Such a wonderful time in Broome. Such quality time with Melinda and Eddie. We took a tour to Windjana Gorge and Tunnel Creek. It was a long day but we all thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a great taste of the Kimberley’s for our visitors. There was plenty of walking, eating and drinking plus laying around the pool which was quite wonderful. While we were in Broome it was the Shinju Matsuri festival - festival of the pearl. Plenty of things on offer and it finished with the best fireworks and concert at Cable Beach. Great music with the Pilgrims- who we have come to love after Kununurra - and others and the fireworks were so close! Sean and Jane Bishop and Charles and Melissa Tym also came to Broome to see us.

We left on the Saturday after the Courthouse Markets (pearl purchasing - freshwater not South Pacific) and heading south for our first stop at a Barn Hill Station 138 km. This is another working property that supplements their income with the tourist dollar. It was nice there - right on the beach with those magnificent sunsets. We had two nights there to just chill. The amenities were a little rustic - no roof on the toilets or showers and plenty of frogs hiding on the doors and walls at night. A little disconcerting. Then about 255 km down the road we stopped at Eighty Mile Beach. Now this place was great. Green grass and we met the nicest people - Kim and Sean Anderson from the Sunshine Coast. We had many laughs with them and a great day fishing and shell collecting. The day before we arrived a guy got his mates Ute bogged on the beach. They then ran up to borrow the stations front end loader and got that bogged. Eeek. It was a great topic of conversation every day as the tide went out and exposed both vehicles once again. The morning we left, they managed to free both vehicles - thank you for the entertainment.

About another 250 km down the road is a Port Hedland. Not too much to say here. Everything is coated in red dirt. Nice little Apartments overlooking the harbour - shutters covered in red dirt. Spiffy front gates on a house - covered in red dirt. Trees - covered in red dirt. It’s obviously a mining town and a very busy Harbour. We counted at least 21 just out of the Harbour to come in. The ones we saw in the Harbour were empty on arrival and the iron ore was being pumped into the holds - you could actually see the ships getting lower in the water as the afternoon progressed. It’s actually amazing to see the ships so close as it’s a very narrow channel. Just one night here. We went to the Yacht Club for dinner and there was live entertainment - Outback Paddy - he was really good. We camped out in the car park (with the Commodore’s blessing) and left early the next day bound for Karijini National Park. The drive was nothing much at first then the highway weaves its way through the Chichester and Hammersley Ranges. Just so picturesque. The colours were amazing. Many different shades of green and the red earth! Plenty of 4 and 5 trailer road trains along the way too - thankfully they were all heading the opposite direction to us.

We camped for two nights at Dales Gorge which is about 350 km from Port Hedland. It’s kind of bush camping with a long drop loo - they were kept very clean though. The ground here is really hard. Iron ore country. We ventured off early the next day for the Dales a Gorge Walk. We visited Fern Pool (gorgeous and swam there), Fortescue Falls and Circular Pool. The walk out was straight up - a hard slog in the heat of the day. After a lovely cold shower using our outdoor shower, it was time for a well earned beer and feet up.

There is a 48 km dirt road between Dales Gorge and Weano Gorge which we decided to take with the option to turn around if it got too rough. Good old Suncatcher did us proud and got us there without any problems. We visited Joffre Falls on the way. They weren’t really pumping like Falls do but the scenery was pretty good. We didn’t feel the need to scramble down the rocks to the bottom of the Falls. It seemed quite hard going to be honest. Then the lookout to see the three gorges meet - Hancock, Weano and Wittenoom. We then pushed on to Tom Price - wash off that red dust - for two nights to catch up with old pal Ebony.

It’s wildflower season in WA and we seem to have caught the end of it in the Pilbara. It’s quite spectacular to see the colours against the red earth. It’s really harsh country out here and I feel for the early explorers who ventured this way.

This Pilbara area is synonymous with iron ore. It’s one of the biggest suppliers of seaborne ore (ore to be shipped overseas) and has played a large part in establishing the fortunes of the big miners BHP and Rio Tinto. We did a tour of the Rio Tinto mine. Huge to say the least.