Delica Diaries - Island Vide on Stradbroke

Sorry these photos are a little bit mixed up.

This was the sunset at Cape Liveque

This was when we first hit the dirt going from Broome to Cape Liveque. Nice color huh ?

Can anyone else do this with their nostril ?

This is the lookout and lawn at the little cafe on the cliff at Cape Liveque

My smokey joe

Dinner on the boil

Yummmmm .... flesh

This was the church at Beagle Bay

So once again it was Monday morning and some sat on a bus on the way to work and while others were sitting in traffic, Zoe and I were preparing for our trip to Cape Levique. Cape levique is a little settlement about 2 hours north of Broome. Its one of the places along the Kimberly’s that you can actually swim without being eaten by crocs or fatally stung by jelly fish (know here as stingers). It was a 200km drive half of which is pretty rough dirt road. Need I say that the Delica handled it like a boat on the water thanks to the ironman suspension. We stopped at a little church about half was in a settlement called Begal Bay. The church was built in the early 1900’ and has been decorated in mother of pearl shell. Was really pleasant to visit. When we arrived in Cape Levique, we found that there was no availability for campers so we hired a dome tent for the night. Included is you own private little 2sm deck. I enjoyed it as a change from the back of the Delica. Once we were settled in we took a small eski with a few ice cold beers and sat on the lookout of a cliff and marveled at the most amazing sunset on this trip. The sun set behind the ocean creating a fortitude of colours. Back at the dome tent, I got the ol smokey joe out and braai’ed 4 chicken wings and 6 lamb chops. We devowered them off the bbq and made turned the page on what was another day in our adventure.

Day 15 – Halls Creek

So we arrive at Halls Creek after an awesome drive along the Kimberly’s. First impression, not as bad as ithought it would be. I was quite excited about seeing the little fuel station where the trio from the Australian horror film “wolfe creek” stopped to get gas. There were a lot of locals walking around. It is fairly imtimidating as they walk around in groups of 6 or 7 although having said that I must admit that we have not encountered a threatening or aggressive person on this trip yet. We checked into our camp site which was predominantly dirt (and muddy at that) because of the recent rains. The lady running the joint was really nice. She told us there was an aboriginal band playing in town and a few people had come to Halls for the event. While we were setting up, we heard them jamming away in the backround. The music had influences of reggae/ rock interspersed with the unique Australian didgeridoo. Was really quite cool to listen to even if it was from the security of our campsite. Rain was forcast for the evening so we set up our overhead weather protection system, which was really just a tarp zip tied to top of the van. For dinner we had slow cooked lamb with potatoes and green beans in a jungle of tantalizing flavors served with rice. After devouring this delicacy, I could feel my eyelids traveling south so that said and done, it was time for bed.

Day 16 – Fitzroy Crossing

The drive between Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing was only 290 km. We wanted to hit the road early so we could go via Wolfe Creek Meteorite Crater (an extra 260km). The creator spans nearly 1km and 88ft deep. For anyone who has seen the Australian Horror “Wolfe Creek”, you would recognize this as being the place where the trio on a road trip from Broome to Sydney were kidnapped by an outback bushie. They were tortured gruesomely and only 1 of the three survived and escaped. Today he is in a mental institution in South Australia and the murderer/kidnapper was never prosecuted because the survivor’s evidence was deemed unreliable because of his insanity. Anyway wolfe creek is of the 3 largest mereorite crators on earth and since the movie came out, I have been dying to see it. We get to the tanimi road which will take us to the creator and my heart sinks when I find out that the road is shut to all traffic. The road is descriped as impassable. The tanimi desert has left me ready disappointed on this trip. But I have to remind myself that out here, I am natures guest and not when its suites me. So chin up we hit the road headed for fiztroy crossing. Zoe and I got into a debate about the curvature of the earth an while I had my internet dongle in my hand, I swung my arm from right to left in a 180 degree sweep resulting in the projectile of my $150 dongle from my hand through the window and into the vast expanse of the desert. We found it 5 minutes later. Fitzroy crossing is an awesome campsite. So green and lush. We set up camp. While zoe was fiddling in the van, I managed to fill my super soaker with a hydration agent (namly water) and as she turned around, I nailed her in the noggin followed by an intense water pistol war highly welcome because of the heat. At 3 pm we hit Geike Gorge recommended by Craigo. They took us on this barge style boat up the river. Stunning views. I feel like a fool when these dedicated rangers teach us a little about bio-diversity and ecological sustainability. He was telling us that the fresh water crocks are reducing in numbers because every year they floods are coming earlier and washing the crock eggs away. Climate change hmmmm. I despise the viral effect humans have on the earth. But then again, if you have never really been in a position to appreciate it, you will never miss it when its gone. For those of us who enjoy getting into the thick of it all, Carolyn Paul Shepard, Bjoern, Karen, Craigo, all you guys I reckon we soak it up while its still around.

Back at camp, the coals are glowing red and the dampers are being grilled in a butter bath. The sound of those poterhouse steaks when they flop onto that hot grill is just awesome. In the pan is a ringers garnish consisting of fresh garlic, chopped onion and red pepper fried in butter and Worchester sauce. Serve with a bit of English mustard oh and don’t forget that ice cold beer. What a way to end the day. See you all in broome. We are just 400km away now.