From Port Headland, its 605 kilometres to Broome and about half way between is the Eighty Mile Beach Caravan Park. Mind you there are some awesome 24 hour stop points by the road like ‘De Grey’ and ‘Sandfire’ that have open space away from the road, clean toilets AND little wifi hotspot areas under the shelters at the main tables! Well done WA government. But Eighty Mile is the only spot on the water and with services for those wanting a longer stay. It’s a quirky little oasis with lots of grass, shady trees (compulsory items here) and hundreds of residents including permanents, seasonal regulars and the blow throughs (like us).

It seems to be the seasonal regulars who make this place truly unique. There are markets twice a week in the central grassed area where all manner of craft items and bric a brac are for sale. Every other night there is an impromptu concert performance/singalong hosted by a couple of old girls in a van shelter that doubles as a sound stage with microphones, amps and twinkling lights! In the pics below you see the singers on the left (the lady in the blue shirt has a budgie on her hat!) and the adoring crowds on the right. Gosh it was hard not to grab a comfy chair and join with the oldies singing old-time favourites…        NOT!

Those not enamoured by the performance form casual groups for “happy hour” which seems to happen in most van parks with regulars and long-term grey nomads (many live on the road). Pictured below was a well lubricated and slightly racy group happy to pose…

Some of the keen fishermen haul 4WD Quad bikes or little buggies like the one below. This gives them better access to hard to reach beach spots – after all there is 80 miles of beach.

This guy as showing off on the sand flats at low tide and got hopelessly bogged. Took him and 20 others about an hour to extract the thing… sand & mud inside & out!

An amazing aspect of coastal life further north is the tide variance. They are running 8-10 metres which translates into hundreds of metres of exposed sand at low tide.

Eighty Mile at sunset. The tide is not fully out! The high water mark is the wheel tracks in the sand in the foreground and the closest strip of water is the channel you fish in at high tide.

After 2 relaxing nights we headed for Broome. Markus is now using the auxiliary fuel tanks between larger centres as $2 a litre for diesel at many outback roadhouses is a bit steep. We had high hopes for Broome as Ginnie’s younger brother Scott and his wife Pip lived there for a year about a decade ago. They were volunteer Youth & Assistant Ministers and also did some building maintenance in return for board and keep. They would go back to live there in a heartbeat. However, some of the seasoned travellers we met said “The best thing about Broome is seeing it in the rear-view mirror!” Hmmm… we hoped to find it somewhere in between those contrasting sentiments.

The beach in front of our campsite at Roebuck Bay Van Park. For some reason the coastal water in WA is always stunning.

Broome is a tidy & well watered town with great facilities, lots of grassy areas & fabulous markets in the courthouse grounds (under huge shady palms) every Saturday & Sunday morning. There is plenty of historical reference to the early pearling history of this little town which boasts a continued long-term blend of Aboriginal, white, Japanese & Malay residents. Many statues & museums are to be found & the main street bustles with pearl & jewellery stores, high & low fashion outlets, and trendy restaurants & cafes.

Of course no trip to Broome is complete without experiencing sunset at Cable Beach which is a few miles out of Broome on the Western shoreline (the town centre wraps around Roebuck Bay facing the south). Here you can wine and dine with the well to do at the beach-front establishments, take a sunset camel ride, or just drive down the beach with some chairs, chilled wine and nibbles and DIY the whole experience. The following shots are from the 2 evenings we enjoyed Cable Beach.

This is the option we chose – the fishing bucket filled with ice was excellent for the wine. Paradise on a budget 🙂

The low tide provides acres of reflective wet sand which enhances the light in the sunset experience here.

Can’t blame him for trying but all Markus caught was a stunning view.

I guess this is why (besides Bondi) Cable Beach is at the top of most traveler’s list of sites to visit?