After just a little over 2 years, we have finally returned to Broome and it has certainly been worth the wait!
Avril arrived ex-Kununurra from a work trip at around 9:30 and I flew from Perth and got in around 13:30. We were both a little disappointed we didn’t drive up, but the opportunity to get me here on the cheap via Avril’s frequent flier points was just something we couldn’t pass up!
We had decided earlier to treat ourselves to a bit of luxury on this trip and had booked a deluxe villa at The Bali Hai Resort. The high, wood lined ceilings, four post bed, massive two person bath and outdoor shower really make this place feel luxurious.
As the villa has a fully equipped kitchen as well as a bbq, we went shopping and bought supplies for a number of meals we plan to cook here, including my famous (to us at least!) bbq tamarind, lemongrass, chilli and ginger salmon with pickled papaya salad.
We decided to eat out the first night at our favourite restaurant in Broome, Zanders, where we had enjoyed many meals together whilst on our honeymoon two years ago.
Avril had the trawler’s catch which included scallops, fish, prawns and calamari. I had the threadfin salmon with lime and coconut sauce on asparagus and rice. Both meals were delicious!
Here are a couple of shots taken with my iPhone. Better photos to come later :)
the bad news, I was made redundant a couple of months ago and last month I managed to poke a hole in my radiator which has seen the patrol out of action. hopefully she’ll be ready soon :)
the good news, only 21 days until we’re back in broome! unfortunately we’re not driving, but flying, and spending 5 lovely nights at the bali hai. we’ve got a jeep wrangler booked and will be taking a day trip out to Barred Creek, my all-time favourite place to get away from everyone whilst up in Broome. the photo at the top of the blog was taken at Barred Creek where we spent 3 lovely days without seeing / hearing any other people and were able to watch pods of whales about 1km off shore jumping out of the water.
as I said in one of my previous entries, I keep neglecting the blog, which I hate doing. now with winter behind us, and with the patrol on the mend, hopefully we’ll be about to get out there and explore again soon and keep the updates coming!
i’m also in the process of adding a series of “delayed” entries detailing our honeymoon trip to the kimberley in 2007. lots of photos and lots of stories, so keep an eye out.
Took a look this morning where I could mount our newly acquired Oregon Scientific ATC3K action camera on the 4wd and found a perfect spot on the bullbar.
Here’s the video!
Ultimately I’d like to get another one or two of these babies so you can see a view from inside, a view near a wheel and the view you see in the video above.
I took the audio out of the video because as the camera is so close to the engine, you couldn’t hear much but a very grinding noise :)
So we’ve started talking a bit more about where to go next and we think we’ve decided on taking a couple of weeks off in July 2010 (to coincide with our 3 year anniversary) and do Karijini for 3-5 days, whislt leaving Lucy, our adorable fur-baby at Tom Price and then picking her up and spending the remaining few days at Cleaverville Beach.
Cleaverville is north of Karratha and from what I’ve been able to find online is quite a nice place!
We left North Mandu and the Cape Range NP this morning to return to Exmouth to spend the last couple of days in the hustle and bustle that Exmouth has to offer ;)
I took a drive out to Shothole and Charles Knife canyons and took a look around. Very scenic.
Here’s a photo of RUFN IT at Shothole Canyon and another photo of a kangaroo I took yesterday near North Mandu.
So I’ve had plenty of time to start thinking about the next trip to plan, but I’m torn between doing what we want to do and what we can do.
Camping/travelling/exploring with a dog is quite difficult we’ve found. Avril and I have talked about Karijini for quite a while now and we’re both keen as mustard to do it but you can’t take dogs into National Parks (unless you’re blind, but then why are you going to a NP?! I call it reverse discrimination!).
Knowing that there are caravan parks in the area you are visiting where you can stay with a dog is quite good, just hope there is a vet/kennel you can leave your fur baby while you go where they can’t.
But I digress, no matter how much it pains me to holiday without Lucy, I think Karijini may be next on the agenda. With Newman only ~1200km away from home, it can easily be reached without stretching ourselves.
When to go is the next question. The next leave we’ve got planned is July, to coincide with our 2 year anniversary, but I think the last time I looked Karijini in July can get quite cold. “Toughen up princess” I hear you all say.
Exmouth is lovely and is easily reached within a day. Could I do it again so soon? You betchya.
As most of you know (or can tell by the photos) we carry a solar panel with us on most, if not all of our trips.
We currently use an 85w BP solar panel which at peak gives us 4.72 amps. The 60ltr Engel at peak draws ~4.5 amps (I don’t have any literature handy for the exact figure) so the solar panel puts in just a tad more than the Engel takes out.
This is fine for the time being and when we’re not filling the fridge to capacity, but what happens when we do?
I think the answer will lie in getting two 80w panels and bridging them. This way we’re only increasing the depth of the panel by several centimetres, so not a lot of additional space is required but the power gained is doubled. This should hopefully allow us to go rufn it for longer periods of time without the need to head back to the closest power point to recharge.
The only kink in my plan? Clouds. Damn clouds. Short of carrying a generator, there isn’t a lot that can be done without the sun. But to be honest, who wants to go camping when it’s cloudy or raining?
With the wind picking up the second night, I didn’t get the best sleep, but enough nonetheless.
I drove into town to pick up the old man and to have a quick shower. I will definitely be adding a shower to the 4wd in the not too distant future, it felt great.
On the way back to camp we saw a large lizard and a mother emu with 4 babies.
Took a snorkel at the local beach which was very serene as I was the only person there. Thankfully the previous day’s invading jellyfish had disappeared.
Saw the usual fish you’d expect around this area in all colors if the rainbow, and then some! There were also a large number of seaslugs down there too.
Now it’s lunch time, and I’ve had a swim so no excuses for not cracking open a beer.
After lunch and a few beers I decided to take a walk through the coastal shrubbery to see if I could find some wildlife to photograph.
I saw a number of roos, however as I was down wind of them it was difficult to get close enough for decent shots. Thankfully my friend Jeremy lent me his 70-300mm lens and I was able to get some long distance shots.
Then I came across an echidna. Unfortunately he didn’t feel like posing for the camera and decided to bury his head in the sand. I was able to get some amazing shots of his spines though.
The day ended with Pierre, the Belgian bike rider, joining us for drinks, cheese and deep discussions about music, movies and Angelina Jolie-Pitt’s boobs.
Pierre has been in Australia since September 2008 and where possible (and realistic) rides his bike. He is catching a bus to Broome and then plans on tackling the Gibb River Road on his bike. You can find Pierre’s blog at http://tommy.kikooboo.com.
