Greetings from one of my favourites places… Broome, Western Australia, where we’ve made ourselves at home for a week enjoying an ensuite caravan park site with bonus shady mango tree, lawn and sprinkler!
Of our 59 days on the road to date most have had merit enough to render them a highlight… the G.O. and I have been, seen, experienced a variety of wonderful. Things people often comment are “once in a lifetime”. As one of the motivations for this trip is revisiting our brief Broome-Darwin highlights 2007 holiday, I don’t buy it for a minute, if somewhere-something is that good -all going to plan- we just might be back.
That is also by way of explanation why you haven’t until now seen a blog post from me and only adhoc visits to your blogs during our trip. It’s an art in itself, living this life on the road. What, if any, later art it manifests, who knows? It’s certainly transforming in subtle ways, and I can literally feel & see myself reshaping.
Last Sunday was one of several quiet days we planned to spend at Derby, Western Australia, after making our way across W.A. and a long, lovely day exploring the wonderful Bungle Bungles. But in a quirky way our Sunday turned out to be not quiet & quite memorable.
On Saturday we arrived, set up, ate lunch, washed clothes and ducked off to the mud crab races for a beer… as you do… before taking in the sunset at Derby Jetty. In passing we noticed the camper we’d parked alongside was the same one as we were next to a few days earlier at Wyndham. Easy to recognise the giant purple snail and name Max scribed boldly across it.
Also as you do, on Sunday morning we got chatting to these neighbours, who proposed an afternoon of fishing on the jetty. Why not, so we cobbled together our gear and joined the congregation enjoying the balmy north W.A. dry season weather doing the same thing. No-one caught much but the ambiance and sunset created a kind of magic.
So, should I have been surprised when chatting to our neighbours to find we have much in common including for B and I our day of birth? Calculating time-place difference, I’m the elder by about 16 hours. Or that B & Aquaman and Tanya & Al we encountered photographing the sunset are bloggers also? Their blogs are maxthesnailcom and Four Corners Australia. Or during the impromptu acoustic jam session of the same evening in the camp kitchen we’d meet travellers from Macksville, the small town nearest our village of Taylors Arm?
Yes, but with the kind of delight that comes from receiving marvellous unexpected gifts.
For glimpses of our travels you can see my Instagram snapshots on the right (hover cursor over the pics for the captions) or if you’re an Instagrammer you can follow me at daleleelife101 and the G.O. at welshy055.
Not lacking for blog inspiration & ideas, I began compiling a blog post for the first -Queensland- leg of our trip several weeks ago during our Darwin, Northern Territory stopover, which I’ll complete in due course. Since, we’ve moved further across another state. But I find the practical application of it somewhat distracting from the actual travel. However, below is a selection of photos from the last 58 days. Which in the meantime will suffice, I hope.
Mackay, North Queensland where we visited talltalesfromchiconia‘s Kate & Mr C.
Townsville, North Queensland looking towards the very attractive Magnetic Island
Kronosaurus Korner at Richmond, Outback Queensland where dinosaurs once swam
Our neigh-bours at Mt Isa, Outback Queensland
Retail therapy outback style at Daly Waters, Northern Territory
Up close and incredibly loud at Nitro Up North, Darwin, NT
Mindil Beach Markets, Darwin NT, the place to be on a Sunday evening
Everyone loves a sunset at Mindil Beach, Darwin, NT
We’re fans of markets big and small… Dundee Beach, NT
During our 2007 trip we saw Arnhem Land, NT from the air, this time on the ground
A view from a bridge… Victoria River, Gregory/Judburra National Park, NT… the G.O. rode a motorcycle across over 40 years ago
Dusty… Kununurra Rodeo, WA
Heading west, WA… we see a lot of this
A big, blue jewel in the Kimberley… Lake Argyle, WA
Five Rivers Lookout, Wyndham, WA on the Cambridge Gulf where the Ord, Pentecost, Durack, King and Forrest rivers come together
The Domes, 360 million years old, part of the Bungle Bungles, Purnululu National Park,WA… worth an 180 kilometre rough dirt road side trip
Another day another magic sunset… Derby Jetty, WA
Broome’s Gantheume Point where dinosaurs once roamed, looking towards Cable Beach, WA
“Wherever you go becomes a part of you somehow.” Anita Desai
From Broome, we’ll resume our journey in a southerly direction following the coast towards Perth, slowly towards Taylors Arm, NSW marked with the yellow star.
daleleelife101.blog 
Mud crab races? What the heck is that?
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Survival of the fittest. The slow crabs are dinner 😉
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I hope you continue to enjoy WA, Ella
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I love home, have an affection for all of Australia but there’s something very special about W.A. 🙂
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I’ve been LOVING your photos, ED! I’m so happy for you and the G.O.! Thanks for taking us travelling with you!
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Sharing is caring… I love revisiting San Fran through your heart shaped sunglasses shaded eyes 😍
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Some cracker jack photos Dale. I love the quote at the end ‘Wherever you go becomes part of you somehow’ It certainly does. I’m very much enjoying your travels on Instagram, but equally love reading this post and hearing your thoughts. Happy trails!
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Thank you. Making the selection of pics from a wealth of wonderful recollections wasn’t easy. It’s been nice to have your company on Instagram both during your travels & ours.
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You have certainly lit a fire under my own not very serious case of wanderlust… One day, maybe, when we win the lottery – the big map is still pinned up on the wall upstairs. You both look incredibly well and happy, so nomadic life is obviously suiting you. By the time you get back, the quilt for the Nannavan will be ready 🙂
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Thank you. So many great places, we hope this trip is the first of many. So your wanderlust isn’t alone being on the warm side. Roadtripping nannavan style continues to reward us, the more we see, the more people we meet, the more we feel at home in the whole country, the more we want to see.
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Oh wow..those photos are sensational. You make me want to get out there and see all these incredible places for myself!
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That makes me happy… so much wonderful, it doesn’t matter where you go, what you see, there’s a reward.
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I think I’m doing some vicarious travelling through your pics. Last time I actually, physically travelled anywhere was 13 years ago. -sigh-
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I ♡ vicarious travel. It’s good for the soul… and easy on the bank balance.
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lmao- you’re not wrong there!
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🙂
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Happy to see you popping into Instagram ♡
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This is so awesome. Thanks for dropping in to share some of your trip. Those cloudless cobalt blue skies as your backdrop. Fantastic.
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Thank you. We’ve had only one day of rain so far, fingers crossed for luck, the weather & skies -day & night- are stunning. As southerners it’s hard to feel like it’s winter.
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I was wondering how it wasn’t cold. So, it’s warm in the part of Australia where you’re visiting? It’s hot, hot, hot here this summer in the U.S. Thought I escaped it when leaving Florida, but at least I have the fall to look forward to here.
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Northern Australia has 2 main seasons from a travellers point of view, the Wet season from Oct- Nov until April-May where it rains a lot and is very hot probably similar to what you experienced in Florida, and the Dry which we’re travelling now that reflects average summer temps down south where we have the usual 4 distinct seasons, and is currently winter ❄
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What a fantastic journey! It’s amazing when you meet random people in a different place and realise how much you have in common with them. I love that Anita Desai quote 🙂
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There are so many people travelling, and we run into people in the oddest places… a couple from Port Macquarie and us were the only people checking out an out of the way billabong in Kakadu… of course we always chat to others with NSW rego plates.
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I really like that Anita Desai quote. It looks like a lovely adventure. Thanks for letting us travel along!
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Thanks for dropping in PMOTH. I have a mile of your posts to read ♡
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There will be plenty of time for that when we’re stuck in rocking chairs waaaay in the future – live now!
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Sounds utterly fantastic, EllaDee. Speaking for myself, don’t worry a second about visiting my blog or sharing another post. There will be plenty of time for both once you’ve returned to Taylor Arms. For now, enjoy yourselves and that beautiful country of yours. 🙂
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Thank you. I like to have the best of all worlds… the travel is amazing and I’m fotunate that my blogging world is portable ☺
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Very cool. Great photos. It looks like a wonderful trip. Enjoy!
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Thank you. I’ve not travelled much, so it’s quite a new experience 🌞
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I love seeing all these photos and reading your stories, I love to visit Australia one of these days.
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Thank you. When you visit I’ll be well placed to share travel tips. P.S. I have saved your posts to read & cook, and I’m looking forward to having time to read them.
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You have to stay in the moment–it’s totally understandable that you aren’t on your blog. What an amazing trip you are on! Sounds heavenly and looks like paradise.
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I enjoy the dual coexistence of the real & blog world, and pop in and out depending on available time & internet.
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Missed this. Love the pix, and love that you are enjoying lfe on the road. Stay happy and travel well.
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Thank you. We’ve been home approx. 6 busy weeks. I must do a couple of catch up posts 🙂
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