Day 45 – Mon, 23 Aug to Broome

Yesterday I had a couple of unusual caravans arrive and park next to my tent – talk about one extreme to another. The two couples had just returned from sailing the King Sound for the past 3 months – they were from Fremantle and not sure where they will head next, maybe Bali. You meet all types out here.

I headed out and 5km from Derby is the Prison Boab Tree –   note the change of spelling. Here in the W they use the spelling Boab which is different from NT where they use the South African term, Baobab. Anyway, this tree was used for holding prisoners prior to the construction of the Derby Gaol. Like a lot of older Boab trees they can finish hollow inside – they soak up the rain, can even expand in the wet and hold the water in their fibrous flesh.   They can withstand fire, with the outer skin simply peeling away. Because they don’t have growth rings then they are difficult to age, but many are considered to be over 1,000 years old. The Prison Boab Tree is a fabulous example.

At the same location was the long cattle trough that was supplied water from a bore, for watering the cattle and bullocks after a long drive before heading into Derby to be exported. The concrete trough was build around 1910 and could accommodate over 500 head at a single time.

The trip now took me S and then further W to Broome. It was only a short 250km ride today, but along the way I crossed a bridge with an amazing lagoon beneath. The place was full of white cockatoos and the water had at least 5 fresh water crocs that I could see.

I headed into Broome and this place is totally different to anything I had imagined.   Either side of the road there is scrubby land, and the odd building or enterprise is hidden in behind. The deep red soil is everywhere and the airport separates the Town Centre from Cable Beach which is to the NW.

As I said the scrub comes right into the town, and there are golf courses and resorts in behind. The marsh land is behind the town and the town centre comprises basically single story corrugated steel buildings – as I said totally unexpected.

The newer developments are using more conventional building materials, and the resorts around Cable Beach are the usual style. I am camped at a caravan park about 1km walk to Cable Beach.

After a ride around town to get the lay of the land, I walked down to the beach for my first Indian Ocean swim – well near enough anyway. The turquoise water with the white sand and a backdrop of red earth is beautiful. I waited for sunset – watched the sun disappear into the ocean had some dinner and now I’m in the tent.

The temperature has again been in the mid 30C but the humidity here is considerably higher, making it a little uncomfortable. The past 4-5 nights I have slept only in the mesh tent without a fly, so I have been able to watch the night sky. But with the increased humidity, the nights can become a little moist so I am back to having the fly on the tent – a pity really.