I’m pleased to say it cooled down sufficiently for us to get a good night’s sleep at De Grey. We only had a relatively short day’s travel planned for our 31st day, and were heading for Miaree Pool.
I can barely believe it’s only 30 days since we left Busselton on this rushed trip. We’ve packed a lot into those 30 days including two lovely stays in Broome, and a special wedding in Katherine. Now it’s time to commence the home stretch.
Day 29 since we left home, and our ninth and last night in Broome. Being our anniversary we figured what better way to celebrate than with Cable Beach Sunset Cocktails on the beach before heading to a local restaurant for dinner.
One of our favourite things to do in Broome is to either drive down the beach as sunset approaches, or to find a table overlooking the beach to watch the sun go down.
A couple of nights ago we managed to get a picnic table in a prime spot, directly overlooking the ramp used for cars and camels to access the beach.
We had our container of ice, a bottle of Bacardi, orange juice, grenadine and a can of soda to add a touch of sparkle. Paul poured us both a cocktail made to a recipe which we made up a few years ago in order to do justice the glorious sunsets in this part of the world. We call it Cable Beach Sunset.
One lot of camels returned up the ramp, and following close behind a line of vehicles returning from somewhere up the beach.
It’s so peaceful to watch the sun descending towards the horizon. A few clouds, or some smoke haze in the sky adds interest, but even without those things, the sky lighting up into a blaze of red and orange as the sun dips over the horizon is always special.
A friend of mine loves tropical beaches with palms, but doesn’t like Broome. She said she was disappointed because there weren’t any palms. I think perhaps she didn’t look closely enough – what do you think?
Middle Lagoon is a popular place for caravaners and campers in the Broome region. It’s around 140kms north of Broome on the Dampier Peninsula in the Kimberleys (not to be confused with the area around the town of Dampier in the Pilbarra).
We stayed on for a few nights after the wedding, tidying up the photos to make sure there were some good keepers, and just relaxing. 19 days after leaving home in Busselton, it was time to leave the newly-weds to have some time on their on, and start out on our return trip. Wow, we packed a lot into that 19 days.
With the wedding done and dusted, it was time for a bit of sightseeing and relaxation.
We’ve camped at Edith Falls before and loved it. It’s approximately 90kms north of the farm, and as Nikki hadn’t as yet been there we figured it’d make a good day trip. It’s in a National Park, so Mr Tilly had to stay behind. We figured he’d be okay inside the house with the air conditioning running (how wrong we were – more on that later).
A beautiful swimming spot for a refreshing dip
There’s a camp ground, a day use area, a kiosk, the lower area and another top area. The top area is accessed by a hiking track and has a beautiful swimming hole to cool off in after the hike I seem to remember from our last visit. This visit wasn’t about hiking though, it was about relaxation, so we stayed at the bottom pool.
Paul managed a quick dip, Kelvin dipped a toe in the water proclaiming it too cold, and Nikki (a non-swimmer) stayed clear of the water altogether. I though, couldn’t resist a chance to freshen up with a good cooling swim, and set out for the water fall. I’m not the swimmer I used to be so took it slow, with a few little rests on the way.
The waterfall’s a bit more powerful up close.There was another little creek area that Kelvin managed to get into
There were lots of birds and lizards including this little wavy lizard – if you’re quiet and can get close enough he lifts his front leg and seemingly waves at you. I loved the little Zebra Finches too.
On the way home we called into the Katherine Hot Springs, a favourite place for locals, tourists and backpackers.
Theres a lot of work being done in the surrounding areas of the Katherine springs to upgrade the area, so I look forward to seeing how it all turns out on my next visit to Katherine.
It was nice to get out and relax after such a hectic week. Clearly though, Tills hadn’t been happy at being left behind. He had tried to get out, ripping the floor vinyl near the door in the process. Oh dear! In fact, he wasn’t very well behaved on the farm at all. He ran wild chasing birds and butterflies and wouldn’t respond at all when we called him – and now he had destroyed the flooring. What to do with him! I don’t know – clearly some serious training is needed. He needs to be adaptable in the different situations our future planned travel is going to be taking us. Mmmm – wish us luck on that one!
As is often the case, nerves made it difficult to get good photos during the service. As is also the case at most weddings, some time was set aside away from the guests and pressure of the wedding just to have some fun and try to get some good photos. Paul was the photographer.