80 Mile Beach

One of Julia's favourite holiday memories was visiting 80 mile beach. It did not disappoint! We stayed two nights, collected many shells, saw dead sharks, hermit crabs and marveled at the amazing tidal range. At low tide the waves seemed 500 or 600m away from the high tide mark.

Tony managed to get a small electrical repair. There is quite a community of grey nomads who migrate here for the southern winter. A query at the office which bloke was good for electrical repairs (Keith Land, Site 82 for the record). $15 later we were good to go!

Broome

From Fitzroy crossing we booked a 7am service for the Toyota. We have driven more in 8 weeks than we normally do in a year. They gave the car the all clear for the trip home. We chucked out dodgy camp chairs, bought new ones. Duct-taped up the legs of the roof rack, bought a new sleeping bag and super powerful LED torch. We have duct taped a few more small bits onto the car. Great stuff! We also did the camel tour on Cable beach. Great fun. Checkout the camel "selfie" below.

We stayed in a motel after our Cape visit, and did our food shopping for next ten days until we pop out at Exmouth - all going well. The trip is well and truly underway.

Cape Leveque - Kooljaman

As we drove across the Gibb River Road we met several families who raved about Cape Leveque (220km north of Broome), and in particular about Kooljaman Resort (Camping and various forms of glamping). As we got closer the legends of the beauty of the cape and difficulty of the road grew. We had to go!

We rang Julia's mum and said if she could get to Broome the next day we had room for her in the car. Being an adventurer, and having never made the cape before, she hopped on the next plane!

It was an amazing place! We would love to have a fortnight on the Damper Peninsula. Julia and Tony had a brilliant windless dawn kayak around the northern tip of the cape!

 Our google map . For those following our travels we are on the last page of this map (the navigation panel is at the lower left of the screen)

The fantastic sand road onto the cape (90km of about 200km). No more bumpy than the many other roads on our travels. Lots of car carcasses though. Cool.

The catholic Sacred Heart Mission. The alter is finished in shells from the local beaches.

Three generations of Hogbin/Playford/Roberts's with their amazing shell hoard.

The incredible red cliffs of Kooljaman.

Driving down to the western beach 1970's style.

The brilliant sunsets. We watched a pod of whales go by and saw two spectacular breaches in the fading light. Magic.

Max saluting the setting sun. We hear it's cold in Brisbane at the moment ;-)

On the road!

Sunset at the swimming beach.

Cynthia and Laura making a spear on one of  "Bundy's cultural tours". He is an elder of the mob that owns the resort. It was fantastic.

Laura, hunting Barracuda!

At the eastern swimming beach.

Family at sunset.

Cynthia shouted us all a fantastic flight from the Cape out over the Buccaneer Archipelago. We jagged a pick-up from the Cape that was cheaper for five of us than a flight for two from Broome! 

I want a yacht!

The falls. When the tide range is high these flow like waterfalls as giant "lakes" of trapped ocean flow from high to low water.

Max taking flying lessons.

Geikie Gorge

On to Geikie gorge, our last in the Kimberly. We had a quick two night stopover here, doing a morning tour on the gorge and Tony headed back for a fantastic kayak at sunset. It is on the Fitzroy river, which, according to the tour bloke, runs second only to the Amazon in the wet season. The high water level was about 15m above the current height. Impressive. There were fresh water crocs on the banks, and in the caves at the base. The limestone is riddled with caves - some have been surveyed to 2km long (oh to be a caver in Fitzroy Crossing!). We are one blog off being up to date!

We were lucky to get into Fitzroy crossing. A fuel tanker had flipped the day before, and closed the road. On our way back we saw a sedan that had flipped in the sand patch over the petrol (it was marked!).

We also saw a trail of oil leading up the road to a mangled sump on the Windjana-Fitzroy Crossing Road. Apparently from a Hyundi doing 70km! (Now we would never make a mistake like that ;-)

The caves carved in the limestone by running water.

All the pools are sun protected and unheated and very cold!

From the kayak inside a cave mouth.

The eastern wall at Sunset.

Windjana Gorge and Tunnel Creek

Turning left off the Gibb River Road and heading south we arrived at Windjana Gorge. Julia and her family came here for extended stays (three months in 1972) in the 1970s while her father studied the geology of the Gorge. He was the main advocate for creating the National Park that covers the site now. We found the soak that they used to water behind the ruins of the Lillamalura (so tiny I can't even google it to check the spelling) police station. The Gorge is the Napier Range, an amazing feature in the flat landscape. A blade of rock a hundred km long and a few hundred metres wide protruding into the savannah.

Max and Laura with a freshwater crocodile ("freshie" as opposed to saltie). There have only been 16 or so nips from these cool reptiles - and none fatal! They are basically shy, and you have to annoy them to get bitten.

Windjana Gorge.

The tunnel used by a famous hero/villain Aboriginal tracker who turned from working with the police to joining the aboriginal resistance. He led a group which fought a gun battle from natural ramparts outside this cave, and the group escaped from a secret exit!

Walking with crocs.

A 360 million year old nautiloid. The range was an ancient reef in an inland sea (gee, I hope I have that right!)

Julia sorting in the camper trailer.

The soak used by the Geology parties back in the 1970's.

At the amazing tunnel creek. It is a 600m tunnel that you can walk/wade through under the range. Nippy water.

Tunnel creek.