Into the Kimberley

We rejoined the main highway into the north of WA at Port Hedland, and from there crossed 600 km of road just a few kilometers from a very turquoise part of the Indian Ocean:

 

Amazing to see 600 km of coastline summed up in the guidebook with two paragraphs saying that driving along the edge of the Great Sandy Desert is called "The Big Empty" and there's not much there. I guess that's what you get in a country that is just one gorgeous beach after another.

What The Big Empty was not empty of was road trains. This is the perfect name for these multi-trailer, long-haul trucks. They are INTENSE, making passing a semi at home seem like nothing.

Many kilometers and road trains later, we arrived finally in the great town of Broome. This place has my vote for perfect combination of the-middle-of-nowhere and all-the-conveniences-you-could-need. It was crazy muggy, though. We checked out famous Cable Beach and were treated to one of its characteristically gorgeous sunsets, through which other tourists were taking camel-rides (we decided to save our cash, satisfied with taking pics this time).

And we also had a chance to check out town. My favorite part was the old Chinatown area, which has a still-running open air movie theatre. We were tempted to catch a show, but it was so hot out that sitting outside, even after dark, wasn't hugely appealing. Never thought I'd long for the overdone air-conditioning of an indoor theater in the States! Fun that this sort of thing exists, though.

After catching up on (relative) civilization in Broome, we headed straight on through the Kimberley. The Gibb River Road, which can only be accessed with 4WD and lots of pluck, is going to have to go on my "next time" list, as our campervan is only capable of the main highway across the north of WA. But it was still interesting to pass through Fitzroy Crossing, with its creative signage...

...see our first sign warning of crocodiles...

...and visit the striking quartz outcrop called "China Wall," just south of Halls Creek.

I was particularly happy to see baobabs--or just "boabs," as they're referred to here--start to appear here and there along the roadside, until they became so numerous that I could no longer remember driving miles and miles and miles though boab-less Australian terrain (even though we've driven through much of that, too).