From Exmouth we drove 690Km east to a mining town called Tom Price. Named after the mining director who believed that there was a rich supply of Iron Ore in the area. He was right, and it's still coming. We did a mining tour which was pretty cool. Most of the tour group were "Grey Nomads". I hope no one takes offence to this term! They actually call themselves this. Retired folk, traveling around Australia in campervans, Winnebago's and refurbished buses, spending their pensions.

From here we stayed a couple of nights in Karijini national park, exploring Dales Gorge and swimming in the freshwater pools at either end.

We had a free stopover in an old Afghan Cameleer well. These guys were the messengers throughout Australia and are responsible for 75% of the roads and tracks through Australia. Another little fact about these guys is they left a lasting imprint. There are various weeds they left scattered throughout the Kimberleys, one was a soft fluffy seed they used to stuff their saddles with. Another was a cabbage they feed their camels.

We nearly had an incident on the way to Broome. We nearly ran out of petrol. A school boy error. We were running in the red for 45 mins, about 70km. We even began planning what we would do when we came to a halt. But we made it, with only fumes left in the tank. Lesson learned: always fill up when you can!

Arrival into Broome was a bit of an anticlimax as it was raining. But the next 3 days were beautiful, at around 30C. We got a camp site near Cable beach, which is beautiful. 7km of clean, peaceful beach. Highly recommended!

We spent a day doing a tour up the Dampier Peninsula to Cape Leveque. We learnt about the Aboriginal communities, how they lived and how the Government gave them their land back. This allowed them to build their communities again. Another fact: Aboriginals have 6 seasons. All based on animal and plant changes.

There have been various Christian organizations in this area which has helped to establish a better education and health system. The flying Dentist lands in twice a year. No flying Optometrist though!

Broome itself is a small town but has a big history. From early European adventurers along the coast, the pearl boom in the 19 Century and then the Japanese bombing the town in the Second World War.

We had planned to stay another day, but the rains began, so we packed up Audrey and hit the Northern Highway again.