Arriving at the Bungle Bungles we headed straight out to check out these amazing rock formations. Wow, we couldn't believe how many there were and how big some of them stood! They were really quite impressive!
We firstly followed a trail which took us between the domes themselves. At the end of the trail was a small nearly dried up pond filled with frogs. As I went to take a photo I noticed a small Whiper snake slithering in and out the holes on the side of the walls. We sat and watched it, (from a safe distance) for awhile. It was quite interesting to observe as it was quite a busy snake!
I'm also losing count, but I think that's either snake number 6/7 I have seen this trip! Argh!!
After the domes we headed off to check out the Cathedral. The walk there may have only been short, but the heat was extreme.. We was glad when we reached the Cathedral we noticed it was much cooler inside.
That night we set up camp within the National Park. We sat back around the campfire and watched as the sunset on the cliffs around making them turn a deep bright red colour. Stunning!
The next day we woke early. We packed up our tent and headed off to check out the Echidna Chasm. We loved this one! Walking between two sheer vertical cliff faces 200m high, and I think by memory was roughly 500m long, and that only had a gap to walk between that most the time even Ella could touch both walls at the same time was simply breathtaking! As we had arrived there at not much past 6am we had the place to ourselves also!
Back on the road we drove just over 500km to a lovely overnight reststop, Ellendale. Overlooking a large dam, we had the entire place to ourselves!
After a early morning and a long day driving in the car we all went to bed early that night.
Waking early the next day we sat back to eat breakfast, only to have some curious cattle come right up to us to say hello! One of the more cheeky of the lot walked right up our fire pit from the night before and starting licking the pan I hadn't quite yet cleaned! (Yes we had even cooking beef which made us laugh...) and then to top it off the girls and I couldn't stop laughing as Gary attempted to build a fort of chairs and tables around our camp so they wouldn't come any closer!!
Broome
That day we drove the rest of the way back to Derby to finally be reunited with our caravan which we had left nearly 3 weeks before!
After picking up the caravan we then headed straight to Broome. We wanted to be there for the Full moon so we could watch the "Staircase to the moon" which can only be seen during certain months of the year.
Setting up at the Roebuck caravan park the girls quickly discovered the free outdoor water park next to the caravan park. I must say I don't think there was a day in Broome where we didn't spend a few hours there!
That night we walked the short distance to the Town Beach to watch Staircase to the Moon and check out the night markets with atleast 1000 other people!
We tried to get some photos, but they just don't seem to turn out.. So we took some fun shots instead ;)
The next night we arranged to catch up with Kim and her fiancé Richard. I have known Kim as long as I can remember! As they just recently moved to Broome a catch up was a must!
We decided to have a BBQ at the caravan park and sit back and again watch staircase to the moon from our ocean front site.
What a great night! They also brought along their friend Lochy who was visiting from Adelaide. After a few drinks, nibbles and a great BBQ, we again all headed down to check out the night markets and watch some of the local buskers perform. All to soon it was time to say goodbye.. But not before Kim and Richard kindly offered to ask their landlord (they live in a rather nice granny flat out the back of a house in Broome) if we could come stay with them for a couple of nights so we could all go camping at Cape Leveque in a few days when Kim had a couple of days off together! Yeah!!
Early the next day Kim called us to say we was more than welcome at her place! Fantastic!!!!
After setting up the caravan Kim even called us to invite us for a swim at the beautiful Billi Resort she is currently working at! The girls just loved it, and we spent quite a few hrs swimming here!
The next few day we spent exploring Broome, it's amazing op shops (got some awesome bits n pieces!!) swimming, attending the markets and even spent a day watching the Dragon Boat Races on the foreshore.
Early one morning we all woke to go see the remains of the 15 Catalina planes that got shot down during Japan's air raid on Broome during WW2. Only visible on the lowest tides we made the trek out onto the plains.
Along the way we saw quite a few sea turtles! We are not sure if they got beached due to the even bigger than usual tidal movement or if they was just enjoying some extra time in the sun.. ;)
As usual, bam!! I spot a snake! A seasnake this time! Grrrr... Yes they fascinate me, but far out I'm not liking all these close encounters!!! That's number 7 or 8!!! Blahhhh!!!
After the long walk back to shore Kim went off to work so Gary, the girls and I decided to treat ourselves to a yummy breakfast at the Town Beach Cafe! Yum!!!
Ella with her Pancakes with icecream, maple syrup and a side of bacon...!!
After a extra few days than expected in Broome, (no complaints! Broomes beautiful!) we all (Kim, Richard, Lochy, Gary, the girls and myself) packed up and again headed out with tents, swags and boats in tow, to spend a couple of days together camping at Middle Lagoon, Cape Leveque!
The road up was defiantly in need of some major repair! Corrugated and unpredictable it wasn't the fastest journey! Unfortunatly Richards boat trailer agreed and although it made the journey, Richard did have to make a quick trip home to grab a few bits to fix his trailer and boat whilst at Middle lagoon.
The next few days were just great! Swimming, relaxing, fishing from the boats, campfires, yummy freshly caught fish dinners and Kim and myself just reminiscing over our childhood and teenage yrs together was great!
Probably the funniest moment though was had when Gary, the girls and myself were out in the boat and as I was bringing in a fish, Gary placed his rod on the side of the boat with the hook (no bait) hanging in the water so he could help me with my fish. Well.... As I brought my fish up a good 2m long Bronze whaler came up to steal my fish! I quickly got the fish in the boat, but not before the shark went for Gary's line (again, no bait!) Gary quickly grabbed his rod but the shark was hooked! Laughing and not quite sure what we should actually do, (the idea of actually catching it and landing it was very tempting...) Gary's rod bending and reel spooling, we knew we probably didn't have much chance.. So maybe it was good that after 5 or so minutes the shark snapped the line.. ;))
After fishing for a little while longer it was time to head in. A great day fishing, even though Gary and I both lost quite a few rigs to a lot of large Blue Bone that even though we had 40kg braid line on our rods.. Well, they still seemed to snap the line! (Apparently they are masters of dragging it under sharp reefs.... Grrr...) we still caught a great feed and so did Kim, Richard and Lochy! (Kim caught the fish of the day with bringing in a good sized Blue Bone!)
Dinner that night was just delicious! Lots of fresh fish! Yum!!!
After 4 days Kim had to get back home for work. Gary, the girls and myself decided to travel up Cape Leveque a little further for a couple of days and ended up spending the night at Kooljaman. Beautiful crystal clear warm waters and white sandy beaches! Bliss!
The sunsets were amazing also with the sun turning a dark red just as it sets over the ocean.
We did book in for a Tag along Tour with a local aboriginal - they take you out to show you how to catch fish and crab with handmade spears and show you local bush foods, their culture etc but unfortunatly after waking early to meet our tour guide we was told he had a family emergency and that he could take us the next day... Unfortunatly the caravan park where we were staying wasn't the cheapest and the only site they could offer us for the night was in the "overflow area..." a dirt patch in the blazing hot sun, unpowered and at $58 a night we thought that to be a little rich! We decided to get our money refunded and head back down the coast where we found a great free camp right on the beach with lots of shade.
Quandong
After setting up camp we headed straight for the beach for the evening. The water was warm and there was some some great surf rolling in, so we spent most the evening enjoying the warm water whilst playing in the waves.
That night back at camp we had just finished eating dinner when Tori noticed some movement nearby. Shining the torch over we soon discovered 1000's of hermit crabs walking around! Now I have seen lots of hermit crabs on my time but neve this many! They was everywhere!!! We decided to have some fun with them and spent the rest of the night racing them and trying to find who could find the biggest ones!!
The next day we set drove down onto the beach and set the shade up. Then we literally spent the entire day 7:30am till 4:30pm just relaxing on the beach and swimming! Complete lazy day! Hehe
That night we ate dinner early and waited to watch the hermit crabs appear! I swear there was even more that night! Again we collected our favourites and even wrote our initials on their backs so we knew who's was who's when we raced them! Lol
After 2 nights here we again packed up and headed back to Broome and to Kim and Richards house were we spent the day unpacking and cleaning the car! After pretty much living in just the car and tent for most of the past month it was well and truly in need of a good clean!!
We stayed another 2 nights with Kim and Richard and on the last night decided we must go check out a "real" hermit crab race! After enjoying a yummy roast cooked on the Spit at the Town Beach Village Bar we then purchased our tickets in the hope we would get a chance to pick a crab to win and hopefully win some cash! Unfortunatly none of our tickets got called.. But we all still had a great night watching the races!
Today we pack up once again. Instead of heading further North though, we are actually headed back down to Wallareenya Station! Not wanting to be in the top end during the wet season, we are actually headed back down WA to avoid it. (At the end of the wet season, we will again make our way back up WA and head to the NT and far North QLD then. Any excuse to spend more time in WA works for us really!) With this in mind we decided that it would also be a good opportunity to again spend some more time at the station.
So off we head back to Wallareenya! The girls are especially excited as they love life on the station and can't wait to get back on the horses and spend some time with their friends there!
Xx
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