Thursday 1st July - Broome to the Gibb River Road (May River)

The last job before leaving Broome was an oil change on the Land Rover, and Dan, who Fi and Kane are staying with whilst in Broome, kindly said we could use his driveway and drip tray.  He even told us to leave the oil, saying he’d take it to the tip for us.  Top man.  That saved us AU$75 which was what a garage in town wanted to charge, and that was if we supplied the filter and oil.

230km of tarmac driving bought us to Derby where we topped off the fuel tank, and then it was onto the Gibb River Road,

but not before we stopped at the Boab Prison Tree outside town.

It was used at the end of the 1800s to temporarily hold kidnapped Aboriginals who were taken to work as divers or on the pearl boats.  Believed to be over 1500 years old, the tree is certainly a good size, although the 120m long cattle trough nearby was less impressive and we felt that Derby’s tourist department may be grasping at straws a little with its local “attractions”.

We’re back wild camping near the May river,

about 6km north of the Gibb River Road, and despite the warning signs we’re glad we’ve yet to see a crocodile.

We’ll sleep easy in our roof tent though as I’m led to believe that crocodiles cannot climb ladders. SPOT