Australia: Katherine to Broome

The big push to get us to the west coast would mean a distance of about 1600 kms, with very few things or towns to see on the way and fuel opportunities about every 250km.  This journey would take us 4 days with a couple of detours on the way.  It is advised out here that you only drive in the day due to the danger of road trains and the large amount of mammals running about at night.  On one short stretch of road early one morning we counted over 10 dead kangaroos on the side hit by passing vehicles.  When you see the size of some of these Roos it becomes very clear why you would not want to hit one and probably one of the reasons why you see bull horns (which are banned in the UK) on pretty much every vehicle out here.

The roads in this part of Australia are single carriageways even though these are the main highways, however, this is not a problem as the traffic on them is so light.  Much of the landscape is flat with low hills always in the distance and never getting closer meaning that the road is often completely straight and goes as far as the eye can see.  To the side of the road is bush with low level trees and the occasional 4x4 track leading to an outback town or cattle station.  Yet we have both been surprised at how the terrain has changed and been different to look at as we have travelled, although this is difficult to describe in words.

Katherine is big for this area and is on the crossroads for Alice Springs to the south or west for the coast and Perth.  We entered the town early and made a beeline for Katherine Gorge which is a series of 13 gorges and we had a pleasant walk to the top of one of the gorges for beautiful views on the river.  As we were driving out we had our first encounter with a living kangaroo.  It had been spooked by some walkers and was about run in front of the van.  Luckily, the furry mammal realised just in time as did the kangaroo and we both took aversive action.  Close call 1, Road kill 0.

Our visit to Katherine was also a chance to re-stock for the next long stretch.  On parking the van in a shopping centre car park you could see loads of Aboriginal people milling about or sitting around in whatever shade they could find.  This is the first time we had seen a large numbers of them in one place and it struck me how out of place they seemed.  Australia seems to be made up of two separate worlds co-existing in the same space but neither being aware of the other.  It suddenly occurred to me how we have not seen any Aboriginals and Australians interacting with each other, or any Aboriginals taking part in the more western part of their world.  They just seem to be lingering, almost like they are waiting for something or perhaps like they are watching and still trying to work it all out.  It’s a very strange sight compared to the way we are used to seeing multicultural societies interact in the UK.  I would not say it was deliberate segregation but just seems to be the way it is.

Next to the supermarket was a drive through liquor store (a common facility here) and without exaggeration most of the people going through are Aboriginals.  I think that’s why the local government have such a strict attitude to alcohol here.  In most of the parks we have visited so far, its either been illegal to drink alcohol in them or you are unable to buy any once you’re in.  In some Shires they don’t sell cask quantities of wine (wine in a box) and several liquor shops have very restricted buying times.  We have also heard local radio stations running infomercials specifically to warn Aboriginal women about the danger of drinking whilst pregnant.  Clearly, the Grog is a real problem here.

For our nights stay we found a lovely little camp site just out of town next to a old homestead that was an original settlers house.  As we relaxed into our spot and set up for the night, a family of Kangaroos came sniffing around and stood about 20m from us.  Fairly OK with the attention (them not me) I walked closer to get some pictures, later realising when looking back at them that the bigger one was actually carrying a baby in its pouch. 

Dinner tonight was to be some proper Aussie beef burgers cooked on the free BBQ provided at the campsite.  Man and fire has been synonymous for thousands of years and even if men don’t normally do the cooking, they feel qualified to cook meat on an open fire.  Aussies are world renowned for their BBQ’s and as you would expect these facilities were gas powered behemoths.  I walked up and pressed the starter button, then waved my hands over the hotplate like a magician performing a trick….nothing.  Not wanting to return to the van with raw meat and a likely barrage of peetaking, I went against my natural instinct and looked for instructions….damn….nothing.  Just as I was about to look for tinder and two sticks to rub together in a Bear Grlys stylie way, a kind Aussie gentleman approached (either sensing my plight or realising I was a pomme and therefore unpractised in the art of BBQ) came over to show me how to use it.  I am pleased to report that the burgers turned out perfectly (of course!) and the Man Fire relationship was restored.

We have parked in all sorts of different campsites so far from bush camps with just showers and toilets (sometimes just toilets) to proper holiday camp facilities with bars, restaurants and entertainment.  The next night we stayed in our first road side free rest stop.  Some have toilets and BBQ areas, however the one we stopped at had nothing and was 80km from the nearest town.  Rather than having a 5 star restaurant meal we were treated instead to a million star setting and able to eat our dinner outside whilst enjoying natures finest show.  With nothing else to do we turned in as usual at 8pm….Partay!!!  Being at such an isolated location the only sound in the night was oncoming road trains.  These lorries are up to 4 trailers long and light up at night like something from Close Encounters.  You obviously hear them miles before you see the lights barrelling towards you, and then you feel the rumble as they go past eventually diminishing as they plough on into the night.

The next day we crossed over from one state to another, the Northern Territory to Western Australia (WA).  As we drew up to the border we started to see signs for quarantine restrictions and eventually pulled up to a large building that looked like something you would find at an international border crossing.  We stopped as instructed and were asked if we had any fruit or veg? Yes we said as we had just stocked up on $20 worth.  The border guard suggested pulling back into NT and eating at much as we could as we were going to have to bin the rest.  Doh!!  The quarantine restrictions have been in place since 1908 and they are protecting WA from a number of diseases and viruses from fruit flies and other creatures that destroy crops and are carried in fruit and veg.  Due to the large distances between conurbations here the vermin can’t make the journey on their own and need modern transport to make the jump.  So for 45 minutes we cooked what we could and ate the rest so in the end we only threw a small amount.  As we passed the border for the second time the guard wished us well and told us to change our watches.  An 1.5 hr forward, it will now be dark at 17:30, welcome to WA.

We then made our way to Lake Argyle for a campsite with showers and some decent toilets.  Lake Argyle is the second largest body of water in Australia and was man made in the 1960’s to be a reservoir for WA.  The campsite had a commanding view of the lake from a high hill top which was enhanced with a lovely infinity pool and offered spectacular views of the setting sun over the lake.

This site also had a bar and a restaurant and for tonight only…..WA’s best vocalist (or so the advert proclaimed) singing songs about the area and Australia.  Like everything out here life revolves around the 4x4 so his stage and lights were setup on the side of his UHT.  Just pull up outside the bar, plug in and start singing - great idea.  So with a few beers (have to say that the Oz beer I have had so far is truly terrible, but I soldiered on anyway) we spent the evening listening to his songs about the outback.  If he is the best singer that WA has to offer then we feel able to make the statement that people in WA are tone deaf.  Still, it was nice to be entertained and in the company of others (Editors comment - Bill is not getting bored of only conversing with Emma).

We finally pulled into Broome after 1600km and 4 days driving ready for a rest and in need of completing some chores.  If you thought this was a holiday then think again.