Derby

Thurs 3^rd March

 

It was only a short drive into Derby, a medium sized town which has the largest tidal range in the World. We went down to the pier and the tide was out, leaving a huge area of beach and mud flat exposed. The pier had only a little water under the end of it. Actually it was an unusual pier because both ends of it were on land and it went around in a semi-circle with the buildings in the middle on the sea side.  Derby is quite an attractive town with an avenue of boab trees down the main street.

 

We liked this sign at the entrance to the wharf.

At high tide all of this is covered. The water comes up 11 metres.

On the outskirts of town is the Prison Boab, a huge and very old boab with an enormous base with an opening on one side. In the old days the police would put people in it overnight before bringing them into town the next day. The boab trees in this area are quite prolific, but this particular strain is only found in the Broome, Derby, Fitzroy Crossing area. Jan says we should call them Boyd trees – big base and lots happening on top.  They are interesting because some had lost all of their leaves and others were still in full leaf. The older ones had huge trunks while the younger ones were quite slender. Many of them had multiple trunks that twined around each other. We drove on towards Fitzroy Crossing and found a good free camp about 80km out. We find it is better to arrive at a town early so we can have a good look around and consider the options. Most caravan parks in this area cost between $42 and $52 per night so we only use them when necessary.  Most free camps have toilets and shaded areas as well as picnic tables, and usually there are upward of 20 vans in each one. In these camps people are more inclined to talk and share experiences and tips.