Day 26 14/06/2013 Derby to Broome.

Loud music playing, (somewhere.....unlikely to be in the caravan park), until 4 am, did not allow for a restful sleep. It was our first noisy night of the trip and did not endear to us to Derby! Mind you, Derby does not really have a lot to offer the tourist. It is most notable for its 12m tidal variation and large population of Boab trees! It does not have a beach, only mud flats, but if you are into fishing or crabbing, then this is the place for you! There are magnificent sunsets to be seen from the jetty, and Derby is close to the Buccaneer Archipelago and the amazing Horizontal Waterfall. We departed the caravan park just after 6am, intending to have breakfast en route. Not far down the road, the engine warning light came on again, and so we decided to drive the 220km to Broome without stopping! It was a tense trip but the vehicle performed well and did not appear to be having difficulty pulling in fuel. Our first port of call,(mainly because it was on the outskirts of town), was to the auto-electrician, re the brake light problem. He did a temporary fix on that, but we are going to have something more permanent done by leaving the camper trailer with him when we fly out of here on Monday. We continued on our way into town and found a little cafe where we had breakfast. Then it was off to a car wash because our camper and vehicle were both seriously in need of a hose-down! After that we headed out to a caravan park at Cable Beach and checked in for three nights. We even put the awning up!!!! We are almost permanent residents! Well, of course, I'm joking. The majority of campers here have huge caravans and drive up from the southern states for 3 months or more to escape the winter. We actually met a couple from Victoria, at the caravan park in Alice Springs, who were doing just that....and had been doing it for the past 6 years!!!! ( You can get to Broome without travelling on any unsealed roads).

After setting up camp we headed off to the Nissan service agent. He agreed to look at the car at around 3pm. I spent the intervening time treating myself to a, (much-needed), pedicure and manicure, and then we spent a tense 2 hours waiting for the car to be looked at and the problem diagnosed. The last time something like this happened was when we needed a replacement fuel pump in Mt Isa, and had to spend a week there waiting for the part to be delivered! HOWEVER, this time it was only the fuel filter which needed replacing.....we must have picked up some dirty fuel between Alice,(when a new fuel filter was put in), and Derby. We were good to go by 5.15pm and made it down to Cable Beach for an early dinner and a spectacular sunset.

Day 26 15/06/2013 Broome.

Well, we realised this morning, as we enjoyed a bit of a sleep-in, (till 6.45am!!), that in just under 4 weeks of travelling we have crossed the continent of Australia from East to West. And what a trip it has been so far! We are having a truly amazing time.

Cable Beach in Broome has the most brilliant white sand and the most beautiful blue water. It was given its name because of the undersea cable which ran from here to Indonesia. It is a multicultural town famous for its pearling industry. Nowadays it is a magnet for tourists from other parts of Australia and indeed all over the world, especially in the dry season,(May to October), when days are warm, (even hot!), and sunny, and nights are cool, but not cold.

Broome has a population of around 16,000. In addition to the iconic Cable Beach, there is also a 'town' beach, which faces East and is also a location for watching 'Staircase to the Moon'. This phenomenon occurs when the the low tide coincides with the full moon rising, and the reflection on the mud flats looks like a series of steps rising towards the moon. Unfortunately we won't be here to experience it.

We had a leisurely start to our day; did some laundry; had a walk along the beach; an iced coffee,(naughty!), and then drove into town, had another walk and then lunch at a little cafe on the town beach. We continued our drive, past Roebuck Bay, to the Port of Broome where deep water vessels can anchor. There is a jetty there for fishermen and we walked along it.....no-one was catching any fish!

Back to our campsite for an hour or so, then down to Cable Beach with a bottle of wine and cheese and dip to watch the beautiful sunset.......even better than last night. All in all it has been a great day.