Eighty Mile Beach to Point Samson

Eighty Mile Beach - 6 August 2012

We left Port Smith for Eighty Mile Beach today, stopping at Sandfire Roadhouse for fuel on the way. From there we phoned Eighty Mile Beach and discovered they had no powered sites left. We decided to head in anyway and take an unpowered site for the night, before moving onto a powered site for a few more days. When we arrived, I set up camp and the girls went for a walk over to the beach.

That morning Georgia & Kelsey had watched Sally Pearson blitz the field in a heat of the 110m hurdles. As a result, they started hurdle training on the road outside the van, timing each other and trying to beat their PB’s. They even developed a training schedule and diet plan for days to come. Sue and I enjoyed a lazy afternoon.

Eighty Mile Beach - 7 August 2012

At 8.00am I joined the queue for a powered site up at the office. About 45min later we had been allocated a site just across the road from where we were. We relocated the van and then I took the tinnie and motor off the car. I also dropped the tyre pressures for sand driving.

After lunch we hit the beach and headed north for about 10km. We set up the fishing gear and fished the rising tide. I hooked what I think was a really good threadfin salmon, having seen it briefly on the surface, but unfortunately the hooks pulled after about 2 minutes. I caught 2 small blue salmon, but that was all for the day.

We drove a few more km down the beach and did some shell collecting before returning to the van for happy hour and dinner.

Eighty Mile Beach - 8 August 2012

On the advice of our next door neighbour, we hit the beach and headed down to a spot he’d been told about. Having arrived a bit early for the tide, we collected some shells while we waited for it to come in a bit further. While Sue and I fished, the girls built a water park in the sand nearby. It had a spa and lap pool for the adults, and a slide for the kids. Very creative. 



Water park developers creating a new speed trap















Fun at Eighty Mile Beach


Sue landed a catfish of about 2-3kg, but nothing for me. Our neighbour arrived and hooked into something big, which proceeded to drag him up and down the beach. Not having fished for over 10 years, he welcomed the advice I gave him and was only too happy to hand over the rod for a bit of help after about 15mins. I found out later that he had a pacemaker and wasn’t too keen to stress himself too much. Unfortunately, after about 5 minutes on the fish, the trace wore through and we lost it. The trace was very frayed, so we called the fish for a largish shark. He hooked another not long after, but pulled the hooks after only a few minutes.

Eventually the tide claimed the water park and we retreated to the car and headed home. Sue did some laundry and cleaned the shells, while I washed the car at the wash-down area. When I returned, I reloaded the tinnie and outboard onto the car. I then grabbed a beer and re-inflated the tyres in the dark. Sleep came easy that night.

Pardoo Roadhouse - 9 August 2012

After 8km of dirt from Eighty Mile Beach, we turned right onto the bitumen and headed south to Pardoo Roadhouse, where we set up the van for the night. After lunch, we drove about 20km on dirt out to Cape Keraudren to check it out as a potential campsite for our return journey. There were about 3 or 4 separate camping areas to choose from and we decided to spend a week at the boat ramp camp area on our return. While there, we walked along a nice stretch of sandy beach and chatted to a few fishos. They hadn’t done any good that day, but a few days earlier there had been some nice salmon around. We got some fuel on the way back and I bought a souvenir singlet from the roadhouse. After happy hour and dinner, we wrapped some presents for the birthday girl.

Pardoo Station - 10 August 2012

Eight years earlier we had welcomed Kelsey Woolley to the world, so this morning we showered her with gifts. Didn’t she enjoy it . . . scoring very well from us and the rest of the family. After some phone calls from family and breakfast, we hitched up and headed 50km south to Pardoo Station. We set up camp between the toilet block and a beach volleyball court, that was to become a second home for our two girls over the next few days. I set up the tinnie and fishing gear, while Sue booked us a table at the restaurant that night.




















Plenty of presents for the birthday girl

Later that arvo we drove to Pardoo Creek and fished from the shore for about an hour or so, in the company of about 30 others. We fished the snaggiest stretch of the creek and lost a few rigs. Sue lost a small salmon at the bank and a few others caught small fish, but nothing outstanding. We returned home for showers and happy hour, and then headed up to the restaurant for Kelsey’s birthday dinner.

The food was really nice and we all enjoyed our meals. Afterwards the waitress brought out Kelsey’s icecream cake with candles and the whole room sang happy birthday, about 40 people.   I don’t think the staff realised it was an icecream cake, as it was pretty runny by the time we got it, so we had to wolf it down pretty quick. Kelsey later told us she’d had the best birthday ever.














All blinged up for dinner















Just a bit embarrassed

Pardoo Station - 11 August 2012

A sleep in today, after the late night before, saw us emerge around 7.30am. After breakfast we went for a drive up to one of the beaches where we’d been told we could collect some nice shells. When we got there, the water was about 1km away. We thought we’d walk towards it and look for some shells over the flats. The ripples in the sand, left behind by the tides, were very hard going on the feet, and as we hadn’t seen any shells, we returned to the car.

Returning to the main track, we then drove to Banningarra Creek where the girls and I examined some large fish frames left at the water’s edge. Someone had had a good day offshore with some big cod and emperor.

We left the creek and decided to drive to another spot we’d been told of, called Mt Blaze, which is actually a headland at the mouth of Banningarra Creek. The track there crossed a sand flat that couldn’t be crossed in tides over 6.3m. As today’s tide was only 5m, we’d been told it would be safe to cross. We followed the main track, as the sign suggested, until it split into about 8 smaller tracks. We chose the most well-worn path and about 50m later almost sunk to our axles. Still being in 2WD, I put the boot into it and found a patch of firmer ground. I immediately engaged 4WD and decided it was too risky to proceed. So we swung a big u-turn into a very soggy patch of salty clay and I really had to nail it to maintain forward momentum. Coming out of the u-turn, I started to fish tail and continued to do so for the next 40m. I was scared that if I completed a full turn, I would sink and that’s where we would stay. I wasn’t worried about the incoming tide, but moreso the $1,000 towing fee that the station charges to dills who come unstuck (or in this case stuck). Luckily I was able to maintain progress long enough to reach higher/drier ground again, albeit with our hearts beating a little faster.

We pulled over to the side of the track and inspected the carnage outside. During the ordeal, the windows were open and we had lumps of salty clay flying into the cabin. There was more stuck over various parts of the outside of the car, including the roof rack. The underneath of the car was completely caked solid, with this sticky, salty clay. A young couple pulled up next to us in their troopy and said they had seen the whole thing from a distance. They said we’d had lumps of mud flying twice as high as the car during the best bit, and thanked us, because it had been very entertaining. We spoke to them for about 15 minutes and then headed back to the campground for clean up. I spent the next 1 ½ hours cleaning the entire car, including the roof rack.














A fresh coating of salt pan

After lunch we hitched up the tinnie and headed to the creek for a fish. When we arrived the water was that low, there was no possible way we could launch…. bummer. Instead we parked the car and tinnie bankside and fished from the shore for a couple of hours. We caught nothing, but a couple next to us pulled in a large mud crab, which I dispatched for them. Another couple offered us a small bream and the rest of their bait when they left.

When we returned to camp, I again had a chat to the young bloke we’d spoken to earlier. He and his girlfriend had driven out to the coast with their dog and walked across the flats to an island. The tide beat them on the way back and they had to wade through waist high water to reach the shore. His girlfriend was scared of sharks, so he was piggy-backing her when a fin approached them. The dog was swimming alongside, so he had to scoop it up just as a 4 foot bull shark pulled up 2m in front of them and started circling. His next few minutes were filled with his girlfriend screaming in his ear and the dog struggling in his arms, as he bolted as fast as he could for the shore 50m away. He said he was expecting to have a piece taken out of him by the shark at any minute, as he couldn’t see it when it went behind him. Obviously they made it unscathed, but they will certainly pay more attention to the tides in future.

Pardoo Station - 12 August 2012

Sue did some laundry and schooled the girls, while I packed the boat in the morning. Later that arvo we headed down to the creek for another fish. We were one of only about 4 groups fishing. The fishing was dead again, so Sue and I started happy hour, but not before I taught both brats how to cast with a threadline reel and rod. They were as happy as pigs in poop practising their newfound skill, and I was only too happy to offer advice from my chair, with stubbie in hand. They both must have a good dose of their father’s blood in them, as it turns out they’re natural casters (Sue said I had to say that she’s pretty good too).















Master casters plying their trade

Pardoo Station - 13 August 2012

Sue started the day with a bit of laundry and then all 3 girls went over for a hair cut at one of the neighbouring vans. I spent the morning finishing off some drafting work for my mate Darren back in Brisbane and transferred the video camera’s contents onto the hard drive of the computer.

After lunch, surprise-surprise, we went down for one last fish at the creek. The tide was super low and only 2 other cars joined us. Sue caught one little whiting, which we kept, and also managed to get a descent mud crab to the bank, before it let go and disappeared. Happy hour beckoned again, so Sue and I gave up the rods to the new casting experts and enjoyed a few lazy drinks as the sun went down.

As we left, we discovered a medium size tour bus had managed to get himself bogged at the entrance gate to the creek. I got out and offered help, to which he said no thanks, he’d just got stuck in a ‘soft patch’ and help was on its way. The fact that we heard him revving the engine for about 5 minutes trying to get out probably hadn’t helped, as he was buried to the axles.

South Hedland - 14 August 2012

We left Pardoo Station and drove about 150kms into Port Hedland. We checked into the Golf Club, about 5km south of South Hedland for a cheap stay. Their fee for an unpowered site was $25 for the night, compared to $72 in town for a powered site. (We later spoke to a couple who’d paid $88/n for only the 2 of them). After setting up the van we drove in to the post office at Port Hedland, and picked up another round of mail. This one was special, because it had all Kelsey’s birthday cards. She was a very excited little girl all over again.

We drove back to South Hedland and got some fuel and then had a late lunch at Maccas. Later we did some shopping, where Kelsey spent some of her newly acquired birthday loot and then returned to the van for happy hour.

Point Samson - 15 August 2012

We hit the road this morning for Point Samson and arrived just before lunch. The girls immediately hit the playground, which became their second home for the next week. The afternoon followed, with the usual routine, me setting up the tinnie and gear. Sue and the girls checked out the rec room and had a game or two of table tennis.


　

Port Smith

Port Smith - 28 July 2012

We got up at 6.00am and packed up the van ready to hit the road, but instead we left the van on the site and headed into town to check out the Broome Courthouse Market. Believe it or not, Sue actually bought nothing !!! Returning to the van, we hitched up and left for Port Smith, about 1½ hrs to the south.

Apart from one other private residence, that used to have a large aviary open to the public, the caravan park is the only thing at Port Smith. We were lucky enough to score a large shady site directly opposite the toilets, and while I set about getting the boat ready, Sue took Georgia and Kelsey for a walk down to the water.

Port Smith is a beautiful sandy, mangrove lined lagoon accessed from the sea via a channel about 300m wide. Large tides, around the 9m mark, flush the lagoon each day. This makes launching and retrieving boats very interesting over the sand banks left behind. You can’t launch your boat earlier than half tide in, nor can you retrieve any later than half tide out, so we would be restricted to fishing only over the high tide, or be faced with fishing through a full low tide cycle.

After the girls returned from their walk, we enjoyed happy hour before tucking into a nice feed of barra and jewfish for dinner. Georgia and I settled in on the bed to watch the Tigers play Carlton. It turned out to be a really close game and was looking good for a Tiger victory, until Carlton kicked a goal to take the lead and win the game in the final minute. Not impressed . . . .

Port Smith - 29 July 2012

Being a Sunday morning, pancakes were put on by the park, for the cost of a gold coin donation to the RFDS. I woke not feeling too flash, but Sue still dragged my sorry butt down to keep herself and Georgia company. I even managed to choke some down.

With the wind & tides not being conducive to a reasonable session on the lagoon, we decided to drive to a spot known as Little Creek, a few kilometres down the coast. Sue and I had fished here on a previous visit and done really well from the shore, casting lures to the resident mangrove jacks and bream, before I nearly cut my toe off on the filleting knife and had to race off for a bit of first aid. Today was different though, nothing was interested in our lures and all we could pick up on bait was small pickers, so we decided a bit of shell collecting on the adjacent beach would be more productive.

Returning from the creek, I chucked a couple of pieces of dead cow on a hot piece of cast iron while enjoying a coldie or two. Sue knocked up some veg & pasta and dinner was had.
 
Port Smith - 30 July 2012
 
We woke to another windy day, so had a lazy morning around the van watching the Olympics. After lunch, we drove about 10km to the north, to a piece of coast known as Gourdon Bay. Crumbly sandstone cliffs of about 10m high line the shore here, but as the tide was low, we were able to access the beach that would have been underwater had the tides been higher. We cast the rods in for a bit of fishing, but the action was non-existent. Even the pickers gave us a wide berth, so the girls decided the shells were the go, while I stayed behind to tend the rods and soak up the serenity. Well it was serene until a small doggie mackerel bolted off with half a pilchard and gave me a good stretch on the light gear. Unfortunately he was undersize, but a nice surprise from the sandy shore, where you wouldn’t normally expect to catch one. Of course the womenfolk didn’t believe I’d actually caught anything . . . . at least not until I showed them the photo of course.

Back at camp we suffered through yet another happy hour and knocked off some toasted sangers for dinner.

 Port Smith - 31 July 2012

After breakfast we launched the tinnie into the lagoon at about 8.00am. We bait fished next to three other boats on a patch of reef and caught many small cod and other reefy bits and pieces, including some lovely lumps of coral for Sue. Then we tried trolling in the entrance channel. I got a nice little giant trevally (GT), so we trolled back through the same area and scored a double hook up on 2 more GT’s for Kelsey and Sue. On the third pass we picked up another double hook up, this time an 8kg queenfish for Georgia and a 7kg queenfish for me. Needless to say we were having a ball. We tried hard to get a queenfish for Kelsey but the tide beat us and we pulled the boat out at 12.45pm. 


 

Kelsey with a small cod

Mutineers

Georgia's ripper 8kg queenfish . . . her first  

Back at camp I cleaned the fish with my offside Georgia, while the other girls had some lunch. That evening we went down to the communal area and listened to a bush poet while we had happy hour. 
 
Port Smith - 1 August 2012

We hit the lagoon a bit later this morning and as a result there was plenty of water around to launch. The wind was down, so we headed straight offshore and out about 5km, until we found a bit of rough bottom. The girls bait fished with pilchards while I played deckie. They caught many undersized cod and 3 stripeys that were big enough to keep. After a wind change, the fish went off the bite, so we headed back into the entrance channel and had some more fun with the trevally, keeping 3. I cleaned the fish back at the park and it wasn’t long before the afternoon was over and time for happy hour.
 

A nice stripey for Georgia . . . matching her wardrobe beautifully

And a stripey for Kelsey





















Kelsey with her first giant trevally

Sue locked up solid on a good trevally

Port Smith - 2 August 2012
 
Hit the water at about 8.45am today and as the wind was down, so we headed straight offshore again. We had intended to head 10km south of the entrance but half way there the wind sprung up, so we changed our plans, heading about 10km offshore.

We drifted a patch of reef with a couple of other boats and were straight onto better fish. Sue caught a painted sweetlip of about 2-3kg, but as they are not a good table fish it went back. Sue and Georgia got a few nice stripeys, which we kept, and Georgia and I both caught bluebone which were just under size. Kelsey got a few undersize stripeys and Georgia caught a really nice blue lined emperor of about 1.5kg.

Georgia with another trevor from trevally alley

 Georgia with her nice blue-lined emperor

On the way back, just before we reached the entrance channel, in only 6m of water, we came across two humpback whales sunning themselves on the surface. We stopped the boat about 50m away and they came over to investigate. For the next 10-15 minutes they frolicked around, and under, our tinnie. It was a bit unnerving at times, but I sensed they were aware of our vulnerability and didn’t get too close. We had seen so many whale pods over the previous three days, many, many more than we ever saw in our previous travels. I suppose it’s a good sign for the species that there were so many around. Finally we left the whales and returned to the entrance channel. Tide and time were against us, so no trolling trevally alley today. We retrieved the tinnie and returned to camp to wash up and clean the fish.

Being a Tuesday, it was fish night at the communal area. The park puts on a big fry up every Tuesday for the cost of a $5 donation to the RFDS. They also have an Aboriginal band that comes in from nearby Bidyadanga, to entertain the punters while they eat. The band are all members of one family and very good entertainers. The night went quite late as we waited for the raffle at the end, but unfortunately didn’t win anything. We got back to our van around 10.00pm. A late night for the girls.

One of our whale friends alongside the tinnie

 

 













Sue got some good footage

That tail got awfully close

Two incoming subs over the stern quarter














Nasty case of acne there

Back at the ramp after the whale adventure


Port Smith - 3 August 2012

Sue did a bit of laundry in the morning, so we hit the water at about 11.30. The tide was very high and we launched from above the area where we’d previously parked the car. With the tide so high, and the water gin clear, we did a little sightseeing tour around the lagoon, spotting fish and turtles around the mangrove edges. Then we went back to trevally alley and cleaned up again. Sue got 3, Georgia 2, myself and Kelsey got 1 each. Kelsey also caught her first queenfish. We pulled the boat out at around 2.30pm and had a lazy afternoon while the kids played in the van and the car.
 
Port Smith - 4 August 2012

The wind was up this morning so we decided to stay on land and drove about 15km to the south, to False Cape Bossut Creek. We drove down onto the sand at the mouth and set up the fishing gear. The water was crystal clear on the incoming tide, but unfortunately we couldn’t pull a fish out. The girls tried catching bait in their buckets, while Sue went for a walk and collected some shells.

We packed up the gear after lunch and followed another track around the end of the headland, where we came across some quite high cliffs. Here we spoke to another crew of fishos, who hadn’t had much luck. They told us the day before there had been fish everywhere. We left them to it and walked along the adjacent beach collecting some shells.
With the afternoon still early, we headed back to Port Smith and continued on to the north, to another area of cliffs that Sue and I had visited previously. The last bit of the track in was quite soft, so we left the car behind the dunes and walked over for a look. As the tide was out a bit, fishing wasn’t possible, but it was still in far enough to prevent us walking the beach. We went back to the car and returned to a side track that we had noticed earlier. We followed this track in around behind the salt pans and mangroves, where it became quite narrow and soft. I jumped out to have a quick look over the dunes and realised we were only about ½ km from the entrance channel, where we had previously seen cars parked from the boat. A retreat was made due to the soft sand and we returned to the park at about 4.30pm.
 Port Smith - 5 August 2012

It was Sunday and pancake day again, so the girls and I went down for another feed. When we got back Sue did some laundry while I packed up the tinnie and all the gear. After lunch I continued with the packing up, while Sue put on her teacher’s hat and attempted to educate the brats

Bungle Bungle Caravan Park to Broome

Bungle Bungle Caravan Park - 22 July 2012

We got up early at 6.00 and headed off for our day trip into the Bungle Bungle at around 7.00am.  It took us 1 1/4 hrs on the 50km slow, winding dirt road to reach the Ranger Station, where we paid our park entry fee of $11.  Our first destination in the park was Echidna Chasm, which is a 1/2 hr walk into a very tall, narrow crack in the massif (the main body of the range).  We took a break at the dead end, had some morning tea and enjoyed the various colours as the sunlight filtered down to our level. 




Walking into Echidna Chasm

We gave the Mini Palms walk a miss, as we'd heard the palms had been flooded and then burnt out in previous seasons, so we headed to the southern end of the park and had lunch in the car park at Picaninny Creek.  Our walk started through the beehive domes with their black and orange stripes, which are actually different layers of sandstone and conglomerate rock laid down over millions of years.  The black layer is the sandstone, covered in cyanobacteria (blue green algae) that actually prevents further erosion of the sandstone.  The orange layer is the conglomerate mix of sandstone and other rocks. 

Walking on the Domes Trail

We accidentally took a side track and discovered a weathered rock formation known as Mini Cathedral, so named because of its resemblance to the main Cathedral Gorge which we visited later.

The girls at Mini Cathedral

We got back on the main path and continued on our way to Picaninny Creek, where we made our way along a new track to a lookout over the Beehive Domes and towards the car park. 

At the Domes Lookout

After a few photos, and some rock throwing by the kids, we retraced our steps to Picaninny Creek and followed the track back to the Cathedral Gorge side track.

 

On the Picaninny Creek walk to Cathedral Gorge

Cathedral Gorge is one of the park's major features and is a great spot to cool off on a hot afternoon.  The sheer vertical walls let very little light into the bottom of the gorge and as a result the temperature is about 5-10 degrees cooler than outside.  The shape of the gorge is a natural ampitheatre and all sounds are echoed off the walls, making it very easy to hear what others are saying, even at a distance of around 50m away.  When no-one is there it is a very peaceful place to relax on the cool white sand.   

Our girls enjoyed skimming rocks across the surface of the pool left behind from the previous wet season.  They also enjoyed burying each other in the sand.

The very impressive Cathedral Gorge dwarves Georgia and Kelsey

The Woolleys relaxing on the Cathedral Gorge beach

The walk out left four weary trekkers grateful of somewhere soft to plant our butts for the drive home.  We stopped for a brief pit stop at the Ranger's Station, before tackling the dirt track back to the caravan park.  Our only other stop on the way, was at the park entrance gate for a scrapbook photo.

A quick pic at the National Park gate

Fitzroy Crossing - 23 July 2012

Today saw us leave for a long drive to Fitzroy Crossing.  Sue schooled the girls in the back of the car, and I studied the white line for about 4-5 hrs. 

While setting up the new sat dish, I chatted to our next door neighbour who had just spent a couple of weeks at Telegraph Pool on the Fitzroy River.  He'd done really well on the barra and gave me a few tips for future reference.  We plan to stop in and check it out for a few days on our return journey.

Broome  - 24 July 2012

We left The Crossing at around 9.00 and stopped at Willare Bridge Roadhouse for fuel and lunch. We arrived in Broome at about 2.30pm and checked into the Broome Caravan Park, about 4km out of the town centre. 

After setting up the van, we drove into the Post Office and picked up another round of mail.  We then drove out to Cable Beach and went for a short walk and watched the camels.  After our walk, we sat in the car and had happy hour with dorritos, while the sun went down. 

Broome - 25 July 2012

I spent the morning preparing tax documents for the accountant, while Sue took the girls for a swim at the pool and booked us in for a camel ride the following afternoon.  Georgia ended up with a sore ear after her swim, so we made a booking for her at the doc's that arvo. 

After some lunch we headed into town and did some shopping before Georgia's appointment.  The doc said Georgia's ear was fine, but gave us a script just in case. 

We drove out to the Broome Jetty and took a walk on a gangway that has been added to the side of the main jetty for fishermen and sightseers.  You can no longer walk on the jetty itself due to security/terrorism reasons because it is a working port.  Disappointing, as it used to be a good fishing spot. 

We decided to get a bit of takeaway dinner out.  Fish and chips was washed down with a Cable Beach sunset.  Pretty easy to take.

Broome - 26 July 2012

Most of my morning was spent compiling even more tax documents, while Sue scoured the caravan for unneeded items that we could send home to Brisbane. Space was becoming scarce. After a late lunch we drove out to Cable Beach for our camel ride.

Sue and Kelsey rode together on a camel named Zara, who was 20 years old and apparently a real princess.  Georgia and I scored Indi, a cheeky 10 year old, not unlike Georgia.  We were camel no. 2, while Sue and Kelsey were on no. 3.  A great time was had by all.  The camel rides and the fluffy toy camels the girls bought afterwards, were early birthday presents from MaMa and RaRa (grandma and grandpa).  Sue and I bought souvenir singlets, on the back of each was printed, "I had the best hump on Cable Beach".

 Kelsey leading the way on Zara

Expert camel jockeys on Cable Beach

We dropped into the Post Office on the way home and bought some packing boxes for our excess baggage, and also a chook for dinner.

 

Broome - 27 July 2012

This morning we packed up 4 boxes, had some lunch and then dropped the boxes off at the TNT depot in town. We did some shopping before heading home and enjoying a lazy happy hour.

Sue made pizza for dinner, while I had a good gas bag on the phone to my mate Darren Grigg, who is travelling with his family, like us. He was in Kakadu at the time and would be following us into WA, before returning through the Red Centre to Melbourne.