Port Hedland, Western Australia, AustraliaAugust around Broome and Derby.
We were supposed to go to Bells Gorge
and silent grove camp ground at King Leopold conservation park for
the month of August but that did not happen just incase our solar
system set up decided to play up more, and we had a few other
niggling things we wanted to get fixed before they got worse.
Lucky for them an older pair of camp
hosts who had taken this position a few years ago where staying in
Windjana for a few days said they would do part of our time at silent
grove.
We managed to get our booking for the
Horizontal falls changed from September to August so we would not
loose our money and would still get to go on our way back to Broom.
Our first stop was at Birdwood downs for the night then on to Derby for the falls
Horizontal Falls – We had an
overnight stay there.
We got picked up at the caravan park in
Derby, where we left the car and van, and taken to the small airport
to board a 14 seat turboprop sea plane. Landing on Talbut Bay then
pulling up to a very large house boat.
We got shown our room for the night
then it was off on our first very fast boat ride on a custom built
1200hp boat with a experienced skipper- Thank heavens.
There are 2 stages of the Horizontal
falls which is created when the tide comes in and out of Talbut bay.
The water has to come through 2 holes in the rock walls , one is
larger than the other so the water really gushes through.
So when the tide is out then rushes
back in the ocean is a lot higher than the water in the bay and it
causes rapids in the gaps very strong ones. The boat could not get
more than half way in the small gap in the morning as the tide was
coming in .
The first ride in the afternoon when we
got there the tide was going the other way ,out we got to go back
and forward through both holes . The small hole in the morning it
took all our horse power to hold us in the rapids not even half way.
It was too dangerous to try and go through so they don,t. When you go
through you drop down to the different water levels with a hell of a
bump and you have to hang on . The first time we sat in the front of
the boat , in the morning ride I sat on the end of the second row and
got drowned and we did not have a full change of clothes with us so
had to stay wet for the flight back to Derby.
After our first boat ride in the falls
we went for a gentle boat trip up cyclone creek . Its called this
because boats can ride out a cyclone here as the walls are tall and
there is not as much change in water levels . The big house boat is
tied up in here when a cyclone threatens.
We got back to the house boat and had
a quick change so we could jump in the cage to see the sharks. We
had brought our own snorkel gear but they do have some on board you
can use.
The cage is attached to the houseboat
and has a second section that can be opened to the Bay. This is where
the sharks come in as they know they will get some fish.They have
been doing this for some time so the sharks have been conditioned . I
did not know this I thought we could just get in the cage to see what
we could see in the waters of the Bay , sometimes a salt water
crocodile may venture close but all we saw was the sharks getting
fed. Larry took a underwater video and I tried to get photos but they
weren’t much good.
Afterwards we had showers then some
snacks and sat around talking and waited for dinner.
Larry had BBQ Barramundi caught locally
and I had horrible patties and salad. Then berries, cake and ice
cream.
It was a very early start as we were to
have the first helicopter ride over the falls at 6am. Doors off $100
each for 10 minutes. But it was good.
Then back on the fast boat through the
falls on the incoming tide. It was a little more scary.
Then board the sea plane for a sight
seeing ride back to Derby.
We stayed the night at the caravan park
then headed out towards Broome in the morning. We pulled up at
Roebuck plains roadhouse caravan park 30 odd km from Broome so we
could go into Broome and do some shopping to go to Cape Leveque in
the morning.
Cape Leveque is at the top of the
Dampier Peninsular north of Broome.
We stayed at Middle Lagoon for 5 days.
The road starts 14km of sealed road
then its about 130 km of dirt road to the middle lagoon turn off.
86 km of this is under road works and
you have to travel on a side track that is a very tight fit passing
people coming the other way. They are widening the main track ,
compacting ready to seal it soon, but at the moment its not good.
Then when you get to the Turn off you have 34 km of soft sand track
to the coast and middle lagoon. This for most of it is no passing and
people have to pull up the sand bank or into the trees , well not us
towing the van. One couple came into the camp with a broken car axel
as they had taken their camper trailer up on the sand bank to allow
someone to pass and had come back down on the road with a thud
breaking the axel and blocking the road. Some one towed in their
camper and the station owner took out the back hoe to drag the car
in. They had to wait a week for a mechanic to get parts and come out
to Middle Lagoon from Broome to change it. Not cheap. Middle Lagoon
was once a cattle station and the old owners are still here and now
run it as a Natures Hide away with some of the traditional owners.
We snorkelled a couple of times a day
on low tide we got to get to some rocks and coral out infront of the
van. It was too far and too deep when the tide was in.
When the tide was in we got to snorkel
in a little area with rocks around close to a point. When the tide
was out you could walk around on the sand.
There is what looks like a traditional
Aboriginal fish trap area here where a low wall has been built
up across an opening in the rocks , so
when the tide is in fish and things can swim in but get stuck if they
are not quick to get out when the tide starts going out. We found
lots sting rays and fish in both places and a shark.
As well as snorkelling we walked around
some old trails and found Red tailed black cockatoos taking apart
some trees.
We had a mother and baby Humpback whale
playing in ocean just off the beach.
We spent afternoon visiting the whale
observation place which is really a campground where some scientists
go in whale season to sturdy some of them. The camground is run by
the local Aboriginal people like most of the retreats, and
campgrounds on the peninsular. We had thought about staying here but
we would have had trouble with our van in here. We did not see any
whales here.
We spent one day going further north to
the tip. This last nearly 100km is all sealed but not wide road. So
we could have brought the van up here ,people do to stay at Cygnet
bay pearl farm the only place up here you can take caravans. We
visited a few places and the Pearl farm at Cygnet bay and had a look
at the pearls for sale and no I did not buy any even the shells with
the mother of pearl inside shell were $50 for a couple.There is a
Aboriginal that carves the shell and sells them for a around $1000.
Pearl one drop pendant started at $500.
Cygnet Bay Pearl farm has been
operating since 1946 mostly taking young oysters from the ocean ,
seeding them by putting small pieces of in the live oyster . Then
putting them in racks in the sea at their farm . When they have grown
the pearl is removed but this means the oyster dies, so start again.
Only a couple of different oysters are used.
Up here is One Arm point as well and
all this places either charge for you to go in or are not fit for
swimming and snorkelling so it was just a scenic visit.
Our time was up at Middle Lagoon so it
was the long drive out again. We left at not long after 6 am so we
could get out to the Cape Leveque road and off of the loose narrow
sand track before some one was coming in. We could not pull off to
let people pass. We got to the Cape road and they had got no further
with their road works in fact I think it was worse than when we came
up.
We pulled up at Roebuck Plains road
house again . This is because we wanted to go see the places north of
Broome on the coast road, Coconut well, willie creek Pearl farm,
Barred creek, Quondong and the last James Price point. All these with
beach or creek side camps with no facilities and you are only
supposed to stay for 3 nights for free. A lot of the camps we found
we definitely set up for longer than 3 nights. Some would be good to
stay at.
Back into Broome to make sure we had
all the shopping , fuel, chemist etc for the next couple of weeks.
Our first stop was BarnHill station
here we only stayed a couple of days Wed night pizza so we thought it
would be a change , expensive and not the best. Sunday night is
roast but we did not stay for this . This place is mostly full of
people that come here every year to meet up with friends stay for the
3 months and they get very clicky. So not for us. Mostly for people
who like sea fishing.
We drove further south and went into
one of our favourite stops of Cape Kerauden.
This is a coastal reserve 150 km north
of Port Hedland. Still for fishermen but has walks along beach or
around a mangrove area. Rocks on beach are good for rock hole
searching for crabs, octopus, fish and shells. So our 8 days were
taken up with swimming, walking and rock hole looking at low tide.
This place is also the start of the
Rabbit Proof fence which runs south to the south coast of WA.
Its 1837km long which is the longest
continual fence in the world. No it did not stop the rabbits from
getting in or the movement of Dingos.
We stayed the night at De Grey River
rest stop as usual.
From here its into Port Hedland for the
usual stuff before we headed south but this time not on the main
Great Northern coastal Hwy but through Marble Bar and down to the
Goldfields near Kalgoorlie. Zigzagging our way from small mining town
to next along sealed but not main roads and a lot of dirt / gravel
roads for the next 1 ½ months.
2025-05-22