Brisbane to Roebourne - 4/08 to 5/09

4th August to 5th September

4th August - Monday - hit the road

As I was 3 weeks behind my desired leaving date I decided to fore go Borroloola & Darwin & headed straight for Katherine. I was able to "free camp" at Chinchilla (rellies), Morven (at the Showground - top spot), outside Longreach (Macsland Rest Area, 24km NW of Longreach - plenty of room), outside Mt Isa (Lake Julius turn off rest area - plenty of room, although pretty full & a Rodeo on in MT Isa on the weekend) and then near Three Ways (41 Mile Bore - 70km east of Three Ways). I was surprised at the lack of "road kill" in the NT, particularly after the area between Roma and Morven and other areas in Qld. Except for the dogs being sick on the first day (blood & bone spread around my Mum's garden on the Sunday) this part of the trip was uneventful.

9th August - Saturday - Daly Waters
On the way north from Three Ways I passed Banka Banka & the area set aside for caravans was inviting, but that will have to wait for another day. At Elliott I had a good talk with the lady at the petrol station (one of 3) about the lack of infrastructure for the Indigenous. There was a camp at either end of the town with a total of about 800 who had little or nothing to do during their day. We stayed at the Pub at Daly Waters NT for $9 a powered site, had dinner in the pub and listened to a Country Poet. Not bad! The camping area was about half full when I arrived but by dusk it was chockers & included a couple of Coach Tour groups. The history around the Airfield at Daly Waters was intriguing & something I was not aware of. The Museum in the hanger tells the history of early aviation, WW 2 & Qantas. From here north there were many remnants of WW2 buildings, hospitals etc but I will need more time to look at this history, so I will be back through here in a couple of years.

10th & 11th August at Manbullo Station
Then onto Manbullo Station, just outside Katherine, for a couple of days. Checked out Johnney's Electronics (renowned for his Sat TV gear) and restocked my food supplies & the domestics. I look forward to coming back to this area again as there is so much history throughout this region & one really needs to take time to have a good look around.

12th August - Tuesday - arrived in WA
I got an early start from Manbullo Station & headed west but any free camp area was full so before I knew it I was at the WA border (the 1 1/2 hrs time difference helped) & Kununurra beckoned. If you have pets you can stay at the Show Grounds here & there is plenty of room for walking your dog/s.Caught up with some of the others there however they moved on after one day (were they telling me something?). There are a number of crops grown here, a legacy from the Ord River Scheme, & there were plenty of places to visit including the local Hoochery Rum Distillery which produces rum (of course) & many liqueurs. I had a few days here & looked around Lake Argyle (Ord Dam) & Wyndham.

Lake Argyle has a huge expanse of water & is the home to many thousand crocodiles as well as fish farming. There are professional fishermen here & I'm told it is big business particularly in the export market.

I expected Wyndham to be bigger (only 800 people) but the fuel was 14c litre cheaper than Kununurra, a 100 km away. Go figure that! The lookout at Wyndham overseas much of the region & the river systems but they say the best time to observe the area is at sunrise or sunset. I was there in the middle of the day & it was very hazy. The Port area here is full of historic buildings, including the original Hospital, & it was very interesting to walk around & soak up the history of those who lived here in times gone by.

A 100 or so km south at Turkey Creek I had to give my driver's licence to the roadhouse staff before they turned the fuel pump on. On top of that fuel was $2 a litre. Not impressed! Many people use this place as a stepping off point to go to the Bungle Bungle National Park & I was surprised by the number of people at the roadhouse caravan park. Also there was a company doing scenic helicopter flights from here over this region. I was told that there are very impressive sights in this World Heritage Area.

There were plenty of people on the road & if you did not find a good free camp early in the afternoon you needed to keep moving. Halls Creek was the next overnighter. A number of people had overnighted here & were heading off down the Tanami Road & the Canning Stock Route. Off to Ellendale Rest Area & there were plenty of vans & motor homes here by nightfall & mainly banana benders or Victorians. Surprisingly there seem to be few from NSW but many from Qld, Vic & SA on the road. Another traveller offered me some Lake Argyle Cod for dinner but I had prepared dinner so gave it a miss. I enquired about the type of "Cod" & was told that it was better known in other places as "catfish". My memory of catfish being caught at the mouth of the Brisbane River (near the sewerage treatment plant) was more than enough to tell me I made the right decision to refuse the offer of the "fresh fish"!

18th August - Monday - on to Derby & then Broome
Derby was next on the list & I caught up with some of the others here. Very spectacular sunsets from across the flats. A big difference between the low & high tide mark. A couple of days here & then Broome was our next place of call. We only stayed one night here as at the PCYC we were put beside Basket Ball court & hard area for children with roller blades or skate boards. Cassie wanted to eat some kids on skate boards & roller blades. She went ballistic! TJ then wanted to have a piece of the caretaker as he did his rounds. The PCYC is used as an overflow for travellers when the Caravan Parks are full & it is the only place that will allow dogs. We decided moving was the best option! The town was packed with travellers & the Pearl Festival had just started. I had a look around the water front, the Pearling luggers & old wharf buildings etc but will need to return here in a quieter time.



21st August - Thursday - arrive at Barn Hill

Barn Hill was next on the list & this was nearly heaven. Even some kind ex Navy bloke took pity on me & gave me some fresh fish. Actually he was ok (for a Navy bloke) as both he & his wife had read the book "Trackers". I had a top spot here ( grass instead of red dirt) & the others that I was travelling with were rather jealous, but I told them I had said my prayers that morning as I left Broome. It is now a joke & all are saying their prayers! The "family" have spent some time on the beach and at least for the moment they are close to their original colour after a number of swims. Not much, or actually none from what I understand, fish being caught off the beach but those with boats are having luck off shore.

The wind has been with us since about Morven and luckily it has mainly been from the East. I pitied a couple of blokes I met in Camooweal who were travelling east on motor bikes. They said it was real hard going into the wind.

One could make many observations about the "locals", particularly around Broome, but suffice to say it is a sad state of affairs and no doubt the money being thrown their way is having little or no effect. I understand that since grog restrictions were put in place in Halls Creek & Fitzroy Crossing the problem has only been shifted to Broome.

We moved to Sandfire Roadhouse for a night (26th) & then past Pardoo Roadhouse to Port Headland for a few days (27th to 30th). Port Headland was another industrial town & I understand serves as the local port for places like Marble Bar & Newman. We stayed at a caravan park on the outskirts of the town & although there were many permanents here we met many other travellers who had explored the hinterland. As a matter of interest the average price of unleaded fuel up to now is $1.908/litre. The dearest has been $2.178 at Barkly Homestead & cheapest $1.459 in Dalby. Mt Isa was ok at $1.489 but it has been downhill since then.

We did not go to Eighty Mile Beach as I understood that dogs were not allowed in the parks there. It was a decision I regretted as I understand that was not entirely true & I believe the place is a top place to visit. Next time!

30th August - Saturday - arrive at Roebourne
Now we are in Roebourne where we have spent time in Wickham, Cossack, Point Samson, Karratha & Dampier. I got some more fresh fish from a bloke here but it was surprising he even talked to me as TJ growled at him every time he saw him. Many people from the southern parts of WA come north for the winter & from what I understand will spend 3 or 4 months up here & often in the same place.

The mining is awesome, the trains are LONG and the machinery being used is gigantic. The downside appears to be the lack of infrastructure in some of these towns.