Finally, the car is serviced while we spend half-an-hour chatting to a young girl who has just moved from Brisbane to work for Wicked in Broome. Her job? Travelling Australia devising driving itineraries. Nice! Then to MacDonalds, and for the price of two $1 ’99’s wespend some time researching our onward journey. Bali is looking favourite at the moment as a stop over on the way to India. It may be cheaper, and it will give us time to get our Indian visas in Perth before we book any flights. We still need to find somewhere to recharge our laptops – there was nowhere on last night’s camp site and MaaDonalds don’t provide sockets. Out of juice we pack up and start our day exploring Broome.
Gantheaume Point on the south west of the peninsular has some unusual and colourful rock formations dropping directly into the ocean. It is home to some 120 milliong-year-old dinosaur footprints visible only at high tide, so we have to content ourselves with viewing casts embedded in concrete at the top of the cliff. The low cliffs at the water’s edge is home to Anastasia’s Pool, a small pool carved in the rock for a former lighthouse keeper’s arthritic wife. We then hea for Cable Beach, a swim in the waves and a laze on the beach.
The outside world is knocking at our door again reminding us of more mundane responsibilities; arranging the renewal of tenancy agreements and organising the replaement of the oven in Princes Garth. The fan in the latter has decided to pack in and the parts are no longer manufactured. At least Belling are apologetic and prepared to offer a replacement at discount. And fortunately we have understanding tenants who are prepared to help with the arrangements! The renewal of a tenancy on one of our other flats is also welcome news as organising a new tenancy, as we discovered earlier in the year, can be a complicated and expensive business when you are on the other side of the world.
This afternoon we successfully make the drive north along the Cape Leveque Road to Willlie Creek on the Dampier Peninsular. It’s much further than the book states along unsealed roads covered in a layer of fine red sand. We are just about to give up and turn back when we reach the camping ground on a large salt water estuary bordered by mangroves and long, rocky foreshore. Much of the ground is very sandy and off limits to our 2wd, but we find a spot overlooking the water close to the boat ramp. We think at last we might have found that elusive isolated spot! But no, there is a pearl farm a couple of kilometres down the track and a tour bus and several 4wds pass this way. Around 9pm we are joined by a couple of Germans who have made this outback drive in the dark in a 2wd camper! Obviously more foolhardy, or is it more adventurous, than us?