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Published: June 30th 2015
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80 Mile Beach
Lovely grassed sites - pity we were only here overnight. I have fallen weeks behind with my blogging so am trying to catch up over the next few days so trying to keep it short and sweet.
Next stop was Karratha for 2 nights which was just a cleanup, stockup and general housework stop over two nights. Karratha is just a suburban stop really and it rained quite a bit here, nuisance rain really so we had to use dryers. Managed to get a haircut - such a relief. Lots of development in Karratha, apartments, new shopping centre and so on. Woodside’s massive North West Project (Gas and Oil) is based between here and Dampier but the general opinion is that the bubble has burst and nobody knows who is going to live in all these apartments. Spoke to one 20+ young married woman born and bred in Karratha, told us that many of her friends bought houses here at the top of the market and now have $1m mortgages for houses worth $700k - recipe for disaster you’d think. As we’ve seen all over WA, the mining boom is over and the Govt has a big job on their hands making sure the whole economy doesn’t collapse. When the
times were good it seems the Govt did share the wealth, just about every town we go through has great sporting facilities and community centres so that’s something at least.
Left Karratha for the long haul to Broome but a couple of good stops along the way. First was Eighty Mile Beach, we stayed here in ’06 and really liked it. There is only a caravan park here, right on the beach and it has been upgraded and beautifully maintained over the last 9 years. We are travelling with just the Whitfields at this stage and managed to get 2 lovely grassed spots a short walk from the sunset watching spot. This spot is famous for it’s fishing, sunrises and sunsets, and shell collecting - mind you the shells have been collected to death so not as good collecting as last time. It is also famous as a resting and feeding spot for millions of migratory birds from as far away as the Arctic Circle, travelling between 10,000 to 15,000 km’s to get here. We didn’t swim here although we were tempted, a bit of a thing about sharks and no guarantee that all the stingers have gone for
Barn Hill
Steps down to the beach at Barn Hill the season.
Left here reluctantly but very excitedly headed to one of our long awaited stops at Barn Hill Station - about 100km south of Broome, 10 k’s of dirt and three gates to get there but the campsite sits on the cliffs overlooking the most gorgeous beach. Hot showers, flushing loos (I know, maybe too much info but you have to be here to realise how good it is to have these facilities,) and fabulous sunsets. We had 4 nights here and spent our time on the beach, Graham could fish to his hearts content, and just vegging out. We swam each day - carefully, lots of people were swimming but felt reasonably safe even though one older fisherman had given up for the day because a shark kept cruising past him and watching out for his catch. Very hot and dusty in the campsite, we could have had powered sites which were all under the trees but that would have meant no sun for our solar panels and quite cool days and nights. Once again, lots of warnings about snakes but still haven’t managed to spot one but very glad we aren’t sleeping in tents
Barn Hill
Looking down at the beach. and swags. One thing that has surprised us this trip is the number of dogs people are bringing with them. Given the danger of snakes etc and here at Barn HIll we saw one man carrying his terrier as the burrs were a real problem for the little bloke. One lady told us she normally travels with 2 cats - madness in this country, they are such a threat to small animals and if they get lost and go feral, create an even bigger threat. If you have ever seen a feral cat you will know what I mean, they have an abundance of feed and grow very big and can be extremely aggressive. The other problem about travelling with pets is that you can’t stay in National Parks with pets and that would severely cramp your style out here. Our stay in Barn Hill was great and included a visit to Eco Beach - a 5 star resort about an hour south of Broome. You don’t need a 4 wheel drive to get here so its a very popular for honeymooners, fly to Broome, drive to Eco Beach and relax. We drove over for coffee by their infinity pool
Barn Hill
Geoff and Graham - hunting and gathering. good thing we had sausages in the fridge. which looks over another pristine beach, everything you need for a relaxing holiday and the delights of Broome not far away. So once again for all my 5 star friends, you don’t need to camp or caravan to experience the sights and sounds this beautiful, arid, islolated part of the country has to offer. From here we set off to Broome and the next instalment.
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Jan Chalmers
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WA coast holiday
Hi Jo & John, Am really enjoying reading your blogs. We travelled down the WA coast in 2010 so am loving reliving all the spots you are going to. Great!!