Around Oz the First Time - Chapter 47 - Fitzroy Crossing to Broome

The silence is broken early by the phone buzzing. Its Silver Leader ON THE ROAD. Its 6.13am and he has called to say they are pulling out of the van park in Halls Creek. Let’s hope that in around 3 hours as we are ready to leave, they are close by, and perhaps having a break in the town, not that there is much there to break at.

Forbsy is already up answering the call of nature. He has not slept well, his neighbours left out their garbage last night and the wallabies and a cat took to it with gusto, unwilling to be hunted away even with his “patented” click click.

I call the Missing Link as he was off yesterday to Wagga, or so I thought. Goulburn which I thought was his first stop had snow, the day before, and I was enquiring whether he had frozen his Rastafarian nay nays off in reference to the movie Cool Runnings. He informs me they have only just left and are enjoying 22 degrees as they pass Liverpool down the M7. It will get cooler as they head up the mountains on the Hume Motorway and I suspect Wagga will have more than chilly mornings, but for now they are simply tootling down the road, finally with their van in tow. It has taken them a long time, and there are still issues, but for now they are playing Grey Nomads.

By the time we are contemplating the last of readiness procedures, a text from Silver Leader, they are 20kms away, we had better get our arses into gear. We both move with a little more urgency, but not overly, as we expect they will want a break after the first three hours of their trip. I see them at the reception and wave, I get a flash of headlights in return as the phone starts to ring. They are going to fuel up at the Roadhouse and have some breakfast. We too have to fuel up so I tell them there will be no hurry. They disappear.

Filling up for us at the resort, the cheapest fuel in town, means trying to reach the pump across the back of the Cruisers, attached to caravans, so you cannot get really close, and is futile. It just won’t reach. Although it is 5 cents per litre dearer in town it is our only option as you can’t turn around here and there is a line of traffic behind us

Out to the main road, over the two, one lane bridges into Fitzroy Crossing and into the 24 hour self-serve fuel stop. The battery on the pay machine is low and it takes considerable time for it to do anything. Finally, the fuel is authorised, and I fill using the Hi-Flow pump, which fills the tank in no time at all. 

Fuelled up its back to the highway in search of Silver Leader. We find him idling at the exit to the Roadhouse and we are off towards Broome, some 400 kilometres away. The plan is to stop around halfway, Willare Roadhouse, lunch and see how they are going before pushing on. As always, the scenery changes with every curve, crest and more. There are large expanses of just treeless plain, followed by densely bushed sections, burnt out areas and termite infested areas. We pass through a section between two mesas. As we approach Forbsy wonders whether the pass was man made, but I remind him of a similar vista we saw yesterday, it simply happens that way. Unperturbed he suggests perhaps dynamite, lots of dynamite was used.

As we get closer a sign designates the area as Elliot Range. Forbsy suggests, Elliot Hills or Elliot Pass might have been more apt. He also goes onto suggest Mr Elliot must not have been very important in the life of the person who named the vista.

Shortly before Willare, Silver Leader calls for a nature stop. For the past 10 minutes I have been shadowed by a Greyhound bus and just before I get the nature call, I have signalled the bus to pass, which it starts doing. Thankfully I am a long way back and the bus easily passes me and ducks inside Forbsy as he enters the stopping bay. Silver Leader and Rosalie know nothing of the drama because they were well in front. 

This stop has a huge Boab tree as its centrepiece, and by huge, I mean humungous. Many of the Boab trees we have seen lately have been somewhat thin shall we say but this one, many years older, has to be nearly 10 metres across. Forbsy particularly is taken by the tree and has many photos taken of wither him standing by the tree or looking like he is holding one of the branches up. Silver Leader, balder emptied, joins him in the cavorting.

Frivolities and callings completed it’s back on the road, we have seen very few vehicles on the road today so far. We make the turn off where to the left is Broome and to the right is Derby. Willare is left about 14 kilometres. We are almost at lunch. The Roadhouse here is a place we considered stopping at for a night to break up the trip to Broome. Whilst Halls Creek was devoid of grass at the caravan park, at least it was clean and quiet, here the park is right against the highway and the dust rises from every step you take. After lunch we are pushing on regardless.

Lunch is not quick, Silver Leader needs a good break, but as he notes we are making excellent time. As we pull out, Forbsy takes the lead, with a view to perhaps pressing the pedal to the metal looking to get someone to look at his water pump situation in business hours. So now as leader he has the responsibilities that come with it. He fails miserably, so much so Silver Leader suggests he is going to have to attend Leader Classes in Broome, much in the manner Sheldon from Big Bang Theory punishes transgressors.

Failing to note landmarks, rarely speaking of road obstructions, and when he calls “dead something” on the road, it turns out to be a piece of wood. When chastised he retorts with, he is still new at the leadership thingy. Being in the lead you would think he could at least spot a camel, but they are still wearing too much flarge. We also remind him camels with people on their backs or rings in their noses don’t count, they have to be feral, in reference to the camel rides in Broome and the call he made driving out of Katherine many days ago now.

We come into some road works. The lollypop man at our end is jovial and Forbsy must have geed him up as he calls for Silver Leader, now Silver Malcolm (in the middle) to give him the double barrel wave. This only stirs him up more and by the time we pass, we give him the 4 hands of vigorous waving, the guy is dancing a jig around the lollypop. Must have made his day.

At the other end of the road works, the girl holding the stop sign is off the road, no cars to stop, sitting in the shade, and is not even paying attention as we pass. The highs and the lows of road works.

We take a call from our daughter, and inexplicably get detached from the group. No problem our GPS will take us in – silly me – just as I take a turn suggested by the voice in the machine we see Silver Leader heading off in the other direction. We tell him on the radio but all he hears is crackle. I do not understand the issues here as we have sat on the cruise control even though we have been talking to Kirsten.

So, we have turned left, they went straight on. Our GPS seems to want to take us in the direction of the town centre, but as we travel further along I see the GPS is going to turn us around at the next roundabout and take us back, one street over, back the way we came. In fact even though it ignores the road upon which Silver Leader and Forbsy are traversing between two roundabouts, our GPS won’t go there. Strange Days indeed, the words from a song come to mind.

No problem in the end we all end up in the same place, and while Robyn is booking us in I take a picture of the last of the trip for prosperity We get our spots and set up, then attend to the beer garden, between ours and Forbsy’s seems best for now as there are no visible pipes or hoses. We can always migrate should we feel the need to join Silver Leader at the barbeque. Now we had convinced Forbsy he didn’t need to find an auto electrician because we had found a mobile one on the internet, so rather than have to cart Cruiser and van to a workshop, he could come to us.

In fact, all three of us have issues that an auto electrician could potentially solve. We actually passed the van of the roving auto electrician in our wanderings off the main road. I identify myself and the fact we have three jobs for him, and he asks when we would like to book them in but not this week or next as he is booked up. That doesn’t fit with our five-day plan. Let’s look further.

The next auto electrician has the same issue, not to the same depths, but still outside our holiday plan. What is it with Broome vehicles can’t they stand the work they get here? A third does not enamour us with this demeanour so we flick him, which brought us to a fourth option. This guy is a little abrupt but in a no-nonsense sort of a way. He discusses each of our issues and suggests if we can have our vans at his warehouse on Monday at 9.00am and walk away, he will probably be able to sort out the issues for us.

We agree and book all three vans in. This is the day before we leave so it will be a hook up, deliver, and return of the final night, and that’s if we don’t decide to stay longer which is well and truly on the cards.

Feeling we have done a good job, we imbibe of libations and Forbsy supplied cheese and popcorn. Rosalie arrives with peanuts. There is still time in the day, can we sneak something in, yes, a drive to the adjacent beach and check the sunset.

The adjacent beach houses the Broome Surf Club and also has a spot where you can drive onto the beach. We miss the actual sunset, but we can certainly snap the afterglow. We can also reconnoitre for later forays down here. The restaurants look like something we should have to endure, if only to let people know of the fare.

Tomorrow is a 5.00am start and a huge day, as we get to experience the upside-down falls plus lots of other attractions during the day. Early start means and early bed time.