My Adventures – The Top End

So Saturday saw a quiet day in Karratha. Long sleep in, followed by a wander around the CBD of the town. Nicely done, some good shops and some decent looking places for a feed or drink. Back to the cabin in time to listen to Geelong get done by the Dockers! Might have had a Nanna nap – big day on the road tomorrow!

Sunday saw me hit the NWCH once more for an eight and a half hour drive to Broome. Up to Port Hedland turnoff was fairly uneventful – typical spinifex country. On getting closer to Port Hedland there was a serious increase in road trains shifting iron ore. Got kind of nuts overtaking 50 metre long trucks, one after the other! Then a traffic jam – seriously, a 30 minute dead stop on the highway, on a Sunday – wtf? Kept plodding along till I reached Sandfire – refuelled. Then it was like someone had flicked a switched. The landscape immediately turning green, gone was the spinifex, to be replaced by lush green Acacia, Melaleuca and eucalypts. This continued until I was about 60 km out from Broome when all of a sudden there was no native vegetation – just plains of grasslands (Roebuck Plains apparently), like someone had just decided enough was enough! Checked into Broome Caravan Park – villa for me in the forecast 38 degree heat. Good park, GREAT pool, awesome self contained villa!

Early start Monday as I waited to be picked up for the Broome Dinosaur Adventures Tour. The base for the company was on a beautiful beach. A short stroll to the flat bottomed boat proceeded us heading out into Roebuck Bay for a trip to the location of the dinosaur footprints. The footprints were interesting, persevered in the rocks along the shoreline. The ones we saw are from a type of Brachiosaurus that roamed the area hundreds of millions of years ago. The footprints surviving all this time. Following this we went for a champagne breakfast up Dampier Creek and were able to spot a number of species of bird life – and a heap of sea snakes.

The afternoon saw me head to the Japanese Cemetery. Founded as a pearling port in 1880s, by the turn of the century over 300 luggers were plying the rich waters of Broome’s Roebuck Bay. The vast majority of the divers employed were of Japanese decent – hence the need for such a niche cemetery. A massive decline in production occurred during World War II when Broome’s foreign labour was sent to indentured camps and much of the pearling fleet was torched to save it falling into enemy hands. In another blow, the world discovered plastic in the 1950s, marking the end of demand for mother of pearl shell. Cultured pearling techniques were introduced by the Japanese soon after and quickly took off in Broome, which continues to produce the majority of the world’s finest quality cultured South Sea Pearls (about 80%).

A visit to the Broome Historical Museum was a worthwhile experience. An interesting collection showcasing the history of Broome and the surrounding area. Coincidentally it is located only a block away from Masto’s Broome Brewery – so didn’t even have to move the Ranger. The brewery do some nice beers, but my favourites were their alcoholic ginger beer and their hard lemonade, simply delicious!

Tuesday morning saw me waiting bright and bushy tailed for the crew of Absolute Ocean Charters to pick me up for a half day reef fishing excursion. A good hour’s trip out in the boat saw us wet a line for a few hours. Sorry to the “fishing experts” I caught a few fish – Spanish Mackerel, a Trevally (don’t know what sort), a Blue Lipped “something or other” and a Chinamanfish. Got them filleted. Great fun. Great crew. When in Broome – do this, such a fun experience. Also got to see a massive arsed Black Marlin swim under the boat, an incredible school of Mackerel, some 2m Lemon Sharks and a host of sea snakes. Had some of the fish for dinner – mmmmmmm, super yummy!

The afternoon saw a much needed shave at the barbers for BDOB. Followed by another visit to Masto’s, just to check that the ginger beer and lemonade were as delicious as I thought – they were!

Tuesday saw me hit to road for a seven hour drive to Halls Creek. Along the way saw a heap of Boab trees. Often called bottle trees they are a native of the African continent, but are commonplace in the Kimberly. Their bulbous trunks are impervious to bush fires. Their fruit were a good source of food for indigenous inhabitants of the area. Sometimes called “The Tree of Life”.

Saw some beautiful scenery. Pictures are always better than words.

Halls Creek – mmmmmmm. Preferred Ceduna!

Thursday saw the relatively quick four hour drive to Kununurra. Had a lazy afternoon in my hotel room (Kununurra Hotel – neat, clean, secure!). Watched some TV – you know, normal stuff?

Friday saw a full day of “nature”. Got picked up from the hotel by Lake Argyle Tours and Cruises – took us to the Argyle Homestead museum. This is the old Durack family homestead that once stood where Lake Argyle now exists. It was moved, brick by brick and reconstructed out of the area to be enveloped by the lake. An interesting insight into early pioneering life in the Kimberley Region. Then onto the Lake Argyle Resort for a swim in their amazing infinity pool.

A quick drive followed and we boarded the Kimberley Durack a well appointed cruise boat. We enjoyed some extremely humorous commentary from our tour guide as we cruised around Lake Argyle. The construction of the Ord River Diversion Dam started in late 1960 and was officially opened in July 1963 by then Prime Minister, Sir Robert Menzies. The Ord River Diversion Dam holds back Lake Kununurra which gravity feeds the Ord River Irrigation Area. Work started on the main Ord River Dam in 1969 and was completed before the official opening on 30 June 1972 by Prime Minuster William McMahon. The main Ord River Dam, known locally as “Top Dam” holds back the waters of the Ord River in Lake Argyle. The Ord scheme created Lake Argyle, which is Australia’s largest dam reservoir, covering an area of 741 square kilometres. It hold approximately 19 Sydney Harbour’s worth of water! Got to have a swim in the lake – which was a lovely 30 degrees – there was some discussion about a recent crocodile attack in the lake (the day before our swim mind you! – unusual for the freshwater inhabitants of the lake and river. There are apparently about 100,000 living in the system!). Some delicious Silver Cobbler (fancy name for catfish) with an assortment of salads and some nice SSB.

Swapped boat and tour company – Triple J Tours for a Sunset River Ord Cruise. What fun! Shot off at breakneck speed from the main dam – reaching speeds of 30 knots (about 55 kmph). Stopped regularly for really interesting commentary from Jeff (one of the J’s and owner of the company). Had a nice afternoon tea, explored several creeks, ended with a beautiful sunset view on Lake Kununurra. A beautiful experience, with good people!

The music this week …..

Thought I’d go sassy and folk!

Firstly, Charli XCX’s new album “Crash” (deluxe edition with four bonus tracks). Less experimental than her previous releases and more poppy, I actually really enjoyed this album (mind you I loved her previous releases too – this is just a little “safer”). Good music to drive to! Favourite tracks from this cut – Good Ones, Lightning and Every Rule. Would give the overall album a solid three and a half out of five. Good dose of sassiness!

Now Anne Marie is my queen of sass! I adore this artist. Zero f**ks given. Take me as I am. Goddess of the middle finger – but in the most non- offensive of ways. If SB wasn’t my full time “spirit animal”, she would take that title! Her latest album released last year “Therapy” is a poppy, catchy collection of pure delight. Loved all of the songs! Have been listening to this album for a while and each listen gives me a new temporary favourite – my mood at the moment dictates the following as my go to grooves – x2, Kiss My (Uh Oh) (ft Lil Mix), Unlovable (ft Rudimental) and Therapy. Four out of five for me!

Putting Billy Bragg with these two sassy singers may seem odd – but young Billy has been known to be sassy in his own right. His latest release The Million Things That Never Happened is his first release since 2017 Bridges not Walls. Now, I’ve followed BB since the mid 1980’s. First saw him live at The Hammersmith Odeon in 1985. Saw him live lots since then. He is a musical genius – simple. This album serves up more of his brilliance. Folky, with a slightly more commercial edge than past work. Love listening to Good Days and Bad Days, The Million Things That Never Happened and Ten Mysterious Photos That Can’t Be Explained (yeah I like it too, Billy!). Five out of five – as always with a BB release!

Plus, the new single from Marillion just dropped. Enjoy!

Till next time …..