Hi again
We had a lovely time in Broome - watched the sunset on the beach each evening with the obligatory glass of wine, and even our evening meal on a couple of occasions. The only description of the sunsets over the water is like molten gold pouring onto the horizon. Beautiful!!
We walked on the beach a bit, something we have missed since leaving Mooloolaba behind, and we visited Malcolm Douglas's Wilderness Wildlife Park to see the crocodiles being fed. We have often enjoyed his TV documentaries about the Kimberley & the Top End and were interested to see his park which he often referred to in his programmes. To say it was different from Australia Zoo would be a huge understatement. Unlike the manicured grounds & well turned out khaki adorned staff this really was "wilderness" in every sense of the word.
Having said that, the animals all looked well fed and cared for, but whether it has gone down hill since Malcolm's accidental & untimely death in 2010, or whether it has always been "feral" remains to be seen. However, the claim to have some of the biggest crocs in captivity was born out by the impressive sizes of most of the animals we saw.
All the ponds are completely covered in what we subsequently learnt is duck weed, which the ducks are supposed to eat and keep under control, but obviously no self respecting duck would be stupid enough to land on the pond, let alone stay long enough to eat the weed. We have never seen so many crocs in one pond, and as soon as the food was offered (from a fenced area, of course) they all lunged out of the water snapping at one another & climbing over each other in their hurry to get to the food.
Quite an awesome & terrifying sight!!
One "handsome" fellow was in a pond of his own because of his mean disposition. Known as the ugliest croc in the park, he certainly lived up to his reputation as he had a mass of missing teeth, and a very misshapen jaw - one could almost feel sorry for him, if it wasn't for the knowledge that he got that way by attacking boats and outboard motors. We did learn that if a croc attacks you he will back off if you ram something into the back of his throat, but seriously, even if you had time to think of that, where & what would you find to poke him there? One hopes one never has to answer that question !!!!
Left Broome & headed down the coast & spent Saturday night at Eighty Mile Beach caravan park. Lovely temperature but just that - 80 miles of flat beach. Another nice sunset, but we left next morning & headed for Cape Keraudren Coastal Reserve. The caravan book told us that there was a limit of 3 months stay there, so we were intrigued to find out what would inspire people to want to stay more than 3 months?
After a 14kms dirt track in we found it to be quite an exposed headland, offering 3 different camping areas. We selected a great spot on top of the cliff, overlooking an inlet & the Indian Ocean beyond.
To Trev's delight there was a ready-made fire place that some creative traveller had constructed of rocks and we had on board enough firewood to take full advantage of it. Yay !!
The rocky coastline was fascinating, reasonably easy to walk on, but looked much like terra cotta honeycomb. It looks as though someone has bored holes all over the surface. To add to our delight we could see a number of whales breaching just out beyond the headland, and witnessed another magnificent sunset.
To further add to our delight we had full wifi/Telstra coverage and were able to talk on FaceTime to our kids and grandchildren for Fathers Day. Joy of joys !! We determined to spend at least a few days, if not a week, there. But alas next morning we discovered our fridge was not working properly, and as the temperature was beginning to sore, we decided we better head for Port Hedland to see if we could get it fixed.
So here we sit awaiting the outcome - fortunately it is working on 240v, just not on gas, so it is a process of elimination to find the problem. Our van park here is not exactly scenic, as the scenic Big4 four star park near the water was full. We have heavy earthworks to look at, and red dust out our door & it's 32 degrees in the van at 10am. Nay worries - we will survive!! We did have the aircon on yesterday when we arrived!! Just rescued my washing from blowing over in that red dust, but fortunately all practically dry, so no harm done. Ah the joys of outback life aye? Reminds me of our first home on the farm in WA - dust, dust & more dust !!
We intend to head inland to the mining area of the Pilbara leaving the van and taking off with out tent. Is getting a bit hot out there, but Trev keen to see the BHP & Rio Tinto mines of Newman and Tom Price. Got to get the fridge fixed first though.
Keep you posted - ciao for now x
PS: Photo's to come
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