really on Broome time now

We are now hanging out in Broome for a length of time that feels a little like a piece of string.   As people say, there are worse places to be.  It is warm, hot even.  The sun shines.  The rain does not come (at the moment anyway) and the wind seems to have calmed down. 

Broome seems to be a place for weary travellers to arrive and find that things have gone a little awry.  There is the family who have discovered that their brakes on their trailer don't work, then there is the couple who had the back of their car rammed into up at Cape Leveque, all of the caravans needing their wheel bearings done, a man with a broken foot, a Nissan with a blown up engine, holes in mufflers, and gashes in legs.  It is a long way from everywhere and we are all weary.  None of us intend to stay for this long.  Most of us spend no more than 2 days in a town whilst we restock our food boxes and fuel and get out of there, however, Broome holds onto us for longer. 

The caravan parks are all full to the brim, bursting at the seams.  They are like little cities with people who have made their way up to stay for 3 months or more.  There are 500 sites or more in each.  There is the overflow caravan park for the weary worn out sick and bedraggled traveller who needs the work or rest.  It is the footy oval with shade only on the side, but it becomes home.  Maximum stay is 7 days for travellers, however, for those who fall under the exception rules, Medical or Broken Down, this is stretched to a piece of string.

So here we sit like a piece of string on the side of the oval at the overflow due to our Medical Exemption, in a lovely shady spot which I have hung cotton sheets all around to get as much shade as possible.  Frank is making his slow recovery. 

He had a visit from the medico, Brett, who worked on him up at One Arm as we had been to the Op Shop and the lady there, Di, knew him, said he would be in town, called him, he said he wanted to know how Frank was...and dropped by with his family to check on him.  Unfortunately for Frank he a really bad day the next day with a terrible bout of vomiting (dehydration is considered quite serious up here in the heat).  Another trip to hospital and a miracle tablet to fix that so he could actually keep fluid down.  Next day he woke up like a normal, happy Frank again.  Hallelujah.  Stitches looking good, no infection - the rest will take a while to heal.

day 3                                                               day 8

By the way...while at the op shop, I found myself a sewing machine....I know I said that I wouldn't bring it, however, I am finding it too frustrating.  Will only be able to use it when in power, still haven't had a chance to check it all out (what with sickness, hospitals, blah blah blah...) but Di at the op shop said it did work.  That is tomorrows job.  The boys have cleaned it out for me already.  The only thing wrong is that it doesn't spool up bobbins, so Di said I could do a bunch there.  Nice.

Our time is not wasted here.  We have been making the most of it. 

Chris Schrapel who we met up at Gambanan is in the helicopter industry and gave the boys a tour of a helicopter (see the smiles!).

We sold Jude Brieffies bike for her to a very happy German backpacker.

We have discovered the port where the locals are entertained on a Sunday afternoon watching gooses trying to their boats back in (or not) for hours on end...

after we watched the hovercraft long after we heard it coming in.

John and Pete have been having a great time playing with the Schrapel kids who have been staying here (stuck because their brakes don't work on their trailer...need to be sent from Melbourne).  Learning to ride a rip stick, playing Monopoly Deal, scooter soccer and watching movies during the heat.

The lady next to us, Robyn, has been teaching us how to make beady spiders which is lots of fun, and I have realised how much I have missed crafting around.  Time to get something to play with.

Matt was really lucky to get some work through my sister in law, Jen, at Troppo Sound, playing at being a roady watching the sun go down on Guantheum Beach.  Tough, hey! 

While he did that, we went down to watch Staircase to the Moon, a natural phenomenon where the moon rises over the low tide mud flats and the reflections look like it leads to the moon (telling you in case my pics don't really show it!!).  

Finished the night off with watching fire circus dudes. Silver lining.

We will leave Broome one day.  The Gibb River awaits, but those gorges have been there for millions of years.  Just getting Frank strong and healthy first and making sure our house gets rented out again first.  Sitting on Broome time now.