Goombaragin
Our time at Goombaragin was very relaxing and very social with the nightly fires with other guests and of course many great sunsets.
We walked along the beach to Bells Point, 2.7kms away. This 5.4km beach walk really took it's toll on us the next day, mostly because we haven't been doing enough exercise.
Sunset from Goombaragin
The sun on the Pindan cliffs gives an amazing effect.
The trek down and back to the beach was a really good workout
The rewards were worth it when you got there
Our special sunset spot - Aalin's Lookout (named after one of Kathleen's sons)
We've camped at Goombaragin many times, and feel very comfortable returning each visit. We're always welcomed like family so it was no problem for us to drive Kathleen, the owner, to Lombadina to attend her Auntie's funeral.
She needed to get flowers for the funeral, as you do. But this was done Kimberley style and we stopped on the side of the road so she could pick these herself!
We had a close encounter of the caravan type one day when we were driving out of Goombaragin.
We were just leaving the camp area, about 50 metres out, doing a leisurely 22kms/hour when we were head on with a van coming the other way around the corner, going way too fast for these conditions. We had to quickly veer off the road into the scrub as they weren't able to stop until they were well past us.
When the driver met us later, he was very apologetic. They were a family with 4 kids, and we were horrified how dirty everyone was. The kids were absolutely filthy during their 2 day stay, and we don't think there's any excuse when you have access to water, and washing machines.
If I hadn't pulled over they would have run right into us!
After 9 enjoyable nights at Goombaragin, we were looking forward to going to Middle Lagoon for 8 nights.
Bailey had taken a turn for the worse over the last few days, and was not doing
very well. He's been on a concoction of medication for a long time, but
then we got the news that Alexis’s cat Bo ate some of Bailey’s chicken in which
she'd hidden ½ Panadol, 1 antihistamine tablet and 1 Prednisone tablet. Bo is always
stealing Bailey’s food so he gobbled it down and took off.
Thankfully Alexis spotted him. She rung us in a panic then phoned the vet. Apparently Panadol is lethal to cats, and he had to be taken immediately to the emergency vet and made to vomit, put on drips, blood tests etc. He spent 2 nights at the vet, at very expensive rates, and then cleared to go home. Justin stayed with Alexis at the emergency vet for moral support while Bo's fate was being assessed.
Middle Lagoon
We drove the 30kms from Goombaragin in no time at all. We had some rain that night and the roads were very muddy. It was surprising how little rain is needed to make the roads almost impassable. We got a better site at Middle Lagoon than we were expecting, but we started to see it in a different light.
We've always enjoyed it here. But this time around the black dirt, dust and wind really got to us. There's nothing worse than picking up a thong-full of dirt every step you take. We recall Luke and Megan questioning why we liked Middle Lagoon so much referring to it as a "dust bowl". This time around we hated it and couldn't wait to leave.
The mobile phone service was way worse than our previous stays here as well, in fact this whole trip up the west coast of WA we noticed that the Telstra mobile phone service was much worse than in previous trips. Maybe COVID had got into their network?
Then we received the news from Alexis that Bailey had taken a real downturn. We had to go up to the office to get any chance of ringing her about poor old Bailey. Even then phone calls weren't reliable.
As the news on his condition got worse it was obvious that we had to go somewhere with more solid phone reception to keep in contact with her.
So we made the decision that we would drive the 178kms (including 31kms of dirt road) back to Broome. Without question we both agreed that in doing this we wanted to leave Middle Lagoon and not return, forfeiting $350 of camping fees that we had paid. That demonstrates just how disappointed we were in Middle Lagoon this time.
The place was the same as our previous stays, it wasn't better or worse. But obviously we had changed and our tolerance to such conditions had declined.
Broome
The next hurdle we had to contend with was that Broome was fully booked. Not a caravan site within the whole town, even all the overflow places were all taken.
After putting a sad story to the Broome Caravan Park, Jayne managed to secure a site for up to 7 nights here while we navigated this crisis back home. The staff there were so helpful and concerned for us.
Bailey has 2 Mums (Alexis and Jayne) and 1 Dad (Alan), so with heavy hearts, the 3 of us decided that Bailey's time had come and we had to put him out of his misery and pain. So it was arranged that the Vet would visit him at home the next day.
We joined this via video call. All of Bailey's family was there. Alexis and James, Justin and Mel with us on a video call. Bailey was at peace the whole time and very comfortable at home. Much better than taking him to the Vet's to have this done.
He was such a special dog for all of us. The vets talked about how Bailey had seen more of Australia than most Australians, and this is very true. His loyalty and love was without limits since Alexis brought him home after being specifically told not to get another dog!
This was very hard on Alexis, and it really warms our hearts to see the love and
support that our kids have for each other.
Bailey in 2006. He was less than 1 year old here. He was a big puppy.
2014
His first flight to Broome in 2014
Bailey's first holiday with us was to Cable Beach.
He just wasn't sure about those camels!
But he loved the sunset snacks and drinks
Then down to Ningaloo Station.
Fishing at Ningaloo in 2014
Fishing at Ningaloo in 2017
He got really sick in 2018 and we thought we were going to lose him. Cancer had caused his appendix to burst and he was riddled with poison. We were on a short trip in Queensland when we got the 2 am phone call from Alexis. We left our campsite immediately and Jayne flew back from Brisbane to be with Alexis, and I drove the van home on my own, getting back in record time.
He fought this illness like only Bailey could
With a lot of love
He wasn't expected to survive this operation. The Vet's at Sydney Uni were amazing and the treatment he got was first class. This cost us all a heap of cash, and we said at that time if we got 12 more months it was a worthwhile investment.
Well he lasted 3 more years. Just amazing.
Not long after his operation and recovery, he was well enough to join us for our trip around Australia in 2018!
Alan and Bailey exhausted after a hard day of doing nothing.
Alexis and Bailey at Ningaloo Station - exhausted again!
Last year, 2020, he joined us on our trip into Queensland. He had a stroke while we were at Lara Wetlands. We again thought we would lose him that day.
But again he bounced back. This stroke had taken its toll on him and he never really recovered 100%, maybe 90%!
Considering his first holiday experience was Broome and Cable Beach, Jayne and I had a celebration to Bailey's life watching the sunset, and having a drink in his honour on the beach.
Bailey was a very clever dog and actually had his own travel blog which he wrote in 2014. It's a really good read!
Click here to read Bailey's Dog Blog written in 2014
While we were in Broome, Peter, a very old family friend of Jayne and Chuck's called to say he was there with 9 friends doing an outback trek. They'd just finished the Gibb River Road, and were heading south to continue their adventure on the Gary Junction Road. It was great to catch up with him and his travel mates at Bluey's Fish and Chips for lunch.
Peter bought these padded pants from the Op Shop in Broome to keep warm at night
The Lake Ellendale
We've left Broome and are now heading east. Our first night was at a free camp on the Ellendale Cattle Station. The owners have opened up an area around a lake for free camping. It's really busy as you can imagine but also very beautiful and all the campers are super friendly and so quiet.
Plenty of birdlife on Lake Ellendale
