Port Smith

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Port Smith, 23 - 24th August

At Port Smith, our next destination, which is about 140 kilometres south of Broome, we were meeting some friends, Mike and his wife, Jan who arrived not long after us. They had come from Cape Keraudren and were only at the beginning of their LSL, intending eventually to get to Tasmania. While the boys set up Judy made them all a cuppa.

Port Smith Caravan Park is only 600metres from a lagoon which is about 6 kms long and lined with mangroves.

After the camps were organised we headed towards the lagoon to explore the area and put in a line, leaving Jan doing her washing. The tide was well and truly out and we walked over the wet, squishy ground for about 500 metres to get to a spot where the boys could throw in a line. It had been a nine metre tide that day and Judy was amazed at how far the water had receded.

With nary a nibble the boys were soon bored and we headed back to camp where we found it was beer o’clock. All had a relaxing evening and enjoyed catching up on what each had been doing since we last saw the other.

It was a slow start the next morning as we sat around the breakfast table, enjoying our morning cup of choice and the company. The boys had decided to take advantage of an offer of a boat trip to the other side of the lagoon which could be had here for a $2 donation to the RFDS, so mid morning they decided to try catching some bait fish with Mike’s throw net and set off.

By 10.45am they were ready for their boat ride which was 2 hours before high tide and returned about 2 hours after. A not very productive day followed as far as the fishing was concerned but the excursion gave them a chance to see some of the splendid beaches and mangroves in the area. The skipper gave a “cook’s tour” on the way back around an island, pointing out low tide fishing holes, mooring chains which were used by the pearling fleet that was based there many years ago, as well as some interesting stories of people caught in the fast moving tides leaving them marooned on the island.

Meanwhile back at camp Judy and Jan played Upwords before lunch and Judy took advantage of high tide after lunch and went for a swim.

Late afternoon came and the boys weren’t back so Judy put the kettle on and then they appeared but weren’t looking for a cuppa! After another relaxing evening sharing photos and combining our resources to cook spag blog we were almost convinced to stay in this idyllic spot for another day but awakening the next day we decided to move on to 80 Mile Beach.

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