Broome to Cape Keraudren, WA

October 2021

A 1,100km trip from Lake Argyle (800km of it in one stint) brought us to the Western Australian coastline - beautiful Broome. After parking the caravan in Frankie & Theresa’s driveway we high-tailed it down to the beach. We were all desperate for the ocean. Walking over the dunes the ocean suddenly appeared and the spectacular turquoise colour left us speechless. We ran down the hill and dived into the ocean, laughing and splashing around, so relieved to be back on the coast after months of outback travel. We were even more impressed with the little bit of swell so Craig and I both had a surf.

A normal catch up with friends in Broome consists of dropping by the bottle shop for some beverages (because there are daily purchase limits in The Kimberley) and taking your 4WD onto the beach for sunset viewing. We spent the next few days doing just this with Frankie & Theresa and their mates. I noticed the smell of herbivorous ungulate poo wafting up the beach and turned around to see a train of camels carrying tourists along the beach (each with a little poo bag hanging off their tale. Craig and I are certain that the employee walking behind the camels with a bag is required to pick up the poop that misses the bag). Shit job! Each and every day we spent on the beach we watched the camels, and usually the odd numpty getting bogged in the soft sand. Broome was a delightful place.

We spent many afternoons with Frankie, Theresa, Aly, Dan and little Grace and Olivia splashing around in the pool and enjoying BBQs. We went searching for dinosaur footprints on the rocky shore nearby, splashed in the water park, visited the Broome markets and Chinatown with its boutique shops and great cafes. Chinatown has been the heart and soul of Broome since the pearling crews set up their camps and corrugated tin sheds in the 1880s. It has added much history to the town of Broome.

I just had to visit the Information Centre to stock up on brochures. Craig and Mali have named me ‘Captain Read’ because everywhere we go I read the information signs and museum displays and must visit the Information Centres. Admittedly, I exit the building with a box full of brochures that guide us into and through the next place we explore because we would not want to miss anything. I am certain they are secretly grateful.

We packed all our camping gear into Yokel and picked up our new car awning and travelled up to the Dampier Peninsula, about 2.5 hours north of Broome. We stayed at

Kooljaman, a remote wilderness camp run by the indigenous Bardi Jawi Communities, on Cape Leveque. The camp had a restaurant and barista coffee (this is a real treat these days!) and a huge selection of tours from bush tucker tours, fishing tours and flights up to Horizontal Falls (this is a spectacular site where fast moving tidal currents squeeze through two narrow gorges – literally waterfalls turned on their side).

Mali met two sisters and within hours they all wanted a sleepover in one of the tents. They were inseparable. We had a wonderful time snorkelling with their mum, dad and grandparents and walking around the cliffs surrounding the cape. The landscape here is stunning – beautiful golden red cliffs, pristine white beaches, a diversity of rocky lagoons for snorkelling and incredibly huge tides. We watched the tide go from 10m to 1m in 6 hours!!

We popped over to Cygnett Bay Pearl Farm, 15km across the other side of the Peninsula. This is one of the longest standing, Australian owned Pearl Farms in Australia. The Pearl Farm tour taught us all about the history of the pearling industry and we were able to open up an oyster shell and pop out a pearl – it was worth $1800!! (no, I did not buy it). Only one in 10,000 pearl oysters (Pinctada maxima) actually produce a pearl! The oysters were originally collected for their mother of pearl shell which was used for the button trade in England and for adornments for the wealthy. Farming methods needed to be developed to guarantee each oyster created a beautiful pearl. We saw a really cool amphibious boat with both wheels and an engine - We stayed for lunch and a swim in the infinity pool - the noodle bowl salad with pearl meat was delicious.

We moved south to Middle Lagoon for one night and camped on a small plateau just above the beach with a spectacular view and sunsets. We watched the tide come and go again and spent the night awake due to the winds flapping the tent all night. Craig slept without a fly on the tent and woke up with a layer of red dust through the tent and grit in his mouth.

We headed back to Broome so I could complete another day of my Meditation Teacher Training, put the car in for a service and spend some more time with our friends. Mali and Grace became great friends and it was hard for her to say goodbye. As we continue on this incredible journey I find that Mali is making stronger and stronger friendships with the people she meets. It is beautiful to watch her growing into a young girl and being confident and authentic with her new friends. The difficulty is that the goodbyes get harder and harder for her. I cannot forget to mention the friendships Craig and I are making. We have met so many incredibly kind and wholesome people and I am a firm believer that you attract kindred spirits if you open your heart to the energy of the universe.

Craig also hooked his first Barramundi!!! After 6 months he finally succeeded (a 60cm beauty)!! Broome was a breath of fresh air for us. Thanks Theresa and Frankie for opening your home to us. We enjoyed every day we spent here.

We headed south 140km towards Barn Hill Station, where we enjoyed two nights at this lovely beachside station stay. After 2 weeks in Broome I had forgotten about the road trip etiquette of lifting a finger, a few fingers or a whole hand at every oncoming caravan, motorhome or camper trailer. I am often concentrating on towing the caravan again and simply forget to ‘lift the finger’. I came up with the idea of creating a gadget that you stick to the steering wheel that has one or two rubber fingers that lift at a voice command. I know, I know, where is my spirit you ask? To be honest, it was great waving at everyone driving up and down the road to The Cape (Cape York) but after almost 7 months I am tired of waving at everyone.

We explored the coloured cathedral-like rock formations on the beach and spent the morning carving cuttlebone shell into all sorts of shapes. We visited Eco Beach Resort (~20km back north) and swung on the beach hammocks and swam in the beautiful ocean. I really enjoyed the open-air showers at Barn Hill and the bird life in the morning was wonderful.

Our next stop (250km south) was 80-mile beach, which is actually Western Australia’s longest uninterrupted beach which extends for 220km. The Marine Park is an important feeding ground for small wading birds and a major nesting area for flatback turtles. We saw several turtle tracks extending from the shore to the dunes behind, loads of sand dollars (urchins) and next to no one on the beach. Mali and I went in for a swim and the next minute Craig came splashing past us stark naked. Mali thought it was delightfully funny.

Sunset behind Cape Keraudren camp

Another 100km south we visited Cape Keraudren Coastal Reserve, which also sits in the Marine Park Zone. Despite the midgies waking me up at 5:30am (yes, they were somehow in the bed) this was one of my favourite camps. Our campsite was fairly secluded and slightly elevated so we could see the ocean below and at night the sunsets were stunning and all the hermit crabs came out to play. At one point, they were all over the ground mat so we decided to play hermit crab races. Mali was wrangling the crabs with her pair of tongs, replacing competitors for each race. We also saw turtles feeding and Craig hooked a massive shovel-nose shark which took quite some effort and time to reel in and unhook.

We are the caravan on the far left of the campsite

We have missed a few things on this leg of the trip including – The Gibb River Road, Purnululu (Bungle Bungles), Horizontal Falls and Karijini National Park so we have decided to find some work over the summer and possibly do a season on the Coral Coast (spanning Cervantes to Exmouth) before heading back up to NT and The Kimberley. So, we will not be home for a while (I hope my boss is not reading this as I have not quit my job yet!).

See you in Exmouth!!!