Broome

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It's a long haul to Broome and we stop off in Karatha where we meet Jay who's traveling up and down the coast looking fior work sleeping in a roll under his trailer.  The campsite is like something from deliverance so we set out early next morning and start ploughing through the great sandy desert stopping shortly at beautiful (but flyblown) Port Samson.  We stop for a lunch break at the DeGrey river crossing and heed the crocodile warning!

On the road we pass a number of dead cows horribly bloated by the heat they have a perpetual surprised look frozen on their faces that can only be occassioned by having an 45 meter long road train inserted into the rectum at 150 KPH without so much as a "hello sweetheart, you're pretty, would you like a drink?"

Kim and I have never seen pompey win a football match, at fratton park, on the telly at home, in Phnom Phen, in singapore....all defeats.  Today they play the FA cup semi final .........we can't make it to Broome in time and lo....Pompeys chances were improved it seems in 2005, when a faulty connection in the sattelite box started a fire which razed the Sandfire Roadhouse to the ground leaving just a few porta cabins from which they sell fuel and water and a hard baked red sand and gravel courtyard on which you can park your van under a couple of stunted and shrivelled trees for the night, therefore ideal for a stunted and shrivelled van driver.

Thus helping Yortseemuff avoid the famous Barker jinx.  The guys there do their best to find me a TV, a local farmer pops over to apologise for not having a signal so we give up and watch the milky way rise out of the Great Sandy Desert in a simply awsome display.  We share a beer here with Graham who's just lost his wife, retired and is touring Aus in a converted bus, lovely bloke.

Next day roaring through the desert the mirages get incredible, the heat haze turns everything to silver on all sides.  We pass through swarms of crickets and white butterflies which while beautiful don't do much for the windscreen.

My great old chum (Big) Dave Allen said of Australia, "they all call it paradise then tell you, "don't touch that it'll kill you, if you touch one of those you'll be in a coma, if you see one of those we have to helicopter you out."

Today we arrive in Broome a "Tropical Paradise"  The town beach is just to die for but they've recently spotted a croc....nothing removes the bulge from your speedos quicker than knowing you may be swimming with a crocodile potentially 7 meters long and weighing in at 3/4 tonne that likes to "grip it's prey by the head then go into a death roll". 

If that doesn't do it there are also stingers. Jelly fish around the size of a thumb nail..deadly of course............. On the radio we're told Mozzies are currently carrying Murray Valley encephalitis....... .needless to say it's fatal......the local sandfly carries a bug which will require hospitalisation....oh and there's a little blue octopus...if you touch it..... ..you're dead.

In 38 degree heat Kim and I sit in our armour in the van and play cards.

Seriously .....we are in a spectacular camp site, huge pool, beaut barbies, a couple of great bars selling locally brewed beer, the evenings are very very balmy and between dips in the pool and eskies we're having just the greatest time.  There's a bar here brews its own beers.  Matsos even makes a chilli beer that is too much for me but I know a certain Mr Marsh (most fun drummer to play with in the universe and in favour of anything in the spicy direction) who would just love it.  A liverpudlian barman kindly gives us the news of Pompeys victory so we celbrate with one of each of Matsos fine brews while sitting outside listening to the live music.

Cable beach here is just stunning, if anything the water is too warm, I know that sounds weird when you've experienced sea temperatures in the UK which can change your gender but it is soo hot here you would welcome a refreshing cool dip instead the water is bathwater hot. 

We meet some great folk in Broome, some bikers who are travelling the same way as us and an elderly couple in their 70s retracing a road trip from their youth.  We even bump into a couple of Aussies we met in Cambodia.   A major tramp down the beach brings you to a headland where we have some 350,000,000 year old dinosaur prints, it's a good job they're that old, kind of garauntees you could keeop ahead of the bugger if he chases you cos they estimate he was 3 meters tall to the hip!!