Life in a Humpback

Day 60: Djarindjin to Pender Bay

Rather then heading straight to Pender Bay we figured we would take advantage of being in the north of the Dampier Peninsula to have a bit of a look around before heading south again to the Middle Lagoon area.

So we packed up the caravan and parked it near the roadhouse so that we did not have to take it with us back up to Cygnet Bay Farm. In the morning we went on the pearl farm tour to learn about the history of the Cygnet Bay pearl industry and the Brown family that have owned the farm since it was started three generations ago. We got a tour of the facilities at Cygnet Bay and learned about all the uses for pearls and oyster shells. The kids got to pick out an oyster for our guide to open up and show the tour group if there was a pearl inside. The guide showed us how to open it and what all the different parts of the oyster are used for. Inside we did find a pearl (and a small crab) and so the next step was to head over to the evaluation room. Here we learning about the way they grade a pearl. It turned out our pearl was not a very good one and not worth anything, which illustrated rather well how the process is not perfect every time.

After the tour we had a quick drink and snack at the cafe before we returned to the roadhouse to pick up the caravan and head into Pender Bay. When we got to the turn off to the Middle Lagoon Road we joined the queue of 4WDs with boat trailers and caravans letting down their tyres for the drive in. When then drove the 33km from the highway into Pender Bay Escape.

Our campsite for the next few nights was on the top of the small cliff above the two beaches in the bay. As we pulled in we realised that a family we had met the previous day, with two boys our kids age, were in the campsite next to us. Our kids ran down to the beach to play with them while John and I set up camp and spotted a humpback whale swim past in the distance.

The kids spent afternoon collecting hermit crabs and creating a world for them to live in out of sand. It was quite the maze of tunnels, hills, and trenches. By the end of the day they had also gain another four boys to help them out. The other boys fortunately were also only a few sites away.

Meanwhile the adults went on a walk along the beach to heart rock at the end of the southern beach or relaxed with a book. Being perched above the beach like were were meant we could keep an eye on the kids without going anywhere. Bliss.

After the sunset we could see the glow of the fires still burning in the distance further along the coast.

Day 59: Broome to Djarindjin

Today we once again packed up camp to head up to Pender Bay on the Dampier Peninsula (north of Broome). However just before leaving camp I got a message saying that the road into the Pender Bay Escape campsite was closed by the emergency services due to fires and thick smoke in the area.

We decided to head north anyways as the camp manager was hoping that the road would be open after lunch. We stopped at the Beagle Bay community for lunch and to see the Mother of Pearl Church. The local aboriginal community built this church decorating it with pearl shells.

Just before we left Beagle Bay we received another message saying that the road was still closed. So we looked for an alternate campsite for the night. We ended up getting into the Djarindjin Roadhouse which is run by the community from the northern part of the peninsula.

After pulling into camp, we dropped the caravan and continued north to Cygnet Bay for a look around the pearl farm before heading back to camp for dinner.

At 5:00pm we got a message that the road into Pender Bay was open again, so we could head into our originally planned destination the following morning.

Day 58: Broome (Day 2)

Today we got picked up from the caravan park at 7:00am to head out on a 4 hour snubfin dolphin tour on Roebuck Bay. As the tide was still low we took a tender (small boat) out to the tour boat. The tender was a pretty cool in that it had wheels, allowing it to drive up onto the beach to pick us up. Once on the boat we headed out into the bay. As we headed south we saw a few snubfin dolphins (including a mum and calf), several brown footed boobies, and some green sea turtles. When we turned around to the north again they droped a boom net out the back of the boat so that we could all go for a swim.

Once out of the water we made for some sea grass meadows to see if we could find any dugongs. We saw a few from a distance but they were hard to tell apart from the dolphins. However, we did get a closer look at a baby green turtle, some bottle-nosed dolphins, and a lot more brown boobies.

Just before returning to port we came upon a large pod (6-8) of snubfin dolphins. They stayed near the surface for a while, swimming near the boat. One even turned on its side to give us a good look in the eye. It was an amazing way to finish our tour. We then speed back to shore as we were already 20 minutes late. The kids really loved the fast ride back!

We then had another quiet afternoon at camp before we walked to the Broome Rodeo just down the road from the caravan park. It was family night and we arrived in time to see the bronco and bull riders. None of us had ever been to a rodeo before. Theo noted on the walk over that he was going to see a rodeo when he was only 9, whereas I had to wait until I was 50 to see one. Thanks Theo!

Day 57: Broome (Day 1)

Another early start this time for the kids and I, as John opted to sleep in. We headed out to Gantheaume Point to look for dinosaur footprints in the rocks during the low tide. The footprints at this site can only been seen when the tides are very low, which today was around 7:00am. There were no clues where to find the footprints so we (and around 50 other people there) wandered the rocky shore trying to find them. All I had to go on was a photo from the website, lining up the rock outcrops in the photo we got to roughly the right spot. About an hour after we started looking we finally found one, then a few more.

Once back at camp we again had a quiet day around the caravan park, going for swims and reading books, etc.

Day 56: Roebuck to Broome

I got up early this morning to meet a fellow Antarctic seabird team member who happened to be in Broome the same time as us. Ben and I caught up while walking along the mangroves near Chinatown. Then I had to race back to camp to help pack up so that we could move to the Broome Caravan Park for the next three nights.

As we have been on the move for almost two months now we were all getting a bit tired, so our plan for our time in Broome was to do not much. This first full day was spent doing hundreds of loads of washing (again!), going for a swim in the pool, and then heading to Cable Beach to watch the sunset.

Once the kids were in bed I again headed out to see if I could catch the last night of the Staircase to the Moon. The moon did not rise until 8:30pm and there was no market on, so it was pretty quiet at Town Pier. This time I headed out to the end of the pier and waited, and waited. It was a slightly better night as there were fewer clouds, but it was a bit hazy due to the humidity. Again really cool to see, even for the second time.

Day 55: Ellendale Rest Area to Roebuck

Today we drove the rest of the way to Broome. As we arrived a day earlier then planned we had to call around to find a place to stay. In the end we could only find a campsite at the Broome's Gateway Caravan park in Roebuck (about ~20km from town).

Once at camp we all had our first showers in a few days, then headed into Broome to catch the Staircase to the Moon and market. Three days after the full moon in Broome (in the dry season) when the moon rises it reflects across the mudflats to create "steps" of light. We arrived early to wander through the market and grab dinner from the food trucks. As it got dark we set up on the grassy area with a few hundred other tourists to wait for the moon to rise. Sadly when it did there was a lot of cloud on the horizon so there was not much "staircase" but it was still beautiful to watch the moon rise.

Day 54: Purnululu National Park to Ellendale Rest Area

Today we started our drive to Broome passing through Halls Creek & Fitzroy Crossing before pulling into Ellendale Rest Stop for the night. We also stopped at Mary's Pools Rest Stop for lunch.

Along the way we saw:

• a large burn off
• a large flock of cockatoos that from a distance looked like a wispy cloud
• lots of kites and wedge tail eagles
• brumbies (wild horses)
• lots and lots of cows
• and a gorgeous sunset to finish off the day

Day 53: Purnululu National Park

I was pretty excited about today. I've wanted to visit the Bungle Bungle Range since I was an undergrad geology student and read about the beehive formations. It has only taken me 35+ years to get here!

The road into the park is known for being a pretty rough track with lots of corrugations, river crossings, and steep road dips. It is 53km from the highway to the visitors centre which can take between 1.5-3 hours. As we knew this was going to be a big day, we were up early and into the park as soon as we could. It was rough, and yes there were a few river crossings, but it was not as bad as we thought it was going to be...that said it did take us 2 hours to get to the visitors centre. On the way into the park we ticked over 10,000km since we left Hobart - a big milestone!

From there we headed south to the Piccaninny trail head at the Bungle Bungle Range (45 min & 27km later). We started on The Domes loop and then continued into Cathedral Gorge. It was amazing to walk between some of the beehive domes along the sandy creek beds. Theo stopped at every sandy section of the trail to make little sand hill men.

The walk into Cathedral Gorge was also along a dry creek bed but here it was bedrock rock rather than sand. When we got to the end of Cathedral Gorge we got to listen to one of the local indigenous woman singing and playing clapsticks for her tour group. The acoustics were so beautiful and the song amazing. After hearing that we all walked around the small lake at the end of the gorge speaking in whispers as anything louder seemed out of place.

While exploring the end of the gorge we found a really cool little puddle, that turned from green to clear depending on the angle that you looked at it from. I assume it was to do with how algae in the water reflected the light(?). We could also hear a frog hanging out near the canyon walls but could not work out where it was hiding.

Back at the car we had a quick lunch then drove to Echidna Chasm carpark at the northern end of the park (1 hour, 15 min & 45km later). It was getting late in the day so we quickly headed into the Chasm. The rocks in the northern park of the park are very different - being conglomerates rather than sandstone. There were a few Livistona Palms near the beginning of the track before the Chasm got too narrow for any vegetation. Eventually we could touch each side of the wall while walking through the middle. We missed being here in the middle of the day when the sun lights up the walls but there was still a few glowing red rocks for us to see. On the way back to the car we ran up to Osmand Lookout for one last look of the northern range before heading back to Spring Creek Camp.

It was a very full day and with the sun setting at 5:15pm we ended up getting back to camp after dark. But we did get a great view of the full moon rising while driving back to the highway.

Day 52: El Questro to Purnululu National Park

Today we packed up, crossed a few more rivers with the caravan, and headed south towards Purnululu National Park. We were not allowed to bring our dual axle caravan into the park because of the 53km of dirt road and steep river beds. Instead we opted to camp at Spring Creek Rest Area just across the road from the junction into the park.

We got into camp early and had a quiet afternoon - planning our walks in the park, sorting out some bookings for later in the trip, and watching two cockatoos coming and going from their nest hallow in the tree next to our campsite.

Day 51: El Questro (Day 2)

Today we headed out for another gorge walk and swim, this time to Emma Gorge. This walk started in a wide meadow, so was very open and therefore rather warm. Once into the gorge itself it cooled down a bit. Similar to El Questro Gorge this track had us crossing back and forth across the river, but the Emma Gorge track was better maintained so we did not get our feet as wet and muddy.

We stopped for a quick look at the lower pool before heading up to the Emma Gorge pool for a swim. This swimming hole was larger with a 35m waterfall (in the wet season). There wasn't much of a waterfall when we were there but there was lots of water dripping off the walls into the pool making it look like it was raining in sections. The water was also much cooler, almost take your breath away cold when you first get in. But there were some smaller pools to one side that were warmer. After lunch at the top pool we headed back to the lower pool.

The lower pool was much smaller but has a nicer temperature to just hang out in. It also had some good jumping rocks. We stayed at this pool much longer than the upper one.

Once back at the trail head we treated ourselves to hot chips and cold drinks at the Emma Gorge Resort before the drive back to camp at El Questro Station.