Broome to Perth   

"The joy is in the travelling and not in the arriving"

Melbourne to Lawn Hill National Park

Lawn Hill National Park to Broome

Day Forty Six 19th August 1994 - Broome to Eighty Mile Beach:

Well we are leaving the first place on the trip (so far) that I could live. Perfect weather, relaxed and the women! We travelled south along the Great Northern Highway and took a side track to Port Smith for a look. It was beautiful tidal lagoon with crystal clear blue green water, golden sand and silence except for nature. A perfect spot to be marooned. It is supposedly a great fishing spot, but I had no time to try. On the road again and in the middle of nowhere, a melon store on the side of the road. "Shamrock" was its name and was looked after by a stunning Pom on her way around Australia. Besides melons, you could also purchase damper, scones, tea, coffee and homemade pancakes cooked before your eyes. For $2 each, Dad had tea and damper and Mum coffee and a pancake.

I took over driving here and along the bitumen it was easy travelling. In 1975, the road was unsealed, red dust and corrugations. We stopped at Sandfire Flat for fuel, that is now bricks and mortar, last time we were here, it was a tin shack, an unbelievable change in 20 years - progress. Another 40 kms along and we took the turn off to Eighty Mile Beach. It was 10 kms of reasonable unsealed road to finally top the last sand dune and see the beautiful sight of the beach. Unfortunately we were also greeted by a strong northerly wind that made it very difficult to erect the tent. You can only fish the tides here so I have to wait until 10.30pm tonight for the water to come in. I sat about and relaxed until dinner then waited until 9.00pm when myself and two brothers my age from Parkdale, Melbourne went down to try our luck. Sharks were going to be our best bet, so we set our rigs accordingly. I had not even a tickle, and the other two faired not much better. I found it difficult to get used to the surf rod, especially the casting, as I had never fished from a beach before. I had no luck at all and so called it quits at midnight. I trudged back through the sand empty handed, to a quiet caravan park. Into the swag and I was away with the fairies.

Day Forty Seven 20th August 1994 - Eighty Mile Beach to Port Hedland:

It was an extremely wind blown night. I kept waking up expecting to be floating out to sea. It was hard to evacuate camp, folding tents, swag and ground sheets. The Irish girls next door found it extremely difficult to take down their tent and pack up. I rang Al before I left to pass on commiserations on Melbourne defeating North Melbourne last night. We had a tail wind all the way to Port Headland, that was good for time and fuel economy. Port Hedland is a BHP Iron Ore town and in an empty caravan park there were not many people or vans. The operator was nice though. Our van hadn't been cleaned yet so we popped downtown for a look around and to buy some supplies. We settled into the van and lunched before I went for a long walk along the beach and rocks looking for a good fishing spot for tomorrow morning. I finally returned weary and thirsty after taking a wrong turn and ending up in the back streets. I soaked the feet, then had a snooze. I drove down to the pub for some takeaways then dinner, read, diary and expenses. We have spent $6500 and we are only half way...cuts need to be made.

Day Forty Eight 21st August 1994 - Port Hedland:

I slept in until 9.00am. Dad was removing a back tyre as we had another puncture. I had a quick breakfast and then headed down to Pretty Pool, an 800 metre walk from the caravan park, for a fish. The tide came in from 9.30am to 10.45am. I didn't get a nibble, but the crabs loved my bait. I was getting a bit sun burnt so I returned to the van for lunch. Mum and Dad had been touring the town visiting the wharf. They watched a huge ship dock, an arms length away, and climbed the Port Authority Tower for a view of the harbour. After lunch I just relaxed and read while Mum and Dad went to photograph a 2.8 kilometre long train. The train used two diesel engines in front and two more half way along. There were 240 carriages holding iron ore and it takes the train 3 km to stop. After 4.oopm I headed back to Pretty Pool for another try at the fish, but ended up fattening up the crabs instead. It was a quiet night and I finished another book before retiring to bed early.

Day Forty Nine 22nd August 1994 - Port Hedland to Karratha:

We left late this morning, 10.15am, as we had to get the punctures all fixed up - we had 2! It was a nice drive with the wind behind us and we had a driver swap at Whim Creek Hotel that is a sanctuary for orphaned animals. On to Roebourne that has improved from 1975 and onto Karratha. It is the cleanest and best designed town I have seen. A company town, along with Dampier, for Hammersley Iron it is beautiful. All the shops are in the one place along with the schools, churches etc. The Visitors Centre is nice and new and then we visited the beach that consisted of mud flats and mangroves. Dinner was a bbq with lovely fresh vegetables. I am having an early night as I am still feeling worn out.

Day Fifty 23rd August 1994 - Karratha:

We were all up early for a 9.00am tour of Dampier with Hammersley Iron. We watched a video then hopped on a bus for a tour of the facilities on the docks. It was very interesting with so few people operating such huge machinery. For a two hour tour, it was great value at only $3 per person. After the tour we headed off to Cossack and Port Samson. We lunched on fish and chips, though I did not enjoy the dry barramundi, it was not as good as what I had in Derby or my cod caught in Broome. Port Samson was a beautiful setting - a place I could definitely retire to. Perfect weather, beautiful beaches, fishing, boating, relaxing etc etc. Cossack has been restored to some of its former, if not short lived, glory. Recently a 'ghost town', the community and local prisoners have renovated a few of the buildings. A tour around the area brought us to where a few charred wrecks from Asian boat people have been destroyed. Unfortunately there were not many "nick knacks", so no souvenirs were bought. We headed back to Karratha with a tail wind and had an early night as we are going to Millstream early tomorrow. 

Day Fifty One 24th August 1994 - Karratha - Millstream - Karratha:

An early night ended up being an early morning to bed, as I couldn't put down the book that I was reading. I turned out the light at 3.15am. I was up at 8.00am and we were gone by 8.30am with Dad having already bought fuel and film. We were off to Millstream 140kms away. It was a company road so we had to get a pass to travel on it. It was not a bad surface, but it was stony and dusty in some places. Millstream is on the Fortesque River which mostly runs underground. 

At Millstream the water reaches the surface and provides beautiful lily ponds surrounded by palm trees, paper barks and gums. Unfortunately, an ignorant Asian had become lost out here a couple of years ago and lit a fire to alert people as to his fate and whereabouts. His actions have stripped the area of much vegetation, ruining feed for local cattle and sheep on the pastoral leases. It was a very disappointing trip actually, but we weren't to know. We were back in Karratha at 3.00pm and completed some shopping before dinner, packing and an early night. All the goods and services here are partly subsidised by the mining company as supplies, cigarettes and alcohol is all so cheap. $25 for a carton of cigarettes and under $9 for a six pack of Strongbow's - fantastic. 

Day Fifty Two 25th August 1994 - Karratha - Coral Bay:

It was a late start for a long drive. We filled up with fuel and headed off. It was a non-eventful drive, with another petrol stop at Nanutarra, except I almost hit an emu north of Coral Bay. We settled into Coral Bay easily. It is a beautiful spot with an ocean frontage. The water is so warm and fish hang around to be fed. You are not allowed to fish in this area though, and the fish know it. We took a walk along the beach and then up to the hotel for a couple of cold ones. It was getting late, so we had dinner and it was early to bed. 

Day Fifty Three 26th August 1994 - Coral Bay:

Unfortunately Coral Bay's fresh water is from an artesian bore. The temperature is hot and the water is great for the skin. To ease pressure on the pumps, sprinklers are run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. At night this condensation forms mists which are blown around by the wind covering and soaking everything. The grass may be an extremely thick, green, beautiful lawn, but it is difficult to sleep when you are wet through. This morning we took a boat ride on the Sub Sea Explorer to look at the reef and fish through the glass bottom. The schnapper are huge! I went for a snorkel and took some underwater photos with a waterproof disposable camera. After the tour I ventured up to the hotel for a few hours of solid drinking. Happy hour was from 5.30 to .30 with $1.00 middies. I was feeling the pain, so I stumbled back to camp and crashed.

Day Fifty Four 27th August 1994 - Coral Bay - Carnarvon:

Woke up after a shocking nights sleep due to the mists. Everything was soaked through - swag, pillow, mattress, sleeping bag. We left fairly late as it is only a short drive to Carnarvon. It was bitumen all the way and we arrived at Carnarvon with the petrol metre reading below empty - we had only put $20 fuel in. The caravan park that we were in was nice, with friendly people galore. I showered before shopping for supplies at Supervalue next door. I bought some bait and headed down to the wharf/pier that is one mile long. There was a school of Tailor at the end and these blokes were pulling them in a soon as their lines hit the water. Unfortunately I had the wrong bait - squid instead of mullies, so I was lucky enough to only catch one of legal size. One of the guys also gave me a bream, so for dinner we had fish and chips - homemade. Early to bed as I am stuffed from lack of sleep.

Day Fifty Five 28th August 1994 - Carnarvon:

I awoke at 9.00am and we headed off to see the blowholes 70 kilometres north of here. The road was via the Bibbawarra Bore. This bore is 914 metres deep and produces a continuous flow of hot water at 65ºC. The road was a bit bumpy, with evidence of mud, but it was bitumen for the last 40 kilometres. The blow holes sometimes reach a height of 20 metres, but today 10 metres would have been more realistic. Dad also took some photos of the lighthouse nearby. We drove back to Carnarvon and washed some clothes before I again headed to the pier to fish. I was a bit more successful with 5 confirmed kills of nice sized Tailor. They were cleaned and frozen for tomorrow's dinner.

Day Fifty Seven 30th August 1994 - Carnarvon - Denham:

Denham is the western most town in Australia. It was an easy drive from Carnarvon, and we stopped at Hamelin Pool to have a look at the old telegraph station and also the Stromatolites. Stromatolites are the result of primitive life forms that first existed on earth 3.5 billion years ago. The dome shaped structures reach up to 60cm in height and are formed by single celled organisms called cyanobacteria. The process continues today. Denham is a nice little seaside township and the caravan park is right on the beach. I did a spot of fishing in the afternoon but I had no luck.

Day Fifty Eight 31st August 1994 - Denham:

Today we drove up to Monkey Mia to see the dolphins. Four came into visit and were very friendly and playful. On the return trip to Denham, we stopped in at the Peron Homestead. This homestead is an old sheep station from the 1880's but is now part of the Peron National Park. We walked through the shearers quarters and shearing shed before Mum and Dad have a bath that has been set up for tourists. It is filled with bore water that is a constant 44ºC. I again had a fish in the afternoon but again I didn't do too well, so it is BBQ Tailor for dinner.

Day Fifty Nine 1st September 1994 - Denham - Kalbarri:

It was an easy drive from Denham to Kalbarri. Kalbarri is a sea side town, and is one of the major crayfish towns in Western Australia. The caravan park was beautiful with great facilities and the cabin was very nice. I had a fish in the afternoon, but again I had no luck.

Day Sixty 2nd September 1994 - Kalbarri:

Today, Mum had her haircut whilst Dad and I went for a drive along the coast. This area reminds me a lot of Apollo Bay, where we spent a lot of time as young kids, staying at Mama and Papa's holiday shack. With the big surf and the beach I felt comfortable here. I had another fish in the afternoon, but no luck....again.

Day Sixty One 3rd September 1994 - Kalbarri:

We were up early this morning, and headed off to the nearby Kalbarri National Park. Located on the Murchison River, the gorges have been carved away by its power. We followed a walking trail out to the Z Bend where the river has been halted by the rocks and over time has forged a way through carving a "Z" shape gorge. Nearby is a rock formation named "Nature's Window", an arch which frames the upstream view of the river and surrounding landscape. In the afternoon I read another book before a bbq dinner.  

Day Sixty Two 4th September 1994 - Kalbarri:

We decided to stay an extra night in Kalbarri as it was so nice. After lunch we drove out to view the magnificent coastal gorges and were lucky enough to sight a few humpback whales swimming just off the cliffs. One showed off and completed a beautiful sight as it breached out of the water. We also watched 14 or 15 dolphins just off shore catching fish. Melbourne defeated the Swans, so they are in the eight for the finals. West Coast Eagles thrashed Footscray to grab top spot on the ladder. We all relaxed after the gorges, before Dad and I went out for dinner for Fathers Day.

Day Sixty Three 5th September 1994 - Kalbarri - Mullewa:

On the way out of Kalbarri National Park, we stopped off at Hawke's Head gorge. It was an easy drive to Northampton where we stopped for lunch. I drove to Geraldton and we tried to buy Dad a new straw hat, but there were none that he liked. We arrived in Mullewa at 5.00pm and located the property where we were staying. The farm is owned by Sam and Bernadette who is Gavan's sister in law. Gavan is a friend of the family. Sam and Bernadette are a nice couple and the farm is over 6000 acres. They grow wheat, lupines and run some sheep. We had a nice dinner, complimented with a couple of beers and some wine. We talked until after midnight and I was glad to crawl into a DOUBLE bed...woohoo....space!

Day Sixty Four 6th September 1994 - Mullewa - Cervantes:

I had a beautiful sleep, but it wasn't long enough. I was surprised with a breakfast of bacon, eggs, spaghetti, toast and a cup of tea - it was fabulous. We were taken on a tour of the farm before being shown the local Christian Brothers Agricultural College where Sam and Bernadette's son, Zac, goes to school. The College is for years eight, nine and ten. It is a nice farm and looks like a good crop this year. Sam and Bernadette have struggled in the past, with four years of drought and nine years living in a tin shed, but they are good, strong people.

We drove the back roads from Mullewa to reach the Brand Highway. It was bitumen all the way with wild flowers growing a plenty beside the road. We had a couple of showers on the way that gave the windscreen a good wash, and assisted in removing the dead and squashed bugs on the windscreen. We arrived in Cervantes at 5.45pm and watched another nice sunset on the ocean. We had an easy dinner and an early night.

Day Sixty Five 7th September 1994 - Cervantes:

I had a sleep in before we headed off to see the Pinnacles. The road out was very bumpy and full of potholes, and we saw a couple of emus. The Pinnacles are a great sight. Thousands of huge limestone pillars rise out of a stark yellow sand. They are made up of different shapes, sizes and colours - fantastic. We stopped at Hangover Bay and Kangaroo Point on the return trip to Cervantes. They are beautiful beaches but they have some seaweed problems. We saw more emus with chicks on the road back too. I had another fish in the afternoon on groyne. I fed lots of crabs, none big enough to eat. A bloke I was with caught a good sized Tailor and gave it to me as he still had heaps of flathead from Geraldton.

Day Sixty Six 8th September 1994 - Cervantes - Perth:

We had a head wind to start off. We are only 3 hours from Perth via the Brand Highway and Wanneroo Drive We stopped in at Yanchep, one of Alan Bond's dream towns. It has grown in size, but is not an exciting town. We arrived in the suburbs of Perth and found where were are staying easily enough. It is a nice house but felt like a funeral home. Gavan O'Connor is in Canada and so his son, Aaron, is looking after us. It was nice to have another home cooked meal - Aaron's Special - not too bad. I had an early night after visiting Bev and Bob, more friends of Mum and Dad.

Day Sixty Seven 9th September 1994 - Perth:

It was an absolutely beautiful day today. We drove into Perth central to put some films in and have a look around the shops and malls. Perth is a nice city, very clean and well planned. The public transport is spotlessly clean and very functional. We spent a quiet afternoon at the house and Dad cooked dinner before an early night.

Day Sixty Eight 10th September 1994 - Perth:

Today was a sharp contrast to yesterday. It was a shocking day, raining cats and dogs. We attempted to take a tour around Kings Park, but it was just too wet. We picked up our photos, that turned out pretty well. The underwater shots at Coral Bay were fantastic, but unfortunately the photos taken at Monkey Mia were no good. I labeled all the photos in the afternoon before we headed to Bev and Bob's for dinner. Bob was in Kalgoorlie so it was only Bev, Bradley and we three. We were spoiled with a beautiful bbq, beer, wine and small talk. I was drunk when we returned home, and Aaron was holding a party, but I had had enough to drink to sleep regardless.

Day Sixty Nine 11th September 1994 - Perth:

We were up early as Bev was taking us on a tour of Perth and Fremantle. We visited the city beach, the pool where the World Championships were held, the Swan River, Rose Hancock's house, other large houses showing off the wealth in Perth. Fremantle was next where we had fish and chips on the wharf before being shown the America's Cup sites, Cicerellos, more big houses, Burswood Casino and hotel where the Hopman Cup is held, Subiaco Oval and the WACA Ground. Melbourne defeated Carlton today. It was Roast Chicken for dinner at Bev's, that was lip smacking good, whilst watching the replay of the West Coast Eagles and Collingwood game. When we returned home I watched a bit of television before retiring to bed.

Day Seventy 12th September 1994 - Perth:

Tomorrow we are on the road again, on the homeward stretch. I slept in this morning before cleaning out and repacking the truck. We visited the local supermarket and stocked up on our supplies. That was the day gone, before an easy dinner and an early night to bed.

Perth to Melbourne