Gibb River Road Preparations

Gibb River Rd - first stop Windjana Gorge NP

I am supermarketed out after shopping nearly every day for the last week in preparation for our few months in the bush whilst doing the Gibb River Rd. Daniel has also finally fixed the power issues we were having so fingers crossed everything works ok once we are in the bush. 

The Gibb River Road is a 600km adventure through some of the most rugged country (and roads) in Australia. The area is full of gorges, waterfalls and swimming holes and is meant to be spectacular. In preparation for possibly weeks in the same spot I have filled the cupboards with tinned food and the freezer with meat. A lovely guy in Coles ordered a huge supply of Almond milk for Jackson as I'm not sure if the almond milk craze has hit the small Aboriginal communities & roadhouses on the Gibb. 

There is not meant to be any phone reception so don't expect to hear from us for awhile. We will be sunning ourselves along a river, eating fish that Daniels caught, baking our own bread on the campfire and swimming in every swimming hole we can. Hopefully Emilia will regard this as 'Real Australia!

Some of the huge amount of supplies

Jacksons Almond Milk - 40 litres of it but I could only fit in 6 bottles of wine!!

Beautiful (Bug Free) Broome

We kept extending our stay in Broome, partly because Daniel was fixing the electrics in the car and van, and partly because it is just so lovely here. Great caravan park with a tropical pool, gorgeous Cable Beach within walking distance, great rock pools to explore, perfect weather (32 deg each day) and no bugs. We have spent several afternoons on a section of Cable Beach watching the sun move towards the horizon. You can drive on a section of Cable Beach though we made sure to keep our eyes on the ocean as this part of the beach is 'clothing optional' but the only people opting to leave theirs off were grey nomads! The camels also take people on rides up and down this part and the kids loved watching them. We decided to give the camel rides a miss as they are certainly not my fave animal! The kids enjoyed building a castle  to keep them away from the incoming tide and it was cute watching them squeal and clamber up the sand castle when the waves came in. Whilst Mum and Dad were still here we explored the old town and learnt about the pearling history of Broome and saw the old pearling boats. We had a look at 120 million year old dinosaur footprints in the rocks along a section of the Broome coast. It was a super low tide and you had to clamber over rocks to get down. Daniel and I found them interesting but the kids found crab spotting more exciting! The kids have done heaps of bike rides and have enjoyed playing with other kids, including their friend Alexandra, who we knew from Coral Bay. We can definitely see the attraction of staying here for 3 months, as many grey nomads from around the country do. We plan to come back after doing the Gibb River Rd. 
On our last day the beach was closed as a crocodile had been spotted! We'd swum every day prior to this without a thought so it was a good reminder of the perils of this lovely part of Australia.

Morning walk & bike ride to the beach.

Riding to dinner with Dad

Old pearling boat

Snap, snap!

Cable Beach

Sunset picnic on Cable Beach

Building a castle with Dad to keep 'safe' from the incoming tide.

'Safe' on their castle.

Dinosaur footprint.

Rock climbing along the coast.

Jackson with his first 'crush'!

Enjoying the rockpools on Cable Beach

Emilia and Alexandra watching the amazing colours of the sunset at Cable Beach

Pa's Birthday

On the last morning at Barn Hill we had Pa's birthday and the kids presented him with the shells and rocks they had found for him and the homemade cards they had made and we had birthday jam toast! That night we were in Broome and we went to a lovely restaurant on Cable Beach (you could watch the sunset from the restaurant). The kids got very excited dressing up and we had a fabulous dinner. The sunset was also beautiful and Pa had a great birthday with lots of birthday cuddles and kisses from his grand kids.

Birthday Toast!

Presenting the home made cards and present.

Dinner on Cable Beach (a special appearance from Batman)

Sunset (though Emilia is more intent on admiring the birthday boy!).

Barn Hill Frogs

Mum and Dad stayed at the Barn Hill beachside station stay four years ago and loved it so we decided to give it a go. Aren't we glad we did! A pristine white sanded beach with glowing red cliffs and numerous rock pools kept us duly entertained during our 3 night stay. On our first night we were lucky enough to score the last 4 tickets for the roast dinner. We were treated to a 3 course meal and live entertainment from some local indigenous singers. The kids dragged Pa up for a dance and a fun night was had by all. We went on numerous beach walks, once to the Barn Hill version of the pinnacles (tower shaped rock formations). Whilst Daniel climbed some and I took photos the kids explored. Next we hear 'Help, help' from Jackson. 'Jackson needs help Mum and so do I' says Emilia then. Daniel and I clamber to them and both burst out laughing. Jackson had been trying to climb through a rocky crevice and had got his head stuck. He was there with his bum up to the sky and head lodged in the rock.  After taking a few photos Daniel managed to get him out unscathed! Daniel and I also climbed to the namesake rocky hill, Barn Hill, that afternoon and were rewarded with amazing views and several hawks and sea eagles flying nearby. We saw some great insects and reptiles, including many geckos and lizards and a procession of around 20 fuzzy caterpillars. However the most memorable were the frogs. I went to the open air, scantily lit, toilets one evening and noticed something in the toilet, to my surprise it was a large green frog! Then when I was having a shower one sat on the cubicle wall and watched me, I kept my eye on it as I was convinced it would jump on me if I turned my back. We hope to venture back to Barn Hill on our way back south as we really enjoyed it.

Playing in the wildflowers at sunset.

Say 'CHEESE'

Having a boogie with Pa!

The rockpools were a hit with the kids.

Peek a Boo.

Sunsets were amazing.

Collecting rocks and shells for Pa's birthday present.

HELP!!

Barn Hill 'Pinnacles'.

Pardoo Station and the Hermit Crabs

After De Grey we headed up the road to the nearby Pardoo Station. After 5 days bush camping we were in need of showers and washing machines. It was a lovely station, with grassy lawns, a swimming pool, communal campfire and a short drive to the beach. We explored the tidal beach on the first day and walked out on the never ending mud flats. Much to the kids delight the beach was covered in hermit crabs and Jackson was kept amused chasing them around the sand. Emilia hunted out seashells with some help from Grandma whilst Daniel and Pa discussed fishing options. It was a picturesque beach and a relaxing afternoon. The next day Daniel and Pa tried out their fishing skills and were rewarded with two blue nosed salmon which we ate for dinner. The kids, Grandma and I played around camp, swam in the pool and visited the orphaned calf who'd been named Millie. Jackson enjoyed the machinery in this huge cattle station (half a million acres) whilst Emilia loved the bike riding and visiting the cows who were in a holding pen near the campground as it was the middle of the muster. That evening we cooked marshmallows around the communal campfire and gazed at the clear, starlit sky. It was well worth the stopover.

6 metre tides created mud flats as far as you could see

Shell collector

Milly with Millie the cow.

The sun on the mud flats was an amazing sight

 

De Grey River Cows

We have not had Internet for 2 weeks so there will be a post each day for the next few days whilst I catch up! This post is actually from the first few days of June.

After a rest day in Point Samson for Daniel we headed north towards Port Hedland and hopefully well away from sand flies! We had decided on an inland bush camp about 45min past Port Hedland that had great reviews. On the way into Port Hedland for lunch we had a very random meeting with Trent who is working up here. With all the cars driving around he happened to pull out behind us. It was great to have a chat with a familiar face from home. Once we arrived at De Grey river we had an explore and found some great bush camp spots. Although there was a sign warning that a crocodile had been spotted we decided it was safe to swim in a narrow section of the river and we enjoyed several swims over the 5 days we stayed. It was a lovely bush spot made all the better by the fact we could have campfires. Daniel cooked on the fire every night and the kids became expert firewood collectors. We spent our days walking, bike riding, swimming and butterfly watching. The kids loved the freedom of a bush site and enjoyed exploring together. Sunsets from the disused rail bridge were spectacular and the bird life serenaded us throughout the day. However the most entertaining part of this campsite was the cows. We were on De Grey station cattle land and the cows roamed throughout the campsites. On our first evening one walked right up to our campfire then into our campsite. The kids sat mouths agape at the scene whilst I got ready to jump in the car to get away from it! A few nights later our friendly cow came back to check out what Dad was cooking on the bbq, it then came right into campsite and tried to join in for dinner. It took a particular liking to Mum and it took Dad and Daniel to get it to move along. That night a whole group came back while  we were sleeping and explored the campsite. We could hear them mooing and snuffling around our vans! 

Emilia made two of the funniest comments of the trip whilst here. The first was made to Jackson after Daniel was asking him how he had wet the bed during the day when he had a nappy on.  'Were you playing with your willy in bed Jackson' asks Daniel. Emilia came straight to her brothers rescue and said, 'Don't worry Jackson, I play with mine too!' The next comment was directed at Pa. She was gazing up at Pa washing the dishes then said, 'Poor Pa, the wind has blown all his hair off!' The kids have been keeping their grandparents constantly amused with their antics.

Photo Bomb!!

Mmmmmm.... Marshmallows
 

The kids became expert firewood collectors

Old rail bridge over De Grey River

Rapids when the inland flood waters came through.

Sunset over De Grey River