For some time now we have had a cruise in the wonderful Kimberley region of our beautiful state on our “bucket list”. We booked our cruise through Odyssey Expeditions in March 2015 along with our good friends Glenn and Tricia. The plan was to tow our vans to Broome, leave them and the cars at the Odyssey depot, fly to Kununurra and board Odyssey for a cruise from Wyndham to Broome. The excitement grew as our departure date grew closer!
Thursday, 17 March – Day 1
Perth to Cliff Head
We’re off! Our schedule for the drive to Broome is very leisurely, The longest day only involving about a 450 km drive. This is very slow by our past standards, however now that we are retired we can afford to take things a little slower. Additionally, our friend Tricia was diagnosed with mesothelioma mid 2015 and the shorter drives might make her travel just a little more comfortable.
We made arrangements with Glenn and Tricia to meet up on the freeway north via text communications. Our timing worked out well and we hooked up with our travel companions exactly as planned.
The drive along the Indian Ocean Drive was pretty. There was som rain as we drove, but not enough to wet our spirits. After a short stop for lunch at a lookout with 180 degree views of the Ocean we pushed on to our planned stop for the night; a roadside rest area called Cliff Head. We arrived at about 2.15pm and parked our vans up near the ocean. There was only one other motorhome there although a few others rolled in later in the afternoon.
Set up was a breeze, the Trooper makes this very easy! We had a small explore around the area – there are some nice camp sites off the main carpark for those wanting to stay a little longer (stays of up to 72 hours are permitted). It wasn’t long before we settled down for a few drinks to celebrate the beginning of our journey. We were joined by a fellow traveller, Greg for a chat and a few drinks. Premade stew for tea and then off to bed!
Friday, 18 March – Day 2
Cliff Head to Nerrin Nerrin
We awoke today and prepared a leisurely breakfast. We only had about 270km to travel today so we could afford to take our time. We fuelled up at 40/40 Roadhouse just north of Geraldton (113.9c/l). The plan was to stop in Geraldton to pick up some forgotten supplies for us and some thongs for Glenn, however we decided whilst on the road that Northampton might be a better option.
We arrived at the Nerrin Nerrin rest stop at about 1pm. The temperature was starting to warm up and as we were planning an afternoon nap we decided to get the generator out and fire up the air conditioner. Whilst I was fiddling around I decided to test the satellite TV system – all worked well. Glenn however was having less luck. His air conditioner popped relays on his generator and van. It took us a while to figure out where the relays were located, but after some fiddling around we sorted it out and all was good. The problem in the end was not only the relays in his van, but also one on the power cord that came with his generator.
We had another nice evening, enjoying a few beers in the shade. The flies were terrible, but after the sun set they went to bed and left us alone. Just before sunset, two escorted wide loads drove into the rest area. They are supposed to stay in the truck area closer to the road, but one decided to bring his rig right to the rear of the rest area where we were camped. After parking he fired up a big generator which he ran late into the night. In fact, we suspect it would have run all night if Glenn had not decided to inform him that running generators late into the evening was not very courteous.
Saturday, 19 April – Day 3
Nerrin Nerrin to Minilya River
We awoke early this morning thanks to our courteous truckie starting his truck at first light and running it for about half an hour before he left. (Some people are just plain ignorant, but we are increasingly finding truck drivers treating other travellers with contempt though their misguided sense of entitlement in that they seem to feel that they are, or should be, priority users of the road system.)
Today was our longest day on the road – 470km to travel. We headed off to Carnarvon where we intended to top up both fuel and water. Water was the first stop. Glenn shared a new gadget with us, a water filling tube that makes topping up the tanks a dream! After water we topped up fuel at the roadhouse (127.9c/l) and pushed on up the road a short way to stop for lunch.
Today whilst we were travelling we could hear our 12 volt solenoid clicking in and out continually. This has happened before and seems to be as a result of the van attempting to draw power from the car in cloudy conditions or early in the morning before the sun has risen enough to take over charging the battery. The low power output from the Landcruiser alternator seems to be the issue. Annoying, but not a big issue really. The day was very cloudy and stayed that way all day.
Paula had her first drive of the van and car today!
We reached our overnight stop at Minilya River at about 2.30pm where Steve decided to set up the extra solar panel to try to top up the batteries as we were parked in partial shade. This was the first day of the trip where we didn’t reach float on the battery system, but we still had plenty of power.
The flies were very friendly again today, but there were not as many as at Nerrin Nerrin, but their annoyance was offset by the sound of the corellas in the trees by the river bank – we love this sound, it reminds us of the north of the state.
Sunday, 20 March – Day 4
Minilya River to 40 Mile Beach (Gnoorea Point)
We were up and packed up ready for the road by 8am this morning. Travelling was good with a tail wind most of the way! There were extensive road works stretching for miles and we were forced to travel at 40kph for very long stretches. Once again the truckies seemed to think that road rules don’t apply to them and we were overtaken by large roadtrains that were travelling at least twice the posted speed limit and against the posted no overtaking signs. Being overtaken by these beasts on very narrow dirt side roads was not fun!
The weather was cloudy early on, but eventually the skies cleared and we were back in the very warm northern temperatures. We had lunch at the Robe River Rest Area. A good overnight stop for those needing it, We decided to fuel up at the Fortescue Roadhouse (138.7c/l) before turning off the main highway and heading in to 40 Mile Beach. We arrived some time between 2 and 3 pm and found a couple of good sites with wonderful ocean views.
Glenn and Tricia’s son-in-law Luke was at the beach with their grandchildren, Jensen and Declan who live in nearby Karratha. Whilst they caught up we decided to set up our off-side shade wall and awning as we were planning to stay a couple of days.
We shared a few beers with the Edwards family and had a lovely steak for dinner! A rest day tomorrow.
Monday, 21 March – Day 5
40 Mile Beach
We had a very relaxing day today. We woke early, but lazed in bed reading the paper (we download it onto our iPads) as we had phone reception, thus internet. Steve prepared scrummy bacon and eggs for breakfast.
Glenn and Tricia’s daughter Karina and the grandkids visited this morning. Whilst they were catching up, we decided to go for a walk to have a look at the camping sites that are available during the winter months. 40 Mile is a nice place with a boat ramp and it gets very popular in June/July. Whilst wandering we saw a pair of Beach Stone Curlews wandering near the mangroves. Glenn had pulled out his fishing rod and was fishing off some rocks on our return. We went to watch him for a while and we were also joined by Trish, Karina and kids so Glenn took the opportunity to give them a short fishing lesson. Whilst he was doing this Steve noticed a mud crab in a crab hole in the rocks so he shot back to the van to get his crab hook. He fished around in the rather extensive crab hole for some time, but he wasn’t able to find the crab. Just as well that Paula had something planned for dinner anyway.
The wind strengthened during the day and it became quite windy and hot. We were plugged into Glenn’s generator today to fully top up the batteries. The cloud in the morning had slowed the charging system down a little so it was good to be able to top up. We tried to have an afternoon nap, but it was far too hot and sticky. In the end we gave up on the nap, donned our bathers and went for a wallow in the ocean. We had to make the most of it as the tide was going out and we were losing water fast.
We each went our own way for tea and then had an early night ready to head to the de Grey River tomorrow.
Tuesday, 22 March – Day 6
40 Mile Beach to De Grey River
We awoke at 6am after a very warm night. The breeze dropped of a little overnight, which made packing up easier. The off-side shade was easy to remove and pack up (far easier than setting it up in shady conditions). We used the dump point to lighten our load and then we were on the road again. Steve took a bit longer as he had to fiddle with his Spot satellite tracker to get it working.
We made a detour into Karratha to top up our water supplies. They have a great arrangement at the Tourist Information Centre where travellers can top up from a pay as you go system. It’s very cheap costing only a dollar or so to fill both vans up. We then chugged on towards Port Hedland.
We arrived in South Hedland at about 12.30pm and the temperature had clibed to a cosy 39 degrees C! As it was lunch time we decided to treat ourselves to the buffet Chinese that our friends put us onto last year. The food is well prepared and plentiful and you can eat as much as you like for $14 each! Real pensioner value! We left the restaurant feeling very bloated did a little top up shopping at the South Hedland Shopping Centre and then fuelled up at the Caltex that was on the way out of town (120.9c/l).
We arrived at the De Grey River at about 3pm and found a lovely shady campsite near the river. There was some water in the river which made it all the more attractive. It was still pretty hot so we decideded to go for a little walk to explore. This is a very nice campsite if you are down by the river, but very dry and dusty if you stay in the area up by the road.
We finished the day watching the sunset with a few drinks and taking some photos of the roadtrains on the bridge over the river. A good day.
Wednesday, 23 March – Day 7
De Grey River to Port Smith
We awoke early again this morning. The night had been very still and quite warm. We hit the road by about 8.30 am and had a good run through to Sandfire Roadhouse where we filled up with the most expensive fuel of the trip so far (149.9 c/l).
After purchasing and ice cream each as a treat we continued on up the road. (We wouldn’t recommend the ice creams from this roadhouse. When we opened them they were almost melted – obviously the freezer in the shop was struggling in the heat!) The road into Port Smith is about 20km of dirt. It was sandy rather than gravel and was reasonably well maintained. We opened the pressure hatch on the Trooper before driving it and were really happy that we had no dust in the van on our arrival. We made it to the office around 12.30pm, just before they shut up for an hour or so for lunch. We booked in, paid the $42 for the night and hooked up to power and water. It was sooooo hot! Our air conditioner had a real work out!
There is a lagoon near the caravan park that has some good fishing, however we din’t get to explore it as it would involve unhitching the van and it was just far too hot and humid. Something for next time. The park was well maintained and very quiet at this time of year. We did have a friendly family of kangaroos numbering in the 20’s that lazed around under trees in the shade. We took the opportunity to take a nap in the cool and to catch up on some washing ready for the final run into Broome in the morning.
Thursday, 24 March – Day 8
Port Smith to Broome
Once again we awoke at about 6.30am but there was no rush. We only had a short 180km trip to Broome, so we planned to leave Port Smith by 9am which we achieved easily.
When we reached the bitumen our phones suddenly came to life. Both Glenn and I had messages left by the Kununurra Country Club, the accommodation we had booked for the night before we departed on the cruise. Apparently the management had decided that as we were staying on Good Friday and as bookings were low that they would shut the restaurant and bars down! We were offered a preordered cold meat and salad plate that would be left in our room’s fridge. Steve was rather indignant about this arrangement and the late notice given to customers and after a few phone calls back and forth, the manager found an alternative venue for our evening meal and arranged complimentary transfers from the hotel and back again. We also had transfers from the airport included and Steve organised these at the same time.
We made it to Broome by about 11am and made our way to the Odyssey Expeditions depot where we were to stay and store our vans and cars whilst we were on the cruise. After we set up we decided to head to town for a look around. On the way Steve’s phone rang again – more Drama! The flight details that Steve had given the manager of the resort didn’t match the schedules she had. There was no flight at the time our documents said we were to arrive. Steve made a phone call to the airline and was informed that our flight had been changed some time ago to an earlier one and that the details had been emailed to Odyssey Expeditions – only trouble was that they hadn’t informed us. We were so lucky as if we had turned up at the airport at the time listed on our documentation we would have missed the flight and possibly the cruise. It turned out that our flights had changed a couple of times after we booked with Odyssey and the final change was overlooked.
Once all of this was sorted out we had a look around town and called into Matso’s Brewery for a beer. While we were there we discovered that the Stairway to the Moon was occurring this evening so we decided to go back for dinner and have a look.
Back at the depot we all showered and dressed ready to head to Matso’s. Unfortunately there was to be no Stairway to the Moon for us as instead the thunder clouds slowly built up and we were treated to a Kimberley wet season thunder storm instead. It was just as spectacular and the rain cooled things down temporarily at least. The venue, meal and company were all wonderful and we enjoyed our evening in Broome. All too soon it was back to the depot and off to bed ready to pack, and prepare for the cruise.
