Hello from beautiful Broome, Western Australia. It’s been a slow few weeks and I haven’t felt like I have a lot to write about, but I’m way overdue at this point so we’re back. Nitmiluk gorge was beautiful. The first day I went to Leliyn, or Edith Falls, at the northern end of the park. It was an easy stroll along the water to a swimming spot, where I met a very nice family, got to chatting, had a swim, and ended up walking the rest of the day with them. The area was pretty but not necessarily a standout for me, but the company was nice and swimming felt great in the heat. I spent the night at a free camp and the next day went to Nitmiluk Gorge itself for a hike. This was much more impressive—the huge, deep green river meanders between sheer cliffs of red rock, each bend giving you a new view to enjoy. I had a tremendous day, hiking for several hours in the increasing heat, barely crossing any other people, getting views of the gorges completely to myself.

After that I was ready to hit the road to WA. I did a big grocery shop, filled up on fuel and water, and then just as I was laying my head down that night I thought “Wait, did someone mention something about an agricultural quarantine for WA?”. Sure enough, apparently Western Australia is devoid of certain agricultural pests and they’re intent on keeping it that way, so you’re not allowed to bring any fresh fruit or vegetables in. Good thing that, in my enthusiasm after getting my broken fridge fixed, I’d done an extra big shop and had a fridge absolutely crammed with vegetables and a pantry full of fruit! So I did what any reasonable person would do and spent 2 days sitting around Katherine with nothing to do, eating an entire week’s worth of fruit and vegetables.

Eventually I got my stocks low enough to finish the next day and was able to hit the road. All of the landscapes in this northwest part of Australia are just absolutely stunning. The rocks are red, there are huge boulders and rock piles reminiscent of the desert in Southern California, and it’s sort of surprisingly desert green. Unfortunately this is the region where you really actually do need a 4 wheel drive to get out and explore a lot of things, so I had to stick to the main road. Even still, I spent most of the drive just blown away, staring out at the rocks and hills passing by. I stayed at a free camp up on a cliff with incredible views out to the north and west, and the next day it was a quick trip to the border. It felt a bit uncalled for when, after having me open my fridge, the border guard remarked “That’s the saddest fridge I’ve ever seen”, but he was very nice and the whole check was quick and easy. After that I drove straight to the library in Kununurra, the town right across the WA border, to get my bearings. I’d made it to WA, the promised land that everyone had told me I would love. So far I think they were right.

I spent a nice couple of days in Kununurra, with Mirima National Park, right in town, as a highlight. I also spent a day running around town to confirm that my check engine light was nothing to worry about (it wasn’t, and it’s back off now). On my way out of town I went to Emma Gorge, where a nice, fairly short walk up along a riverbed leads to a beautiful large swimming hole surrounded by tall cliffs, with a waterfall and a small hot spring bubbling away in one corner. Luckily I made it over in the morning and got to enjoy a bit of stillness and snap a few pictures with no people in them before the hordes descended.

Then there was nothing left but a 10 hour drive to the ocean. I split the drive into two relatively easy days with a beautiful free camp in between, and got in to Broome in the afternoon, ready to hit the beach. I wasn’t sure what the swimming situation was since this is still saltwater crocodile territory, but I guess they monitor the area or something, because everyone swims at Cable Beach, which also happens to be the van life center of the city. The reviews I’d been seeing made it sound like the local council was quite strict about van life, but I guess that’s mostly just during the high season because no one seems to be checking anymore.

In the weeks before heading out to WA I tried to find any freediving instructors/schools/clubs/whatever that I might be able to work for or just dive with. It was not an especially fruitful search, with the notable exception (so far) of the Kimberley Freediving Club, based here in Broome and powered almost single-handedly by an affable Kiwi named Graham, who’s an extremely knowledgeable and experienced diver. Looking at their website I wasn’t really sure how active the club was, but I figured it was worth taking a flyer and sending a quick message. Graham got back to me right away, confirmed that the club did weekly pool training and line diving pretty much every weekend, and said I should come by and check it out. At this point I’ve trained in the pool twice and gotten out to line dive twice, including getting the chance to do a 40 meter dive today. And man, it feels absolutely excellent. I wasn’t sure how I’d feel line diving for the first time in a while, but it really just confirmed, again, how much I love freediving. On my first dive I slowly pulled 10 meters down and then hung for about a minute, holding the rope and listening to the whales singing, and I just did not want to come up.

Besides the diving (which it’s not really known for) Broome is… a sleepy town. I’ve been spending the vast majority of my time shuttling between the beach and the library, enjoying body surfing and my online biology class in roughly equal measure. I also spent a night at the Broome Bird Observatory, where, besides just enjoying a beautiful campsite, I got to see lots of birds and wallabies and play with my camera. Graham and his wife Linda have graciously adopted me and let me park up at their house, where I have free access to a bathroom and Wifi and shade and laundry—a real deluxe experience for me. As payment for my club dues I’ve been sprucing up the club website a bit, which has been a fun project, helpful enough to feel good about but small enough to limit any frustration. It’s been a slow, relaxing, relatively civilized couple of weeks for me, and if I had a single complaint it would be that I haven’t done that good a job of making friends or filling the days. Par for the course, I’d say, and a minor worry.

It’s a long weekend in Australia so we’re planning to line dive each of the next two mornings, which I’m really excited for. Most of the club members are fairly inexperienced divers, and after today’s deep dives I’m excited to focus more on coaching and helping for the next two days. After that I may spend another day or two in town running errands, but I think pretty quickly I’ll start the shockingly long drive to Exmouth. When I was in Sydney, way over in the opposite corner of Australia, I often scrolled around the map, eyeing this area where the diving is supposed to be so good. I’d heard Broome and Exmouth were the main tourist destinations, and from where I was sitting they looked more or less like neighbors. Turns out, in a country that’s also a continent, neighbors are over 14 hours apart. So it’ll probably be 3 slow days on the road to Exmouth, and I should really look up cool things to do on the way. Either way I think it’ll be a beautiful drive, and Exmouth is supposed to have decent surf and amazing snorkeling right from the beach, so I can’t wait. You can find videos for this post here.