The journey began with a serendipitous Skype with Marsie in Sydney and Zane and Luka in Vancouver whilst packing up at the Bungles caravan park. We didn't leave quite as soon as we would have liked but enjoyed the egress so much more!
The drive itself was really quite spectacular prompting Dom to call out at one stage "It's the end of the world!" looking out to where the flat horizon met with the sky. "If we kept driving we could fall off" Dom followed up with. "And what would happen if we did?" I wondered. " We would be in space" came the obvious reply.
We enjoyed more great escarpment action, fat termite mounds and some actual green trees and grass.
We made good time to Fitzroy Crossing arriving at about lunch time and settled in to make good use of the power and water! Isaac is super keen to buy his own laptop at the moment so earnt a few dollars cleaning out the caravan bathroom and folding some of our three spectacularly big, and significantly less dirty, loads of washing! One swim was required to settle the cabin fever in the evening and of course an episode of River Cottage Australia online, our latest addiction...
The drive itself was really quite spectacular prompting Dom to call out at one stage "It's the end of the world!" looking out to where the flat horizon met with the sky. "If we kept driving we could fall off" Dom followed up with. "And what would happen if we did?" I wondered. " We would be in space" came the obvious reply.
We enjoyed more great escarpment action, fat termite mounds and some actual green trees and grass.
We made good time to Fitzroy Crossing arriving at about lunch time and settled in to make good use of the power and water! Isaac is super keen to buy his own laptop at the moment so earnt a few dollars cleaning out the caravan bathroom and folding some of our three spectacularly big, and significantly less dirty, loads of washing! One swim was required to settle the cabin fever in the evening and of course an episode of River Cottage Australia online, our latest addiction...
Paul here. The next morning after a little exercise action, we ploughed straight through to Derby, only stopping to take a couple of snaps of the termite mounds that seemed to be getting a lot fatter over this side of the Kimberly. We dropped in to the Aboriginal Health Service so Emma could do a meet and greet and pick up the keys to the house. It was hot. So after lunch at the local Egyptian kebab shop, we parked the van in the driveway and sat around in the air conditioning and soaked up some free WiFi powered "screen-time". Isaac and I dutifuly went to the local supermarket for provender while the others lazed around. It was nice to have a landing pad, even if it was for only one night.
The next morning, we hitched up and headed out to Broome where we met up with the Martins. Simon and Ineka are also doing the loop, but the other way around and this is where our paths finally crossed. They have four children, and a bus! We should catch up with them again in Derby as they make their way through to the Gibb river road. It was great to swap stories and experiences for a while before heading down to Cable Beach for the sunset.
The sunset was wonderful, and we all enjoyed being on a beach again, and even getting our toes in the water without fear of being eaten or stung! The sand on cable beach was a really interesting texture, feeling a lot like clay when wet. We had a little trouble rounding everyone up to go to the moonrise markets, but eventually we set off for the other side of town.
The sunset was wonderful, and we all enjoyed being on a beach again, and even getting our toes in the water without fear of being eaten or stung! The sand on cable beach was a really interesting texture, feeling a lot like clay when wet. We had a little trouble rounding everyone up to go to the moonrise markets, but eventually we set off for the other side of town.
The markets were quite good, with the usual food offerings, something for everyone in our family. Laksa, Pizza, Curry and a burger or two did the trick nicely. This was the last night of the markets for this full moon, as the moonrise was getting later and the moon starting to wane. So this was our chance!! The appointed hour approached....came....and went.....with no moon showing it's big yellow face on the horizon. There were mumblings among the crowd that maybe everyone got the time wrong and had turned out for the wrong night etc. Just as we were about to give up about a half an hour later, the moon started to peek it's face over the top of some thick smoke and cloud that covered the horizon (from the many bushfires that day). Once it was actually visible it and well up into the eastern sky, so no "Stairway to the Moon" for us. Well...we were there, we just didn't quite see it.
The next day was Saturday, and we hung around camp most of the day, went to church, and invited a couple of folks "home" to our caravan for lunch. It was really great to have Bestone and Angela share our afternoon, just sitting and chatting over a haystack. We swapped email and facebook addresses, and hopefully will catch up when we get back to Broome.
That evening, after the kids were in bed, I headed out to town beach once more to see if I could get a shot of the moon coming up as the sky was looking a little clearer in the day. More of the same, but it wasn't obscured for quite as long and I managed to snap a couple of pics. It's amazing how much the moon moves during a 30 sec exposure! I didn't try doing shorter exposures, as it was late and I couldn't be bothered fumbling around with the settings in the dark.
The next day was Saturday, and we hung around camp most of the day, went to church, and invited a couple of folks "home" to our caravan for lunch. It was really great to have Bestone and Angela share our afternoon, just sitting and chatting over a haystack. We swapped email and facebook addresses, and hopefully will catch up when we get back to Broome.
That evening, after the kids were in bed, I headed out to town beach once more to see if I could get a shot of the moon coming up as the sky was looking a little clearer in the day. More of the same, but it wasn't obscured for quite as long and I managed to snap a couple of pics. It's amazing how much the moon moves during a 30 sec exposure! I didn't try doing shorter exposures, as it was late and I couldn't be bothered fumbling around with the settings in the dark.
The next day we packed up ready to head back to Derby, and then went a sightseeing down to the lighthouse at Gantheaume Point. It was hot but spectacular. Under the top level of the lighthouse tower, there was a massive white bellied sea eagle nest, with Mr and Mrs Eagle sitting on the railings above and below it.