A small beach town on the northwest coast and a much-needed rest stop on our tour. It's like Byron Bay with red sand and without the tattoo parlors.



Tobias prances around on Eighty Mile Beach, our last stop on the west coast before heading to Broome.



Here's Sun Pictures, an outdoor theater and the oldest cinema in Australia. I watched Gladiator there.

From: Jeff Nyveen To: my friends and family Date: Friday, September 1, 2000 2:04pm Subject: Off To The Kimberleys Early in the morning, I hopped onto a bus bus and set out for the northwest coast of Australia. Our first stop was the Pinnacles. I had been there before but lost those pictures in the mail, so this was my second chance. Then to Monkey Mia, where we were able to stand in knee-deep water while bottle-nosed dolphins came in to feed all around us. We drove past the Tropic of Capricorn and stopped in Coral Bay, where we did some quad-biking, snorkeling in a lagoon, and body-surfing down enormous sand dunes. Everybody quickly got acquainted. Most were young English backpackers. An older man and woman stood out from the rest. They were a married couple, spending their retirement traveling the world. After spending some time with them, they fit right in. For old people, they're remarkably tolerant of fart humor and smelly socks. The drive up along the Northwest Coastal Highway (Highway 1) provided us with a scenic tour of beaches, gorges, mining towns, and an assortment of roadkill: kangaroos, emus, cows, birds. We contributed one bird to the mix. Occasional dust devils would whip up the dirt along the side of the road as we drove past. The further north we went, the redder and dustier the ground got. It didn't take long for the bus, our clothes, and all of our gear to get covered with red dust. Although we would go for frequent swims in waterholes, we were filthy. But no one seemed to mind. When you're in the bush, there is something appealing about not showering or changing clothes for a week at a time. We spent a few days in Karijini National Park, filled with a beautiful assortment of water-filled gorges, folded rock formations, and rolling mountains. Our hikes down into the gorges and along the canyon walls were exciting and beautiful. At Joffre Gorge, I had the misfortune of losing my sunglasses over the railing and watching them fall half a mile into a small bush on the canyon floor. The Miracle Mile is a very dangerous walk through a series of connected gorges in Karijini. Tourists have died. To do the walk, we had to sign a disclaimer so that we couldn't sue the company if something not so good happened to us. I cheerfully signed the disclaimer and, along with three others, set out on the Miracle Mile. The walk took us along the rocky walls of the gorge. Without any ropes or safety equipment, we would shuffle along the walls, occasionally glancing down at the rocky outcroppings 120 feet below, knowing that losing our grip would mean instant death. Then we came down to a large pool of freezing cold water. We stripped down to our swimmers, put our clothes into a plastic bag, and floated it across in front of us. The cold water numbed my body very quickly, and I almost didn't make it across, gasping for air and struggling to stay afloat towards the end (I'm not a very good swimmer). From there, it was another rock climb up across a waterfall and then across a few more pools before emerging at ground level on the other side of the gorge. For an exhilarating 90 minutes, I was at one with nature. Every night, we'd pull into a caravan park, into a grassy clearing, or alongside a river to set up camp. We'd pitch our tents, blow up our air mattresses, unroll our sleeping bags, and camp out under the stars. While the rest of us would gather around the fire and sip cheap beer and cask wine, Chris, our tour guide, would get dinner started. The food has been sensational. Chris is an outstanding cook. We've had prime rib, chicken marsala, tuna mornay, vegetable stir fry, and tacos, all cooked over a portable stove. He even showed us how to make damper, traditional outback bread. So far away from city lights, the stars are amazing. The Milky Way forms a perfect, glowing white band across the sky. You see shooting stars without even looking for them. Most nights, I'd sit in my sleeping bag and stare up at the stars for a few moments before drifting off to sleep. We strolled into a small town called Broome yesterday afternoon. A historic pearling town, Broome seems like a beautiful place. A lot like Byron Bay, but with more Aborigines, red sand, and stray cats. I went to nearby Cable Beach to catch the sunset last night and watched a boy stand flying a kite through the stiff ocean breeze. After taking an incredibly refreshing shower at the caravan park, we dressed up and went to the pub. For dinner, I had grilled barramundi, an Australian fish, and it was fantastic. Might go back for some more tonight. At the moment, I'm sitting on a veranda just outside the only, very over-priced, and not-so-friendly Internet cafe in Broome. The hot, humid air reminds me of a Houston summer day. I'm looking out over the rather unspectacular palm tree and power line-covered town center of Broome. There's not much to do here in Broome. I want to check out Sun Pictures, the oldest cinema in Australia, and I might take a sunset camel ride along nearby Cable Beach. We spend two days here before continuing on to the Kimberleys (more gorges and rock formations) and then to Darwin. No Regrets. Jeff

This lizard (above POLICE) scared the shit out of me while I was using the phone.


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