A BIG country.2

A BIG country.2

Posted on 18 Dec, 2008 13 comments

A BIG country – part 2.

The next morning Saturday 6th we left again at 9 am, direction Port Hedland. From here we could just be on the open road, at times not seeing another car for 20 minutes, and with those straight roads, which just roll on and on, one can easily drive 120kms for hours on end. Heading in NE direction according to our compass I felt finally we were going in the right direction. We were now driving on the North West Coastal Highway. Very interesting country side, rather bare, but colours magnificent. Tufts of yellow grass on purple hills, rocks here and there, then changing in pink and lilac, pastures here and there. Crossing thousands of grids for cattle, even cattle crossing in front of us over the Highway, it really makes you believe this is a BIG country.



People own cattle stations as large as thousands of acres, and so fences are not always what they used to be, and warnings of cattle crossing are everywhere. I would just hate to drive there at night. We saw quite a few dead cows and calves along the road and also dead kangaroos and consequently lots and lots of eagles gliding over all those carcasses. Of course sometimes even the eagle dies…..and just lies there drying out. Well, this is all part of nature. The road is endless and sometimes boring, and a stop at the Roadhouses on the way to get petrol, fill our drink supplies ( tomato juice, grapefruit juice, orange juice, milk ( for Radar ) ) and just stretch our legs provided a nice change. But not once did I ever fall asleep, it was all too exciting to know you are on an expedition, seeing things you have never seen in reality in your life. We stopped every two and a half hours or so. There are good rest area’s, some with trees and toilets or shelters where you can have a pic nic lunch. But the flies were in great amounts swarming around us, so the stops were brief. This red dirt is powdery fine, but it surely makes the country side look so very special, it really is Australia.
This night we stayed at another caravan park, but this one was not so dog friendly. The woman even asked for a $50.- bond for the dogs, and if she would find out the dogs would have been in your cabin, you’d loose your bond. I didn’t really care, 50 bucks would be cheap enough for two dogs’ accommodation, but Paul said, you also would have to take your dog outof the cabin if found out. Next morning I saw here checking peoples cars to see if there dogs had been sleeping in it and not in the rooms. Oh well, we never go there again, there was not even a veranda where they could be tied up and sleep, and the carport ( even roofless, just imagine when it rains ) was inundated with green ants. We let the dogs sleep in the car, but left early, as at sunrise the temperature rose drastically. After recharging our supplies, fuel for the car and for our stomachs, we continued. Less and less cars to see on the road and we steadily drove for hours at 120 kms speed. This is the main reason why we could reach our destination so soon.
Who can drive for hours at that speed, not being overtaken of passing any cars, and still be in the same State or country? Not many people will have that experience. I can tell you, it makes you realise how insignificant we are and how huge this place is. Those endless roads will remain in my memory for ever.
Well, we are now heading for Broome, NE on the compass, outside temperature 32C. The country here looks barren, but closer to Broome more vegetation noticable. Argyle apple trees ( not real apples ) growing everywhere, but only small, not like the ones we had on our farm. After a good drive we came to the turn off to Broome. Another 34 kms and we arrived at a very nice Caravan Park. But contrary to our information, dogs were not allowed on the park, only if you were travelling with your own caravan. Too bad. The girl was very helpful and gave us a phone number of a homestay. Lucky here our mobile worked, as for most of the way there is no coverage, only within 20 kms of a bigger town. We were in luck. The farmstay which is called Pearlers Rest Farmstay, had several rooms, all vacant. Dogs were welcome, so we were happy. We could let them walk around the paddock and under the trees. There was a veranda where they could sleep under shelter, and as we were early, also in the shade. The owners were very nice and also had little children and dogs. They came from WA, the woman even from Waroona. It was pretty hot in Broome, and one of there first thunder clouds appeared in the sky. I heard the thunder and saw just this one cloud, a bit like a mushroom shaped cloud.



But no rain eventuated. The farmstay was very close to the turn off and so about 30 kms from Broome, which is the reason we never went back to Broome to see the place. Broome is definitely dog unfriendly, and also because of the heat we didn’t want to visit it with the dogs. In the evening of that Saturday we could leave them tied up on the veranda post in front of our room and under a caring eye of the owners, whilst we had a lovely meal in the Roadhouse, just a km away. Nice people, good service, good food and plenty of it and reasonably priced too.

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