Our first 2 days were spent relaxing by the pool at Cable Beach Caravan Resort and looking around Broome. This before we hit the road to explore some of the wonders of the West Kimberleys. Some of these highlights include:
* touring the first 160km of The Gibb River Road. A bumpy and dusty 4wd track to Tunnel Creek and Windjana Gorge. We were so pleased we made the effort (many hours of driving without being able to go too fast considering we don't have a 4wd).....
.......Tunnel Creek was dark and very scary in parts. Jen chickened out at the entry and decided to wait for us while we did the walk. The girls thought this gave them the option to stay behind, but this was a definite NO from me. This was an experience they both needed - walking through waist deep water in complete darkness with the only light provided by the torches we were carrying. Yes, there was the possibility of crocs in the water and there were hundreds of flying foxes above, but we were all very pleased we had managed the walk when we got back. The creation of the creek in the tunnel really was amazing!!
...... Windjana Gorge was the next stop of the day. This probably should have been our first stop as by the time we arrived the crocs were so hot they were all back in the water - except one, which we rushed to have photos taken with and then it slid away quickly after Jen posed for her photo. This meant Zali and I missed out with the photo opportunity, but we weren't complaining!! We have never seen so many crocodiles 'peacefully' in the water, floating with the tide and oblivious to the humans on the banks of the gorge stunned by their easy going nature.
* On arriving back into Broome, we had booked into Roebuck Bay Caravan Park. Although the amenities weren't great, the view from our ocean front spot was worth the stay. Us, the grass, sand and water of the bay. Huge tides in and out over the mud flats created the most beautiful views and as the moon became a full moon we were able to witness the wonderful natural occasion of the Staircase to the Moon - an illusion which we struggled to capture with our photography....
* Lots of shopping also happened when we were back in Broome - pearls (not for me....), clothes, swimmers, books..... this led to a girls only day - again more shopping - and then a night trip to Sun Cinemas outdoor theatre for our second viewing of Bran Nue Dae. This movie is a favourite of Zali and Ella's and with the sound track having played in the car since we first went to see the movie, the girls happily sang along second time around.
* a trip to Gantheaume Point to see the dinosaur print early one morning. Unfortunately, Zali was asleep for the early morning trip and someone had to stay with her. Ella was not overly impressed with her early morning wake up call, but enjoyed the opportunity when she got there. The dinosaur prints can only be seen at a very low tide and these are either early in the morning or during the night.
* the beauty of sunsets over Cable Beach continued to enthrall us and the girls loved nothing more than driving onto the beach and having the sun set behind them as they played happily on and in the sand. We LOVE the photos we have taken over the past few weeks - every sunset has been different.
* after watching the camels everyday on the beach, we were all more than happy when we finally booked our camel ride for 7.30 this morning. 40 minutes sitting up on the camel was more than enough - my bum is still hurting more than 12 hours later!! - we rode Rasheed, while Jen and Ella rode Lazy Dazy behind us. We strolled along the beach at a leisurely pace and this was painful enough. We would hate to be on it when it reaches maximum speed of 58km/h!! Camel Conner, behind Jen and Ella, took a special liking to Jen and Ella thought it was hilarious that it kept licking Jen on the back. I don't think Jen was so impressed!!!
* 6 nights of luxury...... Jen so kindly booked us in to 2 resorts for the final nights of her stay with us. We started with 4 nights at The Frangipani and we all thought this was pretty special. Adjoining rooms, our own gazebo of day beds, relaxing pool..... This was great until we checked into The Pearle of Cable Beach..... I will let the photos attached do the talking, but we were blown away with such luxury and space!!
Jen and Ella leave us on Saturday and we are sad to see them go. We are especially sad that Ella's 3 months with us is over already. We have LOVED having her with us on our trip and will miss her help, friendship, love, sense of humour and the ease in which she deals with Zali's quirks and frustrations (she has saved Zali on many occasions!!).
Who is going to help us set up the van with bed ends, roof, awning, stabilising legs, water bucket, power? She has been so obliging and more than happy to pull her weight during her time with us. Ella has also had to often make a mad dash from the showers back to the van if I had forgotten something vital for the showers!!
On top of this, I have had her working her butt off on the school front. Miss Ella heads back to school having completed the school work her teachers set, 3 terms of work in her Maths Mentals book and Maths textbook, a years worth of reading comprehension activities, a detailed written and pictorial journal of memories, her blog (which will be finished tomorrow) and a video presentation of the highlights of her trip (set to our road trip music) to share with her class on her return to school.
Yes, there have been some difficult times in getting all this done, but the look of happiness on her face with all she has learnt and experienced over the last 3 months of her life has been worth the effort. Thanks for sharing this experience with us Ella (and thanks to your mum and dad for letting you come with us!!). We will all miss you and love you lots and lots!!
Where to now for us...... on Monday (can't leave until we know the NRL winners, not like this AFL rubbish result) we head to Port Headland, Karijini National Park, Exmouth and Coral Bay. We are aiming to be in Perth by the second week of November, especially as I am due for some tests in Perth. We will then cruise around Perth and possibly Kalgoorlie before I fly home from Perth in early December to join my family for Michael's first anniversary.
Still so much to see and do in this GREAT country of ours. Missing everyone more than you can imagine and I hope you enjoy the link below to a selection of our most recent photos.
Love to everyone,
Ange, Pete and Zali
xxxx
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=272097&id=530087017&l=589c6c9cb8
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