Derby - Cape Leveque

Derby - Cape Leveque - Broome

17th August - 4th September 2016

So the Gibb River Road is done and dusted....and as they say...been there and got the Certificate!

Derby

There is not a lot to tell about Derby. Sadly another northern town that seems to be fading away. Once a thriving Port, it now seems to rely on travellers either beginning or ending the journey from Kunnunurra. The Port which once saw live cattle export and mineral export is now closed.

The tides here are crazy - up to 11 metres!

So Derby was a clean up and check all the nuts and bolts stop after the Gibb. Five loads of washing and a whole day cleaning every draw, cupboard, nook and cranny. Red dirt everywhere.

When we arrived, parked in our spot, looked up and there was Trevor and Betty that we had camped beside at Home Valley Station! It is such a fun part of this trip running into friends that we make along the way.

Neighbours for the second time!

Derby Port. Silent now.

We had a look at the local "Points of Interest". The Boab Prison Tree.

The Aboriginal Art and Culture Centre.

It also turned out that the "Hepburn Entourage" were staying at the same Park! Love it. Needless to say the five o'clock gatherings were quite lively!

Love seeing this happy, vibrant lady.

No cooking for me after cleaning all day. Fish and chips. Who would ever have thought this would feel like a treat ha ha!

Broome

A couple of days in Broome on the way to Cape Leveque to restock the pantry and wine cellar, so not much sightseeing here yet.

We did arrive in time for the Stairway to the moon.

Brilliant pool at the Park. Settled in with my book. So nice not to have to do a 2 hour hike to go for a swim!

Beers and share plates at the famous Matso's Brewery with Gary and Lee. Fabulous food, beer, building and company.

Last minute dash into Woolies on our way out of town and who should be there unplanned. My Deb and Harry. Time for a coffee and catch up. We haven't seen our besties since Kununnura! It was so, so great.

Cape Leveque

This is my number one bucket list destination of this trip. So, so excited to be finally on the way.

Here we go in the red rough again. 100 klm of constant corrugations, and angled road.

Dreaded corrugations.

This was at the start of the Cape Leveque Road where we were airing down. Humans are disgusting creatures!

For most off the road you are driving on an angle.

The sandy lane into Koolgaman. Nearly there!!!

We had a massive splurge and stayed right down on the beach in our own private beach shelter. There are only 12 shelters. Very Robinson Crusoe. About the size of a double garage, thatched with palm fronds. A big picnic table, cold shower and tap in the back corner, fire pit with some wood supplied, rubbish bin (emptied every day), set back enough to be private and after 5 months of never having a spot to hang the hammock......two poles just right. Humpback whales cruising by and breaching and tail slapping all day. Add to that a hut with hot showers and flushing toilets two huts along. And at the end of our little sandy lane a cafe. There was absolutely nothing else required. I was so incredibly happy and excited I literally did a dance on the spot, cried with happiness and ran down to the ocean and threw myself in like a five year old. We had booked for 5 nights, but quickly added another two.

I think this was the fastest set up every so we could get down the beach.

Shower corner.

Pretty good dining room.

Plenty of hours here, when Dezzi didn't get in first!

Just a hop, skip and jump to the water.

Otherwise I had to read in bed. Took forever to read my book because I just kept looking out the window. Pretty good morning view.

And cooked up a storm outside every day. Tonight...pizza and enough dough left over to make a loaf of bread. Yummmm! We had our new friends/neighbours over. Great night!

Getting pretty good at this bread making. Something very satisfying about home made toast in the morning.

The tides are high highs and low lows up in this part of the world. At low tide rock pool exploring is on the agenda. Otherwise just swim, swim, swim. The next big bay around is pristine white sand and the most amazing azure ocean with no reef. Like Whitehaven Beach without the tourists. And shells......so many shells!

I will let the photos tell the story of this perfect piece of paradise........

Our Bay.......

Waiting for a whale to surface.

Looking West.

Looking East.

This scrappy plant was always in my sights while looking at the whales through the binoculars.

Looking towards our camp.

Looking straight out.

A constant stream of humpback whales going by. Tail slaps. Pectoral slaps. And sometimes breaching. So special. When the day was calm you could hear the thumps and explosions when they spurted the plumes of water and slapped.

A plume.......

Pretty excited to capture part of a breach.

Plenty of time spent on the beach at the front.

Not to mention afternoon refreshments.

The next bay over to our right. A walk around the reef at low tide......

to the most amazing bay....

One day it was incredibly windy so we went for a drive a bit further up the Cape to Cygnet Bay Pearls.

Not quite in my price range! They are so beautiful.

Pear shell nets.

Shells decorated by the Aboriginals.

Cygnet Bay.

Low tide.

So...best have a beer and some lunch.

Pearl meat and calamari. Very yummy.

And a local Matso's beer!

And then there were the sunsets.

Sunset deck at the main building and restaurant.

And the sunrises.

We had a go at fishing on the Western Beach. No luck.

The last night the clouds rolled in. Made for a stunning sunset. Only a five minute shower of rain.

Our lovely neighbours Jim and Jacky.

So incredibly sad to be leaving. There were tears.

Beagle Bay

Just before the bitumen ends and the dreaded red pindan road begins is Beagle Bay. Most famous for its Sacred Heart Church. Beagle Bay was given its name by J.C. Wickham in 1838 as he surveyed the northwest coast while aboard the HMS Beagle.

The first French monks arrived here in 1888 and built the first church. In 1890 the French monks left and the German monks took over. In 1907 the Sisters of St. John of God arrived from Ireland. What a mix. Aboriginals, Germans and Irish!

Many churches were built but destroyed by cyclones, fires and white ants. In 1917 the current church was built. Constructed of 60,000 hand made bricks formed from the local clay. All held together with the local limestone.

It is most famous for the pearl shell ornamentation.

This is Mena. One of the local Elders. We had a great chat with her about the history. Not to mention a cup of tea or two and very yummy damper with golden syrup.

We left Beagle Bay just as the rain really started coming down. It was an absolute nightmare. The red pindan road has a hard base covered in the red sandy dirt. It is like driving on greasy butter. Because the canter of the road is sloped the camper kept dragging the rear of the car around. We lost control twice sliding 180 degrees and ending up the bank. This travelling at 10-20 klm an hour! So, so scary. Dezzi was an absolute hero. The longest 100 klm drive ever! And the red mud at the end all over everything!!!

Initially just a small amount of water.

Then rivers each side, and massive puddles that splashed up and obscured the view.

Stop one in Broome....the car wash!

The Stone Stomper net is trashed. Big holes all over.

Broome.....revisited

First time setting up in the rain! All good as we have a great spot only one row back from the water, and just down the lane to a cafe. Very happy with that. By sunset the weather was clearing, just a few showers. Everyday we would take our chairs to the grass at the front. Brilliant!

Low tide.

Beautiful stormy sunset.

Looking towards the Port of Broome.

A very well deserved drink for Dezzi after driving the Cape Leveque Road.

Time to explore........

Broome Port jetty. Dez had hoped to fish from here, but it was closed for reconstruction. Bugga!

Oh well, better have lunch at the Wharf Cafe instead.

Will we have the Chilli Mudcrab?

Maybe not, but the Barra Wings were delicious!

Table view.

Every morning I would sneak out and leave Dezzi in bed, for a morning coffee and date scone. Perfect way to start the day. Our van is at the end of this row, and one back. So great!

Cable Beach is on everyone's list, and now I know why. Miles of beautiful white sand, and blue, blue ocean. There is the patrolled beach in front of the Surf Club, or drive onto the beach to the right for miles and park. Which is what we did, of course. Great day, and at sunset the famous camels come strolling along.

Looking back towards the patrolled beach.

I love seagulls.

Staircase to the Sun???

Wine always tastes better at the beach!

Unique experience. They are very smelly!

Driving back up the beach . Fabulous day.

The Broome Museum was great. Packed with history of the early pearling days.

Love really old stuff. This book published in 1697!

The old pearl diving suits must have been horrendous.

Pearl Lugers in Roebuck Bay.

The Asian influence is everywhere. These carved pearl shells are beautiful.

There was an amazing shelldisplay.

Next stop Gantheaume Point. This coastline is so ruggedly beautiful. Dinosaur footprints over 120 million years old can be seen on the lower rocks at low tide. Unfortunately the tides were not in our favour. Still a stunning view.

This is a pretend one.

The rock formations are amazing. Iron mineral rocks mixed in with the sandstone.

Some lucky person has an incredible view from the top of the cliffs!

Looking towards Cable Beach....next stop for the afternoon.

So while I settled in for an afternoon of swimming and reading, Dez went home to wash off the Cape Leveque mud from under the car!

Lifesavers....need to be close and at the ready....apparently!

If you don't have your own chair and brolly they are available for hire. This guy was on the run all afternoon delivering and collecting chairs and umbrellas!