238kms / 3 hrs

Broome - Derby

We were packed up and on the road by 7:30am today for the 220km drive to Derby. It was interesting landscape on the drive today as one side of the road was black from fire and the other side was green. There was also smoke in the distance that we could see and smell but didn't actually see any flames so maybe they are doing a big back burn at the moment. Roger saw his first wild crocodile in a creek that we drove over today but Josh & I were looking out our windows and didn't see any. We also saw a kangaroo on the road and cows on the road.

We arrived in Derby at 10:30am and once we got set-up I did a load of washing and then we had lunch.

We then drove around the local Derby sites and there is boab trees everywhere. Our first stop was to the Boab Prison Tree (which has a girth of 14.7 metres and is believed to be 1,500 years old). Myall's Bore (is 322m deep and feeds the 120 metre long trough, the longest in the southern hemisphere), Frosty's Pool (built by the serviceman in WW2), Old Derby Gaol (built in 1906 and we were able to lock the kids in), Wool export shed (part of the original port facilities) and Centenary pavilion (community mosaic floor).

We then drove on the Jetty as Derby has the highest tides in Australia, up to 11.8 metres. Todays high tide was 10.83 metres and the low tide was 1.40 metres, so massive expanses of water shifting every 12 hours.

We refuelled the car, did another quick shop in Woolworths and popped into the visitor information centre then headed back to the caravan.

Josh had an afternoon nap while Bronte watched Roger wash the caravan and it's finally sparkling again!

Later on in the afternoon Bronte decided it was time to throw her dummy in the bin. She was so excited and seemed so pleased with herself (especially when she got a special treat of M&Ms). Unfortunately reality set in for her at bedtime where she was crying for it. She eventually fell asleep and hope tonight isn't too restless for us all!

The kids had a bike/scooter ride before we cooked dinner and we saw a white peacock roaming around the caravan park. I was so excited when I spotted it as it had its feathers up but by the time I got the family there to see it they were down again (so no photo either). There are so many birds flying around and sitting in the trees and they are really pretty coloured aswell. Not sure what types but Rog and Josh will have to study Josh's bird book.

We had butterflied lamb roast for dinner with potatoes and vegetables in the BBQ area and briefly saw the gorgeous red sunset tonight. It was beautiful and I just wish we weren't cooking dinner at the time. Hopefully tomorrow night is just as good.