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Published: August 13th 2014
Inlet
View from our tentFrom Port Hedland we travelled north for approx 120 Kilm's and stopped at a place called Cape Keraudren. This is a council run camping spot right on the beach. It provides toilets and that's about it. As we were coming over the ridge the water came into sight and it was absolutely beautiful. I have never seen water so blue! It was deep blue, light blue and aqua almost in strips like a painting and something I have only ever seen in pictures or postcards from some exotic destination!
On the way in we had noticed a strange noise coming from the trailer ( omg! Not again!!!!!)
Mum and dad had a bit of a laugh watching me jogging beside the trailer to try and work out where the noise was coming from while Gav drove it. Gav claims he needed me to do this to work out where the noise was coming from. Hmmmmm I'm not so sure! Haha. I think he secretly took great delight in making me jog further than what was really needed! Haha
We found a spot to camp next to a small inlet where the kids could easily play in the water
Cape Keraubrun
The road coming into Cape Keraudrun and on the sand. Poor Gav then spent the next two hours doing MORE repairs to our camper ( which by the way is for sale, anyone interested?!! Haha). The bearings in the wheel had just disintegrated! Gav had a spare stub axel with us so he just replaced the entire thing admist groans of. "I'm going to set this bloody thing on fire if anything else breaks!" Haha poor Gav.
When Gav had finally finished he got out the bait net and went fishing for bait fish in the inlet so the next day him and the kids could go beach fishing. He came back with about two dozen little bait fish safely stowed in a large bucket of water ready for a day of fishing in the morning.
Through the night a howling wind picked up and it blew a gale. It was the worst wind I can ever remember being in and we were half expecting the tent to collapse in on us during the night. By some small miracle it didn't and the next morning we had to put up extra ropes to help support the tent. The wind was blowing so hard that
Mum and Dad
Enjoying a relaxing wine! the sand was biting at everyone's legs, getting in our eyes, we couldn't start the gas outside to boil the kettle and the inside of the tent, the beds and everything else was covered in a layer of sand. It was horrible!
We tried going for a walk on the beach but turned back because the wind was so strong we were struggling to walk into it and the sand blasting our legs was hurting. Gav and I went for a drive around the camp sites to have a look. This place is just a maze of different tracks along the coast line where you can camp. It really is just gorgeous coastline but in the weather conditions we were facing it wasn't looking it's best.
We spoke to one caravaner who said the area had been issued a wind warning as there was a strong low sitting just off the coast, it would hang around for at least 48 hours and the winds were predicted to get stronger through the night.
When we got back to camp Mum and Dad were sitting in the wind smiling but looking pretty fed up so we suggested that, even
The inlet where we camped
The kids played in the water until dark. though we had paid for the second night, we leave early to try and escape this dreadful wind. We broke out the free camps book and saw there was a free camp spot about 120klms away so we packed up and headed off. The pack up was fun! (Not). We decided to just remove the pegs from the tent and sort of let the wind just blow the tent back into the trailer and hope for the best. At one stage I was inside the tent trying to do up a zipper when the wind picked up the tent and blew me up against the trailer stuck inside the tent. While dad is saying "judith this is no time to play around" and Gav is saying " that'd be right, trust Jude to get herself in a tangle" I was trying desperately to refind my feet and tell them I was stuck! It was very funny, I wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry! Cape Keraudren - absolutely beautiful spot but unfortunately for us the weather just wasn't kind this time around.
We free camped that night in a great spot set back off the road with toilets and
were glad to be out of the dreadful wind. Next day we drove into Broome.
Mum and Dad had been to Broome about ten years earlier and were really surprised to see how much Broome had grown. We went straight to the visitor information centre to see what was around.
We decided to head up to the Peninsula and spend some time in Broome on our way back. There was a free camp spot called Point Quongdong Dong so we made our way there for a couple of nights. What a great spot it was! We spent two nights right on the beach, camped under the shade of a group of beautiful trees. The kids enjoyed the beach and collecting shells before we headed further up into the peninsula area to a spot called Gnylmarung.
Our way up into the Peninsula saw us delayed by a large brushfire. At one stage the road was closed and we had to stop and wait until it re opened.
We had heard about a place in the Broome visitor information centre called Gnylmarung Retreat. The brochure was beautiful and it looked like a really nice spot to spend three
Point Quongdong
The beach was just beautiful or four nights on the coast and check out the rest of the peninsula area while there. Gnylmarung was located close 30km off the main Cape Leveque road. It is a small aboriginal community established in 1995 and offered about twenty bush sites with fresh water, no power and basic amenities. The corregations going into Gnylmarung were terrible! They settled after about the first 10 km and the road became a narrow bush track.
When we first pulled into Gnylmarung our hearts sank. It looked very rough, dusty and the beach was nowhere to be found. Ohh no we had come all this way and this place didn't look inviting at all. However, it's an interesting place because as you drive in and have a closer look Gnylamurung is a really beautiful spot. We were welcomed by the caretaker who showed us around. This place offered free firewood, free washing machine amenities, didn't charge for the kids and had lots of grassy sights to offer and access to the beach was easy! We ended up staying here for four nights, enjoying the beach and the bush camp site. At night you could have sworn we were the only ones
Point Quongdong
We were fascinated with the way the sand rippled due to wind and water. there and the beach was a safe protected spot for the kids to enjoy!
We used one day while here to check out Cape Leveque, Cygnet Bay Pearl farm and One Arm Point.
Cape Leveque was abit of a disappointment and we didn't stay there long. It's a beautiful looking resort and I'm sure a great place to stay but it doesn't really cater for day visitors more for people staying at the resort.
Cygnet Bay Pearl farm was an interesting spot. Beautiful scenery. We went into their gallery for a look. The gallery tells some of the history of the pearl farm and also has some of their pearl jewellery on display and of course for sale. Olivia was delighted when the lady asked her if she wanted to try on a piece of jewellery she was looking at. This necklace she tried on was worth $85 000.00!!!!!! We told Olivia it was the one and only time she would probably ever touch a piece of jewellery worth that much! She asked Gav to buy it for her for her 21st! Ha!! Good luck with that one!! Haha
From here we went up to One
Point Quongdong
Jack and Luke enjoying a swim Arm Point and this is where the day became a really awesome day especially for the kids. We stopped to look at the bay and we could see that a small group of people were feeding something in the water so we went over to have a look. It turns out they were feeding lemon and reef sharks. We stayed for a while watching. Just amazed at how close to the shore line these sharks were.
From here We went around to the fish hatchery for a look at the various tanks there. The kids had a ball looking in The tanks and picking up some of the sea slugs, cucumbers and other crustaceans in the children's tank. While we were there, some local indigenous kids were also there. They were great! They showed the kids all the different fish, how to feed them, what type they were, where and how to catch them and then they said "we are here spear fishing with our grandmother would you like us to show you how we spear fish?!" Jack and Luke were soooo excited. These three kids spent a couple of hours with the boys helping them put on snorkel
Road closures
The Peninsula road was shut for a while due to bush fires. Ohh well, time for a cuppa! gear and look under the water, around the rocks, spearing fish, telling them about the fish and how they catch them, fishing - they were very generous with their time and the boys had an absolute ball!!
The rest of the time at Gnylmarung was spent on the beach relaxing and camp oven cooking at night. We made a delicious butter cake in the camp oven and enjoyed a great roast.
On our way back to Broome we stopped in at Beagle Bay for a look. They have a church there that is abit of a tourist point of interest as the local community has used locally harvested pearl shells to decorate the altar and the interior of the church. We asked how to get down to the bay for a look but the bay is only opened to the local indigenous community outsiders arn't allowed to go down to the bay (hmmmmm, well you can have your own opinion on that one!),
We arrived in Broome late that afternoon and checked into a caravan park. We had passed quite a few fires on our way down the Peninsula so the trip was abit slow.
We
are now in Broome enjoying a few days in this beautiful, beautiful town. (I soooo want to live here! Haha). Can't wait to see Cable Beach and we have an appointment with a certain group of camels!
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sonia
non-member comment
...
WoW! it all looks awesome. Liv, no escaping Dad with pearls on :) Huge big hugs to you all and I am loving hearing all about your trip, thanks Jude xxxx