We were up early and on the road just after 8:30am for the drive to Derby. As was the case on our last long drive, there would be no road houses for fuel today so we made sure we had a full tank. Fuel proved not to be an issue as we had the assistance of a tail wind for most of the trip.
Today we continued to see a changing landscape dominated by boab trees that “She” has become totally engrossed in.
Our trip to Derby was uneventful and we arrived just before midday. We had a long wait to get into the caravan park which appears to be at its capacity.
After lunch we did the “touristy” thing and visited the Derby wharf, the Prison Boab Tree (a massive tree that is hollow and was used as a temporary prison – also said to be the home of many a snake) and had a look around the town. We also drove down part of the Gibb River Road. We can now say we entered the Gibb River Road near Wyndham and left the Gibb River Road where it finishes at Derby.
Derby is quite a small town with a large indigenous population. Unlike Fitzroy Crossing, Derby is not a dry town and we saw evidence of badly intoxicated locals near one of the art galleries.
We had our usual happy hour and that is when we heard that one of the couples had received some bad news and needed to return home. They will be leaving us on Tuesday. Many years ago we tried to travel with this couple to Karumba but our friend had a bad fall and was unable to go on the trip. Our planned prawns and beer on a breach watching sunset over an ocean will again have to be put on hold.
Our prayers go with our friends when they drive home and we also pray that there is a good outcome from the news they heard about their loved one.
We went to bed relatively early after having fish for our evening meal.