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Gunbarrel | Tanami | East Kimberley | North Kimberley | East Pilbara

BROOME REGION TRIP DIARY
DAYS 36 - 43

We stayed 3 nights – and not once did we use the resort pool or walk to Cable Beach, we were so busy washing, shopping, fishing etc that we always ended up just arriving back in time to drive down onto Cable Beach with our sunset drinks and nibblies.

Colin got his shocks replaced and put his disk-cover in for repair so now we were ready again for more camping.

The Jacka’s drove up to Cape Leveque for a few days, where we have previously been so we decided to check out the beaches north of Broome where we haven’t…

We also decided that we would record the track and provide detailed trip access information on ExplorOz as a trek note for this area as it is certainly worthy for both great beach camping, fishing and just enjoying the coastline – and best of all the camping is free.

We spent most of the day checking out every twist and turn in the tracks, visiting every campsite and consequently ended up getting bogged in sand twice and putting some serious scratches down the side of the car – some of these camps are very rough and overgrown.

We aimed to get as far north as Cape Bertholet but at Point Coulomb the Shire of Broome have posted a sign saying the road north is closed. This sign was ignored by some that we watched continue up and others heeded the sign and turned back. We also turned back but found an ideal beach camp half-way along the coastline between Pt Coulomb and James Prices Point. There is a fabulous view of this sandy coastline looking north from James Price Point and we nearly stayed there but the access to the beach was by scrambling over rough pindan cliffs and not what I had in mind as ideal for our baby. The spot we picked was one of just a few access tracks that lead to the beach proper in this area and the sand was very soft and the tide mark seemed high. The tides were neap for a few days yet we still ensured our camp was set well back. Getting there was the trouble – we got bogged again and even letting almost all the air out of the tyres didn’t work… we almost had to unload the ton of weight in the back when our beach digging and some heavy right-footing on the gas pedal did the job (at 11psi).

In the end, it was an ideal camp and I was able to let Leah crawl around to her heart’s content in the sand.

Other than beach camping at Windabandi Point on the WA coast near Ningaloo, this place is as close to perfect as you can get. For the 3 days we were here no one else even came near us, even to check out the area. Knowing that Broome was full, yet finding total solitude just 50km out of town was proof that we’d found a great spot.

Colin and Sandy could only get one night at Cape Leveque as it too was fully booked so we radioed them our GPS position through the HF radio and they joined us on the Monday night.

During the days the low tide revealed fabulous rock holes for splashing about and Leah just loved! I think she had got over her reluctance with the water now that we are swimming in Broome and not the cool gorges of the GRR.

We had a bit of a scare on Tuesday afternoon when I felt a shock on my hand as I was in a rock pool with Leah and then just as the baby was crawling forward in the sand I noticed a flash of movement and grabbed her out of the water as a blue ringed octopus came into view. We were so slow with the cameras but I have heard that they are prevalent here along with the stonefish. So as nice as they seem, these rock pools are still quite dangerous.

On the fishing side of things, we did OK, catching 2 threadfin salmon. The first was caught on high tide at sunset on Tuesday and was about 70cm whilst the next was smaller at about 45cm and caught on Wednesday morning just before we all packed up to leave.

Reluctantly, our family convoy had to split today. Tearing themselves away from their only grandchild, Colin and Sandy started their journey back east whilst we have another 11 days to make our way back to Perth.

80 Mile Beach is pretty much the start of the Pilbara and for us has always been a favourite stopping point between Broome and Port Hedland. This year we found it much the same, but with an expanded capacity for campers. It's now one of the most popular stop-over points for passing tar-huggers so don't expect much peace! We had to laugh - you come so far from home, yet end up camping closer to people than you live to your neighbours! 

It's a great beach and usually you can catch treadfin salmon right through the season, best caught an hour either side of the high tide. During the low tide you can spend hours strolling the beach for shells.

We had actually planned to spend our days fishing but had learned that no one was catching anything - the locals were saying it was "too cold for salmon", which seemed strange but it was a reason all the same. This caused us a little dilema however, as we had planned on catching enough fish to get ourselves home, or at least to Newman where we could get major supplies. At this point in our trip we had time on our side and no fixed itinery so it was difficult to estimate what we needed. 

As always, we tried to plot a path back to Perth along 4WD tracks, avoiding the main roads as much as possible and attempting to not back-track over roads we've previously driven. By Friday night we'd plotted a 3 day diversion off the beaten track taking in little-known gorges in the East Pilbara near mining country. We had just enough decent food (without using the emergency rations) to make it. I must say however, that we don't eat poorly and even our emergency rations will make up a Vegetarian Moroccan casserole with damper, so we weren't stressed. We also seemed to have more alcohol and cold drinks than usual and plenty of baby food and custard!