Day 48, 18 August 2009, Broome to Pardoo Roadhouse

Left Broome on our 900+ km. run to Karratha.

There's only one town (Port Headland) and two roadhouses between.

Sandfire Roadhouse burned down three years ago and nobody's bothered to rebuild it. It's got a toilet block, an Atco hut, and a gold plated, diamond encrusted petrol bowser.

The toilet block is set back about 400 meters off the highway and sets a standard for hygiene. A very low standard.

The Atco hut contained a German backpacker whose job was to collect the money generated by the petrol bowser. $1.79 for ULP. It's possible to park a caravan overnight , but we had been warned.

Sandfire did boast one attraction: several peacocks who harrassed tourists, trying to skunge food. They reminded me of poorly mannered geese, except their honking was louder and more aggressive. A small, yellow-tipped thrush like bird had learned from the peacock, and also appeared at the caravan door, yelling for crusts. Compared to the bullish peacock, this bird was appealing and cute. (therefore successful at crust-extraction).

I understood why the German backpacker stayed confined to his Atco hut.

One final factoid about Sandfire. It's an ambulance station. There's an ambulance parked outside a second Atco hut which houses the ambulance driver.

I imagined the conversation: "Ambulance Officer Smith, you've been reassigned to a three year tour at Sandfire." Ambulance Officer Smith, thinking to self while rummaging through the the medicine cupboard. "Now where's that assisted suicide kit?"

Instead of enjoying the colourful (and multicultural) attractions of Sandfire we pushed on to Pardoo Roadhouse.

The owner, Mike, personally guides each caravan into precise formation with timely shouts of "Left hand down! No, no, no, left hand! That's your right hand." the phrase "You moron" being kindly left unsaid. (I'm always at my worst when someone's watching me reverse the caravan.)

The place can house about 20 vans and filled up by nightfall. At the bar, Mike related how the Moscow Circus had turned up unexpectedly the night before, on its way to Port Headland. Apparently everyone was accommodated, though.

The smells from the kitchen were enticing, so instead of cooking in the van, we treated ourselves to really nice schnitzels. I even bought a Pardoo Roadhouse stubby holder to commemorate the occasion.

We've left the Kimberly and entered much flatter territory in the Pilbara.

Sadly it looks like we've seen the last of the Boab trees.