site and found it was empty so we did a quick pack up and moved before the temperature became unpleasantly warm for outside setting up. On the way I farewelled those of our friends who were leaving today.
When we arrived at our site a small hired motorhome had parked there, and was connected to our power outlet. Anita explained the ways of the world to this overseas tourist and he moved to the next site. He was using power to charge the vehicle’s battery, but hadn’t paid the $10 daily fee charged for power.
I put the awning out and a shade screen on the other side of the Bushtracker. Tilly enjoyed some time outside in her crate while I worked around her. We ran the air conditioning all day, except for a 10 minute period when there was no power, possibly when the generator was being refuelled.
We stayed inside most of the day until the temperature dropped enough to go to the beach. Anita went in the water and put Bluey in for swimming practice, but he prefers to splash in shallow water and run on the sand. Our remaining two friends joined us with Harvey. Blue tries to play chasing with Harvey, but they are not a similar size and Blue often seeks sanctuary with humans.
I took his tick collar off at the beach but somehow managed to lose it. This is an essential for dogs in this part of the country because of a deadly disease spread by brown dog ticks. We will have to be very careful to keep him away from grass and bushy areas where ticks might be found. Our first stop in Broome will be a vet for a new collar.
I walked Bluey along the beach with interesting rock pools and striking cliffs. The colours are dramatic. I chatted with two women sitting in a rock pool with a much older dog.
In the morning we had ordered pizza from the small cafe. Orders are staggered and ours was ready at 6pm as requested. We sat having a drink with our friends waiting for our pizza, having left Bluey at home after his busy day at the beach. The pizza was surprisingly good and it was very enjoyable.
The camping area at Pardoo Station is about 5kms from the tidal creek and beach. We didn’t venture down there because an unpleasant dog encounter caused us to leave the park, even though we had paid for two nights.
Blue was taking me to find the motorhome when a red kelpie ran up to him with hackles raised. I saw two other dogs running towards us – a large border collie and even bigger dog of staffie or mastif extraction. The male owner of the dogs finally called his dogs back, but he got a lungful of abuse from me!
A woman outside a nearby caravan told me the dogs have been off leash the whole time. The office wasn’t open so we had to wait till 9am to ring and complain. The station website states only small dogs are allowed, except by prior arragement, and dogs are to be restrained. The worker I spoke to said she was going over to see about the dogs immediately and would call me back. So far she hasn’t called.
The nearly 400kms drive from Pardoo to Barn Hill was not very interesting compared to our recent travels. We refuelled at the Pardoo Roadhouse and again at the Sandfire Roadhouse. There were about 40 vehicles waiting to refuel or for food, and there was no signage to guide drivers.
We drove along the corrugated road into Barn Hill and waited behind 3 or 4 other vehicles wanting to check-in. We had to park on an unpowered site for tonight, and will move to a powered site tomorrow.
On the beach we met up with eight Roadie friends and their three dogs. They have been staying here for a couple of days and are moving south to Pardoo Station.
Bluey had a lovely time running in the sand and splashing in the water, except Harvey resumed his inappropriate interest in Bluey!
It is a bit of a walk to the beach, but it was fantastic sunset. There were unusual rays in the sky we have never seen before.
Our first stop after leaving Point Samson was Wickham to buy the Saturday papers and coffee. Of course the Saturday papers do not arrive up in these parts until Sunday!
Wickham was established in 1970 for mine workers, with a shopping centre, extensive sports fields, and other community facilities. There is also a large Aboriginal population in the town. This mural is one of several around the shopping centre. Unfortunately there is also extensive physical security around external equipment, doors and windows
Our next stop along the Point Samson – Roebourne Rd was the historic abandoned pearling town of Cossack. There is a resident caretaker and the old courthouse is used as a gallery shop. Visitors can simply walk around and inside the remaining stone buildings, a couple of which have been restored for use as a cafe and accommodation.
The highway initially goes in an ESE direction, and we were driving into the headwind, causing our fuel consumption to jump up to 30L/100kms. The road changed to a NE direction towards Port Hedland. There is a bypass road but I thought we should at least do a drive through to find cheaper fuel. The salt mine is next to the highway. Closer to the port these tanks are typical of the industrial town.
We had a short stop for me to take Bluey for a walk. It was 30°+ and he showed no interest in doing a pee. I put him back into the crate and discovered Tilly was missing! I yelled for Anita to help find her and she quickly grabbed Tilly from under the caravan! I had pulled the zippers together on the critters’ crate without realising one side was not closing. That is now another thing to double check every time we zip up the crate.
The fuel was much cheaper in town at $2.19 instead of $2.40 on the highway. In Karratha we paid $1.89 per litre.
We continued to see striking rock formations seemingly around every bend in the road.
We had booked into Pardoo Station for the night and knew we would be driving on a dry dusty gravel road for about 10kms. To reduce the amount of dust getting into our van we stopped at a roadside rest area to close the lower waterproofing door. These signs were a salutary reminder of hazards in these remote northern regions.
When I checked in at Pardoo Station I was warned about the large number of feral cats in the area. Consequently Tilly’s only outdoor time was in the crate under constant supervision. I had to tell a family of young children that they could look at her but not touch.
Bluey was keen to go for a walk with me exploring the facilities here, including a pool, lawn bowls green, picnic and BBQ areas, and rows of old dongas bought from mining sites. I finally realised Blue wanted to walk around the caravans – he was searching for his friends in the motorhome! He has been subdued since little Leo and his mums left his pack. At beer o’clock he is ready to leap off the bed every time Anita opens the fridge. He kept an eye on those pesky children.
The cattle did not trample through the rest stop last night, but the wind and road trains disturbed Anita. In the cool of the morning I fiddled with the connections to see if both indicators were working, but only one was good when we left the rest stop.
The scenery continues to be dramatic, but roadside parking bays are not generally near the best views. Mining is big in this area and we have seen dozens of road trains.
We had a short break in a rest area and I spotted the only WA wildflower I could name – Sturt desert pea. I then noticed several bright red patches along the side of the road when driving.
We had booked into a caravan park at Point Samson, not realising it was an hour further on from Karratha. We got the last available ensuite site, but can only stay one night. After a quick drive around Karratha and a visit to Visitor Information, we decided to go to our caravan park. Our lasting impression was that Karratha has many new buildings since we first visited in 2016.
We had to wait at the park gate for people in front of us to finish checking in. When we were ready to raise the boomgate to drive in, a man parked his van blocking the road then walked to the office. Staff came out to see what was going on and told us he couldn’t back in to his site. A worker was sent over to help him, but fortunately we were able to drive to our site first as he is next to us. It is tricky reversing onto the sites in our row, because they are opposite a solid retaining wall. The extra long A frame on the Bushtracker makes this a lot easier.
Anita was keen to put the washing on, but our power outlet was not working. It was our turn to walk over to the office and request assistance. The circuit had tripped but we would not have known where to find the breaker switch. There is a convenient Hills Hoist behind our van for use by the four vans parked in our sector. Having the use of our own shower and toilet immediately outside the van was a treat, as it is a lot easier to was my hair in a normal size shower.
I took Bluey for the short walk to the water. A pedestrian gate opens onto a path leading to a lookout built where there once was a jetty. The original jetty built in 1902 was over 500m long, but a cyclone destroyed much of it in 1925, and the remaining jetty was damaged beyond repair in 1989 by Cyclone Orson. In 1991 the ruins were destroyed by fire. It is reassuring the lookout structure is built from sturdy steel. A couple of old railway carts are the only sign of the jetty’s history.
Near our park there is a narrow section of sand behind the rocks in the ocean. On the other side of the lookout there is a beach protected by a rocky reef. Dogs are not allowed on that beach because birds nest in the dunes. In the distance we can see the ship loading facility at Dampier.
It is only a short walk to the Tavern where we had crumbed whiting and chips for dinner. We had Bluey so sat in the garden where there were four other dogs. An interesting conglomerate rock has been placed at the path to the Tavern
There is a patch of Sturt desert pea near the lookout. It is smaller than it should be as our neighbour-who-can’t-reverse picked some of the flowers and has them on display outside his van. He could be fined up to $2,000 for this selfish act.
We were ready to leave Carnarvon when we discovered our Bushtracker indicators were not working. I fiddled with them but we decided we could manage without them as we make few turns. At the end of the day I had the RH indicator working, but not the left. We may need an auto electrician in Karratha.
We drove past different patches of wildflowers, but there was nowhere to stop. Our lunch stop was at a 24 hour rest stop. There are drop toilets which we avoid, two dump sites, and tables.
Bluey declined offered water and persuaded Anita to share her cup of tea.
The scenery changed when we reached the Pilbara, with rocky outcrops, hills and small mountains. My favourite is this flat top rock.
We are spending the night at a free 24 hour stop with about 20 vans beside the Robe River, which is about 80m wide under the bridge. Cattle are grazing in an adjacent paddock, but there are breaks in the fence so they may be joining us for breakfast. This unusual bush on the edge of the area has clusters of white flowers.
We are surrounded by red dirt. It took over 10 minutes to clean Tilly after a short walk. Bluey has been carried around because he absorbs the dirt! It was too hot for him in the van so I let him have my chair with a cooling mat.
The rain and wind were gone for the day, so it was washing day. Once that was hung out we drove to 6701 Waterfront Cafe for takeaway coffees. This small outlet overlooking the water probably makes the best coffee in Carnarvon, but is not comparable to Melbourne coffee as claimed in some reviews.
Four of us became Toyota tourists driving the Fruit Loop, a route along the banks of the Gascoyne River. Fruit and vegetable plantations line the fertile river floodplain, producing 47,000 tonnes of fruit and vegetables, worth $100 million each year.
Farmers sell their produce at roadside stalls, but access to the stalls required driving onto the farms without knowing what might be for available.
No water was evident in the river at the Bibbawarra Rd bridge, but there was some under the NW Coastal Hwy bridge. Levee banks line the river which periodically floods causing extensive damage around Carnarvon. Our caravan park was completely inundated in 2010.
The most interesting property along the Fruit Loop is a private home with a large cactus garden. There is also a whale skeleton in the garden.
Flowers were starting to bloom on the cacti.
Blue found a dog to run with in the dog park, while Tilly fantasised about catching a bird.
We had dinner at a basic Thai restaurant, located among houses in a suburban street. The reviews were good, but the food a let down. There are very few tables and orders after 7pm are takeaway only. The mural has Chris in the shark’s mouth, and Neen communing with a green bug-eyed creature.
We are continuing our travel northwards, leaving our friends who are heading back down south. Bluey will miss those humans and little Leo, and won’t understand why that motorhome has disappeared.
Tilly was busy during the night, checking all windows for invaders. She was still sleeping this morning cuddling one of my socks.
The wind eased but there was light rain on and off all day. We had breakfast out but both the food and coffees were pretty ordinary. While Anita was in the shops I wandered around town taking photos. Some historic buildings have been retained in the town centre. The 1935 Church of St Mary Star of the Sea is an unusual sandstone structure.
The long timeline mural depicts major Carnarvon events. The spacecraft tracking station operated here from 1963 to 1975.
Three of us drove around as Toyota tourists, only getting out of the car when the rain eased. The heritage area museums on Babbage Island were closed today, but we could look around the outside. The One Mile Jetty is closed because it is unsafe. It once carried animals and wool to ships.
One section of road on the island can be covered by drifting sand. The rough seas were eroding the beach on the other side of the dunes leaving a cliff about 3m high.
We enjoyed pizzas in the motorhome. Blue and Leo are very cute together.
Committed Travellers 