the adventures of pen and jane i4: the red centre and working in broome

8/10/2019 The Adventures of Pen and Jane I4: The Red Centre and Working in Broome

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Outback driving The Flinders Ranges, SA

January 2015

Our three weekroad trip from

Willalooka, SA to

Broome, WA.

Moving After a tearful farewell at the Johnson farm on the

1st July, we left Willalooka excited for our impending

adventure but lost and lonely at the same time. Its amazing

how fast you get used to being settled in one place and how

foreign it felt to be back on the road once again.

Under no time restrictions, we spent three weeks

thawing ourselves out by travelling north along the Stuart

Highway. After going up through the Red Centre as far as

Katherine in the Northern Territory, we headed west across

the Kimberley before arriving in Broome on the 21st July.

Although there was 5000km worth of driving involved, we

were kept entertained at numerous stop off points.

Issue Number: Four

BenCampbell

andJadeBaker-Edwards

WhiteFordFalconStationWagon

SomewhereinAustralia

TELEPHONE0401514832 328SKX

Ben on Granite Island, Victor Harbor

Palm Avenue in The Barossa ValleyCentral Market, Adelaide

Ben skated across the bridge to

Granite Island, Victor

Harbor where we spent about

an hour strolling around the tinylandmass. We didnt get to see

any whales, but we did have a

good time exploring the weird

shaped rocks dotted around.

W h i l s t w e w e r e i n

Adelaide, we explored the

centre of the small city, wandered

around Central market and

visited the Botanic Gardens.

The Barossa Valley is a

wine region in South Australiawhich is famous for its Shiraz.

Notable brands such as Jacobs

Creek and Penfolds are produced

here. The weather was rather

gloomy when we visited, but we

managed to do a scenic drive

which took us through the region

and most notably past Australias

oldest winery, Seppeltsfield where

the whole road was lined with

Palm Trees (which looked veryout of place in SAs climate).

On the Way

in SA

On Up

B. Campbell and J. Baker-Edwards, White Ford Falcon Station Wagon, Somewhere in Australia | 0401 514 832 | [email protected]
mailto:[email protected]


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Stokes Hill Lookout

The spaceship from Pitch Black" Ben underneath the Big Winch

Underground shop Piles of dirt from digging for Opals

Bunyeroo Rock Formation

Wilpena Pound

Exploring SAs largest mountain rangewas a great

way to get back into the swing of things. Located

about 150km out of our way, the National Parks

renowned beauty beckoned for us to take a trip

into the outback.

Once there, we walked to Wilpena

Pound, a natural 80km2amphitheatre with high

indigenous significance before going on

Bunyeroo Gorge Scenic Drive. On this

40km dirt road drive we went to beautiful

lookouts, drove amongst spectacular scenery

including through riverbeds and gorges and

visited the ruins of Aroona Hutwhich was built

in the 1920s. On the way back to civilisation we

stopped at Stokes Hill Lookout which had

incredible 360 views which unfortunately our

cameras could not do justice.

The 2834km Stuart Highway runs right through

the middle of Australia and was our ticket togetting to the sun, fast. Once you get onto Stuart

you are in outback country and there is nothing

notable left to see in SA, apart from the peculiar

Opal mining town of Coober Pedy. We

stopped off expecting a normal town but

witnessed shops built underground in dug-outs

(due to the blistering above-ground heat),

spaceships and other film props left over from the

filming of end-of-the-world epics such as Pitch

Black and we were lured into an Asian Mans

house/museum/opal mine/shop whilst we weretrying to find the Big Winch! What an eventful

couple of hours!

The Flinders Ranges

Coober Pedy



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Ben on his electric bicycle

Close to Alice Springs, the West MacDonnell Ranges boasts a

variety of gorges, waterholes and mountains which are ready

to discover. We spent a full day exploring them along a road

which stretches 160km due West of Alice Springs. Places we visited

included Ellery Creek Big Hole, Serpentine Gorge, The

Ochre Pits(colourful rock which the indigenous use to grind up into

paste for rock art and body decoration), and Ormiston Gorge.

West MacDonnell Ranges

The Ochre PitsThe steep walk back down from Serpentine Gorge lookout

View of the ranges from Serpentine Gorge lookout

Ormiston Gorge from up high and down low

East MacDonnell Ranges

Rock art of caterpillarEmily Gap

Ghost Gum TreeTrephina Gorge ridge walk Coroboree Rock

At the East MacDonnell Ranges we visitedEmily Gap

and Jessie Gap where we walked along the riverbed

amongst aboriginal rock art depicting dreaming

caterpillars. At Trephina Gorgewe went on a perilous

ridge walk where we may have become a bit lost and had

to find our way back to the trail by climbing down a small

cliff. Coroboree Rockis a strangely shaped outcrop of

dolomite rock which has high cultural significance to the

Aboriginal people of the region.



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Wycliffe Well servo

Happy alien selfie

The Outback

Ben in creepy hotel in the ghost town of Newcastle Waters

Bitter Springs Thermal Pool

Croc at LWI zoo

Even though we travelled between Alice Springs and

Darwin in August 2013, we managed to miss out on a fewweird and wonderful places to stop off at. From tiny

Wycliffe Well (the UFO capital of Aus), to the refreshing

Marataka and Bitter Springs Thermal Pools,

the Lonely Planet kept us entertained at well needed rest

stops along the 1180 km of previously covered land.

The weirdest stop was at the ghost town of

Newcastle Waters; a town made entirely from

corrugated iron buildings left over from the droving days of

the 1960s. Further up the road, the bright pink Larimah

Wayside Innhad a free zoo and aviary in their garden.

We just had to stop at

the quirky Daly Waters

Pub, where Annie Johnson

worked for a few weeks

when she arrived in Aus.

T h e n e a r b y d i s u s e d

Aerodrome (including plane

ruins) was also a good find.

Larimah Wayside Inn Pink Panther

Characteristically huge termite mound

Mataranka Thermal Pool

Beautiful sunset reflecting off of rock near Hawker, SA

The quirky beer garden of Daly Waters Pub



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We arrived in the Kimberley region

at its most accessible time of year.However, unfortunately for us,

because of the unadulterated

beauty of the area a lot of the

places are inaccessible for a 2WD.

In fact some of the areas are only

accessible by plane or boat with

tours that cost around $800 each!

We went everywhere we could

possibly get to in Sky, however we

are left with the feeling that we

have left the area incomplete. I

suppose we have to leave something

to come back to for a holiday!The first National Park we

visited was El Questro where we

were able to visit two waterfalls at

Amalia and Emma Gorges.

Both required long but entertaining

walks involving climbing up rocks,

hopping over riverbeds and skirting

past boulders with big drops on

either side.

T h e s m a l l t o w n s o f

Kununurra, Wyndham and

Derby provided us with some

good views along the way as well asa giant Boab tree that used to be

used as a prison!

Next on the agenda was

vi si ting th e famo us 875m in

diameter Wolfe CreekMeteorite

Crater. The place was so cool that

it even made the the 5 hour 150km

unsealed (dirt) road to get there

worth it!

The Kimberley

Hiding snake during gorge walk

Amalia Gorge

Inside the crater

Inside the waterfall at Emma Gorge

Wolfe Creek

Prison Boab Tree (used to lock up prisoners on the way to Derby)

Emma Gorge

View of Kununurra5 Rivers Lookout, Wyndham



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Extravagant pricing in remote areas is why it was so

important for us to start job hunting the day we arrived inBroome. During our first day, only three places accepted our

CVs; none of which sounded hopeful that there were

actually any jobs going. At the beginning of the second day

(just as we were gearing ourselves up for spending another

day of fruitlessly wandering around in the sun) we both

received phone calls about attending job interviews. By the

third day of being in Broome, we had both secured jobs in

the 5* restaurant Selene Brasserie in Pinctada Resort and

had found a nice share house to move into.

During our first three weeks in Broome, we started to

wonder if we had made the right choice to settle down here.

We were quite happy with the French couple and 42 year old

Aussie man that we were sharing the house with at the time.

However, our jobs were disappointing on many levels. Firstly,

we were not being given the hours that we were promised.

20-25 hours per week was essentially a waste of our time

considering that we like to work as much as possible whilst

we are stopped in one place. Secondly, whilst the staff there

were generally friendly, it was apparent that we were not

going to make the connections or have the social life that we

enjoyed in Palm Cove.

Ben and I inevitably started job hunting again which has

become one of the most important decisions of the trip. We

had heard through the grapevine that Matsos Broome

Brewery was looking for more staff, so we ventured inside with

our CVs in our hands and smiles on our faces. We had our trial on the busiest and insane day of the year for Matsos - The

Broome Cup (horse racing). Even though it was absolute madness, it wasnt actually stressful because there was a lot of staff

working and the service style was a lot more casual then we were used to.

Since that day, our time in Broome has been much more enjoyable. Matsos is a great place to work, with friendly and

hilarious people which make going to work something we look

forward to. I continued to work at Pinctada on Friday and

Saturday nights which ensured that I got decent hours every week.

Broome

Chinatown (town centre of Broome) as a storm is brewing

The famous Cable Beach

Monument for pearl diving heritageBBQ with a view at Sarah, Anna and Carlys houseBen and I are known as the royals- nothing to do with being English I am sure.Town Beach at low tide



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Matsos Broome Brewery is a somewhat iconic microbreweryspecialising in craft beer. Most famous for our alcoholic Ginger Beer

and Mango Beer, Matsos is well known throughout Western Australia,

with the brand gaining recognition in other states and territories as well.

In addition to brewing and selling the beers on tap, we sell take-away

bottled beer (which is actually brewed and bottled near Perth) as well as being a popular

restaurant and hang out spot in Broome with

gorgeous views overlooking Roebuck Bay.

Working at Matsos has been so much fun. The

brand itself is quirky, refined and well marketed; but

what I think makes the Matsos experience is the

character and passion of the staff. When we arrivedthere were 20 front of house staff which gave us a

lot of shift variation and knock-off drinks that

frequently turned into parties. As we've made the

transition to the wet season, we're now down to a

core group of 12. Whilst this makes work more

challenging during unexpected busy spurts, it has

also allowed us to make tight friendships with the

remainin staff; the reason we will be sad to leave.Christmas photo of the team for the paper

Thebrewingcycle

The1910Matso'sbuildin

gwhichhas

beenrelocatedtwice

Ben,JoshandSarahinthebar

MariekeandBenatSessionAlelaunch

GlenandCarlyatOktobe

rfest



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The Highs and Lows of Gantheaume Point

My favourite place in Broome by far is Gantheaume Point which

overlooks the Indian Ocean. In addition to the rugged beauty and

piercing colours which need no enhancement in photos, Gantheaume

has different things to offer at different times of the month (though

you dont want to go there when shes angry; the sea can get pretty

rough). Low tide reveals bonafide dinosaur footprints 130

million years old, whilst high tide provides borderline suicidal

adrenaline junkies the perfect place to cliff jump.

Us with a dinosaur footprint

Dino tootsie print

Rawwr

Gantheaume Point at Sunset

Gantheaume Point at low tide

Sarah, Ben, Rosie and Matty People waiting their turn to cliff jump

Lower cliff jumping spot Shogo and Ben after he cut himself on the rocks Cliff jumping spot



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Broome Life

Matsos Curry Hut and Courtyard

Matsoss beer taps

Sarah and I drinking tequila from coffee

jars because we are THAT cool.

My scooter (probably the cutest in the world)

My vegetable patchThe first house

A storm brewing

Zazu the cat

Christmas Champagne Breakfast

Us with housemates Dan and ShogoMy business card design

The pool at Lisas house

Bens scooterOur Oktoberfest costumes (mine homemade)

Our hammock at first house



10/10

Once again it is time to move on from a place that

has become our home. We have had a great fivemonths in Broome and have been lucky to have a

lot of important things work themselves out

naturally and perfectly.

Firstly, getting jobs and a house was quick

and easy. We had a great four months living with

Dan and various other backpacker housemates

and to make things even better, when hours were a

bit short at work we were even able to work off the

rent by helping Dan in his home improvements

business. Some weeks he even ended up owing us

money!Secondly, the final month in Broome has

been spent in a gorgeous five bedroom property

which we are housesitting for a friend called Lisa

from Pinctada. In exchange for looking after the

house and Zazu the cat, we pay no rent or bills

and even have a private pool! This perfect situation fell into our laps

with all of the dates working perfectly. Lisa comes back on the 6th

January (rendering us homeless), which works out well because our old

housemate Shogo intends to leave Broome in the 7th to take three weeks

going down the west coast towards Perth. We will be travelling in convoy

with at least 6 other backpacker friends (which we are very excited

about as we are yet to do a road trip with other people).

Lastly Sarah (from Matsos) is flying home to Margaret River

(just south of Perth) at the end of January. This should coincide with us

arriving down there as Shogo needs to renew his passport by the end of

Jan.

Plans for what comes after that are vague. We are running out of

new ground to cover so it is likely that we will settle down somewhere

again soon. We have heard that Margaret River is beautiful (and we

have contacts for jobs) so perhaps well stay there.

What Next?

Glen and Brutus at Bard Creek

The Port

Glen and Matty camping at Bard Creek (4WD access only beach)

Staircase to the moon

The Japanese Cemetery

The sunsets of Cable Beach (unedited)

Thank you for reading!

All of my newsletters can now be found at:

TheAdventuresOfPenandJane.wordpress.com

Find my Youtube channel at:youtube.com/user/jadeworksout

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