Day 31: Bye bye Broome

So Friday finally rolled around – the last exam – the hardest exam (Psychology) – the exam that has consumed all my waking thoughts and time for the last few weeks – what can I say, it is over, and I am a free agent!!  Yay!  I have NO idea how it went – I think I passed, but it was one of those where the questions were so complex and the answers so similar that I really don’t know – will have to wait for results – and in the meantime – I will just enjoy some well deserved holiday!

 We were on the road out of lovely Broome by 11.00 am with ‘slave-driver’ Rich back in the driving seat – it was nice not to be juggling books, computer, power cords and pencil cases in the back seat for a change and to just enjoy the country side.  The big ranches around here don’t seem to have fences to keep their cattle in – so one has to be fairly careful with cattle always on the road.  The cows here seem mainly Brahman – the kind that come from India, big animals with huge humps and floppy ears – they look so cuddly, but Rich tells me they can be fierce and equally hardy – obviously not very clever either because there are lots of dead ones along the road.  We also saw a small group of brumbies which is always nice especially when they are in reasonable condition.  The other welcome sight were the numerous boab trees (in Africa we say Baobab) – it was quite nostalgic seeing them, as they are common in southern Zimbabwe – very funny trees – they look like they are upside down with their roots in the air. 

We went over numerous rivers – some with water and some not.  All the bridges around here seem to be single vehicle width – not sure why.  We stopped at one because in addition to walking on every pier and looking at every big tree, we also have to walk to the end of bridges.  There was a plaque there that gave the details of the bridge – it had been built in 1968 and cost $695.00 (wow, there has been a significant amount of inflation in my life time!)

We finally pulled into Fitzroy Crossing just before sundown after a very hot trip – it was 33 degrees for most of the day – there is NO WAY I am ever coming here in summer.  We have got our ‘van unpack’ down to about ten minutes and are in the most lovely caravan park on the banks of the Fitzroy River.  All day we have been commenting on the similarity of the area to Zimbabwe – where we used to go for our holidays when we lived in Africa – and once we had set up we went down to the river to explore and were half expecting hippo grunts and lion roars – it was so reminiscent of our holidays there – there are crocodiles I suppose! J  Dinner was another one of the fish that Rich caught whilst we were in Broome – very nice I must say, even as a ‘non-fish’ eater.

We finished off the day with another catch up with Rich’s work friends (Danny and Lucy, whom met up with in Broome with the cute little red headed children). They are now a bit ahead of us and had got to Fitzroy Crossing a day before us – fortunately for us because they directed us to this lovely caravan park.

Funnies of the day:

A sign in the toilets at the caravan park in Fitzroy Crossing:  ‘Please keep the toilet lids down to prevent frogs and insects filling up the bowl!’   (Note to self about midnight toilet visit – only use the toilets with the lids down!)

As we have said before, our van is fairly small, and so far we haven’t had any mishaps – except tonight when we were getting changed to meet the friends and Rich burnt his bum on the kettle!  J  That man is so accident prone – whatever next!

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