Wow, After (see what I did there?!) the Horizontal Falls trip we slept for 10 hours, not surprising really! We had another 4 days to spend in Broome and we loved Broome. It was so laid back, with a beautiful beach, Cable Beach, and amazing sunsets. For some reason all the caravan parks in Broome are expensive, but some are expensive and miles away from the beach and town! We had chosen a site within walking distance of Cable Beach and it was just the best. Every day, after being out and about exploring Broome and its environs, we would get back to the site, walk to the beach with our body boards and spend an hour or so body boarding. It was awesome, the waves were large and Bob got dumped once, but my confidence grew and grew until the point where the wave was towering over me and I had to go!! I can honestly say that if I had not got the board (thank you Bill!) I would not have been out in those waves! The sunsets over the beach were amazing too. Everyone sat, stood or walked, along with their beer or glass of wine, and watched as the sky changed colour. You could do a camel safari but it was enough just to sit and take it all in!

While at Broome we also had our water system fixed. For a while we had had trouble getting water out of the kitchen tap. We assumed it was an airlock and hoped it would clear itself, but then the pressure built up so much, the hose flew off the outside connection and our neighbours were nearly flooded out (we were out at the time!). So we called in the local repair man who was on WA time, Wait Awhile, but we did get it fixed just hours before we left Broome!

We seem to have travelled through WA quite quickly, given that it is such a large state. But that is due to the fact that there are very few 'towns' or places to stop unlike in Queensland, NSW, SA or Victoria. There are huge distances between places that mean driving hard all day or stopping overnight at free rest areas or roadhouses. We have done a mixture of both but one of the best stops was recommended on a Facebook group that I follow. We pulled off the road at an unsignposted track, only noticeable due to the red dirt tracks coming out of the bush onto the road! Some kind person has opened up their land to travellers as long as they are self-contained. This means there is no power, water or toilet facilities and you are supposed to take all rubbish with you and 'leave no trace'!

With some trepidation we arrived at the gate and let ourselves in. The track was good though and Winnie was fine as we wound our way around the edge of a beautiful lake, Lake Ellendale. We found a spot to park on the bank of the lake and set our chairs up to enjoy the view. Well, Bob and I are no birdwatchers but we have been fascinated by the very different birdlife out here. We sat all afternoon with our cameras and binoculars, just watching and trying to identify all the different species. In all we counted 19 different species of bird, most of which we hadn't seen or heard of before, along with countless dragonflies and butterflies! It was a 'twitcher's' paradise! And then the cows came by, so friendly and SO close! We also knew there was a resident freshwater croc but we didn't see it. We now know that they are relatively harmless, as their snouts are weak and they risk more harm to themselves if they attack you, but have to admit that we were slightly perturbed when our neighbours decided to go swimming in the lake, as we didn't know that then!

And then to the exact opposite - another rest area where we stayed overnight, Mary Pool. Well, the surroundings were fine and we even saw an azure kingfisher, but this was not our idea of fun. Generators were going non-stop (to power up TV's, aircon and such like!) and then their owners were shouting to make themselves heard over their generators!!! Add to that the fires people were lighting, which in itself is fine even if it is 30 degrees, but some people have a total disregard to wind direction!! So we were not in the best of moods when we decided to go to bed and then we heard 'it' - I thought it was a fluttering noise in the roof, Bob thought it was a scratching sound. We thought mice, cockroach and I even thought snacks (snakes!). We went to bed listening to the sound and worrying about what it was and what to do about it in the morning. Eventually we fell asleep and the noise had stopped in the morning. Bob decided to remove our skylight, which was where the noise was concentrated, and I heard him yell and start bashing something. It was a huge winged 'something' that had somehow got into our roof and was trying to get out. Very scary!

Kununurra was the next town where we stopped for a few days. There are a lot of indigenous people (Aborigines, which you are not supposed to say!) here and it is true to say that their lifestyle is totally different. Men and women spend a large amount of time just sitting on the ground, appearing to do nothing, and it can be quite intimidating when they are in a large group in front of you. Saying that, we haven't had any problems at all and those we have spoken to have been very polite. However, we can see how the average Australian must have a problem with this, especially if you are working hard and paying taxes to fund their lifestyle. Drinking is a huge problem and we passed two renal hospitals in a short space of time. Kununurra is the only place in WA to have the same drinking rules as the Northern Territories. These are very strict and we have to show our ID each time we buy alcohol, which can only be bought after lunch and before 8pm. The amount we can buy is also limited to 3 bottles of wine each per day, plus one slab (carton) of beer each. This is recorded and every bottle shop knows that you have already purchased and will refuse to serve you. There is also a banned drinker register so, unless they use fake ID or get someone else to buy it for them, means certain individuals can't buy alcohol! Bob and I have a huge problem with this - 'limiting' everyone to 3 bottles of wine and 30 cans per day?! That's far more than most people could drink so surely it's not a 'limit'? How does that help anyone??!!!

Saying all that Kununurra was a lovely place with beautiful scenery in the nearby National Park. The Diversion Dam was quite a sight as was Ivanhoe Crossing. This is a concrete causeway, permanently underwater and marked by concrete bollards with water pouring over a small weir. Only 4WD vehicles can attempt the crossing so we were lucky enough to see one, water coming up over it's bonnet! But the best part of Kununurra was the Hoochery, a family run distillery in an old corrugated iron shed basically. We did a tour and were amazed at how they did everything by hand but could turn out these award winning rums from 2 old copper stills in the backyard. And, of course, they just had to be tried along with a slice of their famed Ord River Rum Cake, delicious!!

Lake Argyle was our next destination. When we first started this trip I had read about this place and it was on our 'must-do' list. When we were getting close I realised that we could make it coincide with Bob's birthday so we booked ahead, just as well! The River Ord, from Kununurra, runs down and was dammed to form Lake Argyle, a huge expanse of water 18 times bigger than Sydney Harbour. Not only was it a huge feat of engineering back in the 1970's, but they had the foresight to use the old worker's housing and recreational area as a tourist holiday resort. These days Lake Argyle has the most stunning infinity pool, looking out over the lake, along with a caravan park, cabins, restaurant and bar with tv and live entertainment on weekends. First stop was the pool, followed by a Sunset Cruise on the lake. After seeing freshwater crocs and wallabies we fed spitting Archer fish and catfish. The sun started to go down and we tied up to a buoy in the middle of nowhere. Having being told that there were 30,000 crocs in the lake we were about to swim with them?! Oh my, even the reassurances that they don't attack unless frightened, attacking hurts them more than you, the water here is too deep for them, it's the wrong time of year etc etc we were still apprehensive. However, where else could we do this? So, noodles in hand we got into the water. Champagnes, wines and beers were handed down to those in the water and we floated about watching the sun set over the water. Magical! I have to admit that I was one of the first out of the water as I'm not good when out of my depth and the thought of those crocs got to me!! Once back on dry land we decided to eat out (for the first time in ages!) and celebrated Bob's birthday with a Fisherman's Basket, barramundi, scallops, mussels and prawns, washed down with a drink or two. An awesome day and one we will both remember for a long time!

After another day bushwalking, swimming and chilling we even managed to watch the second half of Australia v France in the World Cup. We left Lake Argyle and headed across the border into Northern Territories, our 6th state. We are currently in Katherine, although we did try to leave this morning. About 30km out Bob said there was something wrong with the steering so we decided to be sensible and turn back, rather than try and do another several hundred kms. Just as well we did as the rear tyre decided to shred itself and we were left on the side of the road. Luckily, by turning back, we still had phone coverage, and so were able to summon assistance - Winnie's second ride on a towtruck! Apparently the last two tyres we had put on were not good enough and the second one is about to go as well. We were not chuffed, as you rely on the garages to do the right thing, but there is nothing we can do except wait for 2 new tyres to be delivered from Darwin, hopefully tomorrow! Luckily the site we had left at 10am welcomed us back at 3pm and their pool was very inviting, as were the Hot Springs yesterday! So there you go, it's made us wonder what we would have done had we broken down with no phone signal but, in both cases, someone has stopped and offered to help so we still feel reasonably safe on our travels!

But at least we are still travelling! The family next to us, back at Lake Argyle, left in a hurry, with faces like thunder, the same morning. The parents had had a row the evening before, which we couldn't help overhearing, and were on their way home, only 3 weeks into their 17-week dream trip. So sad but makes us realise how much, even with our few setbacks, we are still enjoying our trip!!