Leaving Broome

It was with some sadness that I leave Broome. There were still things left that I wanted to see and do and the weather and the ambience are just to die for. I can see why people go here on holidays and never come home. The staff at the Mercure in Broome have been excellent and the General Manager Jeff was the ultimate in hands on. He was doing laundry when I met him and it was not until the next night that I found out he was the boss. I splashed about in their pool every night, it was a great way to freshen yourself up for the evening. I totally forgot to get a pic of it but I will be sad to leave that behind as well. I mean who wants to swim in croc infested waters. One wrong move could really spoil your afternoon. 

I did a rat run to Kununurra today, just the 1044 kilometres. You know its going to be a bit of a drive when you have already done 180 km's and the GPS tells you to turn right on to the Great Northern Highway and stay on it for the next 819 kilometres. There isn't a lot I can tell you about the trip. There a few roadhouses and essentially two towns the entire way. 

The first town is Fitzroy Crossing and it is pretty nondescript, the second town was Halls Creek which seemed to have a bit more character. I actually drove past some limestones caves and didn't even stop. There was also the Geikie Gorge nearby but I figured I would be in the Katherine Gorge soon I would give this one a miss. If I had time I could have taken a 260 kilometre detour to visit the Wolfe Creek crater. Apparently it is the second largest meteorite crater in the world. I'm guessing it might be hard to see to any effect from the ground so that was also struck from the list. 

I was amusing myself as I drove past thinking that maybe I could pick up some hitch hikers near Wolfe Creek and see if I could mess with their heads (you know the Australian horror movie that was based there?). Anyway low and behold there were a couple of hitch hikers but they had to much gear and I couldn't fit them both in my car so I left them behind. Pretty funny all the same that some overseas hitch hikers were cadging a lift near Wolfe Creek.

So I thought I would regale you with some other interesting things that I have seen on this trip that have been culled from the blog because they didn't fit within the creative arc (what a wank). Just out of Port Hedland I saw a paddock full of termite nests that somebody had adorned with hard hats. It kind of looked like a modern version of the entombed warriors. Your mind no doubt wanders when you are stuck in these remote places with nothing to keep it occupied (like a blog for instance).

I saw a similar thing on the way into Dampier. There was quite a wide water channel running parallel to the road. In it were some interesting pieces of art (or something akin to art). There a sinking Titanic, the Loch Ness Monster, sharks circling a drowning man and a submarine periscope. Sadly I was unable to photograph these. They were by no means officially sanctioned, they were just the out poring of some bored soul who decided to amuse them self and others with their effort.

Of course there is the collaborative efforts of multiple travellers work to be seen. The most obvious example of this is the huge rock mounds that you see at many of the rest stops. But by far my favourite was a tree decorated with underwear. This was found at the turn off out of Exmouth on the way north. It certainly brings a smile to your face when you see it.

Anyway as I got closer to Kununurra the countryside got even more amazing and the afternoon sun kissing the Kimberley cliff tops was truly a site to behold. I am really looking forward to my flight over the Bungle Bungles tomorrow. There has been a small hiccup with my booking so I hope everything is OK.