Aus Days - 35, 36, 37, 38 and 39 - Serious Catch Up

Thursday October 28th    Aus Days 35, 36, 37, 38 and 39


Some of you may have been wondering why there has been a sudden gap develop in my Blog output. I can only apologise and put it down to the fact that I have been rather busy of late and the fact that my priorities may have been temporarily reassigned.

Sunday October 24th   Aus Day 35

Eileen and I vacated our room at the Hidden Valley Tourist Park and went to exchange the 4WD camper van for the 4 Berth van I had ordered when I found that Eileen was able to join me. Unfortunately, there was no 4 berth van available so we were upgraded to a 6 berth van, at no additional cost, naturally.

Having picked up this ‘house on wheels’ we hit the Stuart Highway down to Katherine Gorge and arrived in time to get into the swimming pool by just after 4.00 pm.

In the evening we were entertained, at the pool side, by the “resident” artist Bernie until 8.00pm when returned to the van to get unpacked and tried to get organised for a reasonably early start in the morning.

Monday 25th October    Aus Day 36

Up at 07.10 and packed up ready to go by 08.45 but Eileen just had to take a couple of photos before we set off and I took one of her with the new van. You can see these below:


Swimming Pool at Katherine Gorge

Swimming Pool at Katherine Gorge

Eileen with the 6 Berth Van

We terminated our day at Lake Argyle Village just off the Victoria Highway and not far from Kununnura. Just before arriving, the van had developed a small problem with the Engine Management light illuminating. I checked in with Apollo and they arranged for it to be checked out by a garage in Kununnura the following morning.

With that arranged we made the best of our stay and enjoyed a bit of leisure time in the infinity pool overlooking Lake Argyle, See below:

Eileen in the Infinity Pool Overlooking Lake Argyle

Tuesday 26th October    Aus Day 37

Found our way into Kununnura and left the van with Top End Motors and went to do a bit of shopping. It turned out there was little the garage could do having checked for obvious faults (they didn’t have the necessary Ford codes) consequently, Apollo gave us clearance to go to Broome for a further check by a qualified Ford Agent. We therefore hightailed it the 395 kms to Halls Creek in time to check out their small but refreshing pool by 16.45. We retired quite early after watching a bit of television, ready for an early start in the morning.

Wednesday 27th October    Aus Day 38

Up at 06.00 shower, breakfast on a beautiful sunny morning. On the road by 07.20 in order to try and make it to Broome, some 680 kms away. We reached Fitzroy Crossing for refuel and comfort break by 10.30. Pressed on then until about 12.30 when we stopped for a spot of lunch under a large Boab tree. Eileen had taken a number of photos on the way to capture the environment we were travelling through:

On the Road to Broome From Halls Creek

On The Road to Broome

On The Road to Broome

Another 100 kms saw us refuelling yet again at Willare Bridge Roadhouse and we finally entered Broome at about 3.00 pm. Located and booked into the Roebuck Bay Caravan Park with a sea view site.

Roebuck Bay From the Camper Van

Th Van Parked Up At Roebuck Bay - Broome

A Lovely Lady and Rainbow to Match

The evening was spend with sundowners, salad tea, and resting with a bit of television.

Thursday 28th October    Aus Day 39

No pressure today so a late start at 07.20, showered, breakfast. We did a bit of housekeeping, both on the van and on the Blog before driving into town for a bit of retail therapy and a trip to Gantheaume Point were there is reputed to be fossilised dinosaur footprints. Unfortunately, the tide was too high when we were there so didn’t get to see them. However, got our first sighting of Cable Beach and other beautiful scenery.

JB at Gantheaume Point - Looking for Dinosaur Footprints

Cable Beach From Gantheaume Point

Eileen at Gantheaume Point



Cable Beach From Gantheaume Point

We returned to the camp site shortly after 1 pm and set out to have a serious chill-out session with a dip in the sea with the tide full in and the sand too hot to walk on.
Eileen was able to soak up a few rays while I did more work on the Blog update. I am starting to get a guilty conscience as a few people are starting to query why the Blog updating appears to have ground to a halt.

However, the following couple of photos should give you some idea why priorities may seem to have changed.

Mangrove Trees Just Off The Beach at Roebuck Bay

Roebuck Bay Beach

We had a BBQ tonight with a serious quantity of large prawns plus sausages, corn on the cob and salad. All very tasty but we then had to retire to our air conditioned van away from the ferocious mossies.

Tomorrow, we have to get the van into the garage for its Ford check out and then we will be going to visit Cable Beach with the hope that the crocodile which kept the Beach closed for bathing for 4 days, has now been dealt with.

Good Night All