To Broome and back

Not sure when we will be online again - maybe in 4 days' time, maybe not until the end of the month. So thought I'd continue with a little bit more about life under canvas and atop Prado. Following our stay in Broome Motel, where I think we washed enough red iron ore out of our clothes and ourselves to supply a small steel mill in China, we took another red road to the Broome Bird Observatory, just out of town. A very charming, albeit fairly basic bush camp amongst the stubby trees, and sand underfoot. We're getting quite adept at setting up camp (striking it is much more of a pain) so it was down to the lookout at the beach - the most amazing greeny turquoise sea and pale orange sand. I got out the paints for the first time and Nick did what he came here for, ie watched birds. Back at camp we had tea in the communal camp kitchen where we watched wallabies drinking from the stone bird baths just a few yards away, while a sparrowhawk looked imperiously on and frightened all other birds away. We were able to cook supper in the kitchen, a friendly place which reminded me of the 6th form common room at school (but without the illicit smoking). Lots of birding talk, but also got good reports on Cape Levique, which is where we head out to tomorrow. There was one place left on the mangrove swamp tour for this morning, so Nick signed up. After explaining to him that he'd need footware suitable for wading up to his thighs in mud, plus plenty of mozzie repellant, they then very kindly said that they could squeeze me onto the tour as well. I felt I just had to turn down this generous offer, tempting though it was. Nick enjoyed his swamp, and got duly covered in mud (he abandoned his shoes - or they abandoned him - and squelched barefoot). Meanwhile I set up the computer with the phone connection at our camp table under the trees, and felt like a foreign correspondent typing in a report from the African jungle. All was hunky dory until I discovered that Google seem to have hijacked the site, and spent all the computer battery life trying to log on to my own blog.

Big treat later, our neighbours from our block in Perth, who winter up in Broome, invited us over to lunch - really great to see them, and wonderful not to dig about in our fridge in the car for lunch. They told us of the webcam set up on Cable Beach, so at sunset we hurtled over there, phoned Simon and Kate and told them to log onto the site. Amazing being able to wave to S in Greece and K in Adelaide, and they could describe what we were wearing/doing.

In case you're wondering about the photos, the third is how the car looked for the first 10 days, until we managed to hose it down at our last station stay (it now looks marginally cleaner). The last one is me (with essential miner's headlamp) rootling around in one of the plastic bins we keep our clothes, books, and everything else in. At least the bad language was muffled as I toppled headfirst into its depths. Also essential have been the Crocs, and having been pretty rude about these strange looking shoes in the past I now admit to owning 2 pairs, both in traditonal clog and jazzier thong style. They are in fact the d's b's when it comes to camping and are the footwear of choice for the discerning camper. Oh, and Simon and Kate, you might be pleased to know that the Hong Kong Taplight has really come into its own.

Pics: Sunset, Cable Beach, Broome

(very) Agile Wallaby

Spot the car

Bin there