Tour day one (whilst I still have some e-access)

First day of the trip yesterday and I must have only slept about 4 hours. It was just off full moon and very light at night and I kept waking up, convinced that I’d missed my alarm clock. At about 4.45 I actually went into work, loaded up on the pink Piglet, I had a backpack on my back, one on my front and one at my feet. And there was probably still room for a whole family of Indonesians if I was in Bali. Man, I love that thing.

Last minute packing, filling of thermoses with hot water, checking ice in the eskys. And away we went.  Pickups all around town took about an hour and we’d left by 7 am, for a long day out to Cape Leveque. Poor passengers. Most of them were elderly and the road was atrocious, not having been yet graded after the wet. Corrugated, rutted and wash of washouts, it was also boring as hell on either side, just red dirt pindan dust and low acacia scrub.

We stopped for morning smoko at Beagle Bay. The last time I was in that area I was nine years old and remember being absolutely fascinated by the altar made of pearl shell. It’s still there and still absolutely gorgeous. They’ve also carried the shell them through and it’s now embedded in the walls and floor as well. Just beautiful.

I am constantly amazed at how passengers put their trust in me and assume I have omnipotent powers. I’m also amazed at how well I rise to the challenge. I’d forgotten how good I am at this and how much I love it.

Lunch was at Cape Leveque tip and involved me preparing bread rolls, salad and cold meat, plus fruit cake and fruit and museli bars. I really wanted to have a swim but being the one in charge means that I am so busy there really isn’t many spare moments. I also wanted to keep a trip diary, in the form of letters and photos, just a little bit each day, even if I can’t put it online so I suspect that I’ll be sneaking from my sleep to do so.

Cape Leveque. The nine year old thing here too also. I remember vividly a photo taken by my parents in around this same spot where I was bare assed naked dragging poles and a tarp for a beach shelter. I mentioned this to my pax, who were very amused.

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Long trip back to Broome but we got to stay at the Cable Beach Club. The swishest hotel ever. My room is amazing and the toiletries top notch. Shame I don’t have a honey to share with – my codriver Wayne brought his wife out from Broome to stay the night with him, lucky so and so.

View from my room.

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Oh well, I have lots of work to do, lots of truck cleaning and I am too busy really anyway. This place cost $500 million to build and covers 18 hectares. I got lost lots walking from the truck to reception to the bar. Make the most of it, I thought, as this is not a usual stop for our trip but only because the itinerary is different and rain has washed out a lot of the road we should be on. Next trip will not have this luxury.