Saturday, 26 August 2023

No Tyre!

If you have been following the blog for several years you might recall we visited Broome on the last long outback trip.  Therefore I won't mention anything about Broome, apart from the fact we stayed one night in the same caravan park. 

The following morning we sought a tyre retailer to enquire about a second hand tyre for the trailer.  I reasoned the trailer wheel alignment might abnormally wear the tyre and I didn't want that to occur with the relatively new and expensive tyre we had used to replace the destroyed "tyre of last resort".

To my surprise the retailer told us there was a one week wait before he could do anything about our tyre.  Who turns away business?  Obviously caravan park managers in Halls Creek and tyre retailers in Broome!

Fortunately there was another tyre retailer on the other side of Broome.  However that's when our luck ran out.  He point blank refused to sell us a used tyre and then advised he had just sold his last tyre in the size we needed.  The good tyre would have to remain on the trailer.

Knowing diesel would be expensive going south we filled the 4WD and five jerrycans in Broome. 

It's 1300km from Broome to Exmouth and we weren't going to do that in a day.  It's also very boring scenery.

Heading south we passed a tourist sign and decided to stop for a rest.

The Boab tree here is known as the "Prison Boab Tree" and reputedly used as a rest point for police and escorted Aboriginal prisoners.

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One assumes the prisoners were secured inside the tree.  

Apparently the tree was also used by "blackbirders" (slavers). Prior to the establishment of local government "whites" would kidnap local Aboriginals; chain them together using neck bracelets; and take them to the coast where they would be sold to be employed in the pearling industry as divers.    

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Carlin practicing his photography

We wanted a quiet free campsite we away from the main highway and as dusk was falling found a gravel pit down a small track.

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Not much around here!

That evening I made another attempt at photographing the night sky

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I think this time I left the exposure too long Sad smile

Oh well, there will be another trip!

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