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Published: October 19th 2009
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Day 173 - Broome to De Grey River
It’s moving day! Or is it?! We’ve still got loads we could be doing here but we really should be going.
Amber, Ross and Lucy walked across from the resort to say goodbye, that was so sweet of you guys, thank you very much and we really hope we’ll see you again when we get to Perth.
Belinda very kindly offers Darryl a special cup of coffee with her special coffee maker so when she brings it round we pop it on the stove. It’s funny, as it’s boiling we don’t get the normal aroma of coffee? Weird? Not really, there was none in there and boiling water doesn’t tend to smell of anything much! It made us laugh but reminded us just how much we’ll miss these guys when we move on.
We managed to get a bit more work done on the blogs, we’re so far behind - there’s just so much going on all the time and we’re struggling to keep up! When the clock struck 9am we packed everything else up, got showered and were on our way just past the official ‘check out time’
of 10am. We can see a tower of smoke behind the camp ground so it seems the bush fire is still alight but hopefully heading toward the ocean if they’re lucky.
The worst thing about leaving Broome was leaving the Elliotts behind as they’re staying on a few more days. We’ve had such a fun time with them, the kids are just terrific fun with such wonderful personalities and Belinda & Nige are an awesome couple, just gorgeous. Our decision to stay in Saddle Creek the night before we hit Western Australia was definitely a good one and we very much hope our paths will cross again, perhaps in Exmouth but we’ll keep in touch regardless. Love, Love, Love to you all!
Before we left Broome we needed to find a pharmacy as I’ve been ravaged by sand fly bites all over my legs and they're really itchy. Aloe vera (I can hear the Coulsells shouting ‘Ello Vera’ from here!!!) should do the trick and if it’s got some sort of antibiotic power then all the better! What a result, they’ve even got one with a numbing agent, bliss!
We’ve got a big journey ahead of us
today and there won’t be much of a view along the way! We’re leaving the Kimberleys and crossing into the Pilbara, another remote and isolated section of Western Australia. Out of Broome we go and we can see clouds of smoke behind the airport, it looks pretty fierce and not likely to stop any time soon. Luckily for us the highway is open and we’re off towards Port Hedland in no time at all.
Just outside of Broome who should we spot but Nulkie cycling in! Amazing! We first met him in Kununurra and had a brief chat to him there about how long he’s been on the road. We saw him again heading into the Bungle Bungles and now today he’s heading into Broome. Fair play, who knows when we’ll catch him again.
As we said, it’s a big drive today but we’re not sure quite how big but Tom Tom won't really have much to say until we take a left in about 598 kms if we do manage to reach the furthest free camp site available to us! Leaving late will mean more time in the car during the hottest part of the day, something
we really don't like doing but hey ho! It’s a pretty isolated journey albeit 100% on the bitumen, there are a few free camp spots and two roadhouses but that’s it! We won’t pass through a single town or community during the hundreds of k's that we'll travel, how weird is that!
We check out the Stanley Rest Area but it’s too early on in the journey for anything other than lunch and to let the car cool down. The next stop is a further 108 km along the highway when we reach the Sandfire Road House. Back in 2003 this place was extensively damaged by fire and left a 1.5million damage bill. It’s never been rebuilt but as it’s the only fuel stop for 610 kms it’s a good job it’s operating on some level! We fill up with diesel, admire the road train parked out front, make use of the facilities while we can, say hello to the huge bull and the camel sat in the yard out the back and then grab some cold drinks and get on our way!
There’s a few camp spots at the roadhouse but we’re going to trundle on until
we reach the free camping area at De Grey River which is much closer to Port Hedland. There’s not much to tell about the next 200kms, we passed some cattle and got waved at by some road train drivers (in a nice way) and then just as the sun was beginning to fade we arrived at De Grey River. Initially it looked like we were the only ones here but we soon realised that everyone was camped closer to the river so headed down there too. It was lovely! There are no facilities here but we’re not worried, it’s free and there’s a nice view! We sat and watched the sunset secretly hoping for a road train to cross the bridge, that would have made a good photo but it didn’t happen this time!
Darryl cooked up a great dinner, doesn’t he always and we worked on the blogs until the batteries went flat on the laptop.
Here’s to free camping, it’s ace!
Dar and Sar
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Jan Kettle
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Sandfire Roadhouse
We stayed there overnight in 2003 (only because we were nursing our old van round) but that must have been before it burnt down. xxx Mum K