Towards Broome

We refuelled and then visited the Halls Creek tourist information centre to ask about a dump point for our toilet cassette. We thought that the local caravan park might have one, but we were surprised to find out that the nearest one was 117 km south. Fortunately, we were heading that way; otherwise, we'd have to dig a large hole and bury the contents as we have done in the past.

 

We continued along the Great Northern Highway, heading towards Mary Pool. Luckily, we had enough of our own water to flush and clean our cassette, as there was no water supply available for that purpose. I counted just over twenty vans camped here, and we couldn't believe what a cesspool this campsite was. There are eco-toilets and rubbish bins with lids, but toilet wipes and toilet paper were scattered around the entire site. What a bunch of lazy grotbags, all happy to camp amidst all that filth. They will be the first to complain when these types of sites are permanently shut down.

 

Our plan had been to stop early and stay at another free campsite known as Ngumpan Cliffs. But because we were making such good time, we just stopped in for a quick look before continuing on. This site was completely different from the previous free camp, with not a piece of litter to be seen anywhere.

 

We stopped briefly in Fitzroy Crossing before driving another 43 km, then turning north onto the Leopold Downs Road for the 11 km trip into the RAAF Boab quarry rest area. Even though it was a short distance, we still needed to reduce our tyre pressures because the corrugations were quite severe. At one stage, we had to drive in the soft sand on the side of the road to escape the bone-jarring ride. At one point, I had to engage the low range to continue.

 

The material from the quarry was mined to build the Curtin Air Force Base south of Derby. The quarry is generally filled with water, making a lovely campsite surrounded by boab trees. Still, unfortunately, I didn't read the latest WikiCamps entry, which mentioned that the water had all evaporated. A poor wet season contributed to this. Anyway, we found a nice spot for the night.

 

This guy refused to move for several minutes, so we couldn't continue, even after I sounded the horn.

Leaving last night's camp, we stopped on the road for several more boab photos. I never seem to tire of looking at and photographing these trees, although I think Ros is maybe over it.

After reaching the bitumen, we continued heading west, but not before stopping at a rest area for morning tea and, yes, you guessed it, another boab to photograph. 

We passed the Willare Bridge Roadhouse 187 km later and, after another 145 km, arrived at the Roebuck Plains Roadhouse. We booked into Broomes Gateway Caravan Park for two nights. The park is located 30 km east of Broome, and the sites are very large, but there is no power unless you have solar or a generator. Our idea was to see if we could secure a site in Broome and were lucky enough to book one at the Roebuck Bay Caravan Park. It’s the only caravan park in Broome that has a view of the water. While our site is not beachfront, we do have this view from under our annex.