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.