Derby to Broome

Wednesday 19th August

Gary: Although sleepy Derby had little to offer tourists in the way of attractions, it was a useful place to clean and repair things. As well as giving the car a good clean we had our air-conditioning fixed with a new pipe fitted and the system re-pressurised.

Even as an ex mechanic, I am still amazed and amused at the rubbish mechanics talk. With comedy overtones, the conversation starts with air being sucked through teeth, then “It’s going to take me most of the day” then as I try to subtly add that I have some knowledge of cars “the compressor may be damaged”, then by the time the penny drops and he realises I’m not just another gullible Pommy tourist looking to be ripped off “it’s going to be hard to find the parts”. Well one short telephone call to – you will be surprised – the nearest Toyota dealer and the pipe is magically found. By the time I had told him about: our trip, what a lovely garage he had, our planned route, what a handsome man he was, listened politely to his racist ramblings about the state of the nation and how busy he was, I had removed the bumper and grill off to make the job easier for him. The thieving git still charged me nearly $400, in my day it was all much better; we treated the client as a customer, listened to them, then talked rubbish, sold them parts they never needed and overcharged them.

Lorraine: After two hard weeks roughing it on the Gibb, all I was looking for was a hotel room and a tasty steak. In that order. I was looking forward to air-conditioning and having a little privacy to do some personal housekeeping such as putting a conditioning treatment in my hair and a mud mask on my face. These harsh conditions can take a toll on a girl’s skin and hair you know. Walking around a public campsite with a shower cap on and mud drying on your face is not something a gal really wants to do so a hotel room with en suite would have been perfect. I say would have been because Derby only has three hotels and believe it or not, they were all booked out! God knows why because there is nothing to see or do in Derby. So all my spa treatments were packed away back to the bottom of my bag where they will languish for God knows how long. As for a tasty steak, well we enquired at the Derby Visitor Centre where we could locate just such a treat and were met with a blank look from the woman behind the counter who is paid to put a bit of positive spin on Derby’s fine dining establishments. Once she re-gathered her thoughts she apologetically said: “oooh I don’t know if you’ll get a good steak around here but you could always try the King Sound Resort.” Well, after that ringing endorsement we took her advice and headed there for dinner. And you know what? She was right. We had a big steak, but tasty? Hmmmmmmm, average. And this in the middle of cattle country.

Thursday 20th August

Gary: A pleasant three hour drive along lovely smooth tarmac roads had us in the very pleasant tourist town of Broome by midday. Apart from being a lovely place Broome is also major milestone for us as it marks the end to any pre-planned ‘must do’ sections, the last being, to travel the Gibb River road prior to the wet season. It also marks the end of Salt water crocodiles, so the beautiful beaches become a playground rather than a tease. With this in mind we set up camp at the Roebuck Bay Caravan Park and plan not to move the tent for the next week at least.

Lorraine: Happy Birthday Miriam!!

Friday 21 – Friday 28th August

Gary: Not much to write really, the tent is still in the same place and we haven’t been that much further than the shops. We have enjoyed the annual Dragon boat festival, been kayaking, visited a few bars, a couple of restaurants, the odd local attraction, watched the sun set over Cable Beach and probably more importantly decided that Broome is a great place to pause and work for a month or so.

As well as being a modern resort town, Broome is an old town with a rich and colourful history that is closely linked to the pearling industry. In the early days it was all about the shell for the mother of pearl and today about the pearl itself. The town was largely established by Japanese, Malay and Chinese workers which can be seen in the architecture, street names and diverse mix of people that make up the town.

Oh, before I forget, what a pleasure it was to watch Australia lose a few wickets in the local pub before returning to the car to hear the final death throes on the radio. The Ashes are back in England, where they belong.

Lorraine: First off, Happy Birthday to my brother Paul for the 21st! Broome is a town of two halves geographically. It’s situated on a peninsula with the main town overlooking Roebuck Bay on one side then 4km away on the other side is Cable Beach. We’re holed up at Roebuck Bay Caravan Park situated directly on Town Beach overlooking (as the name would imply) Roebuck Bay. There is very little swell and the water is the most hypnotic shade of turquoise, it just keeps drawing the eye back to it. It’s sandy with no weed or rocks and just perfect for swimming and lolling about in. Great for kayaking too. Each day we watch the tide come right up to the grassy edge of the caravan park and then we watch it roll out by about 800 metres or so. Cable Beach has swell so the surfers go there. The beach itself is a wide expanse of white sand dissolving into the same amazing turquoise water. Each evening hundreds of tourists and locals alike converge on the beach and surrounding parkland with chairs, tables, picnic blankets, wine, nibbles and beer and watch the daily show of the sun sinking down below the horizon. I know people in the entertainment industry who would kill for this kind of crowd and here they all are to watch the simple setting of the sun.

Smack bang in the middle of town dividing the Old Town from Cable Beach is the airport. Being so central, it means that everyone in Broome is aware when a plane lands or takes off. If you’re in town when a plane is descending you’re sure it’s actually going to land on your head. We went to the delightfully old fashioned Sun Pictures Cinema the other night which is an open air cinema where the patrons lie back in deckchairs to watch the movie and a couple of planes flew directly overhead on their descent and I swear you could almost reach up and tickle the undercarriage. The movie we watched was an aboriginal movie called Samson & Delilah. Wow. What a very disturbing and powerful film centred on the despairing lives of two young aboriginal teens. We were both shell shocked at the end of it and needed a stiff drink to settle our dispositions. Hard work as it is, I would recommend it.

So we’ve decided to stay here in Broome because it’s just so lovely for at least another 4 weeks. This means we have to find short term employment and I have been fortunate enough to land a temporary 5 week position with the Broome Fire and Emergency Services replacing their office administrator whilst she takes her annual holiday. I start on Tuesday from 8am to 4pm. I’ve had to go out and buy a few more clothes and shoes to supplement my wardrobe. I don’t think thongs/flip flops and t-shirts are considered suitable office attire. I’ll cycle to work and back as it’s only about 10 minutes from the Caravan Park and it’s all flat. To be honest, I’m not terribly excited about having to work – I’ve really been enjoying being a bum but I realise that the work we do now means the longer we can stay on the road travelling. I am however looking forward to spending my days in air-conditioned luxury. It’s getting hotter and hotter up here in the Top End as each day brings us closer to the end of the Dry Season and the build up to the Wet. The humidity increases as do the flies, mosquitoes and our old friends the sand flies.

Aug 28, 2009

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