Thursday 22nd August, 2024
We did our shopping, etc. in Broome on Monday morning, had lunch at a café, then took the sandy track to the Observatory. It was challenging, both sandy and corrugated, but we’ve done worse, of course. There were overhanging leaves and branches leading to the campsite, but we managed to get into our spot without scraping on branches.
It was about mid afternoon, with a pleasant breeze when we arrived. We were too tired to go for a walk at that stage, but did join the other campers for the bird count in the evening. I was truly amazed at the variety of bird life. It is truly a wonderful place to have a bird observatory.
On Tuesday we were recovered enough to take a look at the displays. They have a large solar array, and must have battery backup as well, because there is a display and reception centre with air conditioning, and a large room that is used for research also has it. A refuge in the heat, but the displays are really so well done that we visited on our way out yesterday as well.
We went to a viewing platform at out 11.00 a.m. to watch the incoming tide. It is the only time there are any waves, and then just wavelets. We could hear this a bit from our campsite as well. I think we saw one or two birds then, and also in the evening when the tide was out.
When we went down at about 8.00 a.m. yesterday at first it looked like there were no birds. But, we could then see them out where the tide was coming in. We spent about an hour watching the tide come in and enjoying the bird life. I particularly liked a lone egret which reminded me of Leunig’s duck. It had to fly once or twice to get back to shallow water as the bay filled up.
Tuesday afternoon was very trying in the heat, with almost no movement of air. We sat outside and Stephen was bitten just about everywhere by sandflies. He put on some repellent, but perhaps too late. Anyway, there is a better cream that Eversley told us about which we didn’t have on hand.
He had a bad night as he had scratched some of the bites and that made them worse. In the morning I suggested that we give up and begin our trip south. There is a heatwave coming up this way and it’s warm enough now, though the mornings are often really pleasant.
We packed up, then had our last visit to exhibition. We took some video of the drive out so we will remember what it was like. When you have glimpses of the sea the contrast of colours is amazing.
At Roebuck Roadhouse we filled up with water and fuel, then bagged a shady spot for the van and went to the tavern for lunch. We stayed in the air conditioning for a couple of hours, then headed to our free camp at the Goldwire Rest Area. It has full facilities, toilets, a dump point and skips for rubbish. The toilets have water on a hand lever, but the dump point doesn’t and I’m not looking forward to using it. But, we need to.
Our strategy worked in that when we arrived at Goldwire there was a cool breeze which continued for a while after sunset. By then it was cool enough for the fans to keep us comfortable.
We had a problem with the batteries running low. I think I forgot that we have to be frugal when not driving even though we have solar. Anyway, we hope to have a powered site for tonight at a roadhouse. Hope to, but it may not happen as everyone else on the road wants power too!
Overall, the visit to the Broom Bird Observatory was a good experience and I’m glad we went. The receptionist said that June and July are better months to come there as it’s cooler.
There is a breeze this morning, which started at about 7.30 a.m. Before that the dew was so heavy that the toilets looked like they had been hosed down. The condensation inside was pretty heavy as well.
PM update: it was about 12.30 p.m. when we arrived here at Sandfire Roadhouse they had a powered site available, so we are able to keep cool in the late afternoon, which seems to be the hottest part of the day. There is a strong breeze, but it isn’t cooling, so far (4.30 p.m.).
Looking at the next few days we may need to have powered sites as much as we can. We have one more overnight before Port Hedland, and have booked the caravan park for Saturday night already. In discussing the route home, whether inland or near the coast, we came to the conclusion that inland might have slightly cooler nights and offers as many free and paid options for camping. We are not sure whether to visit Tom Price and Karijni, and it all depends on the temperature and how we are feeling. The heat is tiring, even though we have air conditioning whilst driving.
We haven’t stopped enjoying the day to day travelling, finding parkups, and so on. But, we are perhaps a bit over sight seeing due to the heat and the long time we have been on the road. We are looking forward to staying at Mingenew for two or three nights with Marie and Geoff before actually heading home. It should be a bit cooler that far south, in fact, we may miss out on clear night skies due to rain. But we will have a chance to rest and enjoy being in one place. There might still be wildflowers to see.
