3rd-5th Oct Broome - Derby

Monday night we were excited to be going to Rock 'n roll class/dance at one of the resort hotels.  We got there a bit before start time, checked at reception for the correct venue only to be told that the teachers rang to call it off as they were stuck in Derby!   Well we tried... We had a good look around Chinatown again, here is a diver statue erected of course in recognition of all the divers lost their lives during the diving era. 

Here's my Darl if you can see him at the end of the jetty, this is the restored Streeter's Jetty, the original jetty where the pearl luggers tied up.  This particular day at this spot we were right in the path of the planes landing at the airport.  A thing about Broome it is a compact little town, the prison is right in the middle of town (we believe it is booked out) and the airport is not much further out.  We think about going to Malcolm Douglas croc and wilderness park but will give it a miss as we went to Crocodilus in Darwin.

As we did the b line to Broome to do the falls tour, we by passed Derby so decide to do an overnighter camping out in the tent.  Half way there Darl informs me he forgot to pack the tent......bugger!    A few people have said don't bother to go Derby, but we figure we had planned on doing it, so gotta go see for ourselves.  Derby is a small town of about 5000 people.  The main attractions there are the Jetty - this port has the highest tidal range in Australia and the 2nd highest in the southern hemisphere - and it is

a gateway for Buccaneer Achipelago, Horizontal Falls tours and the Gibb River Road.  We had a look at the Boab Goal, which housed aboriginal prisoners in transit to Derby way back when.  This boab must be a thousand or more years old.  The sign said caution do not enter, snakes and spiders live in this tree.   Don't have to tell me twice.   The boab tree lined street, we had a drink at the Boab Inn after fish and chips on the jetty.

Here it is our little camp for the night at the Kimberley Entrance Caravan Park.  I thought they would have charged less cause we had no tent but no same rate applies.  At least we had a shady tree, no flying foxes.  It was quite windy so that kept the mozzies at bay, but we could have done with a doona or sleeping bag, it got a bit cool overnight.   We comtemplate a trip out to Windjana Gorge and Tunnel Creek and knowing it is a dirt road, decide to give it a look.

100kms later we decide to give it a miss, we did about 90km on the Gibb River road on bitumen, then we hit the dirt!  Probably did about 10kms or so before deciding it is not worth putting the car or us through this again, so we do an about face and head on back to our chateau by the beach in Broome.   We paid a visit to the Mowanjum Art and Culture Centre on the Gibb River Road.  A nice new centre and as with Broome we notice new housing estates being built and also new buildings (Info centre) around the towns.