30th August 2008

Today we left the west coast of Australia and started our way back to the east coast.
We left Broome at about 0720 after packing most of the external items like the awning and floor sheet. This made for a reasonable job this morning. There were only items like the electrical cords and the water hose to wind up. They all had to be wiped to remove the lovely red “pindan” soil. It is unique to the Kimberley and west coast. It is attached to many items and we will have memories of it for a long time.
Just after we left the Tarangau Caravan Park, I decided I had better just check the tyre pressures before the tyres warmed up. After having let them down in the sand several days ago, I found that they were not quite where they should have been. Luckily, I have an electric air compressor and tank to enable jobs like this to be undertaken without stress.
Just on two hours after we departed Broome, we arrived at Willare Bridge Roadhouse. It was nice to stop and have a break for half an hour. Prue had a cup of tea and I had an iced coffee that was in a carton as well as a nice muffin each.
Eventually, we set off again on the road to Fitzroy Crossing. We turned off the Broome-Derby Road onto the Great Northern Highway a short distance from Willare Bridge Roadhouse.
Along the road, we stopped under a shady tree to have our lunch of sandwiches that we had purchased at the Roadhouse. They were nice and fresh which can be a real bonus in this part of Australia. Then we moved onto to Fitzroy Crossing where we arrived just after 1300.
As Prue was walking up to the Reception Office of the Fitzroy River Lodge Resort, I started a conversation with a man in the vehicle in front of me. He and his wife, Ken and Irene Devlin, come from Prue’s old home town of Dunedoo and remembered her late parents. They also lived not far from Prue’s parent home. How often this has happened as we travel.
Anyway, we have booked in for 3 days here at this beautiful location. It has just about everything one could wish for, even a lovely swimming pool, tavern, bistro, restaurant, etc. It has lovely shaded areas and the dust compared to Tarangau is almost non-existent. So we set up on a reasonable grassy site with power and water. The awning also is up.
Then we went for a nice swim and chatted to some in the pool. As we left the pool we booked to go on the Geikie Gorge and town tour on Monday. Then back for a shower and to meet up with our former neighbours from Tarangau, Peter and Lyn, who were doing the Windjana Gorge, Tunnel Creek and Geikie Gorge tour before returning to Broome.
Of course we had some drinks at the Tavern and then back to the camp for dinner and some nice Hardy’s Merlot with Peter and Lyn. We said goodbye until we may see them in Ballina later in the year.
So that ended or day in a new location.