Australia - West Coast - Coral Bay again, Exmouth & Broome

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G’Day Y’all!

Friday 4 June - Coral Bay continued
As soon as we were back I went to see the Nurse (no doctors at Coral Bay) who checked me over properly. He said I was generally OK but my breathing capacity was lower than it should be so I had to use my puffers more. He said I'd reacted badly to the dust at Karijini and wasn't going to feel better until I was away from the dust, am going to have to give my stuff a good clean when I get to Broome (washing machines aren't very good in Coral Bay). He didn't charge me, said I got "mates rates". It was then back to the hostel for a shower and change before going to the pub with the 3 Fisherman we'd met the night before. That was nice, some quiet drinks and fish n chips. When the pub closed at 10pm (it closes at 10pm every night?!!!) we went back to the hostel bar, saw Simon on the way there who invited us to a beach party (we didn’t go, seems like we missed an interesting night...!), then went to the jetty, on the back of the Fisherman's boat (they drove it on the trailer). We had a bit of a party there, dancing on the boat. Was a bit random as we were not in the water but great fun!! Until Lauren accidentally knocked Marvyn's (works at the hostel) tooth and a big bit broke off, bless him (has to go all the way back to Perth to get it fixed).

After the excitement of the last couple of days we spent the next few days doing lots of nice quiet chill out things.

Saturday 5 June - Coral Bay
We all slept in today, which was nice, and had a quiet day. We went to the bakery (Coral Bay has the nicest bakery - John visited it 3 - 5 times a day), caught up online, sat around chatting, had a chat with Simon who was very rude and inappropriate about some bruises I have on my leg (!!!), packed, slept. Not a lot! It was John's birthday (we got him a plastic model of a Whale Shark, he'd wanted one since Amber had used it to talk us through the Whale Sharks) the next day so we were having a bit of a night for him, no drinking for me as I was trying very hard to get better. I was not feeling great, quite poorly actually but I was very well looked after. The girls (Charlotte and Kerstin) made me tea, Marvyn gave me Strepsils. Everyone gave me lots of TLC. We went for Pizza where we came across some lads from Brighton who were very laddish; think the other girls might have thought they were typical British lads. Then went back to the hostel where everyone spent the evening playing Jenga and I tried not to spend the evening looking miserable. I was quiet but not tired enough for bed and I was struggling to talk as well which made it difficult for anyone to talk with me, my friends knew what was up but it was a bit awkward when it was anyone else. The Brighton lads were playing Jenga and two of them came to chat to me and were so lovely, shows how first impressions can be wrong! At one point I had a big coughing fit and had to leave the bar quickly (people tend to stare when I cough because it did sound really awful for several days, it's embarrassing so I go off on my own) and I knocked over a stool so got all flustered trying to pick it up (still coughing!). Some of the Aussie lads were laughing at me but as I left I heard the Brighton lads sticking up for me saying "leave her alone, can't you see she's really sick". That was sweet.

Sunday 6 June - Coral Bay to Exmouth
We (Andrea, Leroy, Lya, Lauren and I) left for two days in Exmouth at 10am. It's only a 1 1/2 hour journey and although not many people say nice things about Exmouth the Cape Range National Park to the north of it is supposed to be really nice. We passed a chap on a bike on the way who was cycling!! In the heat! He'd dropped something when we passed him, we expected him to take a while to get to Exmouth! The hostel was OK, don't know why but it seems they get a bit shabbier the further into the tropics you get. We went for a walk round town, it didn‘t take long! A couple of nice surfy shops. We went to hire a car but they were all out, we did find a Budget who said they'd have one for us the next day. We spent the afternoon chilling by the pool, which was lovely, very nice for backpacker prices. The backpacker’s hostel was on a hotel resort and we could use all the facilities for backpacker prices, we weren't complaining! Andrea got me a hot toddy from the bar (had wanted one all last night but they only served pre-mixed whisky!) which was so lovely of her (I told you I'm being well looked after); she even arranged cloves neatly in the lemon!!! It really really helped. We went back to shower and get ready for a night at the bar (not drinking for me), which was an exciting prospect as the bar was so smart, not what we're used to! We had a bit of an incident with a frog that seemed to be living in our Air Conditioning unit. A nice Brazilian chap helped us out and got the frog out from under it, it was pretty big and bright green, we learned later (from the locals) that it was a Green Tree Frog. Lya, Andrea and I went to the local Chinese for dinner. We bumped into Simon and the Western Xposure bus on the way. They'd had some sort of mishap with leaking water. It was only when I got to Broome that I got a text Simon had sent inviting us to dinner with them, which was nice of him and it’d have been nicer than the Chinese, I‘m not knocking the Chinese though! The pub was busy as it was Foundation Day so the next day was a public holiday. We spent a fun evening with the locals, some of which were slightly random but really nice. We had random chats about fishing, indigenous people (some of the views made us uncomfortable, was interesting hearing the views) and the weather. We were offered a trip out on a sailing boat which would have been nice had we had the time. We weren't too late to bed.

Monday 7 June - Exmouth - Cape Range National Park
Leroy and I walked to the car hire place to pick up a car hire. We were the designated drivers! Me because I hadn't driven for ages and Leroy because he wanted to drive on the left (Andrea drives all the time in Oz, Lya wasn't too sure about driving a manual on the left and Lauren is too young to hire a car). I had a bit of a panic when I realised it was an automatic as I realised I have never driven an automatic before, but Leroy gave me a quick lesson and we set out. We picked up the others and got on way after stopping for coffees and sorting out my issues with the brakes (they were so sensitive). I drove first, out to the Cape Range National Park. First stop was Yardie Creek which is basically a gorge filled with water. It was really pretty, not quite Karijini though. We bumped into the family that had been on the Manta Ray trip with us which was nice (we bumped into them all the way through the day, then in Exmouth, then back in Coral Bay). We then stopped at Sandy Bay which had been a tip from the locals last night. That was so pretty, Leroy braved a swim and the rest of us sunbathed. Then it was to the Oyster Stacks so Lauren could have a good snorkel, the rest of us sunbathed on the rocks. Then to the famous Turquoise Bay where everyone goes, that was really pretty too. The sea was so clear and sparking. I fell asleep on the beach, Andrea had to wake me up when it was time to go (we weren't allowed to drive after dark, as more likely to hit a Kangaroo). Leroy drove us back and did a great job as there were loads of Kangaroos (we saw a Red Kangaroo which was cool, first time have seen one in the wild) and Emus, especially as he's not used to driving on the left. We stopped off at the Murano cattle ship wreck (wrecked in 1907), there isn't much left of it. Then I drove back, didn't hit a kangaroo. I would say it was my good driving but I’m not even sure we saw one! I was tired out and had Macaroni for tea and a lovely chat with Drew who made me feel better. Again, thank you Drew 😊 I had a few orange juices at the bar, watched the others play pool then it was early to bed.

Tuesday 8 June - Exmouth to Coral Bay
We had to check out at 9.30am and take the car back by 10, but then it was a lazy day as there really isn't much to do in Exmouth. I later learned that it was built to support a communications station that was set up by the US and Australian governments. In 1962 they came to an agreement to establish the site. You can walk around the shops in an hour, which we did. (Exmouth is great as a base to visit the Cape Range National Park and well worth a trip there if you've got wheels to go and do that - the total cost of the hire car including petrol and extras was $150, so $30 dollars each). I then attempted to upload photos which didn't go well and then had to hang around until 3pm for our lift back to Coral Bay. We checked back into the hostel and then spent a couple of hours sorting flights and hostels in Broome. Then had dinner and some drinks (soft drinks for me, need to get better) watching the others playing pool. Then one of the most embarrassing incidents of my life occurred (it's up there with my stockings falling down whilst walking through London with a client). I had a bad coughing fit during which I was sick in the hostel bar, which was full of people. I didn't know what to do so the others sprang into action; Lya got the bin in case I was sick again, Lauren got paper towels, Charlotte stood in front of me to hide me and Leroy kept playing pool (don't think he knew what to do!). I sorted myself out with their help and think I got away with it without too many people seeing but I then felt so rough I had to go to bed, not very happy!

Wednesday 9 June - Coral Bay
I slept from about 10.30pm to 8.30am and didn't cough once, although had to pee about 4 times! I had a big coughing fit as soon as I woke up but was relieved not to be sick again. We had to check out so after that went to the bakery, did washing (had to as I'd been sick on my last set of bus appropriate clean clothes), uploaded photos, sunbathed, went to see the Nurse again (who gave me some medicine for the 'inflammation in my wind pipe' as she put it and didn‘t charge me, said it‘s something to do with the reciprocal health agreement between the UK and Australia, don‘t get that though, I was charged in Brisbane), sunbathed again, tried to understand how to obtain a Visa for Vietnam, sunbathed again, chatted to Hev & Mike (highlight of the day, thank you!) and watched the sunset. It was then a case of showering, buying some veggies, eating the veggies raw (the carrot kept me going for ages) eating a veggie burger (I’m sorry if I’m boring you, but it was a bit boring) then waiting for the bus to Broome, which was leaving at 11.30pm. The prospect of the 18 hour bus journey made the day drag on even longer! I'm so happy I'm on the bus with the others though as I’m thinking it would be unbearable otherwise. We had a nice evening, playing (or in my case watching people play) pool and chatting to the locals. It was during this evening that I realised what everyone talks about when they talk about the "typical Aussie male". I hadn't noticed before but did chatting to one of the locals tonight. He was very drunk and our conversation went like this in about 2 minutes:
Him: “You’re a beautiful girl”.
Me: “Thank you, that’s very nice”.
Him: “You’ve got lovely skin”.
Me: Thank you, that’s very nice”.
Him: "I reckon you'd run all right in bed, you've got that look about ya" (!!!!!!!!!!!!)
Me: “OK BYEEE! I think that’s the bus........”.
It was random! He’s pretty much the only one I’ve come across like that, so have concluded he was a one off and most Aussie men are lovely.
We said a sad bye to Kerstin and Charlotte; I really will miss them as they are lovely girls. I hope they'll come and visit me in Oxford. I was sad to leave Coral Bay as well, is probably my favourite little place in Australia.

The next stage of our journey took us to Broome, further up the West Coast. We were on the bus and leaving Coral Bay by midnight and tried to sleep straight away. It was difficult though as we kept swerving to avoid Kangaroos and Cows, I guess the Cows were more of a worry as they would cause even a bus problems if it hit one. We hit lots of Kangaroo, within about 5 minutes we'd hit 2 which wasn't very nice. That meant that we kept tensing waiting for it to happen, even if you blocked out the sound you could hear it. Every time the bus swerved you were waiting for it. During the night I felt us hit 6, guess it will have been more though as I luckily slept for most of the night time journey, kept waking up copying Andrea's sleeping positions trying to find a comfy one! We were lucky to have 2 seats to ourselves for the whole journey; had a worrying moment when we got on and they allocated seats (you know you're in trouble when they allocate seats as Caz will remember!) and another when they re-allocated our seats during the journey but we never had to move. We were woken up at 5.30am and had to get off the bus for an hour for it to be re-fuelled and for the drivers to change. That was nice, sitting in McDonalds! We had a crying baby on the bus who'd been good for most of the night but as the day went on she got worse, bless her. I did feel for her and her Mum but it was annoying! On leaving Karratha we got one of the typical long Greyhound chats from the driver (Caz, you'll remember that too). It was quite funny, he was telling us how he had to 'sneak' into the Post Office and 'nip' over to the newsagents and then updated us on the building of the Portakabins in Port Hedland (I was quite excited to get there to see the progress by the end of it!) He also gave us a lecture about not getting off the bus in South Hedland to go shopping; as he said "you don't want your jocks and socks getting to Broome before you do" and finished by telling us that he'd “be bailed out the door” at Pardoo and Andrew would be in. I slept the 4 or so hours from Karratha to Port Hedland. Port Hedland was very industrial, a port, the name might have been a giveaway. There were huge mounds of salt. At Pardoo the driver told us it was not too hot, just 35 to 37 degrees C, made me laugh!! We watched some films; Ice Age and some film with Robin Williams in that got cut off before the end. On the whole, the journey wasn't too bad.
We got picked up by the hostel when we arrived in Broome and taken to Cable Beach Backpackers. After settling in we went for dinner at Divers and then home early, we were so tired.

Friday 11 June - Broome
I was up early to get the bus into town to go to the Post Office as I had to send off my application for a Vietnamese Visa. It's a real hassle; have to send my Passport which is a worry when it's got to be back to me in 2 weeks so I can leave Australia for Thailand and it cost $125 Australian Dollars! It'll be worth it though 😊 After a quick walk round I went back to the hostel where the others were only just getting up (it was midday!). We spent the afternoon on Cable Beach, which is beautiful. Fine white sand and beautiful blue clear water. It was really hot but there was a nice breeze. The sand made funny sounds; when you laid with your ear to the ground and people walked by it sounded like cardboard wobbling. After sunset we went back, got ready to go out and then spent the first part of the evening drinking Sangria at the bar (it was Mexican night) before heading onto Divers (the hostel bar was playing Mexican music which only John liked, they then switched to the Red Hot Chilli Peppers which was good until they played the whole album then the Prodigy). At Divers they had a live band that were really good. I attracted some crazy locals again; a dancing older man and a mid 30s ship worker who was a bit full on. He kept charging me like a bull, at one point Lauren and Lya set up a protective shield but he came straight through with his head! I was polite, am not great at dealing with that. Western Xposure came in with Simon, who'd had a beer….! Lauren taught me how to pose properly (if you look at my photos of her, she always looks great, typical American/Canadian high school pose) so hopefully you'll see an improvement in my photos! Lauren, Lya and I went to bed at 12 and John and Andrea partied on at the beach.

Saturday 12 June - Broome
We were up early, doing our washing! I was craving toast and Marmite so Lauren very kindly gave me some tea and bread so I could have tea and toast with Marmite! We said a sad farewell to John (will miss you John!) then Lauren and I went to the beach where we spent all afternoon being very lazy. At about 4 ish we'd had enough so we went back, packed and got ready to go out. England were playing football that night (well, at 2.30am the next morning) so we had a big night to prepare for. We had drinks in the hostel bar then went back to Divers, where we bumped into Simon who had been in there all day watching various sporting events....had an amusing time with him! Lauren knew some locals in Broome who met us there and took us onto the 'Roey'. I was expecting some sort of Aussie pub but the place was amazing! I would have been pleased if it'd be in London it was so smart. It was huge, outdoors with a big dance floor and DJ. They were showing the football on a big screen which Leroy was happy about (he was happy as long as he was in front of a TV watching the football). We had a great time, got to do some proper dancing in a club rather than in small town pubs or on the back of a boat......! At the start of the night Lauren told me she couldn't wait to see what randoms I attracted that night...it's so bad it's turned into a source of amusement for everyone. I didn't disappoint, this time two girls tried it on! We stayed there until 1.45am then went back to the hostel, via the Kebab van (first time I‘ve seen one in Australia, had thought Australians didn‘t do the whole going for food after a night out thing, have asked Sarah - who I’ve stayed with in Darwin, that’ll be the next instalment - since and she said they do, so bit gutted I‘ve missed out on that the last few months!) to watch the football. That meant staying up until 4.30am. There weren't many of us there; Andrea and an Irish guy, Lya and an Aussie guy (who was really taking the p*ss out of me, for my accent and just generally for being English), a French guy, Leroy (who didn't last long, obviously England wasn‘t interesting enough for the German!) and an English guy that joined us part way through (he’d passed us on the way to the bathroom and never went back to bed). Lya was supporting the USA of course; I was really impressed with her, she didn't really have a clue what was going on but really got into it! She soon learned the goalies name and just kept shouting "Howard", bless her!!! As soon as it was finished we went to bed.

Sunday 13 June - Broome to Darwin
Lauren, Lya and I went out for breakfast which was really nice. Simon was there nursing a hangover and we had to say bye. I was leaving for the airport at 12 and spent the morning getting more stressed about flying, that's not happened for ages! I had to get the Diazepam on standby! At 12 I had to say my byes to Lauren, Lya and Leroy - would hopefully see Lauren and Lya in Brisbane though so not too many tears.

I'm gutted to say bye to them all. I have had an absolutely amazing time on the West Coast; West is definitely Best when it comes to Australia (and England and Wales of course!). The country helps make it amazing but what’s made it for me are the people I have been travelling with. We have been like a little family for the past 3-4 weeks and I’m going to miss them all, including Simon  They’ve looked after me so well; as I’ve been poorly I could have been really homesick and sad but they perked me up. I’ve got so many amazing memories and I really do hope I see them again. Although I was sad to leave, I was excited to see Sarah in Darwin and then Hannah in Brisbane! Sunday 13 June to be continued in Darwin……..

Xx

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