Week 8 – Fitzroy Crossing to Cape Leveque via a number of very lazy days in Broome – 1,400 kms

Week 8 – Fitzroy Crossing to Cape Leveque via a number of very lazy days in Broome – 1,400 kms

Days 43 to 48 wind down time in Broome, the holiday within a holiday.

Day 43 saw us leave the dry and dusty Kimberley region behind us and head for the slightly cooler weather on the coast at Broome. Desperate to see the coast and unwind the family voted to skip the side trip to Derby and to push on as fast as we could to Broome.

Ah, five and half days of just relaxing. The first 3 nights in Broome were spent in the Cable Beach Caravan Park, we then ditched the van and headed into pure luxury, the Oaks apartments for the next 3 nights. Fred couldn’t believe his luck 3 TV’s and 2 DVD players. Besides TV and DVD, the apartment had 2 bathrooms, 3 rooms and no red dust. To top it off the apartment block had 2 very big swimming pools.
Occasionally we managed to pull ourselves away from the pool and the apartment and venture out. The family went exploring for the Dinosaur footprints at Gantheaume point, watched the sunset over Cable Beach and star gazed with our friendly APT tour guide, Sam, that we befriended in the Bungle Bungles, The girls and I wandered through the Courthouse Market and rode camels along Cable Beach. Pete went off on a fishing charter adventure and caught more fish than he had in all previous fishing trips in total over the last 45 years and brought home 3 very large fish to eat. Given the rest of the family doesn’t really eat fish, Pete fed two other families, that we had become friends with, over the next two nights and was proud of being able to fulfill the Hunter role. Fred got his TV and DVD fix, often refusing to see daylight. All in all everyone had a great time and left Broome ready for our final 4 weeks of adventure.

Day 49 we left the luxury of the Oaks behind and headed into the luxury of the Safari tents at Kooljaman, Cape Leveque. The safari tents aren’t quite the Oaks apartments but who can complain as I sit here on the balcony starring across the white sands and blue waters of the Dampier Peninsula. On the way to Cape Leveque we made 2 small detours, one to Beagle Bay to see the church built by the Pallotive Monks around 1918, which has a beautiful altar made from pearl shells and the second to Middle Lagoon for a refreshing dip. As the sun was setting we spent the early evening collecting shells and swimming in the beautiful clear still waters, that’s living the dream!