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Published: August 15th 2006
It was off on the long and winding road towards Broome - well long (> 3000 kms to be exact), but not exactly winding unless you count a bend every couple of hundred kms. The rain was relentless on the first day, so it was just as well that we'd seen everything along the first stretch of the journey - the Pinnacles aren't quite the same through the clouds.
The blue sky was back the next day, although there was some doubt as to whether the road into Kalbarri National Park would be open - it was and the morning was spent exlporing the gorges. The next port of call was Shell Beach and on to Monkey Mia, where the dolphins still cruise right up to the beach for a free feed and are as cute as ever. The stromatolites at Hamelin Pool remain as lifeless as ever.
The teeth gremlins had appeared by this stage - not exactly convenient 500 miles from anywhere, when you are spending the night at a sheep station. We spent the next day on the beach at Coral Bay - swimming (and in John's case probably drowning) with manta rays on Ningaloo Reef
wasn't really an option. We arrived in Exmouth, spent 5 hours in a dentist's waiting room at the imaginatively titled Exmouth Hospital and were relieved of $175.
Miranda's tooth temporarily recovered, the next 2 days were spent exploring Karijini National Park and it's gorges - bush camping under the stars with a swag and no facilities, before heading back to the coast at Port Hedland - Teesside with 40 degree heat, where the longest trains in the world arrive from Newman and Tom Price with their cargo of iron ore to be shipped to Japan to return as Toyota Landcruisers. The last night before Broome was at 80 Mile Beach - a real campsite and a shower after 3 days.
Broome was very disappointing. We were probably expecting Cable Beach itself to be a more pristine stretch of white sand and whilst the swimming area was OK, the area where the camel trains made their sunset walks resembled a car park for a few hundred 4WDs enjoying a Western Australian sunset. A new tooth gremlin had appeared by Broome - another day, another root canal diagnosis and this time a bill for $230. The estimate for a permanent
solution was $600-800, so we might be having a few quiet nights in by the time we get to Cairns.
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Karijini National Park
Brian
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Photos
Its all bringing back great memories. Funnily enough I was sorting out the last few photos from my trip (yes I know ive been back a year) last night and stumbled across my west coast ones, Natures Window and the camels at sunset being two of them!! Keep enjoying it!!