Two Sams TravellingThis week we spent the majority of our time in Broome, before making our way South towards Melbourne to get our camper fixed.
Day one
After a bit of an uncomfortable sleep in the swag, we were up early so we could get some things sorted before we made our way to Broome. We were able to change our dates on our caravan park booking in Broome, and Sam got onto someone at our insurance company that was really helpful and provided us with some options for the camper. They were also finding it hard to find someone in Broome who could do the repairs for us and were recommending we travel south towards Geraldton. We decided to have a think about our options and reported the incident to Camping Adventures before packing up and making our way towards Broome. We were given a nice grassy site at the caravan park so we set up the swag and made ourselves a little home for the week. As we were staying in the swag long term, we decided we needed to make it a bit more comfortable and we headed to Clark Rubber to grab ourselves a mattress topper. We then went to a trailer repair place to see if they could have a look at our trailer but it was out of their scope, so we got some diesel and headed to Kabbarli lookout to have a look and a walk around. The colour of the water in Broome is this vivid blue and it is so nice to look at. We headed back to the caravan park and put in our new mattress topper, then spent the rest of the afternoon working out some different plans on what we were going to do for the next few months.
Day two
We had a slower start to the morning and spent the majority of our morning discussing our next steps. Sam tried to contact a few more caravan repair places around Broome to see if they could look at the trailer, but they said it was outside their skillset and even the places they would recommend in Perth had a two month waiting time. We also knew that the Exmouth caravan shop had this timeframe as well as we tried to book in a service the week before. With our time being restricted here in WA and we were going to not see everything we wanted to (plus we missed some things on the Gibb River Road), we made the decision to make our way back to the East Coast and have the trailer fixed in Melbourne. Sam managed to get in touch with Camping Adventures who were able to get us in to have everything repaired and serviced in a bit over two weeks. Our trip plans had changed, but we decided we could come back and do a dedicated WA trip in the future so we could see everything properly and not have to rush it. We were also looking forward to some cooler weather, and there was plenty for us to do in Victoria and Southern NSW. We had some lunch, then decided to go for a drive and check out Coconut Wells. It was very busy when we arrived, but we were able to have a quick look at the water and get some photos. The water was nice and blue here as well and it was high tide when we visited so there were heaps of people floating on the water. It was a bit too crowded for us so we decided to go and do some four wheel driving to see where the road took us. We didn’t get too far before we ended up near some salt water, so we turned around and drove back towards the highway and headed towards the town centre of Broome. We went to Town Beach and had a walk along the jetty, then headed to Chinatown to have a walk around and to get some ice cream. We also had a look at Roebuck Bay Lookout and Streeter’s Jetty and saw heaps of crabs. We then headed to Kmart to grab a new sheet for our swag, then headed back to the caravan park to talk to the family for Sammie’s nephew’s birthday.
Day three
Today we were getting some jobs done and didn’t have too much else planned. We started the morning off getting some washing done, then went and got the groceries done. We alo spent a lot of the day planning out our route to Melbourne and where we wanted to stop along the way. That afternoon, Sam decided to have a look at the trailer with fresh eyes and to our surprise, the roof decided to raise. This was great news for us as we were able to stand in the trailer without crouching down and we could sleep in it! We were very happy to not be sleeping on the ground anymore and have somewhere to keep out of the cold when we headed South. Sam still needed to extract a bolt that was stuck in one of the scissor lifts, so we went to Bunnings to see if we could find a bolt extractor kit. The Bunnings was a lot smaller than what we were used to, but the staff were helpful and we were able to find what we needed. Later on that afternoon, we went for a drive to check out Cable Beach where you can drive along the beach and set up your awning. We were there a bit too early for sunset though, so we spent around half an hour on the beach watching the camels walk past on their tours before heading back to the caravan park for the rest of the evening. Sam was starting to develop a sore, swollen knee and we were hoping it would get better the next day.
Day four
This morning Sam woke up and his knee hadn’t gotten any better. It was still sore and swollen and was quite warm to touch so he decided to try and get an online consultation with a doctor as there was a number of weeks before a doctor had an appointment free in Broome. The doctor confirmed that it was an infection and prescribed some antibiotics, so we got ready for the day and headed into town to grab the prescription from the chemist. Sam then tried to extract the bolt from the camper, but broke the kit he bought yesterday in the process. We spent the rest of the morning at the camper, then after lunch we headed out to try some local alcohol. Our first stop was Moontide Distillery where we ordered one of their three gin paddles to try. They came out really well presented and had yummy fruit in the drinks as well. Each gin was different but they were all delicious. The staff were also really friendly and they had seating both indoors and outdoors. After our gin we went to Matso’s to try some beers. We had already tried the mango beer and ginger beer but we were keen to have it again and also try some of their chilli beers that they had on offer. We got a paddle each and also had some chips to share and all the beers were delicious. Between us we had ginger beer, mango beer, chilli beer, chango beer, angry ranga (spicy ginger beer), a draft and a pale ale. We also had some of their hard lemon alcohol as well that tasted just like lift. After enjoying our beers, we went back to Bunnings to swap out the bolt extractor kit then went back to the caravan park to rest as Sam’s knee was starting to ache.
Day five
We woke up today and Sam’s knee was starting to feel a bit better, so we decided to head out and go for a drive. Our first stop was James Price Point, and this was originally on our list to camp here but we were unable to do so anymore due to the camper breaking. The road out to James Price Point was quite fun and when we arrived the views were amazing. Bright blue water with vivid red dirt, it was so cool to see. It was quite windy when we arrived so we weren’t able to get the drone up but we were still able to walk around and take some photos. We hopped back in the car and heeded to Quandong Beach for a look, then found a dirt road that led to Barred Creek. When we arrived at Barred Creek, the tide was coming in very fast so we decided to not go near the creek, but we went down a track and found a really cool campsite that overlooked the water. We could see how much the tide was rushing in and we spotted some fish in the water. We would definitely look to stay here next time we are in WA as it was a really nice spot to relax and to fish. We then headed out towards the main road and made our way to the road leading into Willie Creek. There is a pearl farm here, but it was a bit too expensive for us so we decided to go and check out the creek and go for a walk. The water here was also really nice, but we had to move away from the water as the tide was coming in very quickly. There was also really nice free camping here too and we were going to have lunch here, but it has gotten very warm so we decided to head back to the caravan park and have lunch in the shade under the awning. That afternoon we did some cleaning and tidying up, then we headed down to Cable Beach at around 4:30 to watch the sunset. We were able to get a nice spot and we bought down our Weber and ingredients to make pizzas, but the Weber decided it didn’t want to work while we were there. Luckily we had our little gas cooker and we were able to improvise. We also managed to break one of our chairs while we were on the beach and it hasn’t been the best week for us in terms of things not breaking! Watching the sunset was really nice though and we are glad we drove down on the beach to do so. After the sun had set, we headed back to the caravan park so Sam could rest his knee.
Day six
Today we were up early as we were keen to go and find some dinosaur footprints and our ideal time to go and see them was around 8:15 when it was low tide. After doing a bit of research, we headed to Riddell Beach and ran into a family who were doing the same thing as us. They pointed us in the right direction to some footprints and we managed to find them straight away. They were really cool to see in person and they actually looked like dinosaur footprints. We couldn’t believe that they hadn’t eroded away after all of these years as well. We got some photos, then went and found some others that were on Wikicamps. These weren’t as spectacular but still cool to see. There are a few places around Broome where you can see dinosaur footprints and there is a bit of information online to do some research. We picked Riddell Beach as it had good reviews on Wikicamps and was easily accessible. We went for a walk along the beach and got to see some very cute dogs as well as the amazing Broome scenery of red dirt and bright blue water. After strolling along the beach for a bit, we decided to turn around, head back to the car and make our way to the Courthouse Markets. These markets are held every Saturday and Sunday during the dry season and are located in the gardens of the Broome Courthouse. There were heaps of different stalls there selling food, drinks, local crafts and tours. We had heard great things about the smoothies and we found the stall quickly as it was the one with the massive line. We each got a drink with local fruit and they were both delicious and definitely worth the wait. We went for a bit more of a walk around the market, but Sam’s knee was starting to hurt again so we went back to the caravan park for a bit of a rest and a pack up before heading back out for lunch at Divers Tavern. Located opposite Cable Beach, this pub was very popular and had heaps of different drinks on tap to choose from. Our lunch came out quickly and both meals were delicious but we were very full afterwards. That afternoon we chatted to the family and tried to avoid the 37 degree heat where we could.
Day seven
We were leaving Broome today to make our way towards Melbourne to get our camper fixed. We had a few big driving days ahead to get us there but we were looking forward to some cooler weather. We headed off from Broome and headed down the highway, and the road was straight, flat and very boring. We stopped in at a 24 hour rest stop and it was quite a large rest stop off the highway, and would be an ok spot to stop for the night if you needed to. We kept driving and Sandfire Roadhouse, where we stopped to have some lunch. We also went into the roadhouse to scope out of they had suitable car snacks, but nothing took our fancy so we kept driving down the highway until we turned off onto a dirt road. We let the tires down and continued driving, and the drive was quite scenic along the way. We got all the way back on the bitumen and made our way a few kilometres down the road until we reached a nice free camp. After it took both of us to work out how to get the chain off the gate, we made our way towards the campsite and found ourselves a nice spot with a great view of the gorge and the surrounding rocks. We walked down to the waters edge to take some photos, then it was dinner time. We spent the rest of the night inside as there were so many bugs hanging around and being annoying, it made it very hard to cook and wash up.
Weekly stats
Number of KMs – 1,039
Number of states – 1
Number of campsites – 2
Number of items lost – 0
Number of items broken – 2
