Broome & Beyond: Eco Resort

Wednesday 12th July, night

Not just driving, so no middle-of-the-day breaks to blog. Let's see what I can remember...

Up with the sun. Which, luckily, is not too early. Up and out by 6:30 to go for a run up the beach. It's okay for Deb, she's been doing her training runs. All I've been doing for the last week is sitting and driving. And on Sunday we run on Cable Beach.

The tide is out, we run on the damp but firm sand. Firm but with some softer spots. Enough softer spots to make us think, Let's hope that Cable Beach is firmer than this. We run 2.5km one way, turn round and run back.

Deb & I run at different speeds, so I start first. We're heading into the rising sun. Towards, I believe, Jacks Creek. I mark the sand at 2.5km then run on just a bit further, to check out a beach shelter. Then we head back, with the sun behind us. A pleasant run, a bit tiring.

Back for breakfast. We both order the continental. It arrives -- three small bowls on a wooden slab. All very fancy. We wonder if it's enough for a good meal.

It is enough. Just. The food here is fancy -- and good -- but the serves are small. We have coffee at the main building. (I wish there were tea and coffee facilities in our tent...)

There are a few kids in the swimming pool, next to the dining area. (Which is outside, facing the beach and ocean.) One small girl is having a long-lasting minor tantrum. Her mother fails to calm her...

Her mother is wearing a small black bikini. It must be new, she pulls it up at the front a few times. At the back, it's tucked into her butt. I only note this for interest, I'm not staring... Nor am I staring at the same backside every time that we are at the main building. Mother may not have any other clothes...

We rest. I sleep. We have lunch. The waitress is American, trained at the chirpy, you're welcome, school of waitressing :-)

Back to our tent, where we read and rest. At 3pm we go for a walk.

Deb has timed this walk. We go out on the "bush walk" and will return on the beach walk -- at low tide. Getting back on time for a 6pm dinner.

There are two pamphlets: one for the bush walk, one for the beach walk. With comments on going out on one and returning via the other. They make very little sense. Luckily, the tracks themselves are well signed.

The bush walk is interesting. It winds through the bush with plenty of guide posts and plenty of information signs. Some signs are sunburnt and hard to read but others are brand new. The track is being looked after.

Most of the signs identify trees and bushes. I suck a drop of sweet nectar from the a flower from a mother-in-law tree. It's all interesting though I immediately forget most of the names.

It's still quite warm, the track is sand, soft but not too bad. Tiring, though.

A couple of lookouts, over the beach. A final climb to Dampiers Lookout. Then a winding sand track down to the beach. And it's good to be walking on flat ground!

Deb has decided that we need to see caves... so we walk away from home, along the beach. The highlight is Sentinel Rock aka Osprey Rock, named for the bird pair that nest at the top. It's a pointy rock pillar, room at the top for just the one osprey nest.

No, that's not the parent on the nest -- it's a chick! It looks full size but scruffy. A parent circles round, shouting insults until we are clear of the area. Brilliant :-)

We find the caves. With blowholes in the roof. Worth the visit :-) Now we have to walk back again... We're getting tired!

There's a hermit crab, walking along the beach! It tucks itself into its shell while we admire it. Its tracks are like a lizard -- feet to either side of the body drag-mark. But without a lizard's winding movement. That explains a lot of the tracks that we have seen along the beach!

The beach walk must be done at low tide. At high tide, some parts are under water, right up to cliff edges. Deb's timing is spot on, the tide is low, we're back with the sun still up, with 40 minutes till our dinner time.

We have time to relax and change, then a cup of tea before dinner. There's the makings for free tea and coffee, or pay for it with the meal. We prefer the free stuff. We both have delicious threadfin salmon (local fish?) for dinner and share an affogato (coffee poured over icecream) for dessert. Then another cup of the free coffee.

Tantrum Girl is there, now well behaved. Her mother is there, she's thrown something over the bikini... Ah well... Not that I notice :-)

The "dining" computer has crashed so we can't sign for dinner. I'm sure we'll sort it out tomorrow... At least, we'll carefully check the dinner bill as we check out tomorrow :-)

Back to out tent... which is: About 10m x 10m. Plenty of room for a king bed and a few bits of furniture. Bathroom off to the side. All on a wooden slat floor -- which is not wood. Deb read that it's made of "eco-friendly polypropylene and rice custard." Well, that's what I heard her say. It may have been rice husks.

Last night there was a frog on the waterproof wall of the bathroom, a wall just inside the canvas wall. I poked him out of sight with the toilet brush. Tonight he's brought his smaller friend. I poked them both. One is still there, moving round the bathroom.

The tent has a balcony which we have not used, it faces the walkway between road and bbq area. There are "curtains", canvas which rolls up or down to cover fly-wire areas of wall. The curtains are mostly left down because they also face the walkway. With curtains closed, we're very private. Some high level curtains are left open for breeze and glimpses of... well... not much because it's dark outside. If we actually step outside we can see the stars. From inside we see darkness.

From inside, we can hear the outside world. A birthday somewhere, a child somewhere else, the occasional tent zipper. It's not annoying, the tents are well spread out. The main noise -- which we only notice late at night -- is a generator. For the main building, I guess. It gets turned off, not too late.

After that, it's all peaceful. Until the birds start singing, early in the morning...

And one final pre-post comment: My hotspot works okay though it often has problems connecting. It's always better in the morning. Here, there's internet for guests, available at the main building. I noticed -- from our tent -- wifi called "staff-something". No password, reasonable strength signal, always works. So that's what I'm using.

Oh, and we've been selected for an Aus Bureau of Stats compulsory series of surveys. One due before we get home. Whoopee. I've just done it...

Enough for now ... :-)

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Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting / Problems? Solved.
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"The man who cannot visualize a horse galloping on a tomato is an idiot." ... André Breton

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