8 & 9 Aug

The weekend in Derby was a good opportunity for everyone to unwind and slow the pace down for a couple of days.  Our new friends Ray & Betty were camped across the road from us.  It was meant to be obviously!  We visited the Visitor Centre and the wharf.  We wanted to see the low and high tides as Derby has the highest tides in Australia and one of the highest in the world but that didn’t happen, we ended up having some drinks instead, whoops!  We did return to the wharf to catch a sunset and Michael threw a line in but didn’t catch anything.  We also restocked our grocery supplies.

10 Aug

Monday morning we spent running around trying to get parts without much luck.  Some business’s were closed (like the wreckers and the café opposite the caravan park) because the rodeo had been in town over the weekend (pretty cruisey up here!)

It was late morning before we got away, the lady at the visitor centre had us booked in at Kooljamin at Cape Leveque for the 12th & 13th (couldn’t get in before that) so we were headed to Middle Lagoon which was recommended by Ian at the Caravan Park.  She also suggested a back way to get up there, a bit more scenic than the highway and main road however, it is not a gazetted road and the trees toward the end are growing over the track.  Sounded good to us so we left Derby via the Derby Highway (calling in to look at another Prison Tree) then onto the Great Northern Highway turning onto the track around Bedunburra.  The track joins up to the Cape Leveque Road around Beagle Bay.  It was a nice drive.  We only saw one other group on the track, two large campers coming the opposite way.  Towards the end we came across a tree across the track that had obviously been knocked down by the other guys.  We hooked the chain up and pulled it to break it completely off it’s stump but it was a bit heavy to move by hand so the boys winched it off the road with Michael’s winch.  There was also some really soft sandy patches which Michael got caught in.  Nothing letting his tyres down didn’t fix but after that, we took the bypass tracks around the soft sand.

The track into Middle Lagoon from the Cape Leveque road was pretty interesting (interpret as bad) and had a section of roller coaster like dips or as Graham says, it was like navigating a tinny in a one metre swell.

The facilities at Middle Lagoon were pretty rustic but it was quite a nice spot with a lovely section of beach just in front of our camp.  Sadly, the two nights here will be Michael & Jule’s last nights with us.

11 Aug

We had an easy day today.  We went for a walk in the morning to explore the coast line and sighted a heap of whales which was really cool, then did a 10 minute drive to the nearby Whalesong Café for cake and a cuppa.  We had a paddle in the water in the afternoon.  Our neighbours left today so we gathered up their leftover firewood and Michael put on a roast for our last night together.

12 & 13 Aug

After packing up camp this morning, Graham started the cruiser which started missing then stopped.  I must admit I was a little bit worried at that point but it turns out it was just a loose banjo fitting so it was sucking air instead of fuel.

We retraced our path along the ‘lovely’ middle lagoon track out to the main road and made our way up to Kooljaman at Cape Leveque.  Micheal and Jules followed us up for a look then helped us set up the camper.  We then went to the little café near the beach for some lunch.  After that sadly, it was time to say goodbye.

In the afternoon we went for a drive along Kooljaman’s beautiful white beach to the north then to their southern beach which is completely different to the northern beach to watch the sunset.

The next day we drove back down the beach for a paddle and to look for shells.  We spent the afternoon relaxing and booked ourselves a tour of the nearby Cygnett Bay Pearl Farm, Australia’s oldest operating pearl farm.

We were expecting our neighbours from Derby caravan park to arrive today.  They are booked in for the 13th and 14th.  Jacob waited patiently all day for a play with their boys when finally very late in the afternoon I got a text message to say they have car trouble and may get here tomorrow.  Unfortunately for Jacob we are leaving here tomorrow so he will miss out on playing with them again.

14th

After packing up the camper this morning we had a bit of time to kill before our pearl farm tour so we shouted ourselves morning tea at the restaurant, a place we had been avoiding because of the prices.

We headed off on the short drive to the pearl farm a bit early but that was ok as it would give me time to check out their jewellery showroom.  Naively I was hoping I could pick up a lovely piece of pearl jewellery at not too an exorbitant price however the two pieces I picked out cost around $2500 and $6500 which I was not prepared to spend when we are on a 8 week holiday with no income (self employed – holidays are unpaid).

We really enjoyed the tour and finished it off with a boat ride.  We were the only ones on the boat which just made it more personal as we got to chat openly with our guide.  It was a gorgeous way to finish off our visit to the Cape Leveque region.

We then headed to Broome.  Down the bitumen Cape Leveque road, past the point where we entered from our track from Derby, then realised that the road wasn’t sealed all the way to Broome (should of looked at the map, it would of told us that).  The rest of the way was on a corrugated road that was a bit like a drain, flat bottom, slopping sides which you had to drive on when there was oncoming traffic.  We were glad to get back onto the bitumen near Broome.

We had managed to get ourselves a water view site at the Roebuck Caravan Park in Broome.  We spent the next three nights/two days here, had a look around, checked out Cable Beach and on the Sunday afternoon made the short drive up to the Willie Creek mouth for a bit of fishing where I caught a small brim and a puffer fish.  Jacob slept through it all but woke up when we were about to give up so we got his little tiny baby line and cast it for him and Graham then caught two Queenies on it.  Go the baby fishing rod.  The first night in Broome, our neighbours had their grandkids visiting so Jacob spent the evening playing with them.  When we got back from our fishing on Sunday, the neighbour brought over a blown up/balloon type thingy Minion that the girls had sent over for Jacob.  One of the other neighbours also gave Jacob some stickers.  He’s a little charmer :).