Heading South – Derby to Barn Hill

We’ve finished our adventure travelling down the Gibb River Road and we’re back on the Blacktop at Derby.

Derby

Set up camp at the Derby Kimberley Entrance Caravan Park. Not a bad spot, plenty of room.
And a delightful albino Peacock wandering around.
We visited the wharf for an excellent dinner at the Wharf Cafe
And watched a magnificent sunset.
The Prison Boab Tree is a must see
As is the historic cattle water trough.
We stayed a few days to clean up and rest after the rigours of the Gibb River Road. Our travelling companions also flew out to the Horizontal Falls. (We did that on our last visit.) Then set off again on the blacktop through the numerous fires towards Broome.
Broome
Because we have a dog we’re restricted to where we can stay in Broome. So we settled into the grounds of the PCYC (Police Citizens Youth Club) just off Roebuck Bay. Not a bad spot and actually somewhat cheaper than the Broome Caravan Parks, but you must have a pet to stay there.
Our ten year old washing machine had developed a fault on the trip so we purchased a new one and The Management spent the day installing it. It works vey well.
Lots of excellent scenery around the lighthouse
And vividly coloured rocks and turquoise water.
It’s an old pearling town and I though I’d try my hand at the original diving suits.
Cable beach is a great place to walk along when the tide is out.
We took a camel ride along the beach. They have a rather abrupt way of getting to their feet.
We safely mounted
And set off as part of a caravan into the sunset.
The usual spectacular sunset ensued.
And we fed our camel a carrot as a reward at the end.
We had planned to take our vans up to Cape Leveque, but dogs were banned up there so we took a day trip up with Chomley Tours.
Much of the road is made, but there is a substantial section that is still corrugated sand, some of it pretty rough.
We stopped at Beagle Bay for morning tea and a visit to the historic old church.
With the pearl shell altar.
It’s been restored and seemed in quite good order but suffers from rising damp.
We got back in the troopie and now on the blacktop headed up to Bardi.The tides racing past One Arm Point are spectacular.
We visited the old Trochus Hatchery that, with the collapse of the Trochus Shell market, is now a tropical fish aquarium.
The next stop was the Cygnet Bay Pearl Farm were we had an excellent lunch.
And I undertook the Ice Bucket Challenge
Followed by a tour of the facility.
And a tour of the showroom. No pearls were purchased on this visit.
We then journeyed round the north beach at Cape Leveque
And had a welcome swim.
Before heading back to the west beach for the obligatory sunset.

Barn Hill Station

Barn Hill Station, south of Broome is our next stop. We’re staying here a week.
It’s a fabulous location, we’re camped on a cliff top
Overlooking the beach.
With whales often frolicking just off shore.
The ablution block is clean and airy, there’s no roof.
The ice creams are great.
The beaches are wide and sandy
With lots of interesting rock formations
But sadly, not much in the way of fish, though we’ve tried every day.
Coco is enjoying the beach and has made a few friends.