80 Mile Beach, Cape Keraudren and Pardoo Station

9^th – 11^th August

After the Running Festival we reluctantly left Broome and headed south west towards Port Hedland. WA is such a huge state and the road south west is long and straight with not much to see. We did see an accident – car towing a caravan both on their side on the shoulder of the road. We slowed down but were waved on by some people who were already assisting. Everyone seemed fine. Really straight stretch of road so no idea how this happened but people drive really fast out here and I guess it only takes one miscalculation to come unstuck.

All along the coast to the west is 80 Mile Beach Marine Park which is the longest, uninterrupted stretch of beach in WA and apparently quite wonderful. After a few hours of driving we stopped at the 80 Mile Beach Caravan Park (very nice – they actually have grass which is a real treat after all the red dirt at most of the places we have been camping to date) to see what all the fuss was about and stay a couple of nights (cause we didn’t have enough opportunities to relax in Broome!!!). This beach is incredible – pristine white sand in both directions as far as the eye can see; clear, turquoise water; lots of different sea birds and a myriad of shells covering the sand. It is a shell collector’s paradise – we saw hundreds of different colours, shapes and sizes. Lots of sand dollar shells which I have only ever seen before in the USA. Some of the people staying in the park had made shell hangings and wind chimes out of them.

We stayed here for two nights and just chilled. Drove on the beach, sat and admired the view (and of course some more sunsets), swam, fished and chatted with our neighbours (Wendy and Andy from Paraburdoo). One the first night we cooked and ate one of the fish that Stephen caught on his fishing charter out of Broome – a Trevally – extremely tasty.

After leaving here we continued south west stopping in at Cape Keraudren Coastal Reserve which comprises of an area of approximately 4,800 hectares and is a haven for marine and other animals. Lovely spot with fabulous views but a bit windy and unprotected to camp so we continued on and spent the night at Pardoo Station.

Pardoo Station is a working cattle station and you can camp in the area around the Homestead. It is a very popular spot for fishing and people come from the southern states to escape the cold staying for months on end. They even have a swimming pool and a lawn bowls green which some of the ‘regulars’ built last season. We spent an amusing half hour watching some of the ‘oldies’ play bowls on the uneven grass and have a hoot.

We tried out our oven tonight for some pizza. Stephen made the dough, letting it rise in the warmth of the car’s engine bay and we cooked two spectacular pizzas which were very tasty and doubled up for lunch the next day as well.

Before we left for Port Hedland we did a really interesting drive around the beach and mud flats of the Station. This is where the desert meets the sea and the landscape is fascinating changing abruptly from desert red dunes to the white sand of the beach and the grey of the mud flats. Too windy to throw a line in but we explored the creeks and tidal areas and saw some great bird life.