Exmouth to Broome

Day 46 to 49
19 March to 22 March 2009

We headed down the peninsula and did some snorkelling while enjoying the scenic coastline along the way. We passed some wild emus, kangaroos and a swagman walking with all his possessions on his back.

Kim - the snorkelling was lovely at the first place but when we went to the second, which was supposed to be the best area, I didn't have any flippers and couldn't get out because of the strong current. Very disappointing.

We headed back to Exmouth where I went for a swim in the pool and Chris just sweltered in the camper.

The following day, was a big one and we headed off to Karratha. The heat, as usual, was unbearable. We did 575 kms over 8 hours which is not a good way to travel on a bike in the heat. It's not going to happen again. As I was riding, I was pretty down because of the heat and I looked over and saw 2 emus which helped lift my spirits a bit. A bit later as I was looking at the ant hills I noticed a couple of dirty, creamy looking small boulders on the side of the road, I was checking them out and as I got closer, they jumped up and ran away. They were sheep curled up asleep and scared the daylights out of me but it was fun to see them. Then, futher down the track, I saw a burst tyre. As I got closer, it ran across the road. It was a lizard about a meter long. Not long after that, a grasshopper jumped onto my helmet visa and stayed there for about 50 km. When I eventually stopped, he was still very much alive and wasn't fussed on getting off. It was a nice change to having insects splat on me.

Karratha wasn't much fun so the next day we headed to Port Hedland. The heat was still atrocious so we tried to find a portable air conditioner for the camper, but without success. There was no shelter for us at the caravan park so I went for a swim. Port Hedland would have been interesting to stay at for a while except for the heat. We saw trains that were at least a couple of kilometres long. They looked like theyd never stop. We also BHP ore piles which were enormous, and what looked like a salt farm.

After Port Hedland, we travelled to 80 Mile Beach. We had to turn off and travel down a not so good, dusty, sandy, red road. I got 5 km down and had enough, so Chris jumped on my bike and road the rest for me. The caravan park here was lovely and shady but still hot. A chook kept visiting us which was nice. The beach was beautiful with a high tidal drop but unfortunately we couldn't go swimming as stingers are still in the area. I met a man who does a couple of hundred kilometres of coastal watch each day on his quad bikes. He has 2 sets of 2 quads. One quad will tow the other quad on a trailer with fishing rods etc. so if it breaks down he has a way of getting back. He was a lovely, interesting man to talk to.