Day 12 Broome to Fitzroy Crossing

We woke this morning to the knowledge that we were in for a long days driving, and it didn't disappoint.    After an early wakeup (6:30), we got stuck into the task of breakfast and breaking down the caravan after a week long stay in Broome.  This was surprisingly easy and quite successful, and we were able to also clean the car out and shake the sand off the floormats.  The conservation department rang earlier asking for their beach back.

The drive out of Broome was quite ordinary, and we settled into the two hour journey to Derby.  BRAHMAN BULL!  Ok, so we have now seen the first of the BIG bulls up here, and plenty of cattle around the roadside as the landscape changed around us.  The land turned to a grassy Savannah, and the termite mounds seem larger and a soft pooey greeny cream colour.  I was imagining what type of animal could have dropped such packages.

We stopped at the Prison Boab Tree just short of Derby, and got out for a walk and some lunch.  The ants are back with a vengeance.  We are going to have to pull everything out of the cupboards and spray the whole caravan with surface spray when we get to Darwin.

The prison tree is now fenced off to preserve the shallow root system, the religious significance for the aboriginal people, and the tourists from the snakes that now reside within it.  The kids were mildly interested in the tree, but it is still fascinating to see the age and beauty of this iconic piece of flora.  I can see how this tree must have been a significant land mark for the indigenous people, at the time that Australia was settled.  Along side the tree is the water trough that was used to water up to 500 cattle at a time when Derby was used for cattle exports. 

 I also took a walk over to Frosty's Pool which is a small concrete skanky pit now, but would have been a refreshing bathing pool for the diggers back in 1944 when it was constructed. 

We drove into Derby to show the kids the jetty, and came upon a sign to draw attention to the Freshwater Saw Fish...Thinking of you Deano...Feel  a bit special knowing my mate was one of the researchers discovering and tagging this thought to be extinct species.  King George Sound was still emptying to Low Tide, and we could see the water receding from the mud flats.  On the way out Lisa took the wheel and came within inches of killing the moron who pulled out in front of us and stopped in the middle of the road. 

It's called a stop sign back in Perth, most of us know what it means...but we were in Derby.

After another 40 minutes of driving, both Lisa and I fell asleep...me in the passenger seat, and Lisa at the wheel, so we swapped again and I finished the drive to Fitzroy crossing.  More cows, termite mounds, birds of prey, and plenty of single lane river crossings.  The park at Fitzroy Crossing Lodge is green, grassy and very tidy.  Should be a nice stay for the next couple of nights.