Day 18 Fitzroy Crossing to Broome

Right. Where do I start with today? At the beginning I suppose. About 5am to be precise.

We had decided to get up early and not pack up the van to go and do a tour at Geike Gorge which is just out of Fitzroy Crossing. We were up in plenty of time and could have easily packed up by this time but we took things easy and got out to the Gorge early. The guide was surly and grumpy and we wondered what on earth we had signed up for. He kept taking peoples money and making more and more inappropriate comments and we trooped down to the boar on the river with more than a little apprehension. Well, as soon as he was on the boat and we were off it was like he had found his charm switch and he was off and running, hardly taking a breath in his wonderful presentation of “his place” which was truly amazing.

So, back to the van, pack up and hitch and off we go for an easy drive into Broome, right? Only 396ks man. Nope, Wrong. We decided that the Lennard River Rd looked pretty good, not too far. So we diverted.

Had we driven straight through and not spent an hour at Tunnel Creek (wow!!) and Windjana Gorge (beautiful) we may have gotten to Broome before 7pm and not have had to set up in the dark. Just before 5pm we exited the western end of the Gibb River Rd (totally boring) and with sinking hearts we realised that we still had to drive 214km to Broome. Tense couple of hours I can tell you was we watched the cloud blotted sun sink lower and lower over the western horizon we were facing. To make things even more exciting we were entertained by a massive electrical storm (2 actually) that seemed to be right where we were going. So even if we could find the caravan park and get into it after hours we were faced with the possibility of setting up in the dark (definite) and the rain (definite possibility).

To cut a very long day short, we found the place, the manager was funny and helpful and took pity on us, it had stopped raining but we couldn’t do anything about the dark except turn a few lights on. And that we did. Magnificent dinner later, a bit of a movie and the blog updated. 10:30pm and I am ready for bed, just a little fatigued but awed and grateful for the magnificent things we have seen today, the safe driving by Keith and the smiling face of the caravan park manager as he opened the office door for me. Praise be, indeed.