Britz Barbie Perth to Darwin

So after being thrown into this different camp site situation we were craving for some Fred & Ethel company once again.......... Anyway as happy travellers we made the best of a bad situation and at sun down had a walk along the beach , we have had some amazing sunsets on this trip but because of cloud cover we hadn’t yet witnessed the golden ball sinking into the sea BUT THAT IS EXACTLY what happened for us tonight , just so amazing and romantic..... That night we had our dinner inside ( instead of our usual alfresco style ) as we are not down for screaming kids, so we packed up early the next morning and headed for Exmouth....



Welcome to Exmouth.... the home of Ningaloo Reef , Trixie ( the whale shark ) and the greatest “half way through our trip” , stopover in the world..... Another painless and easy trip and once we arrived in the gorgeous Exmouth we kissed the ground as we had arrived for a “Heaven on a stick” 3 night stay and yes we have won the lottery again. WE HAVE AN EN SUITE , and there is an Oasis style pool area with palm trees and banana lounges , an under the stars movie area, no one around , we have a private lot with an EN SUITE ( but I think I already mentioned that , Are you getting the picture that I’m quite liking the en suite arrangement hahaha )

So after our set up I made the most of the 34 degree heat and got my one piece of “cruise like holiday” and grabbed one of those pool side banana lounges for an afternoon bake in the sun , complete with , wine , a good book and sun screen of course............ As we are here for 3 days on the 2nd day the holiday was put on hold for a few hours and we scrubbed the BB from top to bottom , 5 loads of washing , fresh sheets and towels , scrubbed surfaces and floors and a our BB was looking smart and crisp once again........



As we are staying on the east side of the finger of WA that Exmouth is situated on we drove off that afternoon and travelled over to the west side and saw the light house and the beautiful beaches with their crystal clear waters. We visited a few beaches down the west coast plus Jurabi Turtle Centre and we also watched on at Tantabiddi where all the fisherman launch their boats and all the whale shark diving was conducted , we didn’t actually do the dive but heard the instructions as they were given out so we are well informed about these amazing creatures..... As a drive home was required and I am so worried about the skippies ( not to mention even how to turn the head lights on !!!! ) we didn’t stay for the sunset , but knew we have heaps of gorgeous sunset time in the 2nd half of our trip still to come , so we headed back home..........



On our final day in Exmouth , and because we knew that we would be on the road the whole of the next day, we made the most of the beautiful pool area and had a lovely relax and swim and that night Frank had been doing some marinating so he wiped up a nice meal for us....... We had Moroccan Style Beef Skewers and Frank also baked a Damper in our brand new Ezybake Turbo Oven we bought from Kmart for our trip.... The BBQ area happened to be next to the outdoor cinema and once Frank started cooking I had a look along the row of people watching happy Feet 2 and all I could see were quite a few nostrils flaring up and smelling his delicious Skewers .......





So now fully relaxed and well feed its time to hit the road again , so until Chapter 5 we hope all is well , Take care , Love to all xxxxxx The Britz Barbies Oh I forgot to mention that we passed this guy on the side of the road between Coral Bay and Exmouth........OMG , it’s a termite nest !!!!!!! P.S.... For R, A , J & P ... We have been seeing the Fred and Ethel’s having their screaming matches with the reverse situation and giggled every time..... P.S.S.... For DP/B .... Congrats on the success of your recent floor show , well done GaGa xxxxx Bambi P.S.S.S .... We are the best dancing travellers on the road ,,,, Atomix , Thank you Tom , and BB road mixes Thank you Ang xxxxxxx



Chapter Five Hello from North WA , well we have certainly greased the wheels and are making tracks..... Today is Wednesday May 16th and we are half way !!!! (2 and a half weeks on the road and 2 and a half weeks to go) but we have had our first BB hic-up (more on that later) Last Monday morning we left Exmouth , very early , as we had our ‘first long haul’ a 7 and a half hour drive to our next stop over . We were packed up and on the road at 7am . First we filled up with fuel and started our journey only to come across a heavy line of pedestrians crossing the road.........

7am..... Skippies ( OMG Skippies just jump out in front of you ...Don’t they teach Skippies at Skippie school how to cross the Road) 8am..... Sheep... ( this was the worst stretch , you know the saying ‘follow like sheep’ ) 9am..... Emus ( After Monkey Mia I don’t really care if I hit one of them) 10am..... Cows ( grazing by the side of the road and a massive one DED in the middle of the road which I had to use my blinker to go right around) 11am..... Birds (Flying past us in flocks coming from the left and right hand side ) 12pm..... Butterflies ( so Pretty until they were splattered on our windscreen)

However we made it through safely and Ali I am happy to report ‘NO’ animals harmed on our journey... Oops except the butterflies ...We had lots of rest stops on our way and a second fuel fill at Nanutarra and back on the road again... Check out the Price of Diesel....

Welcome to Karratha.... the home of Miners , Mark ( our lovely roadside assist boy ) and the greatest bread shortage in the world.... After such a long drive we needed to fill up AGAIN for the 3rd time and when I was at the counter paying I was SHOCKED to see the news papers sitting on the counter. I quickly payed for the petrol and a copy of the times and fled back to BB and we sped off !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PTO.....



So we have shed the “ Fred and Ethel Tag “ and have become “Thelma and Louise”......... We are fugitives now & need to start behaving that way hahahahaha..... ****** A MASSIVE Thank You to our gorgeous Karen, for entertaining us and the author of the hilarious piece on the camel caper xxxxxxxxx So our lovely couple of days in Karratha surrounded by families of miners in permanent residence so mothers at home all day while husbands at work But not a peep from the kiddies so we had our nice quite relax time and then on the last day our lovely time started a downhill slide..... I headed off to find some bread that morning !!!! When I got to the caravan park kiosk all I found was a coke vending machine but as we were isolated from the city ( once again ) the lady took pity on me and gave me a loaf of frozen bread from her office for free.

When I got back to BB Frank saw that the bread had been purchased in December 2011 and was wholemeal so he started with the ...... \"I told you we should have brought the bread maker “ RIGHT!!!! so I headed off for a 2km walk to the service station only to find the bread stand empty so I start the trek in the other direction so another 3k to find the same thing so once I dragged my melted puddle in the 35 degree heat back to the caravan park with an empty shopping bag it was happy hour by that time , breakfast was 8 hours ago !!!!!!!!!

But this is where our real problems started and we lost power around 7pm that night ...... The lights and everything went out and Frank spent the next hour fiddling with fuses , the power would come back on , 2 minutes later off again etc etc etc ....... Now I don’t understand how it all works ( I just drive it ) but bits of BB work off electricity , bits work off gas and the other bits work on this huge battery under our Bed............ So a phone call was made to the BB help desk and riveting Craig who knew nothing at all provided an address for us to visit in the morning of a caravan mechanics place. Amongst all the dishevelment Frank still managed to throw a delicious dinner together by tea Light...and we could do nothing but go to sleep and the hope that we didn’t lose all our food in the fridge.

So an early start the next morning ( still with frozen food , I don’t know how ?? ) we packed up and headed to the industrial section of Karratha and after a big search and a few U-turns in BB we came across the place which looked like to be a repair place for cement mixers !!!!!!! Once frank went in to enquire he was told that the campervan place closed down 2 years ago !!!!!!! Thanks riveting Craig !!!!!! So a trip a bit further along found us on the side of the road and another phone call to the BB help desk and this time we got onto Fabulous Mark who said he would research and call us back so we spent the next hour sitting here.........



So with some new information we headed off only to find our new Auto electrician was just around the corner.... Now let me tell you ‘ This place was Priscilla,“ I made chocolate crackle“ !!! There were broken down cars dumped EVERYWHERE and about 7 dogs that eat children walking around and a tiny gap in the fence to drive through on a slope which left me nosed in and stopped in front of the opening of the work shop and a man looking quite like Chopper Read in his filth overalls and chewing gum saying “ What’s the problem Fella’s “ As I could not get out of the drivers seat with the dog arrangement happening outside Frank spent half an hour with Chopper in the back of BB testing the battery (with our Minnie Mouse & Mrs Potts bobbing away on our table in the sun) and when Chopper asked me to kick on the motor and rev it up, and as I don’t know how to even use the gears in BB (that’s comforting after driving 2840 K’s )

I thought I was going to go 180 miles an hour smashing into his work shop !!!!!!! Well as you can imagine I still had the job of reversing BB out of the garage which I still can’t even talk about... Frank said are you ok sweetie do you think you need therapy... YES YES I think I Do ! ANYWAY ,,,, the end to this already long story is that our rear battery is not saving power and we need a new one which he advised us no one in Karratha has one. So we have to push onto Port Headland BUT we have 2 nights ahead staying at Port Samson so we just have to be frugal with the power and keep our fingers crossed for a battery replacement at Port Headland , which we hope the lovely Mark is arranging.

Sorry this one is a bit long and a bit photo less , but we are fugitives on the run with no power... hahahahaha Love to you all and promise pics in Chapter 6 xxxxxxxx The Travelling Barbies P.S.... for May 22nd , a Very Happy 1st Birthday to dear little Mitch , Thinking of you , Lots of Love Great Uncle Lyndon & Frank xxxxxxx P.S.S.... for my beloved Bridge and the team , Best wishes and xxxxxxxxxx for stock take ( if it happens this time ) P.S.S.S..... Another big thank you to Bubbles , Luv u xxxxxxxxx

Chapter Six Hi To All once again from even further North. Well when I left you last time we had left Karratha with no living area battery and on our way to the next stop which was 4 little towns in close proximity...... Welcome to Roebourne , Wickham , Cossack and Point Samson ..... The home of fish and chip {alongside Fremantle} , Emma Withnell ( Cossack’s local baker in 1890 ) and the greatest real life Gilbert & Sullivan scene in the world.... These four little towns are just a stone’s throw away from each other and we visited all 4 , Roebourne and Wickham just small communities , mainly Aboriginal residents so we only filled with petrol at one and did a grocery shop at the other.

We stayed 2 nights at Point Samson at a beautiful and new caravan park ( only 6 years old ) which had many great walks leading from it . One was to a place called honeymoon cove and when we got there we found this gorgeous little rocky cove beach , just like the Pirates of Penzance .... I could picture Major General Stanley’s daughters frolicking on the beach in their bonnets & parasols. As Point Samson is on another finger of the west coast we were once again facing east so no sunset !!!!! We woke early the next morning to capture the sunrise instead......





Since we had a full day at Point Samson and since we had seen the other 2 neighbouring towns we packed up our site and drove into Cossack which we thought was just another beach town but when we arrived there we found this little “ Ghost Town “ ........... I parked BB just on the road and Frank and I spent the next 2 hours wondering round this amazing eerie little place full of ruins. Empty stone houses and barns , old stores and family businesses all with plaques stating the history in great detail and other areas such as barracks and tea house even a post office all set out over three or four streets .......

The whole place was like an “outdoor museum” and the whole time we were there we never saw another living sole it was just......., I can’t describe it....... From the pieces we read it was a pearling town with the occupants being English , Japanese and Aboriginal. The dates ranged from 1840’s to 1890’s ...... The town was constantly hit badly during the cyclone seasons and finally came to destruction in 1898 by the Asian quarter ......





Welcome to Port Hedland ..... The home of Midges , Alex (the cranky Janitor) and the greatest Salt Industry in the world....... Our 2 nights at Point Samson were drama free regarding our battery problem , we worked out how to use BB and managed to keep the battery charged without too much discomfort and the fridge in working order. We packed up and traveled to Port Hedland , a very industrial town with massive piles of salt everywhere and divided into 2 parts , South Hedland and Port Hedland. After a very unpleasant incident on our arrival with the janitor of the caravan park , totally his fault and warranted a complaint to management from us , he came back for round 2 !!!!

So we rose above it , went down to the beach for our beloved sunset , BBQ and some dinner and went to bed and packed up early the next morning and headed off a day early for 80 mile beach (we were refunded our second night stay proving we were the innocent party with this confrontation. Just before we moved onto 80 mile beach...... I went to bed that night in Port Hedland with what I thought was a few mozzie bites...... R,A,J&P.... you know what is coming up next !!!!!!!!!



Welcome to 80 Mile Beach ..... The home of 80 miles of beach , Colin & Jo Lewis (the owners of the caravan park and the only people that live at 80 mile beach as the whole place is the caravan park) and the Greatest sunset in the world {I think I have used that before , but THIS was the greatest} So we burned out of Port Hedland early morning WITH NO NEW BATTERY !!!!! Bloody Britz and the once so fabulous Mark have a lot to answer for , however we will troop on through the rest of our holiday safely and with no complaints {until we get to the Britz place in Darwin} but we are fine and safe and our fridge is still cold. So a bit of a long drive North from P/H and we found the turn off to 80 mile beach ........

We then had 9kms of corrugated dirt road , pretty excruciating , not to mention funny with Frank sitting nursing the easy bake oven glass bowl on his knee so it wouldn’t break hahahahaha....... Our allocated spot was just beautiful , we have NO phone or internet coverage , and as the beach is the only thing here , that is what we did for 3 whole days !!!!!!!!! 6am rise every morning with a 3 hour walk along the beach , just stunning and then loads of washing and major relaxing and reading in the afternoon sun , can it get any better ????????

So back to my mozzie bites from Port Hedland !!!! on our first day at 80 mile beach my little mozzie bites started increasing and getting VERY itchy ...... So to cut a long story short I spent 48 hours in pure agony = No sleep and just scratched until I bled and was in tears......... During those 48 hours this is what I tried to relieve the pain on my 38 bites over my arms , legs , hands and Feet..... ( the roll on deodorant was a suggestion from the lady in the caravan park shop ) but NOTHING brought relief.......

Until finally on our last afternoon we meet our neighbours the lovely Tony & Barbara on a 6 month trip around Oz who said they are Midge bites and gave me some cream ( pictured on the next page in the tall green tube ) ...... NO it wasn’t just a tube of cream , it was a magic potion and brought instant relief and I had my first bit of sleep in 48 hours .............. R,A,J&P you saw that coming didn’t you ?????? But I let nothing spoil our time at 80 Mile beach and we loved every second.....



We have just arrived in Broome and have mapped out our fabulous 8 day stay ( which will be Chapter 7 ) but here is a sneak peak for you ....... When we arrived in Broome I went straight to the chemist to purchase this cream and let me tell you { for those that remember the add in the 70’s for Lemon Fab washing powder and the lift doors opened and all the lemons poured out } well that is what BB looked like when we opened the door 1000’s of tubes of this magic potion just feel out the door............... I’m on the mend now and have plenty of cream to prevent this happening again...........

So until Chapter 7, full of our Broome tales , Take Care and love to all xxxxxxx The Travelling Barbies. P.S .... A very HAPPY BIRTHDAY for the 27th to our beautiful Brother and Brother-in-law , Luv u =xxxx Banti & little f. P.S.S .... We have had no TV , News etc for over 3 weeks , BUT I have heard that Collingwood is on fire with 4 wins in a row !!!! GO PIES !!!!!!!! P.S.S.S .... For my Dad , did you see the name of the Caravan Park owner at 80 mile beach ??? P.S.S.S.S .... Thank you so much to Pa and Peter , on Easter Sunday you pushed for us to do 80 Mile Beach , it was so worth it and an experience we will never forget xxx

Hi Everyone Chapter Seven Welcome to Broome .... the home of Cable Beach , Kerry Stokes (billionaire) and this time I really mean it, the Greatest sunset in the world. We have just spent 8 Fabulous days in Broome , it was so great to be off the road and relax and also explore this lovely , historic town. The Cable Beach Caravan park was huge , very clean and we had a nice shady spot and met all the neighbours around us. Most of the Fred & Ethel’s on their year long trips spend up to 3 months in this spot and we can understand why , we could stay here forever.

We were blessed once again with a massive oasis style swimming pool were we spent quite a bit of time and a 5 minute walk from where we were staying was Cable Beach were we spent a lot of our time. The full stretch of the beach is about 22 km’s long so we did lots of walks and of course went down and saw all 8 sunsets , so magical and something you just don’t get sick of seeing. There was a fantastic bus service right outside our door so we did a few trips into town which they call Chinatown which was full of shops , markets , restaurants etc ......



We had planned to do something special on this trip to celebrate our birthdays and anniversary that have all been earlier this year and in fact we did 2 special treats in Broome. The first was a sunset camel ride along Cable Beach, this was a fantastic experience that we will both treasure forever. We checked in at 4pm and all the camels were sitting on the beach in a big long line. We were assigned a camel and were given a lesson on how to board the camel and also a run down on him , his name was Tiny and was 15 years old and was saved from the slaughter so was very gentle , placid and friendly. Once everyone was boarded and the camels all up we headed off down Cable Beach for quite a long way then turned around to watch the sunset on walk back , just amazing. Once we returned and were off our camel we then gave him a treat for lugging us around for a whole hour (Carrots)