We had an early start this morning, running about like the proverbial headless chooks as we packed the van up and hit the open road again. As I jammed my hat on my head this morning, I was actually wishing I was headless. The pinkish tinge on my forehead has been replaced by a cooked lobster red, to which I could feel the soft leather band inside quickly melding with to become one with my head. A delicate process I am sure it will be this evening, to remove my hat, while leaving the skin north of my eye sockets intact. Well, I have always said that I am quite attached to my hat, I just never meant it so figuratively previously.

Derby has been good to us though, and it will be sad to leave. Although we were only here for a matter of a few days, it was a town that immediately grew on me. It didn’t matter where we went, but everyone we spoke to was really friendly and helpful. The town itself was clean, neat and tidy for the most part, while there was just enough to do here to keep us busy for while.

We must keep on travelling however, keeping to our schedule as we continue to head south. Talking of schedules, we made up another half an hour this morning, or 20 minutes if you take into account the quick stop we made at the Derby Saturday morning market, run by the Country Womens Association. I left Bec to wander around the six stalls on her own, while I cut laps of Derby, caravan and all, due to a distinct lack of 15 metre long parking spots.

Our time on the road today was to be barely a couple of hours, as we cruised towards Broome. It was actually a rather boring drive, exacerbated by a steady head wind for the most part that saw our fuel economy surge upwards a bit, while a slow moving van in front of us prevented us from putting the miles behind us as quickly as we would have liked.

Regardless, we pulled into the Roebuck Plains Roadhouse at about 11:30AM. The roadhouse has a quaint little caravan park attached, and while it is something like 35KM out of Broome, it was the only park within striking distance that will accept the dogs. Not only that, but it is almost half the price of any of the parks in town. It was worth the effort to make a booking the other day though, because the park is booked out, even though there seems to be quite a number of vacant sites.

Driving in, we were happy to see that our site is quite wide. Unfortunately it is almost as wide as it is long, with an awkwardly placed tree towards the rear. On first inspection, getting the van in, even while trying not to punch a new window through the back wall, courtesy of an errant tree limb, ought to be a relatively simple task. All we needed to do was drive onto the site across the road then with a slight tweak of the wheel, reverse straight back. Easy. Well, it should have been.

An hour later, we were still going. We did have it nice at one stage, but we would have been parked almost on top of the tent that is precariously close to the boundary of the neighbouring site. I seriously considered leaving it there, but thought better of it, so we were back to square one as we pulled the van out and started the show all over again from the first act. I even gave Bec a go at doing the steering, but that didn’t work either.

I at least figured out why today. I reverse by feel. Bec tells me where the back of the van needs to go, and I put it there. I don’t concentrate on what my hands are doing though. With Bec driving, telling her that the back of the van needs to go one way or the other means nothing to her, and I can never figure out what way she needs to steer, when I’m standing out the back. It’s like the blind leading the blind. We did eventually, after providing a park full of people plenty of entertainment, manage to put the van smack bang in the middle of the plot. Not exactly where we wanted it, but there was no way in hell we were pulling it out and trying again. Following todays efforts we both decided that an intensive reversing course, for both of us, might be in order. A reversing course has surely got to be cheaper than a divorce.

With the van finally parked, we spent the next couple of hours setting up camp. We are planning on being here for the next 5 nights, so we wanted to make sure that we are all set up nicely. A quick exploration of the amenities and pool area followed, and we declared the park to be almost perfectly suitable for our needs. The only thing missing, is television reception. If you’ve been following our travels, you would know by now that we ritually consume a number of hours of TV each day. It will be an interesting few nights, without the regular companionship of the glowing picture box on the wall, but we will make do. I’m sure there are plenty of other things that we can do with our time instead.

With everything set up, and nothing else to do, Bec declared that she was exhausted. That was the last I heard from her for a few hours, apart from the occasional grunting, snorting and snoring, as she took a leisurely afternoon siesta. It must have been all the stress of parking that wore her out, I’m sure of it.

It was already late in the day by the time she awoke, and we realised that our dinner plans had been scuttled by our neglecting to take anything out of the freezer this morning. It was lucky therefore that we are parked beside a roadhouse that serves meals at all times of the day and night.

Walking the dogs.

The dogs were treated to a quick walk along the soft sandy dog walking track out back of the van park then, before being given their own dinner to enjoy, while we strolled across the service station forecourt, dodging puddles of oily diesel, arm in arm for a romantic meal at the diner. Well, it was hardly romantic, with the constant hissing of truck air brakes drowned out only by the raucous bellowing coming from the vicinity of the pool table, although the food was infinitely better than what I had steeled myself for. Not quite five star dining, but certainly edible after another hard slog of a day.

Returning to the van after dinner, we realised that we had a serious problem. Really, what are we going to do without TV?

Until next time, stay safe, have fun and don’t forget to write.