What an amazing day ! We rocked up at the booking office just before nine to join a motley crew of 4WD’s , ready for our first ‘tag-along’ tour. Brian arrived fashionably late and we were soon on our way. Our access road had been closed to the public for some months (more on that later), so the gate was unlocked and we headed towards the ocean along a deep sandy track.
As you know, we had been gradually introducing our Jeep and ourselves, to the to the nervous excitement of off-roading. We had done one beach run back in SA, but that was like driving on concrete. This time it was the serious stuff- letting most of the air out of your tyres and actually engaging low range 4WD. Theoretically, our ‘toorak tractor’ was designed and built to eat this stuff for breakfast. Pity the driver wasn’t. Once we hit the soft sand, it became white knuckle driving, slewing and bouncing across the small dunes until we reached the beach proper. I felt like an imposter amongst the Akubras and their Landcruisers, spending more time visualizing possible future disaster than soaking up the stunning scenery….which was truly stunning.
Brian had us all pull up shortly after and gave us a bush craft/tucker/medicine 101 in nearby scrub land. Each tree had a different story, everything from curing toothache to building a canoe. We had to keep one eye on the ground as it was the beginning of snake mating season,but the kids were making that much noise, I’m sure they’ed moved on. Another short drive and we arrived at what WAS an award winning indigenous camping ground, Kooljaman. It’s a long story, suffice to say the pitfalls of family (tribal) businesses, ill-advised legal shortcuts and the mistakes anyone can make through lack of commercial experience, has put Kooljaman on ice for the forseeable, but hoping to be back up and running in 2024. Then the real fun started.
Part of the ‘tag-along’ shtick’ , is that you don’t know where your going, so we were at the mercy of Brian’s estimations of our abilities. A couple of times we were thrown into difficult situations where our momentum was interrupted (standing starts in deep sand are NOT fun) and a hill climb that we declined with thanks. Still it was the kind of adventure that we knew we were signing up for when we started this trip nearly two years ago.
Still, we didn’t look too out of place and the swim was delightful.
We arrived at our furthest point just before lunch. Brian started setting up while his grandson herded us onto the sand flats on a trek to catch some mud crabs. Brian had been promising us turtle all day and Tamika was particularly keen to try it. It tastes a lot like lamb but there were some digestive repercussions the next day
These were not to be found in the sand, but in burrows in the creek bank. The results were not promising at first, but some of us managed to drag them out with with long poke and drag sticks, which rely essentially on annoying the crab sufficiently that he attacks the pole and clings on while you drag him out.
We arrived back after an hour of poking and trudging to find a turtle breastplate on the BBQ to which the mud crabs were quickly added. It was close to 3pm before we packed up started to head back. Fishing and snorkeling were on the official agenda, but everything is tide dependent, so we had to settle for the low tide menu.
An easy run back to the main beach for a spot of boomerang throwing. We were lucky that the kids were happy to play ‘fetch’. We were knackered from the mud crab expedition, so standing around was about all we could manage by then. Tamika needs a bit more practice before she becomes another food source option for our future outback adventures.
It was almost sunset before we made it back to the van and yes, we slept well.
We could have headed back to Broome the next morning, but with all the options to see and do up here, I felt at least one other destination was needed. We settled on Cygnet Bay, about 20 minutes, heading south.
Another dirt road entry, and not too bad, which leads you not only to Cygnet Bay but also the historic Cygnet Bay Pearl Farm that has set up not only tours, but a restaurant/cafe, infinity pool resort style cabins and a van park. It was a really hot day, so we spent a lot of it by the pool or in the shade. Having access to resort facilities for the day was a real treat.
I left Tamika by the pool for an swim in the bay…..let me tell you about quicksand, it’s a real surprise. I had not even got my toes wet, when one step later, I was up to my thigh in sand. Luckily the other leg was still dangling in mid air, and after crawling out like a primitive amphibian, made it back to solid beach. Yet, five metres to the right, perfectly normal beach. Tentative to say the least.
We didn’t leave Cygnet Bat till late in the afternoon. I’d already picked out a free camp on the way up that would get as 40klm closer to Broome and with the heat dissipating rapidly we even managed al fresco sangrias and snacks. What little road traffic there was fell silent soon after dark and left us with a full moon, a starry sky and the occasional unseen, but definitely heard, camel or three. Free camping at it’s best.
