BROOME/DERBY - HALLS CREEK

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BROOME,  DERBY & FURTHER EAST

After returning from Brisbane we had a day looking around Broome.  What a disappointment this town is.  The “famous” Cable Beach which is written in brochures as “the worlds most beautiful beach” was truly terrible.  The tides go out about 400mtrs and the section directly in front of the Resort is so rocky, we couldn’t believe it.  To do the camel rides (which we didn’t bother with) you had to drive through the rocks a klm or more up the beach.  Like Eighty Mile Beach, this one is mostly shell grit also.  These people have never been at a good sandy beach, I’m sure.  One stunning event which happens here is “The stairway to the moon”.  This is caused by a full moon rising over the mud flats at low tide, reflecting in the muddy waters and giving the appearance of a staircase.  We saw a small version the night before we flew back to Brisbane, but the true event was happening on the two following nights.  The next one will be in June full moon, so we bought a postcard.

The first half of our trip to Derby was pretty uneventful.  Then we stopped at the only roadhouse, at the Fitzroy River.  The boab trees up this way are very large and quite lovely.  The signboard at the Roadhouse gives some indication of the distances we have faced and are yet to face.  We arrived at Derby, booked into the van park and headed out to watch the sunset behind an enormous boab tree.  We have yet to see a really great sunset in the west and our time is running out.  Derby is quite small but has the most amazing tides you could see anywhere. The sixth largest in the world, in fact, and the largest in Australia. 10.5mtrs the day we saw it but twice a year it reaches 11mtrs.  High tide sees the ocean come to within a metre of the jetty decking.  Low tide, there is no water there at all.  We were on the jetty at the change of the tide one day and you could literally see the water change direction.  It blew us away, standing up there watching sandbars disappear within minutes.  This phenomenon is caused by the waters in King Sound being forced higher up off the Continental Shelf  because of the ocean bed in King Sound.  We also saw another example of this when we took a sea plane flight out to what is called “Horizontal Falls” north of Derby.  Landing on the water and transferring to a jet boat, we went through a 20mtr wide gap in the mountain into another bay and then there’s another gap 7mtrs wide in the range where the water races through to the coastal bay. It was too dangerous for us to go through the smaller opening as the water on the outside bay was 3mtrs higher than the coastal bay.  These rapids have to be seen to be believed.  40mtrs deep, the water is forced through with such power that the skipper had the jetboat facing into the flow of the water and sitting at 33knots and we weren’t moving, such was the pull of the water.  It was pretty scary.  The flight also gave us a wonderful look at the expanse of tidal flats around Derby and how the Fitzroy River empties into the ocean.  The speed of the tides here takes the silt and mud kilometres out to sea.  Derby has quite a lot of WW2 history, some of which we captured in photos.  Our trip from Derby to Fitzroy Crossing was pretty tedious.  Nothing much changes, and then more of the same.  We decided to do a boat trip up Geikie Gorge on the Fitzroy River at Fitzroy Crossing.  This is an enormous river (some 700klm or more long) and very wide here.  The visitors centre had a display of photos of the 2011 floods.  It’s hard to imagine where that much water could come from when you see it dry.  We have some photos which will give a small idea of the water height.  The gorge is quite beautiful, as most gorges are, and we went ashore for a cuppa in the bush.  It was lovely.  The fresh water crocs were everywhere.  Left Fitzroy Crossing at 4.15pm and had an overnight beside the highway with 4 others.  Off next morning to have breakfast at a lookout 60klm or so on.  It was as windy as hell, and naturally, a headwind to us.  The country is getting nicer now, with several ranges and some windy roads.  A nice change.  We decided to call it a day at a lovely campsite called Mary’s Pool about 100klm west of Halls Creek.  We were warned this would be a popular spot, and we joined about 40 other vans camping here.  Off again into the headwind next day.  We reached Halls Creek and booked into the van park.  This is where gold was first discovered in WA.  We drove out to the old town site next day and were disappointed that no one is doing any maintenance around the ruins and so very hard to get any idea of what the town used to be like. In this area is a vertical quartz vein rising up to 6m in places.  It has been given the name China Wall - you will see why on the photo.  We did some prospecting but had no luck.  152 south of Halls Creek on the edge on the Sandy Desert is a meteorite crater called Wolfe Creek.  This is the second largest crater in the world. 880mtrs across and 60mtrs below the rim. We didn’t go down there, but have a photo to show you.  Moving on tomorrow.  Hope you enjoy this blog.

Part of Cable Beach, Broome.  It goes for miles around the bay. Note how far out the water goes at low tide.  Not great surfing here.

Cable Beach, Broome looking in the opposite direction.  The camel rides start way up past the rocky outcrop.  They advertise this as the most beautiful beach in the world.

Des enjoying a swim in the van park pool at Broome.

The effect of the full moon rising over the mud flats at low tide causing what is known as "Stairway to the Moon" in Broome.

Signage at the Roadhouse at Fitzroy River east of Derby.  Long way to anywhere. Opposite direction photo below.

This large boab tree near the tidal plains at Derby marks the spot where drovers once camped overnight with their mobs of cattle awaiting the last push to the Derby wharf where cattle were loaded for shipping. Can you spot Des at the base of the tree?

High tide at Derby wharf, about 1mtr below the deck.

Low tide at Derby wharf.

The pontoon where we moured the plane on our Horizontal Falls flight and the jet boat which took us to the rapids.

Horizontal Falls from the air.  The ocean is at the bottom of this picture. You can see how the tides run through both gaps in the  mountains.

The 20m opening from the jet boat.  We passed through this one several times, including when it was dead calm at the turn of the tide.

The rapids through the 7m gap.  We weren't able to pass through here as it was too  dangerous.  The water at the top of this picture is about 3mtrs lower than where we are sitting in the boat.

Derby from the air. The tidal plains go for kilometres.  The wharf is off to the left hand side of this photo.

The boab "Prison Tree", believed to be about 1500yrs old, , used by police in the early days walking prisoners to Derby.  There's no way out except where you go in.

The cattle trough is 120mtrs long and built around 1917.  It can handle 500 bullocks at one time. The bore feeding the trough is run by windmill and stands behind me.

This amazing bath tub was built in 1944 for troops stationed near Derby.  It is about 1mtr deep and even has a seat at one end.  The insignia shows the batallion involved in building the tub.  This would have given incredible relief for troops during the summer months.

One hell of a boab tree at a roadside stop between Derby & Fitzroy Crossing.  The van gives some indication of its size.

The gazebo in the park at the Fitzroy River, Geikie Gorge entrance.  Take note of the height of the top of the roof.  The following photos show flood levels for 2002 which go 3mtrs above this roof.  It's hard to imagine that much water, but when you learn how big this river is and how many rivers feed into it, it is no wonder it floods so badly here.

markers on the roof truses showing various flood levels

this puts the inside structure of the roof in perspective.  It's quite a way up to the white signs.

Geikie Gorge on the Fitzroy River at Fitzroy Crossing.  Water is 20mtrs deep in some parts.  2011 flood level was above the white marking on the cliff.

Afternoon tea in the bush on our Geikie Gorge boat ride.  This was a magical spot.

Another view of Geikie Gorge.  Can you see another boat way off in front of us.

Our bush camp at Mary's Pool, 100k west of Halls Creek.  It was 4 deg. when we woke



Wolfe Creek crater about 150klm south of Halls Creek. 

"China Wall" 7klm from Halls Creek.  Truly awsome to see in reality.  Another of nature's strange happenings in the Australian bush.