Westward Ho!

We had a few overnight stops to get to Kununurra, just over the Western Australian border. Most of the stops were full of like-minded caravaners, so we always ended up chatting to someone.

As we were driving towards Timber Creek we kept seeing heaps of army vehicles, and when we got to Victoria Crossing roadhouse there were busloads of American soldiers all getting out to have a toilet stop. Just as well we’d already been as there would have been quite a queue!

We wandered down to the boat ramp at the Victoria river, and couldn’t believe that people were letting their children splash around in the water there!! It’s a wonder there aren’t more crocodile attacks after what we’ve seen!

One of our overnight stops was at the East Baines River. We set up and walked back about 500 metres to do some croc spotting. We found there was an old bridge with no sides so you could scan the water easily. No crocs though! The water was so beautiful and clear that we were almost tempted to have a swim!

                                      

We went back again at sunset – got some lovely photos.

You can always rely on Randall. Despite no phone service he was able to use satellite technology to get the latest footy scores!

It was very cold the next morning – made us think of everyone back home!

                                         

We were going to get to the WA border that day so we cooked up some of our vegetables into a soup before we left and tossed the rest out. We knew from last time that they were very strict at the border. We ate apples for breakfast and lunch so as not to waste them, but Randall paid later with severe internal pains!

The bloke at the border was unfriendly to say the least! GST slice gets personal! Not a word from him – just went in and checked our cupboards and fridge. Thanks to good camouflage he didn't  see the firewood in the back of the car so Randall was happy!

We checked in to a caravan park at Kununurra for a couple of days. It gets very wearing travelling, stopping, setting up, and packing up.

We drove up to checkout the Ivanhoe crossing. It is now closed to cars because of structural damage. We watched two idiots casually ambling across it, taking no notice of the two warning signs at the start!

Randall wanted to test the winch on our car, and discovered it was not working, so we got a mobile mechanic to come to us and check it out. He spent a couple of hours on it but unfortunately couldn’t fix it.

We noticed the Great Loritz Circus was in town. It seems to be doing the same journey as us, as we saw them on the Stuart Highway heading towards Katherine, Darwin, and now Kununurra!

After Kununurra, it was off again and next stop Broome!

We had two overnight stops where musicians got out their guitars and speakers to draw a crowd and sell some CDs. The first stop, the bloke had a young female assistant, and we sat at the back of a group and chatted to another couple. The music was country, but a bit slow for us.

The second time we were camped by a dry riverbed and there were at least 60 caravans there! Before the music started Randall went off and played his pipes up the riverbed, and many people appreciated it.

 Free camping can be a lot of dirt and dust. Some stops can be quite dusty and we have to wash our feet in a dish each night before bed, so we were quite glad when our last stop was on bitumen!! We parked next to two huge motor homes and enjoyed happy hour with them and others around us. It was a warm night, so we sat outside while I cooked an easy tea and Randall played his practice chanter.

As I was cleaning up to go the next morning a lady from one of the big motor homes heard me vacuuming and came over to see why it was so quiet! (I was actually worried that I was making too much noise at 7.30 in the morning!) We have a little hand held Dyson and it is brilliant on our caravan carpet.

The highway to Broome is quite good, but every now and then you come to a single lane bridge and have to give way to oncoming traffic.

Just after our last break before Broome, there was a really long one and it was difficult to see who got to the bridge first -  us or another car, so we kept on going and so did they! We got to the point of no return and it was a battle of wills - Randall prevailed in the end!

Another bridge, another stop for croc spotting. This time we saw a croc trap with fresh bait in it so thought we might get lucky, but not to be.

The phone service on the highway from Kununurra to Broome is quite good, and at one stage we stopped to watch a video that came through of our grandson Otto giggling away. It made our day that’s for sure!

We are now in Broome for a while. We are really enjoying the warm weather and swimming every day. I have visited the Broome museum and looked at the shops. We have walked along Cable Beach one way and driven along the nudist end the other way! The swimming pool at the park is really good - it even has a lap pool in it so Randall and I have been trying to improve our swimming strokes.

We will stay here for a few more days before going off anywhere else.