On day fifty-two we packed up camp at Cable Beach Caravan Park and said goodbye to Broome. We loved it here and, as usual, there was more to explore but time was against us. Although, it was exciting to escape the hustle and bustle of the caravan park and get to a campsite more amid the environment.
It was approximately a 500km drive to the next stop, Mimbi Caves Campground, just off the Great Northern Highway. We arrived and its appeal was immediately apparent - the campground was spacious, overlooked by ancient Devonian limestone cliffs, and also very well maintained and set up for visitors. It was late afternoon by the time we were settled in, so we relaxed at camp amongst the beautiful surroundings and watched some footy.
A dog joined us at camp in the evening, which we figured was the resident camp dog. It was a small brindle working breed, and he definitely had us all worked out - visiting all the campers wagging his tail and being friendly in exchange for treats. It worked on us. We were missing our dogs at home, so the little dog, who we called ‘Mimbi’, ate some roast chicken with us for dinner. He must have been full and stayed overnight on one of our camp chairs.
‘Mimbi’ the camp dog was still curled up in the chair on the morning of day fifty-three, and it was great to start the morning with our new friend. We were booked in for a Mimbi Caves tour from 8am to 10am today. The tour is conducted by Gooniyandi Traditional Owners and our guide was Rosemary Nugget, a Gooniyandi Traditional Owner and Managing Director of Girloorloo Tours - so we were lucky.
The caves were super impressive. The networks of caverns take you through an ancient Devonian Reef System where you can see limestone and sparkling crystals.
Our favourite aspect of the tour was the Traditional Owners' insights - they told stories, spoke about the area’s history and told us of the importance of protecting sites like Mimbi.
The experience was a lot more than a geological walk-through, and it was a privilege to have access to this site. Rosemary was an unreal guide as well - her devotion to protecting the land was clear, and she was funny and engaging. Thank you to Rosemary, Girloorloo Tours and the Gooniyandi Traditional Owners, this was definitely another highlight of our trip.
Afterwards, we headed off to our planned camp at Walardi Campground in the Purnululu National Park, home to the Bungle Bungle Range. As it turned out we hadn’t done our homework correctly - the campground doesn’t allow dual-axle trailers. We had a brief discussion on the track, which was 60km of corrugated unsealed road. With this stop being right at the end of our travels we decided we didn’t want to risk damage to the Tundra, let alone tackle the corrugation and leave the camper behind.
So we pulled the pin on Walardi and instead headed onto the Roadhouse at Warmun, where we were lucky enough to get the last campsite. We enjoyed our one-night stay here. It was a very clean and well-maintained camp, and even had a swimming pool.
Day fifty-four was a Sunday, and we had planned to arrive home the coming Thursday. With the end in sight we were excited to see much missed family, pets and friends. Every day on this final journey had been long, and we were without time to sightsee. Today we shared the driving and got some rest during the 617km journey from Warmun to Victoria River.
On day fifty-five we travelled from Victoria River to Barkly Homestead, a 940km journey.
Day fifty-six took us another 917km from Barkly Homestead to Winton
On day fifty-seven, we travelled 828km from Winton to Muckadilla. The Muckadilla Pub was unreal.
Finally, on day fifty-eight, we travelled the last 392km from Muckadilla to Toowoomba. Home.
It’s hard to believe that we’ve been on the road for over eight weeks. We reflected on our journey on these long drives, reminiscing about the memories we’d made and sights we’d seen. We have loved every minute of it, and are grateful to have had the opportunity to explore together.
Admittedly, pulling up at home brought a feeling of relief.
This is the first time we’ve journaled our days and actively documented what we’d done while away, and have found that it gave us a deeper appreciation and connection to the people and places we were lucky enough to encounter. So thank you for reading and following our journey. It has been an amazing experience for us, and we hope we’ve inspired a few of you to check out some of these awesome places for yourselves.
From our first night in Lara Wetlands, to Kakadu, Litchfield, the Gibb River Road, the Kimberley, Broome, Ningaloo, Exmouth and Karijini, then all the way back through the outback to our final night in Muckadilla and home to Toowoomba, we've seen and experienced more than we ever could have imagined. Fifty-eight days, thousands of kilometres and countless memories later, the journey is officially complete. Thanks for sharing it with us.
Mick and Leigh Tighe, proud owners of Mick Tighe 4x4 & Outdoor, Overland Tourers Australia, Forma3D and HEG Automotive.